Chapter 25:
Sudden Death

Alenko ran toward the extraction point, Anderson slung over his shoulders. Callus covered his rear, but any hostiles were either dead or escaped. Anderson was still unconscious, but he wouldn't have any permanent damage. As far as Callus was concerned, the mission was a success. Now if they could just get out of here...

They reached the landing pad outside, where Joker was landing the shuttle that he fixed up. Alenko strapped Anderson in a seat whil Callus took the copilot's chair. "Let's get moving, Lieutenant Moreau," he called out over the sound of the engine.

Alenko looked over at him, alarmed. "What about Shepard?" he asked.

Callus turned to face him. "Those quakes are getting louder and closer. We can circle for him a few times, but we can't stay for long."

Alenko thought for a moment, but nodded. He'd have to accept that.

Another tremor brought Shepard back to consciousness. They were definitely getting worse. It wouldn't be long before the thresher maws were there. If he wasn't gone before they arrived... well, he wasn't sure he could cheat death twice.

He stood up slowly and looked around. The base was a mess, not that he was complaining, and the gunship itself would never fly again. Looking at the cockpit, he frowned. Was it empty? Standing unsteadily on his feet, he reached to his side and grabbed his pistol.

He stumbled to the ship, aiming the pistol at the cockpit. As he reached the cockpit, his fears were realized. Hollister wasn't there. Shepard looked around, inwardly hoping that he'd been ejected and ran headfirst into a tree.

Shepard took a step forward before being thrown off his feet by a biotic throw. The pistol flew out of his hands, but he was able to roll and stand back up fairly quickly. Standing across from him was Hollister.

"YOU'RE A FUCKING THORN IN MY SIDE, SHEPARD!" he screamed, marching forward. "It's time we ended this!"

"I couldn't agree more," Shepard replied. He sprinted forward and straight into Hollister, tackling him onto the ground. He raised his fist to punch him, but Hollister hit him with another throw, knocking him off of him. Shepard sprung to his feet and met Hollister head-on, throwing a punch to his midsection. Hollister countered with a blow to Shepard's face, but Shepard ducked under the swipe and punched him again in the midsection, driving him back a few steps.

Not letting up, Shepard punched at Hollister's face. Hollister blocked the shot with his arm and hit Shepard with another throw. Shepard stumbled backward. Taking the opportunity, Hollister hit Shepard with a warp. His shields protected him from the impact, but the force of the attack made him fall. Rolling out of the way of another warp, Shepard stood quickly and drew a knife from his waist. Time to even the field a bit, he thought.

Callus looked around the base, hoping to find a trace of Shepard. Two laps so far, and they weren't able to find him. Joker kept an eye on the geographic monitors with growing concern. The thresher maws were getting closer, and he'd heard stories of their height. If they were only a foot too close to the ground, a maw could easily knock them out of the sky.

Looking toward the crash site again, Callus noticed a flashing blue glow. A biotic attack. He remembered briefly that Hollister was biotic. And if he was down there... "Moreau!" he called out, pointing to the flashes. "Lock in on those coordinate and move down there!"

"It'll have to be on the next pass," Joker replied. "Those AA guns are still active, and I want to avoid them if possible."

Callus nodded. "Just get there as quick as you can," he replied. He looked toward the spot one last time before it went out of sight. Hang in there, Shepard, he thought.

Hollister ducked under a swing with Shepard's knife, then responded with a biotically-charged punch of his own. Shepard leaned backward to avoid it and felt the energy from the blow barely avoid him. Straightening back up, he swung at Hollister's face with his knife, cutting into his cheek. Hollister stumbled backward and ran his finger through the blood on his face. He turned his glared to Shepard and glowed blue, preparing another attack. Seeing the attack coming, Shepard struck first. He spun the knife around and grabbed onto the blade, the threw it with all his strength at Hollister. The blade dug into his left shoulder, making him howl out in pain. Losing whatever composure he had left, he charged toward Shepard, fist raised.

Before he could hit him, however, another quake rumbled through Akuze, throwing off Hollister's balance and sending him stumbling into Shepard's arms. Using all his strength, Shepard lifted Hollister into the air and slammed him back onto the ground. Taking advantage of his vulnerability, Shepard began throwing haymakers to Hollister's face. He lost count of how many punches he threw before he tired out. After he was finished, Hollister's face was barely recognizable. Blood covered every inch of his head, his nose was broken, and Shepard could have sworn he almost felt a retina detach from his eye.

He expected Hollister to be out cold. Instead, the Cerberus agent started laughing. "You think this changes anything?" he demanded. "You think you're a big hero now?" He turned and spat a mouth full of blood in Shepard's direction, though he missed the mark. "You're nothing! You're not worth the fucking air you breathe! Who's going to remember you, huh?" Shepard didn't answer, enraging Hollister further. "HUH?!" He moved upward for a half-assed attack, which was ended by a final punch by Shepard.

Shepard sighed and straightened up. Now it was over. Hopefully. Another tremor rippled through the area, signaling that the thresher maws were getting closer. Overhead, the shuttle flew past him and lowered to the ground. The door opened and Alenko waved for Shepard to get in. Shepard stood and walked toward the shuttle, picking up his pistol along the way. Halfway to the shuttle, he was stopped cold by Hollister's voice. "Shepard!" he yelled. "You can't just leave me here to die!"

Shepard turned around to see him crawling toward the sound of the shuttle. His eyes narrowed and he marched toward Hollister, despite Alenko's protest. He grabbed Hollister by the neck and slammed him into the base's wall, extending his pistol and aiming it at his face.

"Do it," Hollister spat out. "We both know you want to."

It frightened Shepard how much he wanted to. He'd waited for this opportunity for as long as he could remember. But he knew he couldn't do it. He wasn't like Hollister. He could leave him here. Let him get crushed by the thresher maws. But as many times as he'd escaped death before, Shepard knew it was only a matter of time before he had to deal with him again. No. He had to end this now, but he couldn't kill him.

Shepard pulled Hollister from his spot and toward the shuttle and aimed his pistol at him. "Walk," he ordered. "You're under arrest."

Hollister laughed. "I don't think so." He glowed blue to prepare for an attack, but then screamed in pain as he was electrocuted. Looking down, he saw the omni-cuffs Shepard had put on him before tossing him toward the shuttle. Laughing, he straightened up and looked Shepard in the eye. "Well played, Shepard," he commented as Shepard stormed up to him and pushed him to the shuttle. "Well played."

Shepard pushed Hollister onto the shuttle and stepped inside. Anderson was conscious again and nodded to Shepard, believing he made the right choice.

The shuttle took off and sped from Akuze, but from the atmosphere Shepard could see the Cerberus base be overrun by the thresher maw pack. Good riddance, he thought, turning from the Cerberus base, and Akuze, for the last time.