She took a deep breath. The air smelled clean, sterilized. There was a hint of antiseptic in the air, but she did not care in the slightest. She savored the intricate aromas, taking in what she could not see. Her eyes fluttered open, vision blurry. She blinked slowly as she slowly adjusted to the light in the room, which was quite bright. She was lying in a hospital cot, a sheet spread across the lower half of her body, everything white in the environment.

She yawned; evidently she had been out for a while. Her back arched as she brought her arms over her head in a stretch. She moved her neck from side to side, she stretched out her hands, she wiggled her feet…

Tali shot up, she had wiggled her feet. Her hands threw aside the blanket that covered her and she gasped in surprise. A finger gingerly touched where skin had not been previously. It felt like a leg. She could feel a leg. She pinched the flesh in confirmation and was rewarded by a sharp stab of pain.

Her right leg was completely whole again, her motor functions completely normal. She cautiously turned her foot around to test her limits and sighed as everything began to feel familiar to her. She peered more closely at the skin. The leg seemed to be a lighter shade of grey than the rest of her body and if she studied the area, there was a faint circle of a scar, just above her knee, that traced all around.

Was…was this where…?

The door slid open and Tali, tears of joy streaming down her eyes looked for her husband. Surely he would be here, wouldn't he? Instead, Mordin Solus walked through with a clipboard, humming to himself and smiling when he saw the quarian sitting up.

"Ah, Tali'Zorah," he began. "Good to see you awake. How does it feel?" He indicated the once missing limb.

"It…" she started. "It feels…like myself. Like normal. Doctor…I can't thank…"

"No gratitude necessary," Mordin held up a hand. "All part of duty. Advantages of flash cloning, can use leg immediately after surgery."

"Surgery? How long was I out?"

The salarian shrugged, "Four hour procedure, nothing substantial. Wound was easily manageable. Able to connect nerve tissue and bone with nanografts. A simple matter, no danger whatsoever."

Tali slowly swung her feet off the bed, toes curling as they touched the cold floor, "I would imagine that Alec will be relieved. Where is he, anyway?"

The salarian looked away for the tiniest of moments, but the motion was not lost on Tali. She waited for a reply from the usually punctual man until he made a small gesture behind him, "He might know the answer."

Tali turned her body around in confusion. She was startled to see that she had not been the only one in the room initially. Lying on a similar cot was Garrus, although she noted that he had a fresh bandage on the left side of the face. That was odd, he had only gotten hurt on the right.

"What the…what happened to him?"

Mordin shrugged again, "Curious thing, geth brought him up from armory in unconscious state. Relayed secondary message from Captain Lee before it left."

Tali perked her head, curious, "Message? What message?"

"To tell Spectre Vakarian that he was sorry."

Understanding slowly seeped across Tali's face. But, as much as the evidence had been placed in front of her head, she refused to believe the implications of the scenario.

Oh no…that bosh'tet…surely he wouldn't…

Tali jumped off the bed, wincing slightly at the slight stiffness in her new leg, and padded over to where Garrus lay.

She turned to the doctor, "Is it okay to move him?"

Mordin nodded, "As long as it's not life-threatening."

Tali nodded and immediately grabbed Garrus' shoulders and shook him viciously, "Wake up, you bosh'tet! Where's Alec? Where is he?"

Garrus' eyes flared open as he elicited an unmanly scream as if he'd just come out of a nightmare. His gaze was racing across the room, desperate for solace from the maddening woman who was inflicting bodily harm on his person. He saw a flash of grey and became even more befuddled when he recognized his attacker as Tali. His left mandible twitched in confusion.

"Tali?" he managed between shakes. "What…the…hell…are you doing?"

"Where…is…Alec?" Tali growled. "I know he's not here on the ship, so where did he go?"

"I…I was with him last…" Garrus started but paused, eyes widening in horror. "Oh fuck. He was in the armory…he was all suited up…he was going to go…"

"Go where?" Tali screamed. "To Earth?"

Garrus gingerly touched his newest bandage, gently ripping it off, "Spirits, Tali. He knocked me out when I forbade him to go. I didn't see it coming…I should have but I was too stupid to-"

Tali's mouth hung open in disbelief. She shook her head as she cut the turian off, "Oh Keelah. I'm sorry for yelling at you, Garrus. I just…I don't know what he was thinking…"

"I know exactly what he was thinking," Garrus grimaced as he slowly sat up. "He told me before he left that he was going to take out the man who ordered the attack on us."

"He did not say that."

"He certainly did. He packed enough weapons for the trip to take on the entire Urdnot clan. That gave me the first clue that he was about to do something rash."

"It's…" Tali paused. "It's all because I got hurt. If none of this had happened…he wouldn't have done something so stupid."

Garrus tilted his head as he could see something behind Tali's eyes start to formulate, "You better not be thinking what I'm thinking."

"I don't know, Garrus," she replied coolly. "What do you think would be my natural response in this case?"

"You seriously aren't considering going back down there to help him out. Especially since you were just badly wounded…"

"That was different," she fired back. "We didn't have any advantage in terms of armor or weapons. We can fix all that on the ship, here. I just need to make sure he's okay…"

"You do realize that he's doing all of this for you, right?"

"That's his problem," she sighed. "He thinks of everyone but himself too much."

Garrus threw the sheet that covered his body and hastily adjusted the loose robe that hung around him, "Well, seeing as I can't talk you out of this, I'm coming along with you."

Tali smiled, "I thought you would. I knew you wouldn't let two of your best friends go down to a hostile area alone. It isn't in your nature to pass up a fight."

"No," Garrus agreed. "But if you lunatics died down there then I would never forgive myself. The galaxy would be a much smaller place."

Tali wrapped her arms around the turian in a hug. Garrus returned the gesture and patted her across the back. "We should get ready, then," he said. "The more time we spend, the higher Alec's kill count gets."

"What?" Tali intoned as both of them strode out of the hallway, Mordin wishing them luck from the room. "You don't think that Alec is in any danger at the moment?"

"Considering how angry I last saw your human, I think that he would be considered the danger."

Much to their surprise, when both of them stepped off the elevator, Garrus and Tali were not expecting the armory to be full at this time. Standing in front of them, already holding weapons, were Wrex and Liara.

"Thought you princesses would be here by now," Wrex laughed throatily. "I've been expecting a fight for the past hour and had to wait on someone to pilot the damn shuttle so that I could join my friend."

"And besides," Liara shrugged. "You're going to need all the help you can get, even if we now have the necessary weapons for the job." She lifted a Tempest in her hand, "Alec took all of the Locusts so I had to make do with this, though. Nice gun, but it's a bit…lacking."

Garrus' eye twitched, "I'm…I'm not even going to argue with you there. Although I don't even know how you got here ahead of us when we decided on this course of action fifteen minutes ago."

"Liara saw a geth drop you off in the med bay," Wrex rumbled. "She came and told me and we started preparing for when you woke up. Heh, I knew that there was only one crazy son of a bitch on this ship who could knock out a turian that handily and that's Alec."

"How hard did he hit you?" Tali asked somewhat facetiously.

"Hard enough," Garrus grumbled, rubbing the side of his jaw. "But, seeing as we're all suited up and our friend has dove into a world of hurt…literally, I'd say that when we get our guns we head out immediately."

"Got you covered there," Wrex laughed as he hoisted his grenade launcher. Tali made for the weapons bench and after some indecision, settled on a geth plasma shotgun, a simple but devastating model. Garrus, on the other hand, passed by his favored selection of rifles to grab a Revenant off the rack, checking the ammo and the upgrades to make sure it was in working order.

Tali appeared at his side, "Didn't figure you would go for a gun like that."

"The majority of the fights I believe are going to be close quarters. A sniper is useless in those conditions so I will carry this along, for the extra firepower."

"Why not take both?"

"Because that will weigh me down and we can't afford to lose any more time."

"Fair point."

After clipping their guns to the magnetic strips, the rejoined Wrex and Liara in the center and started to make for the last shuttle in the bay when a turian guard appeared in their way.

"Apologies, but no shuttles are permitted to leave the ship," the guard said in a rather unapologetic tone. "Orders."

Garrus lifted his head in surprise, "Orders? Whose?"

"By authority of the Spectre Saren Arterius."

"Oh, that asshole," Garrus muttered under his breath. "Listen, I also carry the rank of Spectre and I don't care if he was appointed overseer of the fleet."

"With respect sir," the officer admonished. "Arterius was quite specific that-"

"Arterius has no business interfering with this vessel. We're going down there for our captain, our friend, and I have no qualms if Saren sheds a tear for our 'misuse of the chain of command.'"

"You ought to watch your tone," the guard snarled. "I'm warning you, if you don't follow procedure, you will be court-"

Whatever the turian was going to say next was cut off as Wrex bounded forward across the grooved surface and swung an enormous arm, catching the guard in the midsection and sending him flying into the side of the Kodiak. The turian's head hit hard and he slumped to the ground, unconscious.

"Not good to keep a krogan waiting on a fight," Wrex shrugged.

Not really wanting to argue with the krogan's methods, the squad bounded onto the shuttle. Garrus beckoned the nearest geth over and pointed at the still body of the guard, "Take this one up to the med bay to be checked."

"Acknowledged, Vakarian-Spectre," the geth chimed. "Clarification, you will leave the ship against order even though they were specific?" There was no hostility in the synthetic's words, only a slight intonation of confusion.

"Arterius isn't in command here. Alec is, and we're going to help him out. We have a duty to him, to stand by his side whenever and wherever. That is why we must leave."

"Understood," the geth nodded, apparently satisfied at the answer. "Unit cohesion takes priority, we have determined, after analysis. Would advise low-level flight to avoid ground-to-air fire. We have calculated that humans are quite capable of defending against insurmountable odds."

"Well, this time, we're the ones going up against insurmountable odds, but they haven't faced us yet." Garrus leaned into the Kodiak and closed the hatch on the geth. He glanced around the cockpit and noticed something was off. "Who's going to fly this thing?" he asked. Simultaneously, he walked over to the cockpit access and shoved it open. He let out a groan, "Oh no."

"Hey Garrus, hey mom," a voice said somewhat sheepishly.

"Dayrl? Vaeri?" Tali exclaimed in surprise. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Helping you out of course," Vaeri said defensively.

"No," Tali shook her head. "No way. You kids get out right now."

"Sorry, mom," Dayrl sighed in the front seat. "But we want to help dad just as much as you guys do. For the record, we're sick of being cooped up on this ship. If you even think about throwing us off this shuttle, you're making a big mistake."

"You're the one making the big mistake," Tali hissed as Liara and Wrex glanced at each other awkwardly. "Your father is going to be furious if he finds out that you-"

"That we wanted to help?" Vaeri cried. "Sorry mom, but who exactly is going to fly this thing, Garrus? Not gonna happen. Dayrl can, though. We can get you there and provide air support!"

"This conversation is over," Tali grimaced, pointing at the door. "Out!"

"No, mom," Dayrl said as he strapped his seatbelt on. "We're going to Earth. We're going to our father. I'd suggest you sit down right about now." To further drive his point home, he quickly activated the controls on the Kodiak, which quickly lurched out of its initial position. Before Tali could utter one more protest, the shuttle shot out of the bay and into space.

"Well, look at that," Vaeri said triumphantly. "Nothing we can do about it now."

"You kids are as stubborn as your father," Tali grumbled but she sat down all the same.

"Although," Dayrl said somewhat cautiously. "We are being hailed at the moment, friendly frequency."

"Give it to me," Garrus called. Activating his omni-tool, a hologram burst from his hand into the center of the shuttle. A grey turian materialized and turned around in all directions. Saren.

"Vakarian?" the spectre growled. "I thought I ordered the fleets to stand down. Explain yourself!"

"Just…taking a little tour of the planet," Garrus said as nonchalantly as possible. "Getting some good shots for the nature vids and the like."

"You incompetent idiot," Saren spat. "You'd better have a good explanation for disobeying my direct orders or I will come down there and flay you myself!"

"I have a good reason, Saren," Garrus drawled. "You're going to love it: go fuck yourself." Before the other man could scream his frustration, the turian cut the comm.

Liara giggled at the turian's brazenness, "You're really pushing it today, aren't you?"

Garrus shook his head slowly, "Don't start, T'Soni…"

"Come on, man. Keep up!"

Alec groaned, "Quit your badgering, I'm trying to do multiple things at once here!"

Kasumi sighed, "Then do them faster! I thought you wanted to get a move on!"

"I'm not as young as I used to be, give me a fucking break."

They were in one of the Capitol's many underground walkways that led to an adjacent building. The corridor was narrow in that it could only fit one person, the walls were brick, and everything was dusty. At the moment, the only source of illumination in the gloomy caverns was Alec's omni-tool, which he was currently fiddling with.

"What exactly are you doing?" Kasumi asked.

The armored man shrugged, "Just sending the files I copied to every news station I know of."

Kasumi stopped in her tracks, "Wait…you can do that?"

Alec stopped as well, helmet in a quizzical position, "Why not? It's obvious that these men were breaking the law and we have irrefutable proof of their actions. By sending this to the media, we can bypass the corrupted layers and shift the blame to the conspirators rather than the planet."

"You're talking as if you still want Earth to join you and your Council after all this."

"I have no choice at this point. The one thing I can do now is smooth relations for all the parties. That, and beat to death a man who I once called a friend."

"Kinda dark there," Kasumi said nervously. "You have a plan for getting to him?"

"I'll improvise," Alec growled as he shouldered open the door that blocked their path. They walked out into what looked like a parking garage. Yellow lights hung from the ceiling and they could hear the faint whine of sirens from outside.

Alec nodded, "First, we need to acquire transport."

"Already on it," the thief said as she moved towards a row of motorcycles. Hopping on a yellow Kawasaki Ninja, she expertly pried the panel off and worked at some of the wires to get the machine started.

Alec laughed in surprise, "No offense, Kasumi, but I don't think two people are going to fit on that thing considering how much crap I'm wearing. I was thinking of maybe-"

He stopped talking as soon as he realized that they were being watched. Both he and Kasumi noted a man standing in the corner next to an elevator, dressed in leathers, holding a key as he had obviously been making his way toward one of the bikes. What a brilliant stroke of luck.

Alec instantly brought his pistol up to bear at the man, "Keys. Now."

"What?" the man said, clearly shocked. "B-B-but, I…I don't…"

"Now, goddamn it!" Alec shouted. "Don't make me get out my anal probe!"

The man shrieked and fled, tossing the keys to the side as he turned tail. Alec, eliciting a chuckle, picked the keys off from the damp ground. The rubber insert read "MV Agusta" and there was only one bike in the lot that fit that description. He walked over to it and swung a leg over the superbike, reintroducing himself to the familiar feel.

The MV Agusta F3 was one of the sleekest bikes ever made. The Italian design was angular and hard, its contours insectoid. It was a dream bike for Alec, one that he was confident that he would never get to experience. Then again, he had convinced himself once that he would never leave the confines of his own planet. Things do change.

He placed the key in the slot and felt the bike rumble with power and passion. He felt a surge of adrenaline rush through him as the red and white bike pulsed with a familiar vibe. Kasumi, having gotten her Ninja started, nodded to Alec.

"You want to follow me?"

"Just don't get shot," Alec replied.

With a grin, she gunned the bike up the ramp, Alec shortly following suit. The gate blocking exit to the surface was down but Kasumi simply smashed right through it. Not like they were going to be inconspicuous with their mode of transport, anyway.

Their bikes made a few quick turns until they were on a road that Alec read was East Capitol Avenue. They had quickly passed all of the government buildings and were now in a residential neighborhood. Contrary to the pristine streets of downtown, this area was in disrepair and was in considerable squalor. Kasumi braked so that Alec could catch up.

"It doesn't look like anything in the films!" she said, voice appearing through his helmet, referencing the neighborhood.

"Fun fact," Alec grinned. "D.C. is notorious for having a huge gang problem."

"Interesting, seeing how that's the least of our worries."

Alec shook his head. He was actually enjoying the sensation of being on a bike again. Considering the fact that it was about thirty years since he last rode one, he wasn't doing too badly. Guess the old adage was true, you never do forget.

Still amazed that they hadn't caught up to any resistance yet, they shot their bikes forward, passing Nationals Park and crossing over the Anacostia River. They crossed left onto the 295, the Baltimore-Washington Expressway.

"This takes us all the way there," Kasumi said. "It's a straight shot."

"Until we hit traffic," Alec grimaced.

Taking into account the high speed that they were traveling, he was proven right as immediately they came across a sea of red taillights as it twisted up the forested drive. Alec, now taking the initiative, swerved his bike onto the left shoulder and continued driving, Kasumi right behind. They had gone perhaps maybe half a mile before sirens popped out from the traffic and an unmarked police car gave chase.

Alec dropped back as Kasumi surged ahead. He had the shields and he had a lesser chance at getting hurt. He grabbed his Locust as the Ford Taurus drew closer. The car was most likely calling for reinforcements but he couldn't stop that fact. What he could do was slow them down.

Aiming down, he depressed the trigger of the submachine gun, bullets tearing into the front of the car, smashing the radiator and puncturing the engine block. The car immediately died and flipped over as one of its wheels exploded, lights smashing everywhere as it impacted with the ground. Alec surveyed the damage behind him. Non-fatal, easily survivable. He was somewhat satisfied, he wanted to put off injuring policemen as long as possible but now things were only going to get more difficult.

"No time for regrets," he said to himself, suddenly raising his voice. "Kasumi, we've got to move!"

In response, she flicked the throttle and raced at an ever faster pace. Trees were rushing by at a hundred miles an hour, the parked cars were beginning to blur in one colorless mass of metal. Alec leaned his body forward, concentrating on the tiny sliver of road in front of them, trying to avoid getting into a high speed collision.

The force wasn't making it easy on him as two cars now pulled in front behind the tree line. Alec and Kasumi both produced their weapons in earnest and aimed for the front of the cars. Both cars sparked as the bullets punched through the thin metal and started to flare as the gas ignited. The officers were now getting out of their cars and taking shots at the fleeing pair. This was not looking good and they still had a little more than five miles to go.

He jerked his foot to change up and the bike jumped in his hands. There was now an ever increasing sound of sirens to add to the muscular din that was overpowered by his motorcycle. But there was a faint rumble that he could hear, the kind only produced by a hefty diesel engine. Both Kasumi and Alec continued to speed forward, towards the noise as Alec prepared for what was around the next corner.

Suddenly, across the forested median, a huge black Caiman burst through and nearly sideswiped Alec's bike. The lumbering vehicle instead smashed into a nearby car and proceeded to flatten it, sending scraped metal everywhere.

"I think we got their attention," Alec commented.

The road was getting windier and the bikes were starting to slow as a result. The Caiman, on the other hand, had no such trouble keeping up in the grass, its huge axles powering through the changing terrain. A banging noise told Alec that there was a turret atop the damn thing and that the spattering and cracking of metal and glass told him that its aim wasn't that far off the mark.

He waved at Kasumi to go on ahead while he dodged to the left, into the traffic onto the other side. He would be harder to hit that way and he couldn't be pursued easily. Unfortunately, he misjudged how relentless his pursuers turned out to be as the enormous truck simply barged into the melee, pushing or running over cars, some with civilians still trapped inside. The turret was still firing at him but the bullets were also hitting innocent vehicles. Many windows frosted with blood as the bullets strayed from their original target.

Furious, Alec wheeled his bike around, facing the monster as it finally cleared the line of traffic, now on the grassy side. Alec gunned his engine, racing towards the Caiman. Dirt and grass exploded around him, the turret was having a hard time tracking his weaving movements.

"Oh well," Alec gritted as he aimed the bike head on. The driver didn't seem to care. After all, what chance did a bike have against an armored Caiman?

Alec quickly put his feet on the F3's seat in a crouching position and leaped, clearing the last distance as the Caiman sent the motorcycle flying in a torrent of plastic and glass. Alec shouted as he made contact with the front grill but he held on for dear life as the vehicle was gaining its speed back. He growled as he slowly clambered his way onto the front. The soldier manning the turret sounded in panic as he hastily adjusted his sights and turned the gun to the front.

Alec, still crouching on the hood, drew his pistol and let off a single shot. The soldier's head burst in a mass of flying chunks of brain, the brief outline of a skull peering through the red. Alec now inched forward so that he was face to face with the driver. The man behind the glass locked eyes with him, unflinching. The glass was bulletproof, there was no way he could get to him in his position.

What the soldier did not realize is that the glass was rated for conventional Earth weapons, not the higher velocity Paladin Alec currently pointed. Three shots rang and three holes cracked in the supposedly impervious glass as blood splattered the paneling beyond. Alec kicked at the window and it dislodged. He pushed it to the side as he swung himself in the cabin. He grasped the door handle and flung the now dead driver out the open door. That was pretty much the best that he deserved.

He studied the controls in front of him. It wasn't that hard to discern, more like driving a real big car. Although, in retrospect, he would do less damage than the unfortunate individuals who, as of a minute ago, had utilized the vehicle in question. He saw a yellow blur to his left, a smiling Kasumi was keeping pace with him as they drove.

Alec beckoned to her, "Get in!" As if she'd been practicing for years, she maneuvered her Ninja to the closest step and simply stepped off, leaving the bike to flip end over end now that it lost its center of gravity. She took Alec's outstretched hand and clumsily climbed over him to sit in the passenger seat.

"That…was…incredible," she breathed. "How did you know you could do that?"

"I'm asking myself the same question, honestly."

"Wow," she mouthed. She was clearly in awe until she stiffened in her chair. "You'd think they'd make these seats more comfortable."

"Is that really the only thing on your mind?" Alec sighed.

"Might as well be a little glib about the whole affair," she defended. "I'm not saying it's going to be- oh, turn right here."

Alec glanced back to the road as she pointed. To the right was a sign marked "NSA – Next Right" but it quickly faded from view as the Caiman, having no room to maneuver between the forest and the traffic, simply ran it over. Alec gave an exaggerated shrug to Kasumi who imitated the movement.

The highway up ahead was turning into a cloverleaf formation but the exit was just before that. The road was completely empty which mean that Alec could steer the tall, clumsy truck back onto the road. As the road widened, the main building suddenly appeared through the trees to the right, the tall, foreboding destination that was the end of the road.

Alec tightened his gaze as he drove through the gate blocking access, no doubt sending several alarms flaring throughout the installation. But, as far as he could tell, the parking lot was completely deserted. Not a single car left behind, which was odd. But, in his favor, it left a clear line to the door.

Alec didn't even bother with such niceties. He savagely turned the wheel so that the Caiman bashed through the metal barrier and headed straight for the main entrance. Kasumi eyed what the huge armored man was doing.

"Not going to slow down?"

"Not really," came the tired reply.

"We're not going to park?"

The helmet slowly turned in her direction as the truck continued to speed towards the building, "I'd buckle up if I were you."

Scrambling for her belt, Alec floored it and the gap between the two objects closed rapidly. The stone bollards that blocked the entrance to the facility were just as easily smashed aside, although the impact jostled the occupants a bit, causing Kasumi to bite her tongue. The Caiman continued on forward, smashing through the paned glass and into the stone lobby. The desk at the front was obliterated as ten tones of solid steel disturbed the foundation of the NSA itself. Grinding to a halt, the engine sat idling, still waiting for input. You had to admire its construction, it was one tenacious bastard.

Both of them grasped for the latches and hopped down from the truck. They walked around to the front as they surveyed the damage. Their pulse was racing, never before had they been so destructive in their lives. Although, in Alec's case, it did provide a good outlet to vent.

"Is Anthony still here?" Alec asked.

Kasumi brought up her mini-pad, "Uh-huh, still in the same office. Which is good because-"

Sparks flew up and down the vehicle's side as Alec quickly tackled Kasumi out of harm's way. The ricochet of bullets was filling the air as both crawled underneath the chassis, trying to get to cover. Standing up on the other side, their position was quickly flanked as the same black and beige troops were now offloading from the elevators and stairs beyond. It was a hopeless situation and they both knew it. But right now, they had passed that point and could only press forward from here.

Alec and Kasumi both drew their Locusts, raking them across, causing blood to fountain in the air as several soldiers crumpled. Alec backed away, using bursts to keep his assailants at bay. They were now near the back of the Caiman but they still had no discernable cover. The nearest fortifiable position was a few meters near the entrance, provided by the remains of the granite desk they had just run over.

"You're going first," Alec gestured. "I'll stay behind and cover you and then we'll switch off."

"Don't keep me waiting, old man," she grinned.

"You watch your mouth." Alec sprung from behind cover, body shielding Kasumi as she sprinted to the nearby mess of boulders and pockmarked columns. Alec's shots were precise and quick, five soldiers were felled by shots to the head and chest, body armor doing absolutely nothing. However, Alec's shields were flaring as hundreds of rounds slammed into him. He staggered back, trying to use the Caiman as some form of cover but by that time, eight more soldiers had rounded the truck, also spraying him with fire. Kasumi had made it to the cover at this point, skidding on her side as she was shielded from the troopers line of sight.

"You asked for it," Alec growled as he clicked a switch on his gauntlet. Bringing it back towards the front, he gripped in a fist and a gout of flame whooshed out of a nozzle embedded in his armor. He waved the flamethrower back and forth a bit, driving the troopers back, some screaming in pain from the intense heat. He presumed that their outfits were fireproof but that didn't mean that it was any comfortable to actually be on fire. He kept up the flames for a few more seconds until the shooting on that end stopped. Contented, he then followed Kasumi towards where her Locust was spattering liberally.

Alec felt a pressure on his back and he gasped. He looked at his shields and they were at forty percent. Some rounds were starting to penetrate and he didn't even know how many enemies were left. His leg twinged and he collapsed on the ground. He rolled on his back, snarling, as he gripped his Locust and Paladin in both hands, dropping men like they were flies as he yelled over the cacophony of shots and screams.

His shields were still taking a beating, he was now at twenty five percent. He struggled to rise but a new volley forced him back to his knees again. With every bullet, he felt like he was getting hit with a hammer. He shut his eyes as pain shot all over his body. It was overwhelming him. Kasumi's mouth was agape as she tried to scramble out of cover but near misses chewed up the stone she took cover behind and she whirled away as the dust got into her eyes, crying out.

He struggled to bring his weapon around when it was suddenly torn from his grasp, shot away. His head reared backwards as a bullet impacted. Shields at fifteen percent. He gasped in pain as, with finality, he groped for a small, round object on his belt. He looked down at the cluster grenade as he hit the dead man's switch, silently counting down from ten. The large ball he held suddenly broke into several, all rolling away into the swarm.

It's her mission now. She can do it.

Electricity smeared across his vision as Alec's helmet rose towards Kasumi, his unseen mouth in a smile as he lay there on all fours. Kasumi watched in horror as the man was slowly getting taken apart before her eyes and saw the tiny, pulsing, red objects that were now strewn across the room.

"Kasumi," Alec coughed. "Go get him."

She recoiled in horror, "Alec, wait! Don't do th-"

It was as if an orange light had been placed right in front of her face. There was nothing at first, but then a huge wave of pressure, its origin from the center of the room burst outward, slamming into her. She was knocked on her back, blinded, and then deafened as a thunderous boom overloaded all her senses at once. She shut her eyes, screaming, as an unimaginably hot wave washed over her. And suddenly, as quickly as it had come, it left.

She sputtered, wiping her face free of the dirt and grit as she slowly sat up. She reached for her Locust, the white exterior now marred by streaks of grey and black. She looked at the center of the room, trying to peer through the smoke to see a hint of black armor, some sign of the huge human.

But, as the room cleared, her breath caught in her chest as she gasped. The entire area looked like it had been ravaged by a miniature war. Craters were spread all over, stray body parts were strung about, intestines lay on the floor, blood splattered the walls.

In the center, however, where it had all taken place, was nothing. No trace of life in any conceivable form.

Alec was gone.

The rest of the chapters might come at a later time or could even be delayed a day.

But at this current pace, it looks like it will get finished this week, so there is that!