Author Notes: In case you never studied Greek mythology, Cerberus the Guardian of Hades. This is one reason why the chapter is called Hades' Dogs. The other is Hades' means hell dogs because if you played the ME games, Cerberus is known as a Terrorist group that will do anything to get it. Remember what the Illusive Man said in ME3, Cerberus is an idea.

Chapter 19: Hades' Dogs

"Fucking terrorists," Ashley screamed. John and his team were in the middle of the fire fight with Cerberus in the first base on Bindhu. Being a former black-ops group for the Alliance, they proved to be lethal opponents. A Cerberus sniper took aim for a head, but was shot down by John in the waist.

"Calm down Ash, you can't get angry after they're dead," John was right about that. Ash nodded and dropped one after the other with her sniper rifle. John used his biotics and grenades to thin out the herd. Wrex however, tossed strategy out of the window and charged at them, due to his robust healing system, it was nothing more than bug bites for the Krogan. Ragan was in the venation shaft, and grabbed an unexpected Cerberus trooper by the head and flung him into the wall. Ragan jumps out of the shaft, and everyone sees him; guns pointed at him and the team.

Although Ashley didn't trust the Krogan, she was glad he was on their side. 'If he keeps this up, I might actually like him,' she thought. She then saw Ragan put two fingers in the air and Wrex charged into the soldiers that was surrounding him. Another Cerberus troop tried to fire at her, but Ash shot a cyro canister and froze him in place then shattered with rounds from her assault rifle.

Then she heard John yell, "This ends now." John got out of cover and created a biotic storm that made everything fly. Ragan was using his sword and slicing every solider that was coming at him. Ashley's jaw dropped. 'Since when could he create anti-singularity field,' she was in complete awe. "Wrex, warp field now," he ordered. Ragan slide behind some cover.

Wrex glowed a brilliant blue and fired a warp field. The clash of biotic energy caused a huge explosion that sent the Cerberus troops flailing back. Ashley approached John from the terminal. "How did you do that," a dumbfounded question from her mouth.

"Liara taught me, it was a bitch to learn," John gave a smirk. Ash smirked; she didn't like the Normandy's newest crewmate at first, she didn't trust her, as she was the daughter of one of Saren's allies, but a talk with John had helped things a little. And she was starting to trust them, although she still kept her eyes on them except Tali. And she still didn't trust Ragan. 'For someone that knows awfully lot about Cerberus, he knows something.' While she didn't quite turst Garrus, Wrex, and Liara on the ship, she didn't mind Tali too much; in fact the young Quarian grew on her. Ragan was a different story; even though he is human. "Ash," her thoughts were snapped back to the battle, and she saw John's anti-singularity field lifting another batch of soldiers, Ash got out her assault rifle and pelted the soldiers full of holes along with Ragan, who was using M-3 Predator. The battle ended.

"Ash find all you can on what Cerberus was doing here," John looked at Ragan and pointed at the ceiling. Ragan found some beams to climb on and started working up to a walkway. "Ragan had the top so no Cerberus will get the jump from above. Wrex and I will cover you." The soldier nodded and went to the terminals, as John and Wrex for any ambushes, a body falls from the sky. John looks up and sees Ragan killing a Cerberus trooper. John raised his gun and shot the trooper in the head. He then looks back. "Did you find anything?"

Ash shook her head. "Nothing, these Cerberus bastards are good, they wiped everything to cover their tracks," Garrus comes in the building and starts shooting at Cerberus troops that are outside. Ashley looks over to him, "This bastards are very prescient for keeping the bases safe from us."

John heard beeping and Garrus looked at the terminal, "Uh-oh…" the beeping go louder and lounder.

"GET TO COVER," Ragan yelled. Everyone scattered while Ragan just ran along the walkway and entered the next room.

"I must have entered a trap file, I set off the silent alarms." Ashley looks at the terminals. "Glad Ragan suggested that we get to cover." John and the team went into cover more Cerberus troops flooded in. But luckily the terminal was a bomb, so once it explodes, it will take most of the troops away from the fight. Among them was a biotic that threw a few boxes at them. Wrex just got out of cover and smashed the boxes like it was nothing, and charged the biotic. John overloaded the soldier's weapons, Garrus was sniping them off one by one, and Ash shot them in the head without aiming – lucky shots she was getting. Meanwhile Wrex was in a biotic tit for tat with the researchers, the two researchers threw warp fields at the Krogan, but Wrex just laughed it off and smashed one of the researcher with his own biotics while Ragan came out of the shadows of the hallway and snaps a the other researchers' neck. Wrex quickly blasted the lone researcher with his shotgun. Wrex gave a satisfied smirk and came over punching his fish to together.

"Hah! Never stood a chance," Wrex was very enthusiastic. Ash was breathing hard, she just didn't have stamina that John, Garrus, Ragan, and Wrex had. 'Says the giant lizard from hell,' she was thinking. All of a sudden they heard a growl, it was coming from Wrex.

"Wrex," Ash was nervous. Everyone in the galaxy knew about the Krogan's blood rage, the synergy of two aspects of Krogan neurology. The first aspect is the positive feedback look in which adrenaline, also activated by fear or rage, and suppresses serotonin, the brain chemical that induces serenity. The second is the over-developed Krogan limbic system. In Krogan, fear or rage shifts mental control from the frontal lobes, responsible for reasoning, to the limbic system, responsible for aggression and survival.

During that shift, Krogan exhibit diminished capacity for log and self-control. Wrex was an ally, so he wasn't going to attack, but Garrus and Ashley had their guns ready just in case. John saw and made them lower the guns. "Wrex, what's wrong," John asked calmly. Ash saw something at the corner of her eye; it looked vaguely like an insect.

"Um Skipper? I think I found the reason for Wrex's growling," she pointed at the hallway and Ragan turned around to see it. John turned and saw a roach/spider-like creature running around the base.

"Rachni," Wrex and Ragan said in unity.

Ash's eyes were wide. "I though your people killed all the Rachni."

Wrex looked at Ash, but Ragan beat him to the punch, "They had them. They had them all defeated and killed. Their greatest triumph! Krogan blood was spilled in the war against them. And now, there are living Rachni. Salarians found the Rachni and uplifted the Krogan to defeat them."

John places a hand on Wrex's shoulder, "Calm down. Cerberus is done; you think the Council and the Alliance will allow an organization that's studying living Rachni to exist? No, they'll hunt them all down for this."

'And what about the bug here," Wrex had a cold voice.

"What about them. If they're more, then you can hunt them to your heart's content," Ragan said. "If Cerberus brought back more, do you really want to have your fun end here?"

Wrex gave a feral smile. "You've got a quad, Ragan," he said. "You're right. A true warrior's is not satisfied by just one enemy, but an entire army, how can a Krogan not resist?" Ashley looked at them shocked. 'Those three are nuts,' she was beginning to rethink about Ragan.

John grinned. "Let's get these bastards; I'm sure you want to teach these guys not to fuck with a Krogan's pride." They rushed to the next base. A long dead enemy making a surprise appearance, whoever these Cerberus people were, they were worse than they thought. Even Ragan didn't know about this.

Wrex was a very pissed off Krogan, seeing an enemy that his ancestors fought centuries ago well do that to you. 'My people bled and died, because of them. I will not have Cerberus make a mockery of our honor,' he was angered like steam was about to leave his body. Left and right, Cerberus troops fell like rag dolls unable to stop the rampaging Krogan. Johhn and the team destroyed the first base and made it to the second one. The second base was just as heavily armed as the first one – except of the Thresher Maw – however unlike their friends before this batch was getting slaughtered like animals.

"G-get away, monster," one of the troops yelled in fear. Wrex just glowed and splattered his brains across the floor.

"This place is a dump," Williams' comment was with distaste. She then saw the base painted red with the blood of the Cerberus troops; the sight was very sickening to the Human. "You couldn't leave one person alive for questioning?"

Wrex looked back at the woman. "What would be the point? They won't talk," he was simply answering her question. Ash was about to say something, but Wrex continued. "Besides you heard Shepard, no one is to leave here alive." Garrus looks at the window and motions Ragan to take cover underneath the window. Ragan went underneath the window and waited for Garrus' signal.

"NOW," Garrus yelled. Ragan quickly spring up and grabs the trooper from the other side of the window – breaking it in the process – and flips the trooper on his back. Ragan then takes his hidden blade and stabs it in the trooper's skull. Pulling out the blade of his skull, Ragan saw shocked faces. John approached the team.

"Anything Skipper," Ash asked.

John shook his head. "Empty, just like the first one, you were right they are slippery bastards." John then looks at Wrex, "Feel better?" Wrex looked at him.

"If you mean, if I'm calmed down, yes," he calmly said. Wrex took a step forward at the energy field keep the Rachni caged in. The Krogan growled softly, as he stared at the creature that started it all. Centuries ago, Salarian explorers opened the mass relay to a previously unknown system and met the Rachni, who promptly captured them. The Rachni used their extensive research on element zero to reverse-engineer the FTL drives on the explorers' startships. They proceed to build FTL vessels of their own and rapidly expanded into the galaxy, ushering the Rachni Wars. 'All because of those damned fucking Salarians couldn't keep their fucking curiosity in check, this wouldn't have happened,' Wrex thought to himself. In their desperation, the Salarians uplifted the Krogan to combat the Rachni, due to their ability to survive the harshest environments. It took centuries, but the Krogan were able to strike at the queens in their lairs and reclaim conquered Council worlds, and the Krogan were seen as saviors.

However, the actions of a few stupid Krogan, made the galaxy fear them, the genophage was created soon afterwards, turning the Krogan into a dying race. Wrex then heard a voice behind him. "Penny for your thoughts," John asked. Wrex shook his head annoyed.

"During the Rachni Wars, I lost a lot of my people, they died because of a fucking mistake the Salarians made," he said grimly. "Some of them I looked up to." John looked at him blankly, Wrex had always been closed off, but for him to share, it was different.

"Wait, you knew some Krogan that fought during the Rachni War? How old are you exactly," John didn't believe Wrex. Wrex looked at the Human with an amused grin.

"Old enough to be your ancestor's ancestor," the Krogan said amused. Wrex grew serious. "The defeat of the Rachni, was the only claim to honor we had, before the genophage stripped us on it, but bringing them back, Cerberus spit on the honor and sacrifice of my people, and for what I can't forgive them."

Wrex whet to the console, "Surely you can understand that Shepard, after all didn't the Batarians spit on your honor."

"How did you know about that? I never told you about Mindoir," this made John have a shocked and crept out face.

"Cause you just told me, whelp," Wrex grinned.

John scoffed, "You ass… but yeah, they did." John grew serious, "Do what you have to do."

"Glad we have an understanding," Wrex said as he pressed the button releasing the Rachni.

Ash saw the Krogan over the Terminal; her eyes went wide as she saw Wrex pressing some buttons. Garrus stopped her before she could charge towards him. "Wait, what are you doing," she was alarmed. Ash tried to get out of Garrus' grip but just hold her tighter.

"Skipper, what are you doing? He's…" John stopped her.

"I know, give him some support when he needs it," Johh smiled.

The Rachni was released and charged at the Krogan. The creature was a lot bigger than the one in the first base, and twice as dangerous. The rachni glowed blue and knocked the Krogan back a few inches.

"What the fuck is that," Ragan looked at it. "Since when do those things have biotics?" He readied his weapon but John shook his head. The Krogan regained his footing and blasted with warp fields, making the creature stagger a little. Then the Rachni screeched angrily as it unleashed a combination of acid and biotics. Wrex growl a wild battle cry. He threw himself at his enemy with abandon and gusto. He did not care about being hit himself; he just cared about dealing out as much destruction as possible, unleashed bullets and biotic powers as his enemy. John, Garrus, Ragan and Ash looked on with awe, to the humans, the Krogan appeared like a force of nature; he was a force a nature. To the turian, he looked like a tornado of destruction.

The Rachni used its tendril to impale the Krogan, but the old battlemaster just bobbed and weaved and charged at the Rachni, forcing the creature to the wall. Wrex then punched it against the steel wall, denting it more and more with every blow. The Rachni glowed a brilliant blue and pushed the Krogan back. When Wrex was stunned, the Rachni wrapped its tendril around the Krogan's neck but failed to stab him because a chain kunai grabbed ahold of tendril.

"Now," John looked at Ragan.

But Wrex looked at Ragan, "Stay back! This is my fight and my fight only!" The Rachni stabbed at Wrex again, but this time the Krogan grabbed the tendril and got up. The chained kunai left right before Wrex swung the rachni around and around until both of the Rachni's twin tendrils snapped off and the rachni slammed against the wall, the time cracking it. When the Rachni was reeling, Wrex came up and finished it with a point-blanks shot to the body. He shot the creature over and over until his gun started to overheat. The Krogan walked over to his team, before collapsing to his knees, panting heavily.

John came running towards him, "You hurt?"

"Your sympathy is not needed," Wrex put on a predatory grin then looked at the dead Rachni behind him. "Tough sons of bitches, just as I remembered." He came to his feet again and cracking his neck. "All healed and ready."

Ash came up to them, "You sure? That was a pretty nasty fight." Wrex was taken aback by the human's concern. 'Most aren't worried about a Krogan getting hurt, must be a Human thing.'

"Centuries of mercenary work and war, and I've never fell in battle. Not going to start now," he commented.

"Really?"

John shrugged his shoulders, "Hey it works."

Wrex looked at them and grinned, he wouldn't admit it, but this group of ragtag aliens was starting to grow on him. 'Too bad they're not Krogan, they would fit in nicely, especially all three Shepards.' The team destroyed the second back, and went on to the final base; it was time to finish this.