The Tomb…
Shepard rushed forward, shotgun in hand as she and her fireteam made their way to the dragon's landing zone. With the death of the flying monster, the spectral forms of any remaining wraiths faded as the necromantic bindings around them weakened and broke. The dragon's corpse did not land far from them, and within minutes Shepard rounded the corner and saw the beast and its slayers.
True to Snake's vision, Shepard saw 4 figures standing above the body of the wyrm. One was obviously human at a distance, a dark-skinned man in military fatigues and armor, standing beside the cybernetic cowboy and ninja, along with an 8 foot tall alien floating above the corpse.
As Snake said, they didn't look like any faction she'd recognize. But that didn't mean that they were friendly in the slightest however. And so Shepard slipped behind an elven pillar carved from white-marble stone that would hopefully provide protection from any conventional projectiles. As the rest of Fireteam Buffalo filed in behind her, each finding their own cover as well, Shepard leveled her shotgun and yelled out.
"That's a lot of firepower you guys are carrying!" she called out. "I'm hoping you don't have a reason to use it on us."
The newcomers all turned to face her at her first word. All of them save for the floating alien raised their weapons, instantly ready to fight in case the person speaking was hostile. The ninja and cowboy drew their sword and revolver respectively, holding them level and aimed at Shepard. Meanwhile the full human had what looked like a piece of heavy artillery shouldered, which Shepard assumed fired the laser beam from before.
The robot cowboy raised one mechanical eyebrow, and cocked his head towards the alien. "Are they what we're looking for, big guy?"
Her face not leaving the sights of her gun, Shepard's eyes slightly shifted to look at the alien's reaction. The alien didn't seem to have any overt response, his gaze looking over Shepard and her allies, before he spoke. "I believe so."
"The Hell's that supposed to mean?" Shepard mumbled to herself. Before she could bring that question up, another voice spoke.
"Wait a second." The human soldier said. "A Spartan?"
All faces turned to him as he slightly lowered his gun in disbelief. Despite the possible danger, Shepard turned away from the newcomers to look at Six, who similarly had his gun slightly lowered.
"UNSC?" Six asked, his tone still guarded.
The human nodded. "Yeah. Sergeant Major Avery Johnson Jr, UNSC Marine Corps." Johnson then reached for his own neck and showed off his dog tags.
Six didn't immediately react, slowly taking in the information before responding, "Spartan-B312, Noble Team, Navspec."
Johnson raised an eyebrow at Six's response. "Didn't know Spartan numbers went up that high." He then turned to his allies as he lowered his Spartan Laser. "Alright folks, blue on blue. Put your weapons down before somebody pokes an eye out."
They two robots glanced at one another, until the hooded synthetic shrugged, spinning his revolver as he holstered it with style. The cyborg ninja, paused for a moment longer, his gaze lingered upon Shepard and her team, before he twirled his blade and sheathed it on his back.
As the newcomers put their weapons away, this caused the members of the Legion to relax, lowering their own weapons as they left the cover they hid behind. With Six and Shepard at the head, Fireteam Buffalo began to move towards the newcomers, who had also elected to approach the Legion. Before they could meet in the middle however, another new voice called out.
"Carolina!?" the voice shouted as a holographic Spartan appeared on Johnson's shoulder. "Are you here to save me!? Also why are you dressed like a hoplite?" The holographic Spartan excitedly floated over to Pyrrha, who was more than confused at the its dialogue.
"Uhh…" Pyrrha stammered out. "My name's Pyrrha, not Carolina."
The hologram paused, taken slightly aback by Pyrrha's words. "But… you look just like her. Hell you sound just like her."
The ever awkward Pyrrha felt like she had kicked a puppy with how disappointed the AI sounded. "Uh, I'm sorry. She sounds like a good person?"
"Get back here Church." Johnson called out, stern but not angry. "Look at her. Does she look like she's from our world?"
Church looked Pyrrha up and down one last time, before sighing and saying. "Yeah no, that makes sense. Sorry about that." Church then blinked back to the Sergeant, head hanging slightly lower, Pyrrha calling out another apology as we moved away.
"Perhaps…" the floating alien said. "This is not the best place to discuss such matters."
"Agreed." Shepard nodded her head. The whole interaction was interesting, but they were on a mission right now. "I'm Commander Shepard, Systems Alliance Spectre. With me are Pyrrha Nikos, Spartan-B312 or Noble Six as we call him, and Wynne, Circle Magi." Shepard gestured to the squad behind her.
"En Taro Adun. I am Tassadar, former Executor of the protoss empire. With me are your Sergeant Johnson, Grey Fox, and the synthetics Cayde-6 and Church." Tassadar nodded his head as Cayde grumbled in the background about not really being a synth.
"Pleasure to meet you, though I wish it was under better circumstances." Shepard said as she holsted her gun, a minor gesture to show that she was not planning on starting a fight. "Now I'm going to be honest with you Tassadar and I hope you'll do the same in return. We had intel you and your friends were here, but what we don't know is the why and the how. In addition to another objective, we were sent to make contact with your party and find out your intentions. So then, Executor, what are you and your people doing here?"
"Worry not Commander, I had no use for deception in my living days and have no such need for it now. And with such honesty, I am compelled to tell you that my psionic might allows me to ascertain both your thoughts and memories should I wish. Your surface thoughts are always available to me, while it would require effort for me to penetrate deeper, which I will not do out of courtesy."
The Legion felt their jaws drop at Tassadar's proclamation.
"You're a telepath…" Pyrrha mumbled out.
Tassadar looked to her, causing her to flinch, and nodded. "And much more, Pyrrha Nikos. Suffice to say, I was aware of your presence much in the same way your leader was aware of ours. When I first arrived on this world, I used my powers to survey the landscape, and found the other factions which inhabit this territory to be abominable. However I then sensed you and your comrades, and believed that you would make staunch allies. As such, I gathered those who arrived with me to aid you in your battle."
"Way to volunteer us for a war dude." Church muttered out.
"Now's not the time Church." Johnson admonished.
As the two descended into bickering, Shepard paused to take in Tassadar's words before replying, "Well I did as for honesty. How much are you all aware of, of why you're here and what we're fighting?"
"I know we're all dead, but outside of that not much." the synthetic Cayde-6 added in. "Big-T was rather tight lipped about the whole thing." he then snickered at his own joke.
Ignoring the second part of his statement, Shepard said. "Well there's a long, convoluted story about what we're doing here. Since you're friendly, we can talk about it when we get back to our base, but we probably shouldn't take the time for lengthy exposition in the middle of a hostile dungeon."
Tassadar nodded. "Agreed. Now, your immediate objective is in the center of this tomb, correct?"
"Yeah. We're looking for something called the Holy Grail, an artifact of the goddess that brought us here that could help us in our fight." Shepard responded.
"Then let us be on our way. Speed is of the essence in this war we shall fight, and we dallied here long enough." Tassadar proclaimed as he began moving forward past the Legion and towards the statue of Lileath.
Shepard took a moment to watch the alien floated past her, essentially trying to take command of the entire mission.
"Sorry 'bout him." Cayde said as she walked up to Shepard. "He likes to move to the beat of his own drum, and anyone that doesn't move with gets left behind." The exo shrugged as he moved to follow Tassadar.
Shepard sighed before using a hand signal to call her squad to regroup. "Alright team, we're moving out."
The Legion continued to push forward towards the statue of the Lady of the Lake in the center of the Tomb. Strangely enough, they found no more encounters with the spectral knights and elves as they passed through street after street. The lack of attention put the legionnaires on edge, but they continued on nonetheless, merely hoping that they could take on any ambush that came their way. But no such attack came, and soon enough the Legion and co found themselves at the foot of the massive statue of the Lady of the Lake.
"Well that was easy. Go team." Cayde pumped his fist into the air.
As soon as the words left his mouth, a spectral, green fog surrounded them. Everyone turned to scowl at Cayde, who only shrugged in response. At the foot of the statue, the fog began to coalesce, once more forming into a humanoid shape. The form became that of a knight, a plate armored warrior that glowed an almost neon green, draped by a leaf-like surcoat. In front of them appeared the Green Knight, the protector of Bretonnia.
"Halt." The Green Knight commanded, his voice ephemeral and fey, like a whisper that could be heard at full volume despite the distance.
Shepard held up her hand, making sure everyone stopped. This was the first spirit that seemed willing to talk, so she thought they should at least hear it out. "We mean no harm." she placidly said, hoping to not trigger the knight to violence. "We seek the grail."
"As did many who came before you." The knight responded. He stepped to the side, and at the bottom of the statue lay a simple bronze grail, unadorned and unremarkable. "But not just anyone can lay claim to the grail. Only the worthy may drink from its fathomless depths and survive."
"And what makes one worthy?" Tassadar asked head cocked to the side.
"Only a noble and pious warrior, pure of heart and free of sin may drink of the contents and live. Find a champion amongst you, and I shall see whether or not their resolve proves true." the knight responded, before falling into a silence as he stared at the heroes.
The Legion and their guests all looked to each other, unsure what to do as Shepard called him into a huddle.
As everyone gathered up around her, Cayde was the first to put both hands up and say, "Just want to say, I'm pretty sure I qualify for none of what he just said."
Shepard scowled the exo. "Thank you for your valuable input, Cayde." She then turned back to everyone else. "Any other volunteers?"
The Legionnaires mumbled and whispered to one another, unsure of who to elect.
"What about you, Shepard?" Pyrrha asked with certainty. "I can't think of anyone else amongst us as brave as you."
Shepard actually took the time to pause and seriously consider Pyrrha's words, not out of hubris but from a practical standpoint, before shaking her head. "No, no I don't think so. I may be brave, but I'm more than willing to sacrifice honor for victory. I'm pretty sure I have a few war crimes under my belt from my time in Cerberus to prove it." Shepard looked at how Pyrrha deflated a bit at her statement, when an idea came to her. "What about you Pyrrha? Personally I think noble and pure of heart fits you to a T."
Pyrrha was shocked by Shepard's words. "What, me? There's no way I'm worthy."
"I don't know about that." Noble-Six countered. "Sarah told me about how you saved her life outside of the Archives. Sounded pretty damn heroic to me."
"But anyone would've done that." Pyrrha denied.
Tassadar's eyes then flashed with psionic power once more. "Perhaps that is so. But I have looked through your memories, and I do not believe anyone else can match the integrity you carry Pyrrha Nikos. While everyone here would more than easily be considered brave and self-sacrificing, your very nature combined with your youthful naivety allow you to do so without succumbing to the worst parts of your nature."
Pyrrha didn't know how to respond to such a compliment, even if it was a little backhanded, so Shepard responded in turn. "Invasion of privacy aside, Tassadar is right. I think I can speak for everyone here when I say we've all done some terrible things in order to achieve our goals. Meanwhile you've been able to fight for what is right without compromising your moral fibre. I can't think of anyone else here who would be a better fit."
Taken aback by their words of encouragement, Pyrrha was shocked as her allies truly believed she could do this. She was partially reminded of when she was pushed to become the Fall Maiden at Beacon, but this time, she would not fail.
Feeling her resolve strengthen, she looked to her friends and allies, new and old, and nodded. "Alright, I'll do it." she said with a determined scowl.
Drawing her weapons Miló and Akoúo̱, Pyrrha confidently marched towards the Green Knight. Twirling her sword, Pyrrha gave a traditional Mistralian duelist salute, while the Green Knight, drawing his ethereal emerald arming sword and kite shield, brought his blade to his face and returned a respectful nod. The two warriors took their stances, staring each other down as they waited to see who would make the first move.
Confident in her speed, Pyrrha attacked first. Cutting the distance in an instant, Pyrrha aimed an expertly placed thrust towards the Green Knight's visor. But the knight raised his shield just as fast, deflecting the blow away. Accelerating even more, Pyrrha spun and attempted a backhand slash for the knight's right side, but the Green Knight kept pace and parried her attack with his sword. And to Pyrrha's shock, unlike previous ghost knights she had fought, her upgraded Force Weapon enhanced sword was unable to destroy the specter's weapon, its ancient magic able to resist the arcane technology.
Regardless, the Green Knight's arms were still high, meaning his legs were open. Capitalizing on her dexterity once more, Pyrrha dropped low as she attempted a low spinning kick to sweep the Green Knight off his feet. But the champion of the Lady would not be taken down by such a cheap tactic, and lowered his center of gravity, shifting his weight and angling his leg so he could absorb the kick without losing balance. When Pyrrha's leg connected it felt like she had kicked a boulder, and the knight remained stationary like one as well.
Before Pyrrha could stand back up, the Green Knight's shield shot forward, bashing into Pyrrha and shoving her back. Pyrrha stumbled, the attack knocking the wind out of her and temporarily stunning her, but she was able to roll with the hit, using the momentum to help her stand and get some distance between them. But the Green Knight would not let her get away so easily. Chasing after her, he slashed his blade, arcane energy flowing off it as the sword sought to bury itself in the huntress.
With a quick button press, Pyrrha activated the Plasma barrier that enveloped her shield, allowing her to block the sword without it cleaving her through her arm. She shoved back with her shield, buffeting her opponent as she jumped into the air with a backflip, putting even more distance between the two. As she floated in the air, Pyrrha did her signature shield throw, flinging Akoúo̱ like a plasma lined discus aiming to decapitate the knight with the unorthodox attack.
But the attack fell short once more as the Green Knight blocked the shield with his own. As Pyrrha dropped from the apex of her arc, the Green Knight spun and flung his own shield back at the champion. Pyrrha's eyes widened the sharp kite shield rocketed towards her as she had no way to dodge. Calling on her semblance, she was able to slow the shield just enough that the impact was only that of a hard punch. But it still knocked Pyrrha out of the sky, disrupting her flip, causing her to land inglouriously on the ground.
The Green Knight chased after her once more with a burst of speed that belied the armor he wore. Before his shield even hit the ground, the Green Knight caught it while simultaneously slashing twice at the prone Pyrrha. The first slash was slowed by her kinetic barrier, but both her barrier and aura were drained immensely from that one attack alone.
Her kinetic barrier burst under the second attack, and Pyrrha's defenses barely slowed the edge of the blade as it burned through her aura and almost broke it as well. Before the Green Knight could follow up, Pyrrha beat his sword away and scrambled to put distance between them once more. As Pyrrha stood, she felt a flash of pain reverberate through her body. A quick glance at the aura meter on her HUD showed it was already in the red.
A sobering chill washed over the huntress as she realized that if it wasn't for the kinetic barrier and armor upgrades, that one attack probably would have killed her. While such a thing was true everytime she fought against a Dark Jedi and their lightsabers, at the very least Pyrrha's skill had matched the Sith she fought, and she had developed techniques to specifically counter some of their abilities.
Pyrrha quickly came to realize that the Green Knight outclassed her in every way. He was faster, stronger, and far more skilled than she was. No human, aura or not, would be able to take on this monster of an opponent. Doubt began to creep into her mind. Doubt and fear. Why did she think she could do this? Was she going to die again because she thought she was stronger than she really was? Little did Pyrrha know that as soon as the first hint of doubt appeared in her mind, she was gripped by an aura of fear and menace that the Green Knight magically exuded.
The unnatural aura multiplied the feelings of fear, dread, and anguish in the Green Knight's enemies, and only the most courageous of warriors would be able to resist its effects. Many creatures react to fear differently, and as the terror gripped Pyrrha, she let loose a savage battle cry and charged forward once more.
As she ran forward with reckless abandon, she called upon her semblance to recall her shield to her. Akoúo̱ swiftly returned to its master as she closed the distance and began a rapid series of attacks. First Pyrrha slashed wildly at the Green Knight, hoping to overwhelm his defenses. Pyrrha's rapid attacks forced the Green Knight onto the defensive, turtling up as he raised his shield to protect himself, leaving only a small vertical opening between his sword and shield that Pyrrha could attack.
And Pyrrha did capitalize on this, as she twirled Miló, shifting it from sword to spear form while simultaneously pulling the trigger. With a burst of fire dust, Miló shot forward with explosive speeds right for the gap in his defense, aimed right for the Green Knight's throat. The Green Knight saw the thrust coming, and quickly began to move his shield to intercept it. But Pyrrha was not going to let him stop her, and called upon her semblance to hold the Knight's shield in place. The kite shield froze in place, allowing her spear close in on the Green Knight's throat.
As the very tip of her spear touched the Green Knight however, he vanished completely. Pyrrha's eyes went wide as she thrusted into the open air, striking nothing. She suddenly felt a biting pain on her back as she realized that the Green Knight somehow teleported behind her. The emerald green sword sliced through the ballistic weave of her armor and into the meat of her back, leaving a deep gash.
Pyrrha stumbled forward, feeling the blood start to pour downward. Immediately she began to funnel what aura remained into her back, rapidly trying to repair damage. The cut was shallow enough that she could still fight, but the pain wracked her body and her morale was not doing much better. The last time she was this outclassed was when she fought against Cinder, and she didn't want to think about how that fight went.
His prey wounded, the Green Knight resumed his pursuit. Charging forward while swinging his sword, Pyrrha panicked and retreated, desperate to get away from him Unleashing his own flurry of blows, the Green Knight rained down attack after attack against the wounded huntress. Pyrrha put up a desperate defense, parrying, blocking, and redirecting every strike she could in a flailing frenzy. But between the wound slowing her down and the fear clouding her mind, Pyrrha's defense was pitiful and the Green Knight easily swatted away her weapons.
The Green Knight relentless attacks forced Pyrrha further and further back. As she continued her harried retreat, backpedaling as she deflected each attack, she was too distracted and overwhelmed to keep good footwork, causing her to misstep and trip over her own feet. Pyrrha stumbled for only a fraction of a second as her reflexes allowed her to catch herself, but that fraction was all the opening the Green Knight needed.
As Pyrrha's arms dropped slightly from the misstep, the Green Knight's sword flashed forward, snaking past her guard with a masterful thrust and dug itself into Pyrrha's shoulder. Pyrrha cried out in pain as the blade sunk inches into her, practically ignoring whatever aura Pyrrha had left.
"Damn it Pyrrha move!" Shepard yelled as the huntress took the hit. This was not going well, and it was Shepard's own damn fault for volunteering Pyrrha for this. It was stupid of her to assume Pyrrha was ready for this, regardless of how skilled she was.
As Shepard grit her teeth from the situation, she focused on Pyrrha's wounded form, all parts of her willing the huntress to get away and fight back. It was at this point that Shepard, desperate to save her friend, began glowing a light blue. No one seemed to notice as they were all focused on the fight, not even Shepard herself took note of her own flaring aura.
Meanwhile, the Green Knight withdrew his sword from Pyrrha's shoulder, eliciting a pained gasp from her. This was a sight he was all too familiar with. Young questing knights in search of the Grail, overestimating themselves and ultimately paying the price for their hubris. The Green Knight reared his sword back, and prepared for a murder stroke to put the young woman out of her misery.
The Green Knight's blade fell, and to the shock of everyone present, struck nothing as Pyrrha dodged to the side at the last second. Despite the wounds covering her body, the young huntress slipped the attack as if it wasn't there. The Green Knight followed up with two more attacks, rapid slashes aimed to put her down. But Pyrrha dipped and dodged, flowing around the strikes like water, all while focusing her aura to heal her wounds.
As she twirled, the Green Knight caught a glimpse of her eyes. Where before Pyrrha's eyes were wide with fear, now her gaze was fierce and focused, driven to achieve victory. Unbeknownst to everyone watching, Pyrrha was currently being affected by Shepard's semblance, Battle Meditation. Unconsciously influenced by Shepard, Pyrrha's resolve strengthened, the pain gone, and she began performing at maximum efficiency. No action was wasted as she danced around the Knight's blade.
Seeing his offensive fail, the Green Knight stopped and paused, carefully watching the huntress. No longer under immediate pressure, this allowed Pyrrha to take a second and prepare for the next engagement. Surprisingly, she dropped her shield to the ground, and in her off-hand she reached for her lightsaber.
As she flicked the crimson blade on, Akoúo̱ froze before it could hit the ground. Akoúo̱ then slowly rose up, the shield becoming a floating barrier animated by Pyrrha's semblance. With a sharp glare, Pyrrha rushed forward once more both blades twirling as her animated shield floated behind her. Pyrrha's weapons began hacking at the Green Knight, each attack perfectly accurate and deadly. And while the Green Knight had the skill and equipment to defend against the onslaught, every counterattack he threw was stopped by the floating shield.
It was almost a complete reversal of how the fight had been going previously. With Shepard's Battle Meditation, Pyrrha was now able to fight on equal footing with the Green Knight, no longer affected by the mind altering aura of fear he exerted. With a twirl, Pyrrha threw two simultaneous attacks, Miló aiming to decapitate the Green Knight while her lightsaber went low to cripple his knee.
The Green Knight reacted swiftly, blocking the mecha-shift force weapon with his shield, while his own sword went low to parry the lightsaber. When he did so however, Akoúo̱ shot forward, edge slamming right into the Green Knight's torso before he could react. The impact knocked the knight stumbling backwards, a small opening that Pyrrha jumped on, striking low with the lightsaber once more. The crimson blade cut into the slit of the green plate armor between the knee and thigh protection. Pyrrha wasn't able to make a deep cut, but the nature of the lightsaber itself made the Green Knight recoil in pain as his skin burned.
Quickly withdrawing to prevent Pyrrha from burning any deeper, the Green knight simultaneously lashed out with his weapon to cover his retreat. But Pyrrha brought Miló up, parrying the attack. With a flick of the sword combined with the momentum of her twirl, she knocked the Green Knight's sword out of his hand. She continued to spin, and with a backhanded swipe she amputated the Green Knight's right arm with a single sweep of her lightsaber.
The Green Knight froze at the loss of his arm, but Pyrrha would not stop just because the warrior was dumbstruck as the battle changed course. As the Green Knight stumbled back, Pyrrha continued her momentum forward, Miló resuming its course for his throat. This time however, the Green Knight had no defense as the Force weapon tore through the Green Knight's neck, severing his head completely and sending it flying.
Pyrrha held the pose as the Green Knight's head fell to the ground, allowing a smirk to appear on her previously stoic face. The smirk fell however, when she didn't hear the body collapse to the ground like she expected. Glancing at her allies, she saw all of them staring behind her, mouths agape. Standing, Pyrrha turned around and felt her jaw drop as the body of the Green Knight stood tall despite the maiming.
Despite the reinforcement of the Battle Meditation, Pyrrha couldn't but feel awestruck and even a little afraid. During the fight, she knew the Green Knight was powerful, but it was only now that she truly understood how inhuman the warrior in front of her was. The body twitched and began to walk, causing Pyrrha to take up her stance once more. But the Green Knight seemed to ignore her, as he moved over to his severed body parts.
Starting at his arm first, the Green Knight bent down to pick up the limb and placed it at the stub. A wound began to glow green, and the arm was reattached as if it was never removed in the first place. He then moved to the severed head, picking it up, rotating it so it was oriented in the correct fashion, and placed it on his neck once more. Lastly, he moved to his sword, which lay unceremoniously on the ground. He picked it up and sheathed the weapon before turning Pyrrha, hands down in a neutral stance that told Pyrrha he was no longer interested in combat.
As Pyrrha relaxed her stance, the Green Knight spoke. "Impressive. I have not seen such technique nor such dauntless determination in a great many years. Within you I can see the second coming of Repanse de Lyonesse." he then stepped out of the way between Pyrrha and the Grail. "Drink, Pyrrha Nikos, and gain the Lady's blessing."
Pyrrha looked at her friends and allies, who all gave varying gestures of congratulations, encouraging her to accept. Nodding to them with a smile, Pyrrha began to make her way to the Grail. As she walked past the Green Knight, who now stood at solitary attention, the knight gave her a slight bow. Returning the nod with a respectful smile, Pyrrha continued her way to her spoils.
As she continued to approach however, she paused briefly as she began hearing… whispering. She quickly looked around, seeing that no one was talking. When she returned her gaze to the Grail, and her eyes widened as the grail was no longer the plain, bronze chalice it once was, but instead made of resplendent gold, decorated with rubies and emeralds, with the Fleur de Lis etched onto its side. It truly looked like the artifact of a goddess. As Pyrrha resumed her approach, the whispers intensified, and the grail itself began to glow.
Pyrrha was forced to close her eyes as the brightness became unbearable. And in that moment, she heard one of the whispers clarifly.
"Kneel." The whisper said, and effeminate voice that carried regal authority.
And Pyrrha immediately did so, dropping to one knee as she bowed her head. As she bowed, the grail in front of her began to float, rising from its resting place as it moved towards the huntress. As it approached, the whispers grew stronger and stronger, allowing Pyrrha to pick out more of the words.
One phrase stuck out above all the others, repeatedly hammering itself into Pyrrha's mind. "Honour is all. Chivalry is all."
Pyrrha looked up once more as the grail closed, the glow dulling. As she did, a new phrase overrode all others. "Drink."
The grail floated in front of Pyrrha, and she held out her hands. As she did the grail fell into her hands, losing all of its unnatural glow, save for the liquid inside which had shone a divine gold. The commands to drink grew louder and louder, until Pyrrha brought the chalice up to her lips and drank of the liquid sunlight within. Pyrrha did not know what she expected it to taste like, but fine wine was not at the top of her guesses.
Pyrrha tilted the grail up as she continued to drink, practically drowning herself in the liquid. As she gulped up the last of the drink, she yanked away the grail, grunting as she desperately took in air. Panting, Pyrrha looked around as she stood back up, regaining her breath. She looked at her hands, examining them for any changes. She didn't feel any different. She then looked at the grail, which had returned to its original bronze form.
"Huh." was all she grunted, a little disappointed.
It was then that Pyrrha was struck with a horrifying pain in her stomach, as she began to glow. Pyrrha groaned as she fell to her hands and knees and continued to illuminate the dark tomb. Eventually, Pyrrha's body couldn't take the excruciating pain, and she collapsed to the ground, the glow eventually fading.
"Pyrrha!" her friends all cried as they ran to her prone form.
Wynne was the first to reach her. Kneeling, Wynne placed two fingers to Pyrrha's neck, looking for a pulse while also checking for breathing. Luckily, both were present and strong. Not only that but all of the wounds Pyrrha had gained during the battle were miraculously healed.
"She has survived the blessing of the Lady." the Green Knight spoke, causing all to look at him. "For now she rests, but when she wakes she shall find herself burning with the holy fires of retribution within her. And with this, my task is ended. The protectors of the Tomb will no longer assail you." the Green Knight's body then started to fade.
"Wait!" Shepard called out, causing him to look at her. "We are fighting against the forces of Chaos for your Lady! Can you and the other spirits here help us in this quest?"
"Your quest is a noble one indeed, but alas we cannot aid you." The Green Knight shook his head. "The Lady's power diminishes with every passing moment, and much of what remained was gifted to Lady Pyrrha Nikos. The only reason we can remain here is that the Tomb is a nexus for the Lady's power. As such we are unable to leave. I am sorry."
Shepard grimaced, but accepted the news with grace as she nodded her head. "If that's the case, then go in peace. Know that we will avenge you and the others fallen here."
"We shall see if you will succeed where we have failed." The Green Knight ominously said before vanishing completely.
A/N, 11/10/20: Trying to see if I can finish Legion of the Damned for Nanowrimo. Anyway, the Legion has met up with the new guys, and we have a new semblance! The idea of using Battle Meditation for Shepard's semblance came from both the fact that Shepard is a great leader, and that the voice actress for FemShep, also played Bastila Shan in the KOTOR series, who was famed for her Battle Meditation.
Review Responses:
Brother Bov: Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Hamm1999: That's a pretty interesting idea. I probably won't put the characters in fully, but I think I can work a cameo and reference in.
MarauderPrime12: Thanks!
Djmegamouth: I'm glad you enjoyed reading through my story so far! To answer a few of your comments, Church doesn't count as a Halo character, as he's from the Red vs Blue universe, but both him and Johnson don't know that, as their worlds are close enough that they confuse each other for being from each other's worlds. And I originally didn't plan on using w40k, but eventually changed my mind a few months ago, and wrote some stuff in.
And with that, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you in the next one!