A/N: Long overdue thanks to a combination of writer's block and a busy schedule! Thanks for all the reviews, follows and favorites! It really helped motivate me to get this done for you guys that I actually made up for my deficit and got AHEAD of my writing schedule. The first of a double update, next chapter in 2 days. Keep on reading.
Chapter 22: The Horror
Blood.
The red elixir of life was pooled on the floor, smeared all over the wall and splattered across the ceiling. Blood was everywhere. It was oddly comforting, Gemini thought, as he ripped a Cerberus trooper apart with his bare hands. More blood spilled everywhere, and he tossed the mangled corpse aside onto a growing pile of ripped flesh.
It had been what? Hours? Days since he started killing everything in sight in this wretched space station? Who knows? All he knew was that he had no intention of stopping anytime soon. It was simple enough; he had just reached one of the command consoles, taking control of the stations systems including the defense turrets and fried communications, trapping everybody inside. He must have been a card in programming before this nightmare, because he locked the system so hard not even the best engineer on the station could crack it. He should know; he just killed the best engineer on the station as she was trying to undo the damage he did, along with another worthless squadron of troopers and a bunch of equally worthless scientists.
He could always put the station under lockdown, trapping people to kill at his leisure. He could also vent the entire place should he so choose. But where was the fun in that? Now they were fish in a barrel, trapped inside with a very, very hungry shark.
"Computer, patch me through the intercom." He said, addressing the VI.
"Acknowledged, patching you through." The synthetic voice replied.
"Good morning, Cerberus!" He announced, a twisted cheeriness in his tone. "The time now is 8:45 AM GMT Earth time, and as you may already know, I just took control of the station. It was pretty easy mind you; all I had to use was a little applied computer technology with a dash of evisceration thrown in for good measure." He paced in front of the console, taking in the moment. "Seems like it was just yesterday that I was strapped in a tube while smaller tubes violated my body. And now here we are, with me playing the part of a drunken sailor while all of you are little baby seals." He paused as he admired the pile of dead bodies in the corner. "I swear, it's like Christmas. So here is what we're going to do about it…"
Before he could continue, his ears started to ring. He shook his head, attributing it to stress, but then Gemini's temples throbbed as he felt something clawing at the back of his mind. Like a stream, pumping into his brain.
"What the…!" He managed to say as he dropped down to one knee and clutch his head. The ringing reached a crescendo as it gave way to the digital howling of metal grinding on metal. Somewhere, inside his head, in his mind, a voice spoke.
"Do I have your attention now?"
"Who are you?" Gemini growled, "Get the fuck out of my head!"
"Quite the impressive display." The voice said, its accent so annoyingly… European. Dutch, if he recalled correctly. It was raspy too, most likely an old man. "Do forgive the intrusion, but this is meant to be just between the two of us. No doubt you have a lot of questions, yes?"
"No, just the need to kill everything with a pulse on this station." Gemini replied, "You included."
"Ah, yes; the bloodthirst… I see that you flourish in it." The voice said, mildly amused. "Our brothers and sisters were a bit more… composed when they awoke. Of course I say that relatively so."
"Blood thirst? Our brothers and sisters?" His curiosity piqued at what the man said. "What are you talking about? You sound too old to be any brother of mine, creep."
"Caught your fancy now, did I?" The doors to the room opened, catching Gemini by surprise. "I'll tell you all you wish to know, just come and find me. I've tuned that omnitool on your wrist with my location."
"Fuck you and your games, I want answers!" Gemini sneered as he activated his omnitool. "So you're going to give them to me, one way or another."
The voice laughed. "Hah! You're welcome to try, lad. Also, there will be Cerberus troopers that will try to stop you. If you can't get past them, you're probably not worth talking to, anyway." The ringing intensified as the voice paused. "I will however leave you this to whet your appetite: You are right; nothing is what it seems to be."
"Why you cheeky bastard… Mind games? Really? What the hell does that even mean?" His words were met with silence. "Typical… You may get the last word in, old man, but you'll bleed for it!" Gemini cursed as he heard the metallic footsteps of Cerberus troopers rounding the corner. His arms erupted in orange biotic flames as he rushed forward to meet them head on.
The room was dark, tinted only by the dim orange glow of consoles streaming various video feeds. Dr. Zsasz rubbed his temples and sat back on his posh leather armchair behind the antique oak desk in his office, watching the events unfold. It always took a bit of effort on his part to establish a mental link, but it was getting easier the more he did and the closer his target was. His fingers interlaced in front of him and his eyes shone behind the spectacles he wore as he listened in to the communications feed of the security troopers. It was unfortunate that they had to go head long into what could only be an inevitable slaughter. A necessary evil, he thought to himself as the gunfire and the screaming began.
He had been playing the eccentric hermit long enough for these past few years. What others called madness behind his back was merely the clarity of vision. These days, people entertained many shades of gray, but the truth was it was as simple as black and white. If only the others could see things as simple as he could. Yes, he could see clearer than any of them ever could. He knew what had to be done to fix this universe. The problem was rooted in the blood, you see. Deep within the coding of our own DNA, there lay the source of the problem. It was an essential part of life, so intertwined with one another that one could not exist without the other. That did not mean that the problem was absolved or that it did not merit correction.
The Illusive man thought himself a god, but he paled in comparison to the one who brought about Zsasz's vision. Let the Illusive man have his toys and his schemes, he thought dismissively. Cerberus would soon out live its usefulness, and then it would be Gemini's time to take the reins. Still the Illusive man had been a useful tool. Dangerous no doubt, but still useful. Without Cerberus resources, even when his precious project was swept under the rug, he would not have been able to come this far into achieving his goals. He would not have achieved such lucidity. He would not have been able to hear the voice of the Father.
The Father was a compassionate master, who showed him the true way. No, not the true way he corrected himself. The Father showed him the only way. It was the path to absolution, one who's first step was somewhere in the heart of Omega. His work was invaluable to achieving that end. In the past he would've scoffed at working with aliens, but The Father had shown him the truth was for everyone to glorify in, no matter their race, creed nor gender. All were equal before the truth. He had found the asari, and then the krogan had found him. And soon after that, one by one, the others had come to join them as well. They were a small, tight knit little family, all children of The Father. Now, their youngest sibling was about to join them in His glory.
It was all falling into place. All that stood in his way now was Shepard and his crew. The man was an avatar of change, his very presence made the galaxy turn. Regimes fell, tyrants died and gods fell in his wake. Thus, Shepard needed to die to ensure that this plan could go off without a hitch. It was ironic really, that they would draw from their greatest threat that which would become their messiah. In a manner of speaking, anyway.
Yes, he told himself as the screaming began to overpower the gunfire, a necessary evil indeed. He tuned out of the security team communicators and started to whistle a tune in place of the silence, eyes still watching the now silent vid-feeds, waiting for the boy to come to him and seize his birthright.
Tali bolted across the shipyard, jumping from cover to cover as she made her way as fast as her feet could carry her to where she needed to go. The shipyard was a massive docking bay, easily capable of housing 6 ships the Normandy's size for shirt-sleeve work in a pressurized environment with room to spare for machinery and equipment. Usually the heavy equipment could be controlled remotely from anywhere in the 'yard for convenience's sake, but the Eclipse must have locked down that particular feature. Now she had to run halfway across a mostly open killing field to find the main control panel in order to get the Normandy's hull armored up. Her only company was the strewn about corpses of Eclipse mercs who were unfortunate enough to be on the business side of Garrus' targeting reticule. Portions of the floor were scorched and cratered by cannon fire and hung with smoke from dying flames. Every now and again, she'd come across a groaning body, but she'd just run past it and focus on her goal. To say that it got her adrenaline pumping was an understatement.
She'd been running for a while now, and found it odd that the Eclipse seemed to have indeed backed off to regroup, seeing no trace of them anywhere except the dead corpses care of Joker and Garrus. Even the hastily erected defense positions scattered across the shipyard were left unmanned, those that still stood anyway. Not that she was complaining of course, the run was tiring enough without being shot at. Still, why was she sensing this overhanging sense of dread? She put away such thoughts, and focused on putting one foot in front of the other. It was all the more reason to get this done and get out of here sooner. The machine will take time to reinstall the hull plating, but she can lock the system to prevent deactivation and interrupting the process.
If the omnitool was correct, the control panel should be in a small workstation just up ahead. The area looked empty, but that didn't mean she should just throw caution to the wind. Sliding into cover behind some barrels, Tali peeked up above it to scope the place out. She wasn't a gung-ho, guns-blazing quarian marine. No, she was a quarian specialist. The difference being was that a specialist was basically a marine who knew how to solve problems with methods other than throwing copious amounts of bullets at it. She craned her neck as she looked around. The outside was clear, but the insides of the workstation could be another matter entirely.
Jumping out of cover, she pulled out her shotgun and slipped through the door, ready to blast anybody who could be waiting for her inside. The workstation seemed empty enough as Tali inspected her surroundings down the barrel of her gun. It was basically a small office containing several consoles and control panels. Power tools and other devices were scattered about the floor, probably dropped there by panicked workers who were herded together by the Eclipse when they attacked. Satisfied that the area was clear, she lowered her weapon and immediately took a seat in front of one of the consoles. With a flick of her wrist, Tali's omnitool flared into life as she linked up her OS with the local systems. The consoles lit up, the holographic interfaces coming to life in the air around her as Tali inspected the damage and was greeted by numerous error messages and red exclamation points. It was going to be difficult, but after hacking through Eclipse's main data systems, this was practically a cakewalk. At least that's what she hoped.
Activating her comm, she contacted the others as she typed. "This is Tali'Zorah, anybody receiving? Over."
Mordin's voice crackled through. "Mordin here. Secured Distraction Team. Jack critically injured, but stable. Still no word from Garrus or Joker, but Kasumi is en route to them. Eclipse quiet. Need to get out of here while opportunity presents itself." Tali heard a sharp inhale through the comm. "How are you?"
"Jack's been-?" Tali started, but shook her head. "Thanks for the update; keep her alive, Mordin. The virus upload has been jammed and EDI is fighting it off, I'm transmitting my current location to you."
"That is good news! Wait…?" Mordin asked, confused. "Current location?"
"I'm over at a workstation on the far side of the shipyard. I'm trying to reinstall the Normandy's hull armor, but I need to manually override the machinery. Once it's been reinstalled onto the ship, we should be able to get out of here."
"Must state that decision to go alone foolish in light of current situation." Mordin admonished her.
"Everybody has a part to play in this, Mordin." Tali said as her OS integrated with the console and began typing. "Keep Jack alive and get everyone back onto the ship."
"Noted." Mordin conceded. "Eclipse unlikely to not notice your activities for long. Will ready anybody capable of standing upright and hold a gun to extract you."
"Thanks Mordin, Tali'Zorah out." She said as she closed the comm. She skimmed through the data as she unlocked firewall after firewall. Say what you will about the Eclipse, they know their cyber warfare and defense. Not that it was good enough against Tali, however. "Aha! There you are…" She exclaimed as she found the program she was looking for. Her victory was turned into frustration as the system suddenly locked her out, as if to just dangle her prize in front of her before slamming the door in her face. "Bosh'tet… Why can't anything we do be straightforward just for once?" she grunted as she faced a new layer of cyber defenses that were just as complex as the Eclipse mainframe. Whoever set up this system was a sadistic bitch, she thought.
When Joker said he wanted to get wasted on Omega a couple of days ago, this was the last thing on his mind. He groaned as he rubbed his throbbing head, greeting him with pain as he came to. His vision cleared and he coughed from the smoke rising from the wrecked consoles in front of him. "Ugh... God damn…" He said as he stirred from where he sat. He frowned as he tried to wiggle his toes and let out a sigh of relief as they did just that. "Alright, that's a good sign." He mused. "Everything else between here and there hurts like a son of a bitch, but that's a good sign."
"Glad to see you're still alive." Garrus said next to him, causing the pilot to jump a little.
"Shit! Don't just speak up like that…" Joker said as he turned his head towards the Turian. He clutched his torso as the sudden movement caused him pain. "So, I'm guessing we crashed?"
"No kidding." Garrus grimaced from the pain as he heaved, trying to raise the console pinning his legs.
"What the hell was that?" Joker continued, as he tried to get up to no avail. "It was a fucking lightning bolt, but what the hell was that?"
"No idea." Garrus said as he leaned back on his ruined chair. "How are you holding up?"
"Think I broke both my legs. Ribs too, maybe." He said as he took an account of his well-being. "Yep, ribs. Ugh, definitely ribs... I don't know why my neck and spine aren't in pieces though." It was then that he noticed Garrus' legs crushed underneath the console and the blood that had splattered everywhere. "Holy fuck!"
"Easy there… it's better than it looks." Garrus assured the panicked pilot. "I can still feel my legs, which is a start. I think I tore open the wound in my torso, though…"
"Like hell you did! There's blood everywhere!"
"The yelling and the panicking aren't going to help the situation, Joker." Garrus said, "Besides, I'm gonna have to be the one who hauls your ass out of here when I do get free."
"Yeah, yeah. Sorry…" Joker conceded, taking a deep breath to calm down, and immediately regretting it as he inhaled a lungful of smoke. Coughing and sputtering, Joker gagged as he tried to rid the taste of carbon in his mouth. "Fuck… We gotta get out of here before we suffocate." He wheezed.
"Easier, ugh… Easier said than done." Garrus forced out as he tried lifting the debris off of his legs once more. The stab wound on his side was severely limiting his strength though. Leaning back on the chair, Garrus did his best to block out the pain. "Can't get enough leverage in this position and my torso is killing me."
"Shit…" Joker cursed, knowing full well he couldn't help lift. He started to look around for something, anything that could help them. His eyes fell on the Widow, lying discarded within arms' reach. "Here, use this." He said as he grabbed the large sniper rifle and handed it to Garrus.
"Ah, good idea…" Garrus took the weapon and unfolded it from it's stand-by mode. The Widow had a long and solid barrel, and he jammed one end of it in between the floor and the console. Legion was probably not going to appreciate the fact that he was going to use it's sniper rifle as a lever, but desperate times and all that. With the gun firmly wedged between the floor and the console, Garrus heaved and the console started to shake. With another heave, he put all his strength against the lever and the console started to lift up slowly.
His side was killing him, but Garrus knew he had to power through the pain. He let his thoughts wander, trying to ignore it as best as he can while he put all his strength behind his makeshift lever. It was funny, really. He had hoped that with a recent Archangel sighting, the mercs would be too scared to make any grand moves involving Shepard. The plan was to shake them up enough to stay on the defensive. He had hoped wiping out an entire Eclipse drug operation would be good enough. Apparently, it wasn't. He had gone through all that work to stir up enough trouble a few nights back, only to find out that it was all for naught. That and he got this particular stab wound that was ailing him now for the trouble. Yeah, it was funny, in that sad, tragic kind of way. He would've laughed but the act would have caused him even more pain.
"It's budging…!" Joker said as he watched Garrus' progress, eager to get out of the wreckage. "Just a bit more…!"
Sure enough, with one last push, the console lifted just high enough for Garrus to pull out his legs from underneath it before his strength gave in and the console crashed down to the floor. He groaned as he inspected the damage done to his limbs. Good thing he was wearing his heavy greaves he thought, otherwise he would've probably lost both of them. Still, there were several places on the unarmored portions of his legs that were lacerated badly, blood starting to flow freely. Not to mention the wound on his torso started bleeding again, his dark blue blood seeping out from a hole punctured into the suit from the crash. "Let's… Let's get out of here…" he said as he applied pressure to the wound with his hand in an attempt to control the bleeding. "I'll have to carry you, I guess."
"Garrus, you're hard as nails and all, but I don't think you can carry me in that state." Joker observed.
"I couldn't agree more." replied a cheery voice that was too feminine to belong to Garrus. "Hi, guys."
"Christ's sake, Kasumi!" Joker stammered as he turned to see the master thief crouched behind them, one hand waving hi to them. "Don't do that!" Joker looked past her, trying to figure out how she was able to sneak into the wreckage without making so much as a sound. "This is just too much fucking excitement for me…"
Garrus turned his head, and sure enough, there she was, Kasumi the master thief, trademark grin and all. Of course, he thought, it just had to be her. "You really enjoy doing that, don't you?" He observed, hissing through the pain.
"Force of habit." Kasumi dismissed as she inspected Garrus' wounds. "Well, well, isn't this all too familiar by now?" She teased after making sure he wasn't in any immediate danger. She took out her omnitool and applied medigel into the open wound on his side to control the bleeding, as well as all over his legs. "Try not to make this a habit, Mr. Vakarian. I'm a master thief, not your personal nurse." Kasumi busied herself tending to his wounds, but she didn't need to be that close for him to take in that pleasant, overpowering scent of hers that only Garrus could seemingly smell.
"Yeah, believe me it's unintentional…"Garrus said, finding himself having to to suppress the image of the lithe human woman wearing one of the more revealing 'nurse' outfits he'd seen in the past while working in Omega. She was certainly flexible enough to warrant wearing such an outfit. For a minute, he forgot about the hole in his side, focusing instead on her presence. It was only when he caught himself doing so that he lightly shook his head, trying to come back to his senses. "So what's been happening out there?"
"An asari commando unit assaulted Jack and the others, but they managed to kick their tails." She began, busying herself with his injury. "Jack and Samara got hurt but Mordin's with them now. Other than that, the Eclipse has been pretty quiet; I didn't see any of them on my way here."
Despite the pain, Joker raised an eyebrow at her statement. "What, did they get distracted by something shiny?"
"Dunno, but I'm not going to complain." Kasumi said, applying medigel into Garrus' wound. "We need to get back to the Normandy before those mercs get their act back together, though."
"How's that counter-hack thing going by the way?" Joker asked, joining in on the conversation. "It won't matter what state I'm in if we can't even get the Normandy off the ground."
"Tali's all over that one." Kasumi replied, giving Joker a look over her shoulder. "I'd be surprised if she hasn't broken it by now."
Garrus was barely listening to the ensuing conversation, his mind wandering somewhere else. Somewhere that he didn't fully understand. What was going on here? He was never attracted to other species before, not even asari, much less humans. But lately, something about Kasumi was making him feel like… Well, he couldn't exactly explain it. He didn't really understand how this could happen. They got along well enough during these past couple of months, hunting down Collectors, but they weren't that close. He was broken from his train of thought when he felt a sharp pain on his wound. "Gah! Easy now…!" he said as Kasumi peeled back a portion of his armor to apply a protective patch on the wound.
"Oh, suck it up, you big baby." Kasumi said heatedly, but her fingers gently applied pressure to the patch to seal it against his skin. His musculature was firm, but strangely different from a human's she thought to herself as she had to control the unconscious urge to run her hand along the lines. Kasumi wasn't clueless; she noticed how he was looking at her with those dark, predatory eyes. Interacting with Garrus these past couple of days was… unusual. Where did this tension between them suddenly appear from? It was strange, but she certainly didn't find the attention unwelcome. That last part confused her a little. "There, that wasn't so bad now was it?" She said as she quirked up an eye brow, giving him a self-satisfied look of amusement. "That makes it three times I've patched up your injury-prone hide this week, I suppose?"
"True, but we really should stop meeting like this. People might start saying things." Garrus replied as he tried to get up, clipping back the portion of armor she had peeled off. "I'm thinking less blood loss and more pleasant music next time…" Now he was flirting with her. Spirits, what was wrong with him? He'd seen this happen before. The heat of battle sometimes created an attraction to others, admiration for combat skills translated into something more than what it simply was. Garrus shook his head. This was merely an infatuation brought about by stress and the relief of still being alive, nothing more. Yeah, that's right, he thought. This place was still dangerous and he can't afford to have his head up in the clouds. He needed to get his head back in the game.
"Yeah, you're going to be alright." She grinned at him, her smile shining underneath the darkness of her hood. Was he flirting with her? God that sounded like he was flirting with her. She shook her head, had an inner monologue about acting cool, and turned her attention towards Joker and said. "So, what's the damage, Joker?"
"I can't walk, much less get up on my own, but other than that I'm the definition of dandy." He replied, grunting as he tried to shift his weight, eliciting pain. "I don't suppose you have some pain killers on you, though?"
"Sorry, I only brought medigel and my pleasing personality…" Kasumi said as she crouched next to him and applied some medigel on his legs. "But I guess the medigel will do as an analgesic 'til we get you the good stuff in the sickbay." Putting one of his arms over her shoulders, Kasumi gently grabbed him in preparation for what came next. "All right, on 3. 1… 2… 3!" She said as she straightened up, supporting Joker.
Joker growled as the sudden movement made his battered body cry in pain. "C'mon, watch it now…!" He found that his left leg was completely useless but he still had some movement left in his right leg, good enough for hobbling along. "Thanks…"
For a small woman, Garrus thought, Kasumi was rather strong. Probably trained by hauling heavy artifacts in a mad dash to escape the owner, he reasoned, bringing a smirk of amusement on his face. "Need a hand?"
Kasumi blinked at him, before sticking out her tongue. "Nu-uh, I don't have enough medigel for you to go ripping your side open again."
"Fair enough." Garrus said as he popped the heat sink on his weapon and slammed in a fresh thermal clip. "and thanks, too, by the way." He added.
"Don't thank me yet, we still have to make it all the way back to the Normandy." Kasumi said, supporting the crippled pilot on her shoulders. "Speaking of which, can you fly her in that condition, Joker?"
"Yeah, so long as I don't break my arms, we're good." Joker replied as he strained to get himself accustomed to the posture and the weight put on his aching legs.
"I'll keep that in mind." Kasumi said, before turning to Garrus. "Hope you can walk Garrus, I don't have capacity for two."
Garrus arched a brow up as he noticed the subdued manner Kasumi was limping. "Two? I'm surprised you can even carry one after that thrashing you took earlier." The turian replied as he led the way towards the open shuttle door, limping slightly himself. He checked the specs on the Widow and was thankful his creative usage of it didn't do any damage. "I know the stims help but… Don't push yourself too much." He continued, glancing meaningfully at her.
"It's, ugh, nothing I can't handle… More than what you can, anyway." Kasumi retorted, a half grimace on her face as she and Joker hobbled forward, both of them trying to find a rhythm in their steps. "I'm a big girl and a soldier to boot. Besides, I have an Archangel looking out for me, right?"
"True, but if you do give out, then I'd have to carry the both of you. And as you said, that would suck for me." Garrus replied with his deadpan snark. "And since when did you become a soldier?"
"Why? Does my female energy threaten you, mr. big bad turian?" Kasumi snickered.
"Hardly." Garrus scoffed, refusing to look the master thief in the eye.
"Aww, don't be intimidated." She continued, "I don't bite…"
"Who says a little biting intimidated me?"
All this occurred in front of Joker as he was all but invisible to the pair bickering in front of him. He cleared his throat loudly, having heard enough. "Guys, seriously?" There hasn't been this much belligerent sexual tension in an enclosed space since he had to ride the elevator together with Shepard and Tali prior to the pair getting together.
Garrus and Kasumi blinked at him. "What?" They replied simultaneously, a tone of innocent cluelessness in their voices.
"Let's… Let's just get out of here, please?" he pleaded, shaking his head.
"Joker's got a point." Garrus shrugged as he looked through the rifle's scope, scouting the vicinity out. "It's clear." He said as he stepped out of the wreckage, rifle at the ready. "Let's move."
"Lead the way, soldier." Kasumi teased with a mock-salute as she switched her comm on. "Kasumi here, Mordin." She began. "I got our guys back in mostly one piece and we're coming home. Get a couple more beds ready up in the sickbay."
"Ah, Kasumi. Was just about to contact you." Mordin replied. "Received news from Tali; virus uploaded, EDI should be able to regain control of ship soon."
Joker couldn't resist the urge to pipe in. "That's great!" he said, making Kasumi shush him to be quiet.
"That's great!" Kasumi replied in Joker's exact words, causing Garrus to snicker up ahead. "The sooner we get out of here the better."
"Yes, about that…" Mordin trailed off. "There's been a- What the?!" Suddenly the line filled up with static before the comm link cut off.
"Mordin?" Kasumi said, trying to get him back into frequency. "Mordin? Answer me!"
Joker gulped. "That can't be good."
Garrus nodded "It never is… C'mon, let's hurry."
Several seconds ago…
By all accounts, Melina Sorris, captain of the Luna Eclipse should have been dead, the bullet hole in her head still smoking as she lay in a small pool of her own blood. But her heart suddenly spasmed, forcing her lungs to inhale a sharp breath of air. Her glazed eyes started to quiver with life, before bursting into a vibrant blue as her biotics lifted her body off the ground. The first thing that came into her mind was Tarrana's beauty and how she needed to earn her mistress' love. Her eyes fell upon those who had killed her sisters, busy licking their wounds to pay her any mind. Good, she thought, licking her still pale lips as a smile crept on it. Power surged through her as she unleashed a shockwave at her unwary targets.
The biotic wave crashed into Mordin as he was talking to Kasumi on the comm, winding the salarian doctor and knocking him off of his feet, sending him flying into a nearby pile of crates. "Ugh…" He groaned as he struggled to get up from the debris. Grunt was also taken by surprise, landing awkwardly on his head after he was lobbed into the air by the force of the assault.
Samara however still had enough wits about her to turn and encompass both her and the unconscious Jack in a biotic field, struggling against the force of the shockwave. She was spent and exhausted, but she managed to resist the worse of the attack as her field flickered in and out of life. "I thought I felt something was off…" She managed to say as she fought to stand upright. She looked into the grinning Melina's eyes, the bullet hole on her head spilling blood down her face as the asari floated idly in the air. "You… How are you still alive?"
"The Lady's love sustains me." Melina replied, her eyes glowing through the crimson mask of blood smeared on her face as she slowly levitated back down to the floor. "I am different from my sisters. Where they failed, I will succeed" She slowly started to walk towards Samara, who in turn stood steadfast against her.
Samara snuck a quick glance over her shoulder to where Jack lay unconscious. The human woman was hardly what Samara would deem innocent. Were the circumstances of how they met different, she may have been forced to kill Jack. But for now, she would rather die protecting her. Not only because the Code told her so, but because she wanted this flawed human to live. Even through the pain and exhaustion, it was a good feeling, she thought. It had only been a fraction of a second since she had glanced over her shoulder when she turned back to see that Melina was practically inches from her face.
"Boo." The blood soaked asari taunted before she did a spinning heel kick, catching Samara unwary in the side of her head, laying her flat on the ground. "Die, Justicar!" she wailed psychotically as she rushed the recovering Samara.
Samara rolled through her fall and got back up to her feet just as Melina fell upon her once more. She raised both arms as she blocked a barrage of punches from her younger opponent. This was wrong, she thought. What kind of monster was this? Not only did Melina just rise back up from the dead, but she was apparently stronger and faster than she was before. She was stronger too, as Samara's barrier just barely withstood the pummeling force of Melina's punches. Suddenly, Melina pulled her arm back for a wild haymaker, biotic energies condensing on her one fist, and smashed it into Samara, causing the Justicar's barrier to fail and leveling her down to the ground.
Samara tasted the coppery bite of her own blood as she struggled to get back up to her feet, only for her gut to be punted by the sadistic Melina. The blow winded her, bile crawling up her throat, and Samara saw her vision tunneling for the second time today. Enough was enough, she thought. Samara gritted her teeth as biotic energies covered her body just as Melina drew her leg back for one more kick. With a sweep of her hands, she flung a blast of energy towards the younger asari, taking her opponent by surprise as the blast caught Melina square in the chest. With bone crushing force, the blast shattered Melina's yellow chest plate and broke nearly every bone in her torso. Samara was heaving now as Melina collapsed limply to the ground once more, her eyes not leaving the other woman's corpse.
With a grunt of pain, Samara forced herself back to her feet and made her way towards the other woman, fists glowing with energy. She won't take chances this time; she'll crush Melina's skull in and rip off what's left from her neck. Let's see her revive from that, she thought as she limped her way towards the again unmoving body.
Samara knew no fear, but it was hard for her heart not to skip a beat as she saw Melina's fingers twitch, followed closely by her fists clenching and a sharp gasp for air. Digging deep inside her, Samara rushed towards where Melina lay, her fist drawn back, but it was too late.
Like a scene from a bad horror vid, Melina lifted her head to smile at her as Samara closed in. Raising her hand, she caught Samara's punch as the clashing biotic energies resulted in a mighty thunderclap. "It is futile, Justicar…" Melina hissed in an almost whisper as she stood up, her hand clamping down hard on Samara's fist with unnatural strength, causing the justicar to fall to her knees in pain. "Behold the Lady's power!"
"Behold this, instead." Mordin said as shoved the barrel of his pistol into Melina's face. Before he could pull the trigger though, Melina swatted the gun away and tossed Samara into him as the asari dashed backwards to create space between them. Catching Samara, Mordin cradled her in one arm as he opened fire on the retreating asari. "Apologies for the delayed reaction." He said to Samara as he unloaded. "Asari rising from the dead is a new finding to me."
"And to me as well…" Samara said as she fought to stay conscious. "Be careful, doctor. She is unnatural."
Mordin nodded his assent as he fired shot after shot, trying to pin down the evasive asari with little to no success. "Training typical of asari commando unit. Although demonstrates near matriarch levels of biotic capabilities, subject also has healing regeneration unprecedented in asari. Interesting." Mordin observed as he primed an incinerating blast in his omnitool. "Fire resistance still not established. Suggest experimentation." He mused as he sent a ball of fire towards Melina.
"You talk too much!" Melina yelled back as she erected a barrier to absorb and deflect the heat of the blast. "My turn!" With a wave of her hands, she sent a biotic counter-attack towards Mordin.
"Require assistance!" Mordin said tensely to the justicar he was cradling around his arm as the field flew towards both of them.
Samara raised a hand and generated a throw field, crashing against Melina's attack and dissipating it's effects. "She is unlike anything I have fought in the past. Even compared to ardat-yakshi…" She said, staring the younger asari down with a stern, impassive gaze. "In your words, doctor, this is problematic"
"Problematic, indeed." Mordin agreed as he tossed aside the empty pistol and pulled out his SMG. "Still, always did enjoy challenge."
Melina rushed them, wreathed in biotic energy as she dashed. "Too cocky… You should've just shot me when you had the chance!" she taunted with glee as she dodged each shot with grace and ease. "Now you're both going to die!" She cackled.
"Indeed? Made mistake by riding on male bravado stereotype; carried away by the moment." Mordin calmly replied as he kept shooting at Melina who slowly closed the gap between them. "Compensating for previous error by providing sufficient distraction."
"Distraction?" Melina managed to ask before 800 lbs of pissed off krogan tackled her into the ground, breaking her barrier as he did so.
"Distraction." Grunt confirmed as he got up and grabbed one of her feet. With a roar, he swung Melina over his shoulders and slammed her hard into the floor with a sickening crunch. "How do you like that?!" He roared as he lifted her up to slam her back down again with authority. As Grunt continued to thrash Melina, Mordin was busy tending to Samara's injuries, lying her beside the still unconscious Jack.
Samara groaned as she felt the cold floor on her back. "I… do not feel well." She concluded.
"Afraid recent events seem to have exacerbated your condition." He said bluntly as he scanned her with his omnitool. "Injury is… substantial"
"I have lived through worse." Samara said weakly as she felt her extremities go numb. "Thank you, doctor."
"No thanks needed, duty fulfills me." Mordin replied curtly as he produced a syringe. "This will do for the moment, but need to get both you and Jack in the sick bay. Urgently."
Just as he said that, there was a hiss of depressurization as the hull doors of the Normandy lowered itself open as EDI's voice came alive on the Ship's intercom.
"I have regained control of the Normandy." She announced, much to the relief of the cheering crew men inside. "It is advisable for all personnel to return inside."
A number of crewmen began to visually inspect the outside of the ship from the open ramp-like door, greeted by the violence from the recent fighting. Kenneth was one of the first to venture and explore the outside. An easy feat of bravery, seeing as how he was decked up in armor. "Looks like things got a little heated out her- Bloody hell!" Donnelly said as he caught sight of the downed Samara and Jack. "Are they alright?"
"Don't just stare! Need to get them to sickbay! Go, Go, Go!" Mordin yelled and waved down the gawking crew. "Double time! Tell Dr. Chakwas to prep for surgery!"
"Got it, doc! C'mon, you scunners, let's move!" Ken replied as he and several others rushed out with guns at the ready and a couple of stretchers between them. It was then that they noticed Grunt mercilessly pummeling Melina. "Oi now, is that necessary?"
Mordin whistled to grab their attentions. "Very necessary! No time to get distracted! Hurry!"
Grunt roared as he stomped on Melina. "Move it you idiots! I can't hold her down forever!"
Without any further questions, the crewmen huddled around Jack and Samara, transferring them to their stretchers while keeping the women's neck and spine stable.
Mordin nodded approvingly as the crew lifted up the stretchers and made their way back into the ship. He was about to follow them when his gaze fell upon one of the corpses of the Luna Eclipse. "Hmm, curious…" he mused, weighing the dangers and benefits of bringing the body back with him. On one hand, it could help him understand how Melina was able to do the things she did. On the other hand, it could resurrect on the ship and cause more havoc on board.
The decision was made for him when Grunt yelled him out of his reverie. "What's the matter, Mordin? Move your ass!"
Without another word, Mordin scooped up the corpse and hurriedly made his way back up into the ship.
Melina caught sight of this and yelled in protest. "Hey! Where are you taking my sister!?" She was promptly reminded of her current predicament when Grunt kneed her to the gut.
"Don't worry, where she's gone to, you'll be right behind her!" He scoffed as he joined his hands together and gave Melina an axe handle smash to the back of the neck. Grunt was in the process of systematically beating down Melina, not giving her room to breathe as he pressed on with his ravenous assault. This asari was tough, no doubt about it Grunt told himself as she was still managing to try and get back up on her feet after the most savage of attacks. Grunt considered tearing her apart with his jaws, but thought the act too tasteless. "Heh, puns." He snickered to himself as he headbutted Melina for the nth time. "Most krogans would be down by now, lady." He said as Melina still got up to her feet. "And most asari would definitely be a fine paste smeared on the floor." He continued, before giving her a thunderous punch right across the face, snapping her neck and sending her staggering backwards.
Melina managed to stay upright as she staggered backwards; her head twisted 90 degrees in the wrong direction. "Looks like I'm not like most asari." She quipped as she grabbed her head and snapped it back into place with a satisfying crunch. "I'm going to kill you!"
"Come on then!" Grunt said as he charged towards her with a wild swing.
"Ah, too slow." Melina grinned as she leaned backwards to let the krogan's wild punch swing harmlessly pass her, leaving Grunt open for her counter attack. "Now die, little krogan!" Before she could manifest enough energy though, a shot rang out and her body was sent flying limply like a ragdoll.
Legion stood at the foot of the ramp, popping the heat sink on the Mantis sniper rifle. "Consensus: not on our watch."
Grunt looked over incredulously at Legion as if it had just snatched a piece of candy from his maw. "Hey! She was mine!" He said, walking up to the geth.
"Based on our observations, she would've overpowered you in minutes. Intervention was deemed necessary. You are welcome." Legion replied nonchalantly.
"Yeah, yeah..." Grunt conceded. Truthfully, he was thankful for Legion pulling him out of hot water, but he wouldn't let the bag of bolts know that. He watched as Legion reloaded his sniper rifle. "That's not going to put her down." He warned.
"Agreed. We have observed how she fights and came to the conclusion that if this won't kill her..." Legion said, setting aside the gun and pulling out a couple of heavy weapons from his back and handing one to Grunt. "This will definitely slow her down."
"Hah! I like it." Grunt said approvingly as he took one of the Firestorm flame throwers legion had brought with it and put it on active mode. "Let's fry this bitch!"
Melina snarled as she got back up to her feet. "Enough!" she said, her frustrations boiling over after being sucker-punched for the nth time tonight. Her body burst with bluish energy as she eyed them venomously. "No more games, I'll kill you all!" With a sweep of her hands, she generated a huge biotic field that rose several feet into the air. "I'll rip you apart, atom by atom! I'm going to des- Urk!" She stopped midsentence as she gagged and wretched, clutching her chest as pain wracked her body. With a heave, she threw up a voluminous amount of black ooze, hitting the floor with an audible splat. "Wha- What's going-?" She tried to say in between bouts of vomiting, the black substance pooling at her feet. The biotic aura surrounding her gradually dissipated and Melina struggled to stand on both feet. "No- Hurts-!" She gagged as she fell to her knees.
Giving Grunt and Legion enough time to prime their flamethrowers and aim it down the ramp at her.
"You think that hurts?" Grunt stated flatly. "Let's see by how much compared to this."
They pulled the triggers and two torrents of flame spat down on Melina, engulfing her in a blazing inferno. She screeched and wailed in agony, the pain nearly immeasurable as the flames licked and devoured her flesh. But even in the heart of the fire, she still lived, no matter how much she wished she could be dead at this point. She felt something well up inside her, and her mouth stretched open into a gaping maw as she let out a shrill, high pitch wail.
Grunt felt the heat lick at his face but kept pouring out the flames, Melina's yelling sending an unnatural chill down his spine. "How is she still yelling?" He asked in frustration as Melina's screaming started to rise above the crackling of the fire, a lithe, slender silhouette contorting in the blaze. "Why won't she just die!?"
"Insufficient data." Legion replied, "Observation: Fuel levels dropping; suggest withdrawal as the next course of action."
"If we let this bitch go and it could spell trouble for the others still out here!" Grunt snapped, painfully aware that his fuel level just dropped below 50% and the asari was still thrashing in the fires. "We put her down right here, right now!"
"Alert, there is a strange energy spike generating within the fire." Legion said, it's optics fixed on Melina.
"What are you-?"
There was a loud snap in the air as a biotic field exploded from the fire, extinguishing the flame and sending both of them down on the ground. The field subsided, revealing Melina's naked, hunched form kneeling on the ground, her head hanging down in a bow. Even though her armor was completely burned into nothingness, her body seemed completely unharmed.
Grunt got back up to his knees, groaning as his body protested against movement. "What the frag…?" He whispered as he eyed the naked asari kneeling near the foot of the ramp.
"Repeat, we suggest immediate withdrawal." Legion said as it got back up.
Before Legion and Grunt could raise their weapons again, her head snapped up, revealing pitch black eyes and a gaping maw lined with needle sharp teeth that screeched an unholy wail. Her skin started to burst as bone and muscle twisted and started to swell, stretching her limbs into slender appendages as her hands and feet ended in vicious talons that exploded out of her fingertips. She got to her feet, revealing that she had grown in height, easily towering over both Legion and Grunt.
Grunt primed the flame thrower and sprayed another torrent of flame at her, with Legion stepping up beside him and doing the same. "EDI! SHUT THE RAMP! NOW!" He yelled as the fires engulfed the monster that was once Melina.
The ramp started to rise, closing painfully slow for comfort, but fiery talons burst from the flames and latched onto it. The monster started to crawl up towards them as the ramp rose, wailing it's high pitch screeches that seemed to send chills even in Legion's mechanical spine. The crew still in the shuttle bay started to back away as fear seemed to grip them, making them flee in terror.
"Alert: Weapon empty!" Legion said as his flamethrower fuel reached zero.
"Pyjak cunts!" Grunt cursed as his flamethrower did the same as well.
Both of them tossed aside their empty weapons and looked at the still flaming horror that was about to befall them.