Author's Notes: I just wanted to say thanks for all the nice reviews, it does mean a lot.
"And we, are the Legion of the Damned." Snake declared, with complete seriousness.
It took all of Shepard's discipline and training not to crack a smile. Their leader's name is Snake, and they call themselves the Legion of the Damned. Well not the worst named organization I've worked with. Shepard couldn't help but chuckle in her mind.
"Do you know what I see when I look at you, Shepard?" Snake asked, interrupting her inner monologue. Their eyes met, his unflinching gaze matching her unwavering stare. Shepard knew this kind of question was rhetorical, and stayed silent.
"I see the kind of person that I could never be. Who you are, what you've done. You were forged in the fires of war to become the person your world needed you to be. A hero." Snake took a pregnant pause as Shepard scowled, unsure of where this speech was going.
"In the same way my world, my Earth, forged me into what was needed at the time. A soldier, a killer, a demon… a phantom. And by some twist of fate I became a leader, given command of a band of soldiers, brothers and sisters who were just like me. Abandoned by their countries, their governments, by those they were sworn to protect. Soldiers who could not accept peace, for all they knew was battle. We had no family, so we became one. We had no home, so we found one in war. We had no chance for Heaven, so we made one ourselves."
Snake's eyes became unfocused, staring off into an unknown memory.
"When I was given the title of Big Boss, I fought to protect this family. I fought for a future where living weapons like ourselves would be needed no longer. The things I did for that dream were monstrous, and ultimately, I failed." Snake's eyes focused back on Shepard.
"I had resigned myself for the deepest pit of Hell, leaving the ruins of my legacy to the next generation. But then, I found myself here. Once again standing amongst soldiers, warriors, assassins, and heroes, my mission stays the same. Everyone here has fought too long, died honorable deaths, and they deserve rest. But the world is cruel and uncaring. We are surrounded on all sides by enemies, forced to scavenge and kill for the very basics. Maybe this place is Hell, and we're doomed to keep fighting until the final trumpet calls. That's fine with me. For as long as we stand together, for as long as I am the Boss, I won't let any part of my family end as ashes. And I want you to be a part of that family, Shepard." Snake finished his speech, his eyes filled with a mixture of determination and grief.
Shepard... didn't know what to say. Part of her wanted to stand and salute the man till the sun went down. No one, not Anderson, not Hackett, and not the Illusive Man had ever stirred such feelings of respect in her. Pyrrha really undersold the speech, she thought to herself.
"That was… quite the recruitment pitch." Shepard finally said, folding her hands behind her back. Snake allowed himself a small smirk.
"I've had some time to practice it." Snake let out a quiet chuckle. "But still, Shepard. This is an offer, not an order, not an ultimatum. For what little it's worth in this strange land we find ourselves in, you still have a choice. You are free to follow your own path, to find what legacy you want in this world of battle."
"Snake." Shepard said in all seriousness. "You've taken care of my friend Thane for what, months? I've only just met some of the others, but Pyrrha? Galen? I see them and I see kids who are happy. You might look in the mirror and see a demon or phantom or whatever monster you think you are. But I see you and I see a good man, protecting what he can. And protecting others is all I ever wanted to do. Death didn't stop me from helping people before, I'm sure as Hell not going to let it stop me a second time." Shepard stepped forward, cutting her hand through the air.
"I'd be more than happy to help you and the Legion fight through whatever the Hell is out there." Shepard proudly finished.
Snake smiled, but quickly his face returned to its previously stoic and focused expression. "We're glad to have you aboard. Now that the welcome wagon is over, it's time for your briefing."
Shepard nodded. With the pleasantries over it was time for business. Intelligence was key to any war. And right now Shepard had about as much intelligence as Grunt. The two of them walked to the large map that was spread out in the middle of the command center. Meticulously drawn on heavy parchment, Shepard could see the image of an expansive, Pangea-type landmass. The continent itself was divided into six different sectors, one in the North, South, East, and West, and two in the center.
"From what we know, this world we find ourselves in is an amalgamation. A combination of half a dozen worlds that different members of the Legion are familiar with." Snake started.
Snake pointed to the Central-Eastern sector first. "Starting off with where we are now. This region is Kabul, Afghanistan. Mountainous, arid, and filled with nothing but sand. I've personally had a lot of experience in this AO. We're the primary occupants here, but Grimm tend to spill over from their territory. However we're normally able to avoid interactions with them, and they serve as a powerful deterrent from the other factions."
Snake then moved his finger to the Central-Western sector. "This is where we picked you up. According to Pyrrha, it's called the Forever Fall Forest from her world of Remnant. As the name implies, it's a type of deciduous forest that's locked in a permanent state of autumn. It's also where the Grimm numbers are the most dense."
Thinking on Sev's words in the forest, Shepard piped up. "Sev mentioned something about that. That grimm were a kind of magic monster that feeds on fear."
"Essentially." Snake confirmed. "According to Pyrrha, grimm are monsters that lack souls. They appear as twisted animals, and no one knows where they come from. They simply are. And from what we've seen, their numbers are near limitless. We could kill a thousand of them and not make a dent. They don't require food, but seem to be driven by design to hunt down sentients. In addition, they are attracted to negative emotions. Sadness, fear, hate, all of them draw the attention of the Grimm, which works to our advantage."
Shepard raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms asking, "How so?"
"First, the word fearless would be an understatement for many of the men and women here. Second," Snake replied before tapping his finger on the Southern sector of the map. "Our neighbors to the South are literally ruled by fear."
Reaching for a nearby folder, Snake pulled out a polaroid picture and handed it to Shepard. Standing in a red colored desert, was a human wearing plastic, white armor similar to Sev's, but lacking the specialized equipment and personalized decorations.
"If you've talked to Galen, then you've heard the name, Galactic Empire before." Snake continued as Shepard frowned at the implications. "That is a Stormtrooper, elite shocktrooper of the Galactic Empire. We don't know their numbers, but from what we've seen we're assuming at least a legion in strength. Currently they are operating out of the Southern region, an area that is based on the planet Korriban."
Shepard continued to sift through the photos, looking at a picture of a two-legged bipedal walker that reminded her of a chicken, as well as a desert encampment made of prefabricated metal buildings
"So why would the grimm be specifically attracted to them?" Shepard asked, placing the intel down.
"The Empire rules through fear, not respect. Their soldiers are hateful, sadistic, and fear those above them. The ground of Korriban itself seems to pervade negativity. As such, their hands are full with constant grimm incursions." Snake explained.
"What kind of support do they have? Any known armor or artillery? And what about supply lines? Feeding thousands of soldiers is never an easy task." Shepard questioned. If the AT-TE outside was the standard of armor decades before the Empire, Shepard was nervous about what vehicles they could be fielding now.
"Where they get their food from is unknown." Snake simply stated. "As for armor, we're estimating a battalion level strength of combined armor, artillery, and support air crafts. Luckily, they don't seem to have access to Naval or Orbital support."
"Well great. At least we don't have to worry about getting bombed out of existence by whatever dreadnoughts they have." Shepard sarcastically commented before she let out a sigh. "Alright, who's next?"
"Next," Snake resumed, "is the Covenant. They're an alliance of aliens who are completely and utterly dedicated to the destruction of mankind." More photos were pulled out, this time of three alien races Shepard had never seen before.
First was short, squat alien with a large hump on its back labeled a Grunt. Shepard thought it looked like a strange cross between a krogan and a volus. Next was a Jackal. Taller than a grunt but still shorter than a human, the alien had long, thin limbs, a raptor like jaw, and even a few feathers on its head. And finally, the last photo was of a massive, hairy, ape of an alien that exuded savagery and brutality, aptly named a Brute.
"They inhabit the Western most sector, a grassland designated Reach, beyond the edges of the Forever Fall. Like the Empire, these aliens also have access to advanced technology such as plasma weapons and energy shields. The different races have different roles and functions. The grunts are weak but numerous, making up the Covenant's main line infantry. The jackals operate as snipers, scouts, or defensive skirmishers. Lastly, the Brutes make up their leadership and more elite fighting corps."
"Let me guess, they're openly hostile to our mostly human group and shoot on sight?" Shepard questioned. Snake gave a curt nod in return. "So, what's keeping them from wiping our merry band of misfits off the map?"
"Fortunately, the brutes seem to enjoy combat too much, and have drawn themselves into a protracted war with the Super Mutants in the North." Pulling a tablet out, Snake played a video of a battle between the Covenant and a group of a misshapen, 8 foot tall, Frankenstein-like monsters amongst a ruined cityscape.
"Well aren't they handsome." Shepard flatley joked. "So what's tall, yellow, and ugly's story?"
"Super mutants are heavily mutated humans from a version of Earth where nuclear deterrence failed and the world was nearly destroyed." Snake said, disgust ringing in his voice. "They occupy the ruins of Washington D.C. that make up the Northern sector. Technologically, they're the least advanced of the sentient races, mostly making use of firearms or primitive melee weapons. In fact they're barely intelligent enough to be considered sentient. But what they lack in intelligence they make up for with raw strength and endurance."
Shepard's face became hard, also disgusted that there was a version of Earth where humanity decided to nearly destroy itself with nuclear fire.
"But why are they fighting against each other? They don't look much like humans anymore, so why would they be on the Covenant's genocide list?" She asked.
Snake only gave a shrug.
"Simple. The mutants attack the Covenant for weapons and aliens to eat, while the brutes like a good fight." He stated.
"Hm, I guess no matter the world, no matter the species, war never changes." Shepard shook her head.
"What about the last section, the Eastern one?" Shepard pointed to the final sector on the map.
"Funnily enough, I should be the one asking you that question." Snake said, causing Shepard to raise an eyebrow.
"To the East is a sprawling, alien metropolis, with massive stone structures inhabited by these." Snake pulled out a photo of a synthetic humanoid, with a silver metal armor and a single flashlight photoreceptor on its head, standing on a planet very familiar to Shepard. Shepard felt a migraine coming as she rubbed the sides of her temples.
"You have got to be kidding me. The Geth? Really? And the alien ruins that they live in is the planet Ilos, graveyard world of the Protheans." Shepard's hands slid down her face as she let out an exasperated sigh. "Are they at least friendly? Before I died I negotiated a treaty with the Geth. We were allies in the war against the Reapers."
Snake just gave her a silent stare.
"Oh God damnit." Shepard muttered.
"Thane mentioned your previous interactions with the Geth. How there were two factions, one mainstream, one heretical. Thane seems to believe that these Geth fall in the latter category given how aggressive they are." Snake explained.
"Gee are there any friendly factions out here?" Shepard crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, practically dripping sarcasm. Snake didn't seem to care.
"Not that we know of, but at the very least none of them are aligned with one another." Snake stated. "The Geth tend to stay to themselves, but they have been seen raiding the Empire and the Covenant, most likely for their technology."
"Small victories I guess." Shepard sighed, slightly sagging her shoulders before righting herself. There were more questions that needed to be answered and she couldn't let herself get fatigued now. "Do you know what happens if when one of us dies? I doubt there's a second afterlife we go to if we bite it here."
"I don't know, and I do not want to find out." Snake asserted. "We ran what tests we could with what medical equipment we had. We know that each of us register as healthy and alive. I don't know if we're spirits, replicating human form, or if we've been brought back to life. But I do know that we breathe, we bleed, and we feel. That's all I need to say that we're alive. And if we're alive, we're going to fight."
"Damn right." Shepard gave a determined nod in agreement. "Alright last question. What's the end game here Snake? What's our goal? Sure, fighting five different evil empires sounds fun. Hell, it's a damn vacation after what I've been through. But I'm not sure if that's what I want to spend the rest of eternity doing."
"I would be inclined to agree with you. But don't worry, our task isn't so… sisyphean." Snake responded, drawing one final picture. This time it was of a photo of ancient ruins, eroded marble and sandstone structures of various geometric shapes.
"As we continued to explore this world we found, anomalys you can say. Ancient ruins that no one in the Legion can identify. The translations took time, but we found one phrase that was referenced at almost every ruin. It was the word 'Cycle'. We don't know what this Cycle is or what it means, but our goal is to find more of these ruins, learn what this Cycle is, and find out what it has to do with us being here. Once we learn that, hopefully we can finally find out how to pass on." Snake declared.
Shepard brought her hand to her chin, processing all the information given to her.
"Cycle huh." She muttered to herself with a laugh. "Mulitiverse is a lot smaller than I thought. But I agree, that sounds like the best course of action. When can I start?" She asked, excitement coloring her voice.
"For now, rest. Death takes its toll on all of us." Snake gave a small smile. "As for your first mission and who you're going to be working with, I have some ideas."
The Kig-yar known as Vok crouched upon the grassy knoll, overlooking the no-man's land between his camp, and the territory held by the yellow ogres. Peering through the scope of his beam rifle, he watched his squad leader, a Jiralhanae Major pace back and forth, awaiting the response from the forward scouts.
The delay of the scouts was disconcerting. Vok himself had explored the human ruins many times, which earned him many great honors and avoided many beatings. The yellow ogres were strong like Jiralhanae, but were slow, and lacked the hearing and smell required to catch one as stealthy as Vok. It is why Vok has great privilege of being the squad's sniper. The new Kig-yar sent in must be fools. Lumbering idiots who were caught by the ogres.
Nothing like that would ever happen to Vok! Vok was too clever, his senses too sharp! Vok could hear danger coming from a mile away! Vok would never have the chance to finish his train of thought as a blade pierced his throat, ending his mad internal ramblings.
An armored figured wiped the purple blood off of his combat knife. His armor, composed primarily of a dark grey outer shell layered over a black undersuit, blended him in perfectly with the night sky. He wore a fully enclosed helmet that had a rounded top, triangular jaw guard, and a single, smooth, grey visor that covered his face.
Sheathing his blade, he quietly picked up the Jackal's beam rifle. Aiming down the sights, he quickly surveyed the camp beneath him. One brute major, and three grunts. Add this to the scouts he took down earlier, and the jackal he just stabbed, they were probably all that remained of the Covenant forces in the area.
The beam rifle's crosshairs focused on the Brute's head. The armored man let out a steady breath, fully exhaling, and paused. With a single pull of the trigger, the brute's face went from an aggravated scowl to a cauterized crater as a beam of ionized particles ripped its way through the ape's head.
The brute fell to the ground in an instant, the following thud alerting the grunts around him. Their leader dead, the grunts did what they did best, they ran the Hell away. The three grunts spread out in all directions, two running back West to Covenant territory, and the last in a mad panic dashing across the no-man's land.
Two more purple beams of light cut through the night sky as the grunts running West were turned to lifeless husks. As the man leveled his sights on the last grunt, an unseen foot depressed the grass behind him. The invisible footsteps of a brute stalker made their way closer and closer to the demon that was killing his allies. Near silently, the brute stalker aimed his mauler at the demon's back.
The brute stalker would never get the chance to pull the trigger, as a speeding hunk of metal flew through the air, smashing itself into its chest. The armored man fired one last shot, killing the final grunt in an explosion of methane, before turning around to see the brute laid out before him. Its armor and rib cage were pulverized into a pasty, red mush by a massive, hydraulic-powered sledgehammer. A second armored figure walked up to the corpse, this one a female, and yanked the hammer out of the gore.
Unlike her companion she didn't wear a helmet. She was fair skinned with blue eyes and blonde hair tied into a ponytail. Her armor seemed less advanced than his, but was in no way less intimidating. The power armor was made of several sharp, angular, thick steel plates riveted together onto a skeletal frame. The armor seemed to go extend beyond the natural reach of her limbs, as the hands gripping the hammer were completely robotic. Her shoulder pauldrons flared out, and had the sigil of a blue lion in front of a winged sword painted on it.
"You let a brute get this close? Come on Six, you're not getting sloppy on me are you?" The woman asked with a wry grin.
Spartan-B312, aka Noble Six, gave a noncommittal shrug, magnetically holstering the beam rifle onto his back.
"I knew he was there Lyons, but I also knew you had my back." He crossed his arms and grinned underneath his helmet. "Besides Sarah, I can't have all the kills this mission. I don't want you to look that bad."
Sentinel Sarah Lyons shot Six a sharp glare. Before she could riposte, her communicator went off. Two fingers went to her ear as she listened to the call. The conversation was quick. Six heard only garbled static and Sarah's "Yes Sir" reply before she turned back to face him.
"Alright Six pack it up. Boss wants us back home." Sarah ordered.
Six raised an eyebrow under the visor of his Mjolnir Mark V[B] helmet, not caring that Sarah couldn't see it.
"Already? Why the rush?" He asked.
"The Commander Shepard has landed at Mother Base. And we get to be the ones to take her on her first official op." Sarah said, grinning from ear to ear.
Six gazed at her for a brief second, before nodding and smiling as well.
"Damn, this is going to be fun." he chuckled.
A/N: RIP in peace Vok, you'll never be forgotten.