Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my Gears of War/Mass Effect crossover.
Thank you, once again, for your feedback and support. I know I sound like a broken record when I say that, but I really do appreciate your support.
Now we're coming to the end of the Feros story arc. In this chapter, however, the Gears are about to learn that the past is never far away. Sometimes, it comes back to haunt you.
As always, leave a review, and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Gears of War or Mass Effect franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of BioWare, Electronic Arts, Microsoft Studios, Epic Games, The Coalition, etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to it's original composers and/or artists.
Feros
Zhu's Hope
February 9th, 2183
As they drove along the skyline, Marcus looked at the building that they were approaching. As they drove closer, he felt his instinctive alarm bells ringing again. Something's not right, he frowned. It's too quiet. "Shepard, I think we're driving into an ambush."
"That's what I was thinking," Shepard replied, having sensed the same thing Marcus had. "We'll practice caution once we're inside the colony. You guys ready?" Shepard asked.
"Yeah," came Cole's reply.
"Then let's do this." Driving up to the shutter door for the colony, he brought the vehicle to a stop. Getting out, he was about to move forwards when he spotted something. It looked like a man, only there was something very, very wrong. It's skull-like face was in a perpetual grin, while it's emaciated body sent shudders down Shepard's spine. What had the others alarmed, however, was that it's skin was glowing a yellow color, and it's skin was blackened where it was opaque. A foul smelling odor, like that of mold, was in the air.
Spotting that, Marcus finally realized what was going on. "LAMBENT!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. "THE FUCKING LAMBENT ARE HERE!"
"OH NO!" Baird shouted. "OH NO! I KNEW IT! I FUCKING KNEW IT!"
"GLOWIES!" Cole hollered, just as he fired his rifle, just as the thing charged at them. One solid hit caused the creature to explode, scattering pieces of itself all over the area. The force of the blast was enough to where Shepard, who was standing well away from the organic shrapnel, actually stumbled backwards slightly.
Getting up, he asked, "What the hell was that?!"
"Keelah!" Tali gasped. After a moment, she grimaced and said, "Oh, crap. I think I just urinated into my suit."
"By the Spirits!" Garrus gasped, blue eyes as wide as they could go.
"What the hell?!" Wreck asked, unnerved by the sight of something so… abominable. "I've seen a lot of things in my life, but I've never seen anything like that before. What the hell was that?!"
"That," Baird explained after taking a few deep breaths, "is the end stage of Imulsion infection. Anyone that is infected past a certain point turns into one of those fucking things. We called those things 'Formers.' Don't get too close, or they'll infect you and/or blow you into a million steaming bits."
"My gosh," Shepard frowned. "That's what those people in that tent were suffering from. If it can create those things…"
"…then our problems have just gotten a lot worse." Keying his comm, Marcus said, "Joker, you there?"
"Aye aye," Joker nodded. "What's up?"
"Do not exit the ship under any means necessary, even if you can subdue the colonists!"
"Why? What's going on?"
"We've got a new kind of threat out there. They're creatures that detonate when they've been shot, but they carry a dangerous fungus that can infect other people and turn them into more of the same. We call them the 'Lambent.'"
"You fucking with me, Marcus?"
"I wish."
"Fuck! We'll stay in here then. They haven't come near the ship, but if they do, I'll have to perform an emergency undocking procedure in order to avoid damage to the ship. Just get rid of them before I have to do so."
"Copy that." Closing the comm, he said, "Shepard. Joker's alright, but we gotta move if we're gonna keep the Lambent away from the ship!"
"Agreed," Shepard nodded. "Everyone, switch to anti-personnel ammunition blocks if you haven't already. Marcus, you and the others will take up the front. Wrex, Tali and I will provide fire support if you need it." Moving up to the shutter door once everyone was in position, he hammered the open icon, before sprinting back to the others as fast as he could.
When the shutters for the garage opened, Marcus spotted a scene that was straight out of a sci-fi horror movie. Inside of the room, he could see dozens of Formers that were crouching, all of them waiting to tear into any foe that they could see. Beyond, he could see the colonists, though they weren't glowing lambent yellow in color. That gave him hope, though he knew that the Thorian was controlling them. Spotting the Formers, he shouted, "OPEN FIRE!"
All three of the Gears immediately let loose with their weapons. The Formers charged, screaming loudly as they charged at the Gears with a speed that only a Krogan could match. A few even jumped over the others, all of them screeching as they swarmed over each other to get at the Gears and Shepard's team. None of them, however, got close to the Gears, as the withering storm of bullets they fired tore most of them apart.
Tossing a grenade, Shepard watched as the colonists slumped to the ground, the paralytic inside the gas knocking them out in an instant. Firing his assault rifle, he noted that it took him around four to five consecutive hits to destroy a Former, while it took Marcus and his team's weaponry just a single hit to destroy one. Wrex glowed blue-white as he hurled shockwaves, warps and throws into the Formers, knocking any that got too close back. Tali resorted to sending out incendiary attacks, while firing her pistol all the while. Garrus was firing his assault rifle, peppering the Formers with long range shots
Damn, Shepard thought as he and the others moved in after the Formers were dealt with. They just keep coming and they don't stop! It only got more nightmarish the deeper inside they went. Moving into the elevator, they quickly moved down to the ground floor, whereupon they found more Formers. One claws at Marcus, only for the hardened Gear to kick the thing back and blast it apart with his Boltok. Cole swung his bayonet, decapitating one and causing it to explode.
As they went deeper, even more horrors appeared. While some of the colonists were alright, quite a few had become Formers as well. To make matters worse, some of them were fully aware of what they had become, and were begging for death. "Shepard, kill me!" one of them screamed, even as she swiped at the commander. Kicking her back, he fired his shotgun, putting the infected human being out of their misery.
Just then, Shepard saw what looked liked a bloated Former, with a number of growth's on it. "DRUDGES!" Marcus shouted as he fired at it, and another one. While one exploded, the other screeched, before a loud and wet tearing sound erupted in the stairwell. Watching the creature, Shepard's eyes went wide when it's head morphed into a long, tentacled monstrosity, while it's body grew much taller, it's legs morphing into roots at the same time, while it's arms morphed into tentacles that began shooting flaming balls of Imulsion at them.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Wrex shouted, unnerved even as he fired at the monstrosity.
"SPIRITS!" Garrus roared.
"SHOOT IT!" Cole shouted. "SHOOT IT!" Just as he said this, the head spat some kind of liquid at them, with the liquid bursting into flame as soon as it contacted the air. Everyone stumbled back, narrowly avoiding the gout of burning liquid. Shepard, firing a lucky shot, blasted the creature apart. Seeing that the head was still alive, he quickly backpedaled, just as Garrus fired at the creature, destroying it's head instantly.
Eventually, after a lot of hard fighting, they reached the colony, where the infection was at it's worst. Most everyone here, except for a few others, were Formers, forcing Marcus and the team to put them out of their misery. That was when Baird spotted a massive, hulking form that was lurching towards them. Spotting the familiar tentacled blade, he shouted, "GUNKER!"
"SHOOT!" Shepard roared as he and the team opened fire. "SHOOT!" Immediately, everyone opened fire on it's face, and any other part of it's body that was glowing. It launched it's tentacle blade out, barely missing Tali, who got into cover just in the nick of time. A moment later, it hurled a massive blob of Imulsion at them. Dodging, they barely avoided the liquid as it exploded.
Baird, however, finally managed to get a hit, as the bolt from his Torque Bow tore into the creature, before detonating. The Gunker roared as it glowed yellow-white, before exploding spectacularly, tearing apart a few of the buildings, as well as the tent where the infection began. A moment later, all went silent.
"All clear," Shepard reported. Looking at Tali, he asked, "You alright?"
"I'm fine," Tali replied, looking at Shepard. Despite not being able to read her all that well, Marcus could see more than relief in those eyes.
"By the ancestors," Wrex frowned behind his helmet. "If this is the kind of shit that you Gears had to go through, then you are more than just Gears. You are already honorary Krogan."
"Spirits," Garrus gasped as he made sure he was alright. "I thought the Krogan were scary, but this... this takes the cake."
"Tell me about it," Baird agreed, his usual sarcasm gone. "Let's get that freighter up. I really don't want to be around if anymore Lambent come back." Nodding, Shepard hit the controls for the crane holding the freighter. It lifted up moments later, revealing a stairwell that was hidden under it.
It was then that he heard another sound. Looking to his left, rifle raised, he watched as Fai Dan approached him. No longer was Fai Dan a human being; instead, he was now a Former, his skin blackened and glowing a sickly yellow color. It was clear, though, that he still had control over himself.
"I tried so hard to fight it, but it gets in your head," he rasped, his voice having gained an echoing quality. "You can't imagine the pain." As he staggered forwards, he said, "I was supposed to be their leader. These people trusted me…" Reaching for a handgun, he pointed it at Shepard, before overcoming the Thorian's control. "It wants me to destroy you, but I… I won't!" he shouted. Pulling the pistol up to his forehead, he roared with defiance. "I WON'T!" A moment later, he fired.
Shepard watched with horror on his face as Fai Dan exploded, his body becoming nothing but ash and embers. Tears streamed down his face as he realized what had happened. I'm sorry, Fai Dan, he thought. I couldn't save you, but I can save the survivors. I'll make sure this Thorian suffers for what it has done. Blinking the tears away, that grief turned to rage as he marched towards the stairwell where the Thorian was.
"That Thorian's gonna pay!" Cole roared, anger and grief in his voice. "That Thorian's gonna FUCKING PAY!"
"Hell yes!" Baird snarled. "I'm fucking sick and tired of these fucking Lambent coming around to fuck everyone's lives over!"
While he was just as angry as the others, Marcus held it under control. "We'll teach that Thorian a thing or two about what happens when Gears run into a problem like it," he snarled. "Let's get to that fucking plant, and rain hell down on it!"
"I second that!" Shepard nodded as the team began moving down the steps.
"Alright," Tali noted as they walked down a long corridor into a larger chamber. "All we need to do is find the Thorian and figure out what it… what it…" Hearing that, Marcus and the others looked at what Tali was talking about.
What? The Fuck? Is that thing, he thought as he spotted the Thorian. To him, it looked nothing like a plant, as it had a brownish-red coloration in some areas, while being pale in others. He could also see what looked like a parody of a face, with tentacles in lieu of a mouth. Long fleshy growths anchored it to the walls of the chamber, which was a circular place that had stairways going up and down. To make matters worse, there were sacks of what appeared to be liquid Imulsion on parts of it's flesh, though the Thorian didn't appear to be infected, even though parts of the creature were glowing.
"Keelah!" Tali gasped, shocked. "Is that the Thorian!?"
"That's a plant?!" Wrex asked. "If that's what a plant is, then I'll eat a whole Varren, not Tai though!"
"I agree," Shepard nodded. Looking at the sacs of Imulsion, he said, "Looks like we found the source of the Lambent infection. It doesn't look infected though."
"I agree," Baird nodded. After a moment, he said, "Oh, fuck! It's using the Imulsion to make it's Formers stronger! That Imulsion's formed some kind of symbiotic relationship with the Thorian! Fuck, and I thought the regular Lambent were nasty!
"Fucking hell!" Marcus snarled. "Baird, any way we can kill this thing?"
"See those root-like things?" Baird asked, pointing towards the fleshy growths. "That's what's holding the Thorian over that chasm down below. If we sever those things, then we can kill the Thorian, and prevent it from coming back. We'll have to perform an orbital bombardment in order to kill it completely, though."
Shepard was about to reply when he was interrupted by a wet, squishing sound that came from where the tentacles were. Looking there, Shepard watched as the head-like protrusion began to rhythmically expand and contract, before something slid out of an orifice concealed by the tentacles. When it stood up, he was surprised to see that it was an Asari, though she was naked and her skin was a pale green color. In addition, parts of her glowed bright yellow-green, indicating Imulsion infection.
"Invaders," she said in an imperious voice that echoed. "You're every step is a transgression. A thousand feelers appraise you as meat, good only to dig or decompose. I speak for the Old Growth, as I did for Saren. You are within and before the Thorian. It commands you to be in awe!"
Shepard, like Marcus and the others, had other thoughts. "You gave something to Saren," he said to the Asari. "Something I need."
"Saren sought knowledge of those long gone. The Old Growth listened to flesh for the first time since the Long Cycle. Trades were made. Then cold ones began killing the flesh that would tend to the next cycle. Flesh fairly given! The Old Growth sees the air that you push as lies! It will listen no more!"
"Where'd you get the Imulsion from?"
"We found it on this world after a disturbance in the world. We accepted it, infused it into our very being. Then life-fluid made us stronger, made our thralls stronger. No more will the Thorian listen to those that scurry. Your lives are short, but have gone on too long. Your blood will feed the ground and -"
Baird promptly fired his M-75 Gnasher shotgun straight at the infected Asari. She immediately exploded, with the explosion being slightly more powerful than the rest. "Aw, shut your trap, BITCH!" he shouted. "We're gonna kill your ass so dead that you won't even know what hit you!"
At that, there was a loud, rumbling roar. "Looks like you pissed off the Thorian, Baird," Wrex noted.
"Cry me a river."
"Let's move!" Shepard shouted. With that, they began to fight their way through the entire chamber. The Thorian, deeply enraged by Baird's remarks, and fearful for it's wretched life, began to hurl Formers at them like confetti. As they moved forwards, he spotted what looked like a root, prompting him to take aim and fire.
Two blasts from his shotgun were all that was required, as the Thorian let out a loud screech of pain as the root tore away from the wall, shredded the anti-personnel shot. "That did the trick," Wrex beamed. "We just gotta find more of those things."
Moving up, they went up a stair well. Baird moved forwards, only to be nearly struck by a biotic blow. "Didn't I just kill you?!" he growled at the Asari clone, before blasting it in the chest, causing it to explode. "Will you stay dead? Please?" Shaking his head, he continued on.
It continued like this until he destroyed the next root, before heading out. Moving through more hallways, they clambered up a stairwell, only to face of against more Formers. "Not this again," Marcus growled as he faced off against another Asari clone. "WILL YOU STAY DEAD, YOU FUCKING BITCH?!" he roared as he blasted it with his rifle. With that one dead, he headed into a room where the upper floor had collapsed.
Looking up, he spotted the next root Firing his grenade launcher, he blasted it, and any Formers in the room, into pieces. It went on like this for another two minutes, until they reached the last root. "OH COME ON!" he shouted as four Asari clones confronted them. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"
"No more!" the Former Asari shouted in unison. "We will destroy you all, and then we will assimilate your memories into our -" They didn't get a chance to finish, as Cole promptly blew them up with a Boomshot.
"How about you stay dead, bitch!" he shouted. "The Cole Train's gonna flatten your ass!" Finding another root, he fired the Boomshot again, blasting it apart "Gotcha bitch, and keep your dead ass DEAD!"
That turned out to be the last straw. Unable to support it's weight, the other roots tore out of the sockets they had formed in the walls. The Thorian let out a loud screech of pain and fear, before it's roots tore free. For a few seconds, it was in free fall, then it landed on the debris below with a loud CRUNCH-SPLAT! Not hearing a detonation, the team threw themselves as far back as they could.
They were just in time, as there was a loud KA-BOOOM as the Imulsion inside of the Thorian promptly exploded. A tremendous gout of fire erupted through the chamber's shaft, barely missing the team as the fire incinerated what was left of the Imulsion, and the Thorian. The cracked roof of the chamber it was in was promptly blasted into the air, with the debris barely missing the colony. After a few seconds, the fire dissipated, though the pressure wave from the detonation caused several sections to collapse.
"OHHH SHIIT!" Shepard shouted.
"Hot damn!" Wrex shouted. "That was the biggest fucking explosion I've ever seen on the ground!"
"WHOA!" Garrus shouted, clambering to his feet quickly. "That was massive!"
"By the ancestors!" Tali shouted, eyes wide as quarters behind her faceplate. "Do all Lambent explode like that?!"
"Let's get our bearings first," Marcus decided, with the team getting up as they huffed and puffed. After a minute, he said, "To answer your question Tali, yes. We had to use a Lambent Brumak to destroy an enemy target once. It was bigger than most skyscrapers, and it made an explosion as big as a Lightmass Bomb. Think of one of your smaller nukes and you've got a similar idea as to how powerful."
"Fuck," Shepard noted as he got up. "If that's what you had to deal with back at Sera… then you have my utmost respect, Marcus." As he finished, he thought he heard something, with everyone whirling around, weapons at the ready. Fortunately, it wasn't a clone, as a normal looking Asari approached them. It was clear that she was disoriented, and hungry, but it was clear that she was her own person.
"I'm free!" she shouted. "I'm free!" Seeing the team's confused reaction, she said, "I – I suppose I should thank you for freeing me."
"Are you infected?" Marcus asked.
"No," the Asari replied. "I'm not infected. The Thorian made certain of that much, at least."
"Is everything alright?" Shepard asked, concerned. "Are you hurt?"
"I am fine, or I will be in time," the Asari replied. "My name is Shiala. I serve – I served Benezia. When she allied herself with Saren, so did I. Benezia foresaw the influence that Saren had. She joined him to guide him down a gentler path, but Saren is compelling. Benezia lost her way."
"WHAT?!" Baird shouted. "Hang on a minute! Are you saying that Saren can fucking mind control people?!"
"Benezia underestimated Saren, as did I," Shiala explained. "We came to believe in his cause and goals. The strength of his influence is troubling."
"She tried to manipulate Saren," Tali observed, "but in the end, her plan backfired."
"Pretty spectacularly too," Baird added.
"Asari Matriarchs are among the most intelligent and powerful beings in the galaxy," Shepard frowned. "How could one fall under Saren's control?"
"Saren has a vessel," Shiala further explained, "an enormous warship unlike anything I've ever seen. He calls it 'Sovereign.' It can dominate the minds of his followers; they become indoctrinated to Saren's will. The process is subtle. It can take days, maybe weeks, but in the end, it is absolute.
"I was a willing slave when Saren brought me to this world. He needed my biotics to communicate with the Thorian, to learn it's secrets. Saren offered me in trade. I was sacrificed to secure an alliance between Saren and the Thorian."
"Saren's pretty quick to betray his own people," Shepard noted
"He was quick to betray the Thorian too. After he had what he wanted, he ordered the Geth to destroy all evidence of it's existence. Saren knows you're looking for the Conduit. He knows you are following his steps. He attacked the Thorian so that you could not gain the Cipher."
"What's the Cipher, and why did Saren need it?"
"The Beacon on Eden Prime gave you a vision, but the visions are unclear and confusing. They were meant for a Prothean mind. To truly comprehend them, you must think like a Prothean. You must understand their culture, their history, their very existence. The Thorian was here long before the Protheans built this city. It watched and studied them. When they died, it consumed them. They became a part of it."
"So the Thorian taught Saren how to think like a Prothean? How?"
"The Cipher is the very essence of being a Prothean. It cannot be explained or described. It would be like describing color to a creature without eyes. To understand, you must have access to endemic ancestral memory, a viewpoint spanning thousands of Prothean generations. I sensed this ancestral memory – the Cipher – when I melded with the Thorian. Our identities merged, our minds intertwined. Such knowledge cannot be taught; it simply exists."
"I need that knowledge to stop Saren!"
"There is a way. I can transfer the knowledge from my mind to yours, just as I did with Saren." Approaching Shepard, Shiala said, "Try to relax, Commander. Slow, deep breaths. Let go of your physical shell. Reach out to grasp the threads that bind us, one to another. Every action sends ripples throughout the galaxy. Every mind must touch another to live. Each emotion must mark another's spirit. We are all connected. Every living being united in a single, glorious existence. Open yourself to the Universe, Commander. EMBRACE ETERNITY!"
With that, Shiala began the meld. Marcus and the others watched as the two remained rigidly still. On the other end, Shepard could see the images, only they were traveling far more slowly this time around. He could see the pained, bereaved expression of a mother holding her dead child, he could see the fear and pain of a father defending his family. Worst still, he could only watch as thousands of people died at the hands of the Reapers.
Eventually, the meld ended, with Shepard and Shiala backing up from each other. "I have given you the Cipher, just as it was given to Saren. The ancestral memories of the Protheans are a part of you now."
"You OK?" Marcus asked Shepard.
"I saw… something," Shepard replied. "It still didn't make any sense."
"You have been given a great gift: the experience of an entire people," Shiala replied. "It will take time for your mind to process this information."
"You look a little pale," Tali said to Shepard. "We should get back to the ship."
"I'll be fine," Shepard replied. "I just need some rest, after a mandatory medical checkup. I don't want to find out that any of us are infected with Imulsion."
"Agreed," Marcus nodded. "Looks like the way we came in remained intact. Let's move." As they did so, he knew one thing: the past had come back to haunt them, and it was likely that they would encounter even more trouble than this.
(Author's Q&A)
OmegaDelta: Not yet, but they'll find out soon.
edboy4926: Thank you.
Guest #1: Wowzers indeed.
MarauderPrime12: Thank you.
RandomReader: An interesting idea. I wonder if it's possible to do a hybrid approach, have those towers as you suggested, as well as cloaked anti-orbital facilities in orbit.
Just a Crazy-Man: That they did.
Guest #2: Possibly. I will rename them as you suggested.
Chronus1326: We will be going through some of the missions, but not all. The main story missions will all be present, but not all of the side quest missions. That, in my opinion, is a bit too tedious for me. Still, I am happy to see that you are enjoying this crossover.