Into the Terminus

by Shalum

We come into this world with our eyes closed. And most of us choose to live our whole lives that way. We blindly follow anyone who would lead us giving ourselves over to anything that provides us with a sense of purpose. For Tyler Stevens...it was Cerberus.

3. Chapter 3: Into The Fire

A/N

Sorry for the delay on this. RL has been tough as of late, economically wise. That coupled with my computer dying a few days after Christmas left me computer-less for a few weeks. I'll try to have the next update up FAR sooner. Again sorry for the delay.

Enjoy!

"This isn't training, this is a shooting gallery. Bloody hell!" I mutter as paintballs rake against my barricade. Above me, Miranda grins as more paintballs splatter. I rise slowly "Jacob I don't suppose we could go back to the firing range could we?" I yell out. Jacob's grin grows larger as he lets another burst loose forcing me back down.

"Valkyrie, Kraken flank him I'll keep him pinned" Jacob orders the other two Cerberus soldiers in the room. I wait for a break in his fire before leaning out. Raising my rifle I take aim at one of the Cerberus operative approaching from my right, I pull the trigger sending a hail of paintballs at him. The soldier ducked, but not before being clipped in the arm by one of the stray paintballs. A slew of curses fill the air as he lands behind his new piece of cover. Technically, it is not a kill according to the simulation, but it is a 'minor wound'. One more and it results in an incapacitation or death.

"Kraken, you okay?!" a female soldier yells across the room.

"Yeah just a flesh wound" the 'wounded' Cerberus operative replies with a strained chuckle. I scowl at the bugger, the close-quarters fighter disregarding the "wound".

"Bugger it is, you arm's off!" I point out, gesturing at the dark splotches covering his arm.

"No it isn't." He replies casually.

"What's that then?" I growl, still pointing at his arm with my gun.

"T'is but a scratch." He shrugs; "Just finish him already I want to be at the mess when Rupert's pizzas come out of the oven." Wait… what?

The click-click of a gun behind me makes causes me to tense. I'm used to having a squad at my back, which means I am not used to watching my own, as in on my own and without help. I become weightless as I rise into the air, an electric buzzing zipping across my body, though without any pain at all. Just a tingle, coupled with nausea from the weightlessness. I flail around reaching for my rifle, which has been so kind as to float away. I slowly manage to turn around to see the three Cerberus operatives. Jacob is standing in the middle holding a rifle with a grin that threatens to rip his dark face apart. On either side of him stands helmeted Cerberus 'mid-level' operatives, one is holding out his hand suspending me in air.

Jacob wrist flickers orange and his Omnitool lights up. The sounds of clicking fill the air as his Omnitool flashes rapidly. On the catwalk that overlooks the arena, Miranda smirks, as what are definitely pictures of me, arrive on her Omnitool. "Finish him!" Miranda calls down from her perch. What is this, Mortal Combat?

'Not this time. I doubt that you would last long there anyway' the smug voice of Alex rings through my head.

'Why didn't you tell me he was behind me?' I ask angrily.

'I was assuming you knew. He did say flank' Alex replies calmly, devoid of emotion.

"On three" Jacob says to the two soldiers next to him, they nod in return. Jacob raises his shotgun loaded with paint rounds, Kraken levels his own rifle, and the third operative holding me in air draws her pistol from her magnetic holster.

"One… two…" Jacob calls out.

'Alex you son of a-'

"Three!" Jacob calls out. The sounds of automatic weapons fire cut of my thoughts as my body jerks violently. I fucking hate paintball.

…

Lazarus Station

November 23

Gym, Sparring area

I groan as I enter the gym. Apparently, the entire Cerberus spec-ops team known as Mjolnir-six has reserved the sparring ring for the rest of the day. Standing in a semi-circle are the six members of the team including Jacob. As I walk in, I notice they all appear to be in gym clothing.

"Is this what I think this is?" I ask nervously. The entire team fixes their gazes on me, a few smiles and smirk visible, but the majority have an eagerness in them that is… unsettling

"Yes." Miranda says "Yes it is. The Illusive Man wants you up and running as soon as possible for an upcoming mission, and we-"

"-are going to whip you into tip top shape. Literally" Jacob interrupts with a grin as he cracks his knuckles. I shiver at the sound of Jacob's glee. "I'm assuming you know how to fight?"

"Yeah" I reply; "I learned Kung Fu as a kid, along with stuff from basic. I can hold my own in a fight." I reply as I roll my neck.

"That's good. Less work for me then" Valkyrie replies grinning. She motions toward the large blue sparring mat in the center room, inviting me in. That's when I realize something… something really rather obvious actually. She doesn't have a helmet on now. Usually, she always has a helmet on, no matter the situation, something covering her face.

Now that she doesn't… I have to admit it, she is a looker. She has long, blondish hair, tied up in a ponytail. Her skin, and this I knew, is rather pale, like someone needing sunlight a lot. Her upper cheeks are decorated with a few freckles, completely ruining the look of a killer. Noticing her eyes, I think I finally understand why she always covers her face.

Her eyes are multicolored, the left eye blue with the right one being an emerald green.

I step into the ring quickly, brining my hands up ready to fight. On the other side, Valkyrie grins, before bringing up her hands into a defensive stance. I barely register the ringing of the opening bell, as Valkyrie advanced.

…

Multiple rounds and opponents later.

Miranda let out an accented grunt as she sent a roundhouse kick into my ribs. I tumble left, using my elbows to absorb most of the impact. I roll a few more feet before I manage to stop on my stomach. Scrambling from my prone position, I dive forward, aiming at Miranda's stomach. With catlike grace, Miranda leaps upward dodging my dive completely. It likely helps that her biotics is making this easy as pie for her.

Slam!

I let out a series of low curses as I land on my stomach, the wind knocked out of me. Before I can react Miranda has driven her knee into my lower back and has forced my right arm upward behind my back.

"Ow! Fuck! Okay I give!" I say through clenched teeth. After a moment of hesitation Miranda applies more pressure, before releasing my arm abruptly. A chorus of cheers erupted from all sides of the ring as the crowd of personnel from the stationed cheered. At the edge of the ring Valkyrie glared daggers at me as she nursed her bruised face with an ice pack. Averting my gaze, I quickly retreat from the ring. After a moment of stumbling around I finally managed to find what I was looking for, ice packs. I roughly jab the dispenser's button. Seizing the cold, blubbery pack with my left hand, as I begin to examine my wounds.

"You have to watch her roundhouses. It's her trademark attack, like a bloody Pokémon, I swear." a heavy accented voice says from behind. Spinning on my heel I come face to face with a large Nordic looking man. "Magnus, Magnus Einerson. Head of expeditionary security" the man says offering his hand out. I smiled slightly and shook his hand. Doing a once over I noticed an Icelandic flag on his right sleeve.

"Tyler, Tyler-"

"Tyler Stevens. I know" Magnus interrupted grinning. "You're big news around the station. There are bets going around. Everybody thinks either Miss Lawson or Mister Taylor is going to kill you. Though right now, my bets are on Valkyrie being the one to drag you into an alley." He says, smirking as Valkyrie glares at the both of us. Scary fact is, she probably could.

"There is?" I say quirking an eyebrow. "I'd like to see them try… although I'd like them not to." I say grinning toothily. I let out a content sigh as I strap the gel pack to my chest using an elastic band. Yeah, this is cold… but good too.

"Do I hear a challenge Mister Stevens?" Miranda asks, quirking an eyebrow. I let out a surprised, almost girlish yelp at that. Turning I find Miranda standing behind me arms crossed with her weight on her left lip, and a smirk on her face. Behind me Magnus let out a throaty chuckle, before quickly disappearing.

"N-no" I stutter. I affectionately rubbed my bruised ribcage "I like my body the way it is… intact." Miranda smirk grows. "Your kicks hurt. A lot" I then finally add; "Because you cheat."

Miranda chuckles "I do what it takes to win. Besides, you'll get there. Someday" she finished before roughly patting my bruised ribs. I stifle a groan as Miranda walks away. I hope the rest of training goes better.

…

December 23

Lazarus Station

The rest of the training after sparring went better than expected. Shooting targets came naturally to me along with melee combat. Loki, the team's tech expert, showed me how to hack. Once I get the hang of it, it was surprisingly easy. Hacking was much like on the game. The majority of the work was placing symbols and replacing contaminated code in the right places. The Omnitool did the rest. Every day for the next month I was passed to a different member of the team. Apparently the upcoming mission wasn't coming, or so I thought. During one of my 'normal' training sessions with Valkyrie is when the orders came to suit up.

Flipping the training knife in my right hand so that it points down, I charge at the dirty blonde. She dexterously rolls away from my wild attack just as I hopped. She retakes a defensive stance. I parry the punches she sends my way. Feinting with a left jab, I immediately swipe with my right hand, attempting to 'cut' her neck. Valkyrie eyes widen with shock. Each color seems to give off a different, curious reflection of surprise. Her hard panting mixes with my own, as we're both frozen in place as the speakers turn on.

"Attention, attention" my hand freezes barely an inch from her neck. We both turn our head to look at the speakers with intent looks. "Mjolnir-six and Magnus Einerson. Please suit up and report to the command center. Thank you"

Valkyrie and I trade looks with each other, the blade still hovering next to her neck. In a split second Valkyrie delivers a knee into my stomach, causing me to double over. "You shouldn't have stopped" Valkyrie says with a smirk. As the air returns to me, I notice her hand is offered to help me back up. Huh, beat me down, then help me up? Is she from Switzerland?

Inside the locker room I fumbled with my armor. Even though it pulled on like regular clothing, I still managed to make it complicated. Figures.

The walk to the command center is unusually quiet. Usually when we're together we're a relatively happy bunch, but today we're silent as mice. Usually by this point Heimdahl, the team scout, or Loki our resident hacker would crack a joke, and we would be on our merry way. But not today.

Inside the Command center we find Magnus off to the side fiddling with his Cerberus helmet. We all sit down at our appointed seats, with Miranda at the head of the table. I stare at the blank nameplate in front of my seat for a moment with intent, before diverting my gaze to the holoscreen at the front the room.

"Odin online. Secure link established. Standby" EDI announces. The screen flickers to life displaying a rotating Cerberus logo. The team rises to their feet, I shrug to myself and rise as well. Three seconds later The Illusive Man appears on screen sitting in his usual chair. We all snap salutes before returning to parade rest. He waves his hand at us signaling us to sit down.

"I'm going to be brief as this is urgent" TIM says swirling his glass. "Approximately forty-eight hours ago we lost contact with our research station on Noveria" a series of gulps and +grunts resonate throughout the room. My eyebrows quirk upward at the sight of Miranda, who visibly blanches at the news. "We have attempted numerous times to contact Dr. James Zarnov, the scientist in-charge of the station, but we have not received any replies. Your mission is to attempt to recover any survivors or information left behind. After that is accomplished you are to purge the station. Am I understood?" TIM ask.

A chorus of 'Yes sirs' echo throughout the room. "Good" TIM say neutrally "dismissed"

…

K-90183M (Cerberus Kodiak)

Noveria

Approximately 137 Miles from the ruins of Port Hanshan

I stared at my feet as the Kodiak shuttle descends through the atmosphere. The shuttle was unnervingly quiet as it was battered by the harsh Noverian winds. Our shuttle was flanked on both sides by identical Cerberus Kodiaks loaded up with expeditionary forces.

In my hands rested my new Phaeston Mark 5, a Turian rifle of all things. While the M8 Avenger was a good weapon, its accuracy and rate of fire didn't suit my style of attack. Laying it down I retrieve my helmet, snapping it on with an audible hiss. Throughout my training I have the opportunity to customize my armor. The bleak gunmetal grey was now replaced by blue with vertical white stripes running down my shoulder plates to my boots. Coupled with my helmet I'd say I look like a Spartan, the Halo kind. God, grown man and I aspire to look like a nerd from Comicon.

The shuttle lands with a gentle thump. Everyone tenses, bringing their guns to bear on the door, I follow. Bracing my rifle against my shoulder, my index finger hovers directly beside the trigger. Slowly the shuttle door rises upward. My HUD begins to beep rapidly alerting the alarming temperature change. The interior of the shuttle begins to blur in front of me as the blizzard outside begins to fill with a snow/ice mix. Automatically my helmet switches to thermal vision.

I hop tentatively from the shuttle, quickly dropping into a kneeling position as I scan our surroundings. Whatever has the team scared to death must be bad. Like Reaper bad. Valkyrie mentioned they had been here once before, years ago, but she wouldn't say what had happened…

"You have no idea" Alex muses. I shake my head and rise. Behind me the rest of the team files out into the snow, which is at least a foot deep. On either side of me Cerberus Assault Troopers begin to disembark followed by Centurions, Engineers, and Guardians. The distinctive form of Magnus is the final soldier to disembark. Magnus levels his automatic crossbow and begins issuing orders to the assembled soldiers.

Did I mention Magnus has a crossbow? Well he does. It's pretty awesome.

Looking through my thermal, I spot the Cerberus station off in the distance. Like a scene from a movie, we all begin to advance forward in a spread out line, with me at the center. Behind, the team begins to advance weapons at the ready. Many of the Guardians end up keeping their shields low to the ground, due to the wild and howling winds.

After fifteen minutes of tedious advancement, we manage to cover the seventy-five yard between the shuttles and the station. The station is surrounded by a large metal fence, which is at least ten inches thick. Inside the compound we find a small city of pre-fabricated buildings usually used for colonial development. The compound is surprisingly clear of the deep snow, except for the light dusting on everything.

Among the derelict snow equipment, we find a dozen destroyed mechs including an YMIR, which has been thoroughly dismembered. I tentatively begin inspecting the destroyed machines. Instead of bullet marks and scorches, I find large gashes and green goo. I reach out and touch it with my gloved hands. My shields immediately begin to flare and drain.

"Acid" Alex mutters darkly. Next to me he materializes dressed in Centurion armor. I glower at him behind my visor. He audibly chuckles before standing up. I rise and head toward the group which has formed a defensive circle around the stations headquarters at the center of the compound. I make my way through the assembled men and up the steps where Mjolnir-six is huddled around the main door. The stations headquarter is a nondescript single story building. It's an actual building instead of a prefab.

Loki growls and punched the closed door. Instead of the usual red circle that signaled that it was locked, there was nothing. "It appears" Loki said as he leaned against the door still crouched "that this door like the rest, requires electricity to be opened. A simple Overload won't do it here, and the door is… purposely too thick to cut through, unless one of you can spew fire…"

"Shut it Loki, I still remember Hanshan." Kraken says. Hanshan… that's the ruined port not far from here. Funny, I didn't know Cerberus has been here before.

Miranda released a frustrated growl which the team to recoil. She slapped a hand against her masked forehead "Great. Alright, Heimdahl and Stevens, take a few soldiers to the generator building and try to get them restarted" Heimdahl and I nod. We split off from the group and descend the stairs. Eventually Heimdahl selects two centurions, two guardians, four assault troopers, and an engineer to accompany us.

The eleven of us begin to make our way down the abandoned street occasionally sidestepping a destroyed security mech. The walk to the generator building isn't a long one as the generator building is adjacent to the HQ. The engineer that came with us was forced to use a power cell to open the door. Inside we were confronted with a pitch-black room. I tap my Omnitool, which activates the flashlights on my helmet and rifle. The Cerberus soldiers behind me do the same and enter. After an initial sweep of the room we find nothing except for trashed consoles.

Heimdahl and I make our way toward the engineer whose standing in front of the main console. Hunched over the engineer begins to work diligently.

"Can you fix it?" Heimdahl asks bluntly.

"Ja. I can fix this in my sleep. Whatever did this wasn't very thorough. Lucky us, I suppose. Give me a few minutes and I should be able to get them online, provided the systems ain't fried tee much," the heavy accented engineer says never looking up. Heimdahl nod and taps his helmet, activating his com.

Skitter-skitter-skitter

"Did you hear that?!" I mutter, sweeping the room with my rifle. Heimdahl and the Cerberus soldiers shoulder their weapons as well, meaning I was not the only one to hear the sound.

Skitter-skitter-skitter

Heimdahl curses as he snatches his rifle from his back. "You two" he barks at a couple of assault troopers "with us. The rest of you make sure these generators get back online. If we're not alone here, protect the engineer at all costs." The group nods as they move closer to the engineer. Heimdahl, the troopers and I begin to descend the stairs. "It sounded like it was on the roof" Heimdahl comments before leading us out.

"I recommend caution. I count at least four hostile on the roof" Alex warns.

"If you're some sort of God, why is it I feel like that's the best you can do?"

"Hey, bugger. You want my help or not?" Alex retorts. I nod to myself as I take the first step out of the building. At the bottom of the steps I whip around, rifle at the ready. I growl, finding nothing. Heimdahl and the troopers fan out around the building. They all radio in finding nothing as well. As we regroup, a low hum begins to emit from the generators. One by one the street lights begin to flicker on until the dim street is well lit. The engineer and the remaining troopers pad out of the building and assemble in front of us.

"Good work Webber," Heimdahl says as he patted the engineer on the shoulder. "Your four stay behind and guard the generators, the rest of you head back to the square.

"Aye. Getting' tha creeps from dis place anyway." Webber, the engineer comments.

As we trek back to the HQ we manage to catch the tail end of Jacob's orders "-make sure to grab all the information you can from the computers. When all of the buildings have been swept return to perimeter duty. Dismissed!" he finishes bellowing. The assembled soldiers begin to scurry away. The soldiers that were originally with Heimdahl and I quickly disappear, following their comrades. As we ascend the steps, Loki fist pumps victoriously as the main door opens, sufficiently hacked. The majority of the team smiled and patted Loki on the back as we entered the HQ.

A series of guttural sounds are emitted from the team as we enter. It's only when I fully look around that I see why.

"Holy mother of saints…" I whisper, the sight too much to do anything else.

Strewn across the room in bloody and acidic heaps lays what remained of the HQs personal. Beside me, Blue Tooth rips of his helmet and tosses it away unceremoniously before vomiting. I don't blame him. When he finally stops, he stands a little shaky;

"Dear God… just like last time." I want to know what the hell he's referring to, but asking a question like that right now… it just seems unwise.

Beside me, Miranda removes her helmet, looking a little green.

"I'm currently overriding your gag reflex. I recommend you do whatever it is Miranda wants you too and get out of here" Alex mutters. I nod and turn to Miranda.

"Orders ma'am?" I ask carefully, knowing that if something spooks a team of trained commandoes, I have good reason to be pissing myself as well.

"I… Try to recover what you can from the computers and report back" Miranda says quickly. She is visibly holding her own contents down.

"Yes ma'am" I say, nodding numbly. I begin to take a step forward, but I'm quickly stopped as a hand comes down on my shoulder. Beside me stands Valkyrie. She's in a completely non-transparent helmet again, the dark T-shaped visor of her helmet reminding me of something I've seen before, yet I haven't been able to place it yet.

"I'll go with him ma'am. You coming too Heimdahl?" she asks the other soldier. Heimdahl nods and falls in behind Valkyrie without replying.

"I'll come with you too. Might need to hack into the good doctor's computer" Loki offers. I shrug in response before turning to walk forward. I calculate my steps forward, doing my best to not disturb the bodies. Holy God this is just gross.

The team and I advance through the stair at the back of the HQ up to the second story of the building. Instead of finding another gruesome scene upstairs, we only find three trashed Rampart mechs. Getting to the Doctors office is the most tedious task, since Valkyrie insisted upon searching every room on the way.

Eleven room-sweeps later we find ourselves at the end of the hall. Cliché as it is, the Doctors office is at the end of the hall. We took up a defensive position around Loki, forming a semi-circle around him as he tried to hack the door. While the power has been restored, all of the doors had auto locked signaling that the base was on lockdown.

"That…should do it" Loki commented after a moment. The door hissed and slowly began to move. Sadly after it moved about an inch it ground to a halt, throwing sparks in all directions. Loki cursed loudly and kicked the door to no avail.

"Here let me try" I offer rising. Loki shrugs giving a 'have at it' motion toward the door. I crack my knuckles as I look at the door. I begin to feel the usual surge as my cybernetics come to life. Stepping up I wrap my hands around the semi-open door and yank. Instantly the door flies away and strikes the wall inside the large office, bringing a shelf down with it.

"Wow" Valkyrie comments as she investigates my handiwork. Loki lets out a low whistle as he enters, heading for the directors computers. I step in behind Loki and quickly make my way toward the corner of the room. Usually in situations like this it's better to stay out of the way.

As Loki gets to work on restoring computers, Valkyrie and Heimdahl begin searching the room. The room in question isn't much larger than the others we have encountered so far. The only thing not Spartan about it was a medium sized bookcase. One thing that catches my eye in particular though, are the pictures on the doctor's desk.

The first picture shows to young men in alliance uniforms smiling, with the Russian flag in the background. The second picture is a much more recent picture of Doctor Zarnov with a fairly attractive woman and two children, probably his family. Oh shit…

The third picture however is the most interesting. In the third picture Dr. Zarnov Petrovsky stands to the left dressed in a Cerberus uniform, arms crossed grinning. On the right stands a bearded man who resembles the other younger man in the first picture. Muscular, with a well-kept beard and a dead-serious expression in his eyes. He's clad in an Alliance uniform, and is leaning against Dr. Z with a stern expression.

"Oleg Petrovsky" Loki says looking at me from the seat "Alliance Admiral, brother to Zarnov… from what I hear, they aren't really on terms." Loki explains, having noticed me holding the picture.

"Knew he looked familiar" I reply after a moment of pretend deliberation. It would be awkward if they knew I knew Petrovsky for an arrogant, if merciful bugger, taking over Omega, yet letting Aria escape.

Loki coughs as he begins to read the computer screen. "According to this Doctor Zarnov left the station an hour and a half before we lost contact. Apparently two outposts stopped responding after a containment breach. He took… two Mako's along with security personal"

"I'll call it in to Freya" Valkyrie says before activating her com. After a few moments of nodding and murmuring Valkyrie, reactivates her speakers. "Freya's splitting us up. She says to grab what data you can and report to the Mako garage" Valkyrie says to the hacker. Loki nods and begins to download what he can. Less than a minute later, we leave the office, heading for the garage.

…

The Mako grounds to a halt as we come up to the entrance of the outpost. The outpost in question is built into the side of one of Noveria's many southern plateaus. The plateau that the outpost is built into, juts upward from the ground like a sore thumb. The rock soared at least fifty feet upward, before pattering out in all directions. In short, the plateau appears to be a giant, rock mushroom. Odd choice of architecture, but if it works…

The outpost, at first appeared to blend in. If you do not know what to look for, you would never find it. The only part visible of the base, where the two large Elcor steel doors, which have been painted grey to match the dull rock. The only reason I saw it, was because the doors were open, pouring bright light out into the quickly growing darkness.

The odd part you may ask? A single Mako lies just outside of the doors, facing outward, as if to escape. Well what remains of it anyway. What's left is a burnt out husk. Off to the side lies the turret, this appeared to have been blown upward, when its ammunition detonated. Large scorch marks and claw marks adorn the Mako like a new paint-job. It is also covered in a luminescent green acid. This seems to put our resident gunner, Blue Tooth on edge;

"Fuck me, this is Hanshan all over again, isn't it"?

"Seriously, what happened at Hanshan?" I ask, frustrated over being left out. No one answers me, leaving me to grumble as Magnus steps up;

"Get ready! We'll be inside the base in thirty seconds!" The man barks into the Mako's cabin. Beside us, the escort Mako lurches forward, to enter the base first. That Mako is loaded up with assault troopers, a guardian, and a centurion. Apparently we have been given more men to investigate our outpost. It is used for 'live' experiments.

I shudder at the thought. I don't even want to know what kind of enemy we're facing here.

We manage to pull into the garage without incident. It is a sprawling complex, much like the one of Gellix, I believe from ME3. It's tall and rectangular, with vehicles both shuttle and wheeled, lying about. Most of the vehicles are untouched, unlike the shuttles, which have been slashed and melted with acid. Like the station HQ, bodies lied around the room, melted and slashed. There is less however. It seems that many of them were caught off guard, considering many of the security staff's weapons are still in their holsters. The walls however, are riddled with large holes, capable of allowing a Krogan to pass through.

Removing my helmet from my lap, I return it to its rightful place. As I check the seals, I look at Miranda, whose been watching me. For almost the entire ride she has watched me, almost analytically. Instead of choosing my Phaeston AR, I select my M-22 Eviscerator shotgun. I'm not sure why, but I have the sinking suspicion that I'll need it soon. I mean, who wouldn't want a shotgun when fighting inside a building?

I practically leap out the back of the Mako's hatch, ready for combat. Already, the team from the escort Mako has set up a perimeter around the two vehicles. A single assault trooper jogs to our vehicle, coming to switch spots with Blue Tooth.

Second later, the rest of the divided team emerges. It consisted of Miranda, Blue Tooth, Valkyrie, Heimdahl, and I. They all emerge weapons at the ready as I did.

"What's our objective Freya?" I ask as Miranda approaches. I still find it odd that Cerberus chooses Nordic names instead of Greek ones here. Somehow, there must have been a glitch or something. Dunno how or where, but I'm pretty sure I would remember it if there had been a Mjolnir-six team in the games, especially if Jacob had been on it.

She points towards the dead bodies ahead of us. "See what killed them. I want the hanger secure before we move to the research area. We're undermanned as is, I don't want to get ambushed." The entire group shares respective, grim nods. The images of the HQ are still too fresh on our minds to be careless. Because honestly, that place was a slaughterhouse.

Weapons at the ready, the group begins to advance. The assault troopers were at the front, with the single guardian at the center. Behind them: were Blue Tooth, Valkyrie, and Heimdahl. And of course, I am stuck at the back, holding up the rear guard, with Miranda.

"I don't believe that you have the right to complain" Alex mused quietly. Cocking my head to the right, Alex is standing beside me in his assault trooper armor. I shake my head with a small grin. He is correct. In front of me is Miranda, which is enough reason to consider if her tearing my face off for looking, is worth the risk of said action. I peered around the room looking for targets, finding nothing I-

"They sing death-songs! Bring war-songs brothers! For the fallen singers!" a singing voice called into my head. I am normally a proud person, but here I admit it: I jumped with fright, scared like a little girl faced with a pedophilic bear.

"Did you hear that?!" I yell, snapping around to see the others. Immediately, the entire group tenses. Half the troopers at the front, along with Valkyrie and Blue Tooth, drop to one knee. The entire group sweeps their weapons frantically, looking for anything not inanimate.

"Oh dear. Hostile contacts!" Alex barks; "Also we seem to have a pissed off Rachni-Queen, just thought you should know."

"How many?" I mentally asked.

"About a thousand…" Alex replies, then adds; "And Roku just had to be sealed away. Well that's what you get for fucking up the timelines…" He says, tone a mix of grimness and franticness. I begin to retort, to ask what the hell he means, but Miranda cuts me off.

"Stevens? Are you alright? I didn't hear a-'' Miranda never gets to finish. She is cut off as we are attacked. Around us the ground and walls explode. The assault trooper's screams are drowned out, as their bodies exploded. My face contorts in fear as I register what's attacking us.

Rachni! And thousands of them.

Out of holes in the ground, hundreds of Rachni of all kinds emerge. The first were Rachni workers, little skittering fuckers who attach themselves to the Assault Troopers before exploding. The next were Rachni warriors who slashed at the remaining troopers and the centurion. A trooper screamed in agony as he was lifted up, his body impaled by a Rachni's claws. The Rachni soldier opened its mouth, which glowed green, and showered the soldier in acid. If not for my helmet, I would have smelled the burnt flesh in the air.

"Hostiles! Open fire!" The troopers shout, Mattocks belching fire and death against the oncoming hordes. The initial surprise gone, we start regaining ground as the men learn where the insectoid monsters come from. Turning, shifting fire, I spot one of the Guardians opting to simply hack the attacking Rachni down with the edge of his shield.

"Come and get it fuckers!" More voices shout, and a pillar of fire emerges from a trooper carrying a large canister on his back, and a firestorm in his hands. The insects scurry away from him, though he simply stomps forward in Centurion-grade armor, roasting the alive. It doesn't last though, as the ring of scurrying insects finally get around him, and acid is hurled at his tank.

Even though I am half a dozen meters from him, the explosion still staggers me.

Quickly I raise my shotgun, and fire, spraying a Rachni soldier in the face. At close range, the M-22 Eviscerator shotgun is capable of gutting a Krogan, hence the name. The soldier doesn't even stand a chance. It's limp body shot across the ground, taking a few small workers with it. I cocked my shotgun again, and fired into the dense crowd. Surprisingly, the effect was immense. A dozen Rachni workers exploded on impact, taking a few Rachni warriors with it. The soldiers around us are carrying out similar acts of mass-death, even with more and more of them being overwhelmed. Valkyrie and Jacob are doing their best to distribute biotic walls to keep the bugs away, but the sheer numbers are just too much.

The rest turned toward me and charged. I pumped my shotgun again and fired, felling the first line or so. My eyes widened in fear, as my shotgun jammed. Yes even in the future, jams happen. I eject the thermal clip. I reach in vain for a new clip, which is attached firmly to my utility belt. Fuck, it's too close!

It sucks knowing that a big drone is going to gut me before I manage to change the clip.

The harsh sound of heavy, metallic explosions overpowers everything else, as the drone, and pretty much everything else out of casualty-range, is torn to bloody shreds by a 120mm heavy machinegun, positioned on top of the front-most Mako.

I jam a new clip into my gun roughly, looking to where the remaining troops are pouring fire, round and grenades at the fleeing insects. More emerge though, and the Mako cannot keep up. Miranda is suddenly close to me, her hands encased in biotic energy and wielding her trademark tempest.

"Pleasure for you to make it, Mr. Stevens" Miranda says, leveling her SMG. She pulls the trigger and swings her weapon in a wide arch. Anything on the receiving end is immediately struck. Unfortunately, due to their chitinous exoskeleton, the Rachni absorb many of the non-thermal rounds without sustaining injury. A larger warrior hisses in pain, before throwing caution to the wind and charging. I pivot quickly, and fire my shotgun into the warrior. It screeches in agony as it collapsed to the ground, very much dead, and on fire. Didn't know thermal rounds did that to bugs… thought they were too squishy.

I smirk under my helmet at her. "Eh. I was in the neighborhood. Thought I'd drop by" I reply before firing again. Miranda smirks slightly, as she slams her back against mine. Back-to-back we continue to fire our weapons frantically. At this range, it's almost impossible to miss. Nearby, a trooper is knocked on his back by a drone. Just as the insect is about to slaughter the struggling man, a Centurion runs up, kicks the insect off him before ramming a katana into its body. The thing shrieks in agony before falling dead to the ground.

"These singers are stronger than the ones before them! Brood-Brothers aid your brood-mates!" a feminine, singing voice commanded loudly. The Rachni seem to slow their attack at the voice. That is, until a loud, piercing screech echoes through the room. What remains of our forces either scurry back into formation or simply stare in the direction the screech came from.

"This is gonna be shitty!" Jacob says from somewhere close by.

Out of the large, Krogan sized holes emerge more Rachni. These ones were different however. Some stood up to eight feet tall and glowed a bright blue. I feel Miranda shiver through her armor at the sight, and I don't blame her. These weren't your average soldiers. These were brood warriors.

"Open fire! Open fire!" The Centurions shout in pretty much unison. Fire, grenades and bullets, coupled with biotic attacks from the team, is sent against the hulking creatures. Holy fuck! And I thought Brutes were horrifying!

I gulp and replace my spent thermal clip with a new one, my last clip at that. Around us, the Rachni slowly back away under the onslaught of fire, falling in behind the larger brood warriors. The largest of the warriors glared at me, his piercing blue eyes, boring into my helmet.

"You shall sing no longer evil-singer!" the leader announced loudly. I took a shaky breath and braced my shotgun against my shoulder. They seem unperturbed as I did so however. They merely continued to advance toward me. I fired my remaining four rounds in quick succession. The large warrior staggered at the initial contact, before resuming his pace.

"Lawson?! Can you use some biotic magic on them?" I asked, backing away slowly.

Miranda scoffed quietly. "Is that an insult? I'm an L5-X. I can do that in my sleep" she replies glowing blue; "Still… Jacob, Valkyrie, stand by for warp detonation!"

"Nice to know. Could you please try it on the big one?" I ask, kicking an approaching Rachni worker away before it explodes on my foot. Already, the feeling of my cybernetics is beginning to flow through my body. I ball and unball my fists a few time, letting the surges flow. The surges feel stronger than last time, causing me to practically twitch. My eyes narrowed at the sight of something odd in the glow. Mixed in with my cerulean glow, were tendrils of pale green. The tendrils seem to lick at the areas of my damaged armor, almost forming a glowing seal.

After a few calming breath, I open my mouth "Now!" I order, which in hindsight would be stupid because at any other time Miranda would kick my balls for ordering her around. Miranda shoots both her arms forward, summoning her biotics in unison with the rest of the team. The cerulean shockwaves move forward, striking the quickly advancing group. Much of the front line staggered before falling dead. The Rachni in the next few lines stumbled disoriented. The large brood warriors summoned biotic barriers of their own, which absorbed some of the blasts.

I grin. This is all the time I need. I charge head on toward the group, empty shotgun in hand. I leap forward, delivering a kick to the lead brood warrior. I flip my shotgun around, so that I'm holding it by the barrel. I swing the shotgun violently at a nearby warrior, like a baseball bat, the butt of the gun connecting with its oddly shaped head. The warrior slumps to the side, head literally caved in. I grin manically under my helmet as I swing again, this time striking one of the smaller brood warriors. With each strike, the green grows stronger, and my vision darker. In the distance, Miranda calls my name frantically, but I don't respond. It appears that I've gained the attention of every Rachni in the room.

Normally, that would be a bad thing.

Eventually the green glow becomes so much that it's hard to see. The Rachni screech, blinded as the attempt to attack. A few even cry in agony as they are melted as the green energy touches them. The world seems to slow as my stomach contorts in pain. I groan as I collapse, my energy spent. I barely register the sounds of approaching footsteps, as Miranda sprints toward me.

The remaining Rachni back away, almost scared. The remaining brood warriors stare at me, clicking their antennas as if conversing quietly. The Rachni form a circle around the few men we have left, which is basically just a Centurion, and the team. Aforementioned Centurion is still wielding a katana, thermal clips obviously spent.

"Well… always figured I'd die by aliens… didn't figure it'd be supposedly dead aliens, but… meh." The man shrugs, surprisingly calm about the situation. His sharp blade is dripping with the green blood, somehow not eaten away by it.

"Stevens?! Are you alright?" Miranda asks as she kneels down next to me. Her face was a mix of worry and disbelief.

"I'm just peachy ma'am" I reply, surprised at the hoarseness of my voice. My ribs feel as if their on fire and my throat is as dry as Dekuna. "Did you know your accent comes out more when you're worried, becau- oww! Sheesh just trying to lighten the mood" I chuckle. I never get to finish, because Miranda delivered a sold slap to my chest.

"Crazy bastard" was Miranda muttered as she retracted her hand.

Slowly, soft musical notes begin to drift through our minds. They're not the violent reds and oranges that the Rachni used in battle, but softer greens and blues. Above me, Miranda's head snaps up, looking for the source of the notes. Surprisingly, my pain begins to subside as the notes become stronger.

Looking down, I can understand why I'm in pain. My armor is covered in scorch marks. The slowly fading green tendrils of energy cover the areas where the armor is gone. It is… freaky, to use a mild word.

"Sorry about that. You were in a dire situation, and surrounded. I felt that you needed more power to defeat you enemy. Case and point." Alex finally states. Acting on its own, my head turns to survey the area around us. At least a hundred Rachni bodies, of all kinds, lie scattered and dead. Many are burnt or are completely bashed in.

"Thanks buddy" I mentally groan. "Give me some warning next time though"

"As you wish" he replies with a mental bow, before disappearing.

The musical notes grow increasingly stronger, until my head begins to spin. Nearby, the large Rachni brood warriors begin to inch closer to Miranda and I. At seven feet tall, they're imposing to say the least. My eyes widen in confusion a one of them tentatively reaches out and brushes his feeler against my damaged armor.

"Fear not young one" a feminine voice commands lightly "You sing with a strong aura. So does your aspect. I regret singing war-songs against you. Sings-Leadership, bring these singers to me" the voice commanded.

"ALEX? What is going on? What is she talking about?" I ask sharply. And, in panic. Aspect? Aura? The flying fucktards is going on here?

Alex is silent for a moment. "I think you're about to meet the Rachni queen. I'll be quiet honest; I didn't think that this would happen so soon" Alex replies. Note to self: When the Godliving in your mind is surprised, shit will hit the fan.

The leader of the Brood Warriors skitters next to me. It drops down, almost kneeling beside. Its blue eyes watched me intently for a moment. "Life-singer demands both your presences. The lesser children shall bring you to her. You battle-brothers will not be harmed" It says motioning his head toward the remaining Mjolnir members and the Centurion, still aiming his blade at the closest Rachni. They are surrounded by Rachni who look… pensive. They were trading looks between me and the Rachni.

"If you say so" I reply sitting up with Miranda's help. "How are we going to meet this 'Life-Singer'?" I ask the imposing spider.

"The Rachni have dug tunnels that will take you and your aspect, as well as your mate to Life-Singer chamber" the warrior replies simply.

I rub my neck sheepishly. She's not my mate, I mentally tell myself. Jesus Christ, why is it everyone assume I have to end up with Miranda? I'm not sure if it's clandestine or something, but she's kinda with Jacob. What, do I have to wear a sign spelling "Not a girl-stealer"?

The large warrior looked at us curiously, his blue eyes shifting between Miranda and I. "She's not?" I chuckle at the tone of his voice. He sounds almost dumbfounded. "She sings Queen-Songs. She sings her pheromone-songs"

"Oh calm down, it's because Jacob is nearby" Alex says, sounding annoyed.

Miranda scoffs and blushes slightly before looking away. My eyes furrow in confusion. This is not the Miranda I know from the games. The cold, calculating Cerberus operative almost looks embarrassed. An emotion I didn't know she had.

I quickly clear my throat. "So… lead the way then?" I offer the oversized spider. He nods and looks down at the ground and clicks his antennas. The ground beneath Miranda shakes and cracks. Seconds later it collapses absorbing Miranda, the brood warrior, and I. My more than girlish screams are the last thing I hear before everything turns to black.

…

When I finally come to again, the scene is far different. I'm propped up against Miranda's back, on top of a Rachni, being carried down a corridor on top of about a thousand little Rachni workers moving as one. The only reason I can see is because of the thousands of tiny, glowing crystals dispersed liberally along the ceiling and walls. I shift to look around, slightly awed.

"So you're awake. Good. For your information, you landed on your head" Miranda states with a quiet chuckle. I turn to the best of my ability to look at her.

"Nice to know. How long was I out?" I ask.

Miranda shrugs. "Probably about ten minutes at most. You didn't miss much though, just the aimless wondering through the labyrinth of tunnels" she replies with a bored shrug.

"We are approaching Life-Singer's chamber. Prepare yourselves" the large brood warrior announces, appearing from the darkness. His blue eyes acting almost like flashlights. Wait… 'his'? Since when do I know a Rachni boy or girl?

My mouth drops in a mix in awe and shock as we enter the chamber. It is gigantic. It expands hundreds of feet upward. At the top, the ceiling is made of crystals, bathing the room with bright light. The room itself is a large oval, with thousands of tiers and bridges all manned by Rachni. Off to the side, thousands of Rachni larvae squirm around, while being tended to by brood warriors and workers.

At the center of the large chamber is the queen. She's bloody massive by all accounts, standing at least thirty feet tall. She's surrounded by Rachni. Workers come and go, grabbing eggs that she produced. On either side of her stood soldiers and warriors, keeping a watchful eye on us as we approached. I can't help but marvel at her size.

A chuckle-like noise filters through the air. Musical notes intertwined with a yellow feeling, fills my head. "I'm surprised. While you song is strong, you mind is still young" the Rachni queen announces amused. Everything she says sounds like a shout, though a melodically pretty one at that.

The Rachni that were carrying us come to an abrupt halt. Without warning, the workers drop us on the ground, hard rock meeting relatively fragile armor. I groan as I collide with the ground. Beside me, Miranda was in a similar state of dishevel. Using my elbows, I force myself upward. After a moment I stand up, beside me Miranda does the same, after fixing her hair of course. Jesus Christ, is she really thát feminine?

I swallow as I look up at the queen. Her piercing blue eyes continue to move up and down my body. In response, the green tendrils reappear, surrounding my body. Beside me Miranda turns fully to look at the tendrils of energy. Slowly and tentatively, Miranda reaches out and brushes my shoulder, fingertips hesitantly touching the green energy.

"Fascinating" she says dumbfounded. "They're very… warm, though not like…" she continues, brows furrowed. "I've only seen something like this once before" she says looking up to meet my eye, with an almost worried look. There is a slight undertone of fear in her eyes, a memory playing that I have no idea what could be, yet it scares her.

"You have seen another aura?" The queen asks sounding almost astounded. "Then the crystals are true. This is to be a defining cycle. When there is more than one wielder, it will become possible to defeat the creators of the taint" The queen sings again, something close to euphoria in the monotone song.

I work up the audacity to raise my hand. "Umm… excuse me? I hate to be a bother, but can you explain this 'aura' to me?"

The large queen's head leans slightly to one side and her eyes blink a few times. "You weren't explained what an aura was, oh wielder? Is this truth?" the queen asks.

"No I wasn't" I deadpan in response. My eyes move to the side shortly, looking at Alex, who is standing beside me. He looks away, almost as if embarrassed.

"I can reveal aura to you. We Rachni are born capable of sensing aura. Others can receive the gift to see it, but it harder for some. I will give it to you if you wish, however you may both find it difficult during the experience."

"Both?" I ask questioningly, before flickering my eyes at Miranda.

"Yes both. The master wishes that I give your mate the ability to understand aura. I'm not one to question him" the queen replies seriously.

"I'm not his mate!" Miranda yells at the imposing queen, obviously annoyed.

"Seriously, could you stop thinking that? It's damnable annoying, and besides she's not even single!" I say, just as annoyed as her.

Beside me, Alex chuckles amused. "Keep thinking that Lawson. Keep thinking that." I shoot him a dark look, which he merely replies with a shrug. Bugger needs to get those thoughts out of his head, or I'll make him.

"Are you ready to receive?" the queen asks.

"I am" I reply with a curt nod. This is getting weirder by the bloody minute, and having both a Rachni Queen and a god thinking I'm hooked on Miranda is more than annoying. I turn to look at Miranda pensively. "Are you up for this? You don't have to do it" I mutter quietly. It isn't her fault that the unreal aspects of this place keep calling her 'my mate'.

She turns her head to look at me. Her expression is steely and determined. She gives me a short, determined nod. "I'm ready!" she announces loudly. "This is probably all a bloody dream anyway, and I'll wake up drunk, passed out at the bar." she adds under her breath quickly, voice full of mirth.

The queen gives her equivalent of a sigh. All around us, the Rachni stop abruptly. The only ones who continue their tasks are the workers, tending to the larvae. "As you wish. Prepare to become aware, to see what the children sings and the master grants!" the queen finishes with a bellow.

Miranda and I simultaneously drop to our knees in pain. Thousands of images flicker through our head simultaneously. The first set shows reapers, a war on a biblical scale, and thousands and thousands of cycles exterminated. The second set is of various species. Thousands of odd looking aliens wielding green energy, killing reaper minions by the millions; each one perishes too early however. In the background the queen narrates. Infinite pillars of azure fire sprout like flowers, blooming only to die in an ocean of vast darkness.

"Unending cycles ago, a war was waged in the heavens. It was a war between gods who had rebelled, and those who stayed loyal to the master. The rebel god's leader's name was Nazara, she was the right hand to the master. The Rachni served alongside the master, fighting valiantly. The rebels were defeated, but escaped and took physical form before they were to be eradicated. The Rachni received great rewards for our service. We were given free reins in the galaxy. We stayed hidden for billions of years, waiting for Nazara's eventual uprising. When she returned, the inhabitants of the first cycle were overwhelmed. Nazara had grown strong while they waited, even for the Rachni. The first wielder of aura was too weak to handle the reapers. The Rachni were forced to hide in the corners of the galaxy, because of it." The Queen says, a sad note of regret, chances wasted, in her voice.

"We waited for eons, preparing for war silently. This was to be the cycle that the Rachni returned, ready to fight Nazara. But Nazara discovered our plans. They tainted the hearts of the other species, causing them to strike us down. At the time, the Rachni were making a rapid expansion, collecting resources for the coming war. The Citadel Council refused to speak with any of the Rachni queens. Only now have we begun to rebuild our numbers, but I'm afraid that it is too late for us. Nazara is dead, her form destroyed by the wielder fiery aura, but… she was no longer the leader. He calls himself the Harbinger of Perfection, a dark creation of the sour note." the Rachni queen finished sadly.

Thousands more images ran through Miranda's and my head. Images of the Rachni being cut down by the Krogan, hulking lizards using the very forces of the rock and ground against the Rachni, caving in nests, collapsing mountains. The Krogan were glowing a bright red. The word 'taint' is song over and over while the red glow persists. So the Krogan were indoctrinated to a degree, I think to myself. Fascinating, and scary as shit because I didn't know Krogan could be indoctrinated.

"It's not too late!" I reply loudly, causing everyone's to focus on me. "You must prepare for war, yes. But you must also prepare to resist Harbinger's taint. If you don't, then all of the Rachni could fall under the reapers indoctrination. Your entire hive is at risk!" I tell her, desperately wanting to avoid the needless deaths of more.

"How do you know this?" the queen asks curiously; "Even the aspects know not the future."

"Aspects?" Miranda asks, looking more than confused; "Aspects of what?"

I gulp in response. I could tell her, but Miranda would hear as well. Is that a bad thing though? I doubt I can hide myself forever from anyone. Eventually, I'll slip or they'll find my records from 2013. I let out a shaky sigh.

"See for yourself" I say tapping my head.

"As you wish. Be warned however, once I begin my search, I cannot stop. You may see things you want to keep hidden. Hidden emotions, secret thoughts, memories thought locked away." she says in an almost knowing tone. I merely nod solemnly in response.

Seconds pass before images begin to appear. Beside my Miranda face contorts in confusion. I mentally groan. She's seeing everything I am. My life beforehand. Every birthday, every soccer game, really every moment in my life flashes by in lightning speed. Even Middle school, high school, and boot camp are shown. Finally, the images slow down, and turn to a video. They first show me playing Mass Effect 2, not much too see there. Unfortunately, the queen took the time to slow down and watch me romance Miranda with male Sheppard. Embarrassing as fuck, especially because the digital Miranda is just a crude representation of the real one, sending Miranda's expression into a furious fit.

Then they show me, dressed in my N7 hoodie, playing Mass Effect 3 intently, tongue sticking out. I watch as I play each mission and side mission. In truth I went on a bit of a binge the first night I had it. I play for a solid five hours, before passing out unceremoniously. Luckily, the queen manages to find the Rachni mission before we dive any deeper into my past life.

The Rachni queen recoils as the mind-video ends. I sacrificed the Krogan squad to save her. In the end I kind of regretted it. I saved the original, so there wasn't a problem there, but I felt bad sacrificing at all. Especially because I nearly got Grunt, a loyal friend, killed.

The equivalent of Rachni deep breathing fill the eerily quiet chamber. All the Rachni saw the images and videos, because of their hive mind. Most of them don't know what to do with the new information, especially given its digital character, it could easily be something fictional.

Beside me, Miranda looks over at me. Every emotion is at play. Anger, embarrassment, confusion, and awe. There are more, but I can't explain them all. She looks completely dumbfounded to say the least. I'm pretty sure that the ME2 and ME3 romance images sent her over the edge; she hasn't had time to process it yet… Now she has. And she looks ungodly pissed.

"I know what I must do" the queen proclaims. "I must birth and raise more queens. In past cycles, Rachni queens have resisted the taint, but it required many to do so. Thank you for your knowledge. It will help in the coming war. I will begin preparation at once." The queen says with a mix of happiness and solemnness. " Sings-Leadership will help you return to the surface. The broods of the future shall hear of this" She finishes with a vow.

Beside us, the group of Rachni workers returned. I carefully leaped on, followed quickly by a still conflicted, and pissed, Miranda. The workers began to move away from the queen, in the direction of the tunnels. Around us, the Rachni began to resume their work slowly.

Beside me, Miranda continued to stare blankly at me. She finally let out a sigh. "How much of that, that I just saw was true?" she asked carefully, keeping a less than pleased voice in check. She is probably contemplating skinning me alive right now, considering the images of her body the romance gave me in Mass Effect two. Not that I'd blame her for it, should I suddenly be without skin.

I swallow in response. "All of it" I reply simply, looking away; not willing to meet her judging gaze. I just need my ears to listen for a sudden activation of a biotic field.

"It all makes sense now. Thomas Fisher, and now you" she mutters in response. She raises her head to meet my eyes. "We're going to have a long talk when we get back. Especially with the team. I mean, we can't not tell them or the Illusive Man."

"Yeah… who's Thomas Fisher?"

"Later. Need to find the team first." She says, walking ahead.

I crack a small smile, but before I can reply, Alex appears. He's in his Cerberus armor, crossed legged, with his helmet in his lap. "Don't you two worry; I'll deal with Timmy and the team" he says with a smirk.

Miranda grunts in surprise as she reached for her SMG. I placed a hand firmly on her arms, not allowing her to withdraw it from her holster. She narrowed her eyes in response. "Who the bloody hell is that?!"

Alex sends me a humored look, one I return with a venomous glare.

"The fuck? You made yourself visible?!" I exclaim, tempted to test out if I can punch him now.

"Ah, well she knows now, so why not a proper presentation?"

"Stevens, who the fuck is that?" Miranda demands. Her voice almost sends me jumping with shock. Trembling slightly, I turn back to her, tempest aimed at Alex;

"Well… Miranda, meet Alex. My… my aspect."

A/N

Well that the end of another chapter. Credit to Mivpus who did the proofreading. Lord knows I couldn't do it as well as he could. Check out his profile and read his story War of the Gods - Careful what you wish for

Don't forget to review. It pays my imaginary bills.