Part I

The Voice and Face of All Evil

Chapter 34: A proposition

Cold, Ice cold.

Garrus shuddered as the dragon slowed to a stop right above a small structure, that of course, was made of ice.

"We're here," Zuko stated softly, breaking the silence that had reigned during the trip.

The building was small with two guards wearing white and blue standing guard at its front It was built like a bunker, with three other people standing in front of the building conversing. Other than that, only white tundra could be seen in the distance.

"And where exactly is here?" Garrus asked sliding off the dragon. His back hurt and he subconsciously grabbed his rifle off his back, ready to shoot anything at a moments notice.

The fire lord didn't say anything and instead made his way toads the doors of the bunker looking building. Garrus trailed after him, cocking his rifle and loading a concussive shot to it. One could never be too careful. He had yet to hear back from Shepard, which worried him. She was normally punctual unless something had happened. All he could hope for was that she was alive and well. He had no way to contact Chief or the others with her. Maybe they should've invested in more long range communications.

"Lord Zuko," One of the men standing guard stated and both saluted.

The elder man nodded to them and they relaxed, while the other three looked at the new comers and greeted them, "Lord Zuko, Garrus."

"Tonraq," Zuko responded in kind, Garrus nodding in respect towards the broad man in blue. "Eska and Desna, leaders of the Northern water tribe." Zuko stated with a small smile, informing the alien of their company.

"Pleasure." Garrus nodded.

"Indeed." One of the twins replied.

The Turian couldn't tell the two apart.

"Why exactly are we here again uncle?" The other twin asked.

Garrus noticed how the other two were twins, hunched over and with long black hair, looking almost identical in appearance.

"This prison holds a dangerous criminal. Her name is P' Li," The man didn't hesitate to answer and continued as he walked to wards the two metal doors at the front of the bunker, "We need to make sure she's secure."

"Couldn't have the guards have done this instead?" One of the twins asked as the group flowed Zuko.

Garrus stayed a few feet from them wondering why indeed they had to come.

"No. We need to make sure its secure ourselves," Zuko responded as the two metal doors opened revealing an elevator.

The twin who had asked sighed as they group entered the elevator, Garrus uncomfortably sliding in beside the benders. With a jerk the elevator started downward, and they were allowed to see the massive ice cave meant for only one prisoner.

"If I had known this place had existed I would've thrown my tailor in here for messing up my robes," One of the twins stated with a grin.

A grunt and Zuko looked back towards his guest, "So who exactly is this prisoner?" Garrus asked ignoring the comment from the younger human.

"She is a part of a group who tried to take the Avatar when she was just a child. She's dangerous and we have to make sure she won't escape," Zuko stated.

"This prison looks pretty secure," One of the twins stated.

"That's what we thought about the other prisons," The man Garrus knew who Tonraq informed the group.

Garrus's eyes widened slightly, "Other prisons?"

"The other three from her group escaped and if I'm right then they'll be headed this way for P'Li," Zuko sighed as the elevator came to a stop.

Garrus shook his head, "Look I get that you have a problem here by why exactly am I here?" He figured a few bullets would put these benders down, and in all honesty he had bigger problems to worry about, like the Flood invading the planet.

"Because if Zaheer and his group free P'Li they'll go after the Avatar, and they'll take down anyone in their way," Tonraq replied as they exited the elevator.

"You mean Shepard."

The Southern Chief nodded.

"Hmph," Garrus grunted, "Shepard's faced worse."

"I hope you're are right," Zuko started as he walked forward, leading the group to a cage covered in ice with guards around it, "Because I fear other, darker, powers are at work, and we may be hopeless to stop them."

Garrus slowed down.

A shiver ran down his spine.

Why did he feel that he would regret those words?

"Nothing Avatar Korra. We searched the entire upper and lower rings and still nothing. The Middle ring is currently being searched as well but we still haven't found any trace of your friend."

Korra pursed her lips, "Thanks," She stated shortly.

One of Ba Sing Se's police force nodded to her and left the room. Shepard stood off to the side with her arms crossed, her eyes narrowed at the door. Reluctant Promise floated next to Korra running through all, and any, possibilities that could have befallen the Spartan, and next to him stood the Police Chief of Ba Sing Se. The Captain was a large and bulky man, rugged and old.

"We have to find him," Shepard stated making her way over to Korra, looking at the map laid on the table before them.

They were inside Ba Sing Se's police headquarters, standing inside one of its rooms while the police scoured the city in hopes of finding their lost Spartan.

"I have officers looking all over for him. We're trying our best," Captain Rodan sighed running a hand through his hair, "But I must ask, why are you so worried? Other than the obvious reasons."

Shepard looked at him with pursed lips of her own, "Have you seen the way that soldier fights?"

A shake of the Captains head, and she continued, "He could take down fifteen of your best officers without a moments hesitation and without breaking a sweat. He was built for war."

She leaned on the table in front of her.

"Whoever took him down…." She let her warning hang in the air.

The Captain nodded, now understanding the Commanders worry.

A static buzz, filled the air and they looked at the radio, where only moments later a voice called out, "Captain, we're getting reports from the outer wall. They're saying that there's… These... these... monsters outside the walls. Funny thing is that they're not moving... Just standing there... We thought it'd be best to inform you and the Generals."

Whoever was speaking neither, Korra or Shepard knew, but the Captains face suggested he did. He picked up the receiver and pressed on the side button to speak.

"Tell the Generals that I'll head over there myself and survey the situation."

"Yes sir."

The Captain put down the receiver and adjusted his green uniform, "Avatar, Commander, I'll inform you of whenever we receive word of your friend. For now, I'm going to have…"

Shepard held up a hand, looking him square in the eye, "Did he say monsters?"

"I don't…"

"If my hunch is right," Shepard started pulling her rifle off her back, "Then we're out of time." She didn't wait and pushed past the Captain, leaving the room.

Korra and the Captain exchanged a glance, "Let hope she's wrong Captain."

"Why?" Rodan asked.

"Because I'll bet anything she's talking about the parasite, and if they're here we're in trouble."

Elsa stared at the door in front of her. Her hands rubbed against each other, the soft feeling barely calming her nerves. It hadn't been that long since she'd been attacked. A little over a day actually. She hadn't seen anyone but Tonraq and a few healers in that time, but even then, she had only seen the Southern Chief once.

Now though, after dozens of healing sessions, she felt well enough to go outside. Whatever the water tribe healers did had worked miracles on her, and she felt ready to face the world again. Her dress glittered brilliantly with is new coating of ice, making it slightly thicker than the one before. She still had no way to work the Keepers shielding device and she figured a thinker coat would offer her better than protection than her old one.

Her hair was tied up in its usual braid, and her eyes nervously scanned the wooden door in front of her. Finally, she reached for it. She grabbed the handle and pushed it open. Light engulfed her little hut, and she stepped outside onto frozen ground, squinting up at the sky.

"Queen you should not be out of bed!" A guard stationed in front of her hut exclaimed with wide eyes, "You have to rest! Tonraq's orders!"

Elsa held up a hand and silenced him with a glare, though he was more confused by it rather than intimidated.

"I'm fine," Elsa stated weakly. She had misjudged her injuries. She was tired and still slightly dizzy, but now was not the time for weakness. The Queen had to be strong for her people, for her sister.

She scanned what was around her, and noticed how she was still close to the docks. Only a couple hundred feet from it.

Aside from that, four other guards stood in a perimeter around her hut. What caught her eye though, was the ship landed right next to the docks. Not one of the United Republics ships, no, the Commanders ship. The one that had stayed behind with them when the Keeper left.

The Normandy, with several of her crew, including Wrex, standing around her and making small talk. Even Tenzin was there, talking amongst the group, discussing things she could only guess at.

"What is that doing here?" She asked looking at the guard. Consciously, she decided to stay next to her hut, realizing she didn't have the strength to go any further.

"You're friend, Commander Shepard, ordered the ship to come her and aid with… reinforcements," The guard jerked his head towards the docks.

Several large mechanical beings, Promethean knights, were walking around scanning the area for any threats. Elsa frowned. She knew Shepard had sent them here to take care of her. Apparently even the Commander doubted her now.

The Queen pushed the thoughts aside and looked at the guard again, "Where's Chief Tonraq? I need to speak with him."

To be honest, she didn't need to talk to him, but she did want to know about anything new that was going on.

"He's not here," Elsa turned away form the guard with furrowed eyes, "He left to the north pole. Didn't say why."

A soft sigh.

She wished none of this had ever happened.

Chief kept perfectly still despite Hope's voice calling for him. He had heard the footsteps coming for them, right side of the room from stairs probably out of sight, and at seven people coming for them.

To his advantage, they probably had no idea he had been awake, so if he played it right maybe he could pretend to be asleep and they would only address Hope, who in turn may pull out sensitive information that he could use to his advantage.

In a normal circumstance he would've just contacted Shepard, but his comms were being jammed. It left a bad feeling in his gut. Something wasn't right. That much he knew.

He needed to figure out what was going on. He knew the Black Knight and his allies were after him, Shepard, Elsa, and Korra. He knew the Flood was invading the planet, and was at war across several different dimensions. He knew they were waiting for the Keeper to send a ship to rescue them.

But something didn't add up.

From what he knew, Elsa should've been killed in her attack. He should've been killed too, not captured. That would've been the logical thing, yet they we're being left alive. Next thing, His comms were being jammed, the Flood hadn't attacked yet, and he had yet to see the Black Knight again.

Why? From what he could deduce the Black Knight liked to deal with things personally. It was why he kidnapped Anna, and tried to kill them himself in Republic City.

Then why wouldn't he come after Chief himself? Something else had to be keeping him busy since he sent his pawns after Elsa. But then why didn't his pawns come after him?

His glare intensified through his visor as the unseen door opened, letting in light from beyond as the creaking of old metal filled the room. It was because these people weren't with the Black Knight. They had another reason for capturing him and Hope. That was what he needed to figure out. After that he could figure out everything else.

"Well look who's awake," A woman, he concluded from her voice, dressed in black robes that covered her face and entire body, chuckled walking into the room. Following her, were two dark haired women that had captured him as well as four men dressed in green with large circular hats on their heads.

The Spartan noticed how Hope had become quiet, but he didn't dare look at her.

"And this one is a fine specimen indeed," The mysterious woman said walking in front of Chief, "I see you took our warning seriously then?"

"Seeing what he did to those thugs was impressive. He wasn't too much trouble but we didn't want to risk it," The taller of the two dark haired woman stated.

"And the payment?" The shorter added.

Black robes turned to them, "Of course." She pulled a black bag from her waist and tossed it to them, "Three thousand gold pieces for your trouble."

The women chuckled, "So much gold for one man."

"A unique man."

"Indeed he is."

"What about her?" The short one asked.

Black Robes and the green robed men looked up at Hope, "We'll take them to Zaheer. Let him deal with them. If there's one thing we know it's that the Avatar and Commander are suckers for hostages," A chuckle, "That is if they're even alive to meet Zaheer.

"You're going after the Avatar?" One of the women asked wide eyed.

"Indeed," The woman added, "Well maybe not me… But.. This city will see soon enough."

John's eyes went wide, the City. It was going to be attacked. He had to find a way to warn Shepard.

The two women looked at each other and shrugged, "Not our problem."

"We'll be taking our leave," The older one bowed, and before anyone could protest the two scurried out of the room.

With a sigh of annoyance, the robed woman turned to her men. "The girl," She ordered.

The four men obeyed, and moved closer to Hope. One raised his hands, while the others took defensive stances around her.

"Leave the man though. I want to talk to him before we take him," Black Robes ordered, the men nodding to her as they got to Hope.

"Don't touch me," Hope growled as the chains around her slackened and she fell to the floor, where one of the men moved to place cuffs on her.

The man stepped back and shot his hands out. Two rock shaped hands flew from off his hands and covered her mouth, where Hope then preceded to yell. Another man did the same to her wrists encasing them in solid rock.

John wanted to act. He knew there was lava behind him, cement holding him in place, and a steel cage around him. Fortunately, none of it was strong enough to stop a hard light shield. It would shatter the cement and cage around him as it expanded. But how would he get free with only one arm free, and five enemies around him?

He couldn't. So he'd wait. Even if it meant letting them take Hope.

Two of the men grabbed Hope by her hair and forced her to stand, to which they each earned glares from her green eyes.

"Take her up top."

They complied and forced the girl to the door, to which she struggled every moment, trying to break free.

"Lower him."

"Ma'am?" One of the two remaining men asked as Hope was finally pulled from the room.

"Do it. He's of no threat."

They complied and raised their fists. The metal prison holding Chief began to lower, the earth holding up the chains lowering down and the pool of lava being covered up by a stone floor.

"Now," The mysterious woman pulled out a metallic handle. To John's surprise, an energy sword blazed to life.

"What is that?" One of the men asked nervously.

"A weapon that I got from the Black Hand."

With a flash of light, then a swing through the air, "This thing can cut through almost anything and I want this man to know I mean business."

"What do you want from him?"

The Spartan could here the grin in her voice, "He knows the Avatar," She raised the sword right in front of his visor, "And I want my revenge."

Shepard checked her ammo count as the airship slowed to a stop.

"We're here," Captain Roland grimly announced.

The vibe Shepard was giving out, worried him and Korra, though the latter knew what was bugging her. Katherine said nothing and only nodded for the Captain to lead. He huffed and made his way outside, Korra and Shepard following behind him.

Together, they walked out onto the outer wall, the airship's doors closing as they exited and it floated backwards slightly to give the men on the wall space.

"Captain thank god you're here. You need to see this," A man wearing a green uniform cried jogging over to the, two soldiers on either side of him.

"What is it Sergeant?"

"Sir…" With a stutter the wreck of a Sergeant tried to explain while pulling the Captain towards the edge of the wall.

However, Shepard had already walked over, knowing what would be on the other side.

"Damn," She hissed, letting her biotics glow.

Korra walked up next to her, The Captain following a split second later.

"They got here fast…" Korra grimly stated crossing her arms.

Outside the walls, was a ocean of pale bodies. Thousands upon thousands of creatures, pale, deformed, terrifying, and deadly all the same. Shrieks rose up from them, and together the congregation of death roared in challenge to the earth city. Shepard aimed, but held her fire. Something was off. They weren't charging.

They just stood still, why?

She licked her lips and glared at the army. They had thousands. Why wouldn't they just try to overwhelm the defenders?

"What're they waiting for?" Korra asked taking a stance with her fists ready to splash flames at the horde.

"Sergeant contact the Generals, tell them to get every soldier to the wall. We're going to need all of them," Captain Ronald said calmly.

"Sir," And the sergeant and soldiers hurried off.

Only a handful of soldiers stood guard at the wall, and none of them were near Shepard and the others. They would need more to fend off at attack of this size.

Katherine scanned the Floods ranks. They were waiting. Right out of range of her rifle. When she had envisioned their attack, she had seen the Flood climbing the walls, throwing every body they had at it, eventually getting over and raining hell down from the walls onto the city.

She checked her ammo count again, "Something's not right."

"They're just waiting." Korra muttered, her own glare hardening.

"For what though?" Shepard replied glancing over at the master bender.

Then a voice, "For me of course."

Shepard spun around, her teeth grit and her biotics flaring out of control. Korra did the same, her fists ignited with flames, as the Captain raised his own hands defensively.

"And who are you?" The Spectre asked with her finger hovering over the trigger.

A wicked grin, a short red dress with swirling deigns of orange, and jet black hair, "Cinder of course."

"And what do you mean they're waiting for you?"

Cinder rested her hands behind her back, her eyes swirling with flames and glowing brilliantly. She started to pace, slowly, calmly, but with a sly grin on her face.

"Commander… You have no idea whats going on do you?" She stopped pacing, "For all your talents, you've already failed to save this world. It's a shame."

"We're not talking about me."

"Haha, well then maybe we'll discuss this avatar," She looked at Korra, "She can bend all four elements, she's the golden girl of her people, yet you refuse to trust her."

"What're you…"

"Why do you think the Commander here insisted on sending a member of her team with every group meant to warn the nations? Why do you think she's stayed so close to you Korra?"

Katherine didn't even have to drop her glare to know Korra spared a uneasy glance at her, but to her credit the Avatar kept her most of her focus on Cinder.

"Isn't it curious? Why she doesn't trust you? Yet she's trying to save you?"

"Enough," Shepard growled letting her biotics flare out before controlling them.

Cinder looked at Shepard, "Commander have you wondered why the Avatar here, has told you next to nothing about herself? Haven't you wondered why she insists on the things she does? Like leaving the hotel and now your Spartan friend is gone?"

"Look Cinder," Korra started without missing a beat, "You better stop talking or I'm going to blow you off this wall right now."

Cinder, pushed a strand of her black hair behind her ear, "If only you could Avatar."

"Thats it!" And the Avatar unleashed to bolts of fire. Shepard unleashed a biotic shockwave and the Captain surged his fists forwards launching to large stones at the witch.

Cinder laughed and twirled in place, walls of red magic blocking each assault, before slamming her palms on the ground and letting fire roar out from them towards the three. The Captain braced himself and was hit full force by the fire which slammed him against the rock wall. Shepard dove over the fire, rolled to her feet and fired at Cinder.

Cinder spun on her feet, smile gone, and flicked her wrists, intercepting the mass effect rounds with a wall of red magic. Korra, having countered Cinders fire with her own, kicked up two boulders and blasted them at the witch, using a gust of air to accelerate them dangerously. Shepard herself had been shooting and dodging counters from the Witch only to get hit head on with a blast of magic from the woman, knocking her down.

Before the boulders reached her, Cinder spun to face them. She met the first with her hand, obliterating it, but was caught by the second one. She hit the floor hard, hissing in pain, but smashed her teeth together, climbing back to her feet.

"Oh no you don't!" Korra roared.

Her eyes paled to white, and she spun into the air, launching fire down at the Witch before gathering a massive wave of air and throttling it right for Cinder. Black hair swinging behind her back, Cinder braced her lower body while twisting her hands.

A red circle appeared above her and intercepted the fire blasts, but then the air wave hit it, shattering it and hitting Cinder dead on. The witch stumbled backwards, and unable to regain a proper stance she didn't stand a chance when Shepard fired another biotic blast. It slammed into the witch and threw her against the back railing of Ba Sing Se's outer wall.

Korra didn't let up, while her eyes glowed white, she unleashed a new volley of air attacks, kicking and spinning while forming a tornado beneath her. Cinder's eyes went wide, barley holding herself up against the back stone railing. She bit her lip and slapped her hands together.

Walls of flame ripped up from the ground, Cinder flipping upwards onto the stone railing, landing in a crouch, and watching as her wall of fire was obliterated but successfully managed to block any elemental blasts meant for her.

"The funny thing is…" She started with a smirk,

"There's nothing funny!" Korra yelled her eyes having returned to normal color and she fired another bolt of fire which Cinder easily blocked thanks to Korra's weaker state.

The Witch stood up slowly and placed on hand on her hips, "Its funny how you are so unaware of your surroundings."

A clink of metal and Shepard spun on her heel. The Black Knight, standing on the front railing of the wall, black cape swirling behind him.

"Fools," Cinder laughed.

Before either hero could react, the Black Knight jumped off the wall, backwards and sailing through the air while Cinder flipped backwards a portal opening behind her and closing before Korra could deliver another blow.

Shepard raced to the wall and looked down. She didn't see the knight. She saw a blinking red light. A click.

"Shit."

Then, her world went up in flames.

Chief heard it before he saw it. Of course he was in the back of a van, moving at ridiculous speeds, but It was strange noise. One only people from his universe could recognize.

Still, he remembered what the woman hd said. It was like flashing lights in his mind.

She had only asked him one question, "Do you miss her?"

Nothing else was said. Then she let them take his cage up, and now his cage was chained to the wall of a van, while Hope sat across from him, chained and gagged. But that didn't matter now.

What mattered is what he heard.

A shriek, and one he knew far too well.

"Hope," He stated calmly, and was met with green eyes.

"Brace yourself," He informed a second before his freedom came.

It came, when the van suddenly jerked, a scream piercing the air, where the van flipped over. Hope yelled into her gag as the van rolled and tumbled, screeching as it crashed against pavement and finally slid to a halt. John, unaffected by the crash, blinked once and looked around. The force of the crash had broken the chains holding his steel cage, but he was still trapped inside.

He had to get free, and fast. More shrieks had already filled the air and the screams from outside were worrying him. If he was right, then the Flood were in Ba Sing Se and it was too late to try and warn Shepard.

Still, he heard no movement from the front of the van, which meant either the men up front were dead, or had already run for it. So with that in mind, he activated the hard light shield, which like he planned, broke out of the cement and steel with ease. Still, it was only his left side that was free.

Hope raised an eyebrow. Her chains had also broken, and she had already began freeing herself, having taken off the gag, and she was trying now to free her feet from their shackles.

"Need help?" She asked.

Chief didn't reply and powered off the shield. Using his free arm he grabbed a hold of the steel cage boxing in the cement and began to peel the front off, popping screws out of their place as he did.

Hope flinched as a screw almost hit her, but she forgot it and continued working on her own shackles.

The steel screamed as John managed to peel it off entirely, pushing it away before he turned his attention to the concrete. Cracks littered the concrete, and he searched with his hand for cracks in it. It didn't take long and he found one large enough for the tips of his fingers to edge into, and he began pulling the concrete apart piece by piece.

Hope grunted as she failed to get the shackles off her and she weakly kicked at them, sitting back in annoyance. She was at least glad the chains holding her shackles were gone because if they weren't she'd probably be hanging upside down or sideways. As the seconds went, concrete fell apart piece by piece, the pieces growing larger with every second as Chief broke them apart, till finally he broke his entire right half free.

He stretched his limbs while the red headed girl watched with an impressed smile, and finally, without the steel cage to hold him in place, he broke the last of the concrete and freed his entire body.

"You really are tall. I thought they were just overcompensating," Hope said through an amused smile.

John didn't say a thing and walked over to her. He grabbed the chains holding her and ripped the metal apart. After, he wrapped his hands around the shackles and pulled them apart, popping the screws and breaking the joints.

She raised an eyebrow at him and kicked at the shackles off her feet. Green eyes peered up at the taller Spartan, and Hope climbed to her feet, stretching her arms and standing awkwardly inside the flipped van.

"Now what?"

"We run," Chief climbed to the door of the van, and slowly peered it open.

He quickly shut it and looked back at her, "Stay with me."

"Wait, why?" Hope asked scrambling over to him, her tunic barely holding onto her shoulders.

"You'll see," And with that he kicked the door open and immediately threw up his hard light shield.

Spikes, biological and as sharp as swords, shattered on his shield and John located the pure ranged Flood form hanging off a nearby roof. Hope's eyes went wide, an orange glow radiating from her pupils. So much death in front of her.

Buildings were burning, screams filling the air, people running everywhere with monsters scrambling and killing them. Benders fighting for their lives, cars fleeing in every direction, families split apart, smoke covering the sun and blue sky, and roars of beasts she had hoped to never see again.

"No… No not here too," She whispered to herself, the glint of tears in corner of her eyes.

"We need to go," John said looking over to the alleyway on their right.

It was clear. The only clear way for them to live was to run. John didn't want to have to fight the Flood in hand to hand. The tanks were stronger than him, and though he was good, he wasn't invincible.

"Now!" Chief yelled, and he saw Hope buckle slightly, stepping back into the van.

The Spartan had a choice, leave Hope, or grab her and run.

Her body weight, it not would slow him down, but if he was forced to carry her thanks to her sudden freeze up, it would leave him vulnerable to attack since he'd be unable to defend himself against any Flood that attacked him.

His eyes went to the alleyway. He had to make it to Shepard. She needed him, and he needed to keep them alive. With Hope, it would be harder to do that. Far harder. A few steps towards the alleyway and another round of spikes slammed into his shield.

Do you miss her… He stopped. Would he leave this girl? He didn't have a chance to save Cortana, yet here he had a chance to save this young girl, yet he was choosing to leave her. Why? It was logical. But…

John felt more spikes slam into his shield and he stumbled to the right.

A scream.

Spinning on his heels, he turned around, lowering his shield and bolted for the upturned van. He slid to the front, spike spying around him, and saw the combat form wielding a plasma rifle standing in front of Hope, who had retreated into the van.

Another Flood body laid on the ground in front of the doors, its chest having been kicked in. Hope, held her arm, and was leaning against the van's walls, her arm bleeding and slightly scorched from the plasma burn on it.

John didn't wait and grabbed the Flood form from behind. The combat form roared and tried to spin, bit John was able to grab its arms and break them off, forcing it forward where Hope kicked it head on and right back to John, who grabbed the Flood and threw it out of the van.

He swept the plasma rifle out of its fallen arms and twirled around, unleashing the torrent of searing blasts at the Flood on the streets. The one thrown out was gunned down first, and the others, even if engaged with benders or others immediately retreated into the building and roof's.

Apparently it was the only one that had had a weapon, a souvenir from the CCS class cruisers that crashed into Republic City.

"Let's go," Chief stated letting the rifle vent before they left.

Hope glanced at him and made her way over to him, "Ok." She bit her lip, flinching slightly as the benders in the streets cheered and began to make their way out of the streets.

John looked down at her arm, and seeing the scorch marks, was relieved. She had barely avoided being melted, but fortunately was able to avoid being hit by the Flood and infected. If they had infected her, he wouldn't have hesitated to put her down.

"Follow me," The Spartan raised the rifle and exited out of the van, making sure to the check the surrounding area.

"Where are we going?" Hope asked wearily, as they moved form the van and into the streets, right towards another clear alleyway.

"To find the Commander."

Sounds: voices, heavy breaths, and rumbling.

Katherine, felt her a lump in her throat, and tried to swallow only for a dry itch to crawl up her throat and force a breathy cough out of her. The pain in her body was more of sore muscles then anything else, but she could fell the broken ribs as well. Beside the pain, her eyes were heavy. She didn't want to open them.

Sleep called to her like the sirens of old.

In the back of her mind though, a feeling, one she could nto place, nagged at her and pulled her mind from the fog. Why did she have to wake? There was a reason. She felt her mind race, her eyes twitching despite her eyelids being closed. Couldn't she just rest for once. No more war.

No. She had a mission. What was it?

A Spartan, a soldier beyond imagination. His name was Chief. At least that what he wanted to be called. A young girl. Lean, powerful. The Avatar. Korra was her name. Then a blonde woman. Small in stature and fleeting eyes. The Queen, Elsa.

Something was wrong. She felt it. The Queen, her eyes went red, her hair became a scorched black, and her dress withered away replaced by tendrils of darkness. Everything faded. Why did she have to be a hero? Why couldn't she just rest…

"Shepard!"

A stir in her chest. She knew that voice. She had just heard it, hadn't she?

Korra! Her eyes blasted open and the smell of air filled her lungs with a strangled breath.

"You're ok!"

Shepard blinked a few times. She saw everything around her, but nothing clicked. Nothing made sense. Walls, a tattered stone roof, people scattered everywhere, most crying, crates lining the walls, soldiers moving around passing out supplies, and a dark exit with a sign above it.

"Shepard can you hear me?!" Two hands shook her shoulders, pulling her around to face whoever the hands belonged to.

Korra was staring her dead in the eyes, whether she was worried or not she couldn't tell. It was then everything clicked. The wall. Cinder. The Black Knight. Explosions.

"Korra!" She cried grabbing the Avatar and shaking her, her heart racing and her mind going faster then she could comprehend.

"I guess you can hear me," Korra replied her eyes going wide.

"What happened?" Shepard asked looking around. She wondered how they had gotten there.

"Well," Korra started as Shepard let her go, and she pulled the Spectre to her feet, "After the wall blew up, which kind of knocked you out, the Flood poured through the hole and attacked the city. It was only big enough for a few dozen at a time, but thats all they needed. I barely managed to get you out of there and onto the train before they overtook the entire outer ring. I got us to the docks and now we're waiting to get for a ship to get us out of here."

Korra's face was tired, and judging by the tears in her attire, and the few scorch marks on her arms, Shepard could tell she had been through hell and back to get her out of there alive and in one piece.

"How long do we have to wait?" Shepard asked flexing her hands and doing a quick self check. She was intact, her armor had a few dings, but overall she was fine.

Korra looked towards the door, "Actually they just offered me a kind of fast pass. They said we could take the next boat out of here in like ten minutes."

"What about these people?" Shepard asked looking around. So much pain. She could only imagine the death and destruction the city was facing. She knew what the Reapers had done to earth. How could these people deal with the flood?

"Most of them are still waiting for more ferries to come, but I don't know if we can get them all out in time," Korra informed sadly, crossing her arms.

"What about the rest of the city?" The Spectre looked away and pulled up her omnitool preparing to call and contact Reluctant Promise.

Korra sighed, "The upper and middle rings are still under our control, but I don't think we can hold them for long."

Shepard didn't miss the uneasy glance she gave her afterwards. What Cinder had said was mostly true. Shepard didn't trust her, at least not entirely. Apparently, Korra had taken the words to heart, for now though she couldn't worry about that.

The Flood was here in Ba Sing Se.

They had to worry about that now.

"They're coming."

Garrus slammed a clip into his rifle and activated the cryo ammo modification on his gun.

He, alongside Zuko, Tonraq and the twins, Eska and Desna, we're standing outside of the bunker, staring off into the distance while dark clouds swirled overhead. At first he had doubted whatever Zuko had told him, but seeing the seriousness of Tonraq, and the genuine words of these people, he felt a little more trusting of them.

In all honesty he wondered though, why they believed Shepard and Korra to be in danger. They had said nothing of why they were, only that they were. These criminals had them worried. But not him. He had seen worse, far worse. In the end, it had been boring for hours, but now, as Garrus squinted, he saw off in the distance came a wave of white fog and snow, and racing in front of it was a vehicle coming right for them.

"We have to keep them from getting her out at all costs," Tonraq growled.

Before he could say anything about forming a plan, the benders all broke out into a sprint, heading right for the old truck. He followed suit, keeping a few dozen feet behind them. The Turian was unsure of these criminals abilities, and he was going to play it safe. Besides, all he needed was a clear shot.

He took aim down the scope.

That's when it started. Ice shot towards the truck, but the truck veered out of the way just in the nick of time. A man and woman climbed out from the truck and one shot a gust of air towards Tonraq. The water bender dove under the shot, and rolled to his feet launching forward a wave of icicles at the air bender.

The other, twirled into the air and launched a wave of her own icicles which Garrus noticed then how twins retaliated in a similar manner. Then Zuko engaged another man, the truck having stopped, and was unleashing smaller fire blasts at the man.

Garrus watched the three enemies, and being a couple hundred feet away, was relatively safe enough to choose his target. He chose, and raised his rifle, aiming right for the woman wielding the water as arms. At this range, despite her agility, and the fact she was still battling the twins, he couldn't miss.

Ming- Hua flipped over Eska and Desna both, and before they could react, froze both of them in columns of water. Garrus took aim right as she landed. A bolt of blue slammed into his rifle and instantly it shattered the entire front half, senidng the pieces flying in frozen chunks to the ground.

"The hell?!" the Turian yelled tossing the remains of his rifle away.

He heard the scuffle of someone on the snow behind him, and turned around. A fist slammed into his face, and he flew back into the snow. Large and terrifying stood his opponent, Garrus rubbing his face with a glare.

"I had it!" Ming-Hua snapped, spinning around to face Garrus's attacker.

The Titan stood straight and glared down at her, "Go."

She hissed and leaped into the air, water spinning around her, and formed into a drill which slammed and drilled straight through the ground and to P' Li's prison.

Garrus pushed himself up, wiping away the blood on his lips, "Well shit," He cursed drawing his side arm.

The Titan looked at him and slammed a foot on the ground as Garrus fired. His rounds froze instantly as they hit the titan, and ice swirled around him, launching him up twenty feet and encasing the Spectre. Garrus grunted as the ice suddenly collapsed, and he hit the ground once more. Trying to spin back to his feet, he fired several more shots off, only for a wall of ice to ram into and send him back onto the ground.

With an angry growl, he managed to roll back onto his feet and grabbed a grenade, watching the Titan walk towards him.

He fired once more, but after several shots the gun clicked empty. He tossed his pistol, seeing how it was basically useless, and powered up his own omniblade.

"Come on you prick."

A smirk formed on the Titan's mouth and it charged the Turian. Garrus returned his advance, but at the last second slid underneath the larger Titan's legs, slammed the grenade into the ice between his legs, and slide back up to his feet. His body pushed him backwards despite being on his feet, and he used his blade to lodge himself into the ice, tearing it in the process.

A red glow filed the air and the grenade went off, heat and chunks of ice flew everywhere, engulfing the monster, as Garrus enjoyed the minimum distance to be safe from its blast. Yet, out of the smoke, a column of ice soared through the air and hit Garrus head on, shattering and throwing him back once more, his shields flaring and failing entirely. Before he even stopped rolling, another swirl of ice twirled around and shot up into the air, encasing him once more in feet of ice. An explosion behind them, P'Li having blasted Zuko's dragon away from the group of benders.

She had gotten free, and Garrus spat. It had been seconds. Maybe a minute and these criminals had overwhelmed them.

"Let's go!" Zaheer called out, having knocked Tonraq down and out for the count.

The Titan looked at him then back at Garrus. The last thing the Turian felt, was ice crushing his body. He heard the snap of bones.

This was how he would die.

On an icy tundra.

Cinder licked her lips, staring down at the pedestal before her.

The liquids inside swirled around and she dared to prick it with her finger. She felt a risk of warmth and drew the finger to her face where a small cut had dared to cross her once flawless skin.

Korra had caught her off guard. She hadn't expected such power from the girl, but it was her own fault. Next time she wouldn't be caught of guard.

She rubbed the liquid over it once, and the cut sealed, the skin growing back together almost instantly and she let out a sigh or relief.

"She's here. I got her," A voice stated triumphantly.

The Witch frowned. She despised this man, but the Black Knight wanted him alive. Still, he had accomplished his goal, and that's what she really cared about.

"The girl?"

"Yeah. She was a pain to handle though."

She nodded and let a grin form.

"But why do we need her?" The man came around in front of her, his orange hair and menacing eyes boring into. His gaze didn't faze her though.

When her eyes met his, he immediately looked away.

"I have a proposition for her," Cinder twirled her hand and the vial of blood appeared in her hand.

"We have plans for all of them but one. Only one can ruin it and we have no one to kill her. She has a strong will, one to where she will do anything for whats right."

"And how is…"

"The girl is skilled with swords. She knows how to kill, and she has an almost unbreakable will, one of the few strong enough to actually challenge the Commanders."

"But her weapons…"

"We'll give her weapons to deal with her."

"But why not one of us just kill her?"

"Our plans require it. We each have someone. You keep that in mind boy."

The man hissed and crossed his arms, but held his tongue in the end. He may not like Cinder but he wasn't stupid enough to cross her.

Cinder poured the vial, the blood dripping into the liquid. A hiss, and steam rose from the pedestal, bubbling and blackening the liquids, a foul stench filling the air.

Red flaming eyes looked at the man, "Where is she?"

"With the others, why?"

"Follow me, for as I said."

She grinned as the liquids inside the pedestal began to glow red and purple, "I have a proposition for Mikasa Ackerman."

A/N So heres the next chapter!

Sorry for taking so long.

So now that this has been written Im adjusting the length of Part one to only about five or six more chapters after this one. Why? Well I found a way to handle everything that needs to be i a much more fashionable and relatively easier manner, so It will make everything much shorter.

Where there were going to be a dozen more building and filler chapters, there will only be actually about there more fillers and builders before the final three chapters are out, since the final battle will be about three chapters long. Well the final battle for Part I, because then starts part two!

New characters! Say hello to Mikasa Ackerman from Attack on Titan. Whats her role? Well I think you have an idea of what it is. But what are Cinders plans?

Is Garrus dead?

I don't know! Like I said the new ending, though the plot remains the same, is different and may involve more character deaths than before.

As for our big four, Elsa, Korra, Shepard, and Chief, they have a lot to deal with. Elsa has her own more personal problems, Korra and Shepard trying to save a city, Chief trying to save Hope and find Shepard in a flood infested city. I'd say they have their work cut out for them.

What about the Keeper and her reinforcements? Well we'll get to see the Arbiter and everyone else next chapter, an update so to speak on their status with things.

Anyway, Thanks for reading. God bless you guys! Please review! Thanks!