*Darkness Zone: Respawning Restricted*
…
A Vex Hobgoblin emerged from his hiding spot, far from the battlefield. The single red optic adjusted and corrected its field of vision. It zoomed in on the war zone down below the spire the robot stood atop to watch the violence ensuing down below, like a sniper from his post. That is exactly what Hobgoblins were. Assassins, using stealth and trickery to do away with their selected target.
The Hobgoblin's gaze locked onto a pret. A large female Titan. Target acquired. Its arm rose up from its side; a Line Rifle in its grasp. The weapon immediately began to charge up with energy until maximum capacity was achieved. The Hobgoblin's finger slowly pulled back the trigger.
*BLAM!*
A shot from below struck the Vex sniper. Its head was blown clean off.
From the ground, Garrus ejected the magazine from his MIDA Multi-Tool and inserted a fresh one to replenish his weapon. He pulled off that shot without a hitch, like he always does. But something was off. Very off. The Hobgoblin was falling over. Why?
Suddenly, the Vex's body started moving again. Electricity was crackling all around it like it was short circuiting. The Hobgoblin jumped down from its position onto the ground, its arm spun around like a pinwheel and it aimed its rifle straight at Garrus.
This thing was still moving after its head had been blown clean off!
The rifle fired. Garrus shifted to his left, barely dodging the shot by the fringe on his head. WAY too close for his liking.
"Last I checked, things die when you shoot their heads off!" Garrus states anxiously.
Another shot brushes past the turian and struck the Hobgoblin right in the belly, where its Radiolaria tank resided. The bullet punctured the glass and the tank exploded. The white fluids spilling out onto the ground and staining the robot's chastise. The Hobgoblin finally went limp and collapsed, dead as dead could be.
Garrus looked to his right. He spotted Jane with her hand cannon, smoldering from a recently fired shot.
"Vex are a different story. Blowing off their heads just pisses them off." She explained, ejecting the drum of her heavy pistol and loading in a new one. "Aim for their midsections. That's where their milk boxes are."
Garrus gagged. Did she just say "milk box"? Spirits above, that's just so gross… He shook off his disgust and refocused on the fight. "So what are these Vex anyway?"
An airborne unit, a Harpy, races toward them at blinding speed. The smaller mech powering up its Slap Rifles to open fire. Garrus reacted faster, activating his Omni-Tool and blasting the Harpy with Overload to disrupt its systems. Jane followed up by firing a shot from her Ace of Spades. The bullet hit the Harpy dead in the center of its eye, like the bullseye of a target. That was where their milk boxes were. It instantly went up in a large burst of flames due to the Ace of Spades' ability.
Jane twirled her weapon in her hand, then blew out the smoke escaping the gun's barrel. "Abridged version? Microscopic organisms that use robots to get around and convert other organisms into machines. They can teleport, control other machines, and can time travel. Real pains in the ass."
From how she talked about then, these Vex sounded similar to the Reapers as they too converted organics into- Wait. Did she say time travel? Like that old human movie, 'Terminator'? Seriously, what kind of bullshit has Shepard dragged into this time?!
"Fuck my life…" Muttered Garrus under a heavy sigh.
With the turian distracted, a Goblin seized the opportunity for a sneak attack. It raised its weapon and aimed for Garrus' back. But before it could fire, something sharp sliced through its body and the robot was cut clean in half.
Garrus turned around to his backside. Mara was standing behind him, wielding two large, regal looking purple swords with their guards in the shape of a kind of bird. A crow, perhaps. (Black Talon)
"Keep your focus on the task at hand, Commander." She told him without even turning around. "Remember, YOU are their target. We are merely hurdles in their paths to be overcome, so do us a favor and pull your weight."
"Says the woman who brought swords to a gunfight." Garrus retorted.
Mara's blank expression didn't even so much as budge. A Minotaur jumped down in front of her from a greater height. It raised its arm to bash in her skull. The Awoken queen blocked it with just a single sword, then swung hard to the side to knock the arm away and leave the large Vex open to attack. Mara kept backwards, high into the air. One of her Black Talons started glowing a majestic violet and with one mighty upward swing, the sword fired a large slash-like projectile of pure Void energy that deatomized the Minotaur on contact.
Mara landed elegantly back to earth, then she gave Garrus a smirk that only he himself could have made from looking so smug. Vakarian groaned. He needs to remember to keep his mouth shut around these guys… Especially around one who can shoot a Getsugatensho at him.
"Garrus, incoming!" Jane called out.
A group of Goblins were advancing on the turian's position, firing off several shots from their weapons. One of two managed to make contact with Garrus. Luckily, he had his shields to protect him from any real damage. He started to run to the side, then fired off bullets of his own and killed a great number of Goblins, but more were still coming. Garrus couldn't handle that many himself. That was when the area around the Vex started to distort with a kind of blue energy. Biotics. Warp, to be more specific. The dark energy pulled apart the Goblins piece by piece until nothing remained but loose screws and brackets.
Garrus looked to his left, Thane was standing next to him with his hand radiating biotic energy. The Mass Effect fields dissipated quickly from his appendage and he gripped his SMG with both hands. Garrus smirked, but it was a wholesome smirk. Just like Thane to one up him on the field, like used to before he died.
"Thanks for the assist." Said Garrus.
Krios nodded his head. "Of course."
"So are you going to tell me how you're alive and in my head at any point?"
That's right. Thane had yet to reveal to Garrus the reasons for his being here, but that was when the Vex had arrived and they were engaged in a firefight.
"The short of it is that I'm not the real Thane Krios, Garrus." Thane explained as quickly as he could. "I serve as a manifestation of your mental defenses. I was triggered when the Vanguard invaded your mind."
Garrus' brow cock with intrigue. So this Thane was created by his imagination? That… kind of made sense, more than wish dragons and time traveling robots, that was for sure. Thane fired off a stream of bullets at a Hobgoblin to his right, rendering it into a pile of hole filled metal.
"I understand if this is a shock to you, Garrus. I did not imagine I would end up taking on Thane Krios' form."
"Behind you." Warned Garrus.
A headless Goblin was charging at the drill in a frenzy. Thane spun around and kicked the mech right in its juice box, killing it in an instant. He retracted his leg and turned back to Vakarian.
"Normally, it would, had I not seen more mind blowing things in one day than during most of the war."
His Omni-Tool blipped. Garrus looked down at his arm, a window popped up with an option that read, 'detonate?' His Trip Mine was triggered. So Garrus pushed the button, a loud explosion could be heard some ways away. A Vex arm flying through the air lands right in front of the two aliens.
"But if I'm being perfectly honest, I could care less as to how you're here. What matters is that you are, and I'm glad…" Garrus rested an arm on Thane's shoulder and his mandibles spread outward so he could smile. "It's good to see you again, Thane. We all missed you."
Thane smiled back with warmth. The feeling was mutual.
The last time Garrus saw Thane was at the hospital on the Citadel, after Donald Udina and Cerberus attempted to take control of the station. Thane at the time was suffering from Kepral's Syndrome, a lung disease that leaves those afflicted unable to absorb oxygen into their blood, ultimately leaving them with the inability to breathe at all. Yet despite this, Thane found the strength within him to fight back against the injustice and even gave his life to save the Salarian Councilor from Kai Leng's assassination attempt. The drell was transported to the hospital after getting stabbed by Leng's sword. His illness combined with the fact that the hospital was low on drell blood of his type, Thane had eventually succumbed to his injuries with Shepard and his son, Kolyat by his side in the end.
Garrus had gotten to know Thane on a personal level. He was an assassin, but he was spiritual, asking forgiveness for every life slain by the drell's hand. He could be far too serious at times, couldn't even crack up at a joke, but Garrus respected him, called him friend, and they risked everything to save the galaxy from the Collectors.
Seeing Thane now, stand beside him, even as a phantom. It was enough.
"HEY!"
Jane's shouting caught the attention of the two snipers. They turned over to what direction her voice came from. Their red haired Titan companion was in the middle of a wrestling match with three Minotaurs. Two whose heads were caught in the crushing hold of both her arms, and one that she held in between her legs by its abdomen. Though it appeared that she was struggling to keep her grip around the three mechs.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but can you two space lizards put the touching reunion on hold and GIVE ME SOME BACKUP?!"
Thane was… actually surprised. He always knew Shepard was a strong woman, but nothing like that. He lowered his glasses to see if what he witnessed was actually real. It was.
"Garrus, care to explain what exactly happened to the commander?" Thane asked.
"The short of it? Shepard died again and got turned into Canadian Captain Carter."
Their hands reached for the magazines by their hips and reloaded their weapons. Thane and Garrus then moved out to help Jane with her opponents.
Or would have, because she had already pulled the Minotaurs apart with her bare hands.
One by one, Vex erupted in explosions of their glowing white fluids. The deafening pop, pop, pop, of Zavala's auto rifle fired off multiple rounds at once, each one hitting the robot's directly in their weak points with pinpoint precision. Zavala pulled his rifle back as he noticed a Hobgoblin lining up a shot aimed directly at his head. A man his size, one would think that Zavala wasn't as agile as he would like. Luckily, he had a solution to that problem. Just as the Line Rifle went off, the commander activated his Thrusters and blasted off out of the way towards his right, finding himself right next to Ikora in the process.
Multiple Vex Goblins were closing in on Ikora, too many for her to handle. Her shotgun was quickly running out of shells. The last round fired, except Ikora didn't seem bothered by the fact that she was out of ammo. Five Goblins approached, and descending from above were at least eight Harpies. She smirked.
Just what she was waiting for. Rey focused on her energy. Void Light was quickly building up in her right hand. Ikora jumped up and she fired off a gargantuan bolt of dark energy at the Goblins on the ground.
*NOVA BOMB: CATACLYSM*
The bolt consumed the Goblins, vaporizing them completely. The attack did not stop there. From the explosion several smaller Void bolts flew upwards into the sky and towards the Harpies. Each one hit their mark and demolecularlized the robots. The Void energy around Ikora dissipated.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't today just supposed to be a simple interview?" She asked Zavala, reloading her shotgun.
"When it comes to Jane Doe, nothing is ever simple, Ikora." He replied.
A Minotaur teleported right in front of the duo. It brought its arms down on both Guardans, but they jumped out of the way and dodged the assault just in the nick of time. Zavala rolled, then tossed something straight at the Minotaur. The small device stuck to its chastise and fired off a powerful pulse once to disable the Minotaur's shields, then pulsed again to damage its internal makeup. A Pulse Grenade. Zavala wasn't done there. Oh no. He holstered his Fabian Strategy and charged towards the Vex at full speed. Each step felt like an earthquake, his body crackled with an electric charge. Zavala tucked in his shoulder and bashed into the Minotaur with a Seismic Strike, smashing the machine into pieces.
The commander is now covered with Radiolaria. He wiped the white fluid from his face in disgust. Ikora looked at her comrade with a humored smirk. "At least she has you focused on something else." The Warlock pointed out.
Zavala grumbled in annoyance. "Yes. Fighting for my life. Again."
"Cut Jane some slack, Commander."
The cool and collected voice of Crow pierced through the sounds of gunfire and explosions. The Hunter could be seen up in the air, riding a Harpy like a horse. A flying horse, in this case. Crow spun a large knife in his hand and he aggressively jammed it straight into the Harpy's eye, disabling its vision. He acrobatically backflipped off the flying Vex as it spun out of control and crashed into another Harpy, both exploding in the air. Crow landed right in front of the two Vanguard leaders. His hand brushed off any dirt from his clothes.
"She couldn't have known any of this was going to happen. Who could have?"
"He isn't wrong, Commander." Glint agreed. "Crow, on your right!"
Crow drew Hawkmoon and fired. A charging Minotaur fell to the ground in a lifeless heap.
"All the more reason that Jane needs to grow up and think about the consequences of her actions more carefully! She was the one who convinced me to give in to Vakarian's demands!" Argued Zavala in frustration over how this whole mess started to begin with. "Ikora, five o'clock!"
The Warlock turned to said direction. She spotted an absolutely gargantuan Vex platform. A hulking, segmented unit that resembled a flying centipede. There were two energy barriers encircling its form, rotating in a counterclockwise motion. A Hydra, one of the more powerful Vex units.
The large mech charged up its Aeon Maul and fired off lobs of void energy. Rey quickly teleported away before the shots could hit her, reappearing to the right of the Hydra. Those shields around its body were impenetrable unless one had an Anti-Barrier mod equipped to their weapon. She lacked one, but that large gap in between the Hydra's barriers could more than be exploited.
Ikora fired off a Pocket Singularity, a small ball of unstable Void energy from her palm that exploded upon connecting with the Hydra. Its internal systems started to fail and its defenses were weakened as Void energy coursed through its frame. Now was the time to strike.
'The Hothead'
Her shotgun holstered behind her back, Ikora summoned a new weapon. A massive crimson rocket launcher that looked powerful enough to decimate a whole building. She haunches the mighty weapon over her shoulder so she can take aim. Ikora then fired off a shot. The missile was alive with Arc energy surging through it. It hit the Hydra straight in its eye; the Vex was consumed by the resulting electrical explosion.
Ikora's rocket launcher then vanished. She reached for her back and redrew her Invective. "Can you really blame her? Don't forget, she and Ana were a lot alike and her desire to find herself turned out beneficial for the city."
"Ikora, Ana's pursuit ended with the death of a Hive Worm God. Jane's pursuit involved her fist colliding with my face." Protested Zavala.
Crow went wide eyed with surprise. "When was that?" He asked while twirling his pistol and shooting it right in a Hobgoblin's face, then in its core.
"Before you were a Guardian." Zavala answered, tossing a Flashbang Grenade into a crow before gunning them down.
Ikora rejoined the group and put her back to the Titan's. Both of them reloaded their weapons as quickly as they could, as a large squad of Vex marched towards them.
"Everyone, to me!"
Zavala crouches, then tucked in his shoulder and Rally Barricade formed in front of him long enough to shield three people. Ikora and Crow all ducked behind it. The Vex opened fire all at once. The barrier was able to withstand the barrage, but likely not for long.
"I'm just saying, I have told that woman time and time again that it's against Guardian code to go after your origins because it almost always ends in tragedy, yet she ignores that rule every chance she gets. This could have been avoided and Commander Vakarian wouldn't be in this predicament if she had just learned to let go of her past."
Both Ikora and Crow just looked at Zavala with judgmental stares and agonizing silence. Zavala looked back at both of them, clueless. "What?"
"Do you even want us to answer that?" Ikora questioned.
That was when Zavala realized what she meant, earlier last year…
"Alright! Point taken!"
Electricity began to flow all across the commander's body. Zavala could feel his large muscle tense and strengthen from his Light overflowing. His eyes turned into a bright blue as he stood and turned to the Vex battalion of Goblins and Hobgoblins. He leapt up high into the air and raised both his arms. A rageful shout exploded out from Zavala's throat. The Titan plummeted to the ground where he smashed both his fists into the earth.
*FIST OF HAVOK*
A massive shockwave of Arc energy ensued immediately after. Every Vex around Zavala dematerialized into nothingness and, when the smoke cleared, a large crater was left in his wake. Zavala rose back onto his feet, then looked back at his teammates.
"Now can we please just focus on getting out of this alive?"
The Warlock and Hunter came out from cover. Ikora rolled her eyes and smirked. Just like Zavala. The second he starts to lose an argument with his team, he finds a way to bring it to a full stop. For this instance, blowing up a group of murder-bots. The man could be like a brick wall. But even if he can be a stickler about rules and his past, his sense of justice and iron-clad resolve was what made him the outstanding Vanguard Commander he was.
Ikora and Crow were grateful to have him by their sides.
A single, high powered shot pierced through a Minotaur's milk box like paper. Mithrax ejected the power cell of his linear fusion rifle, The Queenbreaker, and replaced it with a fresh one. A shot from a Line Rifle raced past his helmet, barely missing the surface of its armor. There was a Hobgoblin in the distance. Mithrax took and and the weapon charged up before it fired another shot and the Hobgoblin was blown to pieces.
Two Harpies were descending from above, then opened fire. Mithrax jumped out of the line of fire by backflipping. While in midair, he used his lower set of arms to toss two Shock Daggers directly towards the Harpies; the blades dug into their centers and punctured their milk boxes. They both dropped like flies, but one was still functional and was about to shoot again. Mithrax quickly freed his right hand. The gauntlet covering it opened up its prongs outward and a data-like energy was emitted from it. His Splicer Gauntlet. The Harpy suddenly started to malfunction. Its internal software was clearly being ravaged by a malware the Kell was uploading. The Harpy finally shut down.
A low growl reverberated in Mithrax's vocal chords. He couldn't stand the Vex, especially after what had happened two years ago in the Eliksni Quarter. It would be a cold day in Hell before he let them harm another living soul.
Mithrax was so lost in his anger that he failed to notice three headless, dripping Goblins running towards him from behind. Fanatics, headless units that explode when they are near their targets and splatter them with Radiolaria. Very dangerous. The Fanatics were only a few feet away from the distracted eliksni. If he did not turn around…
Just then, three projectiles of pure flame soared towards the malfunctioning Vex units. Each one hitting their targets. The Fanatics exploded before they could get close enough to Mithrax. He turned to his backside. Caiatl was seen standing in the distance with her bow in hand. Those projectiles must have been arrows.
"You should be more mindful of your surroundings, Mithrax."
Mithrax sighed. He almost got himself killed. "Apologies. Thank you, Caiatlkel." Caiatl nodded and approached, as did more Vex platforms. The two aliens readied themselves. "There is no end in sight to these wretched creatures!" The Kell of Light hissed aggressively, swapping his rifle for two shock blades and pistols.
"Yes. Many surviving members of the Dust Giants who have joined my legions told stories of the Vex. Their tales will be forever sung by my people to inspire the next generation of Cabal!" Caiatl announced boldly.
The empress brought her hand to the side of her bow and pinched her fingers together, then pulled her arm back as if she were drawing back a bowstring. In fact, this bow had no string at all. That was when something came into existence. Three thin streaks of fire. Arrows. Their nocks were held in the grip of Caiatl's fingers and, when she opened her grasp, the bow fired. The arrows scattered, homing in on three different targets. Each one made contact and scorched the afflicted. Caiatl pulled back her bow once more; three arrows became one. She fired again at a scorched target. What ensued after was a massive fireball that engulfed a great number of Vex. Ticcuu's Divination. A fearsome weapon indeed.
"Worthless filth! All of them!" Caiatl spat.
The explosion was vast, but several Vex remained. Not for long, though. Mithrax had slipped his way into the crowd and immediately got to work thinning the herd. His movements were swift, fast as lightning. Electrified blades carved clean through the robots' frames as easily as butter. Shots were fired from the pistols held by his lower set of arms with precision accuracy, blasting apart their milk boxes. Despite his size, Mithrax's ability was a true sight to behold. The large Fallen looked as though he was dancing across the battlefield. A creature so alien, moving with such grace. Simply magnificent.
A Hydra fired off a volley at Mithrax. He quickly back flipped away from the line of fire and back to his absolute unit of a comrade. Caiatl swapped her bow for her hammer. Mithrax leapt up, his feet landing on the head of the hammer. Using all her titanic strength, Caiatl lobbed Mithrax forward like a baseball. The Fallen flew at breakneck speed. With the added velocity, his swords cleaved the Hydra in two, even penetrating the shields surrounding it. The Hydra went up in an explosion.
Mithrax landed effortlessly, sheathing his blades and guns. A low chitter could be heard beneath his mask. "May you find peace in the void."
*BLAM!* *BLAM!* *CLANG!*
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! Come! COME! I am only getting started!"
Saint's laughter echoed for miles. He was having the time of his life. Each shell shot by his Perfect Paradox shredded through metal frames. If one Vex got too close, they would be met by the butt of his shotgun, or his fist. Minotaurs were thrown up into the air and sliced in two by the Sentinel Shield being thrown at them. Some had their heads smashed in, by the Titan's head! If there was one thing that Saint loved as much as Osiris and birds, it was smashing Vex to pieces.
Those machines may as well have been bowling pins that were all lined up, and Saint was a heavy bowling ball ready to knock them all down.
A metal hand grabbed a Minotaur by the leg. Saint whipped his arm forward, tossing the large robot at a group of Goblins and knocking them down. Saint then lobbed a Scatter Grenade into them. The ordinance broke apart into smaller fragments and exploded across the down Vex, killing them in seconds.
"Do svidaniya, vy ublyudki!" (Goodbye, you bastards.) Saint shouted joyously.
"Gah!"
The sound of a familiar voice in dismay pulled Saint from the euphoria of his battle high. He saw Osiris desperately trying to avoid taking fire from a squadron of Goblins and Harpies. The old Warlock took cover behind a wall. A small cut across his cheek oozed with crimson fluid and his breathing was heavy from exertion.
Normally, Osiris would have his Ghost patch up any injuries he was inflicted with, but his Ghost was long dead, as was his connection to the Light. He had no powers whatsoever now. No Super Ability, no healing, no resurrection. Just whatever grenades he had on his person and a Hunter's knife Crow had given him in case of an emergency. The legendary Warlock was as mortal as they come now.
Osiris raised his head over the edge of his cover. A shot raced towards him, barely missing his head. Osiris quickly ducked after and gasped anxiously.
"Hey! Keep your head down! There's two of us in here! Remember?
Osiris grunted in annoyance. "You're just a lingering essence from when you inhabited my body. You're not actually in my head." He pointed out.
"Key word being 'essence'. My main body is dead and under lockdown. You're my only remaining window to the world of the living."
"Then maybe I should just jump off a cliff and silence you for good."
"Nice try, but even you aren't that stupid."
She was right. If Osiris died here, they could never find the hidden Neptunian city. The fate of the Last City depended on finding it, so he couldn't kick the bucket here. Not now. However, his odds were not looking ideal. The Vex had him pinned down and he couldn't afford an injury. Osiris had wormed his way out of sticky situations in the past, but without his powers?
A loud, enraged scream filled the Warlock's ears, as did the sounds of metal clanging and tearing, fluids splattering. Once it had ended, Osiris peaked his head out from cover. Saint was found standing amidst multiple broken Vex platforms, breathing heavily and covered in Radiolaria. It didn't take a genius to figure out what had just happened.
"Do not touch my bird…" Growled the Exo protectively.
Osiris stood up from his crouching. He suddenly felt a sharp pain coming from his side and brought his hand to it. Looking down, he noticed that his palm was stained red. Blood. He was hit without even realizing it. Now that the rush was wearing off, the pain had started to kick in. Osiris' body trembled before he fell backward. Saint felt panic sweep his body, he rushed to his phoenix's side.
"Osiris!" Saint exclaimed.
The Titan crouched down. He pulled off his t-shirt and folded it up to form a pad, then pressed it up against Osiris' wound. Osiris winced from the pain caused by the pressure and contact. The wound was bad, yet he tried to shoo away Saint's hand.
"I'm fine! It's nothing!" Osiris claimed.
"You were shot, Osiris. It is not nothing" Saint objected. "And unless you have artificial Healing Grenades on your person, you must keep pressure on this."
"Saint…"
Osiris knew nothing he could say would make Saint back off. Now that he was mortal, the Titan was like a frantic mother when it came to his phoenix's safety. Osiris hated that, being treated like he was made of glass, like a helpless old man. Osiris wasn't just another Warlock before he lost his light, oh no. He was regarded as the greatest Warlock, the greatest Guardian in history, known for his unrivaled intelligence, brilliant battle strategies, mastery of the Infinite Forest, and overwhelming power. Well, he was, anyway.
Now he was no more helpless than a bird who can't fly, unable to flee from the predators on the ground.
The laser sight of the scout rifle lined up with its target, Garrus fired. The Goblin bursted into an explosion of fluids instantly. One more down, only… infinity more to go. The turian rebel breathed heavier than usual. His stamina was running out, as was his ammo reserves.
Garrus looked over at Jane. She wasn't even breaking a sweat one bit. Her hand cannon firing off round after round at her target. Occasionally, she would turn to her opposing side while twirling her cannon to shoot down the Vex behind her. Not only that, despite her clunky armor, Jane was as nimble as she's always been, slipping past and jumping over charging units with little effort. Her Void shield deflected and shots fired at her and powered up her own weapon by shooting through it. This 'Light' had made Jane a truly unstoppable force.
Finally, Garrus caught his breath again and reloaded. "Is it me, or does it seem like no matter how many of these things we kill, more just spew out of nowhere?"
"Not just you!" Jane tossed a Void Wall Grenade to the ground. The canister erupted and a wall of purple flames shot out in front of her. The Vex backed away from the burning barrier between them and their target. "Usually, when we Guardians are taking on the big boss of a Strike mission, they somehow have an infinite amount of lackeys to throw at us."
"What, do they come off an assembly line or something?" Garrus questioned as he sunk his Omni-Tool into a Harpy.
Jane smirked at Garrus, and he in return also. The two of them charged through the wall of Void Fire together, shouting a hard battle cry. What stood beyond the flames had to have been the biggest Cex so far. A bipedal, beastly creature with double-jointed legs with clawed feet, wing-like shields wreathed in luminescent tendrils.
A Wyvern.
From its wings, the Wyvern fired off multiple, slow moving shots from its Warp Lance in cross patterns. Jane knew full well how much damage those lances can cause, so she powered up her shield and generated a barrier to block against them successfully. She lowered the barrier, then Garrus dashed forward; turian talons digging into the ground and increasing his speed. Garrus moved like a predator on the hunt.
As soon as he got close to the Wyvern, Garrus started to climb up its body, scuffing all across its metallic frame. The Wyvern attempted to shake Garrus off its body. It thrashed around, jumped up and down desperately. Eventually, Garrus leapt off and rolled onto the ground, grinning. There were small glowing devices plastered across the Wyvern. Cain Trip Mines. Using his Omni-Tool, Vakarian detonated the ordinances. The large Vex was consumed in a series of explosions.
The Wyvern's body was torn and Scott he'd by the mines. Radiolaria was oozing, bleeding from its body. This was Jane's chance to hit that sucker hard. The Titan holstered her gun and powered down her shield, then jumped up into the air. She focused her Light. A new weapon manifested in her grasp. An enormous, menacing battle axe forged from pure Void Light.
*TWILIGHT ARSENAL*
Jane tightened her grip before spinning like a buzzsaw. She flew down towards the Wyvern with tremendous force. The blade of the mighty weapon cleaved the Vex in two with little to know struggle. The axe vanished soon after, and Garrus approached.
"I don't think you've ever looked sexier than right now."
Jane laughed. "You like that, huh?"
"Yes. Very warrior princess." Garrus replied.
Their joking was short lived by the sound of something metal clapping against itself. Jane and Garrus faced the direction it was coming from. They saw that Harper was slowly approaching them with his mouthpiece curved into a smile of augment.
"Bravo, Commander! Bravo! I have to admit, the Light has made you even more formidable now than you were before. No wonder you were able to best Savathûn."
Jane glared at Harper scornfully. She summons a new weapon to her side. 'Mindbender's Ambition (Adept)' A riot shotgun of sleek silver, covered with a bone-like chitin and inscribed with bizarre runes along the gun's body. Jane pumped back the forend to load a shell and took aim. "Know about that, huh? Then you should know that it's gonna take more than a few rust buckets to beat me, old man."
Garrus smiled. That couldn't be more true. Harper looked down at his feet. There was a Goblin, still alive and clenching his ankle as if it were begging for the Exo to save it. His LED optics showed now compassion for the Goblin. Harper shook off its hand and stomped on its milk box. The Vex quickly powered down. A quick and cold blooded execution.
"They are just foot soldiers. I just needed them to show me what it was I was up against. Now, I know." Harper adjusted his posture. He took on a fighting stance like that of a martial arts master. Arms outstretched, but relaxed. His feet firm to the ground. "So may I have this dance, Commander?"
Jane gave in to her urge to snort. Was this old man seriously going to fight her like he was Master Splinter? If this is a joke, it's a good one.
"The hell are you thinking?"
But in the blink of an eye, not even, Harper was suddenly right in front of Jane like he had full on warped, and let out a shrieking cry.
"HAIYAAA!!!"
A metal fist collided with her face with the force of a speeding car. Doe was actually thrown off her feet and flew backwards. Garrus couldn't believe what he had just seen.
Harper shifted his field of view to the surprised turian. Garrus flinched, but his body was still able to react. He bent backwards, barely dodging a lightning fast roundhouse kick that brushed the tip of his nose. Garrus backflipped away and fired off four shots from his scout rifle. Harper quickly drew something from his hip, a basic katana sword. Nothing special, but with speed and technique that was downright godly, his sword managed to stop and scoop up every bullet fired at him, then he neatly laid them down on the ground in a perfect line.
If Garrus was blown away already, he was now.
The sword in Harper's hand swung forwards along the ground, sweeping up the bullets. They were now soaring towards their sender at speed equal to when they were first fired. Garrus moved out of the way to his right. The bullets flew past him and shot into four Goblins in the background. Killing them all.
What is going on right now? THIS was the Illusive Man?! The old man who smokes like a chimney and sits in a chair all day is now suddenly a martial arts master and practical Hashira who can deflect bullets with a sword?!
Harper took a single step forward, but then acrobatically jumped to the side upon hearing the ear shattering bang of a shotgun. Jane had returned to the fight. She wasted no time and began to unload her weapon on the Exo, but Harper's agility was more than sufficient to dodge the pellets fired off at him. Eventually, Jane's riot gun was empty and she switched to the Ace of Spades. She held to her hip with her other hand resting over the pistol's hammer, and fired like a gun slinging cowgirl. Harper jumped and twirled around in the air like a dancer, effortlessly dodging the gunfire directed at him.
With each dodge, he advanced on Doe, and eventually dashed towards her once her ammo had run dry. Harper jumped up with his foot aimed at her head. Jane summoned her shield and blocked the kick, but was pushed back several meters. While in midair, Harper sound around and lobbed his katana at Jane like a javelin. The second she lowered her shield, the blade pierced right through the dead center of Jane's skull and sliced into her brain, killing her. Her body went limp and she fell forward.
Harper finally descended and brushed off his kimono. "It'll be a cold day in Hell before I get shot by you again."
"Shepard!" Garrus exclaimed.
At first, he felt his panic rise, but then remembered Jane's… condition. She'll be back up in a few seconds. Edith appeared out of hiding. Her eyes went wide and she flew to her Guardian's rescue.
"Uh oh! Hang on, Jane! I'm coming- Agh!"
A cold metal hand enveloped Edith's tiny form like grabbing a baseball. Harper. Edith tried to work her way to freedom, but his hold on her was tight at a drum.
"Oh, I don't think so." Said the Exo. "I know how you Guardians work. Without you little scamps, they're as mortal as the rest of us."
"Let me go, you bully!"
Harper's grasp grew stronger, Edith felt a growing pressure around her body. She began to panic. Her shell could only handle so much. Harper would crush her! He looked over at the corpse of his former killer and snickered.
"The world thinks Commander Shepard is dead, let's affirm that. Oh, and try to STAY dead this time!"
Edith screamed. Garrus felt his adrenaline surge. Back on Crow's ship, Jane told him that Ghosts were the only one who could bring a Guardian back whenever one gets killed. If Harper destroys Edith… He had to do something!
"No! Edith!"
Garrus' eyes turned a bright green and an object formed in his hand
His body started moving on its own, he threw the construct in Harper's direction. It was some kind of glowing green dart composed of spectral threads, and it just cut through the air. This… Threaded Spike hit Harper's wrist and knocked Edith free; the Ghost immediately flew away from Harper so he couldn't grab her again. The dart made a complete one eighty and flew back to Garrus. He caught the weapon just as it got close to him. A look of amazement was plastered onto Garrus as he stared at his new armament.
It was that power again. Just like back on the Citadel, when Jane was shot in the air and he used that Grapple to save her from falling. Only now it was in a different form, more attack oriented. The dart unraveled into nothing in his hand. Garrus watched the loose threads float around in the air. Even Harper's interest peaked.
"Fascinating! I don't recall you being a Biotic." He stated.
Garrus turned away from the threads, back to his opponent. His fists clenched and his Omni-Blade engaged. "And I don't remember you being some kind of robot ninja like your Phantoms and Kai Leng. But then again, a lot can change in five years."
Harper sprinted forward. He threw a heavy right cross at Garrus. The Omni-Blade combined with a Shield Boost managed to withstand the blow. Edith finally reappeared by Jane's corpse. Harper looked back and his eyes widened.
"No!"
Before he could bolt back to stop Edith, Garrus grabbed him by the arm and swung the robot opposite of him. "No, home is THAT way!" Harper was tossed, he recovered. Garrus had his scout rifle in one hand. The turian grabbed the bolt handle of the gun with his teeth and pulled it back to load a round in the chamber. "Edith, get Shepard back on her feet. I'll hold him off."
"Aye, Sir!"
Garrus took aim and fired several shots. Harper shifted in between the rounds at blinding speeds. As good a shot as Garrus was, Harper was just too fast. He hated slippery opponents he could shoot, like Geth Stalkers, always jumping around. Harper got close. Garrus swung his Omni-Blade at the Exo's face, but missed. Harper ducked at the last second, then tried a sweeping kick. Vakarian jumped up to avoid it and fired his rifle again. Just a quick tilting of his head and the bullet only graced Harper's cheek. Blade and fist collided, throwing sparks across the ground.
"I gave you a chance to come with us willingly, Garrus. If you want to make this difficult, then I'll-"
"What? You'll "Haiya!" again?"
The Exo quickly disengaged and coiled his arm around Garrus', then slipped around to his backside and wrapped another arm around his throat, locking the turian in a crossface chicken hold. Garrus shouted out from the pain.
"What? Didn't think I knew how to make a fist, Vakarian? I was a mercenary who fought in the First Contact War, you know. I know just about every Earth martial art there is!" Stated Harper, tightening his grip on Garrus' skull. "Killed more than my fair share of you turians for every human life your kind took."
Garrus growled and activated his Omni-Tool. "Yeah yeah, my people weren't nice to yours. Cry me a river!" Overload was deployed. A powerful electrical current surged through Harper's mechanical body, disrupting his circuits and causing him to release his captive.
Garrus reached for his hip and grabbed an explosive Trip Mine, and planted it in the middle of Harper's chest before backing away.
"I'll make a good speech about it at Turian Thanksgiving."
*KA-BOOM!*
The resulting explosion consumed him. Garrus wiped his face. That was a close one. Except he wasn't out of danger yet. Harper charged through the fire, unfazed by the blast. Garus raised his weapon, but hesitated with firing as a large figure grabbed Harper from behind by his waist.
Jane. She was back up.
"I'm back, fucker!" She shouted. "German suplex comin' up!"
Her body bent backwards, Harper was lifted off his feet and smashed into the ground by his neck. The sheer force of the drop shattered the earth beneath them. Harper cried out in pain. Jane then moved away from the Exo to her turian companion. Garrus disabled his Omni-Blade so he could give Jane a high-five. Or three, in his case.
"That how we used to handle things back in the day, À la Shepard-Vakarian style?" She asked.
"Sort of. Normally, if you had a sword rammed through your face, you wouldn't be suplexing anyone." Garrus replied, half joking.
"Fair." Jane looked at Edith beside her, then back to Garrus. "Thanks for saving Edith."
Vakarian smirked and held up his rifle. "Any friend of yours, especially the one who's responsible for bringing you back whenever you die again, is a friend of mine."
An annoyed groaning could be heard coming from the broken up rubble where Harper-3 was sprawled over. Jane and Garrus turned to him. He was already back on his feet, though his kimono was destroyed from the waist up which exposed his ripped, metallic torso.
Harper brushed the dirt off his shoulders so nonchalantly, then cracked his aching neck cords. "A shame. That kimono was beginning to grow on me."
Both soldiers were shocked. All that punishment and he was still standing. "Are you kidding me? That blow should have severed his neck from his brain!" Jane exclaimed.
"And I blew him up with a grenade at point-blank range and still couldn't kill him." Garrus added. "What the hell has he turned into?"
A laugh escaped Harper's vocal speaker. "I should have expected nothing less from the two of you. You've always been the biggest hindrances in my operations, even now." Despite stating how annoying Jane and Garrus are to him, Harper can't help but smile nostalgically. "Yet, even so, you always left me in awe with your combined combat prowess. Otherwise, how could you have defeated that Reaper/Human Embryo? Was it even necessary for Miranda to be there at all?"
His smile faded, replaced by a doleful frown of disappointment.
"How unfortunate that you've both chosen the wrong side, yet again."
The tone Harper used was lower, more monotone, emotionless. However, Jane merely shrugged her shoulders and rolled her eyes, unintimidated.
"Did he always talk this much?" She whispered to Garrus.
"You have no idea." Was his response. Garrus looked back at Harper fiercely. "The only one who's always picking the wrong side here is you. Illusive Man, Harper-3, whatever you call yourself now. You can try all you'd like, but I'm not going anywhere with you. I know where I stand, asshole."
"Clinging to Shepard like a lost dog? Is that really where you stand, Garrus?" Harper reached into his kimono pocket and pulled out his pipe and matches. He lit the pipe and took a puff from it once again. "She'll leave you again, you know. She always does."
Garrus remained solid as steel. His adversary's words, empty.
"You don't know anything." Garrus growled.
"Neither do you." Smoke seeps from the corners of Harper's mechanical mouth. "Did Shepard ever tell you how she came to possess that gun if hers?"
A brow plate cocked. Was he talking about the Ace of Spades? Jane's pistol? What does that have to do with anything?
If Garrus had to answer that, he recalled that it had great meaning to her personally, though he was not sure as to why. Mostly because he knew that even without her memories, Shepard preferred the feel of an assault rifle, and she would never be caught dead with a gun that looked so cheesy, with extra cheese.
Looking back at Jane, Garrus could see in her eyes, a growing look of… fear?
"What are you talking about?" He asked Harper, who chuckled in humor.
"Ask yourself this as well. You've met the Vanguards for the Titans and Warlocks, but what about the Hunters? Where are they? No! Rather, where is he? Who is he?"
Harper was speaking in riddles. Garrus didn't have time to play games with him.
"He's right there! In the Commander's right hand!"
Wait. What? Garrus turned back to Jane and stared at her pistol. The Hunter Vanguard is a… No, that's not what he means. The gun must have belonged to him. But isn't Zavala supposed to be her boss? Were she and the Hunter Vanguard friends? Is that why Jane carries it? What does this even have to do with anything?
"Yes! Yes! You're started to follow! His name was Cayde-6. Reckless fellow, from what I've heard. Reminds me of Subject Zero, only less psychotic."
"That's enough! Shut your modulator!" Demanded Jane frantically.
She was losing her cool? Why?
"Am I striking something personal, Shepard? Nonono. It's Jane Doe now. Or perhaps… Mrs. Cayde-6?"
Mrs…
What..?
Garrus thought for sure his heart stopped at that moment. He experienced a tightness in his chest so excruciating, he couldn't breathe. It was like he was being co stricter by a thresher maw, crushing his insides before it would swallow him whole. Looking back to Jane, Garrus noticed the fear in her eyes had worsened.
"So you didn't tell him after all, Shepard?" Harper laughed.
Jane's anxiety flashed into rage. She raised her hand cannon and fired.
"SHUT UP!"
Four bullets cut through the air. Harper dodged them all. Jane ejected her cylinder magazine and loaded a new one while spinning the gun in her hand. The Ace of Spades suddenly started emanating an ethereal aura.
*ACE OF SPADES: MEMENTO MORI*
Bringing the hand cannon to her hip, she let loose a storm of lead. Six bullets, they seemed faster now, more powerful. Harper had more difficulty with these ones. Two of them managed to hit him. One crazed the side of his head, the other penetrating his right shoulder. Harper grunted, covering the wound with his hand.
"Keep yapping and I'll make you wish that you folded from the start!"
"Shepard…"
Garrus' voice, heavy with dread, swiped her attention away from her opponent. Jane looked back at him. The look on his face, how he trembled. The turian appeared like he was on the verge of a panic attack.
"What is he talking about?" Garrus painfully asked, gulping.
Jane's own expression softened. She herself was becoming uneasy.
"Were you..? Are you..?"
She wanted to avert her gaze, truly. The guilt was eating away at her. But she couldn't turn away. It wouldn't be right. Garrus deserved to know, but not like this. Not while they were fighting for their lives inside his own head, surrounded by murderous Vex. But even if they weren't, when would that time be? Would she even tell him at all? The expression was to rip off the bandage, quick and painless, but when the bandage is ripped off by someone else?
Jane gulped. She couldn't do this right now. It wasn't fair to him, but they needed to stay on task. "Garrus, listen. He's not down for the count yet. We need to focus." She desperately urged him.
"Jane…" He muttered, voice trembling.
Doe drew closer to him, but Harper interviewed. A metal leg swung at her fast and hard. Jane had to summon her shield to block the kicking attack. In her other hand, the Titan flipped her hand cannon and smashed the butt of the gun onto the dead center of Harper's cranium. This left the ruthless Exo disoriented and off balance.
That gun… Her gun… The gun of… Garrus was holding it in his hands just yesterday. His stomach flipped.
"Then do me a favor and don't lose that gun. It… means a lot to me."
Jane's next move was a charging Shield Bash. She tucked in her shoulder and slammed into Harper with her shield, knocking him away a great distance. Jane turned back to the frozen turian. The gun in her hand was holstered and her shield vanished. She grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him.
"Snap out of it! I need you to keep it together!"
"Is it true?"
Did Garrus even want the answer to that? After everything that's happened to him, now… No… It wasn't true. She wouldn't. She wouldn't! Not after all they…
"Welcome aboard, Garrus."
"We're getting out of here, Garrus! Just hold on!"
"Hell, Garrus, you were always ugly. Slap some face-paint on there and no one will even notice."
"I'm getting a little worried about you, Garrus. You were oretgy hard on Harkin. It's just not line you."
"I don't want something closer to home. I want you. I want someone I can trust."
"I missed you, Garrus. I thought about you a lot."
"You grab the girl and you kiss her like you mean it."
"Who needs a vid when you've got me?"
"Oof, what a night… But look who's here."
"I don't know what I'd do without you…"
"We're a team, Garrus. There's no Shepard without Vakarian So you better be ready to duck."
"I love you, Garrus Vakarian."
Jane choked up. The look in Garrus's eyes. Pain. Anxiety. Anger. Betrayal. Desperation. So many emotions mixed together, even a Hive God would go mad from it all.
"Garrus-"
"IS IT TRUE?!"
She flinched. Garrus shouted at the top of his lungs, fringe standing up erect. Rage was overtaking his sense of control. Jane took a step backward, but could still feel his hot breath crashing into her face through the openings in his nose.
"Jane, above you! Look out!" Screamed Edith.
Looking upward behind her, Harper-3 was in the air with a large Vex weapon in hand. An Aeon Maul. He opened fire with multiple blasts from the Hydra weapon. Jane reacted on pure instinct and threw up a Void dome around them.
*WARD OF DAWN*
The shots hit the barrier and exploded. Jane struggled to keep the dome up as her concentration was thrown off by her other problem with Garrus.
"ANSWER ME!" Demanded the turian, tears now streaming down his eyes.
Jane bit her lip. She couldn't keep the truth from him, not anymore.
Garrus prayed. Prayed to every spirit there was that what Shepard would tell him was not true. It couldn't be!
It was Shepard!
IT WAS HIS SHEPARD!
"No matter what happens here, you know I love you. I always-"
"It's true..."
The world went dead silent. Color faded. The air turned asphyxiating.
…
…
…
…
…
"…I got married."
And just like that… Garrus felt his world crumble around him once again as his heart was ripped from his chest.
Mother of God, this was a big one… So much action that it was tough to really pull it all together, especially when trying to give each member of the cast as much of the spotlight as I can give them without flashbacks.
Cayde: "Speaking of flashbacks, when are you gonna do one of me again, kid? I deserve MY fair share! What, just because I'm dead, I'm invisible?"
You don't get to talk after what you did to Garrus.
Anyway, until my next chapter. Hope you guys are trying to stay positive in these messed up times. Federal election is coming up, here in Canada. So I gotta get that over and done with. I hate politics…
Cayde: "Maybe politics just hate you."
You know, I can make a picture of you as Caiatl's sex slave using AI!
Cayde: "You wouldn't dare! … Ok, fine.
Don't forget to follow Redgrave21 on Bluesky."
https/bsky.app/profile/redgrave21.bsky.social