A/N: Italics indicate internal thought.

Bold indicates Reaper speech

Bold Italics indicate Reaper internal speech

Please comment and review

This is my first attempt at a story, so I am open to constructive criticism. Also If anyone has suggestions for the story feel free to give them.

Refuse to Yield

Location: The Normandy, Captain's Quarters.

Time: 0900 CST

Date: 17th November

The Normandy was suspended in space just outside the Citadel, its cloaking technology keeping it hidden from the station's defence fleet.

John sat on his bed, his head resting on his knuckles. Miranda stood in front of him, her expression growing more concerned as John continued to explain what had happened to him. "I can't explain it, it was like she was trying to take control of my mind, but I've never heard of an Asari being able to do that. Any thoughts Miranda?"

Miranda pursed her lips together, "yes, and unfortunately it confirms something that Sha'ira has suspected for some time. Moralinia Atruli was an Ardat-Yakshi," she stated.

John blinked at her a few times, "is that some kind of group?" he asked.

"No, it's more than that. It is a rare genetic condition that some Asari are born with, and when I say it is rare, I mean the condition will appear a few times in an entire century. The real problem is that it does not kill the afflicted Asari. When the Asari mates their nervous system completely overpowers and dominates their partner, giving them the ability to dominate the minds of others. Eventually it will cause a haemorrhage in the victim's brain," Miranda explained.

John looked at her completely stunned, "shit. No wonder the Asari don't want that kind of thing being well known," he stated.

"Most Asari consider Ardat-Yakshi to be a disgrace to their species. Originally, they were given a choice: live peaceful lives in isolation or die," Miranda continued, "but in recent years several factions within the Republics have begun to utilise them as assassins, particularly because their method of killing makes it appear that the death was accidental."

John snorted, "another example of the Asari Republics rampant corruption."

Miranda nodded in agreement, "indeed, it's one of the main reasons the Justicar Order has cut itself off from the Asari Republics and retreated to their monastic world."

John perked up a little at that, "Justicar. I heard Aethyta talk about them while I was on the Citadel. They're a monastic order dedicated to enforcing justice. But things became really difficult for them when the Asari legalised slavery and it was like every citizen became a criminal according to their code."

"Yes," Miranda said looking down, "as Sha'ira said, their code prepared them to defend the Asari people from any evil they may encounter, except when that evil was the people themselves."

John looked down again, "Miranda you said being an Ardat-Yakshi was a genetic condition. Haven't they tried to find a cure?"

"There have been attempts, but medicine doesn't always have an answer John," Miranda said solemnly.

Silence passed between them for a few moments before Shepard continued, "Atruli was more or less forced to hand over Abigail to Brutvis Agonius," he stated.

Miranda's expression turned serious, "Agonius is considered by many to be the best Spectre the Citadel Council have at their disposal. Although that is partially because unlike other Spectres, he carries out his orders exactly as the Council request. He is ruthless, efficient and tends to leave a lot of bodies in his wake. There are over a dozen attacks and accidents, that crippled human colonies, that we believe he was responsible for," Miranda explained, her tone growing more disgusted as she spoke.

"He wanted Abbey for something called the red room. Any idea what that is?" John asked.

"It's obviously a codeword, but I'm afraid we don't have any information about what it could be. Although I don't think it's a stretch to assume it is something similar to the three facilities you discovered," Miranda responded, frustration evident in her voice.

John then stood up, "well where can we find information about it?" he asked, forcefully.

Miranda thought for a moment, "the only place I could think of is the Office of Spectre Intelligence. Maybe we can find some hint about this project in their database."

"Well, we don't have any better ideas right now," John said as he began walking to the door.

"Wait," Miranda exclaimed, "you want to attack that place right now? When the entire Citadel is on high alert?"

John turned to face her, his expression serious, "if I had been a second later with Jen or Molly, they would have suffered something unspeakable. And every second we delay finding Abbey means the same thing could happen to her. I don't have time to wait Miranda!" he unintentionally yelled the last part at her. Miranda took a step back as John's eyes glowed red.

John immediately regretted his outburst, and his eyes reverted back to their normal colour, "I'm sorry Miranda, I didn't mean to yell at you." He sighed as he saw Miranda's still concerned expression, "But what would you do if you were in my position? What if someone you cared about was in danger? What would you do?"

Miranda looked down at the floor, the image of a teenage girl, hiding on board a cargo ship, carrying a baby in her arms flashed in front of her eyes, "whatever it would take to save them," Miranda said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Kasumi told me that Bau worked with Sha'ira. I'm guessing there are others," John asked.

"Yes," Miranda replied, "Arterius, Kryik, Vasir as well as a few others. Although their constant clashes with the Council have put their positions in some jeopardy, but I promise you they want the same as us. An end to slavery."

"Are any of them currently on the Citadel?" John asked, his tone neutral.

Miranda studied him, knowing why he was asking such a question, before answering, "No."

"then there's no reason for us not to strike the OSI now," John stated.

She sighed before looking up again, "well it's not like I could stop you," she admitted, "all right, C-sec is spread thin across the Citadel following the events of last night. In addition, ever since your first appearance a considerable number of Spectres have been deployed across the galaxy to find you. Meaning there will be less of them present at the OSI."

John smiled, "thank you Miranda."

Miranda walked past him and placed a hand on his shoulder, "I know I haven't told you much of my past John but believe me when I say, I do know how you feel," before she left.

You have been so focused on rescuing your sister, that you haven't realised the opportunity that this presents.

'Saving Abigail is the only thing that matters right now.'

Yes that should be your immediate focus…. but do not forget to look beyond that John… despite all you have wrought, the vermin still think themselves safe. What could you do to change it?

John didn't respond.

What could you do John, to show them how afraid they should be?

'Strike at the very heart of their civilisation. Show everyone, that they should fear for their lives. That none are safe from our retribution,' John's eyes began to glow red.

Yes John, that is it is exactly

000

Location: Office of Spectre Intelligence, Citadel.

Time: 1200 CST

Date: 17th November

It was a well-known fact that the ranks of the Spectres consisted of those who were considered better than the best. Each of them embodied self-reliance and possessed almost unparalleled combat abilities. It was believed, that each individual could accomplish, on their own, what would otherwise require entire armies. This could be considered positive or negative for the galaxy, depending on your point of view.

Therefore, it was strange whenever you saw their headquarters, because you would never associate such a plain looking building with the most exceptional individuals in the galaxy. The O.S.I was not an imposing military fortress like Ramiscus or the Bastion of Athame. Of course, this was because it was not meant to house thousands of soldiers. Spectres did not have offices, due to the fact that their work required them to be in the field for considerable periods of time. Nevertheless, the O.S.I was the most secure building on the Citadel, second only to the Citadel tower. The building mostly served as a briefing location for Spectres as well as a place to temporarily hold any valuable information or items recovered from missions before they were forwarded to the correct people. As well as containing the reports of every Spectre mission since the organisation was formed. That was the current target.

Two guards walked down the hallway, failing to see a flickering aura behind them. The aura proceeded to the door and the tactical cloak deactivated to reveal Reaper standing there. He held his omni-tool up to the lock, "Alright EDI, get it open," he said. The hologram of the lock started to rotate, "let us hope the DNA samples we retrieved from Atruli are not too corrupted to use," she remarked, with a great deal of sass. Her concerns appeared to be unfounded as the door opened. John felt exhilarated as he stepped into the room to see they had reached their intended destination. It was the Spectre data archive. It contained mission reports, briefings and debriefings. A Salarian was sat at a single desk organising the information, he turned his head as the door opened only to be met with an energy bolts through his forehead. John roughly pushed the body out of the chair and sat down. He began to use the screen to look through the data archive. He searched for all the latest files relating to Agonius.

There were numerous files, but the latest one was a message that had only been sent to the Council less than twelve hours ago. He immediately tried to open it, but found it was encrypted. "EDI can you crack the encryption?" he asked, "I will attempt to, but I must remind you that the cyber defences of the Citadel Spectres are considered second to none," she replied. "That may be true," he responded, "but they've never actually tested them out against fully functioning AI like you."

"Should I be flattered you think so highly of me?" she asked just as she finished decrypting the file. John's confusion grew as he read the message, it was a single sentence. 'I have acquired a new addition for the Red Room.' That same name Red Room, "there's got to be something else. EDI can you look through his older messages?" he asked. "Acknowledged," she responded.

Data began to scroll past the screens as the AI looked through each file in a matter of milliseconds. "I believe I found something Reaper. Decrypting now." Reaper read through the message. It was about Agonius thanking the Council for accepting his proposal and that it would be soon established on…. Palamicia. John grinned under his helmet; they finally had a location. "Alright we got what we needed EDI. Download the latest files with the highest priorities, we'll get it back to base and see if they can provide any more Intel that would be useful for Cerberus."

"Acknowledged..." the AI paused. "Reaper we have a problem. I have tapped into the local communications, a large C-sec force is on its way, along with multiple Spectres," she explained. "Did we alert them to our presence here somehow?" John asked. "I do not believe so, it is possible they are enroute to secure this building from a possible attack. Nevertheless, if we depart now, I believe we can escape undetected," she suggested.

"Alright, le-," 'you would not wish to waste this opportunity would you John? An opportunity to show them how great a delusion their sense of security is,' the rasping voice echoed in Shepard's head. Shepard paused for a second to consider those words, suddenly his head started to ache again and images of Molly, Jennifer and everything they endured since being brought to the Citadel flashed through his mind. His eyes narrowed and his irises began to glow red as he decided on his next course of action.

"EDI download everything you can," he ordered. "Reaper if we do not leave now, we will not be able to make escape without engaging the enemy forces," she responded.

"And what reason do we have to avoid engaging them?" he asked, rhetorically, "we have been to all three of the Council homeworlds, and we have shattered any feeling of invincibility they had. Any feeling of security. It's time that we hammered that message home. Here, at the centre of their civilisation." As he spoke, he began to form energy sphere between his hands.

000

Meanwhile, currently approaching the O.S.I was a certain Turian with a prosthetic arm, being accompanied by two female humans.

"What are we doing here sir?" Liz Shepard asked Saren.

"Every Spectre report is stored within the data archive here Shepard. We'll use my Spectre status to gain access to Atruli's latest files," he replied.

"You are hoping there's something there that will gives a hint about where she took Liz's sisters?" Ashley asked her tone showing that she didn't wholly believe this avenue would provide any worthwhile information.

"I don't expect her to have written it out Williams," Saren said, chuckling slightly in response to Ashley's tone, "but we can also find information on her latest movements. And that will hopefully provide us with a suitable lead."

"Hopefully," Liz repeated, from her tone it was evident she was frustrated. She knew that the longer they spent searching only increased the chances that she would never find her sisters. "Forgive me if this sounds 'treasonous' Saren, but I think a more fruitful course of action would be finding that Asari and beating the information out of her," Liz growled slamming her right fist into her left palm.

Saren's face turned grim, "That was indeed my original course of action Shepard, but I'm afraid somebody beat us to it. Someone who leaves his victims as withered husks."

Both of them grasped, immediately realising who he was talking about.

"She's dead… when?" Liz asked, "less than 24 hours ago," Saren responded, "it hasn't been made public yet, although the Council already seems to be taking some action." He gestured to the multiple C-sec shuttles that had landed nearby with C-sec officers heading to assigned positions, Liz noted that these C-sec officers weren't carrying the small arms they usually used for their police like duties. They were carrying military grade weapons. 'Reapers already reduced some of the most secure locations in the galaxy to rubble, this isn't a normal C-sec operation, the Council sent these people to secure the Spectre office in case he attacks,' she mused. Scattered among them Liz noted several individuals that stood out, 'Spectres' she surmised. "Unfortunately," Liz snapped her head forward as Saren continued, "that's not the only thing he's been doing on the Citadel right now."

"So your saying he's probably still on the Citadel, but he could-" Liz was cut off as a massive explosion erupted from the from the O.S.I. thankfully the three of them had not gotten close enough yet to sustain injuries from the blast, but the force still threw them backwards.

Liz groggily pushed herself up onto her hands and knees. Her ears were still ringing from the deafening sound and she desperately rubbed her eyes trying to clear her vision. With great difficulty, she found the strength to stand up. She staggered over to Saren and Ashley. They were disorientated from the explosion but otherwise seemed unhurt.

"Ash! Are you okay?!" Liz yelled, the ringing in her ears making it hard to tell how loud she was being. Ash merely nodded in response, while rubbing the side of her face. She turned to Saren but her commanding officer had already gotten back to his feet and was staring in shock. Liz followed his gaze, and also gasped in horror at the burning inferno the O.S.I had become, "No," she let out in a whisper. Then she fell to her knees and began pounding her fist on the ground, "NO, no, no, how could this happen," she sobbed. The building was going up in flames and with it the best chance of finding her sisters.

Suddenly something caught her eye, causing her to look up. And there, walking through the flames completely unconcerned was Reaper himself.

Liz realised, that this was the first time she was seeing him with her own eyes. Suddenly their eyes met. She could feel those blood-red lights staring at her and for a moment it was if her entire body froze in terror in the presence of this unspeakable being. However, her fear, quickly give way to something else. Anger.

John, likewise was frozen when he locked gazes with his sister, but unlike her he felt nothing but shock, 'Liz?' he yelled internally, he quickly turned his head to see who she'd come with, 'Ash? Oh God… what if they had been inside the building, they-,' his thoughts were cut off as the assembled C-sec offers finally got their bearings and opened fire on him. Reaper raised a red biotic barrier, to protect himself. He gritted his teeth, remembering his current situation, maintaining his barrier with his left hand he grabbed one of his weapons with his right and charge forward. He open fire cutting down a number of C-sec officers. Right before he crashed into them, he released a massive biotic shockwave, sending any enemies in his immediate proximity flying, and disorienting the rest.

While they were disorganised, he holstered his weapons and ignited his blades. He drove one into the chest of a Turian in front of him. He sliced through the chest of a Salarian. He sweep-kicked another Turian off his feet and then curb stomped his head into the ground. With a backhand motion he decapitated a Salarian, then drove both of them through the gut of an Asari. It was at this point that a Turian stepped forward, he wasn't a C-sec officer, he was wearing very advanced armour and wielded two pistols of a make Reaper couldn't identify, this was a Spectre. The Turian grinned as he fired off two bursts from both pistols, Reaper raised a barrier in response, but was shocked when shots caused his barrier to flicker and then vanish completely. Then another round slammed into his left shoulder, punching right through his armour.

Reaper gritted his teeth and clutched the wound, "first bursts were disrupter rounds to take out my shield, then armour piercing," Reaper channelled more of his energy to heal the wound, while rolling to his right to dodge the rest of the shots. He wasn't entirely successful as one clipped the back of his thigh. The Turian then paused to eject the thermal clips and Reaper seized on this chance and charged at the Turian, his rage growing as he saw the Spectre's arrogant sneer. While charging, he back handed an Asari C-sec officer on his right, sending her flying and clotheslined a Turian officer on his left. By this time, the Turian Spectre had successfully reloaded his weapons, but Reaper was already upon him and raised his blade, ready to drive through his head. The Spectre then did something quite shocking, he grabbed one of the nearby C-sec officers and used him as a shield. Reaper's blade went through the hapless Salarian's head. Quickly overcoming his surprise, Reaper drove forward, intending to skewer both of them, but the Spectre had already started moving, and thus escaped with a gash on his shoulder.

Reaper then saw movement in the corner of his eye, but failed to react in time as another Spectre, this one a Salarian, slipped behind him and slammed something onto his shoulder. Reaper then let out a growl of pain as a huge surge of electricity coursed through his body. 'Dammit, this isn't an EMP, they're just trying to electrocute me.' The pain resulted in him being unable to concentrate, thus he couldn't counter as a biotic charged fist slammed into his face, causing him to stagger backwards. Through the pain, Reaper registered the Asari Spectre in front of him, but the device was still electrocuting him, and he was unable to defend themselves or channel his own power as she unleashed a barrage of biotic punches and kicks into him. Any normal person would have bloodied their knuckles against his armour, but by reinforcing them with biotics, she was starting to dent the plates. As she prepared to deliver another punch, Reaper fought through the pain and channelled his energy into the device, easily short-circuiting it. He then grabbed the Asari's incoming first, his red aura cancelling out her blue. He growled at her and prepared to sink his claws into her gut. But then he was bombarded by high velocity slugs from his side, he turned towards the source and his eyes widened in shock as he saw his sister Liz running at him, both her pistols drawn, and the look on her face was one of sheer anger. The Asari used this distraction to slip out of his grasp, but John had much more pressing concern right now.

Liz continued towards him, firing as she did so, although Reaper recreated his barrier, absorbing most of the shots. 'Dammit I can't hurt her, but if I hold back, I'll just make her look suspicious, the hell do I do?' When she was close enough Reaper knocked one of the pistols out her right hand, not slowing down she immediately tried to deliver a right hook to his face, but he swiftly caught it, 'I'm so sorry about this Liz,' "your adorable," Reaper said, in a deeply condescending tone, and wanting to throw up the moment the words left his mouth. Liz's rage only intensified"you bastard! Do you have any idea what you've done?! You've destroyed my only chance to save my sisters!" she yelled at him. She tried to bring up her other pistol to fire into Reaper's face at point lank range. Reaper quickly grabbed her wrist with his other hand, 'she doesn't know I rescued Jen and Molly already,' "your sisters? Countless humans suffer throughout the galaxy girl, is your compassion limited only to them," he said mockingly, 'I'm so sorry Liz, you're one of the most caring people I know.'

He tried to think of a way to take her out of the fight without hurting her or making it seem like he was protecting her, but his thoughts were interrupted when he felt the barrel of an assault rifle pressed against the back of his head, "let her go! And stick your hands up!" Ashley yelled from behind him, 'not you to Ash,' John knew that 'Reaper' could spin around and slice her in half before she even had time to pull the trigger, 'she would dare to interfere with our righteous task, punish her for her insolence John, teach her the-,' 'Shut up!' John yelled internally; he couldn't deal with an internal battle right now.

He glanced over his shoulder to see that, sure enough, it was Ashley holding the assault rifle, "last warning!" 'Forgive me for this Ash. I know I won't.' Reaper then ducked down, causing her to fire over his head. Reacting quickly, she tried to readjust her aim, but Reaper spun around, still grasping Liz and threw her into the other human, sending them both flying, 'please stay down, both of you,' he internally begged.

While focusing on the state of the two women, he found himself bombarded from his side by high velocity slugs, and quickly erected another barrier to shield himself. The C-sec officers had re-formed, and were now firing on him as a unit, some were using the parked C-sec shuttles for cover. As the barrier weathered the assault, John felt a familiar sensation, like searing metal was being pressed against his skin. Realising he needed to end this fast, Reaper drew his weapons and returned fire. although a considerable number were cut down by the blast bolts, the cover provided by the shuttles was able to protect most of them. Gritting his teeth in frustration Reaper charged up two powerful shots, red spheres forming at the barrel of his guns, and fired. They soared across the street that had now been transformed into a small battlefield, and slammed into the shuttles, destroying both them, and any near them in massive explosions.

Reaper holstered his weapons and let his arms drop to his side, underneath his helmet, his face was contorted in pain, as it now felt like his arms had been lit on fire. While focusing on subduing the pain he was feeling, he failed to notice a prosthetic fist smash into the side of his face, causing a sizeable dent. Reaper turned to glare at Saren. The Turian tried to aim his weapon at Reaper, but with a quick swipe it was knocked out of his hands. Saren backed away from him, 'he is the one who brought her here, he's the one who endangered her,', Reaper followed Saren at a leisurely pace, the Turian steeled himself and threw another punch at him with his prosthetic arm. Quickly, Reaper caught him by the forearm, his claws tearing through the polymer fibres and deforming the metal servos. He then gripped Saren by the throat with his other hand, 'yes, kill him,' Reaper growled, and almost instinctively tightened his grip. Fortunately, memories of the Spectre's recent actions broke through his haze of anger, 'the only reason I spare you, is because you are supposedly an ally of Sha'ira, pray to your Spirits that our paths never cross again.' Reaper voiced in his head, despite knowing that the Turian couldn't hear his words. He threw Saren against the wall and let him slump to the ground.

Glancing around, Reaper could tell that most of the hostiles in the area had pulled back, but is HUD informed him that reinforcements were soon en route, and it was probably best if he made his exit now. But before he could take one step, a high velocity slug hit the side of his head, shattering his left eye lens and reducing its red glow. He quickly drew one of his weapons and turn towards his attacker only to stop dead in shock.

Stood there, aiming a pistol at him, was Liz. She had a small gash down the down the left side of her forehead head, but otherwise she was still looking at Reaper with unbridled fury. Glancing behind her, John saw the unconscious form of Ashley lying on the ground. "I'm not letting you get away," she said.

'Dammit Liz,' in a vain attempt to dissuade his sister from pursuing this confrontation, he activated his biotics, and Liz's pistol was pulled out of her grasp with a red aura. He pointed his weapon at her again and hoped that she'd back down, but she just continued to stare him. Suddenly she was surrounded with a blue aura, and launched herself at him with a biotic charge. The impact sent him staggering back despite his armour, and even knocked his weapon from his grasp. Liz launched a sweep kick at his head, but he effortlessly ducked under it. She tried to punch him but he easily caught her first, she tried with her other hand, but he grabbed that too.

He pushed her back, sending her staggering, "Elizabeth Shepard correct," Liz only glared at him as he spoke her name, "putting aside my apparent 'damnation' of your sisters, perhaps you could answer me a question?" Liz only gritted her teeth and swung at him with the right haymaker, which he stepped back to avoid casually. "My actions have resulted in the liberation of countless humans. So why do you stand in opposition of me?" he asked, faking a curious tone.

Liz's glare intensified, "my apologies!" she yelled with a mix of rage and mocking, "I was not aware it was such a grievous offence to stand in the way of your righteous cause!" she gestured to the devastation. "I know full well what I have wrought upon the galaxy. I am under no delusions about my actions. Can you say the same lieutenant? Do you really believe your 're-forged sword' programme will benefit our people? You truly think that Turian's will ever accept you as an equal?"

"Don't you dare pretend that you know me!" she yelled, she then looked down at the ground. "I do know how dark and twisted this galaxy can be." She looked at him again, "my older brother used to be the kindest person I ever knew. But he was ripped from us and sold here like property. The degradation and abuse he suffered twisted him into a someone who revelled in the violence as much as his abusers. I considered it a miracle, that he was able to pull himself out of his downward spiral. I also know his experience as a slave, was relatively tame compared to most."

"I am also painfully aware of what my position among the Turians is. You think I don't know that almost every Turian wants me to fail? You think that I'm not aware of the fact that thousands of humans will call me a traitor for joining their military?" she sighed, "I know that the chances of being accepted by the Turians as an equal is astronomically small. Hell, my sister's kidnapping wasn't random. It was done to punish my brother for his actions at Elysium, for showing that humans could be as brave and skilled as them."

"Then I will ask again. Why do you stand in opposition of my efforts to liberate our species?"

Liz hardened her gaze, "because you seem to have no idea where your actions are going to lead."

"My actions?" 'she stands in defiance of our cause, give her the fate traitors deserve!' the voice shouted his head, outraged. 'you shut up, and crawl back to the shadows,' John shouted back.

"You've saved a lot of people; I don't deny that. And if that was all, I wouldn't oppose you, I would probably want to help you. It's your other actions, you've attacked their homeworlds. Destroyed some of their most important places, and killedhundreds of their soldiers. Also, the brutal executions that you broadcast all over the extranet. But that's not everything, I know the governments have been doing their best to keep this quiet, but I've heard about what's happening. That random citizens are being killed by their slaves, with your help."

Reaper clenched his fists, 'what the hell is wrong with that? I'm saving those people, and giving them the justice, they deserve.' 'Exactly Jonathan, only a fool would say otherwise, or a traitor,' 'I told you to shut up!'

"I won't grieve for the abusive slave masters you've killed," Liz continued, "but the randomness of your attacks. The atmosphere of uncertainty it's creating. They're becoming scared."

'They should be scared, they should fear us,' John couldn't argue with the entity on that.

"Perhaps they should be fearful lieutenant. Perhaps they should quake in terror at what we can do," Reaper's voice was increasing in volume as he spoke, "perhaps they should go to sleep terrified by the notion that they might not live to see the morning! Perhaps they should live…." Reaper raised one of his fists in front of him, before lowering his voice back to normal volume, "….just like humans do," he finished.

Liz didn't falter at all from his words, "do you seriously think it ends with fear. They'll become angry, just like you are. They'll want blood in payment for the blood you've spilled. And as long as you continue to act like a savage monster, it won't be hard for them to categorise all of humanity the same way."

"Do you really think me or Cerberus have anything to fear from them."

"No. But what do you thinks will happen when they realise, they can't get their revenge on you. You're rescuing slaves from their masters, but will you be able to rescue all of them before their torn apart by the lynch mobs. And what if they direct their rage towards Alliance worlds, how many would die?"

Reaper merely stared at her in response, an eerie silence passing between them, "I have not undertaken my current course of action without considering such possibilities Shepard. Should the races of the Citadel attempt such an abominable course of action, then they will be signing the death warrant of their last hope."

Liz's expression turned to one of concern, "what do you mean?" she asked. C-sec reinforcements were getting ever closer, but in that moment Reaper didn't care.

"Ha ha ha ha ha," he began laughing menacingly and after taking a moment to compose himself, "please consider this lieutenant. On the homeworlds, we have liberated thousands of mistreated slaves from their masters. What if we didn't actually take them off planet. What if we have entire armies ready. Past all of their fleets and defences. Positioned at the very hearts of their civilisations. Merely waiting for the chance to take their revenge against the communities that abused and degraded them." Liz's expression turned to one of pure horror, "should the vermin attempt to enact their mockery of justice upon the worlds of humanity, they will find their cities reduced to necropolis before they fire a single shot."

"Don't you see though, if they escalate you will escalate it even further. It will just be an endless spiral of hate and destruction. By the time the fighting finally stops there will hardly be a galaxy to call home." She paused, "you may think my path is naïve, that there is little chance of success. But we can't become monsters like them."

Reaper paused, he had to admit he hadn't fully considered the consequences of an all-out war. Even with all the advanced weaponry and technology. They would emerge victorious, but it would be a hard-won victory. 'We have the means to end any such conflict quickly Jonathan. Use the horrors they created against them.'

Reaper focused all of his will into suppressing that voice and its horrific suggestion before turning attention back to his sister, "You have strong convictions Shepard I will not deny that. But this galaxy is already overrun with monsters, and sometimes a monster is required to kill a monster. If that is what humanity requires of me, then I shall become the monster that destroys all other monsters," he stated.

At this point several more C-sec shuttles landed, reinforcements disembarked. Saren had been able to pull himself to his feet and carried an unconscious Ashley towards them.

"One flaw with that idea Reaper," Liz said, "it means the galaxy is still left with one monster. Who destroys the last one?"

"Why lieutenant are you volunteering?" he asked, with a joyful tone, "yes I can see it now. A human accomplishes what the wise Asari, cunning Salarians and courageous Turians could not."

His tone turned serious again, "this is the path I have chosen to walk Elizabeth Shepard. I will not be deterred from it."

Her expression turned equally as serious and she resumed her fighting stance, "and I can't let you keep walking down it."

She launched at him again with a biotic charge. He crossed his arms in front of him, shielding himself from the brunt of the attack, but he still slid back a few inches. Liz tried to deliver a kick to his midsection but he leaned to the right to dodge. She delivered a right haymaker but he raised his left arm to block it.

He saw something that made his eyes widened in horror beneath his helmet. The Turian Spectre he had engaged with earlier was aiming a ML-77 missile launcher right at them.

John's mind was racing, he knew the Spectre didn't care about Liz's life, he just wanted to kill him. And John was desperately trying to devise a way out of this. He could easily shield Liz, but if he did that she would fall under suspicion. Even if he pushed her out of the way, it would cast doubt upon her. He kept exchanging blows with his sister, all while the Spectre took aim. Behind his faceplate, Reaper closes eyes in resignation of what had to be done, 'I'm so sorry this, I promised I wouldn't cause you further pain, I guess I failed you again.'

At the moment the Spectre pulled the trigger, John delivered a palm strike to his sister's midsection. He felt her hard-suit crack due to the force as she was sent flying backwards. Unfortunately, the missile had already been launched. Reaper raised his right hand up and tried to raise a barrier but it was not strong enough. The explosion sent him flying, he hit the ground and rolled several times before coming to a stop face down. The damage was evident, his coat had massive holes burnt into it, and there were signs of extensive damage all over his armour. Particularly the right forearm, the gauntlet had been completely destroyed, leaving his forearm visible, covered in severe burns. He lay there unmoving.

For a moment there was silence, before the Spectre who had fired began to cheer in triumph, which was soon followed by the C-sec officers. Saren walked up to the Spectre, "what were you thinking you bastard! You could have killed her!" The other Turian gave him a deadpan stare, "she's just a human Arterius, no big loss," he remarked.

He walked over to the fallen form of Reaper, "I did it," he said gleefully, "I brought down the un-killable monster."

000

It had been over three years since he'd returned to this place, not since his powers has had first awakened. It looked different though, whereas before it was an almost endless black void with a few scant signs of the red lightning, now the entire area was illuminated by the lightning, travelling along the infinite miles of synapses.

Images began to form around him. It began to show the aftermath of the battle Elysium, buildings reduced to rubble, all the innocent lives lost and the other Alliance soldiers who had died in its defence.

The entity appeared behind him, taking the form of Reaper, 'you were victorious that day, but there was still a cost. A cost that perhaps needn't have been paid if we had acted sooner.'

John clinched his teeth in frustration. There was logic in what he said, he knew they had needed the time to build up their forces but if they had made their presence known even a month earlier they could have prevented that massive attack. And what would have happened if he hadn't been there to defend the colony.

More images began to form, each one only increased Shephard's anger. The horrible conditions of the slaves he had witnessed at Baetetia. The sickening experiments he found on Voeyra. And how all those people had been massacred on Klurikon just so they wouldn't be liberated.

'What will you do? Who will you become? After all of this time you still fail to understand,' the entity growled 'how many need to die before you learn.'

Images began to form at a rapid pace now, all the suffering humans endured across the galaxy flashing before him, 'they took your peoples freedom. They stole you from your home. They perpetuate agony across your entire species."

Three horrifying images appeared before him. He saw the dead body of Jennifer, her body malformed beyond recognition by torture. He saw Molly weeping as she was raped by a Batarian. Then he saw Liz, her body incinerated right before his eyes by the missile.

'Do you think any of these vermin would weep for them! For the death of any human!' The entity bellowed, 'how will you make them pay? What will you take from them?'

000

[BGM start: 'I Will not Die' by 3 Days Grace]

The Turian Spectre stood over the prone form of Reaper, grinning at his victory. Suddenly there was a flash of red, and he let out several pained grasps as he was lifted off the ground.

Reaper was now resting on his hands and knees, his right arm was pointed behind him, projecting a massive clawed hand, made of the same energy as his blades. Each claw was a least two meters long, and four of them were impaled threw the Turian Spectre, who coughed up blood before finally dying.

Reaper threw the carcass away from him, his massive claw dissipating as he did, and turned to face the others, who were completely paralysed in shock at what had just happened. At this point it could be seen that Reaper's helmet had taken considerable damage, and his right eye was now clearly visible, glowing a demonic red.

"Everything," he mumbled.

Red energy surged around him, and in red streak he slammed into the assembled C-sec officers and began to lay waste to them. He delivered a punch that separated a Turian's head from his shoulders. He grabbed an Asari's arm and proceeded to tear it from her shoulder. He lifted a Salarian above his head and brutally ripped him in half. He grabbed two officers and slammed them both into the ground, pulverising them. He knocked another Turian to the ground and curb stomped his head into a red paste. Every punch of his fist shattered bones. Every kick broke a limb. Every blow ended a life.

As he finally ran out of enemies around him, he took notice of the Salarian Spectre, holding the weapon Liz had knocked out of his hands. The amphibian sneered at him and pulled the trigger…..

to no effect.

The Salarian looked at it dumb found, and desperately tried to pull trigger several more times. Reaper felt the energy surge through his right arm, "I'm afraid it's run out of ammunition," he stated, "let me supply it for you." Reaper threw his right arm forward, and something unfamiliar happened. A red bolt of lightning shot out of his palm and hit the Salarian in the chest. The Spectre wasn't knocked back from the impact, but he soon began to scream as his body withered away to a husk.

Reaper was too consumed by his anger to contemplate this new evolution in his powers. He turned towards three more C-sec officers and launched another red bolt. It hit the one in the middle, but quickly spread to the other two and drained the life from all three.

Reaper winced in pain as he stopped, he looked down at his arm and his eyes widened in shock at his right forearm. Once again, his skin had turned charcoal black, the red veins running through it glowing brighter than ever, but now his fingers ended in menacing claws. At this point Reaper realised the pain wasn't just in his forearms any more, he could feel it in different places all over his body.

Reaper focused all his will and suppressed the agony he was feeling, due to the appearance of a gunship. He looked up at it, and before it could even open fire, he covered himself in a red aura and launched himself into the air. Time seemed to slow down as he stopped right in front of the cockpit; he saw the surprised face of the pilot. Then he brought back his right arm, glowing red, and slammed it into the canopy. The blow completely pulverised the chassis and sent it crashing to the ground.

The Asari Spectre was reasonably close to the impact site and was knocked to the ground by the force. The few survivors along with Liz and Saren made their way towards the wreckage.

The Asari's eyes widened in fear as she saw a silhouette become visible. A silhouette with a glowing red eye. She turned to run but screamed as he felt a pain in her thigh and fell to the ground. She looked at the wound to see a piece of shrapnel sticking out. She had no time to contemplate this as heavy boot was pressed against her back. She screamed as something pulled the shrapnel out of her thigh. Then drove it through the back of her head.

[BGM End]

"Everything I do," he spoke, his head pointed down, "is to create a society free from the evil of slavery."

He turned his head up sharply to face all of them, "I will reclaim our liberty, even if the streets must run with the blood of the hypocrites!" A massive wave of hostility began to emanate from him like a tidal wave. All those watching him immediately became frozen in fear.

"COME ON! JUST TRY AND STOP ME YOU VERMIN!"

Liz looked into his exposed eye. She noticed that just like his arm the visible skin around it had become a texture similar to charcoal. With veins of red energy pulse and along the surface, all conjoining on the glowing red orb that was his eye. But it was the look that terrified her. It was the look of someone who would go to any lengths to achieve his goals no matter what he destroyed, no matter how many people got hurt in the crossfire. It was the look of someone who could reduce the entire galaxy to ash. Her breathing became haggard as she trembled before the monstrous figure.

Suddenly a KODIAK shuttle appeared out of thin air behind him, the door open to reveal a human wearing a navy blue Ironman suit, with what appeared to be a katana attached to his back. The man quickly called out to Reaper. The glow of his eye seemed to recede slightly, before he turned round and jumped on the shuttle and quickly flew away.