An eerie quiet fell over the Geth Headquarters as Shepard patrolled around the perimeter wall. It had been a full day since the Legion had wrested control of the Geth from the Reaper, and after their necessary long rest, were immediately back to work. Miraculously, there were no casualties in the battle against the Reaper. Sarah was the closest to death when her pelican was shot down, but between her power armor and her Aura, she more than easily survived the crash.

The Legion quickly put the Geth to work repairing the base's defenses, as well as the damaged pelican and Metal Gear Zeke. Meanwhile the remaining pelican and a requisitioned Geth dropship began transporting supplies, weapons, and the comatose form of Lileath from Mother Base to the Geth Headquarters.

While Mother Base had been a good home thus far, the Legion needed to consolidate their resources at the Geth Headquarters for their push into Korriban. Sending Geth to protect Mother Base as well would only spread the weakened Geth forces out too much.

As Shepard continued her patrol around the walls, she spotted the form of Tassadar, standing along the wall as well, watching over some Geth currently repairing a gun turret.

"Tassadar." Shepard greeted as she walked up to him.

"Commander." He returned with a nod. "These Geth are from your universe, correct? I must admit, I find their design… intriguing."

"How so?" Shepard asked as she joined the Protoss in watching the Geth work.

"This, collective consciousness that the Geth posses, where all of their minds are linked together as one. It very much reminds me of the Khala of my people. The Geth connect to their network, where no thought or idea can be hidden, creating a single, unified society. The Khala is similar, where the Protoss psionically connect to a greater gestalt. Minds, memories, and emotions meld together, all for the purpose of greater unity and power for my people." Tassadar explained.

Shepard frowned a bit. "How does that all… feel? Do you have a lack of privacy, or sense of self?"

Tassadar paused a moment to think before explaining. "Physically, you could not hide your presence, but the depth with which you immersed yourself in the Khala was a personal choice. Some, such as my Dark Templar cousins, saw it as robbing of individuality, but I do not believe so. Thoughts and emotions are shared, but my actions are my own. Even so, such ideals of individuality were of less import to my people. All we do is for the sake of the Protoss as a whole, the collective good of the many outweighing the needs of the individual."

Shepard hm'd in response. While the idea of a collective consciousness was still a little too machine for her, she could understand the idea of intertwining with another person's thoughts and feelings, namely whenever she bonded with Liara. The Asari bonding connected her own nervous system with Liara's, sharing their emotions, thoughts, and sensations. For her, those moments were the most euphoric of her life. The thoughts of her bondmate then sent waves of sadness throughout her, which Tassadar seemed to notice.

"Are you alright, Commander? You seem… troubled." Tassadar inquired.

Shepard turned to the Protoss with a cocked brow. "Your mind reading tell you that?"

Shaking his head, Tassadar said, "No, I do not require my powers to sense that. Regardless, I would not read your mind without your permission."

"Well you have my thanks for that." Shepard said with a small smile, before she sighed. "Yeah, I am. I just… I miss my family. I miss my bondmate. I'm missing a lot right now, and the upcoming battle isn't helping." She then looked at the Protoss and asked, "Are you not anxious?"

"No." Tassadar gruffly replied. When he felt Shepard's confusion, he elaborated. "Unlike you I have no regrets for what I left behind in my mortal life. And I am not anxious for the upcoming battle, nor should you be." He returned Shepard's gaze with a stern one of his own. "We have both faced enemies that were deemed unkillable, or thought themselves gods. With the help of the humans in my dimension, I proved that title false, in the same way you proved the Reapers mortal in yours. And together, we shall do so again."

Shepard didn't really know too much about Tassadar's universe, so she found herself asking. "What were the humans like in your universe, Tassadar?"

"Hm. Like all of you, the humans of my dimension were primitive, as my own people were arrogant. But their rapidly developing technology allowed them to fight both against, and alongside us. And it was only together that we were able to defeat the monsters of our universe. And once again, it is time for heroes to join together and defeat the monsters that prowl in the dark." Tassadar then placed one his large hands on Shepard's shoulder "Steel your will, Commander. Your people look to you for leadership and hope, and you will need all of your strength to triumph over the upcoming challenges."

Shepard snorted. "Thanks for the pep talk, Tassadar." It was partially sarcastic, but she knew he meant well. Tassadar was a being who only spoke the truth, regardless of how heavy such a truth would be. Besides, it's not like she wasn't used to having a group of badasses look to her for guidance.

"Anytime." Tassadar nodded, taking the gratitude in stride.

"Right. Well I should go, have a patrol to finish. I'll leave you to your Geth watching." Shepard said.

"Good night, Shepard. Ensure you get an adequate amount of rest as well."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm a big girl, I know when to go to bed." Shepard waved off as she left Tassadar to his business.

As Shepard finished her walk around the walls and she was confident that they weren't going to be attacked in the middle of the night, she descended off the ramparts, leaving the defense to the Geth sentries who would remain tirelessly alert.

Moving from the walls down to the central hub where they had fought against the Reaper not too long ago, Shepard then heard voices. It didn't take her long to identify who they were, one was the familiar voice of her friend Pyrrha, and the other the booming cybernetic voice of Rylanor.

"And it was on the world Proxima, where many of my brothers died to ensure the Emperor would live, that my Legion earned the right to wear the Emperor's Palatine Aquila you see here." Rylanor boomed as he finished telling some story of his home.

"And what did your Emperor do in response to this betrayal?" Pyrrha asked.

"Simple. Blood was owed to my Legion, and by the Emperor's grace we performed an Exterminatus to collect." Rylanor casually explained.

Pyrrha pursed her lips as she silently mulled over this information, as she had learned that Exterminatus literally meant the extermination of all life upon a planet. "... I see." Was the best response she could come up with.

"Hey, what's going on here?" Shepard asked as she walked in on their conversation.

Pyrrha turned to see Shepard's entrance and smiled. "Ah Commander. Rylanor was regaling me with some stories of his world. They're… well honestly they're rather terrifying." Pyrrha gave a small shrug before turning back to the dreadnought and saying, "Sorry."

"Do not apologize, Pyrrha Nikos. War is a terrible thing. But something that is far too common in my galaxy."

"What were the wars in your world like, Rylanor?" Shepard asked, admittedly curious as to the scale of conflict required to make something like him. "Were they as bad as the battle we had against the Geth and the Reaper?"

Rylanor snorted at Shepard's question, which sounded doubly strange due to the electronic overlay of his vox-caster. "The previous battle was not more than a minor skirmish in comparison to the wars that the Imperium waged. I have fought in singular battles that numbered in the millions, watched cities burn in retributive fire, seen brother turn against brother as biological virus bombs purged entire planets of life."

"Virus bombs? Are they as terrible as they sound?" The commander asked.

"Worse." Rylanor answered. "Virus bombs deploy genetically engineered viruses known as the Life-Eater, which exterminate all life on a planet. The virus can infect any living organism, flora and bacteria included, causing cells to lyse, resulting in rapid decay of living matter. It is even designed to penetrate environmental suits and power armor."

Both Pyrrha's and Shepard's faces fell at what he described. Shepard found her voice first. "Why? Why would anyone make such a terrible weapon? Who would even be able to use it?"

"Terrible weapons are made for terrible wars." Rylanor stated plainly, before he became more contemplative. "As for who would use it. Virus bombs were not often used due to the cost it would extract. Only in the case of Exterminatus, such as against Proxima would it be used. However, it was used against myself and fellow loyalists when we were betrayed by our brothers upon the world of Istvaan III."

"Your fellow Space Marines used them on you!?" Pyrrha could scarcely believe it.

With a slow, regretful nod, Rylanor confirmed it. "Yes. Much of my legion, along with many legionaries of our fellow Legions such as the Luna Wolves, for I refuse to use their other name, and World Eaters, were corrupted by the foul powers of Chaos, causing them to turn against us and the Emperor. We were too blind to see corruption occur until the flesh began to melt from bone and entire forests melted into sludge as they saturated the world with the Life-Eater Virus."

Shepard was quiet for a moment. Not even the betrayals of Udina and Cerberus, nor any of the betrayals by indoctrinated Reaper agents, seemed to be able to compare to that. "Is that where you died?" Shepard asked.

"No. I survived, as did many of my brothers, able to shelter ourselves before the holocaust. We survived on that dead world for weeks, fighting against the traitors. And when the last of my fellows died in battle, I continued to endure." Rylanor's mechanical head then turned to face the two redheads. "That is the lesson that I wish to impart. That even in the face of a planet ending genocide, we continued to fight. And I continue to fight now. Even if the so-called gods of the Ruinous Powers themselves were to descend upon this land, I would not stop fighting. We shall be victorious in the upcoming battle, I will ensure it."

Pyrrha and Shepard looked at the Ancient One with admiration. A being of pure duty and resolution, unwavering in the face of everything they faced. It was hard not swayed by his words.

"It is surreal." Pyrrha mumbled out. "That we are so close to the final battle. So close to the end."

Shepard nodded. "Yeah. This is the calm before the storm."

"I hope we are ready. I hope we have done enough."

In the same way Tassadar did for her, Shepard put a hand on Pyrrha's shoulder. "I know we are, Pyr. Besides, like Rylanor said, we have him watching our back, so we shouldn't have too much to worry about."

"In actuality commander." Rylanor interposed. "Between my void shield and adamantium armor, I would be the spearhead in any attack, resulting in all of you watching my back as I advance."

Shepard opened her mouth to reply, but then closed it, not entirely sure if Rylanor just made a joke or not.

Pyrrha however couldn't help but snicker. "Thank you, Rylanor. I needed that. And thank you for the stories. They have been enlightening. But I do suppose it should be time for us to turn in." She then turned to look at Shepard.

The commander nodded, as that was what her plan was originally anyway. "Yeah. Us mortals still need to get sleep in order to fight at full capability."

Rylanor snorted once more. "Hmph. Do not talk to me about sleep. But I see your point. Good night, Commander Shepard, Pyrrha Nikos."

With that, Pyrrha and the Commander left the ancient Space Marine and entered the Geth Hub. Going inside, they made their way for the central processing unit, where the Legion were staying.

As they moved through one of the connecting storage rooms however, they were distracted by the distinctive smell of wormwood. There, they found the Big Boss, sitting on a stool, smoking alone. Snake turned to the two women as they entered, giving them a small nod, acknowledging their presence.

"Boss." Pyrrha greeted first, frowning slightly as she saw him. "You really should stop smoking those. They aren't healthy, and you're old enough as it is."

"I think it's a little late for me to worry about dying of lung cancer, Pyrrha." the Boss chucked.

Shepard smiled at the way Pyrrha worried over the Boss almost in the sameway a grandchild did over a grandparent. She then turned to the Boss and asked, "So, what are you doing up so late Snake?"

Snake gave a small shrug as he puffed his cigar once more. "Couldn't sleep." He then pointed to the side of his head. "It's the visions. Most are cloudy and confusing, making it hard to get a good night's rest."

This caused Pyrrha to frown even more, feeling slightly guilty as she was the one who brought the powers of Aura and Semblance to the Legion.

However the Boss seemed to pick up on this and waved off her worry. "It's fine. This isn't the first time I've had to deal with… bad dreams." He took another puff. "I just need some time to unwind."

Shepard nodded in agreement. "Things have been really hectic here. No real good chances for a break."

"But it is good that you two are here. I've been meaning to speak to both of you." Putting out his cigar, Snake stood up from his seat and faced them. "I wanted to thank you, both of you, for everything you've done."

First Snake turned to Shepard. "I know I am not the most, social, leader. It's not my style. And it only really works when I have someone at my side who can fill in the gaps. Shepard, I may have led the Legion strategically, but you're the one who really helped them. Helped them deal with their issues and their pasts, when I couldn't. And for that, I'm grateful to you for."

"I was just doing my job, Boss." Shepard retorted.

Snake snorted. "Shepard, if every soldier just 'did their job' like you, we would've achieved world peace years ago." He then turned to face Pyrrha. "As for you Pyrrha, I'm proud of the warrior that you have become. It is a crime for one as young as you to have to fight like you have. But you did more than just make do with the hand you were dealt, you thrived, and in doing so became what I would call a true hero."

Pyrrha felt herself go red at the Boss's praise and stammered out, "I… Thank you, Boss. You have no idea what your praise means to me."

The Boss only just nodded at her reaction, paying no mind to adoration. He then stepped back to face them both directly. "You two are some of the best soldiers I've ever fought alongside, and it's been an honor doing so." Standing straight, he then gave both of them a professional salute, an action he hadn't done in a long time.

Both women were slightly stunned at the action, but quickly they recovered, and returned the salute in earnest.

"Thank you, as well Boss." Pyrrha said. "Fighting alongside you has been nothing more than an honor."

"And don't talk like this is over just yet." Shepard added on with a smirk.. "Once this is all done, I'll be happy to share one of those cigars with you, regardless of what Pyrrha says."

Pyrrha rolled her eyes while Snake only returned a small smile. "Sure." was all he said as he then turned around and walked away.

The next day came quickly, and even quicker the Legion got back to work. Using one of their pelicans, a requisitioned Geth Dropship, and the hastily repaired Metal Gear Zeke. Despite the non-stop work of the Geth, the 2nd pelican was still out of commission. Meanwhile, Zeke was flight operational, although its weapon systems were damaged, rendering it unable to launch its nuclear payload.

With most of the supplies and small arms having been moved the previous day, they spent most of today transporting what vehicles and heavy weapons they had left such as the Mako, or the heavy machine gun emplacements within the watchtowers and batteries. They had already completed one trip, moving the APC and some gun emplacements, and were in the process of loading up for their second.

The superhumanly strong Six and Sarah disassembled a mortar artillery emplacement, while Pyrrha and Shepard worked on taking apart the E-Web heavy repeating blasters and generators. Meanwhile, Johnson and Cayde were strapping down supplies in the pelican's blood tray while Thane kept the engine running. The Boss, still within Metal Gear Zeke, performed guard duty.

Snake kept an alert eye out for any hostiles while his men worked below. While Metal Gear Zeke couldn't launch any nukes, its railgun and missile pods were still active, making it deadly in a fight. It was during his vigil that his radar pinged a contact. Rotating Zeke to face the contact, Snake zoomed in with the walker's optics and saw a large group of flying Grimm, mostly nevermores and griffons flying right for the base.

"Heads up, we have Grimm on the way." Snake reported as he aimed Zeke's railgun at the Grimm.

Below him, the Legion stopped their work and pulled out their arms, ready for combat in case the Grimm got past Zeke. That wasn't likely though, as the Grimm were relatively clumped up, and a single shot from the railgun would make quick work of most of them. As the railgun powered up to almost full charge, and Snake activated his targeting parameters however, Metal Gear Zeke was then blasted by a massive bolt of plasma.

The energy bolt exploded across the side of Zeke, sending it toppling over to the ground. Shepard's eyes widened as she saw Zeke fall, and ran to the wall to see where the energy bolt had come from. Activating her suits optics, she zoomed in on where she saw the attack originate, and along the border of Kabul and the Forever Fall Forest, she saw an Imperial walker. It was a strangely shaped walker, almost beetle-like in design, with 8 stubby legs on its sides. On its back was a massive turbolaser that extended out, smoking as it discharged its sneak attack. Shepard quickly recognized what it was, having studied much of the roster of Imperial weaponry.

It was a Self-Propelled Medium Artillery walker, or a SPMA walker, used for long range artillery bombardment. It had a very powerful turbolaser, but was also slow and lightly armored, meaning it never went anywhere alone. This was proven true as while the SPMA began charging for another attack, land based Grimm like beowolves and ursas began crawling out of the woods, sprinting for Mother Base. From behind the flying Grimm, she even spotted the unmistakable silhouette of Covenant banshees. Meanwhile from the trees, several smaller, chicken-like AT-STs followed the Grimm from behind, firing off their laser cannons at the walls.

It was then, that the ground began to shake. From the forest, lying down like a sleeping animal, and covered with the surrounding nature to hide its presence, an AT-AT began to stand. Despite being covered in grime, dirt, and leaves, the grandeur AT-ATs prodigious size and intimidating form was not diminished in the slightest.

It did not take long for Shepard to quickly deduce that the forces of Chaos had discovered Mother Base's location, and had set up an ambush for them. And not only that, but they must have been watching them for long enough to know to strike once they had disassembled all of their defenses. And with half the Legion not there, no vehicles or heavy weaponry available, Shepard did the one thing that made the most tactical sense.

"Everyone to the dropships, now! We are leaving!" She shouted. There was no victory to be had by staying and fighting.

Before Shepard, Pyrrha, Sarah, and Six could make it more than a few feet however, the Grimm from above descended upon them. The much faster nevermores dive bombed the legion, crashing into them and stopping their movements. Pyrrha and Six were able to react first, dodge rolling to the side as the Grimm impacted with the ground.

The slower Sarah and Shepard however were not so lucky as a nevermore each landed on top of them, knocking them to the ground and pinning them. The oversized birds began viciously pecking at them, the massive beak hitting like a sledgehammer every time. Sarah, through her raw strength was able to grab the nevermore by its head and start squeezing. The bony skullcap of the Grimm cracked under the pressure, until the head exploded, killing the beast.

Meanwhile Shepard struggled to get the nevermore off of her, both unable to reach for her weapon nor summon the focus to call on her biotics. Luckily for her the assault ended with the sounds of a firing line as both Pyrrha and Six opened fire on Grimm with their rifles, tearing it apart. Shepard quickly stood, drawing her Power Axe as she recovered. Similarly Sarah stood as well, pulling out her own super sledge. Unfortunately for them, the few seconds they were delayed by the Nevermore was more than enough time for the rest of the airborne Grimm to catch up.

All around them, more nevermores and griffons landed, cutting off any hopes they had for a quick escape. Explosions then rocked the ground around them once more, as they watched as the various groups of Imperial armor focused their fire on a nearby section of wall. While the stone would've been effective in holding back catapults and trebuchets, it was not able to resist the sustained laser fire of an AT-AT and its accompanying AT-STs.

Within seconds, the outer wall collapsed, and with it the oncoming Grimm who were climbing the cliff below were allowed to literally flood in. Shepard hadn't really had much experience fighting Grimm outside of her initial encounter when she first entered the Final Destination, as they mostly kept to the Forever Fall, or performed their occasional raids against Korriban. And to see a literal horde of hundreds of shadow monstrosities rushing at her was more than a little unnerving.

But she was not going to fall here. Raising her power axe high, Shepard roared and charged forward, her allies trailing behind her as they rushed the Grimm blocking their escape. They clashed with the Grimm in a titanic melee, trying to hack their way out to freedom. Meanwhile, the staccato of gunfire popped through the air as Cayde and Johnson opened fire from the pelican's rear cargo bay. Johnson jumped onto the pelican's rear mounted machine gun and began blasting at any nearby grimm, while Cayde's revolver quickly made work of dozens of grimm in seconds. Meanwhile Thane, seeing the horde of Grimm and the combined armor, wisely decided to turn on the pelican's engines and prepare for a quick getaway.

Meanwhile, Metal Gear Zeke still lay unmoving on the ground, unresponsive as the Imperial armor advanced. Making its way for the main gate, the AT-AT slowly lumbered forward. The cliffs and walls around Mother Base were far too steep for any of the walkers to climb, and so they were forced to take the long way around to the only road they could follow Within its cockpit, the scarred face of Skull Face looked up at the smoke coming from the smoldering Metal Gear, causing him to smirk.

"And so it comes to an end, Snake. It seems fitting that the machine you created to bring your dream to reality would become your coffin." Skull Face remarked. Pressing a button on the walker's console, he began broadcasting a message on all frequencies so everyone could hear it. "Snake! I am here for you, one last time! Once more, here in the sands of Afghanistan we fight! And it is here, you shall die!" He then looked at the gate house and blast doors in front of him. "I want all armor to open fire and bring that gate down! The insurgents are not escaping us!"

At his command the Imperial armor blasted at the gatehouse, the thick metal doors holding up better than the stone walls, but glowing red hot from the bombardment. Shepard saw this happening and swore to herself. If the armor got into the base, they would destroy the transports and they would be doomed. The legionnaires were hacking and blasting their way through the grimm, but there were too many, and they wouldn't be able to kill them all before the walkers got into the base. They needed a Hail Mary play to get out, otherwise they were dead.

"Pyrrha, Sarah! Fastball special!" Shepard commanded her teammates behind her while pointing towards the dropships.

Pyrrha and Sarah shared a brief glance before both fighters nodded their heads. Activating her semblance, Bonds of Steel, Sarah Lyons' entire body was coated in organic metal. Beside her, Pyrrha activated her semblance polarity to grab onto the Sentinel and lift her into the air. Thrusting her arm, Pyrrha then flung Sarah forward, catapulting her through the mass of Grimm between them and the dropships. As Sarah rocketed forward, she also swung her super sledge with reckless abandon, crushing Grimm with every swing of her weapon while her body pulverized others like a massive cannon ball.

As Sarah landed beside Johnson and Cayde, the sheer mass of violence and destruction carved a hole in the Grimm horde that the Legion was quick to take advantage of. Pyrrha and Shepard ran forward, making their way for the Geth dropship. Six however, was slightly slower as he was still providing covering fire from behind.

As the Spartan-III turned to move, the unmistakable green of a fuel rod cannon exploded behind him as the banshee's fired off a bombing run. Six was blasted backwards, and obviously slightly dazed from the attack. The Grimm then pounced upon him, dozens of beowolves and ursa clawing at him, tearing through his shields.

"SIX!" Sarah shouted as she deactivated her semblance, switching to her laser rifle and firing to try and relieve her friend, with the other legionnaires joining her.

But there were just too many of them, and soon enough they watched their friend be enveloped in a dogpile of black mass. Shepard felt her jaw drop, wondering if she just watched Six die. Both Pyrrha and Sarah were far more distraught, as they roared and kept shooting into the mass of Grimm.

Their screams were then joined by a new roar, one that came from the pile of Grimm itself. That's when an armored fist punched its way through the skull of a beowulf. It was the armored hand of Six, tinted black with Grimm blood and glowing the deep forest green of his Aura. Grimm atop him then began to explode as he started to punch and kick his way out of the dog pile, literally tearing Grimm apart with his bare hands.

It was no secret that Six was rather emotionally reserved, stoic in combat, having a cold, smoldering anger within him rather than an explosive temper. Never before have they seen Six roar out in anger and hate like he did now. There was no finesse in the way he fought, only pure brutality. Attacks that he would have dodged or even blocked he would take head on in order to throw more punches and kicks. And in addition to that, it seemed he was even stronger.

There was never any doubt that Six was the physically strongest within the Legion. His augments, power armor, and Aura ensured that advantage. But Grimm evaporated at his punches now. Shepard could only surmise one thing was happening, Six discovered his semblance, some kind of berserker aura that increased his physical strength and aggression.

And with this new ability, Six began to rip and tear his way through the horde. Supported by the gunfire of the Legion, Six soon made his way to the dropships before practically collapsing at the feet of his friends. Quickly Sarah and Pyrrha put him on their shoulders, and along with Shepard made their way for the Geth dropship.

Jumping inside the cockpit, Shepard quickly activated the dropship and prepared for take off. Sarah and Pyrrha were hanging by the entrances of the dropship, while Shepard rerouted the Geth VI programs to focus on shields and plasma cannons. Before Shepard could take off however, the blast doors to Mother Base collapsed as the AT-AT battering rammed its way through the half melted slag.

Shepard's eyes widened before she went back to the console, taking off as fast as she could while screaming to Thane over the radio, "Go! Go! Go!"

But Shepard knew they wouldn't be fast enough. The AT-AT was right on top of them, and as it looked over them, trying to pick a target, the pilot chose to aim at the pelican first, probably knowing that it wasn't shielded like the Geth ship. Thane maneuvered the pelican, trying to get away as the AT-ATs lasers cannons powered up. Before the walker could fire however, a massive impact hit its side, rocking the AT-AT and causing it to miss.

As Shepard took off, she watched as Metal Gear Zeke slowly stood up, Grimm fruitlessly clawing it in hopes of getting the Boss within. Quickly charging up his railgun again, fired another railgun shot that destroyed an AT-ST.

"Boss! Let's go!" Shepard yelled out over the comms.

There was a hiss of static, before the voice of the Boss came in over the radio once more, breathing heavy and obviously wounded. "Get out of here!" He barked out in return. "Skull Face is after me, and I'm ending this, here and now!" As he said this, he fired off a volley of missiles that soared into the air, tracking the banshee's above and destroying them. "GO!" He yelled out once more.

Shepard hesitated for a moment, only to have the Geth VI warn her of incoming airborne Grimm and Covenant banshees as the AT-AT regained its bearings and looked back at them. Gritting her teeth, Shepard tilted the controls, taking the dropship into the sky, the pelican following after it.

"It's been an honor, Boss." Shepard quietly said into the comms while Pyrrha looked at her aghast.

"Shepard! What are you doing!? We have to go back for him!" Pyrrha cried out. When Shepard didn't respond, Pyrrha stepped forward to yell at her once more, only to be stopped as an armored hand was placed on her shoulder. Pyrrha turned and saw Six's helmet, unmoving, slowly shaking his head. Pyrrha felt the tears spill from her face as she saw everyone accepted what was about to happen.

Meanwhile, the AT-AT tried to aim for the fleeing airships once more, hoping to score a kill on at least one of them. Before it could fire though, Snake dragged Metal Gear Zeke up and drove it right into the AT-AT's side, slamming into it with a clumsy tackle and throwing off its aim once more.

"Skull Face!" Snake roared through the open comms. "It's time we end this cycle of revenge!" flicking a switch, Snake activated Zeke's nuclear payload. While Zeke couldn't launch the nukes right now, that didn't mean it couldn't detonate them in one, final kamikaze attack.

"SNAKKEEE!" Skull Face screamed back he charged the AT-AT right for the Boss.

As Shepard and Thane put as much distance between them and Mother Base as possible, the others watched as thousands of Grimm, dozens of Imperial walkers and Covenant air support swarmed over the base and Metal Gear Zeke within. Then they watched as they were all consumed in nuclear fire, in one final act of defiance by the legendary soldier.

A/N 1/17/21: So… a lot to unpack here. First shout out to user Jack Smith1 for giving me the idea of having Rylanor talk to Shepard about Istvaan III. Next, we have another semblance as well. Noble-Six's semblance is Feral Wolf, it allows Six to enter a berserker state, not unlike the Berserker powerup in Doom, increasing his strength, speed, and pain tolerance, but at the cost of higher thinking and heightened aggression. He has more rely on pure combat instinct over tactical skills. And lastly, pour one out for the Big Boss, he shone like a diamond in the end.

And with that, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, keep staying safe, and I'll see you in the next one!