Flynn had seen a lot of things in his surprisingly long life, from the deepest pits in hell to the amazing architecture of Argent D'Nur. But seeing the Citadel for the first time was a different experience.
The massive station that housed the seats of galactic government, while also being home to millions of people from different species, was a unique sight to behold.
However, the effect quickly wore off to anyone who knew the true purpose for its existence. How the station was a well crafted trap designed and built by those who intended to harvest the civilizations that had risen to the stars.
To the slayer, the Reapers and their followers were no different than demons. Consuming, corrupting and destroying everything in their path in a never ending cycle. And it was his intention to instill the same fear in the ancient machines like he had with the denizens of hell.
The Normandy docked upon arrival and Joker got on the PA system, "Attention all passengers. We've arrived at our destination. Thank you for flying Air Joker and please remember to tip your stewardess."
"Really Joker?" asked Shepard as she came up from the CIC with the ground team following her.
"What? I gotta be me." the pilot said with a grin.
"Pretty sure that's the problem." Ashley replied on her way to the airlock with everyone else, deflating the man's ego a bit.
Jane looked at Joker as the rest of the team went through the cycling process before disembarking. "Try to get some downtime too. Can't spend every moment in that chair."
"True, I was also intending on catching up on sleep while you guys are out painting the Citadel red." replied the pilot.
The conversation paused when heavy boots could be heard coming toward them. The Commander and Flight-Lieutenant turned to see Flynn approaching the airlock, sending a nod to Shepard before going through the door.
"Not gonna lie, Commander. That one puts me on edge." Joker said, taking off his hat and scratching his head. "I mean, he cut his way out of a Thresher Maw with an old school chainsaw...who the hell is able to do that?"
Jane didn't have an answer for him. Still trying to find the answers herself.
X
Passing a strict looking man in Alliance dress-blues, Ashley and Kaiden standing at attention in front of him, the slayer stepped onto the elevator where everyone else was waiting.
"So, anybody got plans for while we're here?" asked Tali as the lift began to descend.
"I'm gonna check up on a few colleagues while I'm here. And make sure that bastard Saleon is enjoying his new accommodations." said Garrus, referring to the Frankenstein Salarian doctor he and Shepard had taken down not too long ago.
Wrex grunted, "Got a bottle of Ryncol with my name on it. Anybody else interested in getting wasted they can meet me at Flux."
"There are a few things I'm going to need for the mission." said Liara with Tali nodding in agreement.
"Same, how bout you Flynn?" asked the Quarian, all eyes going to the slayer who stood with his arms crossed.
Got a few things to get myself. Might tag along with you and Liara. He signed to the young engineer as the elevator stopped and the door opened to the C-Sec checkpoint. After a quick screening, which ended up taking longer when the officers couldn't get an accurate read on the large human in power armor that Garrus had to help clear up, the team went their separate ways.
Flynn, Liara and Tali made their way to one of the many markets nearby and began browning the wares. More than a few people giving the trio odd looks when they passed by.
Liara picked up a couple empty OSDs that she needed while Tali haggled with a Salarian over a couple mods for her omni-tool. The slayer was with the Quarian, browsing the kiosk at the omni-tools they had a viable. He'd been considering buying one and applying it to the Praetor suit, even though his armor had never let him down in the past, it wouldn't hurt to have a little extra hardware incase he needed it.
Finding one he liked and fit his style, Flynn slipped the credit chit Shepard had given him into the terminal. The transaction taking only a few seconds as he pulled the chit back out and another Salarian came up with a small box in hand.
"Here you...are...sir…" the amphibian-like alien looked up at the slayer and instantly became nervous. Flynn rolled his eyes and accepted the new omni-tool, stashing it in his suit's quantum backpack to install later.
"Watch where you're walkin' suit-rat!"
Looking over his shoulder, the slayer found Tali on the ground with three Batarians glaring down at her. The young Quarian quickly got to her feet and turned to leave when one of the four eyed aliens grabbed her arm.
"Hey! I think you owe us an apology for running into us!" he sneered. "Vagrant trash like you shouldn't even be her-GURK!" A large, armored hand suddenly clamped tight around his throat and hoisted him off the ground until his two sets of black eyes met the burning leer Flynn was sending him behind his visor.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and stood wide-eyed as the slayer held the Batarian a good two feet off the ground as though he weighed barely anything.
One of the other Batarian drew a pistol and aimed at Flynn's head, "Put him down! Or I'll blow your fuckin' brains out!"
Without looking, the slayer's other hand snapped out and grabbed the weapon and crushed it as easily as an empty soda can, with the thug's hand along with it. The Batarian screamed, dropping to his knees and holding the shattered remains of his hand with chunks of his sidearm embedded in it.
Within the same few seconds, he swung his captive around and slammed him into his wounded friend. Sending both flying across the market and crashing into another stall on the other side. The last Batarian ran at Flynn and threw a punch, his fist getting caught in the slayer's open palm, fingers closing around it as he slowly began to squeeze.
The thug's four eyes widened as he felt the bones in his hand crack loudly just before a large foot snapped up and kicked him in the chest. His ribcage shattering like twigs as he was thrown backwards and landed in a heap near his friends.
Satisfied the idiots were down for the count, Flynn looked at the crowd that now had their attention on him, and each and everyone of them took a step back, not wanting to wind up on his bad side after what he had just done.
Turning his attention to the girls, Liara having come over when she saw what was going on and was helping Tali pick up the mods she had dropped.
Ready to go? He signed as though nothing happened. The three of them leaving with everybody else scrambling to get out of their way.
"I think that little spectacle might get around." Liara said lowly when she had seen several people with their omni-tools out, more than likely recording the event.
Flynn shrugged as they headed to the nearest rapid-transit station and getting a ride to another side of the ward to get a few more things before meeting up with the Commander.
Unaware of someone that had been watching from a dark corner, their omni-tool activating as they made a call.
X
Upon arrival at the Presidium Commons a couple hours later, the trio found Shepard, Kaidan and Ashley talking with a man who was looking relieved despite there being tears in his eyes. The three Alliance soldiers bid the man farewell before coming their way.
"Hey you three. What have you been up to?" asked Jane.
"Just picking up a few odds and ends." Tali answered, rubbing her hands together slightly not wanting to let the Commander know what had happened back in the markets.
Shepard nodded, "Alright then. I received a message from the Consort a little while ago saying she wanted to meet with me about something. After that we can spend a few more hours here before heading back to the Normandy."
"The Consort asked for you specifically? That's uncommon given how sought after she is." said Liara a little surprised.
"I helped her with a little problem she was having with a Turian General after I became a Spectre." explained the Commander as the group of six made their way across the Presidium in the direction of the Consort's chambers.
Various species send curious gazes at the group who paid them no mind during their trip to the financial district. Entering the lounge that belonged to the influential Asari and her acolytes.
"Greetings! How may I…" the hostess trailed off when she saw who had come in, "Oh! Commander Shepard! Welcome back. Our mistress requested to have you meet her as soon as you arrived."
The group was led into the main room where several Asari were speaking to various people, some of them smiling and waving at them until Sha'ira made her presence known.
"Commander Shepard, how nice it is to see you again." the elder Asari said with a slight bow of her head.
"Likewise, Sha'ira. Your message sounded important, is Septimus causing problems again?" asked Jane.
Sha'ira shook her head, "Oh, no. Nothing of that sort. Septimus has long since apologized for the rumors he started. No, I requested your presence in order to speak to a member of your crew."
This bit of information made the Commander curious, "One of my crew?"
"Yes." said the Asari before pointing at Flynn, "Him, specifically."
All eyes turned to the slayer who looked back at them and shrugged. "What do you need Flynn for?" asked Liara.
"It is not so much what he can do for me, but what I can provide for him." Sha'ira stated, approaching the armored man. "One of my followers witnessed an incident in the markets and contacted me, normally that wouldn't peak my curiosity, but when they sent me an image of the one involved it gained my interest."
" 'Incident in the markets'?" asked Jane as she looked toward Liara, Tali and Flynn for an explanation.
Some Batarians were harassing Tali. I put an end to it. The slayer signed bluntly.
"...Are they still alive?" asked Kaiden, worried about some form of backlash in the event of C-Sec finding mangled bodies. Flynn nodded, causing relief to pass through the rest of the team.
Shepard turned back to Sha'ira, "Still doesn't explain the interest in our resident powerhouse."
"I can understand the confusion, you cannot sense what I can in this one." replied the older Asari before addressing Liara, "Though I have a feeling that you can understand what I mean, at least a little, despite your youth."
Liara blinked, wondering what the elder had meant.
Sha'ira looked up at Flynn's visor, meeting his eyes. "There is a powerful aura surrounding this man. Like a star on the verge of a supernova. We Asari can sense such auras when our minds and abilities have matured enough. There is so much more to this man than meets the eye."
The slayer tilted his head, wondering what exactly the older Asari was talking about. Could she sense what he was? His power? His rage?
"I only wish to see, to confirm my thoughts. If you'd be willing to indulge my curiosity." Sha'ira continued, reaching up and placing a hand on the center of the chest piece of the Praetor suit and looked into his visor again.
The moment contact was made and their eyes met, Sha'ira was suddenly pulled into a partial meld without realizing it. Images bombarding her mind at an alarming pace.
Images of death and bloodshed, of rage and violence. A lone man standing against a seemingly infinite tide of bloodthirsty beasts intent on consuming all in their path. Matching their brutality and savagery with even greater ferocity.
The images overwhelmed her, sending her stumbling back from Flynn in a blind panic.
"MISTRESS!" several Asari exclaimed, quickly catching her before she could fall over as she shook in their grasp. Shepard and her team were now very alarmed at what had just happened while the slayer remained where he was.
Sha'ira looked up, her eyes still black from the meld and began to speak in a deep, haunting tone;
"The darkness draws near, their armies spreading, but it is he who will control the fight. The inner circle of death is where he resides, hunting them to the farthest reaches of the universe, and beyond, gaining strength from his fallen foes. He is the spear that stabs at the heart of those who would bring about our extinction, and those who seek to end us should feel warned, for there is only one dominant lifeform in this universe, and it carries a steel barreled sword of vengeance. All hail the coming of the Destroyer...the Slayer's time...is now."
Sha'ira's eyes shifted back to their original color, her face drained of all color along with that of every Asari around her, including Liara.
"E...Everybody out…" the Consort said, her voice wavering. "N-Now. We are closed for the day." The customers who had been there would have protested, but the way she had spoken had scared them to their very core and left without much fuss.
Once the clients were gone, the hostess sealed the door and activated the shutters for the lounge. Effectively closing them all off from the rest of the Citadel.
Jane and the others were now very tense, hands near weapons and completely at a loss about what was happening.
Sha'ira slowly approached Flynn, timid like a child despite her many centuries of life…
But that paled in comparison to what she KNEW she was standing before.
"It...It is you." she said, barely above a whisper. "G-Goddess Athame...the scriptures...all of it was true!"
"Sha'ira, what the hell is going on? What are you talking about?" Jane demanded.
The Consort turned to her, "Commander, you have no idea what you are in the presence of. Of who it is you have allied yourself with." she motioned to Flynn, "This being is more than a mortal, but less than a god. The very embodiment of rage and vengeance, whose strength is an unstoppable force of nature against all those who stand in his path."
Sha'ira gave her attention back to the slayer. "I never imagined...Every Asari who has ever read the scriptures of the Goddess has read about him."
"That doesn't explain anything!" Exclaimed Ashley, now sick of the whole situation. "Can someone here just give us a straight answer?!"
"I...I never thought…" Liara said, unable to find the words.
"Liara?" asked Shepard.
The Asari Maiden approached the slayer, her eyes centered on the red mark just above his visor. Really seeing it for the first time and was immediately reminded of what her mother read to her when she was little, and what she had read herself when she was older.
How had she not connected the dots sooner? The evidence had all been there right infront of her this whole time!
"You bear the mark...only one being has ever known to wear it. You are him, aren't you?" Liara said with a slight quiver in her tone. "You are the Doom Slayer."
Flynn met her gaze, a very small part of him was genuinely surprised at how he had been recognized by a race from another dimension. Then again, he had fought Hell's legion across countless worlds before he had been imprisoned. Some of those worlds in the company of the Night Sentinels under his command.
He nodded once. This caused a ripple effect through the Asari in attendance. Some bowed their heads and clasped their hands infront of them as if they were in prayer, others took steps back and looked to be in horrified disbelief.
"Alright, enough of this!" Jane said, finally having enough of the cryptic words. "Someone, anyone in this room, explain to us exactly what is going on!"
"Apologies, Commander." said Sha'ira, having finally calmed down, "The shock of such a discovery is...overwhelming, to say the very least."
The Consort motioned for everyone to take a seat, the slayer remaining where he was as she started speaking again;
"You see, at certain points in our lives, our mothers tell us many tales from the scriptures of the Goddess Athame. Many tell of how she led our people, and granted us the gifts we carry with us today. Many have been lost to time, while others have been altered for one reason or another. But one such tale remained unchanged, one that spoke of a warrior who saved the Asari from near extinction eons ago."
Sha'ira gathered herself a moment;
"Eons ago, long before the Asari reached for the stars, the Goddess Athame led our people. Her intelligence and compassion long reaching as she hoped to uplift us from our once primitive lives to a higher plane of existence. Things were peaceful, and the Asari prospered under Athame's guidance."
"But then, a great evil came. A horde of nightmarish beasts unlike anything ever seen that to this dai we do not speak the name of, in fear of it returning. It spread across the land, consuming everything in its path, not even the Goddess herself was able to stem the tide of death that threatened her people. All hope seemed lost...Then...HE came."
"An unknown warrior seemed to come out of nowhere. Wearing near indestructible armor and wielding a sword that glowed brighter than the brightest star in the sky. He threw himself against the scourge, with a ferocity that dwarfed even the beasts themselves. Some even shrank in fear of his rage. The Goddess bore witness to the slaughter of the creatures that were prepared to end the Asari, she felt the warrior's unstoppable rage and fury as he tore them to pieces without quarter...but she could also feel something else from this powerful being. Pain, cut so deep it reached his very soul. Overshadowed only by his hatred of the beasts before him."
"When the battle was over, the warrior stood upon a pile of corpses bigger than any mountain on Thessia. It was written that the blood of the monsters that threatened our existence stained the grounds for countless years, but it stood as a testament to our salvation."
"Athame approached the warrior, and voiced her gratitude, swearing to grant him whatever he desired for saving her people. The warrior said not a word. Instead turning to leave in the same way he appeared."
"The Goddess understood through his actions and the aura he emitted. He did not require thanks, gifts or blessings. For it was his mission to cut the very heart out of the nightmares that threatened any innocent soul. An eternal struggle without end."
"But just before he vanished, Athame saw a symbol displayed on his helm. A symbol, that for the many millennia that followed, was revered. It was the mark of a silent guardian, a bringer of death to those who would bring death to others."
The Consort picked up a datapad and started drawing on the screen with her finger. When she was finished, she showed everyone the symbol she had made...the very same symbol that was painted on Flynn's helmet.
"The mark of the warrior was carried throughout our history, inscribed in many ancient texts said to have been written by the Goddess herself. And within those texts, he had been given a name. One that would bring hope to the Asari, and put fear in the hearts of those that wished our destruction. For it was he who faced certain doom itself and stood victorious."
"Our ancestors, the first followers of Athame, called him; the Doom Slayer."
As Sha'ira finished the tale, all eyes trailed to Flynn who was looking off to the side, lost in thought as the story triggered a series of memories from the past.
He did remember fighting on an alien world inhabited by blue skinned women, but he had been more focused on slaughtering the demons who were attempting to consume the world into their own. And he did recall one of the women that had a power about her similar to that of the Deag Priests before they betrayed and allowed themselves to be corrupted.
Strange as it was, he really did end up saving the Asari. And it would appear had created a bit of a religious following in the process.
"...That's…" Kaiden tried to find the words but came up short.
"You can't expect us to believe that!" Ashley said in disbelief, "You want us to believe that Flynn here is some kind of ancient warrior that appeared in the Asari bible only god knows how many years ago?"
"I must admit, it is very unbelievable." Tali admitted, though the story had enraptured her more than a bit.
Sha'ira showed no real emotion to the comments made, "Believe what you will. But what I witnessed in that brief moment was more than enough." she turned back to the slayer, "It was written that should the slayer return, then a great evil was on the horizon. One that threatens us all. And he would be there to face it.
Jane sat in deep thought for a while longer before standing, "Everybody back to the Normandy." she ordered quietly. Everyone was in agreement and left the Consort's chambers.
"Slayer!" Flynn stopped and looked back at the Consort. "Whatever your reason is for being here, know that the Commander and all those who follow her are allies. I believe the two of you will be the only ones that can save us when the time comes."
The slayer stared at her for another moment before stepping outside.
Sha'ira watched them leave before turning to her Acolytes. "Send a message to Councilor Tevos. Tell her that it is urgent and cannot wait."
"Yes, Mistress." one of the other Asari said before they all got to work. Another had kept her gaze on the door where the Commander and her team had left.
"What is on your mind, young one?" asked the Consort.
The younger Asari swallowed, "M-Mistress...was that really him? The one my grandmother spoke of?"
Sha'ira smiled, "Yes, child. He is. And with him, lies our salvation."
X
The trip back to the Normandy was done in silence. Jane at the head lost in her thoughts much like everyone else on the team, the Consort's words resonating with each of them in different ways.
Picking up Garrus and Wrex along the way, the group stepped back onto the ship where Joker was watching something on his omni-tool.
"Hey, Commander. How are things out in the real world?" he joked without looking up.
Shepard sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, "I don't even know where to start." she turned to her team, "Everyone meet in the briefing room in ten minutes."
The others gave various conformations before heading farther into the ship before going their own way. Jane reached out and stopped Flynn with a hand on his bare bicep. "I know you said that people are entitled to their secrets. And I'm more than willing to allow anyone on this ship theirs. But after today, not to mention all of the other things that have happened...it's getting harder to look past it."
Releasing a deep exhale, the slayer carefully stepped out of her grasp. The truth won't be what you expect. Nor what you want to believe. He signed.
"Let me be the judge of that." replied Jane. "I'm not asking you to reveal everything about you. That's your choice. But everyone else will start to get suspicious and untrusting if the mystery keeps getting deeper. And after what happened with the Consort, it's reached a pretty high peak."
Flynn cast a glance her way before heading toward the CIC and the elevator. "Just think about it!" the Commander called, but received no response in turn.
"Big guy must have big secrets." Joker commented, having seen the whole conversation.
"If you only knew, Joker." Jane replied with a deep sigh.
A/N: And the plot thickens even more.
Before folks start throwing molotovs my way, consider this. The slayer has been jumping dimensions since he joined the Night Sentinels, so it wouldn't be hard to believe he left his mark in various universes and cultures along the way. I figured him having an impact on a rather religion-based society that paved the way for the other races in Council-space would have a much bigger impact later on.
I intend on changing more than a few things as time goes by. Everyone and their dog knows that the slayer is the very definition of OP. So great change will follow in his wake.
And I thought a little bit of Elena Richardson's fangirling re-written a bit would add a bit more pull in the interest department. In addition to the 'vision' and the religious/historical background to go with it.
Now is the matter of whether or not Flynn will reveal his true identity in his own way. As I have said before, he has done little to nothing to hide his true nature given that he has fully accepted what he had become a long time ago. But given how different he is from his altered biology to his weapons and armor match nothing in the ME universe, there was never any hiding in the first place...not that he cared, of course.
Tell me what you think guys, willing to make alterations or add input if possible.