~ The Skies above Ilos: Noble Six's Decent ~
"You know I'm not going to pussy foot around this."
"… It's not like you do that with anything else."
"I want you back alive and well Six. I don't care what your Spartan code says or how good you are. One of these days this kind of stuff will get you killed."
"It's part of the territory. A long life expectancy wasn't part of the deal."
"… It's not fair. Why don't you guys just share some of that burden? Just because you're some super soldier doesn't mean you have to-"
"… It's not that simple."
"Look, you may not give a rat's ass for your life but I-…I mean we as a team care for you… ugh…"
"…"
"Damn you and your super hero act for making me say this."
"… I understand. Trust me, I don't take any of you guys for granted nor my opportunities anymore. I need to do this and you know it."
"I know I can't stop you. Shepard trusts you and deep down I know you can get this done too Just promise me you'll be alive when I get down there."
"… I don't plan on anything different."
"Just say the words damn it…"
"… Fine… I promise."
"… Death closes all: but something ere the end, some work of noble note, may yet be done, not unbecoming men that strove with Gods... you'll come back because you have unfinished business Spartan."
"Unfinished business with the Reapers… or with you?"
"…Just prove to me again how great you are. Keep that promise and you can tell the entire galaxy you've impressed Chief Gunner Ashley Williams and brag to the whole Alliance fleet."
"Now that's something to look to."
"You… you're an ass you know that?"
"… You stay safe too Lieutenant."
/ Initiate Landing – Impact Imminent /
~ Citadel: Control Tower ~
"This is the Destiny Ascension, control do you read? We're sustaining heavy attack! Evacuate the Council! Evacuate Citadel! Control! Do you read?"
In the Citadel's main control room an Asari's lifeless gaze gave an empty stare to the blackness, not even a breath to be had as her life drained away. Her flaccid body fell, dragged along the ground like prey that had met its apex predator. The red sparks from a vibroblade jammed through her back illuminated the room, flickering the rare image of a Spartan gone mad. Noble Six, or the little that was left of him, tossed the body aside, pressing the com's button all too calmly.
"Sorry... they're dead asleep..."
"Control? Who was that? Hello?"
With the footsteps of a lone killer there was no formal reply. The Destiny Ascension's dreadful fortune was only getting worse. The invasion had begun.
~ The Conduit Entrance ~
Tempting time.
The Mako had barely made it through the Conduit. From the firing line of Geth it barely survived the turbulent relay jump itself, in vintage Shepard fashion she climbed out of the overturned vehicle with all body parts intact. The Normandy squad was in a scramble of the ages. With what Tali had pulled from the Prothean V.I. Vigil on Ilos, Shepard knew that she had to get this datapad to the system within minutes. She needed to override the defense controls. Not only had the Geth reached the Citadel with the hourglass dwindling on a Reaper Armageddon. But their newest recruit…
"Shepard, his vitals signals are completely scrambled." Tali's concern came through the team's intercom. "It's not a mistake… it's like the Reaper sent some sort of highly evolved virus through his entire system."
"This can't be happening." Ashley's frustration overtook, her heart pumping so hard it felt like it was going to burst from her chest armor. "We need to find him. Can't you undo what Sovereign did to him yet Tali?"
"Still working on it but it's not looking good Lieutenant Williams."
Garrus took note at the Citadel as death was coming like a rapid plague. He could only imagine the horror of an unleashed Spartan on innocents. "… Six's body is half machine right? I figured he'd be susceptible to some sort of corruption, especially from a living machine like Sovereign."
"Six and I had discussions and even drew out the systems in his MJOLNIR armor." Tali was working as fast as she had ever been, going through countless files and schematics. "His suit and body are able to house A.I.'s. My guess is Sovereign knew this somehow and has taken advantage. Noble Six showed me the fail safes that are used to deal with rampant A.I's in his world. He should have been able to prevent this."
"There's something we're missing." Shepard began leading the team towards the tower. "If I know Six, even if he had the smallest window he'd take advantage of it." Their leader squeezed her rifle close to the chest, almost in a silent prayer.
"We should not doubt our friend." Liara 's spirit sank against her words, thinking of all she knew about the Spartan. "He may have had ghosts to deal with but he would never be capable of something like this."
"What if you were not the first ones that actually retrieved him?" A sultry accent drenched voice called out from the carnage.
The Normandy team spun, guns ready to go, a familiar branded name on a group of biotics, mercenaries, and a sexily clad agent flashing right at them. As if Shepard didn't have enough on her plate the new fact was simple. Cerberus' finest had decided to join the fray.
"What the hell are they doing here?" Ashley was instantly put on guard.
"I'm agent Miranda Lawson and this is agent Jacob Taylor," She calmly walked to them as if there was no Alliance and Cerberus conflict. "We're not here to start trouble Commander Shepard. It seems we both have enough as it is."
"Shepard give me the word and I'll ice 'em." Wrex licked his chops.
Taylor gave a nod towards Shepard after a stare down with the Krogan, "Look, we've got bigger things to worry about so I suggest we call a truce Commander."
"Stand down Wrex," the crew may have hesitated but Shepard knew otherwise. Their leader's attention was now all Miranda's as she strode towards them, a calmness and elegance emitting with every step. Her flawless face, even in this dire time, was not an easy thing to glance away from. She was always the center of attention, an end of the world scenario notwithstanding.
"Firstly for now, yes we are on your side," Miranda hit the large circular button calling for the elevator, "Secondly, perhaps Sovereign was more prepared and calculating than you all thought." She glanced to the Tower, attempting to estimate the time needed to pull off this mission. "I believe based on my sources, Noble Six has been tampered with well before you found him. You're going to need one hell of an engineer to get him back Commander."
"And how do you know that?"
"If you have the credits and the connections," She pedestrianly stated, "Information is out there to be bought Shepard. The galaxy has more eyes than you think."
At least the Shadow Broker does.
"So you're telling me Noble Six was already tainted before he came to us, being left on that ship like bait?" Garrus had no hints to this revelation, thinking of when they actually found the Covenant Phantom in its torn state. "So why didn't Sovereign just kill us all then and there?"
"Who knows," Miranda had a hand on her hip. "Perhaps he's playing games. Perhaps he's being too overconfident. Perhaps it's some sort of test."
Shepard tried to get her memory straight. She felt like she had the answer locked away but just needed the key. "Noble Six kept telling me how he was being sold the idea to join. Indoctrination didn't work obviously. Maybe there's something about his possession of Six he doesn't find ideal."
"… Forcing his hand…" Tali mumbled over the intercom. "Why indoctrinate Saren instead of turning him into a complete slave? Why not just take Noble Six from the get go and not sacrifice so many Geth units? There's something to this Shepard. There's something about a direct tenure that is not an ideal situation for Sovereign… it's like a machine running different equations to get a different outcome."
Shepard tried to pull them back on the mission rather than hypothetical banter. "Tali I know it's asking for a tall task but I need you to do something that might be able to stunt Sovereign's control over Noble Six."
"Trying to beat a sentient like a Reaper at its own game? I don't know if I can in a year let alone a few minutes Commander!"
"It's going to be tough, yes." Shepard held onto little hope. "But you told me you have some direct controls over the suit that you modded yourself. If we still have that link we still have a chance. I know it's not a fair order but I need something Tali."
'Y-yes Commander… I will do my best…"
"And while you handle your business with Noble Six, there is another piece to the puzzle." Miranda simpered as their elevator arrived. A wink later and she grinned. "Going up?"
~ Council Tower: Elevator ~
It was a slow ride up the Citadel Tower, Cerberus and Normandy teams knowing the nightmare that awaited them. For those that didn't, all they had to do was take a glance outside, the storm Sovereign was conjuring up rearing its ugly head in panoramic view. The crew tried to ignore the destruction left by the Geth and an unrelenting Noble Six, the story Miranda told helping them if only a little. She spoke to the Normandy team as a storyteller, so entrenched in the last piece of the puzzle as she eloquently put.
There was an x factor to all of this. The being that brought Noble Six to this world was still the irregularity. Ms. Lawson tried to explain who Rachel was and why a sentient being like Sovereign would want her. Just days before this invasion, Jacob and Miranda had pulled up the files from the Trebin Facility – the base Rachel was being tested and experimented on. After they tore through the Geth squadron stationed there - suffice to say, Miranda had some questions for her boss.
Why such information that Cerberus probably had recovered for the Illusive Man's eyes wasn't transferred to her was a start. The experiments and interviews with the subject named Rachel were chilling and for telling. The terminal transcriptions of experiments that were on a paranormal level – the known dark matter manipulation capable of implanted biotics as the late Kaiden Alenko was not the interest. The 'biotics' in Rachel in fact weren't even actually biotics at all.
The truth was in the data:
**Trebin Base: Datapad Feed**
*In the highest security cell there was no light. A young girl was a prisoner, entrapped by impenetrable walls that wouldn't let even a scream that could shatter glass leak out. She was bolted down by her wrists, forced to be seated at a cold steel table, adorned in a gown fit for a psychiatric ward. A door slowly creaks as steps follow, a dark figure adorned in the Cerberus colors stalking towards the broken soul in the shadows. Behind him a group of Cerberus guards walk in fully armed. The figure takes a seat, taking a few moments until there were any spoken words.*
Officer: Rachel, for our reports can you repeat and describe what you see when you are in your meditative state.
Rachel: I've told you so many times already… *Evidence of needles and syringe wounds were all over her arms, constant testing* Let me go…
Officer: Don't question me and just answer what I ask. You know what happens when the soldiers are kept waiting.
Rachel: I-… *she sighed meekly, glancing around the room with frightened eyes* I meditate to escape from this world. To not be… here… they tell me I can see things… take things...
Officer: That's not what I asked. Just answer the question.
Rachel: … I go to a place where humans are on the brink of destruction. Where they are unified as one to protect all they have. I see a place where humans suffer, a select few of them willing to risk everything to become…
Officer: … Spartans you called them… correct?
Rachel: *she glanced annoyed*… Courageous warriors, although few in number, they defend their world against the unstoppable. They may be on the brink of death there, but at least they are united… like knights saving a kingdom. *She had a glassy gaze as she looked to space* Sometimes I can almost feel like I can pull them here… I feel so close to them…
Officer: Tell me about… the Covenant… the war that you told our doctors.
Rachel: *she sighed, tear running down her eyes from exhaustion* … N-no. I am tired of this… I need to leave!
Officer: … Quiet down!
Rachel: You want to see and feel their pain? GO AHEAD! *lavender energy flowed, the Officer beginning to gasp, holding onto his head and shouting out in agony*
Man: ARGH! STOP!
Rachel: Let me go… they are coming! You hear me? You're all going to die! No one is safe!
*The Cerberus Officer points to the camera, waving his arms wildly, helpless to the mental onslaught. Soldiers step up to Rachel violently grabbing her by her gown and slamming her into a wall. The girl screams as she is abused with no mercy, daring to harm her capturers. A soldier walks to the camera, shutting off the feed*
"… We lost her to a Geth attack and no one survived to give a report." Miranda explained. "Her name is Rache, earth born. Her abilities have substantially increased since contact with a Reaper. Shepard we just didn't find some sort of meta-biotic," she hummed. "We've found some sort of meta-telepathic being."
Shepard wasn't fazed and couldn't argue the evidence. Telepathy was a norm in her journey. The Rachni Queen had the ability as well as the Thorian in a more devastating manner. This human girl seemed to tap into that, going beyond either of those two creatures, manifesting it into mind bending abilities. How much of it was from Sovereign's help she didn't know. The power of telepathy to see into other worlds was just something she could not grasp.
"You treat a young girl like that and you guys expect her to come running back to you?" Ashley shrugged off their mission with little pity. "You guys are stupider than I thought."
"Cerberus has renegade idealists that take it to the extreme but we are not all crazy." Miranda defended. "Abusive circumstances aside, what that project birthed was a girl who had abilities that will usher in a new age. Noble Six's entrance into this world was created by a human being. Do you not understand the weight of the situation?"
Shepard remembered her conversation with Six before the Ilos mission. "We've already had enough of what the girl can do. Not to mention Noble Six swearing she'd already invaded his mind. I'm kind of relieved… he isn't going crazy."
"Telepathic abilities confirmed," Miranda was gleaming but serious. "We don't want to hurt Rachel but someone like that must be taken care of and be taken out of Reaper hands. She needs to come with us."
"I agree she's important but I don't agree she goes with you." Shepard stopped her request. "I'll make that decision once we get there."
"Oh? And what do you suggest Shepard?" Miranda had that bity tongue working. "You Alliance types are going to take care of her like you took care of Noble Six?"
"You got a big mouth posh spice!" Ashley got in between Miranda and her superior. "We need to get to Noble Six and save the Citadel. We can't be wasting our time with this Cerberus bitch."
"We'll need their help." Shepard was being realistic in her interruption. "Brute force will only hurt Noble Six. Either way and our chances of success are minimal. Tali's our best chance. We need to stall for time, get the Citadel's defenses up. Any help is needed. We need both Six and the girl alive."
Liara clung onto that hope. "If we can break Sovereign's grip he'll have no forces on the ground. In my heart I know Noble Six will pull through. Based on this new information I do not believe this Rachel is any different."
Miranda reassured. "I agree with your Asari in that she's not intrinsically evil." She grabbed her pistol. "We're ready Commander. Cerberus will aid you all we can this time. But Rachel will be coming with us."
Shepard was about to argue until the Turian of the group began stammering.
"Um, maybe you guys can ask her who she wants to go with." Garrus gulped, staring outside as the little daemoness was floating outside the glass, beaming at them like they were guinea pigs in an enclosed trap. Shepard and co braced for impact.
~ A Lone Wolf's Mind: Oni Sword Base Outpost ~
{You choose this path Spartan… I warned you…}
(In the real world a gun is placed against the head of an Asari, ended with one pull of the trigger.)
** You're too valuable to lose B312. You're one of the select few we've taken out of Spartan BETA team. The 300 Spartans are more than enough for Operation: TORPEDO to succeed. We have big plans for you. Don't throw away your life on a suicide mission! Let them handle it.**
A few plasma blast hits Noble Six in the chest, wounding him severely, now sprawling into an outhouse on all fours. His shields failed at the wrong moment, the fourth Elite he didn't finish off giving him crippling wounds. He struggles for each breath, his insides feeling like they were torn to shreds. He grips his assault rifle without better judgment, making each bullet count, hammering the Elite that wounded him with ammo, a fatal shot into its jaw finishing it off.
There was no celebration. The Spartan stumbles to the floor in exhaustion, slumping his back against the wall.
(The Citadel Tower population runs in terror as death came from above, a group of Salarians almost reach the elevators, only to have sniper bullets knife right through them.)
** You kill B312. We saved your ass by taking you off Beta Team, now I need you to comply. You just do what you do and leave the questions and ethics to us. We tell you to kill someone, you do so. Understand Spartan? This is for the greater good! **
From behind an explosion lights up the outpost, a grenade hammering Six's weakened body through the concrete, slamming him into a motionless state. With all the strength he had left he grips the ground, clenching, pulling himself up to a dreary stand. An Elite with a Warhammer soars high above, ready to finish the Spartan off, his weapon barely missing, crushing the earth in a tremor.
Six grimaces as he scrambled away, clutching the dirt for support. The behemoth Elite turns swinging his weapon only to find an Energy Sword stabbed through his torso, being forced in their by a Spartan on his knees. The Elite howls, lifting up the Spartan in a choke. Gasping for air, Six pulls out the sword again, this time driving it into the Elite's neck, both warriors collapsing to the floor in a bloody mess.
(C-Sec officers begin to fire back, each of them never knowing what hit them as they were all incinerated to ashes.)
** Noble Team? Are you kidding? You're an assassin of the ages 312. I've never met a killer like you. Silent. Deadly. Hyper Lethal. You work best alone. Let the fools die on the battlefield. Hit our enemies from the darkness? Do me some favors? I'll let you live the life kid. Screw Noble Team. Screw the battlefield! **
The Spartan crawls to his feet, a weak hand reaching for his assault rifle, without warning plasma fire punctures his body, Noble Six crashing to the floor. A group of Sanghelli warriors close the distance stalking their bloodied enemy inch by inch, smelling his death.
His helmet falls off. A bullet hole through the glass.
{You're one of us now Noble Six…}
~ Citadel Tower: Exterior ~
"Commander!" Ashley attempted to survey, grasping tightly to her cover beneath broken railing. It was hard to concentrate as it all happened like a blur of biotics to the face. The team's entire perspective was off, their suits quickly shifting to anti-gravity mode as they were now in outer space, adhered to the Citadel Tower's exterior in a spider walk. Scattered like the glass of the elevator was by Raven's biotic pulse, the team was spread across the tower, climbing bit by bit.
"I'm here Ashley!" Shepard stormed up, beheading a few Geth units.
"Don't waste your time here Shepard!" Jacob began to send waves of Geth off their back with a singularity pulse. "You need to get to the top!"
"No one's going anywhere!" Raven soared by, a wave of biotics sending the two teams scrambling for cover. It was like a carpet bomb of dark energy, crushing even Geth units that were in its path. Miranda and Jacob met eyes, their instincts kicking in, simultaneously unleashing a kinetic barrier that caught the storm being created before it damaged Shepard's crew.
"Now there's a sight I would never have thought to see." Garrus caught a few Armada units in their power supplies. "Helpful Cerberus agents."
Cerberus? Raven's glare only strengthened, seeing that symbol that made her Reaper blood boil. She clenched her fist at the sight of Miranda and her team's uniforms. The memories rushed back like poison. Miranda sensed the energy increase, her and Jacob trying their best to hold on.
"Uh, Miranda," Jacob grunted, "You better do something because baby girl does not look too happy."
"Rachel! Please stop!" Miranda yelled out. "We're here to help you!"
Rachel.
"No one has called me by that name in a long time." Only for a split second did a face of humanity flash, Raven only to look at them with disgust. "… The last time was when your organization was so damn interested in me." She formed a spherical force. "Now that Sovereign has empowered me beyond your imagination, are you all happy with how I turned out?"
Damn it…
"Please believe me! The ones that had you were not operating within our control!" She continually pleaded. "It's Sovereign that's using you now!"
Raven ignored the words and amped up her energy wave, sending another pulse, knocking the entire crew back a few steps. The biotic Cerberus beauty turned to Shepard in a fighting grimace. "Take your team and get to Noble Six before this is too late! We'll hold her off!"
"Be careful Lawson…" Shepard motioned her team on their upward climb, leaving behind Cerberus to deal with this matter manipulating powerhouse.
Miranda smirked, ready for a counter offensive. "We'll see each other sooner than you think Commander…"
~ Citadel Tower: At The Top ~
Hundreds of dead Geth later, about a half mile climb up the scorched Citadel Tower, Shepard grasped the top ledge of the pylon. Her team was on her tail as she hit the ground running. Using the dead bodies as a gauge to where her target was, she continued into the plaza. The 'dead crumb' trail was leading to the Council chambers, the building smeared in the blood of innocents and failing tech.
"Noble Six did all this?" Garrus saw bodies hanging over safety rails as well as on the ground. Asari, Turian, human… it didn't seem to matter. Nothing could escape this. Sovereign didn't even give them a chance.
"It's not Noble Six." Ashley denied with zeal, staring into a fountain that was now tainted with the blood of a council worker. She would never think of Six as a villain, as some heartless killer. The vibe she got from Six's doubt seemed to all trail from that idea.
"Be careful, I know it's not him but we've seen what a Spartan can do." Shepard crept up in fighting formation. I always wondered what a Spartan can do without any reserves about holding back. She thought. With no discernment of cruelty or allies, I guess kinda got my answer.
Liara gasped. "Shepard, look out!"
The Commander saw it out of the corner, rolling into cover, a bloody splattered mess almost beheading her. The Normandy team turned to see one of the Council's corpse's driven into the ground, a Turian gutted and mutilated, suffering a fate beyond just some kill. From above they see his executioner – the gray MJOLNIR armor that stood for hope in his world now turned to an avatar of a detached death machine. Blood was stained all over him, dripping from his gloved hands.
"Nice of you to join me in my moment of victory," Noble Six's armor sparked with Reaper energy.
"You son of a bitch," Ashley growled. "Get out of his system now or we'll tear you out!"
"Empty threats," Sovereign's voice seemed to be there but now had personality, as if Six's characteristics were being mimicked. "What's wrong? You expected a Spartan to be more than just a mindless killer?"
"Enough Sovereign, we're here to stop you right here and now." Shepard declared, the team circling.
"Organisms don't like hearing the truth." Six calmly walks back to the command center, stepping over more innocent victims, smashing their bodies with his boot. "You all must understand what is happening here. How I wish to save you humans from your own undoing."
"You Reapers have been performing massive genocides countless times without our help." Shepard closed the distance. "I thought organic life was too beneath you to even consider saving."
"You're an idiot Commander." Sovereign belittled, "The accident that is organic life finally breeds usefulness once again after eras of futile cycles. Because of one of your kind, my 'daughter' as it may, she alone has saved the human race by being birthed by existence's decree. An irregularity in our calculations. An unforeseeable event."
"Stop calling her your daughter," Liara scolded the Reaper. "You don't care for her! You're just a heartless machine!"
Sovereign returned the Asari's glare behind Six's helmet. "Broken organisms such as her are easy to manipulate. The irrational human needed me because of the horrors of what you do to one another." He began stalking them now after a few presses with his omni-tool. "Thank her Shepard. For you may be saved…"
"By saved you mean being enslaved while being on the brink of extinction?" Wrex scoffed.
"What do you want from the poor girl?" Shepard defied. "What is she that makes you need her so much?"
"She is an oddity of conception that occurs once in a millions years." The Reaper scanned the space above. "There are few like her before. Those that can close and open parts of existence not even my kind can comprehend. In the beginning of our existence the worlds weren't separated. Our scope has been limited. For the first time we've finally found a being under our eye that can unlock these separations that have been placed. Like anything organic, she is an accident, but one we will use to our advantage. She serves me… like any foolish organism that I indoctrinate."
"And because of her you found Noble Six." Shepard pieced together the puzzle.
"I am convinced to let the strong of humanity survive." The Reaper spoke. "By showing me an existence where organics even at a young evolution cycle are pushing their own limits – producing warriors that not even I have ever seen in my entire existence. These Spartans without our touch are the most worthy organic hybrids we've ever come across. With them under our control and enhanced… perhaps we won't need this cycle any longer.."
"As if death isn't bad enough? You want us as puppets?" Ashley clutched her gun.
"With Raven growing in strength by the day," Sovereign brooded. "Existence further complicates itself. Now there is more organic life for us to take. Soon we will break those barriers that separate us from other existences. We will eradicate every separated galaxy we find with our new servants."
"You're not going to even get past us let alone that far ahead." Shepard snapped back heroically. "Noble Six won't let you take him over this easy. He's probably fighting you right now!"
"The organic has no choice." Sovereign began reaching for his back. "Like Saren, I gave the illusion of freewill to see what they are capable of. It is an inconvenience for me to settle myself in an organic body. To see your true potential, this ridiculous idea of freewill must exist in your limited minds." He pulled out his Cain cannon, aiming.
"Please Noble Six! We know you are in there!" Ashley attempted to get through. "Don't let that Reaper control you!"
Her plea fell on deaf ears. The Cain rifle began to power up.
"Alright here goes nothing, no fatal shots team!" Shepard pulled out her gun, taking aim at the limbs. "Just slow him down!"
"Fatal shots? I don't think that'll be a problem Commander!" Garrus sighed, knowing bringing down a Spartan was no small task. Shepard and Garrus pulled out sniper rifles, the first shots fired swiftly. Noble Six's shields were hit but barely dented. Wrex began emptying his concussion rounds as Liara sent out a controlling barrier. Their orchestrated attack didn't seem to do much at all, the Spartan walking forward from the smoke.
"Don't do this…" Ashley hesitated, not even willing to pull her trigger.
"I guess it's my turn to start." Sovereign on the other hand pulled the trigger instantly, firing a couple of charges, Cain rounds hammering into the team, sending them scrambling back for cover.
~ Citadel Tower: Exterior ~
What did we help create? Miranda growled as the battle unfolded. She couldn't believe what her own organization could do to this to a young innocent girl. Incredible abilities or not, to treat a youth like this, abuse her so badly that even a mechanical abomination such as a Reaper could pretend to 'parent' was not forgivable. The fact that Rachel was around the age of her own sister, who Miranda protected and cared for so deeply in the shadows, made this hit home even more. The Illusive Man had some explaining to do and she for the first time was more than upset at the colors she wore.
As she saw this innocent girl turned maniacal killer, she was beginning to doubt herself. She was beginning to doubt Cerberus. The only thing making her not curse the situation was some key information that just shot into her ear piece. Her eyes lit up as if there was hope.
"Nagh!" Jacob was slammed into the glass of the Elevator, spewing out blood he was dragged by a trailing force of energy. Raven giggled hysterically as she force shoved him, sending him skidding down the tower.
"Jacob!" Miranda saw her partner barely clinging on to the edge, badly beaten almost to the point of immobility.
"Watch your own back!" Jacob growled, ignoring the pain. "It's going to take a lot more than that to finish me!"
You're one tough guy Taylor. Miranda's chest heaved as she too wasn't in the best of conditions either. Cuts on her face and tatters of her jumpsuit weren't a normal occurrence. The genetically enhanced biotic had been humbled. Raven was too much for them. If this kept up they'd both be dead in minutes. But Lawson had one last trick up her sleeve, the girl's mind even more impressive than her fighting skills. She was stalling for time - listening in on conversations as she fought.
She had a plan.
"Jacob we're going to need one hell of a singularity attack!" Miranda turned, forming her own biotic surge that was gave temporary protection.
"We've tried it separately," Jacob got his footing back, "I guess it's worth a shot."
"The bug I put on Shepard is going to work!" Miranda smiled for the first time in this struggle, wincing as she powered up. Trying to battle this meta-human wasn't working and she knew the chances of stopping Rachel head on were slim anyway. But what was occurring on the tower above was going to change their fortunes. Miranda always covered her tracks.
"I'm ready!" Jacob's implants were running double time.
"Once it grabs her I need you to hold on for dear life Taylor… Now!" The two sent out a surge of singularity attacks, coiling around Raven, pulling her down in a brilliant display of purple energy.
"Pathetic fools." The Reaper already began to counter it, her energy shoving it back to the brink of breakage, as she was pressed against the cold steel of the tower. "T-this attack won't hold me forever."
"I don't need it to Rachel." Miranda walked over to her with no aggression whatsoever. A change of plans for the Cerberus informant. "You're serving someone that doesn't think too much of you."
"My name is Raven you pathetic human." She lashed back like a girl possessed.
"Yes a new name to hide what you were before." Miranda knelt down, looking into cold eyes, hoping for some glimpse of humanity. "I know what you're feeling. I went through the same things you did."
"Shut up!" Raven was beginning to break it, Jacob breaking a bad sweat just trying to hold her there.
"Sovereign is taking advantage of you." Miranda frowned, her maternal instincts kicking in as she watched the Reaper child try to ignore. She imagined it was her own family, falling so far. "Look deep inside yourself and you know this is wrong…"
"S-stop talking..."
"Sovereign wants to use you and he will throw you aside and that's the truth." Miranda began bringing up her omni-tool. "I apologize for what Cerberus has done to you, but you will hear the truth either way kid."
An audio recording, apparently from Shepard's bugged armor blares Sovereign's voice:
**The accident that is organic life finally breeds usefulness once again after almost eras of fruitless cycles. Because of one of your kind, my 'daughter', she alone saved the human race by being birthed by existence's decree. An irregularity in our calculations… an unforeseeable event.**
** Broken beings such as her are easy to manipulate. The irrational organism needed me ... **
** Like anything organic, she is an accident, but one we will use to our advantage. She serves me… like any foolish organism that I indoctrinate. **
"He doesn't care for you Rachel." Miranda was soft but blunt. "I'm... sorry."
It was either going to be a destructive wave or Miranda's plan would bare fruit. Raven's energy flared up as if she was going to strike Miranda down, the urge only to slowly die as she replayed the robotic voice of her 'guardian', smashing her faith into a million pieces. The girl screams out in a Reaper voice, frustration and anger glaring into Miranda's ears. The dire situation of Rachel, so horrific that she needed a Reaper to give her life any sense of care or meaning, begins to overtake her indoctrination.
Even the reaper parts in her causing pain feeling so numb. Her "father" was nothing but a liar… like the humans she dealt with before. No mechanical control would hold her down anymore.
"He's just like anyone else," Rachel held her head, wanting to rip something apart, tears running down her eyes. "Just… a bunch of lies…"
Miranda sorrowfully reached out, seeing a breakdown of a beaten soul as Cerberus finally put down their guns at her hand signal.
"Rachel please, look around you." Lawson got closer as for the first time she saw a human in her again. She wasn't going to let this opportunity slip. "Look at what Sovereign is doing to this place. He's not saving anything. There are valiant people in this world. They're on top of this tower fighting for their lives."
Rachel glared into Miranda's motherly eyes, her telepathy reaching out and only feeling honesty. "Humans… don't… know what valiance is. The ones here only look to fight one another. To hurt one another… he told me he would end all that."
Lawson stopped the kinetic barrier, taking Rachel by her hand. "Up there there's a soldier you brought to this world that you said was like a knight saving his kingdom. Commander Shepard and her crew are risking their lives to save people they don't even know. People that have hurt them even, but they're doing it because it's right."
"… Y-yes… I… know but…" Rachel cried. "It's too late… the Reapers are coming… Noble Six is corrupt… and it's my fault."
"No it's not too late." Miranda pulled her up gently to her feet. "Listen to me carefully okay? When we're done with this?" she hesitated looking at the young girl with pity. All the imagery of what was human in her forcing any type of allegiance to Cerberus to dissipate. "… Please go with Shepard."
"Say what?" Jacob's eyes expanded. "But Mir-"
Rachel blinked a tear away as Lawson shut Jacob down. "… Y-you're not here to take me back to Cerberus?"
"No and if anyone here disagrees they take it up with me." Miranda looked at the young girl with a smile, shaking her head. "We don't deserve a second chance. Shepard is a good human being. She will take care of you. But right now? She needs your help."
~ Citadel Tower ~
He could hear his Turian heart beat in nervousness.
Garrus' pace was relentless. His adrenaline pumping through his Turian anatomy as he was trying to get to an injured Wrex about fifty feet below. Just a few moments ago the Krogan took a few direct hits from some big artillery to save his life, sending him through the centerpiece glass and onto the Council Garden's floor. Garrus and Wrex had their spats but neither of them would turn their backs on one another. Insults didn't kill their loyalty the least bit.
"Wrex are you alright?" Vakarian landed with martial agility, running over to the Krogan. His only reply was a weak grumble. The Urdnot was almost knocked out in a dazed state, his armor as black as charcoal, laying in a bed of glass.
"Never seen you like this before." Garrus grabbed for some medi-gel.
Wrex's his healing was working a bit slower from the massive damage. He turned showing only that large hump, trying to fight off the help. "Forget about me Turian, Shepard and that loudmouth girl needs your help."
"Can't do that." Garrus refused as he began patching up. "Shepard's orders. No one gets left behind."
Wrex grudgingly complied, thinking of what kind of beast could do this to a Krogan that single handedly defeated a Thresher Maw.
Damn that Noble Six is something else…
CRASH!
A huge explosion erupts their recovering moment, shards of glass and metal begin to pile above them, burying them alive under tons of rubble. A laugh from above thundered down as the Spartan admires his work. Sovereign turned his targeting sights to Shepard, the Commander grimacing, seeing her alien teammates totally eclipsed from debris. In anger she begins to rain down ammunition.
"Damn it Sovereign!" Shepard kept pulling the trigger, actually passing Six's defenses, getting a few rounds to penetrate the lower body. Sovereign ignored the pain and replied with more grenades that lit up the entire bridge, sending Shepard soaring into a wall from the shock, cracking her a few ribs with brutal contact against titanium.
Nngh… we need… to get to the controls… The Commander crawled, holding her side, using the barricade as a resting spot.
"You won't kill this Noble Six even if you could to save the world can you Shepard?" Sovereign stalked the wounded human, not minding the damage to a body that wasn't his. "We're only minutes away until my kind return. You organisms and your false sense of 'care' will cost you dearly."
Shepard didn't have much time to breath as a jetpack launched Six over to her, the Spartan grabbing Shepard by her neck and ringing her. Sovereign found amusement in the situation, staring at a bleeding Commander straight in the face.
"How many do I have to kill innocent weaklings to get you to do it Shepard?" Sovereign asked with an evil tinge. "Noble Six actually gave thought about turning on you when I offered to bring him back to his world."
"N-no he didn't you liar…" Shepard growled, grabbing at his hand only to be slammed into the wall again, her tender side giving way. "AAGH!"
"He isn't loyal. He isn't a hero." Sovereign pushed his rifle up against Shepard's neck. "He was always someone's pet, someone's personal slave, and your image of him needs re-tooling."
"Don't pretend… y-you... know…" Shepard kept fighting valiantly like the leader she was.
"What will it take for you to hate him?" Sovereign asked mockingly, peeling over to his side. Shepard followed the Mark V helmets sights, the horror of what was about to happen making her heart stop.
"N-no…!" Shepard shouted as Six's rifle pointed right at an immobile Liara, clinging onto her life as she was laying in a pool of her own blood.
"Kill me or your little loved one doesn't live another second." Sovereign's Cain Rifle glared up energy, ready to take her out. Shepard grabbed her rifle, putting it against Noble Six's helmet, trigger ready to pull.
"That's right," The Reaper induced Spartan chuckles. "Pull that trigger Commander… you're the hero this galaxy needs."
"No Shepard!" Liara gasped weakly, trying to crawl away. "Do not listen to him! He wants you to-"
BOOM! Shepard was suddenly dropped as a blast connected to Noble Six's back was hit with a shotgun blast from an inch away. The Spartan reeled, turning, his armor flaring red from rage as a beaten up Ashley Williams was glowering him.
"Your fight is right here Reaper shit." Williams had her shot gun poised and ready. Shepard attempted to get on her feet, trying to grab her rifle to help her human comrade. Sovereign only laughed at the Chief Gunner, shaking off the smoke that was rising from his Spartan armor.
"You're a special one to him now aren't you?" He begins to stalk her as she backed away in fear. "He's taken a liking to you."
"You don't know him." Ashley reloaded her shotgun.
"And you don't either… girl." Sovereign pointed the rifle at her. Ashley scowled at him and snapped at the biting words. She wouldn't be put to fear by some mechanical menace. She had too much faith in Six to do so. She was going to lay it all on the line.
"So you think you're so damn smart? Let's see who's right then bastard..." Ash tossed the shotgun away, being totally unarmed. She then grabbed her pink helmet tossing it aside, her facial expressions no longer hidden. She had one of anger.
Ashley… no! Shepard gasped.
"You keep telling us you know everything about him but you don't know shit!" Ashley badgered the Reaper. "Six may not have told me everything about him but I know when the cards are down? He's a fighter! Like me! Like Shepard! Not a coward like you! So if you think you're such hot stuff - tell Noble Six to kill me! Do it!"
Sovereign doesn't answer, careening his neck curiously as his rifle powers up for a blast. He stareed at Ashley's face. For the first time… hesitation.
"What's wrong Reaper know it all?" Ashley smirked almost surprised, walking towards him slowly. "I thought Noble Six was just your puppet. Some slave you can control. Some mindless killer."
Jun: ** Come on Six! Get your ass up! I didn't save you to let it end like this! We made it out alive… make this count! **
"W-what… this isn't possible…" Sovereign's red energy sparked.
Emile: ** Don't tell me you're throwing in the towel! Come on! They say you're one of the two baddest Spartans alive. Fucking prove it! We've got your back now let's do this! **
Sovereign feels Six's arm slowly lowering his rifle against his will, "No..."
Kat: ** I know you're not the sharpest knife in the drawer Six but you're not Emile either. I know you can find a way win beyond blasting everything in a one hundred mile radius. I'm proud of you. You have my support.**
The energy being emitted from the Spartan was beginning to short circuit, red energy crackling as he fell to a knee.
Jorge: ** I threw you off the Corvette that day not only because I felt I needed to sacrifice myself, but because I knew you were the one that was going to make this all count. I have faith in you Noble Six. You will ALWAYS get the job done. **
"Lieutenant… do something!" Six yelled out her, looking up as he finally fought back for some control.
Williams eyes sparkled hope. "Six! I knew you can do it!"
Carter: ** They told me I was getting a Lone Wolf. Someone who couldn't be trusted. They told me there was no way to control you. Those idiots didn't know a damn thing about you. You were one of the best I've ever had underneath my command Six. It was an honor having you at my side. Because of you they'll always remember what we did on Reach. Show them what Noble Team is all about Spartan… failure is not an option.**
"No it's not done!" Six grimaced, holding his head. "Sovereign still has me! I can barely hold on. You need to finish me or something!"
"Wh~at? I can't do that!" Ash growled at him, running over to support his weight.
"I'm corrupted from the inside! It's too late for me." Noble Six begged in gasps, feeling the tinging in his spine. "I can't hold onto my body much longer! Do it!"
"No Six I fucking can't!" She cried out, trembling as she did.
"I have nothing to hide…" Six wheezed. "I've done some horrible things in my life Ashley… I'm not the hero you think that I am… either you or Shepard… finish it.""
The two looked at one another, a moment that felt like time freezing coming over them. Six thought Ashley expected a hero in white and shining armor. Ashley thought she needed to prove herself worthy to gain the trust of someone as amazing as Noble Six. The two realized in the moment that it didn't matter. Ashley didn't like Noble Six because he was some super soldier. Six didn't like Ashley because she was a beautiful girl that could handle a gun. Their affection was there because they simply were…
"Ashley… it's okay… you, Shepard… your team has given me more than I ever had my entire life," Noble lowered his head. "I got my second chance at redemption… I'm not going to let this place go like Reach… do me one last favor."
"Damn you… Six." Ash whispered in tears, reaching for her pistol slowly.
Six's eyes were at peace behind the helmet of a hero. "Thanks…"
Bye...
ZZZKKKT!
Six suddenly hit the floor in a thud.
Ashley's heart stopped as if she had just pulled the trigger, a jolt of surprise causing her to drop the pistol she was going to use on Noble. She was gasping at what she saw, standing over Noble's limp body.
"Now we're even human. You save my life… now I save yours…"
Liara and Shepard looked like they saw the boogie man, holding onto one another, staring at a bloodied but alive Saren in his post reaper glory. The Turian's body had a gaping hole filled with medi gel, his omnitool jammed into the Noble Six's helmet, glowing red, unreadable text soaring by in flashes.
"What are you doing to him?!" Ashley ran over only to be shoved back with a biotic push.
"Redemption human…" Saren stated coldly as he sent shockwaves into Noble Six's helmet, glancing outside the tower at Sovereign's true body. Facing off against the Council's armada and the Alliance, Sovereign's Geth army was faltering. The impenetrable shield that was protecting Sovereign was beginning to fade, the mechanical beast being fed some sort of virus that was attacking him through his avatar in Noble Six. Somehow Saren was scrambling Sovereign's V.I. state.
"Who's the fool now Reaper?" Saren spat with grit at the pain of his old master, his research on indoctrination and Reapers apparently giving him some ammo to fight. He turned to Shepard. "What are you waiting for, call in the strike!"
Shepard couldn't believe her eyes as she was being aided by the one he started this whole mess. She also couldn't believe she was listening to his order. She had no time to dwell, limping over to the controls of the Citadel, shoving in the datapad, voicing over to the Normandy. "Joker, he's vulnerable… hit him with everything you got now!"
"Thank God you're alive Commander! We hear you loud and clear! Alliance squad ready to kick some Reaper ass!"
From the lower corner, Ashley pulled over a slumping Noble Six in her arms, looking down at him, shaking. "Six wake up! Wake up!"
The Spartan laid motionless, his mask looking up at Williams but no response to be had. The lieutenant welled up tears in her eyes, looking down on him expecting the worst. His charming voice breaks her soft spot.
"Sorry the mask blocks my face… I couldn't talk… I was… smiling."
"Y-you're okay…?" Ashley laughed weakly. "You're… really okay?"
"… I think so…"
"… Good."
Suddenly he was smacked in his helmet angrily, the Spartan jolting his hands up. "H-hey what the hell?"
"You telling me to kill you? What the hell was that?"
"I… I-I… didn't know what else to do!" He shielded himself. "Hey! You're the one who freaking dropped your shotgun and nearly got yourself killed!"
"I don't give a damn if you're a super Spartan… I'm going to punch you in the face once that helmet is off!"
"Those two..." Shepard admired the two bickering lieutenants who forgot that minutes ago they were about to lose one another. There was a relationship there that was about to bloom. It was totally cute thought the Commander. Just like the blue one she was holding in her arms.
"We have won haven't we?" Liara whispered weakly into her ear as the two embraced.
"Not yet exactly…" Shepard didn't forget her two alien pals as she was relieved when Garrus and Wrex were slow to get up, coughing out concrete from their lungs.
"Is that Saren?" Garrus gasped, too weak really to react.
"Must be some hallucination." Wrex was the same, falling face first, laying there.
The Commander confronted the rogue Spectre. "You know this doesn't change anything." Shepard reassured him. "Your crimes are unforgivable."
Saren didn't even turn nor flinch, watching his old Reaper master getting torn up by the ships that surrounded him. It was like lifting an entire Thresher Maw off his back. He closed his eyes, holding his Reaper enhancements in regret. "I wouldn't expect anything less. I've done what I have done and now I will live with the consequences."
It was surreal… standing next to him, the Alliance team not even thinking of making a move on the Galaxy's most wanted.
Shepard kissed Liara's forehead suddenly, the two watching the first Reaper fall alongside their 'former' enemy. "Consider this a thanks for saving Noble Six. I'm going to turn my back on you just this one time. The next time I find you? You're going to be turned to justice, understand?"
"… Not all of us can be the hero you are Shepard." Saren relayed, as he headed to the elevator in a limp. He glanced as Ashley was helping Noble Six towards their Commander. The Spartan and Turian pass making eye contact, Ashley and Six sensing the coldness but peace in the former Spectre. Saren had a conniving smirk. "Perhaps humans do deserve their place…"
With those last words the Turian walks off into the darkness, vanishing as quickly as he appeared.
"Shepard is everything alright?" Tali was calling out, her signal coming through.
"We're good Tali..." She admired the view. "We're all good..."
Tali punched the air too excited. "Oh... I thought I was going to faint... do not scare me like this ever again..."
"… How you feeling soldier?" Shepard chuckled at Six as she'd never seen him so beaten.
"Like shit..."
Liara and Shepard laughed, hugging the Spartan tightly, not letting go. Noble Six and the team was about as relieved as they had ever been. Ashley looked at the Spartan with accusing eyes.
"So the sight of me taking a blast broke you out of that trance huh?" She bragged.
"Kind of…" Six stated, surprisingly serious.
"W-what do you mean kind of?" Ash's feminine side felt insulted.
"N-no I mean that was important..." Six back pedaled as fast as he ever had. The Spartan was in no condition for a woman's fury. "But I heard… things… and saw things too… almost like when…"
"I was in your mind?"
The entire Normandy crew looked to see a sight they clearly didn't want to see. Although this time there was no malevolent cloud ready to storm over them. Rachel was looking at them with watery eyes. The remnants of Sovereign were gone. She looked almost human again besides the implants. Six nodded to himself in confirmation. She was the one that gave him the voice of Noble Squad, that ounce of strength he needed to save himself and this world.
She like Saren was cured.
"Those Cerberus guys did it…" Shepard blinked surprised. "Good work Lawson..."
"… Miss Shepard." Rachel's voice was as soft as it was chilling long ago. "Miss Lawson said to ask you… if I can I come with you… please?"
"... Uh did she just call you Miss Shepard?" Wrex laughed, only to groan in pain.
The Commander ignored the Krogan and just looked dumbly at the cutest Reaper face she had ever seen. She looked at Noble Six who just nodded in agreement, a silent exchange of ideas taking place. As far as the Normandy was concerned, a completely human Rachel had her at "Miss".
~ Months Later ~
(Shadow Broker Terminal – Normandy SSV Feed)
"These are the correct coordinates Six."
"It's here it has to be..."
"Remind me, you're telling me he's as good as you right?"
"Better than me Shepard… He's the best…"
"Commander."
"What is it Joker?"
"We have our sites on the target… Forward unto Dawn has arrived."