Mother Base, the next day…
A somber atmosphere hung over the desert fortress of Mother Base as the Legion of the Damned licked their wounds. Within the med bay, Spartan-B312 lay on his bed, arms and ribs set in heavy casts with an annoyed expression on his face. He was on the mend and he knew it, but not even a Spartan can heal from a fractured arm and three broken ribs within only a scant few hours. In all honesty, he knew that he was extremely lucky his lungs and heart weren't damaged in the battle. The Legion did not have the medical equipment required on hand to properly get through his reinforced rib cage.
Turning his head, he looked to his fellow patient, who unfortunately had taken the worst of the damage. Sarah Lyons laid still, unmoving on her bed as her entire torso was covered in bandages. The slow rise and fall of her chest signaled that she was alive, but has remained unresponsive since the battle.
According to Pyrrha, Sarah's aura has replenished itself and was slowly repairing the damage done to her, but it was obvious that it wasn't a miracle cure. Aura could heal wounds and mend bones, but it couldn't regenerate completely destroyed tissue. Without the proper surgical equipment and medicine, the Lyoness may survive but probably wouldn't be in any condition to fight anymore.
Six sighed as he pushed such negative thoughts about his friend out of his mind. Sarah was tough and strong-willed, someone he is proud to fight with. He believed she'd be able to get through this. The Spartan III instead decided to focus his mind on something productive. Bringing a tablet to view, he looked over the report T3-M4 sent him. With how proficient he was at repairing the Legion's equipment, Six still wasn't convinced that the little utility droid wasn't some kind of secret Covenant Engineer. While Six was on the mend, T3 was tasked with repairing both his and Sarah's sets of power armor, as well as Pyrrha's weapons.
Originally, Six thought that there was no way the Legion's resident droid could repair one of the most complex, classified, and expensive pieces of equipment the UNSC had ever produced, but T3 took to the challenge like a fish to water. If anything, Six was now just glad that his equipment was getting fixed. He could fight without it, maybe use a set of Imperial Shadow Trooper armor or N7 gear, but he preferred the advantage the Mjolnir armor gave him over everyone they've faced so far.
But in all honesty, he didn't think the Legion would be going out on missions anytime soon. While the mission to the Archives couldn't really be considered a failure, it wasn't much of a success either. They had failed to capture Skull Face or assassinate Tartarus, but had uncovered a wealth of information explaining the history of Final Destination. But the information came at the cost of two legionnaires injured and one gravely wounded.
That wasn't even considering the morale damage possibly inflicted by the mission. Commander Shepard had been running hot ever since she found out that Imperial Agent named Kai Leng was alive. And such aggression is always a double edged sword, giving the Commander an unbreakable drive, but came with the danger of making her careless. Six didn't know what that Leng did to her in their past life, but he honestly pitied the man. If he didn't know better he'd think that the Commander was a Spartan as well. She was a woman of sheer willpower, commitment, and determination. If she wanted Leng dead, he was going to die. It wasn't a matter of if, but when.
As if summoned by his musings, Six watched as the Commander opened the door to the medical bay with a serious look on her face. A stoic, professional expression that didn't really match her N7 hoodie and cargo pants.
"Commander." Six nodded, straightening his posture as Shepard walked into the room.
"No need for that Six, stay down. The Boss says you need your rest." Shepard said, but Six seemed content to sit at attention.
Shepard seemed to let out a slight sigh as he refused to relax. A few seconds of silence passed as she appeared to be mulling over something as her eyes flicked between him and the unconscious Sarah. With a deep breath in, Shepard straightened her posture and stared Six dead in the eyes.
"Six, I wanted to apologize for the last mission, and for the state that both you and Sarah are in. The whole operation was my plan, so the responsibility lies on me for mission's failure and for the losses we incurred." Shepard stoically stated. Six could tell that while it was a professional statement, it was backed with sincerity and guilt. She wasn't doing this to save face, but because she thought that both he and Sarah deserved an apology.
Six paused for a moment, more than a little confused at the necessity of such a gesture. "Commander, both Sarah and I are soldiers. We know that every time we walk out of this base, there's a chance we won't come back. We've already accepted that, so an apology is unnecessary. We were simply doing our job."
Shepard gave a curt nod in agreement, "Believe me, I know the burdens of being both a soldier and a leader well." Shepard relaxed her posture as she decided to pull up a chair and sit beside Six. "We got a lot of intel from the Archives, information that could possibly turn the tide, or it could literally just be a list of others who get trapped here. We won't really know until we can decode and decipher all of the data."
Shepard's lips pursed at this statement as she continued, "And because of that I don't know if all that intel alone was worth the price of Sarah possibly losing the ability to walk, let alone fight anymore." Her pursed lips morphed into a frown. "We don't have to win every battle, but we can't lose a single one either. We kill a hundred stormtroopers or grunts, the enemy replaces them with a hundred more. We lose one of us and it cripples our entire operation. And while I understand that it is acceptable to spend the lives of your soldiers-"
"- it's unacceptable to waste the lives of your soldiers." Six interrupted, finishing the quote. Shepard cocked an eyebrow in response, and Six only shrugged. "My drill instructor, Mendez, used to say the same thing. And I think he would agree with me in saying that this is an example of the former."
A beat passed as Six didn't really have anything more to say about the subject. As the silence shifted to its awkward phase, Shepard decided to speak up again.
"Mendez huh?" Shepard pondered. "How did you become a Spartan, Six? You willing to tell me yet?"
Without missing a beat Six simply responded, "It's classified."
Shepard frowned. "Well how about your real name, I'm not exactly comfortable calling you a number all the time."
"It's classified."
The frown now evolved into a scowl. "What about your death? How did you wind up here?"
"It's-"
"Six I swear to God if you say 'It's classified' one more time I am going to break your goddamn jaw." Shepard did not make idle threats, more promises than anything.
But seeing the Commander amped up like that brought a smirk to the Spartan-IIIs face that soon evolved to a chuckle, and then into full blown laughter.
"Six… have you just been fucking with me this whole time?" Shepard asked, less angry and more surprised.
"Just a little bit." Six nonchalantly responded.
Shepard found a wry smile forming on her face as well. "Well color me surprised. I didn't think you even had the emotional capacity for humor. I swear I thought T3 was more human than you were."
Taking the playful insult in stride, Six shook his head, getting back on topic. "I believe I mentioned some of my history to you previously. At the height of the war with the Covenant, I was recruited into the Spartan III program at age six. The program itself was designed to to create cheap and expendable super soldiers to fight for the survival of humanity."
This seemed to confuse Shepard, "Why would you design super soldiers to be cheap and expendable? Why not make your super soldiers as powerful and elite as possible?"
Six nodded in agreement. "They did do that very thing, but with the Spartan-IIs, not IIIs. You see, the Spartan-IIs are legendary super soldiers and heroes to the UNSC that are famous for fighting off thousands of Covenant attacks. They were as much symbols as they were actual weapons. The only problem being that it was exceedingly expensive to produce them, and the mortality rate of their augmentation was… extreme." Six shuddered a bit, remembering some of the horror stories Jorge would tell him about the IIs that were horribly killed or worse from the augmentation. "As a result, their numbers were barely in their thirties, nowhere near enough to turn the tide of the war. That's why the IIIs were created in secret. We could field hundreds of super soldiers at one time with similar augments, but inferior equipment to accomplish covert missions no one else could. "
"Not even the IIs?" Shepard asked, not happy with any of the details she's heard so far.
"All honesty, they probably could've done all of the missions we did. But these operations were almost always suicide missions, some with one-hundred percent casualty rates. So while a squad of IIs could probably achieve the same results as a whole company of IIIs, Command would've been unwilling to send the IIs to their certain deaths."
"Otherwise the UNSC loses some of their most effective, and expensive soldiers, as well as the huge morale hit that would accompany the loss of such a public hero." Shepard grimly surmised. "So instead they send the secret, expendable versions of their super soldiers to their deaths."
Six chuckled. "Well technically Spartans never die, they're just missing in action." Shepard opened her mouth to question this but Six continued on. "Anyway, the reason I was recruited at age six was that, like the rest of my brothers and sisters, my parents were killed by the Covenant."
Shepard eyes fell at Six's revelation. "I'm sorry to hear that." Was all she muttered.
Six only shrugged in response. "It's a common enough story for a war that deadly that lasted for so long. It was so common that no one would really notice that ONI rounded up hundreds of orphans, gave them a gun, loaded them into a pelican, and told them to jump."
"So you weren't just taken in by your government, but turned into child soldiers?" Shepard was horrified.
"Four years of combat training, followed by augmentation, then a final year of training afterwards before 'graduation'." Six nodded. "Most of us weren't even teenagers when we saw our first combat encounter. But it made sense. The earlier they start training us, the deadlier we'll be as we age." The Spartan flatly stated.
"That's revolting." Shepard spat out.
"And I would agree with you. But let me ask you, when faced with extinction, is not every alternative preferable?" Six asked as he locked eyes with Shepard, his gaze displaying no hesitation or reluctance in his conviction.
Shepard thought back to her own war against the Reapers. She saw the way Six fought, if she had an army of hundreds of commandos just as skilled as he was, would they have been able to defeat the Reapers faster? Would they have been able to travel across the galaxy and accomplish missions that only she could do, uniting the races, possibly preventing the destruction on Earth and Palaven? How long would it have taken for the Alliance to start arming, brainwashing, and augmenting children to stave off extinction by the machines? How far back into the corner would they have to be pushed to even think of doing something so… inhuman. In all honesty, it sounded too much like something Cerberus would do for Shepard. Advancement of humanity at any cost.
Shepard shook her head, clearing the thoughts from her mind. Imagining the countless 'what if' scenarios was both draining and ultimately pointless. "So… what about your real name?" Shepard changed topics with all of the social grace and poise of a krogan.
"Oh that's easy. It's-"
Before Six could finish his sentence, he was nearly blinded by a massive light from outside of his window. He immediately shielded his eyes, and as the initial flash died, he could see a pillar of light reaching to the sky far to the South of Mother Base.
"Six! What the Hell is going on?" Shepard cried out.
The Spartan rubbed his eyes as Shepard shot out of her chair, "That light. It's the same one we saw when you arrived. It means that someone new has entered the world." he grumbled
Shepard's eyes widened. "Wait, are you serious? That's what happens when someone lands here?"
Six gave a succinct nod. "Yep, dazzling light show and all. How do you think we found you so quickly after you landed?"
"Makes sense. So what are the chances that this is a friendly and not another ghost of Christmas past here to fuck us?" Shepard asked, sarcasm not so hidden in her voice.
Six scowled a bit, the allusion going completely over his head, "Every time a beam of light has shone like that, it's always been one of us at the source. A member of the Legion that we then recruit. Before you it was me, then Galen, and so on. Every pillar of light we secure has been an ally we've added to our group. We've since assumed that our enemies are summoned by some other means."
Shepard nodded her head. It seemed a bit contrived to her that they would get pillars of light that scream their location to everyone within a hundred miles while the enemies get some kind of secret recruitment, but the logic of this world hasn't exactly been fair to them since the beginning.
The commander then put two fingers on her communicator and contacted the resident Jedi. "Galen, Pyrrha, gear up and report to the vehicle bay. We're leaving in five" She then swiftly turned to the Spartan. "Sorry, going to have to cut this visit a bit short"
Six shrugged. "Go do your thing, Commander."
Shepard practically kicked the door off its hinges before rushing off to the armory.
It took all of three minutes for both Galen and Pyrrha to meet Shepard by the vehicle bay. Throwing food, medical supplies, and a surplus of ammo into the flatbed of the pelican, Shepard gestured for the two members of the Legion's super power enhanced squad to jump in as well.
With a thunderous roar the pelican's engines came to life, blasting out of Mother Base as Shepard took the controls. Typically, a Pelican flies at a cruise speed of around 275 miles per hour. With Shepard at the helm, the dropship was redlining at about 350 miles per hour, soaring at speeds that caused the metal frame of the groan and shake at the shear velocity.
Pyrrha, who could now be considered a veteran huntress with many battles under her belt, gripped the handles of her safety harness for dear life. Adrenaline already pumping, she looked to Galen, who seemed to be muttering to himself in a kind of combat meditation to keep cool.
"Uh, Shepard? Is this really-" Pyrrha let out a small squeak as turbulence caused the whole pelican to shake. "Is it really necessary to be flying at this velocity?" she fumbled out, hoping, praying, Shepard could hear her over the engines.
Shepard replied over the intercom. "Don't exactly have the luxury of time Pyr. Whoever's there dropped straight into Korriban, which means that the Empire is going to be all over them." A quick engine warning light began flashing next to Shepard. She just as quickly shut it off. "Don't worry, I know exactly how far to push an engine. I only failed to get a pilot's license twice!"
Pyrrha blanched, and looked to Galen whose eyes were now open. He just shrugged and said, "Third times the charm I suppose."
At the vomit inducing speeds they were going, it didn't take long for the impromptu team to reach the landing site. Hovering over the red sands of Korriban, Shepard opened the rear cargo door of the dropship, giving the two members of Fireteam Doberman a view of the battlefield.
A squad of stormtroopers were rushing across the barren landscape, chasing a singular figure across the desert. This figure was feminine in silhouette, wearing bright red robes. In her hands was not a gun, nor a sword, but instead a wooden staff with the design of two entwined dragons, clutching a red orb between their mouths.
The woman was sprinting as fast as she could, ducking under laser bolts as the stormtroopers hunted her down. Pyrrha was actually shocked at the speed this woman was moving, as she looked to be older, sporting stark silver hair and a face with several well defined wrinkles. Bobbing and weaving, the woman slid behind a rock outcropping, her chest heaving as the Imperials approached her position.
Without hesitation both Galen and Pyrrha leapt from the rear of the pelican, descending right for the mass of troopers. Falling at terminal velocity, the duo gracefully soared as they prepared their own landing strategies. Mirroring their previous drop, Galen enveloped himself with the Force, slowing his descent, while Pyrrha gripped both sides of her shield and used her polarity to guide herself down. Within moments the two landed amongst the squadron of bewildered stormtroopers, too shocked by their sudden entrance to properly react. With a smirk Galen called his lightsaber to his palm, activating its blue blade, while Pyrrha used her polarity to draw her own crimson lightsaber.
The stormtroopers, momentarily stunned, were snapped out of their stupor as their commander, identified by blue shoulder pauldrons and blue stripes that ran down his arms called out, "Jedi! Blast em!"
The battlefield erupted into chaos as the stormtroopers, already surrounding the two teenagers, unleashed a rapid fire volley against them. Starkiller moved first, twirling his lightsaber as he deflected blaster bolts back towards the attackers. Instantly two of the laser beams were reflected back, killing two stormtroopers. Moving in conjunction with the blaster bolts, Pyrrha dashed towards a third trooper. With a flip of her wrist, she immediately bisected the poor soldier who died with a high pitched Wilhelm scream.
Seeing his men almost immediately cut down, the commander called for his men to retreat. As they began to backpedal, the commander threw a flashbang grenade at the duo, hoping to cover their withdrawal. Unfortunately for him, Pyrrha was too quick, catching the grenade with her semblance and flinging it back towards him. The flashbang did explode, detonating within the group of remaining troopers.
The commander fell to the ground, clutching his helmet as he as his two remaining squadmates were caught in a daze. Capitalizing on this, both Pyrrha and Galen moved simultaneously, slaying the two troopers with a single cut each. The commander's vision and hearing were just barely returning when he felt a boot stomp down onto his neck. Looking up, he saw the young huntress bringing her full weight down onto him, poised to finish the job.
But before the final blow was struck, Galen held his arm out, stopping Pyrrha from executing the commander. "Wait, we should take this one alive. See those markings? They mean he's an officer, relatively high ranking within the Stormtrooper Corps. We may be able to get some useful information from him."
Pyrrha glanced at Starkiller and nodded her head, deactivating the lightsaber. But the Commander didn't seem to take to kindly to their actions, spitting out, "You might as well kill me now because I'll never talk!" He struggled to break free from Pyrrha's pin, but her aura enhanced strength made that impossible.
Galen kneeled down next to the commander, simply putting his hand on his helmet and commanded, "Sleep." The commander seemed to stop struggling as the Force overtook his mind, knocking him out.
The battle was over in literally a matter of seconds. With how fast Fireteam Doberman cut down the stormtroopers, Shepard didn't have time to even consider giving them fire support. Instead, she began to descend the pelican, lowering it onto the sands of Korriban.
She quickly exited and met with her fellow teammates, who were watching over the newest arrival. The older woman crept out from behind her boulder, staff held in both hands. Her posture was not aggressive, but cautious nonetheless.
"Anyone the two of you recognize?" Shepard whispered, gesturing all of them to holster their weapons.
The two shook their heads. "I do not sense any hostile intent." Galen added on. "Caution, curiosity, a little bit of fear, but no hostility."
Pyrrha nodded before turning to face the newcomer. "Hello there!" She waved. "We're here to, uh, rescue you I suppose."
Shepard winced. "Pyr, you're a doll and all that, but be careful with the body language. For all we know, a wave of the hand means I am here to pillage your lands and steal your women in her culture." Back in her world, first contacts with new cultures were always delicate affairs, as unintentional insults born out of ignorance could lead to diplomatic catastrophes.
"Oh, sorry!" Pyrrha apologized. However, it seemed Shepard's worries were unfounded as, the woman seemed to relax a bit at Pyrrha's lackadaisical introduction.
She walked up to meet them, giving the Legionnaires a closer look at her features. Her robes were scarlet on her torso and arms while her lower body were black in hue. Her clothes were accented with gold trimmings, and she wore a four piece leather belt that connected a golden buckle that had the engraving of a sun. Her silver hair was tied back into a short ponytail, and the amount of wrinkles on her face suggested she was somewhere in her 50s to 60s. Her dragon-esque staff was lowered, but still in both of her hands, ready to react should anything go awry. Despite her age, her face was soft, almost motherly even, accentuated by the stern look she was giving all of them.
"Well met strangers. My thanks for the aid, it's been a few years since I had to move like that. And by your comparatively pleasant demeanor, would it be safe for me to assume that you are all friend not foe?" the woman asked.
Shepard stepped up, "That is what we hope for. My name is Commander Jane Shepard of the planet Earth." She then gestured to her companions. "This is Huntress Pyrrha Nikos of Remnant, and Jedi Galen Marek of the Galactic Empire."
The woman gave a polite bow in return. "I am Senior Enchanter Wynne, of the Circle of Magi in Ferelden. Now, with introductions out of the way, I don't suppose one of you could explain to me where we are?"
In lieu of a familiar face that Shepard got for an introduction, the commander decided to go for the direct approach. "Well Wynne, I'm sorry to say that you're dead." She spread her arms out, motioning to the barren wasteland around them. "Welcome to the afterlife. While we don't have infinite beer or mead, we do have a plethora of deadly environments and hostile natives." Shepard weakly joked, hoping to add some levity to telling a person that they're dead.
Wynne scowled slightly, but seemed more confused than angry. "Yes I do remember passing on, but this does not seem to be a realm within the Fade that I am familiar with."
Shepard's eyes widened with that statement. "Wait a minute. You mean to tell me you seen your afterlife before?"
"Indeed. In the land of Thedas there is something of a, metaphysical realm, tied to it known as the Fade. This realm is visited by people when they dream, and when they die. It is also where the source of my magic comes from. As such, with some aid I have the ability to traverse that dimension at will."
Now Shepard's jaw dropped with surprise "Sorry to interrupt, but did you say magic? Do you mean card tricks or the fireball kind?"
Wynne gave a small smile. With a twirl of her staff, she causes a small boulder near to them to start levitating. Extending her open hand, purple-white arcane energy coalesced in her palm, before shooting forward and destroying the rock with an arcane blast.
She turned back to Shepard and wryly said, "It would be the latter, dear. However I do have a number of parlor tricks available to entertain children at parties, should you wish to see them."
Slowly, the expression of awestruck confusion on Shepard's face shifted into one of gleeful excitement. "Oh my God guys did you see that!" An almost childlike smile grew on her face. "Actual magic! This is amazing!"
Shepard faced her companions, as Pyrrha physically cringed at the immature display from her normally well disciplined friend. Shepard frowned slightly, "How are you guys not excited about this?"
Pyrrha looked down, not wanting to meet Shepard's eyes. "Well Shepard, while very rare, I have met magic users on my world before. I actually almost had the opportunity to become one."
"And while not exactly the same, such abilities are also possible with the Force. The Sith were particularly adept with creating sorceries, magics, and even alchemical sciences." Galen on the other hand just casually shrugged, less inclined to worry about disappointing the Commander.
Shepard's shoulders slumped as she let her head fall back in exasperation. "Ugh you guys are so lame. Well I for one am excited to have a wizard on the team."
Wynne let out a small laugh. "Mage is the proper term. And before any talk of teams or what not, who were these armored soldiers accosting me as soon as I awakened."
"They are stormtroopers, members of the Galactic Empire I was once a part of." Galen cut in. "While they may not have known who you were when you landed, they would know anyone that has been summoned to this world would be a powerful being. They would have most likely have wanted to capture you, break you, and use your powers for their own gain."
Wynne scowled. "Hm, no doubt to turn me into some sort of slave-mage. How barbaric."
Looking over the elder mage, Shepard had a good feeling about her. She didn't give off any, sadistic, evil vibes like the forces of Chaos that they've fought thus far. She was a rather pleasant woman to talk to, and her magic would definitely be a boon to have on their side.
"Like I mentioned before Wynne, the three of us are part of a team, the Legion of the Damned, and long story short we're trying to save the multiverse. It's not exactly safe to stay here, so if you want, you can come back with us to our base and meet with our Boss to brief you on your whole situation. From there, it's your choice to help us in this fight, or you can choose to go on your own." Shepard knew that there wasn't much chance for survival or even much to do outside of joining them, but she felt it appropriate to give Wynne the choice regardless.
Wynne thought for a brief moment. "Well it's not as if I have anywhere else to go at the moment. Yes let us leave this oppressive place. On the way, perhaps you can explain to me how this large flying contraption, of yours works."
As the party made their way into the pelican with the unconscious trooper, Shepard chuckled. "I guess we do have a lot to catch you up on. I don't suppose you know what electricity is, do you?"
The trip back to Mother Base was, educational, to say the least. Wynne was given a basic overview of the worlds that Shepard, Pyrrha, and Galen hailed from, as well as an overview of the factions and territories of the Final Destination. The mage had to admit that the odds of success for the Legion against such numbers seemed slim, but it's not as if she had never been on such dangerous missions herself.
She was also not so taken aback by the existence of the Final Destination itself. At most, she considered herself slightly disappointed that she would not get to rest in the Fade yet. But if fate, the Maker, or whatever far away deity that deemed it necessary for her to be here wants her to fight, then she shall see this thing through to the end.
If anything, she was more shocked by the differences in technology between her world and the others. Guns, blasters, tanks, grenades, dropships, she felt that all of these inventions even made the magic of her world pale in comparison. While Wynne never considered herself a student in the art of war, even she could see the consequences of such weapons of destruction being deployed in her world. Masses of armies could be obliterated in an instant with artillery, dragons would no longer have control over the skies with the Pelicans, even armor would be rendered useless by the speeds of such projectile and energy based weapons.
When the party arrived at Mother Base, they split up to go on their individual duties. Galen escorted the unconscious stormtrooper commander to the brig, while Pyrrha moved to catalog the scavenged Imperial equipment. Shepard took the time to tour Wynne around the castle fortress, and while it didn't have the grandeur of Warden's Keep or Redcliffe Castle, it did somewhat remind her of home.
Before meeting with the enigmatic Boss, Commander Shepard thought it wise for Wynne to meet with the other Legionnaires first. Meeting with Thane and Sev was relatively, lackluster. Comparing Thane to her previous assassin companion Zeveran, she found the two to be complete opposites. Where Zevran was a dashing, charismatic, if not annoyingly flirtatious rogue, Thane was pious, serious, and courteous. Wynne found it almost hard to believe the reptilian man could kill so callously. While their dialogue was short, she found him to be nothing but respectful, albeit a bit reserved. Sev on the other hand, was like speaking to a lycanthrope in human form. Unless it was about hunting, killing, or tracking he seemed utterly disinterested any conversation. So while conversing with both of them was… nice, she thought that perhaps it would take some time for the two of them to actually open up to her and decided to move on.
It was then that Shepard brought her to the med bay, where she was to meet with the two currently wounded members of the Legion, Six and Sarah.
"Excuse me Shepard, I don't suppose you could tell me the nature of your allies' wounds?" she asked
"Well I'm not the medic, Snake is, but I can give you at least a basic rundown. Six has a broken arm and a few broken ribs. Normally wouldn't be too bad, but his enhancements that made his skeleton nearly unbreakable will make healing slower. Sarah on the other hand is in worse condition. A lightsaber went right through her abdomen, nearly killing her. Pyrrha unlocked her Aura, a sort of magic soul-based power, which has accelerated her natural healing, but she's still in a bad way. She's been unconscious since the battle. Why, you have something in your bag of tricks to help them?"
Wynne gave a commander a look of assurance. "I may have an idea or two. It seems my arrival was quite auspicious. In my past life I was once known as a spirit healer, a special type of mage who could call upons entities of the Fade to heal others."
Shepard's eyes widened. "And you really think you can help them?"
"While nothing in this world is certain, if it is within my power, I will do what I can. I am able to mend flesh and bone, but these… enhancements and abilities, I do not know how they will interact with my magic." Wynne warned.
"Hm, I suppose that's really all we can ask for. Well any aid you can provide will be welcome."
When the duo entered the med bay, Noble Six's eyes were alert but steady, slowly tracking Wynne's every movement. "Back already?" he questioned Shepard while still staring at Wynne.
"Six, you make it sound like you're not excited to see me." Shepard smirked. "And you can drop the venom, Wynne here is a friend."
Wynne stepped forward and gave a bow. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Six. I am Wynne, senior enchanter and spirit healer of the Circle of Magi. And I am here to help fix you."
Six cocked an eyebrow, looking her outfit up and down. "Don't take this the wrong way, but do you even know what bacteria is?"
Wynne gave an annoyed pout before giving him a playful slap on his broken arm. "Obviously you have a case of back talk in addition to your physical ailments. I'll be sure to clean out your mouth afterwards. But first I'll have to check your humours."
"I'm sorry, what?" Six scowled. There's no way he was letting some plague doctor put leeches on him or something.
"That was a joke. Now hush up, I don't want to mend your bones wrong. I'd hate to have to re break so-called unbreakable bones."
Six gave a blank look at Wynne, surprised by her candor, obviously not intimidated by the 7 foot tall spartan. At least that was like a regular doctor. He then looked to Shepard, silently asking for her opinion.
Shepard saw the plea and shrugged. "I think she's trustworthy. Plus we get to see real magic. Now sit back like a good guinea pig Six."
Sighing, Six resigned himself to his fate as Wynne laid him back down. Waving her staff, Wynne began tapping into the Fade, coating herself in a magical cyan light. As her mana coalesced in her staff, the light coated the Spartan's body as Wynne cast the Heal spell.
Six braced himself, expecting excruciating pain that would normally be associated with invasive surgery without anesthetic. But instead, he only felt warmth. Warmth and comfort as his bones fused, his flesh knit, and scars faded. With amazement he felt the pain in his arms and ribs disappear, mobility return, and bones fully heal.
As the light dulled, Six looked up to the mage in amazement as she let out a tired breath. "Your previous healer did a good job setting your bones. Were they not, the spell would not have healed them so efficiently."
Shepard gawked at Wynne. "That was amazing." She honestly had no words.
"Magic usually is. Now Six how do you feel?" Wynne replied with a kind smile.
Six flexed his arm, slowly clenching and unclenching his fist. "Still feel some pain, but I can move easily now. So all in all, I feel good to go."
"Very good. You'll be sore for a few days so I wouldn't suggest going out and bludgeoning aliens to death just yet. Magic can do many things, but not everything. Now let's check on your other companion."
Wynne moved over to Sarah's bed and gently pulled off the covers. She looked the sentinel over, examining the wounds, focusing on her abdomen. "Yes these wounds are quite severe. This will require me to use a more powerful spell."
Placing her staff down, Wynne reached down into her pouch and pulled out a potion filled with a glowing, blue-white liquid. Uncorking the vial, she downed the liquid and for a brief moment seemed to glow a similar color as the blue-white particles wisped around her.
The lyrium potion enhancing her powers, muttering an incantation under her breath, Wynne then moved to place her hands upon Sarah's stomach. For a full minute Wynne remained there, chanting her spell as the light transferred from caster to patient. Where before, Six's wounds healed almost instantaneously, Sarah's wounds slowly restored themselves, burnt and missing flesh regenerating, not just mending connections as Wynne cast the Regeneration spell.
As the spell finished, the glow faded and Wynne all but collapsed on the ground. Shepard rushed to her side, grabbing Wynne's waist and keeping her from fully falling.
"Woah there, I got you, I got you, you're good." Shepard comforted, as much of a reassurance to herself as to the older mage.
"Don't worry about me." Wynne muttered. "The spell simply took a lot out of energy. Go check on your friend."
Shepard nodded and after helping Wynne stand, moved to check on Sarah. The charred wound on her stomach that had burned through her internals had all but disappeared. To her further surprise, Lyons began to move, her eyes stirring beneath her lids.
Slowly her eyes fluttered open, unfocused irises looking towards the Commander's direction. "Sh- Shepard." Sarah wheezed out, her voice hoarse and tired. "You get the number of that vertibird that hit me?" Sarah cracked a smile.
The Commander knelt down next to her returning a grin in kind. "Nah I couldn't. The entire thing broke apart when it hit your hard head."
Sarah chuckled briefly, before wincing in pain. "Ha- oh God, don't make me laugh, please."
"Understood. How you doing Lyons?" Shepard asked, slightly more serious.
Sarah gave a pained shrug. "Feel like I just went twelve rounds with a super mutant. But other than that, not too bad. Surprising, honestly, since I'm pretty sure I was impaled by one of those assholes with a laser sword."
"That you were. But thanks to a little magic help from Pyrrha and our newest friend Wynne here, they were able to put you back together." Shepard assured.
"Magic?" Sarah's eyes moved over to Wynne, who gave a small bow in return. "No, you know what, after everything we've seen I'm not surprised by this. Besides, I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. If magic can help me get back to shooting aliens, monsters, robots, and super mutants in the face, then I'm game."
Shepard smiled. Sarah's tough-as-nails attitude reminded her a lot of Ashley. Bloody, but unbowed. "Now that sounds like the Sarah I know. Now get some rest. We'll talk once you're out of this gurney."
Sarah nodded and laid her head back as Shepard stood back up. Quietly she and Wynne retired from the medical bay, walking several feet in silence through the stone hallways.
"So… I don't really know how to thank you for that." Shepard broke the silence.
Wynne simply shook her head. "No thanks are necessary. As I said, if it were in my power to help, I would help. Simple as that."
"I guess I'll just have to thank you for being such a good person, then."
The two stopped in front of a pair of wooden doors that led to the great hall-turned briefing area that Snake currently resided in.
"Our boss is just through here. He may look like all scary and grizzled but on the inside he's a big softie." Shepard joked, before extending out a hand. "Thank you, Wynne, for everything you've done. And for what it's worth, I'm happy to welcome you to the Legion."
Wynne grabbed the hand back and gave it a polite shake. "And I'm happy to be here."
A/N:
Damn it took me a long time to write this chapter. Work, life, holidays, and a bunch of other stuff that I'm sure none of you really care about killed my productivity on writing. But I was able to finish it, and that's all that matters.
So Wynne is the first new legionnaire I am introducing. Actually kinda surprised it took me this long to bring in a new good guy. As for how strong her magic is, to be honest, I didn't know how Dragon Age's magic system would scale in a non-game setting, so I decided to base the strength of her magic more on D&D, with the Regeneration spell she cast essentially being the equivalent to a 7th level Regenerate spell in 5e.
One thing that I was somewhat conflicted on while writing this chapter was Six's character. Because of Bungie's love for faceless protagonists, Six doesn't have much character in Halo: Reach, save for a few lines. Originally I was going to make him a more stoic, serious character since that's how he's more or less portrayed in game. But I found that having him be super serious along with the serious characters like Snake and Thane, would make too many characters in the Legion be too bland. So I gave him a bit of a more sarcastic tone and savage fighting style, more like Emile.
Review Responses:
Slim A Lou Prime: Shout out to you. I actually added in the section of dialogue between Six and Shepard after reading your comment. I do have chapters planned that delve more into character backstories, which I think gave me something of a bias, leading me to ignore it in early chapters.
More announcements. I know this chapter took me a while, but I'm going to be taking a short break from posting chapters in order to write out more chapter outlines for the entire story. Some chapters I've been flying by the seat of my pants and I want some more structured notes to base the chapters on.
In addition, when I post the next chapter of the Legion of the Damned, I will be posting the first chapter of a new fic I am currently writing, a Star Wars + RWBY crossover! I plan on writing and updating both, simultaneously, which is part of the reason why I want to complete the chapter outlines for both stories first before I start.
So with that all said, I'll see you guys in the next one!