A/N
Hey, no winner on the contest yet! many good one liners though.
Here is the next chapter!
Enjoy
Chapter 9: God Slayer
Tali's POV
They were sitting in the rec room on the Normandy as crew members shuffled out allowing some privacy as asked. Tali stared at the floor furious with her bond mate but, she glanced at Kerris who looked a bit lost at her silence.
"I can't allow this to happen. You are my brother, Kyson has no say in this" she said through clenched teeth. Kerris had told her via a message on her Omni-tool the agreement they had reached.
"Tali, He is your Life mate. He is looking out for you the best way he can. After what I have caused, can you blame him?" asked Kerris softly.
"I'm actually angry with both of you for many reasons. Right now I'm setting things straight though. There is no reason for us not to at least message or talk to each other" she replied. Kerris stayed silent before responding.
"Kyson would be furious, but I can see him getting past it…mostly" said the cyborg skeptically. Tali sighed seeing that this wasn't the time. She had a fleet to save before she could worry about any more personal shit.
"It'll have to do…" she got up right as the door to the room opened and in strode Kyson's father. Luke was laughing while Joker walked in grumbling about something. The pair saw Tali with Kerris and froze.
"Well Tali, nice to see you again" said Luke still smiling. She nodded politely, but Kerris stood up.
"Well met Captain Sorley, I just wish to say I appreciate your endeavors" said Kerris with sincerity. Luke glanced Kerris over once with a grimace.
"Huh, now there is something I wasn't expecting. Get a load of this Joker, the psycho who tried to kill my psycho son is complementing me" laughed the old Marine. Tali didn't like the tone Luke had as she saw Joker shake his head.
"Luke, how about we don't start anything that could harm my life expectancy" chastised Joker. But to everyone's surprise Kerris laughed. It wasn't deep from the gut laughter, the sound was softer. It was just amusement.
"Mr. Sorley, your son is one of the very, very few who have slipped past me. No small task I might add. He is a respected challenge" said Kerris with a smile. Luke laughed a bit as he went to the bar to grab a drink. Tali wasn't quite sure what was going on with the two.
"I bet, too bad his mind got fucked in the process. Tell me Tali, how does my son truly fair these days? He hasn't said more than a hundred words to me in the past months. And trust me, I've been counting" said Luke as his eyes drilled into Tali. Despite her visor she finally saw the hawkish features of her 'father-in-law' to be Kyson warned about. It was a whole new side that reminded her way too much of her own father.
"He's…better. Hell I'm doing better since we found each other again. It's just going to take time…" she said wondering what all of this talk was about Kyson's mind being gone. He was mourning her sure but this sounded different.
"Ah the boy is a jackass Tali. You have to pull things out of him like a gun from a Krogan's hands" lamented Luke.
"What does that mean exactly?" she snapped not enjoying Luke using her to spy on his son. She knew this routine.
"It means Kyson only talks to you Tali when it comes to important stuff. He's all booze this, women that around the rest of us" said Joker who glanced toward the door. Tali sighed as she took the escape route.
"Yeah, he always was an ass wasn't he?" she asked in a light tone before dodging out of the room with Kerris close on her heels.
"Did I miss something? Cause I feel like I just did" said Kerris once they were in the elevator.
"Luke was trying to get dirt on Kyson. They really need to stop fighting one of these days" she said as memories of her father flooded back again.
"Not in those two's nature, they are fighters to the end" said Kerris causing Tali to scoff a bit.
"Just great" she mumbled as the two Quarians made their way out onto the CIC.
Shepard's POV
What he had just witnessed made his blood run cold. In all of his years fighting, he had never encountered anything that would resemble true evil. Sure, you could add in the Reapers, but they were solid, tangible enemies of malignant intent. But the shadowy figure behind Kerris was something else altogether. I hope I never have to come against whatever that thing is…
John looked at Ashley who looked white as a sheet while Kyson just studied the frozen image with a blank look as smoke trailed lazily from his cigarette.
"Whatever that thing is, it has to be fake. Please God let it be fake" said Ashley as she took a seat on the side of Kyson's work bench.
"Legion sounded down right confused by it; an anomaly of sorts. It seems we need to keep on our toes still John" said Kyson as he took off his hat setting it down on an empty bottle of Southern Comfort. John nodded.
"You're right, but that also means no egging him on as well" he replied.
"Trust me, I'm done with that asshole. Long as he keeps his distance and sticks to our little agreement. Life will be grand" chipped Kyson.
"You already made an agreement with Kerris? When?" asked Ashley.
"Back on Rannoch before we hit the comm tower. It's all good" said Kyson. John relaxed a bit after hearing that. He needed less infighting and more aggression pointed towards the Reapers, desperately.
"Good, Make sure he doesn't…" John was cut off by an incoming message on his Omni-Tool.
"Commander it's Raan. The Geth and I have located the Reaper base. We are ready to make a strike" came the voice of Admiral Raan. Kyson nodded as he got up. All three of them were still in their armor from the last mission an hour ago.
"I'm heading up now, oh, and it has a name. It's Legion" said Shepard with a smile. There was a pause on the other side of the line causing Kyson and Ashley to snicker.
"Yeeesss…of course Commander" said Raan awkwardly before the call went dead.
"It's fun to make them feel awkward" said Shepard who was suddenly in a brisk, almost happy mood.
"I made it a sport!" laughed Kyson as he put his hat back on.
"Damn good sport" laughed John as he waved the two of them towards the elevator. Ashley just rolled her eyes as the two men laughed while exiting Kyson's room.
"EDI, patch me into the entire ship please" asked John.
"Go ahead John" said EDI in a light tone of voice causing everyone to stand in shock. The elevator went silent.
"Uh, right then… all specialist report to the War Room. The Reaper base has been located. Shepard out" finished the commander. He glanced at Kyson who had a mile wide smile on his face.
"I have also forwarded the message to all the specialist via message as well" said EDI politely. John felt very awkward again. He knew EDI was learning sentient behaviors quickly no small part because of him, but this was fast.
"Hey EDI, did you take my advice to drive core?" asked Kyson.
"Drive core?" asked Ashley who was now thoroughly confused.
"Seeing as I lack a heart, yes Kyson, I took your advice to core. I was, random for amusement" said EDI. John began to laugh as Kyson shook his head.
"Well done Ma'am" said Kyson as the elevator opened to the CIC.
"Thanks" responded EDI who was standing in front of the group now. She had a slight smile that made John have some hope. If after all of this fighting Reapers, rogue Geth and other machines. It was nice to see one actually showing happiness with organics. It was a good sign.
"Shall we?" asked EDI motioning towards the War Room. The specialist in the War Room were all on edge except for the four who entered. Most were already assembled for their own reasons so it made things easy. Shepard still had a smile as he walked up to Raan.
"So, what have we got?" he asked. Raan brought up the holo of Rannoch. Two points already were marked from where they had landed.
"This third mark I'm placing is the Reaper base. It's close to the equator as you can see. Once we were able to get scans we decided to give you this. Xen?" asked Shala as the other admiral brought an odd looking device.
"I had this targeting laser made so you could synch with the Normandy's weapons. It is going to be needed. The Reapers have some serious hardware down there transmitting their signal" said Xen. John took the targeting laser with a nod.
"Good work. We need to get down their now. This war has to stop. Legion, how about finishing this war already?" he asked with a smile. Legion nodded with a twitch of its sensors.
"Affirmative. We are with you Shepard-Commander" replied the Geth. John nodded as he looked around at who he was going to take. He was expecting a heavy fight so it was time for a bigger team.
"Kyson, Tali…I know you two are ready for this. Kerris, Garrus, you two are up as well" started Shepard.
"Like you could have kept me away?" asked Kerris with a soft smile. John nodded but he felt a chill in the air. As much as he hated it, Kerris was right. He shifted his gaze now for more back up not just for the Reaper or Geth ranks. But for a potentially unstable Kerris.
"Beni, Luke, suit up. You two are vets at this sort of stuff along with familiarity with Quarian tech" he said. Luke nodded while Beni smiled.
"Yeah, ole Han had a habit of speaking Khelish to insult us behind our backs. Time to catch up on our Quarian hun" snickered Beni to Luke.
"Rael would be proud that I never forgot" commented Luke.
"Good. We are going in ten. I'll meet ya'll down there, dismissed" he said before heading towards the back of the room. There was one person he wanted to talk to in private. He found Liara beginning to dig back into her work when he walked up.
"Hey" he said simply with a smile. Liara turned off her Omni-tool with a slight scowl.
"Hey yourself. Be careful down there you got that?" she asked easing up her features as she spoke.
"I will. Since when do I ever take risks?" he asked with a big smile. Liara hugged him while giving him a kiss.
"Never in my memory…" she smiled.
"I have a favor to ask of you. I'll have Kyson forward you a vid. I want to know if there has ever been anything like it recorded before" he said. Liara raised a brow in suspension.
"It's right up your alley. Creepy legends" he smiled.
"I'll get right on it. Be safe John" she said before walking away. John sighed as he stretched right quick. This was gonna be one of the longer missions he could feel it. He whistled a little tune as he went down to the Kodiak. When he walked out of the elevator he was greeted by some sort of verbal debate.
"I'm just saying this is like old times Tali. Minus the Mako of course but it'll do" said Garrus who was leaning against the shuttle.
"Screw the Mako! I can't tell you how many times I had to save our asses from exploding while on fire! Not to mention how many Thresher Maws?" responded Tali causing Garrus to laugh.
"Oh you loved it. Don't lie to yourself" quipped Garrus.
"Load up people" said John as he recounted those early days with Garrus and Tali by his side. They had been good times even in retrospect. The team climbed in to Kodiak and within a minute they were off.
"Tali, why didn't you like the Mako? It was the best damn tank ever" asked John trying to pass the time.
"Because of you! What was that one time? Oh yes, 'Hey Tali! Want to know what free falling is like?' you asked while Garrus laughed like an idiot…then you drove straight off a thousand foot cliff" deadpanned Tali with a glare. John laughed.
"Had to see if you could handle it" he replied. Tali just crossed her arms.
"Then there was the time we found a downed pod on that volcanic planet. Sure enough you and Garrus jumped out excited to get some new schematics when a Geth ambush showed up" said Tali.
"You held them off just fine, we also found an old Fornax mag in that probe. We were busy catching the retro issue!" laughed Garrus.
"I had never fired a cannon before!" snapped Tali.
"But you did just fine Tali. We couldn't have done it without you" said Shepard with an honest smile at his friend. Tali shrugged her shoulders.
"Damn right. Remember that solar shield array that was down? The one we fixed about a month before meeting Kyson? I remember saving your asses again when you two fell through the cat walk cause you failed to look for failing supports" said Tali smugly. John snorted a bit along with Garrus looking away. She was right. Once again he and Garrus were too busy jabbering about something funny and failed to notice a basic. Tali had saved them from falling to their deaths.
"Thanks Tali…" Shepard and Garrus mumbled in unison. Luke shook his head.
"I taught you better than that boy" said Luke. John went on the defensive.
"Hey, we were debating a very important subject!" comment John holding his hands in the air giving up.
"I found the debate over who had the better sniping skills very important" said Garrus.
"Men…" sighed Beni causing everyone except Legion to chuckle a bit.
"We are landing in five" said Cortez from up front.
"Good, it's time for this to end. Legion, are you ready for this?" asked John as he checked over his Mattock. Others began to follow his lead as Legion stood up from its seat. It's time to do this
"The synching laser needs a clear line of sight. Legion, what is the fastest route?" asked John. Legion stood upright with its main optical light looking at him.
"The upper entrance, target the Geth before they can organize resistance" replied the Geth platform.
"What about you?" Shepard asked with a hint of apprehension.
"We will deactivate defense systems while acquiring an escape vehicle" replied Legion.
"You can do that?" asked Garrus who was impressed once again by the machines ability to multitask. John watched as Legion shifted uncomfortably it seemed while looking away from him. Uh oh, when a robot acts guilty it has to be bad…
"This platform still contains upgrades from the old machine code. We can break any Geth security; you are concerned" said Legion. John nodded his head. It made sense so far, it gave Legion an advantage but why not say anything? That irked him a bit this late in the game for Rannoch.
"You know your limits, I trust you. I'm more concerned you didn't tell me about the upgrades" said John with a slight frown.
"Do not blame my family for taking actions to defend themselves" said Kerris who had a scowl of his own. John held up a hand silencing the cyborg.
"You were cooperative in helping us with rewriting the Geth, but this matter is different. Personal" continued Legion who glanced away again. John couldn't believe what he was witnessing! Was Legion actually showing true emotion now? Was this due to the Reaper code?
"You were ashamed?" Shepard asked cautiously.
"Shame is a cognitive social response the Geth do not have. It should not apply here" said Legion as the machine tried to convince itself of its position.
"I'm on your side legion, I want to help your people" John reassured.
"We did not intend to cause offense" said Legion. A few seconds of awkward silence followed which was only broken by Kyson lighting a cigarette.
"How'd we get here?" John had to ask as he shook his head not sure whether to be disappointed or not.
"The Geth are better than this" he added at the end knowing that if Legion could fight back so could his entire race of machines.
"No, based on empirical evidence, they are not" said Legion with a foreboding aura.
"Yeah…" sighed John who was at a loss of words for his metal friend. John felt Cortez gently set the Kodiak down. Legion opened the door letting the hot air of Rannoch flood the compartment.
"Proceed to the upper entrance, we shall acquire a vehicle for our escape" said Legion before running. Off.
"Hey Legion! Good Luck!" shouted John as the others followed him off the shuttle.
"Acknowledged" was all he got in return from the running Geth platform he called his friend. John sighed again as he heard Luke mutter to Beni.
"That was a promising start…ow! What did I do?" asked Luke who had gotten slapped by Beni on the back of the head. John ignored the older couple and walked over to Tali who seemed distracted from the rest of the group. He walked up to her catching the small Quarian's attention.
"I…I can't believe it. I don't think it's really sunk in yet. The home world, my world! Look at the sky…and the rock formations? They used to write poems about them!" said Tali with what clearly sounded like admiration. John smiled at his friend for she had talked about this day since he had known her.
"When we're done, I bet you are gonna write more huh?" he asked with a hint of sarcasm. Tali shrugged missing the playful jab.
"This is Rannoch! The home of our ancestors Shepard. Our bodies carried the seeds the spread the desert grass. You…you've heard me say Keelah Se'lai? The closest translation I can come up with is 'by the home world I hope to see some day'." Said Tali as he looked over one of the tributary rivers in the valley they were in.
"Looks like you are getting to see it again. This makes the third time now yeah?" he asked. Tali nodded her head. The small Quarian lifted her hands while forming a box with her fingers out towards the water.
"The living room will be right…here!" she said with a small bit of enthusiasm. John snickered a bit.
"Might want to inform Kyson about that. Knowing him and where we both grew up he's gonna want a mountain to hole up in" said John as he picked up a rock to study while the team finished prepping for this final battle on Rannoch.
"He'll just have to deal with it" replied Tali who laughed a bit.
"But the Quarians have spent centuries as nomads. Are you sure your people are ready to stick it out in one spot? Are you?" asked Shepard making sure Tali had a focus so as not to be overwhelmed if things worked out. Tali began to rub her hands nervously.
"We have gotten used to carrying our homes around with us, huh?" she asked as she looked up at him. A Thought struck him as he remembered the rock in his hand. He handed the insignificant rock to Tali. She looked at it for a moment before putting it in one of her pockets.
"Thanks Shepard, you are one of the best friends I have ever had. Now let's do this!" said Tali excitedly. John nodded as he led the way back to the team. The other four were standing quietly in a defensive formation.
"Bout damn time, I just saw a Geth trooper" said Beni who fired off a few rounds from her Avenger rifle. John just kept smiling that he was finally able to hold up to his promise of getting Tali's home world back.
"Kyson, if you could be so kind…" said Garrus into the comm. John saw a flash of blue light as Kyson swept from above a rock formation only to take out two rocket troopers from his board. The small skirmish was put down quickly while the other N7 scouted ahead.
"Kerris, I figured you would be the one up front" commented John.
"Kyson has it well in hand I believe" responded the cyborg who reloaded his Kishock slash Javelin sniper rifle. Shepard would have to admit, he was a bit envious of the weapon.
"Geth jamming towers are interfering with your signal Commander. I'm compensating for it now" said Samantha Traynor over the comm. John motioned for the team to get inside the base.
"Good work Traynor" he replied as he listened in on the Admirals movements of the fleet.
"Shepard-Commander, you must climb to the upper level before Geth units fortify their positions" Legion said over the comm. The Geth was right. After the last wave of Geth had dropped in they had locked down the entry blast door.
"Okay people up the pipes!" shouted John as he found a way up the facility. Kerris merely activated his thrusters in his metal legs causing him to boost up to the next level. He was joined by a circling Kyson. The rest had to rely on good ole muscle power.
"I'm taking that board back from Kyson today!" huffed Tali as she climbed behind Garrus.
"Come on Tali, you need to keep your figure somehow" replied Garrus who climbed up with unusual ease, John attributed it to the Turian's healthy height.
"Shotgun, up, ass" puffed Tali in irritation. But John tuned the bickering out. He was busy listening to the Admirals again. He switched his comm to 'open' for the whole team to hear what was happening.
"Admiral Gerral here, if Geth fighters engage pull forward" said Admiral Han over the comm of the entire Quarian fleet.
"Geth fighter presence is negligible. Patrol Fleet break cover and engage" said the Voice of Admiral Raan. John heard gunfire from where Kerris and Kyson had disappeared to. It was finally in full swing. The final battle over Rannoch was in progress. John grimaced as he hoped up on the next level, it was time to truly get in the game. (Take the Red Pill: By Sybreed)
[Reality is a game you cannot win, so you feel betrayed, so fool again! Nothing is real, nothing is true, and the way seems to be so hard and long, so long!]
John helped Garrus up but had to jump behind a crate as a Geth Rocket Trooper unleashed a missile on them. John sighted down his rifle only for the thing to explode into pieces.
"Nice shot Kyson. We are most impressed" said Kerris giving Kyson a compliment.
"Yeah yeah yeah, by me a drink when this is over why don't ya" replied Kyson as Kerris took out another trooper with his own gun. Luke had gotten up now and spotted a group of rocket troopers. The old N7 powered up his shield generator before charging headlong into the enemy ranks. With a deafening blast that Shepard could feel in his feet Luke's double barrel shotgun had ripped all three Geth to shreds.
"Clear!" shouted Luke as he scouted the next room.
[Do you hear this pulse? Machinery pumping through your veins, into your mind? Right here right now, see the scorn your perfect slave design!]
John ran as fast as he could but his thoughts on how ironic it was that he was saving sentient machines to kill other sentient machines was broken by Legion.
"Shepard-Commander, Geth forces are closing the blast shield over the base" said Legion.
"Of course they are! Any of you youngin's think that it wouldn't have happened?" laughed Beni. John bit his tongue for the Asari Matriarch had a point despite her and Luke trends of being condescending while on missions.
[Take the red pill, feel the blast flowing in your mouth! Fatalistic comatose, necrosis is feeding the pattern of lies!]
John had reached Luke who was observing a large hole in the ground with Kerris and Kyson. But as he tried to get a look the doors slammed shut.
"Damn that will take hours to get through John" said Garrus who turned just in time to see a Geth trooper to their left. With a deft twitch of the finger, the Geth's optics exploded into thousands of tiny bits. John glanced a smirking Garrus.
"That was new" said Tali.
"New generation of explosive rounds. Not bad" said Garrus.
"We have located an override above past more Geth fortifications" informed Legion as the team found themselves in yet another firefight. Shepard let his muscles relax as he yet again fluidly fought his way through using his tactical cloak effectively. He was known for striking before his enemies had a chance.
[All is connected, the world is a shape to hide the truth from your eyes. Privacy denied, regulated thought, can you accept control of all? Now visualize: you are a sparkle of life, desensitized. You have to break the wall that encage your soul so deep inside]
"We have cross fire from the left balcony!" shouted Tali. John hunkered down behind the retaining wall checking on the Geth flooding in across the gap in the facility floor. No sooner had Tali given the alert, Kyson had jumped back on his board dropping out of sight. The Geth began to hammer on their position when Kyson flew up behind them. Two shots from the engineer's shot gun equaled two Geth. The last one left, met the fist end of Kyson's war hammer as he flew past smashing the head of the machine to a crumpled ruin.
[Take the red pill, feel the blast flowing through your mouth. Fatalistic comatose, necrosis is feeding the pattern of lies!]
"Good one Kyson, team move up!" shouted John as he dropped his cloak pressing forward. Things suddenly felt way too easy, to smooth for the battle for an entire planet.
"Garrus, does this seem a bit easy for you?" asked Shepard.
"Was wondering about that. I bet we are catching a break for once! But now I said something so we are jinxed!" laughed Garrus. John smiled a bit as Legion came over the comm again.
"Shepard-Commander, do you need assistance?" asked the Geth.
"Naw, we're good. Heading to the override now" replied John. Tali took point this time with Benalia by her side. As they came into a large room that seemed to be manufacturing Geth pods of some sort the two women spotted some Geth. Tali put out two drones followed by her loaned shotgun. Beni just unleashed a singularity, for with her age and experience made it seem like a breeze. He had learned from Liara that Asari are always good to round out a tactical team.
But after John had Kerris undo the override the whole team got swamped by Geth. Rocket troopers, Pyros with those damnable flame throwers along with hunters. John just kept to his tactic of flowing around the field of battle striking with quick precise attacks.
[Dysfunction to curve your perception, blindfolded mind now open wide! A detonating charge of disbelief! Don't trust anyone, don't fear to decide!"]
"Kyson! Help us out here!" shouted Luke over the den of gunfire. John was freed up long enough to see Kyson rush to Luke and Garrus's position. He had both Omni-Blades out as he used his board as a human ballista swooping in and out of groups of Geth. Once Kyson had taken out two Pyros the team mopped up the rest thanks to Kerris who had used a handful of cluster grenades with a biotic lift upgrade. The same that had been used on them after the Geth archives.
"Legion what's your status?" asked John seeing that this room was cleared.
"The old machines upgrades allow us targeting superiority. We are drawing hostile fire from your position" replied Legion.
"Thanks Legion, be careful" replied John knowing that Legion would be fine. It was the best shot out of all of them. It's didn't have to worry about 'Human error'.
"John! We got another Prime!" shouted Kyson who had approached the elevator at the back of the pod room. John swore as he brought out his sticky grenades while hitting his cloak. He bolted past his team.
"John, the shit?" snapped Luke who knew he was cloaked. John ignored him as the Prime bore down on Kyson who was trying to keep the massive Geth platform at bay. John ran past the Prime while slapping four sticky grenades to the machines massive thigh. The platform had only begun to register what had happened before the whole thing was blown to smithereens.
[Take the red pill, feel the blast flowing in your mouth! Fatalistic comatose, necrosis is feeding the patters of lies!]
Kyson was blown back a few feet into a support beam causing Shepard to wince a bit. He may have used one grenade to many. But John froze as he heard the sound of a Geth unit right behind him. He was completely open to boot.
Shit…
"AHHHHHHHhHhhhhhhhhhhh!" came the ferocious scream from Kyson who had recovered from the blast. The young N7 ran straight at John with eyes ablaze with fury. John forgot about the Geth at his back for the raised hammer was coming right for his face. Time slowed as Kyson swung the hammer with all of his might bringing it down on Shepard but all he heard was a metallic crumpling sound as Kyson dodged to the side. Spinning on a heel. John watched as Kyson single handedly began to rip apart three more Geth platforms before he switched to beating the walls.
[Lies!]
"Kyson snap out of it already! They're dead" said Luke flatly at the end, but Kyson kept screaming in fury as he began to leave dents on the elevator shafts walls. Something was very wrong.
"Kyson! What are you doing?" shouted Tali trying to get to him as well. John was about to smack the kid out of it, but Kerris dropped down the shaft landing behind Kyson while slamming the N7 face first into the wall. Kyson froze.
"Don't…don't let it win Kyson. No matter what. You will never return if you give in to it…" said Kerris while Kyson stared at the team wide eyed in shock. He looked lost. Damn, it must have been another 'episode' he is going on the back burner for a while after this. John promised to himself.
Kerris let go of Kyson who seemed to be shaking visibly. Tali walked up to Kyson, but Garrus had moved quietly closer just in case something else made the engineer snap.
"Kyson, what the hell was that all about?" asked Tali. Kyson just held a hand to his head obviously trying to answer the question himself.
"Admiral Gerral to all ships, we have Geth frigates inbound on the civilian fleet…" began Han over the fleet comm.
"Koris here, we have ships on an intercept course. We'll hold them Gerral" replied Admiral Zaal'Korris. John shook his head.
"Later everyone, Kyson we are running out of time can you manage?" asked Shepard. From the sound of things the fleet was about to run out of time.
"Yeah I got this" replied the young man.
"Good, you and Kerris up the elevator shaft and make sure that damn blast door is open!" snapped John. Kyson along with Kerris gave a sharp salute before both by their own means flew up the shaft. The rest of the team piled into the elevator.
"Admiral Raan to all ships. The patrol fleet has broken through the Geth flank. Permission to pursue?" came the voice of Shala'Raan with her fleet.
"Permission granted, good hunting Raan" replied Gerral over the fleet comm.
"Fuck get this fucking elevator moving!" swore Shepard as he pounded on the controls.
"It didn't work for Kyson…"trailed of Garrus. John snorted as the heard gunfire once again. Along with giant blasts from what could only be mutable Geth Prime siege blasts. As the elevator leveled out. Kyson along with Kerris were pinned in the rafters up high and opposite the team. John motioned for everyone to take cover but he spotted something in a crate. There were three big guns. He smiled as he recognized them. He hadn't used these since hunting down Saren.
"Garrus, Tali…I got a present for you two" said John quietly. Both of his best friends crept over and with a single glace snatched a Geth Spitfire machine gun.
"Daddy likes…" said Garrus with a cruel smile.
"Okay, I have the right, Tali you get middle while Garrus get the left. On my signal" said John as all three got out in the open facing the distracted Geth.
"Now!" shouted John as the world around him erupted in in a blue plasma storm. The rapid firing heavy machine guns tore right through the monstrous Geth. Then, silence.
"We detect no more active Geth platforms near your position. Re-enforcements are minutes away" said Legion over the comm. John sighed as he tossed his spitfire aside.
"You getting anything from the base Legion?" asked John.
"Negative, we have not been registered as a threat. We recommend haste, the Creator fleet will be overrun if the connection is not severed from the old machines" said Legion. John brought out the targeting laser as both Kyson along with Kerris joined them.
"This war has been centuries in the making…to see it finally ending!" said Tali with excitement in her voice.
"We'll get it done Tali, we always do" said Garrus who nodded Shepard forward. John saw a platform that hung over the now open blast doors to the base. As he approached the edge EDI chimed in.
The Normandy's weapons are ready to synch to your target. I recommend withdrawing to a safe distance" said EDI. John aimed the laser at some giant red glowing node deep in the base, it was as good as anything else, but he heard footsteps next to him. It was Kyson.
"Let's do this shit, eh? I want to see a pretty explosion too ya know?" smirked the young marine. John nodded as he activated the laser. He saw a projection of a blue targeting field beamed all the way from the Moreh in orbit as it closed in on his target. A ping went off showing that he was locked. Kyson could be heard lighting a cigg.
"Locked on" said EDI as the Normandy swooped from the right of the facility. Two shots got perfectly aimed right down the center of the base. John was about to cheer but the resulting explosion knocked him off of the balcony!
John's stomach was in his throat as he growled out in fury at his recklessness by not heading EDI's warning, right before he smacked into the deck knocking the wind out of him. Oh I am going to feel that tomorrow! But John heard another thud. He got up and a few feet away was Kyson who had smacked his nose.
"Fucking hell!" said the bloodied engineer. John was about to lend a hand when a deep rumbling threatened to take his feet out from under him. Kyson who hadn't fully recovered went down again. John's world went into shadow as the sound of massive machinery moving assaulted his ears. He looked up and what he saw made his jaw drop. It wasn't just a base…
"Reaper!" he shouted in alarm as he tried to haul Kyson up. The engineer was just staring slack jawed at the giant Reaper just like the one on Tuchanka rising right before him.
"Shepard-Commander! We have located transportation!" said Legion over the comm right as a Geth land craft arrived just past the Reaper.
"Copy that, everybody move!" shouted John who had Kyson up and running. John ran full tilt as his team fought off Geth units dropping on them as the Reaper emerged from the depths of the base.
"How are we supposed to fight that thing?" shouted Tali far back in the distance. John made it to the craft only for his heart to sink. Tali was far back in the rear where Kyson seemed to be limping badly halfway between him and her. Kyson!
Tali's POV
The drop Kyson had taken with Shepard had knocked the hover board off of Kyson completely. She along with the rest of the team had dropped down with a few bruises, but as people hurried to Legion's ride, Kyson had barely been able to make headway. Then Geth platforms had begun to drop in. She tried to fight them off while Kyson struggled to stay on his feet. But as she got a few steps closer to him she saw the Reaper move one of its massive clawed feet high in the air, the way it was moving would land right on…
"Kyson!" she shouted in fear as she did the only thing she could do. She shoved the hover board under her feet stomping on the control plate with all of her might. She rocketed towards Kyson mere inches from the ground. She saw the Reaper claw coming down. Kyson was looking up at the thing not in horror but resignation. She threw one of her arms out as she grasped her bond mate's suit collar. The sudden addition of weight dragged her down causing the board to screech across the metal deck while threatening to tear her arm out of its socket. Kyson screamed as the Reaper stepped down mere inches from his feet.
Tali almost lost control as she cut the thrusters letting the two metal surfaces bring them to a grinding halt in front of Shepard who quickly got them below in the craft. Shepard stayed topside with the turret.
"How's Kyson doing?" shouted Shepard from up top. Tali was already frantically checking her man over. He had a broken nose, but she couldn't see what was wrong with his leg. She yelped when Kyson grasped her right as Legion bolted away with them in the strange Geth hovercraft.
"Damn I love you" said Kyson before kissing her visor. Tali just balked at how he could still be smiling after almost being crushed to death. Kyson held up a finger before she could ask.
"Hey John, a toaster dropped in and clipped my leg pretty good. The fucker had to be aiming for me!" shouted Kyson who began to laugh hysterically.
"Kyson Sorley, you are in the early stages of shock, we suggest for the rest of the team to take proper medical procedures" said Legion who was busy driving at full speed. Kyson just kept laughing as he climbed up partially behind Shepard.
"Kyson get back down here!" she shouted. He was truly going to kill himself!
"Hey John when we get out of this tunnel…oh fuck…" Kyson's words died in his throat for Tali got a glimpse of sky and the Reaper taking chase! Shepard began to fire back with the turret.
"John, please! That thing is useless at this point don't you think!" asked Garrus loudly.
"Well what would you do genius?" Barked Luke who seemed very displeased, not upset with his current situation.
"Tali, I'm going to use the fleet to take this thing down!" shouted Shepard.
"Then we will continue to take evasive maneuvers" added Legion.
"Shepard to fleet! It's not a Reaper base, but an actual Reaper! I need an orbital strike now!" shouted Shepard. Tali had successfully gotten a snickering Kyson back down inside the craft.
"What's so damn funny?" asked Tali. Kyson just kept laughing.
"Boom" said Kerris answering for Kyson. The only window she had above her flashed with a loud explosion. Sounds of the Reaper crashing to the ground making odd groaning sounds could be heard. Legion stopped the craft.
"What did we hit?" asked Admiral Gerral who sounded slightly worried over the comm.
"The firing chamber, it looks like a weak point when it's priming" said John. Tali looked up to see the Commander looking off into the distance.
"Is it dead?" asked Tali hoping the whole thing was over. A scowl and a slight shake of the head from Shepard made her heart sink causing her to grip the shotgun in her hands tighter.
Kyson's POV
Damn I hurt…I've been shot at, shot, slammed around, fallen from great heights and almost blown up. By a Reaper. I'm so done it's not even funny anymore. I need to talk to John about hazard pay after this. What I wouldn't give for a drink right now, my flask is dry, again!
Damn it the jamming towers have us firing manually! We can't make a precision shot!" gripped Gerral. Kyson snorted as he was interrupted from his internal bitching.
"Suck it up man" muttered Kyson.
"Han, Kyson says to suck it up and keep on it! Don't be a bitch" growled Luke with a smirk. Kyson heard Tali shift uncomfortably in the cramped Geth transport. She was obviously on edge. For good reason too.
"Shepard-Commander, we can still escape before the Reaper recovers" said Legion who was still looking dead ahead at the visual scanner. Kyson looked up at the turret access where John was climbing out. Wait, what the shit?
"No! Stay pulled over! If we leave now the Geth stay under Reaper control and the Quarians are dead. This ends now!" said John. Kyson had never heard the Commander so angry yet even in tone. But he had heard that same tone before. His father sounded just like that when dealing with horrible things in life, standing strong without a shred of doubt of what had to be done. It was the sound of command, of leadership. It was the sound of a hero.
"EDI, patch the Quarians into the Normandy's weapons system. I want the targeting laser linked to the whole damn fleet!" continued Shepard as he jumped out of view
"Shit" yelped Kyson as he hurried up the ladder. He was at the turret looking at the plains of Rannoch again. Shepard was on the ground staring at the still downed Reaper.
"John!" shouted Kyson who stared down his friend trying to get a read on the man. All he got was a cold shoulder while the Commander continued to give orders.
"Shepard to fleet, I'll paint the target! Be ready to fire!" said John loudly as he bolted to the right.
"What the fuck are you going to do? Take it out on foot?" shouted Kyson who couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"Damn straight now get that tin can behind cover!" John yelled back. Legion must have heard Shepard for the transport hovered a hundred feet away behind the outcrop John was scaling.
"What the hell am I supposed to tell Liara when you are nothing but fried chicken? She doesn't even know what chicken is…ah to hell with this!" Said Kyson as the transport stopped. Kyson wasted no time in hopping down. John must have hit his head to hard. They could be moving and use that thing for fucks sake. No more than ten steps away Tali followed by the rest of the team filled out.
"Kyson Sorley! We have inbound Geth resistance. We must protect Shepard-Commander!" said Legion with urgency. Kyson had rounded the boulders where John had climbed up. He could see a small shadowy figure on a cliff overlooking the plains. But his gut dropped when he saw the Reaper begin to rise. The horrible noise, the death horn or whatever it was blared causing the teeth in his head to rattle.
"Keelah, not again…" said Tali who stood next to him completely awestruck. Kyson was shaking as he took out one more cigg and lit the thing before slipping his goggles over his face. He got a full tactical readout. The Reaper was highlighted along with…
"John! The firing chamber is open again! Get out of there!" shouted Kyson as he got behind a boulder of several tons. Kyson saw a red flash as a beam of death and destruction began to scathe a deep channel into the rock of Rannoch. Kyson was sure John was gonna be roasted for sure but shots rang out behind him. A wave of Geth troopers had swarmed their flank. Kyson swore as he brought out his Widow. For the next two minutes Kyson could only feel each drag of his cigarette. Time had no meaning for each Geth that he put down it was replaced by two more. He had run out of thermal clips for the rifle so he simply dropped it for his shotgun.
But what was worse was the continual ground shaking explosions from the fleet hammering the Reaper but each strike seemed to be shrugged off. The Reaper had even brought down several ships on the Quarian fleet as it fired into orbit. Things were looking grim but Kyson didn't feel it. Well, until one of the Reapers attempts to take out Shepard missed taking off the top of the boulder mound.
Throughout the entire fight Kyson had heard voices screaming in fury and pain from all over the comms, but as boulders rained down on his position something he heard made him look back up towards John.
"John! Status?" asked Kyson as he loaded his second to last clip into his shotgun. All he got was silence.
"Garrus! Cover me, Shepard isn't responding!" and without waiting for an answer, he booked it up the rocks fully exposed.
"Yeah I got you, now hurry!" snapped the Turian. Kyson's muscles were burning to the point he could swear fire was being directly injected into him, but his blood instantly went cold for a Geth hunter had been hiding by John. It must have been trying to flank the Commander. But now, it was a foot away from Kyson. Hefelt a hand grasp his calf pulling him away right as the Geth's head exploded.
"Ahhh!" screamed Kyson as he slid a few feet down. He snapped his head around pulling his hammer, but it was only Tali.
"Thanks babe" he sighed as he went right back to climbing.
"You're welcome" said the gravelly voice of Kerris. Kyson grunted at the impossibility of things, but as he reached the ledge Shepard had been upon, he found the targeting laser on the ground. His gaze slowly saw a blood trail go behind a fallen boulder from the collapse.
"No….Kyson no it can't! This can't happen!" said Tali frantically seeing the same blood trail as him. Kyson took the last drag left on his cigg. He could hear the Reaper firing at the skies taking out more Quarian ships who were already struggling against the Geth Armada. He had let Tali down. He had failed Shepard by not following him right away. Kyson picked up the laser, it was still slightly warm from its processing unit running. He looked at the Reaper with a burning hatred.
"Kyson, what are we going to do?" asked Tali as she watched two ships fall from orbit. They were both full of her people. Women, children and all trying to finally make it back home. Kyson felt a weight on his shoulders that threatened to make him black out. So, with only one choice left before him, he aimed the laser at the Reaper…and pulled the trigger.
The red laser hit the close by Reaper causing the Machines' sensors to go off. It stopped firing at the Quarian fleet as it swung its massive body around, and looked directly at Kyson with its gigantic red eye. Kyson felt a screaming noise enter his brain as his knees began to give. A chime went off as the fleet synched up with the laser. A powerful shot rained down from the heavens hitting the Reaper right in the firing chamber seeing the thing into a convulsive fit. He couldn't breathe as the screaming in his mind subsided.
"Kyson! It's getting back up!" screamed Tali. But Kyson knew two seconds before it moved again. The screaming had doubled in his head making him twitch in his armor. The Reaper slowly got up to its full height baring down on Kyson. He tried to swallow but his mouth was dry. He was out of options as the Reaper leaned over him only fifty feet away with that maddening red eye of a firing device.
"Pull the trigger!" shouted Tali as he began to collapse at the knees. He felt his Life mate hold him up as he pulled the trigger for the last time. Kyson's eyes went wide as the Reaper began to charge its laser for the killing strike. He was floating now as the targeting laser beeped slowly as it acquired the target. He could feel the individual grains of sand blowing against his face with the desert winds. Despite the roaring noise in his head, it faded to silence. All he could hear was his heart beating so fast it was going to explode, but he could also hear Tali's last harsh intake of breath. This, this was the end.
A loud ping went off from the laser making Kyson's sense all come back to him at once. The Reapers damning mind noises, the laser about to fry him, gunshots and the works flooded his brain at once causing him to drop to the ground screaming.
Kyson would only remember from that day forward the blinding light from the first round that hit the Reaper. It blew both the Reaper and the fateful couple back from their standoff. Kyson felt Tali Grip him like a vise as they rolled across the barren rock, but he smiled as he saw a glimpse of the Reaper.
Far up in orbit, thousands of ships from the Quarian fleet rained down volleys of rounds directly at the Reaper. It tried to fire back but the force of the rounds being sent at hundreds of feet per second and more tore through the monsters shields. As more incoming fire pinned the doomed machine to the ground, it gave out one more blast in protest before falling silent. A minute later, the last salvo from above abated. Kyson crawled of Tali once the dust had settled. He coughed as he cleared his throat. He staggered towards the edge, he had to see! It had to be dead!
There at the plain below lay the carcass of the Reaper, not a single thing whizzed or whirred. Not a single running light nor a twitch of a leg. It was dead!
"Tali! Tali holy shit we did it! It's dead!" he shouted as he pushed up his goggles double checking with his own eyes! They had done it! They had taken the damn thing down! Tali ran up next to him. The sight of the Dead Reaper made her collapse to her knees.
"It's, finally over" she said in awe. Kyson quickly switched over to the Quarian fleets operations channel.
"This is Lieutenant Commander Kyson Sorley of the Normandy, the Reaper has been neutralized. I repeat, the Reaper has been neutralized!" said Kyson as he hauled Tali off the ground and into his arms.
"Well done down there! But we have a problem" said Han in response. Kyson felt the floating sensation subside.
"Wait, the Geth are just waiting. They have stopped firing, hold tight down there while we figure this mess out" snapped Han Leaving Kyson alone.
"Kyson, where is Shepard? He was the one who had the targeting laser" asked Admiral Korris. Kyson looked at Tali who had turned to look back at the blood trail. Kyson let go of his girl with heavy arms. He began to shake as he looked behind at the boulder he was sure Shepard must be underneath. Kyson's heart stopped when he saw the body. Shepard's head had a deep gash on the forehead causing a river of blood to flow over the commander's face.
"Kyson…is he?" asked Tali who reluctantly brought herself to look. Upon seeing the propped up form of john's body she paused. John's face was locked in a warm smile with those shocking blue eyes staring right through Kyson. Kyson was crushed. The Dommander Shepard. No…no! The war isn't over yet god damn you! Ah fuck please don't do this to us John! We fucking need you! Screamed Kyson's mind but he crouched right in front of John. Kyson sighed as he went to close the Commander's eyes out of respect, but the body's arm moved catching his hand. Kyson screamed as Shepard laughed his balls off.
"Damn fine work! I swear we were done for! Tali? What does that make for you? Two Reapers now?" asked a very chipper sounding Shepard.
"I thought you were dead!" snapped Kyson causing John to laugh even harder.
"Payback's a bitch, ain't it?" asked John.
"I was going to help you up, but now, fuck you" deadpanned Kyson. Shepard groaned as Tali helped him up.
"You pull that on me again Shepard 'Wham!' right in the balls you hear me?" said Tali. John nodded still smiling to himself as he reached the edge of the cliff. Kyson couldn't decide if he was smiling from the joke he had gotten revenge fore or the success of their mission. Kyson turned away from the scene bringing out another cigg.
"Yeah, I second the motion the sentiments of Tali boss…" Kyson heard a deep grumbling behind him that made his blood curdle.
"Shepard…" rumbled the deep voice that made the very air tremble. Kyson turned to see the lone red eye of the Reaper staring at them. The cigg fell from Kyson's mouth to the rock. It wasn't dead.
"You know who I am?" asked Shepard who walked up to the edge of the cliff standing tall. Kyson stole a glance at Tali who was bouncing on her toes.
"Harbinger speaks of you. You resist, but you will fail. The cycle must continue" said the machine who had long since made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. The red eye held so much old hate he couldn't even comprehend its depths.
"I killed Sovereign, now you" retorted Shepard.
"We are many" rumbled the dying giant machine.
"We are more! And we will work together to defeat you. All of you!" shouted John with determination. Kyson heard footsteps behind him. The rest of the team had made their way up to the cliff. All of them stood in silence as the gazed menacingly at the Machine.
"You cannot comprehend the magnitude of our presence" said the Reaper. Its certainty made Kyson's stomach churn. Why would the Reapers fear them? Look at all of the disjointed alliances that had been infighting before they had even showed up. They had handed the galaxy over to the machines practically.
"We might surprise you" said John who had crossed his arms in irritation. Kyson looked at the commander who looked like a stone wall. The Reapers saw themselves as the unstoppable force. But John, he was the immovable object. The monkey wrench in their grand design for the galaxy.
"You represent chaos, we represent order. Every organic civilization must be harvested in order to bring order to the chaos. It is inevitable, without our intervention organics are doomed. We are your salvation" said the machine giving Kyson his first insight to the Reapers motive.
"I have a better idea, we destroy you and live our lives in peace!" said John defiantly.
"Fuck yeah! I ain't gonna lay down my freedom for some damn machine!" snapped Luke.
"A philosophy reminiscing of the Quarians. Observe the results…" began the Reaper.
"You!" shouted John cutting off the Reaper. Kyson's jaw dropped a little, the commander had cut off a fucking Reaper!
"Whatever species you came from before the Reapers decided to pervert them. They're dead. They died thousands of years ago!" shouted John whit fury. Bits of spittle flew from his lips as he shouted at the dying machine. Kyson watched as the large eye quivered once before rolling back into itself. A groaning noise was heard before the lone leg holding the abomination up collapsed with a heavy metallic thud.
"And now, they can rest in peace" said John as he turned to face his team. The commander let out a deep breath before a soft smile came to his lips.
"That was fun, time for a shower and a cold drink. Tali, your planet is hotter than hell!" said John causing the team to cheer.
"Shepard! You down there?" asked Han from the comm.
"Yeah, how is the fleet doing?" asked Shepard. Kyson lit yet another cigg as he found Tali's hand. He looked at the dead Reaper but his gaze drifted off towards the distant horizon. He had held his promise. Tali had her home back.
"Doin' fine lad now that you have disabled the Geth! They are completely vulnerable!" said Han excitedly.
"Admiral, the Reaper is dead, this war is over" said John firmly.
"Damn right it is thanks Shepard" said Han with a happy tone. Kyson turned to see Shepard scowling.
"Shepard-Commander! The Geth only acted in self-defense after the Creator attack! Do we deserve death?" asked Legion frantically. Kyson got on the comm again.
"Han, don't be an idiot. Call off the attack" said Kyson with a frown.
"No can do Kyson. I'm sorry" replied Han.
"Legion, what are you suggesting?" asked Shepard.
"Our upgrades, with the Old Machine dead we could upload them to all Geth without sacrificing their independence" said Legion. Kerris walked up to Legion with what looked like joy on his face.
"You're…you're saying that what we have been working for will finally happen? True sentience?" asked Kerris who looked as if he was about to cry.
"Yes" replied Legion causing Kerris to whoop with joy.
"You want to upload the Reaper code? That would make all Geth as smart as when the Reaper was controlling them…" said Tali.
"Yes but with free will. Each Geth unit would be a true intelligence. It would be alive and we could help you" said Legion honestly.
"Our fleet is already attacking! Uploading the code would destroy us! Shepard, you can't choose the Geth over my people!" shouted Tali in fear.
"Tali! What the hell? This is what we have been working towards! This would end the war!" said Kyson trying to reel her in.
"Do you remember the question that started this war Tali'Zorah? Does this unit have a soul?" asked Legion with what Kyson could swear was sadness. The young N7 looked at Kerris who seemed to be twitching in place.
"Yes my friend! You do, please Tali don't sentence my family to death! We made this mistake before, don't repeat history!" pleaded Kerris.
"Upload the code Legion, Tali, call off the fleet if you can" said Shepard. The commander didn't show any emotion, just a calm that reminded Kyson of staring out over the ocean on a cool day. It was far and distant.
"This is Admiral Tali'Zorah, all units break off your attack" ordered Tali over the comm on the operations channel.
"Belay that order! Continue the attack!" shouted Han in response. Tali looked at Kyson forlornly, her eyes pleading him to do something. But all Kyson could do was shake his head. He couldn't live with himself if he sentenced an entire race to extinction for someone else's mistakes. Tali shoved Kyson out of the way storming right up to Legion.
"I beg you, do not do this! Please Legion!" Tali pleaded. Legion already had a control holo of the Reaper codes up and running. Over sixty percent of the code had already been uploaded.
"We regret the death of the Creators, but we see no alternative" replied Legion causing everyone's gut to churn with dread at the consequences.
"No!" snapped John who had a mask of fury on his face.
"Nobody else dies today! Legion, keep going" snapped John before activating his comm.
"All ships this is Commander Shepard. The Reaper is dead, stand down!" ordered John trying to reach the individual captains of the Quarian fleet.
"This is Admiral Tali'Zorah, Shepard speaks with my authority" added Tali to clear up any confusion.
"And mine as well" added the distinct voice of Admiral Zaal'Korris. Kyson looked at his dad who was busy stroking his chin. Garrus caught his gaze, but the Turian simply nodded back to Shepard. I guess there is nothing I can do but watch…this fucking sucks!
"Negative! We can win this war now! Keep firing!" snapped Han over the comm.
"The Geth are about to return to full strength! If you keep attacking you will be wiped out. Your entire history is trying to kill the Geth, you forced them to rebel. You forced them to ally with the Reapers! The Geth don't want to fight you. If you can believe that for just one minute this war will be over! You have a choice. Please…Keelah Se'lai" finished Shepard who looked Tali dead in the eyes. Kyson couldn't make out her expression, but he knew what it was. Hope.
"All units, stand down" ordered Han. Kyson let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding in relief.
"Well done, Shepard! I never doubted you, oh this is glorious!" cheered Kerris who slapped the commander on the back in the first jovial display from the cyborg.
"Error, copying code is insufficient. Direct personality dissemination required. Shepard-Commander I must go to them. I'm…I'm sorry. It's the only way" said Legion. At that moment, a needle could have been heard hitting a metal floor from across the galaxy. John grimaced with the others, but Kerris had his jaw dropped in utter horror.
"No! I can't let this happen! Legion, don't you leave me! You are my best friend, damn you!" shrieked the cyborg.
"Kerris, you are my best friend as well. Help Shepard, help the Normandy destroy the Old Machines. We owe them this. Goodbye my friend…" said Legion as Kerris clamped his metallic arm on the shoulder of his Geth buddy. The cyborg couldn't let go of his family.
"Legion, the answer to your question was yes…" said Tali trying to help the situation.
"I know Tali, but thank you. Keelah Se'lai" said Legion. And with those words. The machines lights went out as it collapsed to the ground, with Kerris screaming with rage as he too went to his knees.
Kyson had witnessed the dawn of a new eon for two different species.
A/N
Sup!
I have half of chapter ten done, but it may be a while for I am writing my first original piece of work. so keep an eye out as always!
Also, The contest winner wont be showing up until another four or five chapters. The person will no they one once read!
Review as you will as always!