Author's Note I: Enough talk, let's dive into this again. Enjoy. Also, just realized I forgot to put this chapter's title at the end of the last chapter O_o. Oh well, moving on.

"If you have to look along the shaft of an arrow from the wrong end, if a man has you at his mercy, then hope like hell that man is an evil man. Because the evil like power, power over people, and they want to see you in fear. They want you to know you are going to die. So, they'll talk. They'll gloat. They'll watch you squirm. They'll put off the murder like another man will put off a good cigar. So, hope like hell your captor is an evil man. A good man will kill you with hardly a word." – Terry Pratchett, Men At Arms

Chapter 26 - Hurt

(Now You See Me, Rage Quit, Rude, Upgrade, Buried, Virus, Hurt)

This isn't a bad view, thought Kasumi as she lagged just a bit further behind the others, taking in their 'assets' in a mild attempt to keep her mind off of more pressing concerns. It was not as though she wasn't fast; she could keep up with most Drell over a mile, but, in cases such as that, where the objective was normally escape from security personnel that were rather underpaid for their position, she had built up an affinity for only having to sprint for handfuls of minutes at a time. Keeping up with a group that she couldn't just abandon for long stretches of time was rather another set of circumstances.

"You alright back there, Kasumi?" she heard Garrus say over the comms, shaking her head and attention away from more refined, not to mentioned toned, directions. And, even though the sounds of large holes being forcibly inserted into the sides of buildings had been steadily receding and from the looks of things they didn't have any smaller tag-alongs nearby either, she embraced her instincts and toggled on her cloak just in case.

"Kas, Spike," she reminded the turian as she fell back a bit more, taking solace and a chance for rest from her technical abilities. She smiled when he didn't counter, all but hearing the grimace and grumble from his end. "And don't worry about me. I have-"

The wall in front of her exploded outward in a shower of debris, the shards bouncing off the other alley wall just about where she should have been. She slid to a halt as the towering figure of that horrid abomination reared out of the dust cloud, barely visible in the dimly lit avenue. As its great feet began to drive forward in their new direction like the churn of a locomotive though, an idea occurred in the naturally cat-like brain of Kas.

"Keep going, I've got this," she yelled into the comms as she took a running start and leapt onto the juggernaut's back, scaling the disgustingly cragged surface tentatively. "Well… maybe…"

A long arm slithered upward as the creature roared, tilted in a very disapproving fashion, and plunged downward with all the speed of a snake. The thief flung herself to the side, only just avoiding the lightning like invitation to the worlds of shish kebobs and watched as the clawed appendage dug into its own flesh with a sickly sucking sound.

Her limbs pressed her onward and upward as she observed in morbid fascination as the wound closed around itself as the arm coiled back. And, just as she began to shift her attention back to the peaks of mount corpse-head, instincts that had been trained to detect unwanted notice for years sent her scrambling rapidly the other way as the second arm attempted what the first hadn't achieved.

Acrobatically she ascended, dodging attempt after attempt with a kind of frantic grace found normally in small birds avoiding their betters as the great thing did its best to inadvertently turn itself into a pincushion. And, the thought occurred to her that this might have been a valid strategy had it not been cheating with the whole krogan genetics on steroids business. At least it was focused on little old her and not her squad mates, who, as she managed a quick glance towards where they had been, seemed to have taken her advice. Well, it had been fun while it lasted, but she guessed it was time to go.

She primed the extra inferno grenade that she had kept from the others, because sometimes old habits died hard, and tossed it towards the beast's heads as she leapt onto an unmarred fire escape. She ducked immediately as the abomination flailed in momentary blindness, huge arms drawing long furrows along the alley walls and unfortunately knocking out a few of the anchors of her current platform.

"You still alive, Kasumi?" inquired Jacob as she scrambled shakily to her feet.

Down wasn't an option; she could hear the burbles and wails of the host of combat forms making their way into the tight thoroughfare. So, she guessed that only left her with one choice.

"Tell you in a minute," she replied as she leaped and swung onto the next landing, feet driving for the stairs before they even touched stable ground once more. She gave a glance downward as she ascended, watching the large Flood form shake the last of the flames off and, already healing, tear gashes through the buildings as it gave chase on the rest of the party.

Well, maybe if they were lucky it wouldn't know which way they had gon-

The great thing rounded the corner and unerringly turned towards the power plant and undoubtedly her friends. However, as she reached the top of the building, she noted another particularly helpful bit of info.

"Good news, still alive," answered the thief finally as she sprang between a close gap in the buildings, landing with a soft crunch as she rolled in the snow and was up once more. "Bad news, something's keeping an eye on you. Good news again, I think I can take care of that."

Her legs screamed at her as she accelerated, making straight for the gangly thing that was paralleling her team from above. It seemed like a combat form, but only from afar. As she drew closer, readying her weapon as she went, she noted that seemed was about as close a descriptor as you could get. Covering almost the entirety of the putrid body were smaller versions of the infection forms' tendrils, each arm ending in a larger pair rather than actual hands. In fact, now that she got right down to it, it didn't look like a combat form at all.

So, she shot it.

The lanky biped skidded only slightly in the snow as the modified rounds slammed into its unaware back. But, where she had expected, and hoped for a brief tumble and burnout display, what she got was the thing turning and springing at her as if it had been shot from a cannon, formerly drell eyes fixing her with a permanent rictus of fear. It was almost entirely aflame as it intercepted her, slapping her against the rooftop wall with a strength belying its current crispy predicament.

It limped towards her, blazing arms outstretched as she fumbled for a weapon that had been knocked clear of her grasp, but, just as it closed within reach once more, the fires seemed to gently remind it that it should have a lie down now.

Heart racing, the unauthorized borrower watched the still form like a hawk, willing it to stay dead. It didn't bother arguing with this wish, and, after giving it one more meaningful look, decided that it was best not to stick around long enough to see if it would change its mind.

"So, where are you guys?" she asked to the general comms as she made her way to ground level, listening intently for what had been the ever-present crashes of the behemoth and hearing none.

That may not be a good sign.

She toggled her cloak back on as she exited the alley and came face to face, that is to say what was probably a thigh, with that massive form again. It was just standing there, swaying in the night air like the distasteful wind chime of a particularly disturbed god. Only the twitches of its antennae every now and again gave it any semblance of rational thought beyond that of a plant.

"Next alley down from it," came the ghost of a whispered response as the thief followed the instruction and silently circumnavigated the malformed colossus.

"Good to see you didn't get flattened," she retorted as she rounded the bend and met with several forms much more her size. They were all or almost all leaning for support as they took a breather. She liked this idea, and quickly joined them. Thane and Legion, however, seemed disinclined to do so. Huh, she wondered if-

"Flattening termination scenario only probable with geth hardware," interjected the synthetic instantly, its de-luminated eye stalk fins tilting this way and that as it sought understanding. "Organic matter unlikely to hold rigid form af-"

"That's-it-," breathed Jacob with a laugh as he tried to straighten himself back up. "When we-get-back on the Normandy-"

The troupe waited patiently for him to finish, but a coughing fit had quickly taken hold of the man's vocal chords.

"Phrase book?" offered Garrus, who received an enthusiastic nod.

"We have downloaded three-hundred-and-forty-three-"

"-and we'll interpret them for you," continued the operative apparently feeling much better.

"So," began Kas, throwing the simple adverb out like a fishing line, "I did a thing and now big and ugly can't find us as easily… don't know how long that'll last…"

"Well, I don't know if we can kill it, nor do I want to try… again," added the ex-CSec officer gloomily. He just needed to look on the bright side; at least they were alive to choose not to try to kill it again.

"But we can lead it away," posed Thane, breaking his silence and sounding not out of breath in the slightest. Of course assassins had to be more fit, any mark in their right mind would takeoff on their best, and perhaps last, goose chase of their life with someone like him on their tail. "I can lead it off and double back."

"Think you can manage it?" asked Jacob out of impulse, he received a wordless stare, "Right, my bad…"

"Head for the plant as soon as you've lost it," ordered Garrus as the drell slipped wordlessly away, and, a few moments later, an ear-splitting roar ripped across the immediate environs. "So, everyone who needs resting, rested?"

"I could-"

"Good, back to it then." Ah, more running-

The howls and wails of the legion of smaller forms filled the air.

-running was good.

OOOO

The veteran mercenary was and always would be ready for all manner of combat, or at least that was what it said on his résumé big bold letters. One didn't get very far in the verse selling yourself as the premiere soldier for hire by suggesting there was any room for gaps in one's experience. Yet, as you might guess, gaps did exist, and, more immediately imperative, right now they existed in the form of weaponized luxury vehicles.

The explosion as the latest sky car hit the ground behind them, only knocked away just enough by Samara's quick thinking, sent the squad careening uncontrollably into the air. Fingers that could hardly be convinced to wrap themselves around their weapon more were compelled to do so as Massani somersaulted, attempting to figure out where he'd land-

The image of a large wall entered into his field of vision for but a moment.

"Ah, bloody hel-" started Zaeed as he impacted with the fabrications, the blow driving the air from his lungs and the sense from his head. The man returned shakily to his feet, the only sure thing in the world the assault rifle in his hands as he took aim at a couple of beings that seemed a bit too wobbly in his blurred vision, and emptied the clip.

The combat forms fell before him, the dull red glow of their ruin barely a pinprick of light in the face of the twisted metal fire in front of him. Now that would have bloody well hurt.

"Anyone else still alive?" he asked the comms as he stepped on the burning necrosis, his armored boot sinking through the weakened flesh with ease. Part of him told himself he should probably be disgusted by that, but the rest of him tied down the sentiment and told it it would soon forget all about that when they got back to their regularly scheduled drinking.

A group of five more gangly hostiles came bounding forward as if to answer his call, but just as the mercenary had pulled out another of his dwindling supply of grenades, a hail of fire took the throng from the side. He quickly joined in and, in moments, the latest adversaries had evaporated.

"Sounds like someone dove the wrong way," answered Shepard as he stepped out through the remains of the glass window of a hardware store.

"Yeah, looks like your landing was comfier," grumbled the veteran as he made it over to his squad, eying the multitude of shards enviously as he tried to rub the pain from his back.

"Well, next time we'll call ahead an-" started the ex-Spectre before wails and burbles echoed out from every angle in front of them. Eerie shadows detached themselves from the darkness one after another as they shambled and leapt their way around the former vehicle's brilliant remains. "Five minutes- just five minutes. Is that too much to ask? Right, back in the store!"

In a heartbeat, the squad members had hopped the partition and were laying down lines of fire. And, at first the numbers seemed to dwindle as they were enveloped, but as victory seemed all but assured, the black perimeter seethed once more. Their numbers continued to grow and grow as front line after front line was downed, trodden on, and then used to gain just a bit more ground.

"Got any bright ideas?" yelled Zaeed over a madly laughing krogan, his permanent sneer only deepening as he brought down face after malformed begging face in front of him. He was going to need a lot of drink after this one.

"Just one," called back James as he detached himself from the firing line and delved into the flickering confines of the shop, "going to need you to keep them off for a bit-"

"Didn't think we had a bloody choice." A grenade flew out into the black, its ignition lighting up the mercenary's grizzled face through his helmet.

"Grunt, you might want to switch back to the firestorm."

"About half a tank left," grumbled the krogan surprisingly morose as he changed to the bulkier equipment, confusing the mercenary for a moment before the light kicked in. He wanted to save it for something worthier of killing… well-

"There is a chance to use it now," interjected Samara as she flung out biotic energy, knocking back a cadre of leapers like a fly swatter. "There might not be one later."

"Fine," mumbled Grunt momentarily, soon laughing off the sentiment as the average luminosity ranking of the busy street was suddenly raised by several levels.

But, even with the added swaths of destruction to the mix, the tide of the dead continued to push slowly, inexorably forward. They were almost too close now, slack mouths yawning out their own horrible existence-

"Take this," yelled the Commander as the man pushed him out of his spot and shoved a rather odd assortment of metal and chemicals into his hands. Then, as if sensing his confusion, he added, "put some grenades inside of it and tell me when you're ready."

"How big we talking?" came the reply as the worn light bulb flickered on, hands opening pouch after pouch.

"I dunno-" started the engineer but was cut off by an unseen gurgle that sounded far too close for comfort. A few exasperated grunts later, the man continued much more purposefully with, "Heat death of the universe… let's try for that."

"Don't want to use my whole stock now-"

"Then you choose!" interrupted James emphatically. "But I swear to anyone who's deigning to listen right now that if it's not big enough, I'll be waiting in the afterlife to punch you."

"And if I make it too bloody big, we'll still be there," grumbled Zaeed as he quickly went to work affixing grenade after grenade to the makeshift bomb. After a precious handful of seconds, the scarred man gave the device one final scrutinizing glance, decided it was better not to be picky and ran back to the line. "Ready-"

"Pull!" yelled the ex-Spectre and before the mercenary could even think, the explosive package had left his hands and was sailing out into that sea of death.

A moment later, there was a blinding flash and then he was once more down on his back without apparently having moved through the intervening space. With a groan, he pushed himself back up and came face to face with a wall of fire that seemed to be slowly drifting further and further into the shop.

"Time to go," bellowed Grunt with a whoop of laughter as he dragged each of the veteran's fellow squishes to their feet and then tore off toward the back of the store.

"What, too much?" asked Shepard when the mercenary's gaze lingered just a tad too long on the conflagration.

"Just thinking," he replied as he followed the rest of the team, taking in the multitude of normally day to day working chemicals strewn about the shelves and floors of the aisles, "Could have used you on a few jobs…"

And after bursting through the alley door, like the engineer's former title, they vanished back out into the night.

OOOO

"So, let me get this straight," replied Cortana over the private comms as the trio ascended the final set of stairs and made for the way point much to what the AI was rapidly deducing was the biotic's chagrin. "You want me, to help you, to convince these two that we should just keep pushing on and ignore the distress beacon… Am I getting this right?"

"Yes," answered Miranda in a tone of voice that suggested she knew exactly how this was going to end up but was at least determined to see it through despite the fact.

"And completely ignore your orders from Shepard?" pressed the artificial intelligence, mildly enjoying herself too much to stem her thoughts along certain, wriggling avenues.

"…You did point out that we wouldn't be able to extract any refugees very easily…" In the terms of last ditch efforts, the UNSC intelligence rated the previous to be about a six for at least showing a good memory.

"You really don't like him, do you?" asked Cortana as they rounded a bend, smoke building within the air like billowy sandbags. That was odd, the operative hadn't mentioned any fires, then again, he hadn't reopened his comms since the warning either. And, if it weren't for MJOLNLR's sensors providing the contrary, she'd have started thinking that maybe the biotic needn't be worried.

"You have no idea," came an answer dry enough to make deserts envious as the AI watched the biotic accelerate a few steps ahead of the troupe. She turned her head as she added in the general comms in a resigned voice, "I think you should let me do the talking."

The Chief shrugged, but of course he did, even on a normal day he'd be so ready to give others talking privileges as to hold the microphone up in front of them. Jack on the other hand-

"Oh, you think I'm just going to-"

"What do you want?" asked Miranda immediately, halting the other biotic in her tracks for a moment.

"Huh?"

"What do I need to promise you so you won't interfere?" Well, now she was just being desperate, and she was going to utterly regret that.

"Oh," blurted out the bald woman like a child being given access to a room filled with sweets and absolutely unsure sure which one to pick first, "I'm… going to have to get back to you on that…"

"Within reason…" added the operative earning herself a mocking grumble, "… and Cortana, keep yourself hidden."

"Oh?"

"…I would appreciate it if you kept yourself a secret from him," amended the Cerberus Operative through teeth that were probably gritted hard enough to crack bones, "he's… unstable."

"There's Jack…" ventured the intelligence as realization dawned, the silence blossoming in its wake only pushing the sun onwards to the high noon of obstinate realities. "I guess I'll keep to myself then…"

"Good ide-"

"Ah," came a voice behind a doorway wreathed in flames, a shadowy specter only just visible through the smoky layer, "so you didn't die… whoever the hell you are…"

"You," uttered Miranda, somehow managing to instill in that sole word the same amount of vitriol it'd normally have taken to cram into a dissertation on the latest video-game to movie adaptation. Cortana was mildly impressed; she hadn't heard the biotic this incensed even with the surprises of the last few days. She made a mental note to try to snoop around Cerberus data banks if there was a later to see what had happened, it had to have at the very least been interesting.

"Me?" questioned the hazy figure as it seemed to rock for a moment, and then, in an ebon flash, a biotic stream poured past the fiery gateway and deposited a bulky armored human before the trio as if by magic. Cortana watched the Chief's neural readings spike momentarily at the sudden appearance before dying back down to more manageable levels. She had been able to find videos of the charge skill on the extra-net to show him, but she had to admit they really didn't do the ability justice. Well, that explained how he had managed to run away for so long anyways.

The soot blackened helmet cocked this way and that as it regarded them before a quick throaty grunt of laughter echoed out onto the comms. It did nothing however to stop the AI from noticing the trembling and twitching racking the mans' left hand, sub-routines setting about their analyzation immediately.

"Me. Miri, how nic-"

"Don't." Ah, so she was electing to use the hard-ass stick. The UNSC intelligence settled in to listen and take some enjoyment for once in this hellish environment as she kept a watchful eye on the nearest sensors.

"Oh? Well, if you insist, I-"

"Just don't," she reiterated darkly. Cortana drew a circle around her memo to look up that particular history as she watched Jack laugh silently to herself, reveling in the misery. Well, at the very least this little side trip might help with morale a little bit. "I don't know how you wriggled your way out of this one-"

"Well-" started the bear of a man, sole finger raised as if the story were written upon it for all to see but was going to be recounted regardless.

"And I don't care."

"Now you're just being rude," replied the new operative bluntly, perhaps finally seeing the writing on the wall.

"I need you to focus, for once-" began Miranda before she halted mid rebuke, perhaps finally noticing the subtle twitches that were now racking the entirety of that formerly white armored form. "How many?"

"How many what?"

"How many stims have you gone through?" she pressed poking a finger into his chest plate. Part of the AI wanted to interject, if only to see how that might set the biotic off further, but most of her was still curious on how far she'd take herself.

"Three," answered Gael slowly, seeming to think about it for a few seconds too long. And there seemed to be something off about the voice now, as if the cheeriness had just evaporated like dew on a summer day.

"He's lying," informed Cortana over a private channel as she finished her quick readout. "Judging by the frequency of the twitches, estimated duration of flight, and effects of possible known stimulants on projected mass, I'd hazard a guess that number's closer to say eight or nine. Just a tad higher."

The female operative nodded in subtle thanks as she managed somehow to stare more intently at the twitching man.

"And how many of your pills are left?"

"Well," started her co-worker as he looked down and kicked a piece of debris in a surprisingly child-like manner, "I didn't think I'd be here this long?"

"Bloody hell."

"This would be the pills to regulate the mood swings and migraines inherent of his L3 implants?" She watched the biotic tense ever so slightly and quickly added, "Don't act surprised. I had down time on the Normandy on the way here and you did happen to mention him."

"Point."

"Is it a problem?" asked the Master Chief calmly, snapping the large operative's attention to him in a heartbeat.

"It's only a problem if you think it's-" the unfortunate individual stopped midstream as he went to clap the Chief on the shoulder and felt his hand put into a vice before he knew what had happened. He cocked his head as if seeing the Chief for the first time and then quickly added, "Hells, no wonder you lot've gotten along out there. If I-"

"Gael, focus."

"Yes?" And there was that strange calmness again as if he was wondering aloud if he'd be able to kill everyone in the room. If she'd have had hairs on the back of her neck to raise, this would be the time that they'd be doing so. Maybe Miranda had been right, but she'd have been damned if she was going to tell her herself.

"Can you manage to work with a team for once?" continued the operative imperiously as the other pulled away from the Chief with noticeable effort, rubbing his hand.

"If it means getting out of here, I can try." And, if the UNSC didn't have access to highly sophisticated equipment to deny this, she'd have sworn that smoke was starting to pour from the black-haired woman's ears. "Best you're going to get."

"Fine," gritted out the Miranda with the kind of acceptance that happens only just before a knife plunges into a back. "Now, you've probably got questions-

"Some…none of which seem helpful right now." The female operative seemed to visibly calm just a tad at the prospect of the conversation ending as soon as possible, but the clenched fist remained. Which, was probably a good thing because, "On second thought though, perhaps I do have one…"

"Which is?"

"Hate to break up the meet and greet, but the main group has made it inside," interrupted Cortana on a separate channel as a series of crashes echoed up from far below.

"Can I borrow a gun? Yours' seem… effective," came that voice that seemed to smile just a tad too freely, reminding the AI that there were probably some very good reasons why the man hadn't been reduced to suicide or gibbering madness, none of which she took the 'good' at face value.

"Let's go then," continued 'Miri' with a sigh, as she shoved her unused shotgun into the other Cerberus employee's hands, the Master Chief already moving off to take point.

"Don't worry, cheerleader," started Jack, as if she needed to fan the flames just a bit higher, "if he makes things difficult, we could use some fodder… could just shoot him in a leg and hope he slows them down."

"Could just shoot you first, flat chest," came the immediate challenge, and the AI watched from the rear optics as the smallest biotic's tripwire engaged.

"Try it, you big fuck."

A pause erupted between the two, and, for a moment, Cortana thought that they were already going to have to put an end to the hastily forged understanding.

"You know, you're not half bad," murmured the new operative, dashing such predictions to the wayside.

And with a noise coming from a floor far closer now, it was time to return to our regularly scheduled mayhem.

OOOO

"-I-I'm so-sorry-sorry, my answers ar-"

The lights flashed along the abandoned detritus strewn hallway as the handful of combat forms set about their work, a screech echoing along in horrid time with their steps as a terminal was unwilling dragged along. They had not had to go far for this piece, had not had to go far for any of them really, this society, it seemed, truly enjoyed its mobile workstations. Well, that is if mobile could extend to the current shrieking cacophony reverberating anew along the corridor every handful of moments.

"-are-ar-are limited-"

Patiently they continued ever onwards, working in perfect unity as their way was lit by sparks and failing lights-

"-please in-i-input one-"

The building groaned and a large chunk of ceiling tumbled down from its perch and slammed into the rearmost form, pinning it uselessly to the floor. Arms strained madly at the debris as incapacitated legs laid motionless a few steps away. After a moment, it gave in and noiselessly allowed a pair of other twisted bodies to set about tearing its stolen body apart and bearing the pieces onward, recycling at its very best.

"-Please re-repeat your inquiry i-in a loud- c-cle-clear voice-"

The entourage slid into a large room, nearing the handful of other terminals that rested at the very edge of the chasm at the other end. Spores drifted around in their multitudes in the great chamber, sweeping along on the winds as more and more were expelled from the gigantic head sitting just beyond the area's far too open floor plan.

"-adjus-ting vo-volum-e controls. Ple-se hol-d.-"

Eyelessly, the great intelligence watched its children continue along its beck and call, towards the twisting members that were already sliding forth from the pit and along the broken ground to latch onto the workstation like the reach of the damned. The bearers threw the pieces of the fallen into the expanse, paused as their task was completed, and then melted back into the darkness like slumping mirages.

"-process complete. Please restate your in-in-in-innn-"

A fresh wave of putrid spores and a multitude of other malignancies disgorged themselves from that diseased mouth, worming their ways around a pair of tentacles as they began to integrate with the latest package. The VI stuttered and burbled as meager defenses were overcome with hardly a thought as the perverse marriage between organism and technology was once more established, as was only right. A moment later, the construct flared a multitude of colors, most not even programmed into its memory banks, as its thin veneer to reality warped this way and that as if it were clay in the hands of divinity. Tendrils like digital strings wrapped around its façade, and then, in one final flash of light, the VI was gone.

There was another shrill scraping noise as the terminals were dragged as one and then hoisted bodily into the air before descending down into the darkness, down where only hours earlier there had once been corpses, down where only a jungle of vine-like appendages met their descent in a multitude. The arms pressed further in, surrounding the metallic offering as the Gravemind twisted its puppet more and more into what was needed, what was required to spread once more across the stars.

Those assigned to the task of digging around the jamming devices buried housing stopped with a thought and abandoned the now pointless work. Another pulse of direction had the twisted former virtual intelligence howling and thrashing at the digital barrier with a fervor and intellect far greater than what mortals had ever hoped it could achieve. It knew what to look for, how it could it not, after all when so many of the consumed had been all too eager to pour forth the correct knowledge. It was merely one more in the great swarm of extensions that the enormous culminated intelligence could call upon to serve and swiftly obey; to bring upon the victory everlasting.

And then, when the shell was finally removed, they would find the passage they so desperately deserved to spread peace across the galaxy and beyond. There may not have been any more space ready ships here and now and a certain insect would pay in time for that, but that was no matter-

The malignant construct warbled and shrieked approvingly as it broke through the digital walls and took control, ripping a hole in the field apart with reckless ferocity.

And then, with an approving thought, the Gravemind sent its puppet outward, searching, questing, for more.

OOOO

"So-how's-everybody-doing?" asked Garrus in-between panting spurts as the team rested against the closest wall they could set their hands on.

"We are operating at near maximum capacity," provided Legion automatically. Jacob fought an impulse to fire a retort at it, partially because that involved using air which he was currently in short supply at the moment, but mostly because he knew it was only trying to be helpful. Blind naivety aside though, he was starting to look at the prospect of synthetic prosthetics a bit more enviously now.

"How's everyone who's-running on organic components doing?"

"Could be- better," admitted Kasumi with a deep cheery breath. "At least we can rest here awhile- and then take the nice walkway to the power plant, right?"

"Uh," started Jacob as he stared out into the white washed expanse stretching out beyond the walls and then to the nice covered path heading out to the dark structure in the distance. "There's no way we can use that."

"What? But-"

"No, he's right, Kas. It looks like we're taking the hard way," interrupted the turian earning a short harumpf from the thief as he pressed himself up. "So, let's get it over with then."

"Jacob," he thought he heard her mumble under her breath, "you're a bad influence on him…"

And, as the squad exited out onto the empty frozen plain, they discovered two very important factors. One, that the city itself acted as a kind of natural wind shield for its inhabitants; and two, that leaving said protection quite obviously turned what had been dubbed a minor nuisance into a footing jeopardizing gale.

"Hold on a second," yelled Jacob into the comms as he attempted to move his right foot after it had disappeared into a pile of snow and refused to come back out again.

"No, you're not allowed to say you're tired now," pouted back Kasumi as the team turned towards him, "I'm still mad at you about that."

"It's not that." It didn't feel like he'd stepped between rocks or anything of that sort, he was just suddenly stuck. "It' just-"

It was almost like fingers.

"Detecting organic readings below fresh precipitation layer," interjected Legion as Jacob's mind whirred into action, placing his rifle into the snow near his boot and letting loose a few rounds. A low, slow burble flung back as he wrenched his appendage free, ignoring the malformed severed arm that continued to hold onto its prize. "Sensing multiple bio-hazard instances-"

"Double time," yelled the Cerberus Operative as the team burst into action as one, pressing faster into the storm towards the way point as cries built up all around them.

"Legion, call them out," barked Garrus quickly as dark shapes stirred within the storm, thankfully moving just as slow. Jacob's heart pounded as his gaze swung this way and that, trying to pick out any particularly menacing patches of darkness within the white as he tried to keep another eye on the goal.

Only two-hundred more meters.

"Hostiles imminent, all vectors," came the synthetic's somewhat unhelpful analysis as the human brought his weapon to bear.

A pair of combat forms emerged from the obscurity before him like malformed ghosts, their cries pierced the howling gale as, with their quarry now in sight, they began to shuffle along faster.

One-hundred fifty meters.

A frozen limb snapped off of one as the operative opened fire, shards of flesh detaching themselves from the rest of the body and blowing away in the wind. Flames attempted to ignite themselves along those twisted forms, but the gale rejected their attempts like an unamused spirit.

"Aim for the legs," he recommended as he followed his own advice. He watched as the hardened limbs detached themselves from their respective bodies, slowing the pair to a crawl as it were.

One-hundred more meters.

He observed as another ghastly figure leapt from out of nowhere, readying his biotics to fend the creature off, but before he could even make the attempt, the wind saw it fit to carry the combat form far off course. That was luck-

"You will fail-"

He slammed into the snow as another attacker, learning from the first's example, used the storm to its advantage. Jacob turned himself upright just in time to see a tentacle strewn appendage descending towards him, its sole purpose to cave in armor and bone.

With a snarl, the biotic released his pent-up energy attempting to pull the attacker off of him, but succeeded only in detaching the torso with a sickening snap, sending the still swinging abomination off into the storm. He brushed off the thing's remains in revulsion as he leapt to his feet and took aim at the forms occupying his squad mates. They needed-

"-This place will become your tomb-"

-to get the hell out of here right now!

"Just run for it," bellowed Jacob, sending a small group of combat forms up into the treacherous air with another blast of his biotics as he pushed his team on.

Fifty more meters.

Animated corpses burst from the snow like the vanguard of a thoroughly pissed off spring goddess as the fire team abandoned all attempts at defense and pressed on as fast as they could against the storm.

Twenty-five more meters.

A cruel discordant laughter rode upon the winds as more forms poured in from the sides, attempting to cut off their flight like a pair of bubonic glaciers.

Thirteen more meters.

On second thought, having Thane with us would have been pretty nice right about now, thought the ex-soldier bitterly as he drew in more energy to keep the pass open. Fatigue was beginning to rear its ugly head once more, but he knocked the concern aside as he let loose the unrefined surge of biotic dynamism.

Five more meters!

The doors of the plant sprang up out of the weather as if the world was being rendered just before their arrival, yawning invitingly to the Normandy quartet like the gates of heaven. They swung forward unabatedly as Garrus threw a shoulder into them, holding the threshold open just long enough for all to make it through.

The laughter didn't stop.

"So, any idea how to keep them out?" asked Jacob as he joined in at the attempt to hold the trembling metal shut. His muscles strained as several strong slams echoed across the metal.

"Kasumi, Legion?" However, before their names could even be uttered, the pair had vanished. The Cerberus Operative decided to take this as a good sign, even as his feet began to slide ever so slowly forward. "Hopefully-"

"Move," came a panicked voice as a large metal container came hurtling down the hallway with a screech. The two pressed themselves against the walls at the last moment, and then pushed themselves against the new addition to the barrier as Legion and Kasumi set about finding more. And, after a minute and several strategically placed debris, the organic members of the team braced themselves against the hallway in the wake up the respite they had created.

"So, now comes the fun part right?" asked Kasumi exasperatedly as they pushed themselves off of their temporary rest stops

"Well, kind of," panted Jacob as they went to move further into the facility, not exactly sure yet how long their barrier might last and not exactly keen about staying to try and find out in any case. "But one thing is bugging me though…"

"Aside from the stalkers knocking on our door?" asked Garrus as he pulled up a map of the facility on his Omni-tool.

"Yes," replied the Operative with a smile as he looked at the turian's display. "How exactly is Thane going to make it here?"

"That won't be a problem," answered the assassin simply as he produced himself from a particularly dense patch of shadows, earning himself a stare from all others present.

Legion's eye-stalk flared once, twice, turned to scrutinize Garrus's map and then turned back towards the assassin.

"This is statistically unlikely."

The drell shrugged.

OOOO

EDI was not exactly sure what to feel at this given point in time, mainly because of the whole "feeling" endeavor, but mostly because this was the first known instance with the Commander where she wasn't able to provide background support if needed.

It was not as though she did not trust Cortana's ability to do so in her stead, especially given the situation. Nor was it that even if everything went according to plan, approximately seventy-five percent of the combat personnel would have little to no tactical backing for the majority of the mission, although this did in no way help matters.

No, what the house-not-house had seemed to have pegged this feeling down as was what many of her organic occupants might call boredom. She did not really see it herself though. She was perfectly content with placing her normal day to day functions on secondary processors and focusing on either monitoring all traffic outbound from planet side or helping Doctor Mordin and Tali construct the fail safe plan that Cortana had been happy enough to provide.

Although, from her multiple sensory scans of the confines of the Tech Lab, she was getting a multitude of readings from Tali'Zorah every time the quarian interjected a thought or took a request from the doctor. Correlation had already far surpassed causation at this point, but unfortunately aside from known prejudices and outlooks in her dossier even a normal computer could figure out that it didn't have the software packet to unload that-

A pinging from Sanctum's surface immediately drew her primary functionality from its unhelpful organic struggles. It was soft, as if it didn't know which direction to go for and had instead settled for all of them, and so, as tentatively as she was able, the Normandy's embodiment extended her awareness to it, proceeding with as many security measures as she could muster.

It didn't matter if this was one of the teams trying to call out for help, proper steps needed to be taken to be ready for malignant-

A digital wail unleashed itself upon the system, piercing security measure after security measure with a shocking ferocity as the signal intensified. EDI began fighting back within the space between seconds, attempting to cut off the flood gates before any more influence could be taken, but her way was blocked at every turn.

She built up her walls once more, segmenting off entire redundant portions of her programming to slow its advance, to keep the critical systems from harm, but the mindless entity strove ever on, tasking her abilities to their very limits.

It had taken flight control before she had even known what had happened, solidifying its grasp more and more around that node as it began to slowly alter the vessel's path from its holding pattern. Realization dawned as the house-not-house strove to continue the fight; it was trying to give the parasite an avenue off world.

She couldn't let it.

OOOO

The throng of combat forms that greeted the squad at the bottom of their latest building sprang into action vehemently, their wild cries echoing around the entryway in cacophonous waves. This was not to say that this group in particular was exhibiting traits different from others; one of the best and worst aspects of the Flood was that they hungered for everything equally. Regardless of the particular outlook of the sentient necrotica, however, the Master Chief was used to this.

The large human bolted in creating a barrier between the latest horde and his squad through sheer force of will as his twin plasma rifles flared. Blue bolts of ionized energy flew forward, searing and melting through warped flesh in an acrid stream-

What he was not used to, however, was what came next.

A large ball of biotic energy slammed into the combat forms to his right, launching the advance backward into the air and drawing the veteran's attention for a precious moment before his mind kindly reminded his instincts what had just happened.

"This makes this so much simpler," growled the new Cerberus Operative as his borrowed shotgun barked out a loud exchange. John ignored him as he leveled his full attention back at the rapidly diminishing forms. He had met soldiers that had loved to hear themselves talk, Sergeant Johnson had been one of them, but unlike the late marine who had fallen into the acceptable tolerability category; this man fell onto the other side of the spectrum. The side adequately dubbed within the large man's brain, 'ignore until it goes away.'

And with a simple effort of will, all but the space the man took up in the world filtered from his attention as if he had hit the cosmic mute button.

It wasn't that he was trying to be rude, many of the Normandy's crew had been cast into that spot for a time and he felt no ill will towards them. It was just that everyone and everything had to have their slot of reality that they fit into. It was essential for the conditioning, for his foundations to stay stable and true.

For instance-

"Chief, we need to get going," piped in Cortana as the big human stomped an armored boot down on a freshly prone combat form, the body parting as if it had held onto an explosive for just a bit too long. "Detecting a large surge behind us."

-as the Master Chief grunted his thanks, impulses that had the category more or less tabbed suggested that once more this scenario fit into the whole 'Tactical advance' catalog. And, within seconds of the last enemy's fall, the Spartan was tearing through the remains of a makeshift fortification and back out onto the cold streets before another thought could occur.

A cold wind and billows of snow greeted their progress as the squad plowed toward their goal, ready for anything even with their baggage. Onward into Vulpes's main thoroughfare they dashed, calm eyes searching for the next obstacle to overcome.

A discordant wail emanated from somewhere behind them as a tide of formerly human flesh vomited itself from the ruined building, the entryway tearing itself off its hinges in the face of such a surge of screeching tortured metal.

"Uh, Chief."

Muffled music flew forward along with the storm winds as the squad prepared to round a corner and into the city's burgeoning main street. He readied his weapon, knowing if there was going to be a place for the dead to have gathered it would be here.

"Chief!"

As they slid in the snow to move onward in their new direction, the veil of driving flakes abated just enough, and the AI's pleas finally broke through. And, a thought that had been snaking its way upward to his mind's control room finally wormed its way in and presented itself for inspection.

"So, you noticed it now too?" ventured Cortana as the Chief took in their surroundings, his legs churning on automatic. Displays and kiosks littered either side of the street, while an intercom with a looping pre-recording and a will to use it regardless of the nightmare that had befallen its controllers resounded for all the world to hear.

"-nd that was only one song from Gil T. Park's summer album, Duty Bound-"

Yet, despite all the hallmarks of a normal central hub of activity guaranteed to have been transformed into a literal factory for the virulent walking plague, not a single Flood form burbled forth to oppose their advance.

"-ext up, straight from Earth is an excerpt of Johnny Tens' latest homage to the classics-

"Trap?" he asked as he looked into the alleys and storefronts to either side, finally seeing where the other infected had gotten to as the team ran ever onward.

"-Hurt-"

They stood silently in their hundreds, rank upon rank blocking every avenue save for the one in front of them, the one leading closer and closer to a collection of rubble strewn large buildings with a cloud that seemed awfully spore-like emanating behind it.

"So, is anyone else seeing the audience, or is just me?" asked Jack worriedly from somewhere behind the Spartan as the man's mind whirred.

"-I wear this crown of thorns-"

"They're funneling us," stated Miranda, throwing out the obvious in reluctant tones.

"You know, all I had to worry about half a day ago was them trying to kill me," grumbled Gael as a potshot was taken at the silent mass, eliciting not a single response as a small fire began. "Now they just want to play games… how lovely…"

"-upon my liar's chair-"

"Fuck what these things want," growled Jack venomously, as the veteran thought he felt the charge of biotics build up behind him. "I say we make a break for it."

The Master Chief turned his head again, gazing into the silent numbers of the Flood, looking for a gap or a weak point that they could exploit-

"-full of broken thoughts-"

-and seeing none.

"Not all of us are making it if we try that," replied Miranda grimly as she echoed the Chief's own thoughts.

There was a good chance that he could break through, and, unburdened by the need to protect the others he could maybe even make it to the power plant. He could end this nightmare, he'd done it once, he could do it again. The sacrifice though, well, it was supposed to be worth it, wasn't it?

His instincts, his training, his conditioning, all screamed at him to make the call, to do what needed to be done to guarantee the victory, to win the game. He could do it; all it would take was a burst of speed and a little luck to make it around the trap and to the explosive goal. All that was needed was to shed just a bit more humanity. Why was that so hard?

It was mostly gone anyways…

"-I cannot repair,-"

"We keep going," he answered as the team drew closer to the ruined buildings with the ever-present cloud of spores ringing their tops like a sentient halo. The street was empty off to the left, a way around what he knew was ahead, a chance to make for the way point beyond, but it wasn't an option.

"-Beneath the stains of time-"

"Are you sure about that, Chief?" asked Miranda in a concerned voice a heartbeat later, the sounds of the horde behind them drawing closer and closer.

"Yes," came the only response as the squad approached the only viable entrance in the row of structures, debris having blasted the walls all along this front like the universe's largest shotgun. The trap had to be sprung after all, at least by the one person in particular it was meant for.

"-The feelings disappear-"

"Is anyone else getting a large sense of ominous intent right now?" asked the new operative, managing once more to break through the barriers of muteness for a moment before the Spartan concentrated just a bit harder.

"-I am still right here-"

"And we're just going to run into whatever that is?"

"Yes," he lied as Cortana slid open the doors for them and he turned to cover the rest of the team's entrance, needing to know for certain the game that they were being forced to play.

"-You are someone else-"

"So, what now?" asked the latest addition as the panels of the porous entryway slid closed as tightly as they could still manage. Outside, even through the dirty glass, he could see the great tide of combat forms slow to a halt as the game reached its crux. So, it was exactly as he had thought.

"-What have I become-"

"We need to make a plan," stated Miranda evenly as they stared at the next door in front of them, the dark hallway about as inviting as the open maw of a predator. There were other thresholds to the sides, but something so very deep inside of him told him that this was the way they were supposed to go.

"What we need is to get the fuck out of here," countered Jack worriedly, but there was nowhere else to go now was there? If they ran together, if they ignored the game, the horde would descend, and the large man knew how that would play out.

"-My sweetest friend-"

"What are you thinking, big guy?" asked Cortana as he slowly made his way forward as the pair of women behind him attempted to argue out a strategy. That was for them to decide though, for this moment however, he knew what needed to be done.

"-Everyone I know-"

"Can you lock the door behind me?" he asked softly, as he felt the steel around his mind harden for the task at hand. There couldn't be any room for debate, there wasn't the time for it.

"-Goes away in the end-"

"Behind us you mean," stated Cortana slowly as he stepped over the threshold and paused. The others had stopped mid argument, and soon they would try to do the only thing that came to mind when they needed to finish what they had started. He couldn't let that happen, wouldn't let it happen.

The mission always came first. It always needed to be completed.

"-And you could have it all-"

Even if he wasn't the one doing it.

"I can draw its attention," came the stolid explanation, he could almost hear the digital arms cross in disapproval.

"Chief-"

"The Flood has to be stopped," he replied calmly, resolutely as he heard the shuffle of feet of individuals whose minds were already drawing conclusions faster than he had hoped. "Help them."

"-my empire of dirt-"

"John, please-" started Cortana pleadingly as began to follow his command despite her insistence, the whoosh of a mechanism deploying behind him reaching his sensitive ears.

"-I will let you down-"

"Trust me," came the only reply as he removed his friend's chip from his helmet for what he knew would be the last time and tossed it through the closing portal before she could offer any further response. A moment later, an armored fist smashed into the door controls, cutting off the power.

The echoes of the prerecording could only just be heard through the multitude of holes in the building now, broken up only by a yell of anger followed shortly by what he could only imagine was a frustrated fist pounding fruitlessly against an unyielding metal door.

And, like a man walking to the gallows, he marched into the darkness beyond, never once looking back.

"-I will make you hurt-"

Next Chapter: Chapter 27 – Face to Face

Author's note II: Next chapter coming out in September. I hope to keep on my monthly track for the remainder of this arc, but I'll keep you posted. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, sorry it's a cliffhanger, but needed a good stopping point. (Once more, it's either this or mega chapter in three of four months :/ ) Also, it's kind late and I'm tired, so if you find any mistakes please let me know and I'll try to fix them as soon as I can.

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