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Mass Effect: The Helldiver Saga, The Last Cycle	By : Veyron722skyhook Category: +M through R > Mass Effect Views: 6104 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or it's characters. They belong to Bioware and EA. No money/profit is made by me from this.

Chapter List
- 12
- 13
- 14
Few things to note down.

I am back at College now, but because it's my second year now, I don't have to do induction, which means I get another week off.

Now, few things about the chapter.

This is where the original part of the story officially starts. Near the end, you'll start to see things happening differently.

I've also included a few crew conversations in this, including one with Cortez (I read every review I get)

Plus, one of the most significant. You'll finally get a small glimpse of Mirage's husband, that one who is eventually going to become the story's main antagonist...

Chapter 13

The Fire Rises

Once again, Austin and Liara found themselves in the white nothingness.

There was a difference this time though. For some reason, Liara was in her Helldiver armour whereas Austin wasn't.

The Helldiver's confusion only intensified when he saw the mystique figure again. As it stepped closer however, something most unexpected happened. It seemed to change shape, almost mould itself into a new form.

Once it had finished changing, it now had a shape that seemed slightly taller than Austin and definitely wore some sort of armour. It was still only made of white light, so it was impossible to tell what form it had taken, but it definitely wasn't a human figure anymore, only humanoid.

As before, the figure once again reached forward for Austin. This time, Liara stepped in front of her husband defensively.

Surprisingly, the figure stepped down and simply remained stationary.

"I don't think it means us harm, love." Said Austin.

Liara nodded and stood aside, allowing Austin to walk up to the figure.

Once again, the figure reached forward. Just as it was about to touch Austin, everything went completely white.

The two gently woke from their dream again, this time even more confused than ever.

"Why did we both have that dream again?" Austin asked as he gently sat up and worked on getting dressed. Liara still remained under the sheets simply watching her husband with a happy smile.

"I'm not sure. It's certainly not a nightmare, but it's not your average dream either." Said Liara, eventually deciding she should get out of bed too.

As the two worked on getting dressed, here was a sudden knock on the door.

"It's open." Said Austin.

Since the two were mostly dressed and what could be called decent, the Helldiver saw no problem in letting someone in.

The doors opened and Xun stepped in. Although she was wearing her amour, she did have her helmet off.

"Shepard? There's something you need to hear." She said.

"All right."

Xun noticed however that the two were still finishing dressing. She'd seen Shepard without his shirt before and she was never uncomfortable with Asari showing skin. Still, she didn't want to accidently intrude on privacy.

"Oh. Is this a bad time?" she asked.

"It's alright. It's fine." Said Austin as he finished putting a shirt on, despite that it was a bit tight for all his muscles.

"The Salarian councillor has an urgent matter." Said Xun.

"Let me guess. He called the comm room?" Austin asked.

"The Council must be taking the Crucible seriously." Said Liara, finishing putting on her white and blue outfit.

"I'll see you downstairs." Said Xun.

With both the Turians and the Krogan firmly on-board as part of the Reaper Resistance, that also meant that some of them were now fighting alongside the N7 Special Forces. Sarah of course had made no objections to it. They needed all the help they get fighting on the front lines, especially since they were fighting Cerberus forces as well as Husks. There had been rumours that some Geth had been engaged during one of these drops, but this was unconfirmed.

Austin walked into the comm room and Councillor Valern appeared in front of him.

"Major, there is something we should discuss… if you are finished rewriting history." He said.

"I made my decision, Councillor. There's not much anyone can do about it now." Said Austin defensively.

"Yes, we're going to have billions more Krogan in the galaxy. It's a good thing you saved my life once, Shepard. Otherwise… well." Said Valern. "I have concerns about humanity's representative, Councillor Udina. My agents have discovered that he's using his authority to move vast sums of money. For what purpose, we're not sure."

"If Udina's dirty, it's best we get to the bottom of it fast." Said Austin.

"Agreed." Said Valern. "Come to the Citadel. We will review the evidence and discuss this in private. Valern out."

With the Normandy en-route to the Citadel, Austin decided to do what he often did to pass the time, talk to the crew.

First off, he decided to see how Emily was doing. From the looks of things, she'd settled in very well

"Shepard? Got a minute?" she asked.

"What do you want to know?" Austin replied.

Emily's camera swooped around until it was facing Austin. It then started recording.

"You've just implemented a cure for the Genophage. Millions of Krogan will start fighting the Reapers. What do you say to people who think humanity is starting another Rachni-War and Krogan Rebellions?" Emily asked.

"It's easy to remember the worst of Krogan history, but you also need to remember the best." Austin replied.

"Could you elaborate, Shepard?" Emily asked.

"The Krogan were heroes once, and they want to be heroes again. We're giving them that chance." Said Austin.

"Are you aware that Clan Urdnot is already petitioning the Council for an embassy and rights to a colony world?" Emily asked.

Normally Austin wouldn't like this many questions, but in this case he was fine with it. This was Emily after all, not that annoying reporter, Khalisah Al Jilani.

"Of course. The Krogan are coming to the aid of a Council homeworld. Those more than a lot of species can say. I helped them get the Genophage cure. Anything more is between the Council and the Krogan." He said.

"That is well said, Major." Emily smiled. She then turned to her camera. "Until tomorrow, this is Emily Wong. Normandy news."

"Normandy news?" Austin chuckled.

"I had to think of something." Emily shrugged with a smile. "That's not a problem is it?"

"No. I just found the title a bit humorous is all." Austin smiled back. "Catchy as well actually."

"Anyway, I'll cut that together with the rest of the segment and send it to the news for approval." Said Emily.

It occurred to Austin that he hadn't had a talk with Cortez for a long time. They'd talked before when he was first assigned as the new dropship pilot. But since then, Austin hadn't spoken with him.

Now was as good a time as any.

As the Helldiver approached him though, he found him listening to a recording, tears in his eyes.

"I'm coming for you."

"Don't you dare. They're everywhere. You'd just get taken, too."

"I can't just sit here, doing nothing."

"Stay with me."

"Run—get out of there! You can make it!"

"No I can't, Steve. But you can. Promise me. I love you, but I know you. Don't make me an anchor. Promise me, Steve."

"No, don't."

Finally, Cortez noticed that Austin was standing near him. He did his best to wipe the tears from his eyes and sound casual.

"Major. Sorry, didn't see you there. This is a recording from Ferris Fields… months ago." He said. "I lost a lot of friends that day. I lost my husband. I grieved. Said goodbye, made my peace…"

"You were talking to him when the Collectors hit?" Austin asked.

"I was organizing construction at a remote station a few clicks south of the main colony. Robert managed to get outside of the field the Collectors put up. Instead of running, he called me." Cortez sighed.

"I'm sorry for your loss. He obviously cared for you a lot." Said Austin sympathetically. "You may not believe this, but I know what it's like to lose a loved one. Liara and I share feelings."

"He was afraid I wouldn't let go. But for him, I moved on… or at least I thought I had. Then the invasion hits. There's no time. And the one thing I grab is this?" said Steve. "I mean, what's the point of moving on with your life when everything is going to hell?"

"Start thinking that way, and we've already lost." Said Austin

"Yeah. You're right. But, well… to be honest, I've never felt as alone as I do now." Said Cortez.

"You're a welcome part of this crew, Steve. You have friends here. And I'm also happy to listen if you ever want to talk." Said Austin supportingly.

"I appreciate that, Shepard. I really do." Steve smiled. "But, don't worry, Major. When I'm in the pilot seat, I'm there 100%. I won't fail you."

"And I don't think you ever will." Austin smiled.

"Thanks. It's just the down time between missions that's hard, you know?"

"Yeah. I do know."

Austin walked onto the bridge as Joker was trying to get permission to dock at the Citadel.

"Citadel control, this is Normandy SR3, are we cleared to descend?" he asked.

Several long seconds passed with no response whatsoever.

"Citadel control, this is Normandy SR3, were headed to Bay 1-4, Zakera Ward. Are we cleared to descend?" Joker repeated.

Still nothing.

"What the hell's going on down there? Even if there were a station malfunction, they'd have backups online." He asked.

"Something's not right here." Said Austin suspiciously.

"I got a bad feeling here too. Checking emergency channels." Said Joker. "Hey! Yeah, this is Joker. Yeah, no kidding. Major, there's a communication from Thane. He says it's important. Think you'll want to hear this."

"Put him through." Said Austin.

"Shepard, the Citadel is under attack. Cerberus troops are everywhere and they're in control of the docks." Said Thane.

"Are you safe?" Austin asked.

"No, I had to evade their commandos at the hospital. I'm in a Presidium storefront." Thane replied.

"Did Ashley make it out?" Austin quickly asked.

"We got separated. She said she had to protect the Council. I'm going to C-sec headquarters." Thane replied.

"Why C-sec headquarters?" Austin asked.

"It's been compromised and CC-sec's response depends on it. As long as Cerberus is holding the headquarters, they have the station." Thane replied.

"All right. Joker, get us away from the docks and close to C-sec HQ. We'll deploy in the dropship." Said Austin.

"Aye, aye, Major."

As the Hellhound's doors opened, Austin, Griffin, Liara and X-5 found the whole of C-sec essentially swarming with Cerberus. It didn't take long to deal with them though.

With the last one dead, they scanned for survivors. Luckily they found one. Bailey was slumped against the door. He'd been shot, but it didn't look bad. Nothing a little medi gel couldn't fix.

"Shepard. I saw those Cerberus troops on you. I thought you were done for." He said.

"Never underestimate my husband." Liara smiled.

"What are you doing here?" Austin asked.

"Getting my ass shot off trying to retake headquarters. Cerberus took it in the first push. We gotta kick them out of there. Everyone is C-sec's flying blind without the network." Said Bailey.

"Is this the situation everywhere? Are the Councillors even alive?" Griffin asked.

"They split up. I'll know more if I can access a terminal inside." Bailey replied.

"Can you get us in?" said Austin.

"I'll get the door. If no one interrupts me with a bullet this time." Bailey replied.

"Here we go. C-sec network access, courtesy of Cerberus." Said Bailey as he sat down at a nearby desk.

"How's that going to help?" Griffin asked.

"Cerberus has control of the main channels, but I can set up a new one. Without it, our people have no plan and no chance." Said Bailey. "Hello…"

"What have you got?" Austin asked.

"A warning from Councillor Valern. He's supposed to be here, meeting with the executor." "Be on guard-the likelihood of betrayal from within is high…" Not a lot else. But if he's inside…" Bailey replied.

"QUERY: Why would the councillor be meeting with the executor?" X-5 asked.

"Usually it means someone big's about to be prosecuted. I guess that someone had Cerberus friends." Bailey replied.

"RECALLECTION: The councillor mentioned Udina." Said X-5. "CAUTIOUS QUERY: Does he even have this kind of pull?"

"You know who'd have the answer to that? The councillor." Said Bailey.

"The Councillor's in there, surrounded by Cerberus? Who put together that security detail?" Austin asked.

"Well, until an hour ago, this place was as safe as it got. Nobody expected something on this scale." Said Bailey. "We need to find the Councillor and get him out of here. He has got to know more about who's behind this."

"He could be in the executor's office. It's a fairly defensible position." Said Griffin.

"We're on it." Said Austin.

"Just a sec…" said Bailey as he accessed his omni tool. "There. Now we can talk by omni-tool. Go!"

The team made their way through the abandoned Citadel corridors. Lot of bodies, but fortunately no Cerberus soldiers yet.

Within the few minutes, they finally managed to find the executor's office. The executor himself was there, along with the dead bodies of his bodyguards. No sign of Valern though.

"Bailey, looks like they got the executor and two Salarian bodyguards." Said Austin into his comm.

"Damn. All right, keep searching. If you don't see the councillor's body, don't count him out yet." Bailey cursed.

The group surveyed the room for a moment. Griffin even looked out of the window into the next room below. For a moment, the demolition expert was about to turn away when he suddenly spotted something.

From behind a table on the lower level, a cloaked figure came out of hiding. It was Valern.

"I found him." Said Griffin, pointing to Valern.

"Found him. He looks unharmed." Said Austin into the comm.

"Get him somewhere safe!" said Udina.

As soon as Bailey finished however another figure joined the fray. Some sort of Cerberus assassin clad in a black long coat outfit of some kind with a mask over his eyes and with cyborg legs hopped down from the ceiling in front of Valern.

Quickly noticing the danger, Austin smashed right through the window and jumped down to the lower level.

The assassin quickly sensed the Helldiver's presence and flipped over Valern, the clawed feet on his cybernetics clanking heavily on the floor and leaving scratch marks.

"Don't even think about it." Austin warned, aiming his assault rifle.

At the same time, the assassin held up his right hand as it glowed with a charge of some kind. Austin recognized that this was the same sort of thing that Cerberus Phantoms used. It was now that Austin noticed the many tiny knives strapped to the assassin's metal legs and that he also had two medium length swords. One on his side, and another on his back similar to how his own was.

Clearly this guy meant business.

From what Austin could see of his face, he appeared to be Chinese and had black hair. Something about him seemed familiar, but Austin couldn't' quite put his finger on it.

"Shepard. He's going to kill us all." Said Valern.

"That remains to be seen." Said Austin.

"I mean Udina. He's staging a coup. He's got the other councillors now—to hand over to Cerberus." Said Valern quickly.

"Well done for ruining the surprise." Said the assassin bitterly just as Griffin, X-5 and Liara quickly joined Austin.

"Four against one, pal. It's over." Said Austin.

"No. Now it's fun." The assassin smiled.

Another figure suddenly appeared and aimed his gun at the assassin's head. Thane.

The assassin though quickly reacted by pushing the gun arm out of the way quickly. The two opponents fought each other with such speed and skill that it was hard to keep track of them.

Liara quickly seized the opening and made sure to get Valern behind all of them.

The assassin then managed an opening and flung Thane over his shoulder. The Drell quickly rolled back onto his feet though and whirled around, gun at the ready only to see no sign of the assassin.

Everyone looked around hastily trying to catch sight of the assassin.

The assassin then suddenly uncloaked on the other side of the table, drawing on of his six swords. Thane fired several shots at him as he ran around until he was running right at the Drell.

Thane just managed to duck in time as the assassin swung at him. He then used his gun to swat the sword away completely. The assassin lunged again, but Thane was once again able to move out of the way.

Thane then swung two more kicks which knocked the assassin to his knees and was then followed by a biotic push sending him to the far end of the room.

Thane quickly picked up his pistol and reloaded it as the assassin hopped back onto his feet.

The two opponents ran at each other. The assassin attempted a lunge at Thane which he was only just able to avoid. Unfortunately the thrust caught Thane's gun and severed it in two. Before Thane could react in time to this, the assassin delivered a sharp hit to Thane's chest which left him coughing quite severely.

With Thane incapacitated on the floor, the assassin raised his blade ready to finish Thane off. Just before he could though, he suddenly felt something hit his blade so hard that it flew out of his hand. He looked around to see who had done it. Austin had drawn his own sword and had managed to sneak up on him and disarm him.

"Don't make me warn you again." The Helldiver warned, his sword pointing at the assassin's throat.

Despite this though, the assassin remained unfazed. He even smiled a bit.

"I vote for a stay of execution." He said.

His free hand then glowed with biotics and he slammed it into the ground hard. The shockwave threw Austin and the others off their feet as the assassin leapt to the ceiling, his clawed feet attaching to them.

He ran along the ceiling for a few moments before finally dropping back down again, picking up his sword and heading outside. Austin was quick to give chase an fired several shots at him as he jumped over the edge only to then rise up again on top of a car before speeding away. Thane did what he could to shoot at the car, but to no avail.

"You alright?" Austin asked.

"I think so." Thane coughed. "You should go after him and make sure the rest of the Council are safe. I'll see to Valern's safety."

"Got it."

"Shepard? What's going on up there?" Bailey asked.

"Thane's getting the Salarian councillor to safety, and I need to take care of an assassin." Austin replied as he and the others got into a C-sec car.

"He must be going after the rest of the Council." Said Bailey.

"Get the word out-Udina's trying to seize power. We've got to get to the councillors." Austin warned.

"They're being taken to a shuttle pad on the Presidium. Start driving-I'll try to raise them on the comm." Said Bailey.

"I've got a fix on the Council's position. I'm sending it to your car." Said Bailey.

"Good work. We're almost there." Said Austin.

At that very moment however, something suddenly slammed onto the front of their car. The assassin was back.

Austin immediately took out his gun and fired several shots at the assassin as he ran up the windscreen.

"Griffin, take the wheel." Austin ordered as he opened the door to try and get a better shot at the assassin.

"I've never driven one of these in my life." Griffin muttered.

Austin fired several more shots but the assassin threw up a biotic shield which deflected all the blasts. Seeing that this wasn't going to work, Austin climbed out of the car completely and onto the roof, once again drawing Excalibur.

Sensing where this was going, the assassin smiled and got into a battle stance as he drew another one of his five swords.

"Drop the sword or I'll make you." Austin threatened.

"Good luck trying." Smiled the assassin.

The two opponents clashed back and forth on the roof of the car.

The Helldiver had to admit that this assassin, whoever he was, was good. He moved that same speed and skill as a Cerberus Phantom, so much so that it reminded Austin a lot of the Phantom's late leader, Tyranny Azula a.k.a Shadow. It suddenly occurred to Austin that perhaps this assassin was Shadow's replacement.

The assassin then managed to swing a punch which hit Austin's helmet. As the Helldiver spun however he was able to swipe at the assassin, scarring him slightly on the left cheek.

Angered by this the assassin made a step lunge which clashed with Austin's in a blade lock. The Helldiver found he was unable to break free of the lock easily without risking a critical opening.

Using this to his advantage, the assassin used his free hand to grab onto Austin's wrist and he pushed hard, causing both blades to plunge into the roof of the car.

The result of this caused the alert to start beeping and the car began to descend dangerously out of control.

Austin managed to get his right hand free and he delivered a sharp punch to the assassin's face, knocking him back slightly. Just as he did though, he swung one of his cyborg legs which hit Austin's helmet causing him to lose his footing and fall over the edge.

"AUSTIN!" Liara yelled.

Just in time, the Asari was able to activate her biotics and throw Austin back onto the car right back at the assassin. As the Helldiver lunged with another punch though, the assassin flipped over it, pulling his own blade out of the car at the same time.

Another car that was being piloted by a Cerberus Phantom flew ear enough that the assassin was able to grab onto the side with his clawed feet. The car doors opened and the assassin settle into the seat.

Austin quickly slid back into the car and into the driver's seat as the car started plummeting out of control.

"Lock your armour! Now!" he yelled.

Everyone managed to activate the armour lock just in time as the car smashed into a part of the Presidium. Once the car had settled, they all deactivated it.

"Anyone hurt?" Austin asked.

"Only my pride. I never was a good driver." Said Griffin, much to the amusement of the others.

"I'm fine." Said Liara.

"DAMAGE REPORT: 0%" said X-5.

"Come on. We've got a Council to save." Said Austin as he kicked the door of and everyone followed him out.

"Shepard? My instruments say your car's stopped." Said Bailey.

"We're on foot now. Any luck contacting the Council?" Austin asked.

"Negative—their guards are dead. But we've still got vital signs on the Council's transponders." Bailey replied.

"Where are they going?"

"The shuttle pad above Shalmar Plaza. Dina's with them. If he can get them in range of that assassin, it's all over."

"He won't get that chance." Said Griffin.

"We're at Shalmar Plaza. Where's the Council?" Austin asked.

"In an elevator. They're trying to get to the shuttle dock." Said Bailey. "Someone's following them. Someone with a sword."

At that moment, several Cerberus shuttles began dropping troops, including a few Phantoms.

"You handle the soldiers." Said Austin. "I need to make sure that assassin is delayed in reaching the Council."

"You got it." Griffin nodded.

"Be careful, my love." Said Liara telepathically.

"If I need any help, I'll let you know, Liara. I promise." Said Austin.

Austin's timing was most opportune. The assassin was just about to enter an elevator along with several other Phantoms.

Just as the last Phantom got in, Austin timed the shots from his SMG just right and was able to shoot he controls, causing the doors to close early before the assassin could join them.

The assassin slowly turned to face Austin once again.

The two opponents simply stood in silence for a while, neither one daring yet to make the first move.

The assassin then took one of the many small knives from the straps on his leg. This was obviously meant to be an intimidation. Austin however kept his cool and simply reloaded the thermal clip in his SMG. Certain that the assassin would attack first, the Helldiver took a deep breath, his suit making it sound slightly deeper than it was.

Sure enough, the assassin threw several blades form his legs. Despite that they were very small; Austin was easily able to shoot them with a few well-placed shots from the SMG. The reaming shards of what was left of the knives fell harmlessly to the floor.

The assassin threw several more, but they were once again shot down by Austin.

"Hope that's not you only attack, because I can do this all day." Austin thought.

The assassin attempted the throws again, but this time he did them while running. Knife after knife after knife was thrown and then shot to pieces by Austin. As he shot the last one, he then focused fire on the assassin. He was quick to react to this though and flipped off the wall to avoid Austin's incoming fire as he continued running at his opponent. Once he was close enough, he then used one leg to push himself away from the wall and used the force of it to kick Austin with the other, causing the Helldiver to drop his SMG.

Dodging under a punch, Austin drew Excalibur. The assassin quickly caught on and drew his own blade. Once again, the two opponents fought back and forth in front of the elevators, occasional sparks flying from their swords.

Austin moved to avoid a lunge from the assassin and used the opening to kick him in the back, forcing him against a closed door. As Austin tried to thrust, the assassin moved to side as Excalibur carved through the door.

Austin was just able to duck in time to avoid the assassins own sword as he attempted to backstab him in the head as he pulled Excalibur out.

The assassin used his wrists to block Austin's few strikes before then pulling his sword out of the door as well, slamming it into Austin's helmet as he did so. Austin quickly followed this with a punch form his free hand which ended up smashing through a pillar.

He then parried several more of the assassin's attacks before using a sidekick which forced the assassin back. As he hit the wall though, he launched his own kick which did the same to Austin.

The Helldiver followed with a lunge which the assassin pinned with his arms. Using his strength, which was clearly enhanced with indoctrinated Reaper tech, he smashed Austin against the wall before the Helldiver managed to do the same back.

As the assassin was forced against the wall however, he used this to his advantage. Using the strength of his cyborg feet, he pushed hard against the wall and essentially jumped away from it, his knee kicking both their weapons out of their hands.

Just as the two were steady gain, Austin delivered a swift punch to the assassin's face, knocking him back slightly.

He quickly returned with a jump kick that Austin was able to avoid. The assassin tried a punch swing, but Austin ducked under that one, following it with a haymaker. As the assassin blocked it though, Austin used this ability to grab on.

The two opponents wrestled with one another, trying to overpower the other. Although Austin was much stronger, the assassin still seemed to be able to push him hard against the wall. His hands then closed around Austin's neck, which wasn't as well armoured as the rest of him. Clearly this assassin knew some of things that Shadow had known in her time as well.

The grip tightened and he found it much harder to breath, even with him trying to push the assassin off. Acting desperately, he brought his elbow right into the assassins' face. To his relief, it worked. The assassin staggered back and fell to his knees, very dazed from the blow.

The two adversaries remained where they were for a moment, one trying to recover from his blurred vision, the other coughing slightly and getting his breath back.

The assassin wiped the blood from his mouth and got back up. Austin also readied for another fight.

The assassin lunged first with a kick that Austin was able to block with his arm, which he then returned with a punch, but the assassin blocked that with his arm. Austin reacted first though and swung another punch with his other arm, hitting the assassin in the head and causing him to stagger back.

Before they could continue their fight however, a sudden plasma shot sent a Cerberus shuttle spinning out of control and it headed right at them.

The shuttle ended up crashing right between them, the wreckage and debris forming a wall, separating the two.

"Damn." Austin cursed. "Well, at least I delayed him."

"Austin, are you alright?" Liara asked as she and others joined him, having dealt with the rest of Cerberus.

"Nothing I can't handle." Austin replied is he picked Excalibur up and sheathed it.

At the same time, the elevator door next to them opened.

"Got a ride for you, Shepard. Grab an elevator!" said Bailey.

"Thanks."

The door that had opened led into the elevator shafts rather than the elevator itself, but it would do.

"Okay. We're in the shaft." Said Austin into his comm.

"Heehee. You said "shaft." Liara giggled telepathically.

"Not now, darling." Austin chuckled in his mind. Admittedly, he did still find that funny.

"Hang on, this'll be a fast climb." Said Bailey.

"Tell me that assassin hasn't reached the Council." Said Austin.

"He's trying, but I'm making his elevator stop on every floor." Said Bailey.

"APPROVAL: That should give us the advantage." Said X-5.

After some time of the elevator climbing, they soon caught sight of the one the assassin had managed to get.

"We've found our friend." Said Austin.

"Kill his elevator! There's a power conduit beneath it!" Bailey advised.

Sure enough, they caught sight of the power conduits.

Austin quickly activated his plasma cannon and fired. The power conduits exploded and they lost sight of the other elevator as theirs sped past it.

"God speech, you bastard." Said Griffin.

"Funnily enough, I was going to say something similar." Said Austin.

"WARNING: Incoming phantoms." X-5 advised as another elevator caught up to them.

Griffin quickly took an IME from his belt, whirled it several times, then threw it. The device attached itself to the bottom of the elevator then exploded. They lost sight of the Phantoms before they even got a chance to jump on.

"Good throw, Griff." Said Austin.

"I have my moments." Griffin smiled.

"Shepard! Bad news." Said Bailey.

"Is there any other kind?" Austin asked sarcastically.

"That hit man jumped to another elevator, and he's overridden my controls." Said Bailey. "He's on his way up. I can't stop him."

"We'll handle it." Said Austin.

"Here they come!" said Liara as the other elevator approached. This time X-5 shot the power conduits.

Not long after, they caught sight of another elevator on their left. This time though, they knew it was the one that Council was in.

"Shepard?"

"I see them. Jump!"

They all jumped and landed on the roof with a thump. Several shots burst through it and they had to move to avoid them clearly they'd startled Ashley, assuming she was still guarding them.

The elevator finally stopped and they dropped down into it. As they hurried outside, they found the Council gathered at a destroyed shuttle. Udina and Ashley were with them.

"Cerberus took out the shuttle. Everyone back to the elevator! Move!" said Ashley as she turned around. When she saw Austin and the others, she seemed to relax.

"Shepard. Thank god you're here." She smiled.

"Shepard's blocking our escape! He's with Cerberus!" said Udina.

"The hell he is!" said Ashley, refusing to believe that. She knew better than to doubt Austin again. "He'd sooner die again than work for them. He proved that two years ago."

"Udina's behind this attack. The Salarian councillor confirmed it." Said Austin.

"Wait, what? Udina's responsible?" Ashley asked, almost in disbelief.

"Please. You don't have proof. You never do." Said Udina.

"Austin, this is a very serious accusation." Said Ashley. "Don't do anything rash."

"Ashley, we wouldn't do this if we weren't sure. I promise you, we're telling you the truth." Said Griffin.

"We don't have time to debate this. We're dead if we stay out here. I'm overriding the lock." Said Udina.

The Councillor went over to the control panel for the door that they sealed behind them, but before he could work on accessing it, Austin shot it.

"There are Cerberus troops behind that door. I'm not letting you hand the Council over to them." He said.

"Williams, I order you to shoot him!" said Udina.

"No." Ashley replied, turning to face Udina and raising her gun. "Step away from that console, Udina."

"Put the gun down, Williams. That's an order!" Udina yelled.

"Don't know if you heard, but I refused your offer. I take orders from my friend, not from a traitor like you." Said Ashley.

"To hell with you!" Udina yelled as he whipped out a gun and fired at Ashley.

The shot hit the Alliance soldier and she fell to the ground.

For Griffin… that sent him over the edge. Fuelled by anger, the demolition expert charged at Udina. Despite the politician firing a few shots, they simply bounced off his armour.

Griffin tackled Udina to the floor and slammed his large gauntlet several times into his face. Blood began to pour from Udina's head as Griffin practically beat the crap out of him. His arms flayed wildly from the pain until they finally seemed to go limp.

Despite that Udina was clearly dead now though, Griffin still kept punching, the pain of Ashley being shot fuelling his rage and anger.

"I'LL KILL YOU FOR THAT!" he yelled.

Eventually Austin finally intervened. He grabbed Griffin's arm and pulled as hard as he could. It was a real challenge since Griffin was Alpha's biggest and strongest human.

"Griffin, stop! He's already dead!" he said, trying to calm Griffin down.

"This piece of shit killed her!" Griffin yelled.

"She's alright. Her shields took the most of it and it hit her in the shoulder. It's a flesh wound at worst." Said Austin.

Griffin looked back at Ashley and the others. Sure enough, she was alive and was having her shoulder wound treated with medigel.

The demolition expert quickly shrug Austin's hand off and hugged Ashley tightly.

"Don't scare me like that." He said.

"It's okay, Griff. It's okay." Said Ashley calmly.

Griffin gently let Ashley go and stood up to face Austin.

"Sorry I lost control a bit there." He said. "Think I made a bit of a mess."

"You did." Austin nodded. "Although to be honest it was quite satisfying watching you do that."

"Felt satisfying too." Griffin smiled, banging his fist into his palm.

"You okay?" Austin asked as he helped Ashley up.

"Yeah. I think so." Ashley winced slightly as she stood up.

"The door!" said Sparatus.

Sure enough, the door was slowly being cut open.

"Griffin, protect Ash!" said Austin as he and the other readied for a fight.

When the door opened however, someone rather unexpected came out.

"Bailey?"

"Made it as fast we could, Shepard. Looks like you, uh… took care of things." Said Bailey.

The C-sec captain was accompanied by another office.

"Something's not right. You said Cerberus was targeting us—where did their soldiers go?" Tevos asked.

"Cerberus was right here, but they beat their feet into the keeper tunnels when they figured out you were coming." Said Bailey. "Sorry, Councillor. I'll say it plain. Shepard just saved the lot of you."

"Then you have saved my life twice now, Shepard. I owe you a personal debt and one on behalf of Palaven." Said Sparatus.

"Too bad it took all this to get you on-board." Said Austin.

"We will not make that same mistake again." Said Tevos.

"Major. Do you have any idea why the Illusive Man would do this?" Sparatus asked.

"It was a secondary objective." Bailey answered.

"What?"

"This whole coup has been a distraction and the assassination of the Council was a secondary objective. All along there were after this, and they got it." Said Bailey as he activated his omni tool which displayed a holo of the crucible.

"Oh no." said Sparatus.

"How can they be after the Crucible? We're still building it and we've kept it hidden." Austin asked, slightly confused.

"They weren't' after the crucible specifically. They were after the designs. A copy of them was being kept here so the Council could work out the components and engineers they would need for it. Now they're gone. There's no other explanation other than that Cerberus stole them." Bailey explained, much to Austin's' horror.

"This isn't good."

The Illusive Man sat in his usual spot, the view of a massive blue and red star in the background. One of his many screens then beeped and he activated it to display the face of the assassin.

"Yes."

"Secondary objective was a failure. The Council's still in control of the Citadel, and Udina's dead." Said the assassin.

"Udina was expendable. Besides, it's the plans we were after." Said the Illusive Man calmly.

"Then you'll be pleased to know that I have them." Said the assassin proudly.

"Well done. Our… clients will be most pleased." The illusive man smiled.

"Are you sure they can be trusted?" the assassin asked.

"It's not in my position to question them. Besides, without them, none of this would be possible." The illusive man replied. "Regardless, the coup did its job. The Council surviving is a setback, but it won't matter once we have a new army in our command." I'm surprised you let Shepard get the better of you though, Leng."

"It won't happen again." Said Leng bitterly. "Next time I'll drive his own sword through his heart."

"We'll see." Said the Illusive Man as he ended the call.

The whole room then suddenly darkened and he once again felt that familiar presence.

"What is it this time?" he asked irritably. For a moment, there was no reply.

"Mirage?"

"Not exactly."

The Illusive Man froze and he nearly felt his heart stop. A hologram of two massive green eyes, similar to Mirage's, appeared in front of him.

This however wasn't Mirage. This was someone much worse. This was her husband, the one she had threatened the Illusive Man with during their last meeting.

The Illusive Man could not deny the fear and nervousness that he was feeling right now as he heard the deep snarling voice of The General as he had ordered to be called due to the secrecy of his kind. Unlike Mirage, who the Illusive Man had no respect for, he feared The General more than anything else. If other people knew what he knew about these mysterious figures, they would feel the same.

"I'm sorry, sir. I thought you were… Please accept my apologies." Said the Illusive Man hastily.

"Am I disturbing you?" the General asked.

"No. Not at all. In fact your timing is perfect. I have good news. The coup served its purpose, and we have managed to acquire of copy of the plans." Said the Illusive Man, trying to sound bit calmly and also hopping this news would make the General happy.

"Excellent. Mirage always had her doubts about you, but I knew my faith in you was justified. You have done well." Said the General. He did sound pleased despite the snarl in his voice

"I have already uploaded the plans to my engineers and scientists. They will begin construction immediately."

"Good. See to it that they work to their limits. No doubt the Helldivers will eventually discover that the plans have been stolen and they will attempt to get them back from you."

"They will not find us easily, General. That I can promise you. And even if they do eventually track us down, it will already be too late by then."

"I hope you keep your promises. I would hate to let my wife give in to her… primal instincts. She does so enjoy the taste of human flesh and blood, you know."

This made the Illusive Man shiver slightly. He did sometimes forget that Mirage suffered from a carnivorous condition which her kind called Menseneter. This condition was in a way like cannibalism, but Mirage was definitely not that. She would gladly eat any organic species, but she would never eat her own.

"I… I understand, sir. I swear that the Liberator will be complete as quickly as possible. I admit though it won't be easy. With this war on, supplies are getting strained and prices are increasing." Said the Illusive Man.

At this statement, the eyes seemed to narrow and they took on a more angry look as they edged closer toward him.

"Money is of no importance! And you would be wise to remember that, for the sake of yourself, and your entire race." He snarled warningly.

"I… I meant no disrespect, sir." The Illusive Man stuttered.

"This is your last chance to prove yourself to me. We are at a crucial part of our plan at this time. Fail now and the consequences will be… severe." The General warned.

"I… understand, General. I'll… I'll see to it personally." Said the Illusive Man, bowing gently bowing his head trying his best to stop shaking.

"I will be among you soon."

The eyes faded and everything returned to normal, leaving just the Illusive Man on his own.

"We looked over every centimetre of those tunnels, Shepard. Your Cerberus pal is made out of smoke and mirrors." Said Bailey.

With Cerberus cleared out of the Citadel, things were no returning to normal and rebuilding of what had been damaged was underway.

"These are tunnels, right? Just one exit and one entrance?" Austin asked.

"No, that keeper tunnel from the elevator lobby led into the superstructure. Once you're in there, the place is like an ant farm. We can't even get an ID on him. He released a VI into the Citadel's system that erased footage of him wherever he went. That how he stole the designs without us knowing until it was too late. I guess he didn't trust that Udina's plan would come together. That reminds me—your friend Thane was taken back to your ship and is in your med bay. I'm told he's being given the very best to recover." Said Bailey.

"Thanks, Bailey." Said Austin gratefully.

"Oh, and you can tell him the Salarian councillor says he's a hero."

As Austin was about to walk back to the Normandy, he found Ashley waiting for him at the docking bay.

"Austin… we need to talk before you ship out." She said. "Things got pretty crazy. I'm trying to go over everything in my head."

"Last time you doubted me, you almost got killed. I'm glad to see at least it wasn't the case that time." Said Austin.

"You know how it is. Too much at stake if I made a mistake."

"It almost meant blowing my head off, but you were willing to die for what you though was right. We'll need that in the war to come."

"I'd rather be shooting the bad guys than my friend though."

"Same. We stopped Udina and got to walk away. That's the important part."

"I can't' believe he was responsible for all of it. Was he indoctrinated?"

"Hard to say."

"How do we fight something that can worm its way into your head?"

"I don't' know, but we don't have a choice."

"No, we don't. I also wanted to tell you Hackett offered me a position on his team."

"Congratulations, I guess?" said Austin, slightly disappointed at this. He had hope that Ashley would be able to re-join the crew at last. "With all of Hackett's resources, you can do a lot of good."

"I can, but…" said Ashley hesitantly.

"Something wrong?" Austin asked.

"I'd prefer to ride this out on the Normandy." Ashley replied with a slightly hopeful smile.

"I hoped you would say that." Austin smiled under his helmet. "Griffin wouldn't have been happy if you'd chosen otherwise."

"Exactly. I could never leave him, or you and the others." Said Ashley.

"Welcome back, Ash." Said Austin as he and Ashley shook hands.

"Glad to be here, Major."

Austin felt it best to debriefed first before he then went about his business. This time Hackett, Zartrack, Anderson and Matt were all there.

"Shepard, we've got Anderson and Hackett patched in. We were just getting them up to speed." Said Zartrack.

"Udina… That SOB was always power hungry, but this…" said Anderson.

"He wasn't in charge. Cerberus was just using him to take control of the Citadel." Said Austin.

"What the hell for?" Matt asked.

"It was all a distraction. Their real mission all along was to steal plans for the Crucible. Unfortunately, he realised that only too late." Austin explained.

"That isn't good. No doubt he still foolishly believes he can control the Reapers." Said Matt.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he's already started." Said Zartrack.

"At least the council was saved. If they hadn't, it could've been a whole lot worse." Said Hackett. "Shepard stopped the assassination attempt on Councillor Valern."

"Who'd they send?" Anderson asked.

"Chinese guy. Carried a sword and had cybernetic legs." Austin replied.

"Kai Leng…"

"You know him?" Austin asked.

"Kahlee and I had our share of run-ins with him. I shot him in both legs once. Thought that might be the end of him, but he showed up again on Omega even stronger with those new ones he now has." Said Anderson.

"I'm guessing the Illusive Man patched him up?" Austin asked.

"That'd be my guess. It's a safe bet Leng's even more dangerous now." Said Anderson.

"I don't care who he is. Next time we meet, he dies." Said Austin bitterly.

"Certainly Cerberus' attempts have had one unintended side effect that works to our advantage. I received word from the Asari councillor. They're requesting an update on our Crucible." Said Hackett.

"Leng has them scared. Enough to send help?" Anderson asked.

"Yes, the Asari and Salarians are both throwing in their support for the resistance now. Day by day, our army is growing stronger. The tide is definitely turning." Said Matt.

"How is our progress on the Crucible anyway?" Austin asked.

"Good. Our estimates suggest that we've completed nearly 50 percent of the known work." Zartrack replied.

"So quickly?" Austin asked in surprise.

"Once decoded, the schematic are designed in such a way that allows our scientists to easily translate the information. It's not Prothean specific." Said Hackett.

"Some scientists have even been having theory's that the crucible is older even than the Protheans." Said Matt.

"Are we any closer to understanding how to use it though? That's what's important." Anderson asked.

"That's still open for debate. Utilized in the right fashion, our scientists are convinced it can generate enough energy to destroy the Reapers. The question is, how will it disperse the energy, and in what form?" said Zartrack.

"You mean, how do you stop it from wiping us all out?" Anderson asked.

"Exactly." Said Hackett.

"We already have a few salvaged Reaper parts from Sovereign that we've kept in containment fields and we keep getting new samples and information all the time now from our forces out in the field. Even the N7 Special Forces are providing us with new things to study. We're using that to try and refine the Crucible to only target pure Reaper technology so that it won't count your own, which is derived from Reaper tech." said Matt.

"What about yours?" Hackett asked.

"Helldiver and Arkane tech is different to yours." Said Zartrack. "Nevertheless, we are making sure that it counts ours as friendly.

"A good plan. If it isn't refined, it could destroy us as well." Said Anderson.

"Which is why this is all the more important. We also believe the catalyst is the key to completing that refinement." Said Hackett.

"We're still working on that." Said Austin.

"You'll find the answers, Shepard." Said Anderson.

"We'll send you an update on the schematics, and in the meantime, we'll keep building." Said Hackett.

"And we'll keep fighting." Said Anderson.

"We'll be sending a small army to Earth soon, Anderson. That should be able to help keep Earth secured until the Resistance is ready." Said Matt.

"There's still the matter of Cerberus though." Said Hackett.

"Even if the Illusive Man does somehow manage to control the Reapers, I doubt that will end the war. Chances are he will just use them to destroy us and any other enemies who oppose Cerberus." Said Matt.

"I agree. They've interfered in this for the last time. We need to either steal the plans back, or eradicate them completely. I just got out of speaking with the Arkane Council, and they have all agreed that Cerberus needs to be taken out of the picture for good. Otherwise we'll have two wars on our hands." Said Zartrack.

"We've been fighting them for years and we've never found them." Said Austin.

"Only because we've been happy to cut off the tumours, but have failed to treat the source till now." Said Zartrack.

"Get Xun to look for anything that might suggest where their main base is. We'll also try to see if some of our spies can dig something up." Said Matt.

Austin headed into the war room. Everyone was already waiting for him.

"We heard everything. We're taking the fight to Cerberus?" Alaara asked.

"They've interfered for the last time." Said Austin.

"But where do we start?" Leena asked.

"I don't know. Even EDI doesn't know where they are. The Illusive Man's been very clever at covering his tracks." Said Austin.

"Um… Well, there is something?" said Traynor.

"Let's hear it, Sam." Said Sarah.

"Sandra and I were just able to track the vessel Kai Leng left on through the relay and extrapolate his destination." Said Samantha, activating her omni tool and projecting the course on the galaxy map.

"But the signal disappeared in the lera system." She finished.

"Naturally…" said Liara.

"It's not just gone though. The signal is being actively blocked." Said Traynor.

"How?" Xun asked.

"I'm not sure, but something is interfering with all signal activity in that region of space." Said Traynor.

"Major, the lera system is home to Sanctuary and little else. Sanctuary is a supposed safe haven for war refugees." Said EDI.

"You two think it's worth checking out?" Austin asked.

"Yes, sir. We do." Said Sandra.

"If Specialist Traynor and Lieutenant Whryte hadn't examined the data so astutely, the interference would've been undetectable." Said EDI.

"Nice work, both of you. You've given use a shot. Now let's make sure we don't' waste it." "I don't care how slim the leads are at this point. Cerberus has been a thorn in our side for too long. They'll either surrender to us peacefully, or we wipe them out. All of them." Said Austin.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side, Major." Said Jet.

"Dismissed. We've got a terrorist organization to end." Said Austin.

Austin quickly headed to the med bay. Rana was there to greet him.

"Shepard." She said.

"How's he been?" Austin asked, prepared for the worst.

"There was no significant damage, but the blow he received did have some consequences." Said Rana.

"What kind?"

"The anti-Helldiver enhanced strength that Kai Leng used against him didn't break anything but it still caused a lot of trauma to his heart, which still makes it difficult for his blood to carry oxygen."

"I see."

"Fortunately, because the Drell are in the Helldivers, we have access to a good supply of Drell blood, so we've been able to stabilize his condition. He'll survive, but in this state he won't be able to fight. The risks to his health are too great."

"But he'll survive?" Austin asked.

"Yes. That is a definite. The only downside is he won't recover for a while. Even if he received a cure for Kepral Syndrome right now, it'll still take a long time. He'll need to be like this for several months, a year at most." Said Rana.

"Time he probably doesn't have." Austin sighed. "Do what you can to make him comfortable. He should at least have that much."

Thane was laid comfortably on one of the med beds. He had a few tubes connected to his arm to keep him supplied with the extra blood and he was also wearing a mask. Austin had been told that this was supplying him with some extremely dry air so as help his condition out a bit more. Sat next to him was son, Kolyat.

"Major Shepard. I don't' know if you remember me. I'm Kolyat Krios. I came to donate blood and… well…" he said as Austin approached.

"He helped me save a lot of lives. We owe him a lot." Said Austin.

Thane gently turned to look at Austin.

"Shepard. I'm afraid I won't be able to fight beside you again it seems." HE SAID.

"You've done more than enough, Thane." Said Austin, gently patting the Drell's shoulder.

"That assassin should be embarrassed. A terminally ill Drell managed to stop him from reaching his target." Thane chuckled slightly. His voice still sounded a bit weak, despite all the medical care and extra blood he'd refused.

"I'll pass the word along." Austin smiled. "You should get some rest. You've been given a bit more time. Don't think of this as your death bed."

"Your optimism is appreciated, Shepard. Thank you." Thane smiled.

"We have room if you want to stay, Kolyat." Said Austin.

"Thank you, Major." Said Kolyat.

It had been a rough day so Austin felt it best to retire to his quarters.

As the last piece of his armour detached and settled back onto the display, Liara then entered and hugged her bond mate from behind.

"You alright?" she asked.

"Yeah. Just tired." Austin yawned slightly.

"Come to bed. You feel stressed as well." Said Liar as she massaged her husband's shoulders. At the same time her biotics worked on undoing his jacket. "I know a good way to make you relax."

"What would I do without you, Liara?" Austin smiled.

"Just get on that bed before I make you." Liara smiled as she pulled Austin's jacket off.

Austin complied and settled onto the bed. To his delight, Liara then used her biotics to gently remove all her clothes until she had nothing on, her beautiful blue skin glowing in the dimmed lights.

The Asari slowly crawled up the bed, gently planting kisses as she went moving up the legs, up the midsection until she paused a bit on the chest.

"Hmm, you look a bit bigger than usual." She said.

"Are you saying I'm getting fat?" Austin chuckled.

"No. I meant you look a bit more muscular." Liara smiled.

"I've been doing some time in the gym with Griffin. Believe it or not, that guy's actually a pretty good trainer." Said Austin.

"Seems to have worked well." Said Liara as she finally reached the top and the two started kissing.

"I love you." Said Austin as he wrapped his strong arms around Liara.

"I love you too." Said Liara.

I can guess that you're left with quite a few questions now.

Bet you're also wondering what's gonna happen when Cerberus are taken down so quickly. Fear not, the answers are only two chapters away.

As you've probably guessed, the next chapter will be Horizon, so Miranda fans will be pleased to know that she's joining the crew after that. (And don't worry, Shepard will warn her about Leng at the beginning of the next chapter. The Alliance resources talk I don't think is necessary)

We'll also meet a new face in the chapter as well who'll be joining the team. He's a new character who was idea of a friend of mine.

Plenty to look forward to...

See ya!
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Mass Effect: The Helldiver Saga, The Last Cycle