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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
- 15
- 16
- 17
Man, has this one been fun to write! :)

I don't really know what to say...

ENJOY! :)

Chapter 16

The Rise of the Takaal

"Why? I did everything you wanted." the Illusive Man coughed as he clutched his now seriously bleeding wound.

Alpha Squad immediately raised their weapons, but the General simply flicked his hand in their direction.

Another barrier was once again thrown up, this time green and much stronger. Only Austin was on the other side, so he was now separated form his friends.

"Indeed. You clearly demonstrated that you, like so many before you are weak to the taint of indoctrination." said the General turning his back to the Illusive Man and looking out at the massive red and blue star that the station orbited.

"You said I could replace you, that this was... our vision." said the Illusive Man weakly.

"And you failed to see it through."

"But..."

"When you came to me saying that you could control the Reapers, I gave you this chance to prove your worth, providing you with limitless resources for your plan." said the General. "I will admit, you came close. Closer than any have ever done... but you have still failed me."

"Please, master. I'm so close. Just give me more time." the Illusive Man begged.

"Too late. I don't give second chances." said the General. "Besides, it never would have truly worked."

"What?!"

"Even if you had succeeded, even if you had completed the liberator, you could never have controlled the Reapers. They control you."

"But... you assured me I would be safe." said the Illusive Man. "You said I was strong enough to resist their control."

"I lied." said the General. "And I wouldn't have let you take control either. You don't' honestly think I would let someone as weak minded, feeble and selfish as you gain control of my masters?"

"Your... masters?"

"My race and I serve the Reapers." said the General.

It was now noticeable that etched onto the front of the General's battle dress were several lines that formed the unmistakable figure of a Reaper.

"Then why did you help me in the first place? What was the point of deceiving me?" the Illusive man asked, his face starting to go pale, and his mouth and wound leaking even more blood.

"A test." The General replied. "One to prove if your cycle was worthy of the gift of accession."

"Please... just give me another chance. If it hadn't been for those Helldivers..." the Illusive Man tried to say, but he was suddenly cut off as an invisible force suddenly hauled him up into the air.

Skarlack's eyes were glowing slightly brighter than usual and he had his hand up as if he was holding something invisible up. It was like biotics, but at the same time this was definitely not biopics. Whatever powers the General was using, they were something very different.

"Enough. I only like to hear strong men beg." he said. "You have served us well, little snake, but you have outlived your usefulness."

The generals hand slowly closed into a face and faint buzzing that had been going on the background intensified. The Illusive Man desperately tried to move, but to no avail. His head suddenly gave a sharp turn and there was a loud snap. His neck had been broken.

The General's eyes stopped glowing and he dropped his hand, causing the Illusive Man's dead body to fall to the floor.

"Harsh, but he deserved it." said Garrus.

The Genera's head suddenly whipped round and looked at them.

"Ah. I'd almost forgotten that you were there." he smiled evilly. "So, the great Major Shepard. We meet at last. The Illusive Man told me much about you. Many of those stories hardly do you justice."

"I would say I'm flattered, but that wouldn't be true." said Austin. "Who and what the hell are you?"

"A remnant from a time long passed." the General replied, almost sounding like he was speaking in riddles. "One that has seen things since they began. When your race withers and dies, I shall endure."

"I take it your name isn't simply General, as the Illusive Man put it?" Austin asked, still on guard in case this alien tried anything.

"Correct." the General replied. "While I am indeed a General, that is not my true name. The Illusive Man was simply under orders to never use my true name. A simple precaution to preserve the secrecy of my people until the time came. The use of my rank as a smokescreen to conceal my true identity. My name is Skarlack."

"So you're an indoctrinated servant of the Reapers too?" said Austin.

"You are very wrong, Shepard." said Skarlack. "The Reapers accept my kind as their willing servants, they do not need to indoctrinate us. Besides, we are different from other species. Our minds are different."

"You're lying." said Austin. "The Reapers would never accept an organic as a willing servant."

"Indeed. But I am not organic." said Skarlack.

"Well you're definitely not a machine either." said Austin, starting to become confused.

"I am neither. I am better."

"In what way?"

"Every way. You see my markings, do you not? It is a simple fusion of organic and machine. We call it... synthesis." said Skarlack.

"He is not lying Shepard. My scans show that he has an organic weave that is completely merged with machine without any alterations." said EDI.

"Smart AI." said Skarlack. "The relationship is symbiotic. Organic and machine intertwined in a single glorious existence. The strengths of both, the weakness of neither. My race and I are the future. The pinnacle of evolution for all life in this galaxy."

"And yet you squander such gift by using it to serve the Reapers?" said Austin.

"Squander? Is that what you think this is?" said Skarlack, not showing any signs of anger at Austin's' earlier statement.

"You see, we offer this gift of ascendance to others. For more than 65 million of your Earth years, we have been present at each cycle."

"That's not possible. There's no way you could've been at every cycle. It's impossible." said Liara.

"My race and I are immortal." said Skarlack. "Ageing by time is a concept that does not apply to us. Like our masters, we endure."

"Is that what the cycles are to you? Tests to judge whether a species is worthy of your gift?!" Austin asked, appalled by what he was hearing.

"Precisely." Skarlack replied. "You see, the Protheans are not the true creators of the crucible. We are. In each cycle, the races that are left in their darkest hour are given the inspiration to make a weapon that has the potential to destroy our masters."

"Let me guess. No cycle has ever managed it." Austin asked.

"They were weak. Running out of time and begin harvested before they could complete It." said Skarlack. "But yours and the last one were different."

"How?"

"The Protheans came closer than any cycle before them, but they still fell. Somehow though, they had a copy of the plans for you to find, something that we have never allowed. Your construction was early." said Skarlack.

"Then why help the Illusive Man build his own?"

"He seemed so sure of himself. The fool." Skarlack replied. "He did impress me though. He came so close. He may very well have succeeded without your intervention."

Skarlack's tone then seemed to change. He sounded now like he was offering something.

"But seeing all this... the things you alone have managed to do, Shepard. All simply in the name of unification, you have cured a disease, fought and killed two Reapers, and now all this." he said. "You've impressed us. It is clear to me now that your cycle is very different. You have already proved much, and so, for the first time in 65 million years, I offer you the choice to end this war now. Reach the next stage of your evolution."

"How would becoming like you stop the war?"

"The Reapers only target organics. Hence why they allow us to serve them. Think about, Shepard. Don't you want an end to all this? The safety of your friends and loved ones? It seems like an easy choice doesn't it?"

"No." Austin replied.

Skarlack was immensely surprised by this. Shepard was refusing? Unexpected.

"You would turn down a quick way to stop this war?" he asked.

"You're asking me to destroy the very thing that makes us who we are. The very thing that defines. I cannot make that choice. I will not!" said Austin defiantly. "And I won't let you force it on us either."

"Defiant to the end. You truly do live up to your legend, Shepard." said Skarlack. He then reached forward in the same way he'd done earlier when he'd broken the Illusive Man's neck. Nothing happened.

Once again Austin heard the voices in this head. This time he could even hear a faint buzzing. Once again though, he was in control. Focusing on now, he was able to keep the voices at a quiet level.

"Hmmm. I thought the Illusive Man's implants were simply failing." said Skarlack, surprised. "So it's true. You are immune to indoctrination."

"Guess that tells you I'm not be trifled with." Austin said warningly.

Skarlack though wasn't intimidated by this. Even Austin did admit that he felt it unlikely for Skarlack to be made nervous by him, even if he couldn't control him.

"Humans truly are a fascinating race. Even now you are defiant, in the presence of a god and in the face of annihilation. It is unwise to stand against us, Shepard. Imagine what fate awaits my enemies when I would gladly kill any of my own men for victory." he said.

"And I would die for any one of mine." said Austin.

"You Helldivers think pride in your logic. I suggest you employ It." said Skarlack. "Consider the fate of your homes. The planets and land you so vigorously desire. They can turn to ash at the Reapers will. Consider the fate of your wife."

Austin suddenly froze when Skarlack mention that and he cast a glance at Liara.

"Oh yes. Synthesis allows me to see much." said Skarlack. "Can you live with yourself knowing you will condemn her to death? Can you really be so naive to hold on to your humanity that you would doom your future with her? Deny the possibility of your so called, little blue children?"

For Austin, that seemed to spark something inside him. Liara nodded to Austin and he turned back to Skarlack.

"We will not let fear compromise who we are. The answer is no, Skarlack." he said.

"Then that is your final answer?" Skarlack asked.

"It is."

To everyone surprise, Skarlack did not lash out or anything like that. He simply smiled and gave a small laugh. He then cast his hand at the star.

To everyone's surprise a huge green bolt of lightning suddenly trust front he star and struck Skarlack's hands. There was a bright flash that temporally blinded everyone. When it cleared, a most shocking sight befell their eyes. Skarlack had somehow absorbed some of the star's power. His synths markings and eyes now glowed brighter than before and he seemed to occasionally fizz with small amounts of energy.

Most shocking of all though was the star. No longer was it its traditional blue and red colours. Now... it was bright glowing green. Skarlack's mouth curled into an evil smile as he stood before his unnerved opponents.

"Now... only one of us will leave this place alive." he said.

"We'll see about that." said Austin as he drew his sword.

With the barrier still up, it was just the two of them. For now, the two simply circled one another.

"You're signing your own death wish, Shepard. As you see, my synthesis powers are far beyond anything you have. Now, back down." said Skarlack.

He then suddenly threw a huge amount of green lightning right at Austin. Acting purely on instinct, the Helldiver threw up his sword in the vague hope it would somehow defend him. To his surprise, it did. Somehow, Excalibur seemed to absorb all the lightning.

Austin would've thought Skarlack would be surprised by this, but the alien's expression remained unchanged. Austin felt it best not to boast and stay cool. That would hopefully make Skarlack think twice rather than try to take advantage of his surprise. The Helldiver was very glad he was wearing his helmet.

"I don't think so." he said.

Skarlack simply smiled and drew out the sword that he'd used earlier to stab the Illusive Man.

"Gonna be like that then, is it?" Austin thought to himself.

Austin charged first and swung. Skarlack seemed to block his blow instantly. The two exchanged a number of blows parries. Skarlack moved with such speed and skill that it frightened Austin. This synthesis being had an immense skill that easily rivalled Zartrack's, and Austin had never beaten him before.

Austin desperately tried to get an opening, but Skarlack always seemed to be there to block him. He then attempted two handed swing, but Skarlack used his four clawed feet to jump over him, using him as a kind of stepped. The alien flipped a few times before skill fly landing.

"Major Shepard, you disappoint me. So far you're not living up to the stories of your legendary swordsmanship." he said.

Skarlack spun several times before he attempted a swing. Austin was fortunately able to block this. Skarlack had clearly got the jump on him to begin with and so Austin hadn't' been fully prepared for the alien's speed and ferocity. Now though the Helldiver knew that he was up against an opponent unlike any he'd fought before. He would have to be calm and trust in himself, not to mention remembering everything Zartrack told him.

"Surely you can do better." Skarlack taunted.

Austin kept his cool though and powered on through as the two fought again. This time, he moved much faster and the two opponents now seemed to be on equal ground. He could already tell Skarlack was finding this a bit more challenging. Austin was even more surprised that Skarlack had such good footwork considering he had an extra pair of legs.

Austin then got an opening as Skarlack attempted a spin attack. Managing to duck under it, Austin thrust forward and he felt his word cut flesh.

The two simply stood for a moment as they paused their fight, standing ready to fight again.

"Got ya." said Austin indicating to where he had managed to cut Skarlack's arm.

Skarlack looked down at the glowing open wound in his right arm. No blood trickled out. Being synthesis, he possibly didn't have any.

"Well played, Helldiver." he said. "A valiant attempt, but..."

Skarlack's free hand reached up and gently cupped the wound with his hand which briefly glowed brightly. When he moved his hand away, the cut had been completely healed.

"That's not fair." Austin whispered to himself. "Still left a scar though." he said out load.

Skarlack looked at the healed wound. The Helldiver was right, the wound had indeed healed, but at the same time it had left a scar.

"How is that possible? I cannot be hurt!"

He then looked at Austin's blade. His eyes shimmered for a moment as he scanned it.

"Kartalrium!" he snarled.

"You know my blade?" Austin asked in surprise.

"No. But I know the metal it is forged from. You possess a weapon that would be lethal to my kind if it weren't for the fact that the synthesis improves us." said Skarlack.

The dual continued to intensify. Skarlack was being a bit more careful this time. Although Excalibur couldn't kill him, he knew now that the blade would leave its mark on him.

Austin managed to land a kick on Skarlack that sent him back. His clawed feet scraped the floor hard as he skidded to a halt.

"You're stronger than I thought. However you're not going to stop me, Shepard." He said. "I'll be sure to send your ashes back to your friends."

Absorbing more energy from the now green star, Skarlack plunged his hand into the floor.

The entire place started to shake violently as the smooth plates on the floor seemed to move. Structures and platforms suddenly burst out of them as much of the stations inner working and machinery became exposed as Skarlack created several new higher levels to jump up onto. Sur enough, Skarlack leapt into the air and spun several times before landing on the level above.

"Very tricky. Leave it to you to cheat." Said Austin.

"Speak for yourself…Helldiver." Said Skarlack.

Austin ran at the platform and jumped up onto it. He was only just able to get high enough though and he landed just on the edge, nearly losing his balance and falling into the vast pit below. He managed to regain his balance though and quickly faced Skarlack.

The General gave an impressed look at him for a brief moment before he brought his sword up. To Austin's surprise, the blade seemed to change.

The sword's handle telescopically extended until it had transformed into a staff.

Skarlack now became much faster with his strikes When Austin blocked one end, the other would try to take him form the other side. A slow strike allowed Austin an opening. Managing to get his blade on the outside, Austin pulled Skarlack's staff in towards him. He then used his free hand to grab the same end from the other side so that he now essentially had the staff trapped.

Austin then spun quickly and attempted to swipe at Skarlack's legs. The General however jumped over this and landed on the next higher platform up. The second he landed he then swung one of his legs at Austin's helmet.

The Helldiver failed to notice this in time and the kick sent him flying and he smashed against the barrier that Alpha was still trapped behind.

Austin quickly glanced at Liara. Despite that she was wearing her helmet, he could tell she had a worried expression. She clearly felt helpless being stuck behind the barrier, unable to fight alongside her bond mate.

As Austin got back up, he found Skarlack already standing over him. He instantly felt the edge of the General's blade against his neck.

"You may as well surrender your sword, Shepard. I cannot die by your hand. I am immortal." He snarled.

"You wanna put that to the test?" Austin asked as he gently stood up, Skarlack's blade still pressed against his neck.

Quickly reacting, he used Excalibur to knock Skarlack's blade away from him. The General though quickly spun and Austin felt the blade against the other side of his neck.

Austin though didn't give the General a chance to say anything and he quickly knocked the blade aside again. Skarlack though once again used this against his opponent and he knocked the other end of his staff into Austin's stomach, knocking him to the floor, the blade once again threatening to cut his throat.

"Don't be a fool, Shepard. Why suffer horrific death, when you can join us and live?"

"Not today!" Austin replied as he grabbed the end of the staff and pushed it away. He then smashed it away further using his sword.

Skarlack though was quick to switch and he once again hit Shepard several times in the face, the final one sending him flying.

As Austin once again struggled to get up, he suddenly felt something in his head. Some kind of thought that seemed to tell him that Skarlack was about to bring down a finishing blow.

Reacting quickly to this without hesitation, he brought his elbow up just enough so that when Skarlack's blade came down, it became lodged in the gap between his elbow, and the attached blade.

Both opponents were rather surprised by this. Skarlack more so because he had been so sure that Austin wouldn't see that.

Austin on the other hand a rough idea of what had happened. He looked in Liara's direction.

Sure enough, as he looked right at her and transmitted a thought to her, she replied back.

"Thanks, love." he said, very relieved at his late save.

"Better than having to watch helplessly." Liara replied back. "At least this way, I can still help you."

Skarlack still remained where he was, trying to comprehend how the Helldiver had done that. Austin took this as a sign that while the General could read minds by scanning them, or whatever it was he did, he couldn't sense their telepathic communication. Most likely, he knew they were together, but not in that sort of way.

Austin couldn't help but smile rather smugly at Skarlack's confused look.

"That's not possible." The General said in disbelief.

"Let's agree to disagree." Austin smiled smugly.

The two once again came into a clash as they struggled to overpower the other. Austin was just able to block Skarlack's staff as it came down on him.

"Defiant to the end. Admirable, but mistaken." said Skarlack.

"I'm a human. We never give up." said Austin defiantly.

"That may be so." said Skarlack as Austin was able to push his staff and pin it to the side as he then used his free hand to try and punch Skarlack, but the General quickly blocked it with his own hand. "But you're still an obsolete race with predictable techniques."

Skarlack then threw Shepard to the floor and he skidded hard before managing to grab onto the floor and slow himself down as he rolled back onto his feet.

"Give me a real challenge. Impress me." said Skarlack.

Deciding that he shouldn't hold back at all anymore and use all of his skill, Austin activated his omni blade/shield. Ever since getting this, he'd been training hard to perfect this new fighting style. That should at least even the odds a bit now that he had better defence.

"Hmm, omni blades. Nice to see that this cycle has developed them." said Skarlack as he removed the clip holding his cape together. "It won't save you though, Shepard. Two can play at the game. Or in my case, three."

Skarlack shrugged the cape off of his shoulders and it fell to the floor. He then held his staff in both hands in some kind of ceremonial position. Then something very surprising happened. Parts of his chest were moving.

Two thin sections of his chest plate suddenly split away, only they weren't plates. They were arms! All this time, Skarlack had been keeping a secondary set of smaller arms firmly against his chest. There were gaps in his armour where the arms were obviously designed to snuggly fit and they were disguised with armour so that they blended in well. Now that they were out though, they made Skarlack look even more alien than he already was.

Now he had four arms and four hands. The hands of the two smaller ones clenched into fists and a green omni blade appeared on each one.

The two ends of Skarlack's staff also flashed and had an omni blade on each end. Essentially, he now had four omni blades.

"Your move, Helldiver." he said as he twirled his staff and went into a battle stance, his secondary set of arms moving behind his back.

"Four omni blades?! You'll need them, Skarlack." Said Austin.

"To the death then." The General snarled.

"If you insist."

With an evil chuckle Skarlack slowly started to spin his staff in a flourishing velocity so fast and so seamlessly that he seemed to stand next to a glowing wheel of green energy.

Skarlack slowly began to advance on Austin as the ends of his staff hit the floor causing marks with each spin the two ends made, causing sparks to fly everywhere.

Austin stood his ground and gently backed away in time with Skarlack's advance so that he would be the right distance from his opponent when he no doubt eventually attacked. If he was too close, he could risk getting hit before he had a chance to block the attack.

Austin decided instead though to turn this into the first blow. Timing his strike, he lunged. Skarlack's staff instantly stopped spinning and blocked his blade.

The synthesis gave Skarlack an unrelenting speed that Austin could only just keep up with, even with Liara's help. The General struck so fast that each of twelve strikes per second came from a different angle with different speed and intensity, an unpredictably broken rhythm of slashes, chops, and stabs of which every single one could the Helldiver's life.

So far though, not one touched him.

After all, he had been trained by the Arkane's best General and sword fighter. Countering twelve blows per second was only difficult, not impossible.

Skarlack, snarling furiously, ramped up the intensity and velocity of his attacks. Sixteen per second… eighteen… until finally, at twenty strikes per second, he overloaded, Austin's defence.

So Austin used his defence to attack.

"So far, you have yet to impress me." Said Skarlack as he blocked Shepard's first strike.

Skarlack once against hen used this attack, but Austin blocked it and then pushed it hard until he had the General's staff pinned. Skarlack reacted quickly to this though and he used his left hand to backhand punch Austin. This was then followed however by a punch form Austin which was so hard that Skarlack actually found it rather painful. Even for something as strong as him, a punch from a Helldiver did hurt.

This of course made the General very angry.

"You'll thank me for ending your pathetic life!"

Skarlack thrust his hand forward. This move caught Austin off guard as the General seized him by the neck and brought him forward, causing him to drop his sword and his omni blade/shield to go offline.

Skarlack took Austin's neck under his arm and gave it sharp flex. For any normal human, that would definitely have broken a neck. Austin was lucky though that a Helldiver's armour had a massively reinforced back and neck. Even with his synthetically enhanced strength, Skarlack would need to do better than that.

Austin wished though he hadn't thought that as Skarlack then pulled him over his head and brought him down hard over his shoulders. Once again, that had obviously been designed to break a back. To finish, the General then flew him to the floor on his back and slammed his right front clawed foot onto the Helldiver's chest. He grinded it a few times before he finally pulled Austin up a bit and finally kicked him away.

Everyone went silent as Alpha believed Skarlack had just killed Austin. Right as Skarlack turned to them and smiled evilly though, he heard the sound of heavy metal feet and looked back to Austin getting back up.

"What?!"

"You'll have to do better than that." said Austin.

Snarling angrily, Skarlack once again absorbed some of the star into his staff and then shot a massive wave of lightning right at Austin, which hit his armour.

Everything inside the suit seemed to fizz and go haywire as huge amounts of electricity coursed through it. Austin was beginning to fear he might get cooked.

When the lightning finally stopped, Austin felt his suit go very stiff and everything temporarily went offline. Then it suddenly came back on.

"Power at 400% capacity." said his suit's computer.

"How about that."

Austin felt a new amount of confidence course through him. If his suit had this much power, it would definitely take full advantage and use as much as it could.

Although Helldiver suits only had a standard issue power core, they had recently been configured to take full advantage of extra power if they could find it. Because all Helldivers only had the standard core though, that feature was never fully utilized. Dell had often talked about designing a new power core that was twice, or he hoped would be three times, as powerful as a stand power core.

For now though, Austin had over 400% power to use. So he had a feeling his suit would use it to its full advantage.

Skarlack was left very confused by this. He had been so sure that the lightning would shut the Helldiver down. He was even more surprised when Austin suddenly activated his plasma cannon and it fired a supercharged shot right into his face.

It didn't kill the General of course, but it certainly caused a lot of damage, so much that he had to absorb more of the star to heal himself.

When he finally felt himself return to normal, he quickly found Shepard taking a swing at him. The General's two omni blade arms only just managed to move in time to parry the strike.

Skarlack then quickly jumped, the force of his mechanical feet and his synthesis abilities amplifying it tenfold.

He flipped a few times before he once again landed on one of the platforms he'd created earlier.

Austin followed, but he didn't get his jump right and he only just managed to grab onto the edge as the platform slowly started to turn. He quickly though managed to pull himself up. As soon as he did, Skarlack immediately thrust at him.

Austin only just ducked in time, the tip of Skarlack's blade going through his shoulder cape and causing a small tear at the edge.

Angered by this near miss, Skarlack made a swing which the Helldiver ducked under. The turning platform overlapping with another gave him some temporary cover as they blocked Skarlack's blade.

The General made another thrust in-between the overlapping platforms. Austin had to move his back slightly so that it avoided him. He was able to land a kick on the staff though, giving him enough to roll backwards on to his feet again as Skarlack made another thrust that missed.

Skarlack made two swings. The bladed end, Austin managed to block, but the blunt end hit him on the back of the helmet. This dazed him and so he failed to react in time to another hit from the staff's blunt end and this one sent him spinning onto another platform that as it slowly moved, disappeared into the floor.

"Austin!" Liara yelled, believing that this had killed her bond mate.

Skarlack smiled, sure that he had finally triumphed.

"Hey!"

The General's head swung round to see Austin, alive and perfectly unharmed slowly rising up as he stood on another platform.

"Nice ride, huh?" he said as he stepped down onto a flat one.

The fight became slightly trickier now since the two opponents were on separate platforms, both of which were turning in opposite directions, so they now had to be mindful of their footwork.

A sudden head-butt from Skarlack knocked Austin backwards onto a turning cog. Skarlack thrust, hoping to stab him, but he managed to doge it. In doing so though, he was forced to hand of the very edge. Skarlack thrust two more times at his hands as the cog continued turning until Austin temporarily vanished from view again.

Skarlack knew not to fall for the same trick twice and immediately had his staff pointed at the other side, ready for when Austin would no doubt appear again.

Unknown to the General though, Austin had once again switched platforms and he quietly rose up on another one behind his opponent.

Skarlack only sensed Austin a little too late. As he swung, the Helldiver pinned the General's staff under his arm and used the other to seize the other by the throat.

"You're one slippery bastard." said Austin. "I've got ya now!"

Using his enhanced strength, Austin threw Skarlack off the platform and he landed on the floor. Before the General had a chance to get up, Austin was immediately there, his blade at Skarlack's throat.

"Yield. Don't make me kill you." he said.

Skarlack though simply smiled. Then to everyone's surprise, there was a bright green flash and he disappeared.

"WHAT?! No way! He can teleport?! said Dash in astonishment.

Austin looked around, hoping that he might see Skarlack somewhere. At the same time, he remained calm so that he would be ready for a surprise attack, which he reckoned was Skarlack's intent.

Sure enough, after a few tense moments, Skarlack suddenly appeared in a green flash right in mid-air and lunged at Austin.

The Helldiver was just able to react in time and he countered and parried each blow. This fuelled Skarlack's frustration and he started to attack at an even fast rate.

Austin could certainly tell that Skarlack was beginning to think that he'd underestimated his opponent. And he was right.

Never before had Skarlack faced an opponent that could fight this well for so long. Normally they would tire after a while, but this Helldiver didn't' seem exhausted at all. Plus, his skill were very superior to other opponents he'd fought before. The stories he had heard about this Helldiver's skills were now no longer doing him justice. Now he was living up to them and excelling at the same time.

"Give in!" Skarlack growled as he brought his staff down hard and used all of his strength to push Austin down onto his knees.

"Never!" Austin yelled as he parried the staff and swung right at Skarlack's face.

The General failed to react in time, and the blade cut right through is left eye.

"Agh! You little bastard!" he cursed as he backed away from Austin, clutching his slightly bleeding eye. He then quickly teleported to much further away. As expected, he used this time to heal his injury. A glowing scar was now very visible over his eyes, and he didn't look pleased about it.

"WITNESS THE TRUE POWER OF SYNTHESIS!"

He spun his staff before then plunging it into the ground.

"Austin, watch out!" Liara warned him.

Green cracks in the floor started to appear from where Skarlack's staff was embedded and they quickly kept growing until they got close to Austin's position.

"Don't let them touch you" Liara warned.

Austin was just able to roll away from the cracks as they continued growing. Just as it looked like another was about to touch him though, the green from them disappeared.

Skarlack had pulled the staff out of the ground. Clearly he'd seen that the cracks hadn't worked.

"You're only delaying the inevitable, Helldiver!" he snarled.

He then thrust his staff forward and a massive green be a burst forth. Austin just managed to dodge it until he was able to get behind cover, thanks to the structures Skarlack had created.

When the beam finally stopped, Skarlack looked a bit weak. The use of all this energy seemed to be taking its toll.

"Power... Need... more... power!" he managed to say.

Using his telekinesis, Skarlack brought up several of the plates on the floor and they began spinning around him, almost like a barrier. At the same time, the General once again began drawing power from the star. Austin however activated his plasma cannon and, timing his shot just perfectly, he fired.

The shot managed to shoot right through a very small gap in the defence and it hit Skarlack. The General roared in anger as his power draw was interrupted. There was another flash as the plates were drawn to him, and he teleported again.

For a moment, everything was silent again. Austin took several deep breathes, ready to defend himself again when Skarlack would no doubt teleport in mid-air again.

Sure enough, Skarlack once again popped out of nowhere in mid-air and brought his staff down. This time though, Austin attacked at the same time and they ended up in a clash with each other.

Skarlack stared at Austin and growled as he tried to overpower the Helldiver.

"I sense great fear in you, Shepard." he said. "You have hate, you have anger, but you don't use them."

"Don't let him get to you, Austin. Remember what Zartrack taught us." Said Liara, trying to comfort Austin.

Austin felt a new amount of strength surge through him and he used this to push Skarlack off him. The General though was quick to respond and he had his staff ready for Austin's attack. He didn't disappoint.

The Helldiver struck much harder, letting his strength be used a lot more with strike so that the now hit with more force.

To his surprise, this seemed to be having a good effect. Skarlack seemed to be slowing, and he got less and less chance to try and attack back. Little did the Helldiver know however that it wasn't' actually him. In fact, Skarlack wasn't slowing because of him, he was slowing because of himself.

The General had come to admit that this contest obviously could not be decided by their skill with their weapon of choices. At least not easily anyway. So the General had decided to try a different tactic, deception.

He let Shepard pain all four of his arms down only for him to then make a long and deliberately slow thrust. Austin parried the blow with his omni shield, but then seized the opportunity. He quickly switched the blade off so that Skarlack's staff temporarily dropped. Reacting quickly, Austin swung his blade inside Skarlack's attack. Excalibur severed right through all four of the General's arms, separating his hands from his wrists.

So that was what it felt like. Skarlack had often wondered to himself what this sort of thing would feel like. It did indeed hurt, and it was a bit shocking to lose all feeling in hands that he had had his entire long life. There was no blood of course since he didn't have any, so that prevented any worry he had of bleeding to death.

He had to admit, this was a bit unexpected. The plan had been to deceive Austin into simply disarming him. This was a little more than he'd bargained for. No matter though. This was but a minor setback.

As Skarlack fell to his knees, Austin reactivated his omni shield and put it at Skarlack's throat, his sword also raised just in case.

All of Alpha Squad cheered and clapped at Austin's supposed victory. Skarlack couldn't help but find this amusing. Organics… so easy to trick and deceive. Such a shame that Shepard had refused. A worrier that fought as well as him was such a waste to kill.

For a moment, even Austin relaxed, confident that he'd triumphed.

Skarlack of course saw this. Now was the right time, while Shepard had his guard down, so sure that it was over.

"I know what you're thinking, Shepard." He said now once again sounding like he was refusing to give in. "Without my hands, I'm completely powerless, right?"

As the General was talking, Austin and everyone else failed to notice a faint dark green aura surrounding his dropped staff.

"You never did learn to mind your surroundings!"

The staff was then suddenly hauled up and flew right at him. Austin only just heard this in time and he quickly reacted, but not quick enough.

The staff embedded itself in the left of his chest. It didn't go in very far thanks to the armour, but Austin could undeniably feel a small bit of the blade had stabbed into him.

The pain unfortunately weakened Austin greatly and he fell to his knees.

"NO!" Liara yelled helpless.

Skarlack simply smiled evilly as he gently stood up. The dark green aura then surrounded his severed hands and they gently floated to their user until they re-joined with his wrists. The joins then glowed bright green as they healed. His hands were now reattached, scarred, but definitely working again.

The General then walked up to Austin and grasped the staff's handle again, causing Austin to wince slightly in pain.

"You know, I often mused in the past, are Helldiver's mortal?" he said.

He then gave the staff a sharp twist, and the piece of the metal blade that was embedded in Austin snapped off.

"Well now I know. You are."

The broken blade then gently mended itself as the broken off tip regrew out of the main blade. The bit that was still in Austin though remained.

Austin's first course of action was applying medi gel. That wouldn't pull the broken blade piece out, but it would at least help and it would hopefully stop any bleeding. He really didn't think he could continue fighting though, the pain was too much and he felt very weak.

Before Skarlack could deliver a final fatal blow however, the whole place suddenly shook, causing everyone to lost their balance slightly. Skarlack looked to the source.

The star had suddenly gone critical. Clearly him constantly draining power from it had caused it to destabilize. It was only as it started to devolve though that he noticed he'd caused it to age rapidly and it was devolving into a black hole which was slowly pulling the base in.

Skarlack looked back down at Shepard and simply snarled. He could finish it, but the station was becoming too unstable. If he didn't teleport to safety, he could die along with them.

"This isn't over, Shepard. This is just the beginning." he said. "Time was your ally, but now it has abandoned you. We are the Takaal, and we have returned!"

With that, Skarlack once again teleported and vanished.

At the same time, the barrier disappeared and everyone quickly hurried over to help Austin up.

"Are you okay?!" Liara asked desperately, her voice undeniably confirming that she was crying.

"It's not as bad as it seems." Austin groaned as he was helped up.

"Shepard, the stars going critical and the whole base it getting sucked in. Get the hell out of there now! The fleet's retreating through the relay!" said Zartrack over the radio.

"You don't need to tell us twice." Alaara replied. "Back to the dropships! Double time, people!"

"I can't run." Austin groaned, the blade tip still causing him pain.

"Griffin, carry him!" Alaara ordered.

"Much rather do this with a girl." Griffin muttered as he picked Austin up.

"I heard that." Austin couldn't help but chuckle.

They managed to make it back to the dropships with enough time for them to get back onto the Normandy. Already, bits of the station were being torn off as it was slowly being pulled into the black hole.

"We're out of time! We have to get out of here." said Joker.

"We're in, Joker. Punch it!" Alaara ordered. "Get Shepard to the med bay, now!"

The Normandy immediately pulled a huge swing and sped off towards the relay just as the last of the Helldiver fleet went through. The Normandy made it into the relay just as Joker felt the black hole's pull start to affect them.

As the station came apart, the window cracked and eventually smashed altogether. The main bodies of the Cerberus troops and parts of the guards were sent flying into the vacuum of space. The Illusive man's dead body followed, but was suddenly grabbed. Skarlack had returned.

The General's clawed fight were dug hard into the metal, so he was unaffected by the pull. Surviving without air wasn't a problem for him either. He had no need to breath, nor did he have to worry about his body being affected by the vacuum. His synthetic weave sought to that. Plus, his race had no lungs, so they didn't breath at all.

Space was an environment they could survive in easily without the need of any technology that other species would require to keep them alive.

The Takaal General gazed down at the Illusive Man's lifeless body. He very nearly almost pitied the dead human. So inferior and misguided. But even so...

"Even in death, you may still be of use to us." he said.

He teleported again, taking the dead leader of Cerberus with him, leaving everything else to be crushed and consumed by the black hole.

Austin was immediately rushed to the med bay. Both Dr Chakwas and Michel were ready for them. Even Javik had come up as well. He may not of been that kind of Professor, but he still thought he might be able to help.

As soon as his armour unlocked, Austin fell out and into Liara's arms. The tearful Asari helped him onto the bed were the doctors began examining the wound. Due to the medigel, it wasn't bleeding anymore, but the wound wouldn't heal until the blade was pulled out. That was the tricky part. At the moment, they didn't yet know how much of the blade was in there and how far it was. More importantly, had it stabbed anything vital.

Dr Chakwas began running an X-ray over the wound while Dr Michel applied some more of the gel to help.

"Can't we just pull the damn thing out?!" Liara yelled desperately.

"Not until we know if it's damaged any of his organs. If we pull it out without knowing for certain, it might kill him." Chakwas replied gently.

Liara simply looked into her bond mate's eyes, her eyes full of tears.

"Liara, it's going to be alright." said Austin calmly as he touched her cheek.

Finally, Chakwas managed to get a clear image of the wound.

"Thanks goodness" she sighed in relief.

"Is that good?" Liara asked hopefully.

"Yes. Fortunately, it missed his heart and it isn't deep enough to touch his lungs." said Chakwas.

"There's still the matter of pulling it though." said Michel.

'We have to try. He won't heal until it's pulled out." Said Chakwas.

She gently picked up pair of medical tweezers and tried to get a hold of the blade piece. When she touched it though, Austin suddenly lurched and gave a sharp groan of pain. His heart rate also increased. The X-ray image also showed that it had moved deeper into his body.

"GODDESS, KARIN! PULL THE DAMN THING OUT!" Liara yelled, hurt emotionally by her husband's pain.

"I can't." said Chakwas, also starting to sound worried. "If I touch it, it moves deeper into his body. I don't know how we can get it out."

"It's sensitive to physical touch. I've seen this sort of thing before. It's a very old type of metal that is designed to borrow deeper into a body when removal is attempted." Said Javik.

"Javik, I'm a doctor, not a scientist." said Chakwas. "What does that mean?"

"If you touch it by hand, you'll risk making it worse." Javik explained. "It needs to be pulled out using biotics."

"Liara?' Chakwas asked.

"I don't know if I can. With Shepard like this... I just don't know if I can." Liara sobbed. "Besides, I've never used my biotics like that before."

"Then let me try." Javik offered.

"Are you sure?" Chakwas asked. "Have you ever done this before?"

"A few times, yes. During our war with the Reapers, I assisted in taking shrapnel out of many of our soldiers." Javik nodded. "I will admit, this is different, but I have to try. If he dies, we'll all lose hope."

"Liara, are you willing to let him try?" Michel asked.

Ultimately, the choice did fall to Liara. There were the risks that Austin could die if this was screwed up.

"Save him." the Asari replied. "I can't lose him again. I won't!"

Javik simply nodded and knelt down next to Shepard, his height making him practically eye level with Austin.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yes." Austin nodded weakly as he took a deep breath and braced himself.

"Alright. Dr Chakwas, have some more medi gel ready. We don't' want him to bleed to death." said Javik.

The Prothean then gently put his hands forward. His biotics surrounded the blade.

Austin groaned painfully through gritted teeth and Liara felt his grip on her hands tighten. To try and calm him, she spoke reassuring words to him through their bond.

Javik did his best to remain concentrated and he kept gently moving the blade. Everyone held their breath as they watched blade gently rise out. After several tense minutes, it was finally out.

Austin finally relaxed as Dr Michel applied some more medi gel to his wound to stop the bleeding and Dr Chakwas brought some bandages.

"Feeling better?" Liara asked, smiling tearfully.

"Yeah. Much." Austin smiled, gently pulling Liara into a kiss.

Javik took the piece of Skarlack's blade in his hands and examined it.

"Strange. This isn't the same metal I thought it would be. It's clearly been mixed with various different metal substances. But it clearly isn't Reaper technology either." he said.

The Prothean handed the shard to Austin who looked at it.

"I knew Cerberus wouldn't go down without a fight, but this is different. They crossed a line by working for these things." he said.

"To be fair, you crossed the line first, Shepard. We squeezed them and hammered them to the point of desperation. And in their desperation, they turned to a force they didn't fully understand." said Chakwas as she finished bandaging the wound.

'So, how long's my stay this time?" Austin asked.

"A day or two. A wound like that should fairly quickly for you." Chakwas replied.

"I understand." Austin nodded. That means Alaara is in charge until then." said Austin.

"She's already aware." said Liara. "She's relaying the report to Zartrack and the others." said Liara.

"So Cerberus were under the Reaper's control all this time? Should've guessed." said Zartrack.

"These... Takaal. They serve the Reapers?" Hackett asked.

"Yes. Apparently, they've been around since the very beginning." said Alaara.

"Permanent servants. We always had suspicions that they didn't work alone." said Hackett.

"How's Shepard?" Zartrack asked.

"Recovering. Skarlack injured him, but I'm told he'll be okay. Until he does though, as Alpha Squad's second in command, I must assume temporary command." said Alaara.

"Understood." said Matt. Despite that he was acting formal, Alaara was pretty sure that Matt had been worried. Even a General such as him would be concerned about his son.

"So what'll happen to the remnants of Cerberus? Without the Illusive Man, they'll be divided and leaderless." Anderson asked.

"Chances are that those who weren't indoctrinated and implanted with Reaper tech will either surrender or defect to us." said Alaara. "The indoctrinated ones will likely serve the Takaal. They were behind Cerberus after all.

"I have a feeling Kai Leng will be among them." said Anderson.

"So what do we do?" Hackett asked.

"For now, we continue to build up the resistance. We have many more allies who could join our cause. The Quarians are one we especially could use." said Zartrack.

"Very well. We'll continue as usual and keep progress updated." said Hackett.

"Keep us updated on Shepard's progress, Captain. With these new servants of the Reapers changing the shape of the war, the resistance will need him now more than ever." said Anderson.

"I'll notify the Arkane Council. All Helldivers out defending the other worlds will be on alert." said Zartrack.

Hackett, Zartrack and Anderson vanished, leaving just Matt.

"I promise I didn't sugar coat it, General. Your son's going to be alright." said Alaara. "He's table, but he needs a day or two to recover. He's a tough one."

"I hope so. It's just hard. With my wife still un-accounted for, and both our children out in the fray, it's hard for me not to worry." Matt sighed.

"I will do all I can until he's back, Mr Shepard." said Alaara.

"You're gonna have to stop with that Mr Shepard stuff, Alaara. Because I've been hearing that for the last year or so and I'm starting to feel old. I may be a general, but I'm not that old." Said Matt.

"I know what you mean, sir." Said Alaara. The Asari found it was quite nice when Matt was less formal with the rest of Alpha, not just Austin. Made them feel a lot more welcome to work alongside the son of such a highly respected General.

"Good luck, Captain." Matt saluted.

"Same to you, General. Same to you." Alaara saluted back.

Miranda stood in front of a mirror as she worked on cleaning her cuts. During a fight with one of the Illusive Man's guards, she'd got hit in the face and as a result had attained some injuries.

It certainly did make her look a lot less perfect now. Not to mention that there was a lot of shock going around. The fleet had also seen what Skarlack could do and they were aware that he'd managed to injure the leader of the Reaper resistance. Spirits were certainly down at the moment.

Miranda in-particular also felt very guilty. To think that she had worked for Cerberus, helped them do some of the things they did. How could she have been so short sighted and stupid. SO much for perfection.

This did make her wonder what would have happened to her if she'd stayed. Shepard wouldn't' most likely have killed her on Krelldoor if she hadn't defected. Even so, if she'd survived, would she have ended up like the Illusive man? A salve to a race of god like hybrids that wished to force their genetics on other races? A slave to their masters, the Reapers?

And all because she was too blind to see. True she had done it for her sister, but surely she must've seen better options..

At that moment, Hawk suddenly walked in. He immediately noticed Miranda's sad expression and injuries. She did her best to hide them with her hair, but she knew that she couldn't' hide much from Hawk. Even with only one human eye, he still saw much.

"Hey, you alright?" he asked concernedly.

"I'm fine." Miranda replied, trying to hide the regret and shame in her voice. "I didn't want anyone to see me like this."

"Why?" Hawk asked.

"I don't know. The fact we now have a threat greater than Cerberus, Shepard wounded… my neck just doesn't' seem that important." Miranda replied.

"You almost lost your life out there. You have a reason to be concerned." Said Hawk.

Despite this, Hawk's words of comfort didn't' do much to make Miranda feel any better. She hung her head in sorrow. The fact that she had also lost a fight to robot hurt especially.

"I've never often lost a fight. Before I fled from my father, he pushed me to win every fight." She said regrettably. "I guess even today I still can't forget what he tried to make me into."

"Look, I don't see how you can teach anybody to win everything every time. Evens someone as perfect as you. I mean, look at you. You're still here right? You get knocked down, you get back up. Maybe that's what you really need to learn. I know I certainly learned that the hard way. Xun whopped my ass three times back there." said Hawk.

Miranda couldn't help but chuckle at this, causing Hawk to smile.

"Thanks." said Miranda, slightly cheered up now.

Happy that he had managed to cheer Miranda up at least, Hawk decided to simply leave Miranda to give her some space. Even he had to admit, seeing some of the almost god like things that Skarlack had done… how he had managed to wound Shepard, kill the Illusive Man and devolve a star into a black hole… They certainly did face their darkest hour, and no doubt that with the Takaal now no longer needing to hide in the shadows, things would no doubt get a lot tougher.

As he left, Miranda couldn't' help but look back at him. She reminded her a bit of Shepard. He always said stuff that would bolster the spirit. It was no surprise that she'd developed a crush on him at one point. Now suddenly these feelings that she'd buried almost two years ago had suddenly come back. Could it be that she was beginning to like Hawk? Did she… love him?

Phew! Took a lot of effort to write this, but I did it so quickly I had it finished on Tuesday. Yeah, I had it finished that early.

Right, now I should say that Rannoch isn't coming just yet. I've got two more chapters planned before that, one of which is the Ex Cerberus scientists, which will be in the next chapter. The other... well, it's a surprise.

Kasumi will also be back next week, so that's another thing to look forward to. Just to also reassure you, the rest fo the Citadel assignments will be included after Rannoch. So just be patient. Omega and Citadel DLC will also be included. Leviathin is also a vital part of the story, so you don't need to worry about that either.

All I can say now is leave comments. And please do write detailed ones if you can. I'm very interested in hearing what you think of the new villains. It's important they make a good first impression. So please do give me your full views if you can. Criticism is fine as long as it's constructive. I welcome advice and anything people want to say that could improve. I do care about what people have to say, and I listen and reply to every review I get, honest.

Until next time... :)
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Mass Effect: The Helldiver Saga, The Last Cycle