An Authors Note
Done. With this concludes the prologue of this story. My apologies for this appearing rushed and short. I don't have much time left before I leave for boot camp. And with that, have fun with this chapter...
Oh, Blessed be the little ones...
Mass Effect:
What Got Me in this Mess?
By:
Apathy of the Abyssal Void
Chapter 5:
The Chase Within Evergreen Woods (Part III):
Final Confrontation and Capture
*At a unknown area approximately 22:00 *
"What's the situation Sergeant ?"
"We've got friendlies pinned down a mile and a half south! They need extraction now!"
"Alright! We go with the plan! Let's get them outta there!"
'Where am I now? What's going on?'
Opening my eyes, I see the ceiling of a familiar truck as I hear voices and other various noises occurring outside of the vehicle. Of course with the truck being Optimus in disguise, I had no worries that I'll be safe in his hands. Slowly getting up, I grabbed my head in pain and confusion as the noises got louder. Looking around in the darkness, I can barely see some hangars and open areas with soldiers running in different directions as if they were prepping themselves for an assault. Which was very likely, seeing as some of the soldiers had gathered around with one standing away from the group, shouting orders.
'Man, first I get blown up by a talking Scorpion tank and now I'm at a military base that looks a lot like my time period. Looks like I've been out of it for far too long. I need to see what's going on here,' I thought to myself as I carefully look around from the safety of the cab. Reaching for the passenger side door, I see a glint of metal reflecting light from a nearby sources. Curiously, I moved my dominant hand (i.e. my right), only for the light to follow simultaneously.
'Is this what I think it is? ' I thought as brought my hand closer, causing the small light to vanish. It was then I actually started to feel cold metal rapped around where should be my right hand. 'How long was this attached to me? Never mind, I need info and soon.' With that in mind, I quietly hop out of the truck and tried to be as silent as I could, despite the controlled chaos all around. What I didn't see was the truck driving off to a different area, which happened to be the HQ of the base. Seeing the soldiers not paying attention to me, I try to act serious yet casual while they were talking.
Despite not being able to accurately hear what the soldiers wear saying, all I could glean from them was that some people were stuck fighting some other guys not far from here and needed help. Other than that, all I could get was that the enemy was unlike what they had ever encountered before. Not very helpful guys. "Man, I wish I knew where to go." I mutter to myself as I continue to listen in on the discussion. My new glove then started to glow dimly with a dull shade of blue before turning green.
That's a new one. Quickly, I look at the glowing glove before glancing back at the soldiers, who were unaware of the light at the moment, then faced the glove once more with a look of nervousness. Not having a whole lot of options, I head off towards the nearest building while attempting to remain undetected. Keyword attempting. Not long after I try to run, I felt a hand on my shoulder that held me in place. "Well well well. It looks like our guest here has wandered off a little." I turn my head to see a man decked out in military gear not unlike what everyone else was wearing.
He had a short brown hair with signs of a fuzzy beard/mustache combination and a lightly tanned face beneath that. That rang some bells of familiarity in my mind, but instead of trying to guess the guy's name I decided to ask him where to go," Sorry, I'm lost here. Do you know which way I need to go?" He smirked a little before replying," No problem. Just come with me for now." I hesitated for a moment before relenting, turning to fully face the soldier and said," Okay, lead the way then." He nodded and released me from his hold then ordered a few other soldiers to follow them.
A few minutes later...
Arriving at what appears to be the headquarters, I glance around to see the entire hanger filled with electronic equipment and other assorted stations set up. What stood out the most was a group of very different vehicles, ranging from sport cars to trucks and the like. Interesting, this looks far different than I had imagined ever since I had watched those movies, but to see the Autobots...whew, pretty scary. In fact, I wouldn't doubt the possibility of Decepticons being here too. If that's the case, I really don't want to be anywhere near them. Shaking my head to dispel those thoughts, I turn my head to see the lead soldier talking to some other people with one of them glancing at me during the conversation.
It felt annoying having someone talking about you while you were within hearing range. Despite this, I did my best to ignore it in favor of examining the glove's bizarre glowing all the while muttering, "Again with the exclusions, it's weirding me out right now. At any rate, now would be a good time to see what's up with this glove." "That won't be necessary Roland." I raised my eyebrow at the voice emanating from the glove, giving off a distinctive vibe of recognition. Where have I heard of this voice? "I'm sorry, you are..." "Ah, my apologizes for not speaking sooner. Perhaps this will be easier for you." Easier? The hell does he mean by...
Before I could finish, the green light from the glove flashed and revealed a small figure hovering over the glove. The figure's appearance alone without describing it was enough to startle me into shouting,"Delta!?" This action did not go unnoticed by everyone else that heard me shout. Unfortunately, drawing their attention was possibly the worst thing I could do for myself since they'll probably demand to have me turn the AI fragment over to them in order for them to try and create AI's on their own. As unlikely as that sounds, I was sure that there was a chance of that happening even though I had no clue what to do since I screwed that part up.
"Hey kid, what's with the talking green flashlight?" Seeing the same soldier from earlier, I gave a weak smile before responding," Well, you see..." "I insist you do not need to explain what or who I am. It appears that they are not uncomfortable dealing with something unusual, regardless of the presence of alien life forms." The soldiers and I chuckled at the end of the sentence, with varying degrees of reasoning. If Delta could frown from not understanding our internal humor, we wouldn't be able to see it.
Continuing on he said,"From what you may have already gathered, I am Delta. I am an AI, which stands for Artificial Intelligence, designed to better aid soldiers on the battlefield. Unfortunately, my partner had fallen during the line of duty and due to a series of events, I am currently installed to this device to aid Roland at the request of the Illusive Man." I gaped at the AI for just bluntly stating the purpose of being here, let alone planted inside the glove.
"T-That doesn't make any sense!" I shouted, having felt confused at this new piece of information before continuing,"First of all, how the hell could he even reach your dimension? Not even he has access to that technology! Sure I was a little skeptical when Legion had explained his arrival and I may even overlook the Blues being here too. But how can you explain yourself or Carolina being here? Or even the Transformers? Our Earth wasn't supposed to have any of this! It was all supposed to be..." I struggled to find the right word before Delta helpfully added,"Normal." "Normal, thanks Delta. Normal, all of it...normal." I finished softly, hanging my head in sadness. Bringing two fingers to pinch the bridge 'tween my eyes, I exhale slowly before looking back up shakily at the others, who had gone silent during my rant along with everyone else in the hanger.
Before the lead soldier could ask, I snapped,"I'm fine. I just need to think a bit more clearly right now. Not really in the mood for comforting." He shook his head before replying,"Look kid, you're not the first to be saddled with a huge responsibility. I'm not gonna ask what you're story is or anything, but don't worry too much." I shrugged lightly before smiling at him. "Alright." I said, not feeling the need to say much else aside from wanting to continue onward.
"Right. With that out of the way, we need to know what you can tell us about the enemies your friends are fighting right now." the soldier stated, having successfully removed the somber atmosphere. I tilt my head to the side before asking,"What do you know so far?" He replied,"They're obviously not like what we usually fight against. They appear to be insect in origin for the most part. Very advanced technology and it shows with their weapons. Our readings detect unusual traces of radiation too. Anything you can add would be extremely useful." Silently praying that I might be wrong, I decided to ask," Would you happen to have any images on their appearances?" As he began displaying images of the area where the nonhuman shadows were present, I could make out some very disturbing features that the unknown soldier might have left out, causing my face to pale by the second and my expression turned into that of intense fear.
He noticed the look on my face and grimaced, realizing that the odds were much lower than anticipated. I saw him looking at me intently, before shaking my head and replying,"What you just described and shown basically means that you guys have little to no chance fighting them. They're the Collectors, a subservient insect race from the Mass Effect games, most notably Mass Effect 2. If what you said is true, no human has a chance against them and I'm sure the Autobots would be hard pressed to fight them. The reason is that they are about the size of the average human being, maybe larger depending on what specific Collector you encounter. It doesn't make sense as to why they would come for Earth, we aren't even remotely advanced enough to warrant their attention. Unless... No. No. Nononononono. That would mean..." The Reapers had a hand in this...but why would they send the Collectors here? It's not like there's anything important here anyway.
Shaking my head, I continued on with the explanation on what the Collectors are and their capabilities, even though the information wouldn't be able to do much without requiring an extreme advancement in technology. "At any rate," I said to the soldier, changing the topic of our conversation with the intent on learning on what or why I'm here in the first place,"Is there any particular reason why I'm here, aside from needing to know how royally screwed we are?" "Indeed there is, young human." I look around for the owner of that voice, since it didn't sound like Optimus at all, until I saw a large, tall red figure walking toward me from the rear. He looked rather old, if the supposed beard on its face was any indication. Although this was been the second Transformer that talked to me, it still makes me feel uneasy, despite my inner fanboy screaming nonsensical gibberish from the sight of them (regardless of the design that would correlate with the Transformers movies...). I fidgeted a little before asking,"Who might you be? Er wait, lemme rephrase that. What's your name?" "Be still young one, there is no need to fear me. I am Sentinel Prime. An ally to you and the other humans among my Autobot brothers."
Sentinel Prime? That's odd. I haven't heard of any other Prime mentioned before. Curse my lack of information. I thought to myself before asking,"If that's the case, then how did you get here? I haven't heard of you before..." Although given the circumstances, something tells me he was an important character from the eventual third Transformers movie. "That will not be necessary. Know that I am here to fight against the Decepticons." he had replied, making me feel a little put out that he wouldn't tell me anything.
"Ah well, that's alright. More power to you, I guess. So...what was the reason before Big Red showed up?" I asked the group curiously, seeing a few others sharing glances before one of the leading soldiers spoke up," Aside from providing intel on these 'Collectors', we were ordered to make sure you stayed safe while another group will be sent to rescue your friends." Oh, I guess that makes sense. I can't really fight anyway, so I'd end up jeopardizing the mission. At the very least, Legion and Delta are here...right? ''Hey Delta?" I asked the AI implanted in my glove, he reappeared in his usual green glow above the device."How may I be of assistance?" he asked in response in his usual normal voice. "Do you know if Legion came with us? I'd imagine that he did." Delta was silent for a moment before responding," I do not know of a Legion, but I am very certain that Caboose is nearby. Perhaps he can tell you of your friend's location."
"Okay, thanks Delta."
A pause...
"You are welcome."He faded back into the glove and I looked around for a signal to freely walk around again. It appeared that everyone had left or returned to their previous duties., though I have no doubt they would watch me in case I try and find the others. Speaking of which, I need to find Caboose before he hurts anyone by accident. Let's see...where can I find a guy in blue SPARTAN armor...This shouldn't be too difficult. Leaving the hanger, I spot a blue figure over by the aircraft, examining them with childlike curiosity. That must be Caboose. Maybe he'll tell me what happened...I hope.
I briskly move to Caboose's location, only for him to continue heading off in another direction. Annoyed by this, I began running after him with hope that I can catch up to him. I saw him turn around to face me, making me slow down before I end up crashing into him. Upon seeing my arrival, he exclaimed,"Mr. Cain!" I briefly wondered how long he was going to stick with that name before I replied,"Hey there Caboose. Mind if I ask you a question, since I had to chase you down?" "Sure!" he chirped and I gave a small smile as I asked,"Do you know where the one-eyed robot is?" "Oh him? He's with Church, Tucker and the pretty blue lady. Was she your girlfriend or something?" I gave him an odd look and replied," No, why would you ask?" It couldn't be because we were there at the same time from his point of view? Most likely. He gave a light shrug and said,"She was really mad at us when she thought you died when you blew up by our tank, which was not my fault." If I was capable of performing an anime sweat drop, I would right now so I settled for giving him an exasperated look and said to myself," That's so like you to say that."
Focusing back onto what happened while I 'died', I asked him in detail as much as he could and Caboose stated what had happened from the beginning to our arrival here. Once he finished recounting the events, I stayed silent for a few minutes trying to understand what exactly the Geth meant when he said that phrase. Granted, he must have picked it up from one of the books I kept in my room, though it makes me wonder if he actually understood it's meaning. Bondsman, huh? Which book was it from? Who knows...
With a sigh and a glance at Caboose with resignation, I reply," Well, thanks for the information. I need to find a way to get back to the others. Can't stand the idea that they stayed behind for us to escape. Caboose, do you know where we can find a way back?" Before Caboose could respond, a voice spoke,"Sorry, you won't be going anywhere. In fact, your stay on Earth has ended as of now." Intense pain coursed through my chest, almost indescribable. I look down to see a blade sticking out from where my lungs would be. I look back at Caboose, confusion evident on my face when I felt a slightly less intense pain from the blade extracting itself from my body, leaving me to stumble around until I fell to the ground. I could barely hear, see or anything at the moment and the last thing I saw was a man with a bloody sword fighting off an enraged Caboose.
Great, now I'm gonna die for real this time...Fantastic.
...
...
...
On second thought, screw that. No way I'm letting a damn stab wound stopping me at all. First things first, I gotta get up. Forcing myself to open my eyes, I slowly move my right arm to push myself off the ground, though I'm still in a lot of pain. "Delta. A little assistance please?" I barely hear a reply from him before I feel a sudden rush in my body, like hot water had just been poured all over me. I winced as the bleeding hole started to close up rapidly and sealing shut.
"That's new. When did that happen?"
"The first time this happened while you were unconscious the device activated and healed all of your prior injuries."
"Huh. You'd think I'd be in no condition to move right now from being stabbed and all."
"Hm. You are correct. The best course of action is for us to leave immediately."
"I don't know what you did to survive that strike, but I guarantee you won't leave this place alive."
This time, I turn around and see my assassin attempting to perform another killing blow with his raised blade pointing down at me. I bring up my right arm to defend myself, only for him to come at me from below in an instant. My mind and body tried to process what happened, but it was too late. I took another sword blow to the abdomen. Another through the lungs. I was hurled back by his biotics, my body crashing onto the hard ground. During all this, my body kept trying to heal every time I came close to dying. Near fatal wound, intense pain, heal, more pain, and repeat. My body slowly began shutting down in an effort to keep me alive and before I knew it, the darkness claimed me once more.
Normal POV
As Roland's damaged body collapsed, the assailant roughly grabbed him and hauled him over his shoulder. He then reached into a side pocket and pulled out an odd looking orb and activated it. The orb began glowing and floated away from his hand, casting an holographic image that displayed the Illusive Man in all his glory. The assassin spoke,"I have the package." "Good work Leng. Take him to the shuttle for transport. I expect a briefing on the boy's capabilities so I can decide where he can best utilize his talents. Oh and make sure to stay under the radar for the time being, we don't want him questioning anything right now." "Understood." The assassin known as Leng responded and looked at the downed form of Caboose and commented,"You were pretty strong. Too bad you weren't strong enough to save him. He belongs with Cerberus now."
Off in the distance, there are bodies lied strewn about, all human. The creatures known as the Collectors had rendered them unconscious due to the fact that they were searching for a specific human. These humans were spared from whatever horrifying prospects could have been in store for them. They had all vanished mysteriously, leaving naught but a desolate battlefield. Someone or something had told them their target had left the planet and they departed from the primitive planet in pursuit to wherever they may have gone.
After all, he could not hide forever...
