"Move! Move! Move! Move it, Grunt!"
Wrex shouted at his companion while running as fast as his bulky legs could carry him. Grunt was following up not too far behind, firing off a shot from his pistol behind him.
"I'm trying! Okeer didn't design me to be fast! I'm just saying!"
The two krogan took cover behind a solid metal table. They were panting hard from how long they had been sprinting for. Wrex was sure his heart would give out from how fast it was beating.
Looking around, they appeared to have found their way to C-Sec's cafeteria, as there were many tables and a small kitchen in the back of the room. If given the chance, Grunt would have cooked something up for himself, given how hungry he was.
The two of them had been locked in battle with Shinazu, the strange human of Fireteam November for some time now, and things weren't looking up for them.
At first, they thought he would be easy picking. One scrawny little human, armed with a bow and arrow vs. two krogan, well over seven feet and both weighing almost one ton each. Basically walking tanks. It would be a shutout.
How unfortunate for them that Shinazu was unlike anything either of them had ever faced before.
Wrex and Grunt had managed to kill Shinazu at one point, but the man would rise up from the dead like some sort of zombie and fight again like nothing happened. It was like he was invincible!
Not only that, but that bow he was using could fire off arrows that were essentially miniature spears. Just one bored a hole through solid metal walls, one after the other like they were made of flimsy paper.
Then there were his abilities. Shinazu could somehow fire off bolts of LIGHTNING from his hands. AND HE COULD FLY! HUMANS CAN'T FLY!
Honestly. Thorians, rachni, thresher maws, Collectors, Human/VI hybrids, Leviathan, Reapers. Shepard's evil clone even! Bring them all on. But they did NOT sign up to fight immortal space wizards.
Wrex reloaded his shotgun, ejecting the empty shell casing from the chamber. He also checked on the rest of his equipment. Only a handful of Lift Grenades and Stimulant Packs left, and if his biotics were a car, they would be a really cool and tough looking muscle car… running on fumes.
(In all honesty, I always forget that Wrex is a biotic. Idk why. He just looks more like a guy who prefers guns instead of fancy blue energy.)
"Damn… I'm running low on ammo and gadgets. How are you holding up, kid?" Wrex asked the younger krogan beside him.
"Same here." Grunt replied, loading a shell into his pistol. "But I say bring it either way. I feel totally ready to go bare handed with this magic freak!"
The older krogan couldn't help but smile. The recklessness of youth. Foolish, but commendable.
"I admire your guts, Grunt. But it's not gonna be that simp- OH FUCK!"
Wrex yelped when he turned to the lab grown krogan beside him. Grunt merely looked at Wrex in confusion, oblivious as to why he freaked out just now.
"What?" He asked.
Grunt noticed Wrex's eyes were more looking up at the top part of his head. He decided to run his hand along his head to see if he could find what Wrex was staring at.
That was when he felt something skinny and metallic get caught in between his fingers. Grunt gasped fearfully.
There was an arrow stuck in his head!
"Oh boy!" Grunt exclaimed. "So THAT'S where that one went. I thought it was weird that I've been tasting copper."
"H-hang on. I'll try to get it out."
Wrex moved closer to Grunt. He took hold of the arrow with one hand and firmly held Grunt's head in place with the other. As gently as he possibly could, Wrex pulled. The younger krogan shouted in pain.
"Gah! Ow! Easy!" He urged the elder.
The arrow was really wedged into Grunt's skull. It was probably barbed at the head so it could dig into him. So Wrex tried carefully wiggling it to see if he could get the head to unlatch. Except that ended up causing more harm than good. Grunt's left eye trailed off on its own and part of his face was going numb.
"Paper towel, peanut butter jar!" Grunt just blurted out of the blue. The arrow was lodged deeper into his skull than originally thought. "Wrex, knock it off! It's in my brain!"
Wrex groaned in annoyance. "I can't get it out." He admitted, finally letting go. "Looks like you're stuck with this thing until we can get you to the hospital."
Grunt rolled his eyes. As if not getting to eat was bad enough.
"On the bright side, it looks good on you. Ha!"
Without warning, Wrex decided to flick the arrow, causing its shaft to bounce back and forth. This resulted in Grunt blurting out words in tongue and his eyes darting all over the place.
"Stop that!" Grunt growled.
His brain was not a plaything, but it didn't stop Wrex from laughing. Grunt was just happy that flick didn't cause him to lay a brick in his pants.
The older krogan's laughter came to a halt however as they heard the sound of the door open. They both froze up. Could it be Shinazu? Grunt and Wrex readied their guns.
"You reloaded?" Wrex whispered.
Grunt nodded, cocking back the hammer of his pistol. "I'm ready."
Wrex grinned. They quickly stood up from cover and aimed their weapons.
"UNCLE URDNOT HAS A PRESENT FOR YA!"
"I'LL FIRE A SHOT RIGHT UP YOUR ASS!"
"Drop your weapons and get down on the floor! Wait. Wrex? Grunt?"
The person walking in was not the robed mercenary, but instead, an Alliance soldier.
A human male of Latin ethnicity. Tall and had the large frame of a bodybuilder. His hair was cut short in a militaristic fashion, and there was a visible tattoo running down his neck. The man was suited head to toe in N7 Defender armor and was armed with an N7 Typhoon machine gun.
Wrex instantly recognized the soldier who had walked in. He was with the Normandy Crew, like himself and Grunt.
"James?" The red krogan asked.
"Obviously, man."
James Vega was one of the more recent additions to the crew. He joined up with Shepard when the Reaper War first began. They had managed to escape from Earth just in the nick of time as the Reapers had begun their invasion. He had been with the crew since, and had even followed in Shepard's footsteps by joining the N7 Initiative.
Despite reuniting with a friendly face however, Grunt refused to holster his pistol.
"Hold on! How do we know that it's really James?" He frantically shouted.
"How do you know- Grunt, it's me." James argued, unsure as to why the silver krogan would ask such a strange question.
"Bullshit! This could be the wizard, Wrex! He can shapeshift for all we know!"
"Wait. Wizard?" Questioned Vega. "Wrex, is he high?"
"No, but there is an arrow in his head."
"What? OH FUCK!"
Grunt leapt over the table he hid behind to close in on Vega. The sounds of growling reverberated within his throat.
"If you really are James Vega, tell us something only he would know!" Demanded the krogan.
James sighed in frustration. "You hurled in Shepard's shower the night we had that party. I think your exact words were: "Damn you, Lettuce!" That enough for ya?!"
…
…
…
"Maybe."
"Grunt, drop your fucking gun! NOW!"
Finally convinced, Grunt lowered his weapon, as did James. Wrex eventually came out from his spot and glared at the younger krogan. Had there not been an arrow stuck in his brain, Wrex would have headbutted Grung for his stupidity.
"He gonna be okay with that thing stuck inside him?" James asked the elder krogan in slight concern.
"Long as you don't flick it." Grunt replied instead.
Wrex approached James and the two firmly shook hands in a greeting fashion.
"Good to see you, kid." Said Wrex. "What are you doing here?"
"Word of C-Sec under fire spread fast. My superiors sent me in to assist. Didn't expect to run into you guys." Responded Vega, rolling his shoulders out of reflex.
"I'm not complaining. We could use all the help we can get." Said Grunt.
"Speaking of which. What's this shit about a wizard?"
*BOOM*
The entrance behind them blew open in an explosion of blue light. All three soldiers jumped and turned to the direction of the explosion. Walking toward them through the smoke was Shinazu. His bow drawn back; arrow cocked and ready to be fired.
"You two have fought well in this duel, and have earned my respect! I will grant you both an end worthy of warriors." The Guardian declared, taking aim.
James couldn't help but stare in disbelief at the individual in his view. Grunt really wasn't kidding.
"Huh." He said. "I guess that explains the arrow."
"He's one of the mercenaries attacking this place!" Wrex pointed out, cringing slightly.
Grunt quickly took aim, but Shinazu released his grip. The arrow fired at the speed of a bullet, striking the pistol itself with extreme precision and knocking it out of his hand. The sheer force of the projectile was enough to shatter the gun into fragments and then pierce through the metal walls behind them as though they were weak cardboard.
James raised his weapon at the Guardian. "Stop! Stay where you are!" He ordered.
Instead of listening, Shinazu quickly fired off an arrow. Vega noticed and reacted slightly faster. He shifted his body to the left just enough that the arrow missed its mark, but it managed to slice the skin of his right cheek. Blood seeped out from the cut. James grunted. Too close for comfort.
Talking this out clearly wasn't going to work. And if those arrows can pierce through solid metal walls..! Grunt was lucky that krogan hide is tougher than that.
"Change of plans. Light 'em up!"
He quickly fired off his machine gun and a stream of heat sinks flew straight at the attacker. Shinazu however threw up an electrical field with his palm. The electrostatic array halted the bullets mid-flight, stripping them of their velocity and vibration, and fell to the floor as though they were dead flies. Vega was left stunned.
The bow then vanished. Replaced by a large, purple claymore-style sword with a crystalline blade. It seemed to produce an immense heat. Shinazu charged the trio. His blade ready to taste fresh blood.
"Die with honor!"
"Like hell!"
Wrex got in front. He pulled his left arm back as it lit up with biotic energy. Shinazu countered by conjuring a small orb energized by electricity in his free hand. The Warp and Ball Lightning collided, creating a massive shockwave that blew everyone present great distances away.
Grunt and James crashed into tables, while Wrex managed to stay on his feet. Shinazu acrobatically recovered from his blowback with a spinning backflip. Upon landing, he positioned his form into a swordsman's stance. His legs firmly planted to the floor and the sword held tight in front of him.
Wrex merely laughed. "Swords, eh?"
The krogan battle master reached for his back. He drew a heavy metallic looking object. A krogan hammer.
"As they say on Earth…" Wrex activated the weapon, then smashed it against the ground, generating a powerful electric shockwave. "It's hammer time!"
They both charged at full speed. The weapons collided with one another, emitting a loud clanging sound. Wrex's strength was enough to knock Shinazu's sword away, giving him the chance for a blow. The hammer went in for a sideswipe toward his head. Shinazu ducked however and swung his sword upward. The blade ripped through Wrex's armor and left a deep diagonal cut across his chest. Blood sprayed out like a fountain. Urdnot fought with every ounce the urge to scream in pain.
It would take more than that to beat him though. Using his free hand, Wrex hit Shinazu with a biotic infused punch and sent the Guardian flying. He landed feet up and zoomed back toward Wrex at full speed.
"You are strong!" The wizard complimented.
Wrex swung his hammer at his enemy. Shinazu avoided the hit by jumping up into the air right over Wrex and landing behind him.
"But your strength is not sufficient enough to bring down Shinazu Dragonsbane, Warlock extraordinaire!"
He thrust his palm into Wrex's back. A powerful surge of electricity coursed through the krogan. Wrex screamed. The current ceased and he fell to his knees, smoldering.
"Wrex!" Grunt cried out.
"Grunt, incoming!"
James tossed Grunt one of his weapons. It was an N7 Piranha assault shotgun. Grunt smirked. Tiny as they may be, but humans know how to make guns. The two closed in on their attacker. Shinazu quickly turned around and took a stance.
"Hey, Lord Voldemort or whatever your World of Warcraft name is! Suck on this!"
They unleashed hell on Shinazu. An endless hail of bullets all directed at him. But to their absolute shock and awe, the wizard was able to block and deflect each and every shot fired at him using his own sword. The sheer speed that Shinazu was moving his arms was just too fast for the eye to see.
One more bullet flew his way. The warlock brought his sword down on it with all his might. The swing was so right on the money that the small heat sink was split in two, right down the middle, and the two halves flew right by him.
Grunt and James both had their jaws on the floor and thought they had to have been dreaming this up.
"How is that even possible..?" Said Vega, who, by the sound of his voice, was basically done with life.
"Screw this! Impact shots!"
Adjusting the settings on their guns, James and Grunt fired off two Concussive Shots. They homed in on Shinazu, only to be struck by two blasts of lightning mid air and detonated before they could reach their mark.
Through the smoke, Grunt could see something floating beside Shinazu's head. It appeared to be a small orb of lightning. He wondered where it came from.
Beneath his helmet, Dragonsbane smiled.
'I was right to bring my Getaway Artist gauntlets for this mission. They convert my grenades into Arc souls that work like automatic turrets. That will provide me with coverfire.'
This was getting annoying. And being annoyed makes him angry. Grunt recklessly charged at the Warlock, no strategy whatsoever. James tried to stop him, but it was too late.
Pulling his arm back, Grunt went in for a punch. Shinazu avoided by shimmying his body to the right. The Guardian readied his blade, aiming to slice Grunt's neck. He ducked down right as the blade was mere inches from him, dodging in the nick of time, but the humanoid was not finished and tried slashing again. Grunt used his shotgun to defend and counter the blade's edge and pushed Shinazu away, then fired off a round from his riot gun.
The bullets tore into Shinazu's chest, but didn't seem to penetrate the inner layer of his clothes. Grunt was surprised. The Piranha can punch through armor as if it is thin ice. That cloak must have been reinforced with heavy duty anti-shock material.
Grunt was about to fire again, but he was shot from behind by the Arc Soul, knocking him forward and took a fist to his face from the Warlock. Urdnot wasn't bothered by that however. He took hold of Shinazu's robes before smashing his skull into the human's. Dragons fumbled backwards, disoriented from the head trauma. That was when James went in and rammed a knife into his back. Vega spun his opponent around, gripping the collar of his robes to prevent escape.
"I'm kickin' your ass on ten beers and zero sleep, pendejo!" He cursed in Spanish.
James smashed is fist right into Shinazu's face in succession, shouting "Fuck you!" with each hit. He then took hold of the Warlock's head and brought it down on his knee. That was sure to have broken some bones. James shoved Shinazu away after so that Grunt could slam him with a lariat to the back of his neck, causing Shinazu to fall forward onto the floor.
Grunt and James huddled together and reloaded their weapons. Their confidence renewed upon gaining the upper hand in the fight. Shinazu pulled himself back up onto his knees. His hands firmly held the sides of his helmet and he began to pull it off.
His face revealed, Shinazu was a humanoid with glowing blue skin and orange luminous eyes. His purple hair was long, reaching down to his upper back James and Grunt were surprised. They had never seen someone like this before. He looked human. Almost anyway.
Shinazu spit out a glob of blood from his mouth before standing back up on his feet. He inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. A sense of calm washed over him. His perception of time seemed to slow down, almost to a complete halt. During his brief mediation, Shinazu started to whisper under his breath.
"Harmony within, hurricane without."
James was totally ignorant as to what this strange man was doing. Now seemed like a rather inappropriate time to space out like that. Not that Grunt cared however. The krogan roared and fired an incendiary round from his shotgun. The bullets, unlike the last ones that fell to the ground, were entirely disintegrated before they could even get near the Guardian. Grunt was shocked, but as much as when he witnessed what came next.
That moment, Shinazu opened his eyes. They were glowing a bright blue.
"Be the storm."
The room faded to black, then the darkness lit up in bright flashes. Ear shattering rumblings of thunder shook everything around them. Bright arrays of lightning crackled and bursted from all across Shinazu's form. From his hands to his feet. He became power personified.
*STORMTRANCE*
Two large bolts struck both Grunt and Vega dead in the centers of their chests. The two were both knocked back into the walls behind them. Blood spewed from their mouths due to the sheer impact and they fell to their knees. Shinazu's lightning soon subsided and his eyes returned to normal. He let out a tired sigh.
'I didn't want to have to use my full power like that against two Lightless… Damnit Shinazu, learn some restraint.' Dragonsbane thought to himself.
"Try this on for size, Princess!"
A deep voice could be heard from behind him. Shinazu spun around to his six, but was too slow to react. Wrex had managed to recover via one of his Stim Packs. The red krogan swung his hammer into the humanoid's face as hard as he possibly could and, unfortunately for poor Shinazu, Wrex had a little surprise ready for him in the form of a Lift Grenade he strapped onto the end of his weapon. The biotic orb detonated on contact, generating a powerful blast of energy and enhancing the hammer's damage exponentially.
The blast sent Shinazu flying through the small window in the back of the room and into the kitchen, where he landed face first onto the still hot stove as the cooks were forced to evacuate due to the attack. The Guardian's face was brutally burned from the contact with the burning surface and he screamed in total agony before falling to the ground. Wrex laughed in satisfaction.
"That's what I'm talking about!" He roared.
James and Grunt both groaned, struggling to get back up onto their feet after, well… being actually struck by lightning. Even so, they both grinned.
"Nice one, Wrex… You nailed that son of a bitch…" Vega chuckled painfully.
"Hey… If he's dead for real this time, you mind if I go back there and make something to eat?" Asked Grunt.
Wrex looked at Grunt irritably. "Didn't you just order tacos on my tab?"
"Wait." James said. "What do you mean by, "Dead for real this time"?"
Behind them in the kitchen, Shinazu coughed painfully. That blow dealt some serious damage to him this time. He felt as though he should have been more aware. Either way, he was too hurt to get back up right now. He needed assistance. That was when a small robot appeared at his side. It had what looked like a golden dragon coiled around it. (Auspicious Shell)
"Shinazu!" It cried out. The robot's voice was male, and heavy with a Japanese accent.
"Yamato…" He managed to get out. "Help me out here, my friend…"
The small robot quickly got to work. It was shining a bright blue ray of light across different areas of Shinazu's body. Then, something unexpected happened. It was happening within mere seconds. Shinazu's injuries were healing! The scrapes, cuts, bruises, and burns were all vanishing from his surface as though they had never happened to begin with. Energy was surging across the man's entire body. He felt like he could do anything now.
Shinazu started to laugh stoically, and rose back up onto his feet, sword in hand.
"A valiant effort, Lightless!" He commended the three soldiers. "But do not revel in victory just yet!"
Wrex, Grunt, and James all gasped. Shock had completely overtaken them. "Guys, is it just me, or is Gandalf over there not even scratched?" James whispered dreadfully.
Shinazu was battered not ten seconds ago. Now perfectly healthy. Every attack they inflicted on him was erased so easily. Vega was beginning to realize that maybe this was what Grunt meant before about Shinazu being "dead for real".
Lightning could be seen coursing through the Warlock's hands. Round three, it would seem.
"The hunt has only just begun."
…
"BREAKING NEWS!"
"This just in! Not even twenty four hours after the sudden attack on a friendly neighborhood cafe in the Presidium today, we have just received word that Citadel Security headquarters is under siege by a rag tag group of mercenaries! We now go live to our field reporter, Diana Allres, who is live on the scene and filling in for Khalisa after she was suspended for her little tantrum on air.
Diana, just want in the name of God is going on down there?"
Standing before a camera, a young human woman with long dark hair and her Omni-Tool's microphone setting active. Despite the wreckage behind her, she appeared to remain rather calm all things considered.
"Brad, I'm standing here in front of C-Sec HQ and I'm left breathless by what I'm witnessing right now!" Diana stated to her viewers. She turned her head to the burning building behind her.
"As you can clearly see, the deviation here is truly a horrific sight. We've been getting reports from civilians that three hooded figures had entered the building not moments ago and all of a sudden, things went downhill so fast that I can hardly believe it!"
"Hold on, Diana." Urged the anchorman from the studio. "Three? You're saying that three soldiers are responsible for this attack?!"
"According to the people I've interviewed. They started reeking havoc the moment they arrived. There are many wounded officers, but for some reason, not a single fatality has occurred."
"Not one?"
Allers nodded her head. "It's pretty clear that traditional terrorism is not these people's end goal, Brad. If it were, then we would be knee deep in bodies by now. What these people are after remains a mystery, but regardless of their motives, witnesses say that these three are heavily armed, and one report says that their leader is wearing official N7 battle armor."
"N7?! That's the training program that the late Commander Shepard was a part of! Could we be dealing with a former operative looking for revenge?"
"I wish I could give you an answer, Brad. But let me say that it makes me sick to my stomach that someone would cause such calamity using the very same program Commander Shepard was a part of…"
More than you realize. Back during the Reaper War, Diana was a war reporter for the Alliance News Network, 'Battlespace'. She was tasked with feeding headlines about the war effort to people across the galaxy in hopes of improving morale. She wasn't a soldier, but that didn't mean Diana could help with the fight in her own way.
During her time doing so, Commander Shepard allowed her to set up a studio within the Normandy's cathode and would interview Shepard about her victories throughout the war. From Cerberus attacking the Citadel to brokering peace between the quarians and the geth. Shepard hated reporters, she made that clear. However, Allers was different. She truly cared about the people she interviewed. About doing her part to bring an end to the Reaper threat. This made her alright by Shepard's book. And that meant something to her.
"I can only hope that these perpetrators are reprimanded and face justice for what they're doing here tonight-"
"Everyone, you need to leave the area! Now!"
A voice caught Diana's attention. She and the cameraman turned to three people exiting the burning building. They are Liara and Kaiden. Both of them covered in ash and Kaiden seriously injured and being carried by Liara. Diana gasped.
"It's the crew of the Normandy! Where did they come from?" Diana said into the camera. "Dr. T'Soni! Major Alenko! Are you all okay?!"
She rushed over to the duo as fast as she could. That was when Kaiden started yelling at her.
"Allers, what are you doing?! Get the hell out of here!"
"Major, what happened? Why are you-"
That was when a deafening explosion erupted from the second floor of the building. The whole group ducked their heads and saw a phenomenon that caused them all to quake with terror. A huge, blinding beam of electric energy blasted out of the building. It obliterated anything that was unlucky enough to be in its way before it dissipated into the space beyond the Citadel.
Out from the hole created by the beam, Wrex, James, and Grunt were all thrown out of the building, screaming as they fell. The three men hit the metal floor of the Citadel hard. They were alive, but were blackened enough to consider them medium-well.
Diana could feel adrenaline surging throughout her body. She looked into the camera; her eyes wide as they could possibly be.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!" She exclaimed.
"Ow… Hijo de puta, what did we just get hit with..?" James groaned out.
"Are you three alright?!" Liara frantically asked.
Wrex grunted hard through the pain. He forces himself to sit up. "Well, we're not dead. That counts for something."
"Yeah. It only hurts when I laugh." Grunt stated, laughing… then clenching his gut in pain.
"Grunt, do you have an arrow in your head?" Kaiden questioned.
Liara tried to walk over and help her compatriots, but was stopped by sudden lightning strikes by her feet which caused the asari to step back in fright. She looked up at the opening in C-Sec. There was Shinazu seemingly levitating in mid air; electricity cracking in both hands, staring down at James and the two krogan.
"What in the name of the goddess is that?" Liara gasped.
"The guy trying to kill us..!" Wrex snarled.
Diana turned over to her cameraman. "Brad, I hope you're getting this! I now have krogan leader Urdnot Wrex, along with Aralakh Company captain Urdnot Grunt, and Lieutenant James Vega here, who all appear to be engaging one of the mercenaries responsible for the attack! The individual seems to be a…" Allers fell silent. "I'm… I'm not even sure what I'm looking at."
That was when James got in front of the camera. "That is an immortal space wizard who shoots lightning from his hands." Vega explained to the viewers. "…Yeah, that's my life now."
Then all of a sudden, more explosions were heard some distance away from C-Sec. everyone turned to the direction of where they emanated from. Coming there way was a hooded woman who was clad in black and running away from the fireballs blasting everything in their vicinitys.
"Isn't that Kasumi?" Said Kaiden.
Kasumi jumped down a ledge to her comrades' level. She looked back. Multiple small orange lights were closing in on her from above.
"RUN!" She screamed.
Everyone scrambled onto their feet. Liara and Wrex both got in front of the group; their eyes glowing blue.
"Everyone, get behind us!" Liara ordered.
Using their biotics, the asari and krogan generated a powerful shield of blue energy that encased everyone. As the orange light closed in, they revealed themselves to be multiple hunting knives, all glowing with heat. They rained down on the shield, all exploding at once upon making contact. Wrex and Liara could hardly keep the shield up from this kind of firepower.
"Goto, what are you doing here?" Grunt asked the thief.
"I was stealing some building plans from the basement until I heard the commotion. Decided to help." Kasumi admitted shamelessly. "Nice arrow, by the way."
Grunt laughed. "Thanks! Just like old time, huh?"
"I think I would rather go on another suicide mission than deal with these guys."
Yes. Kasumi Goto was yet another member of the famed Normandy Crew. She was enlisted by Shepard back when the commander worked with Cerberus to fight the Collectors in 2185. Though Kasumi wasn't a soldier, nor a scientist, her infiltration skills, aptitude for hacking, cat-like flexibility, as well as her exceptional fighting prowess more than earned her a spot among Shepard's rag-tag group of vigilantes. She even provided significant technical support on construction of the Crucible during the war.
"Who the hell is throwing exploding knives at us?!" Wrex shouted.
From atop the ledge where Kasumi jumped down from, stood a cloaked man, holding various knives in between his fingers. He gazes down from his vantage point at the cornered aliens and humans.
"Not as fun when your opponent turns the tables, is it?" He asked rhetorically.
"Crow! My friend!" Shinazu greeted.
Crow jumped high into the air. With pinpoint precision, he threw all the knives in his hands at once at the biotic shield down below.
*BLADE BARRAGE*
The knives all dug into the field and detonated simultaneously, creating a large array of flaming explosions. Liara and Wrex struggled to maintain their barrier from such literal explosive power.
"Damnit! We're cornered!" James cursed.
"I always knew that you guys would get me killed someday!" Diana shouted in frightened irritation.
Shinazu flew over to Crow's side on the ledge. He summoned his bow and knocked back an arrow, while Crow loaded his Hawkmoon.
"I didn't expect that I'd have to go all out against Lightless. Nor did I want to." The Hunter admitted.
"I beg to differ! It only proves what worthy opponents they are! We should be grateful for such tests of our strength!" Shinazu stoically argued.
"I thought this was a rescue mission…" Glint reminded the Warlock.
"Was supposed to be. Howdy."
Turning to their behinds, Crow and Shinazu noticed a familiar looking cowboy walking up to them.
"Whiskey!" They both exclaimed.
"Doe busted me out, but we ended up gettin' separated. Made a beeline for the emergency exits in the back." Explained the Exo cowboy.
"We are glad to see you in good health, friend!" Shinazu stated happily.
Whiskey however could argue, as his mood was far from relieved to see his companions. There was still much guilt behind his optics. Had it not been for his hat shielding his face, the others would see it clear as daylight.
"Now we just need to contact Amanda for a pickup and we can get out of here." Glint chirped.
"Not without Jane. We can't leave her behind-"
Suddenly, all three Guardians felt an immense pressure around them. They were each forced to the ground one by one and rendered immobile. Even Glint couldn't work up the strength to return to stealth mode.
"None of you primitives are going anywhere."
Emerging from behind a pile of rubble were Javik, Miranda, Bailey, and Jacob. Javik was using his Pull ability to keep the Guardians immobile, while the three humans closed in, armed with grenade launchers that Bailey had taken out of the armory.
"One wrong move and you three are pink mist." Miranda warned.
"Didn't you get your teeth smashed in, sweetheart?" Whiskey question in confusion as Lawson somehow now had new full rows of pearly whites.
"I've got my altered genetics and an enhanced regenerative factor to thank for that."
Crow desperately tried to raise his arm and aim, but the gravitational pull was just too strong for him. Javik walked over to the blue humanoid and looked down at him. Crow glared right back up at the prothean.
"Primitives, huh? You must be pretty full of yourself… Reminds me of someone." He spat.
"Your insults are wasted on me, human."
Javik's four eyes shifted over to Glint, who was desperately trying to cloak. He reached down and pick the small robot up, grasping him harshly.
"Glint!"
The prothean examined the Ghost in his hands. It was squirming around in his hand, trying to break free from his captor. Javik's eyes showed a deep hatred towards the Ghost.
'What is this synthetic? Never have I seen one like this before.' He wondered.
"You four eyed jerk! Let Crow go right now!" Glint shouted.
"You are in no position to make demands, Synthetic." Javik said coldly.
"I'm not scared of you!"
Javik's eyebrow ridge rose in question. He tightened his grip around Glint. The Ghost winced and squirmed.
"Scared? How could you possibly understand fear? You are just a machine."
Glint's glowing eye went wide. What did he say?! Never in his life had he ever been more offended. Not even Spider would say something so hurtful to him.
"Wha- Just a..! How DARE you! Who do you think..! You sir are just mean!"
"Glint, shut your voice modulator!" Hushed Crow.
At that moment, the sound of metal being torn apart was heard from nearby. Smashing through the walls of C-Sec, a helmeted Jane Doe arrived on the scene with her Khvostov locked and loaded.
Lawson, Bailey, and Tailor turned around, aiming their weapons at the Titan behind them. The four of them locked in a standoff.
"Drop the lightbulb." She aggressively requested Javik.
That was when Edith flew out and saw her fellow Ghost in the conundrum he was in. "Glint! Put him down, you bully!"
"Put the weapon down, soldier! You're outgunned here!" Bailey pointed out.
Despite that being true, Jane didn't back down. She kept her rifle aimed directly at Javik, need he do anything to poor Glint. Her finger wrapped around the gun's stinger, just begging to pull it back and fire off a round.
"Guardians never surrender." Jane stated.
"Guardian?" Javik repeated coldly. "You are the furthest thing from a guardian, considering the destruction you have left in your wake."
She snickered under her helm. "What can I say? We love to make an entrance."
"Put the gun down! I won't say it again!"
Neither side would stand down. Each one of them, determined to get the other to surrender. Footsteps were heard approaching from Jane's six. Behind her was Garrus, armed with a pistol in his hand. Javik smiled at the arrival of his ally.
"It would appear that we have quite the upper hand. Commander Vakarian, finish her."
Garrus heard Javik's request. Yet he didn't do anything. The turian stood in place. Eyes blank and emotionless.
"Commander, what are you waiting for?! Shoot them!"
Garrus did not give a response to the prothean. He merely stared at Javik. He then turned his gaze to the Titan, who was looking back at him through the display in her helmet. Javik was unsure as to why Garrus was hesitating to act. The turian sighed, finally raising his gun. A large pistol. Black and red, with a spade insignia on it.
"I'm sorry."
He pulled the trigger…
It ripped through Javik's leg.