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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
- 20
- 21
- 22
Because I found out it's N7 day, I figured I'd upload the chapter today seeing as it was already done.

Sorry again about the delay last week. Hopefully this makes up for it. I'm much happier with it now that it's joined with the other chapter.

Hope you enjoy.

Chapter 21

Darkness Rising

Austin sat in silence in the dropship. With him was X-5, EDI and Legion.

They were on their way to disable a Geth server controlling several fighter squadrons which were attacking the liveships. There was every chance this would cripple the Quarian fleet, so it had become a priority.

As the dropship neared it's target though, Austin couldn't help but once again think about a question he'd asked himself a few days back. Back when he had just come out of a rather exhausting fight.

It had all happened a few days ago...

Dell was examining the dark energy liquid he'd collected from Liara under a microscope.

"Hmmm. The base elements of this liquid Dark Energy are unlike anything I've ever encountered. Must've been highly concentrated to have affected Liara's armour so rapidly." He said to himself. "Unfortunately, results are slow coming without the use of proper diagnostic tools. Thank you very much, X-5."

As the Arkane moved the slide however, he failed to notice a very tiny little drop fall off and land on a dead but intact Geth body that had been captured by a Helldiver team and had been sent to Dell for study.

As the Arkane took the slide over for a high tech scan, the body stirred ever so slightly.

"Still, at least it's quiet in here. Doing this sort of work in the cargo bay back on the SR2 was such a bother."

He went back to examining the dark energy through the scanner. He was currently the only one in the science lab since Sill was doing a routine check on the simulator to make sure it still worked perfectly and Javik was currently taking some time off to meditate in the room he'd been given on the engineering deck. X-5 was also helping Sill out with the checks since she very often needed heavy lifting done if she needed to have some parts moved in order to get at others.

As Dell examined the dark energy more closely, he began to notice something rather worrying. Something that almost looked like…

A quiet clang made him jump and he looked to around to see who had caused that. No one was there though.

Deciding that he'd probably just imagined it, Dell shrugged and went back to his work. Just before he could though, the clang came again, this time much louder.

"Who's doing that? This isn't funny." He groaned.

The Arkane's answer however was soon answered when the originally dead Geth body suddenly jumped out from behind a table and lunged at him.

"What the krell?!"

Dell narrowly managed to avoid the Geth strikes and quickly toppled over a massive rack in an effort to try and slow it down.

The zombiefied Geth became temporarily trapped in-between the racks bars and it's arm flailed about widely trying to grab onto Dell. In the proves, it ended up destroying his microscope.

"I needed that!"

The Geth finally managed to wrench itself free and reached for Dell. Just before the fingers could touch him however, a sudden shot hit the Geth in the head, knocking it to the ground.

X-5 and Sill, who had probably just been returning from the simulator, had burst into the science lab and X-5 had fired the shot.

Dell breathed a sigh of relief, believing the danger was now over. However, the Geth suddenly got up again. X-5 however had been prepared for this. He charged the Geth to the floor and smashed it's head to pieces.

"ORDER: And stay broken!" he said.

"How the hell did that happen?" Sill asked as she helped her father up.

"ANALYSIS: Scans show dark energy was present in that dead Geth." Said X-5.

"The Dark Energy did that?!" Dell asked in surprise.

Skarlack and Mirage kept their distance. Nazara had stopped spasming, but he hadn't said anything yet.

Whatever the dark energy had done to the Geth/Reaper, it had certainly had a visible affect. Several dark energy crystals now stuck out from his back and his optic lights now glowed the same colour as the Dark Energy.

He gave a low growl as though he was taking a deep intake of breath.

"My lord, are you alright?" Skarlack asked cautiously. He was not nervous, simply playing it safe.

"Yes Skarlack. In fact, I've never felt better." The Terror Geth replied as he turned to face the two Takaal.

Something about his voice was different. It no longer sounded so machine like and emotionless. It now sounded more like it had a personality to it.

"You… sound different." Said Skarlack hesitantly.

"The Dark Energy has made some modifications. Not surprising since my new body was constructed with your synthetic combined with Geth. It would it allows me certain… organic traits." Said the Terror Geth.

Skarlack and Mirage were unsure how to reply to this. The Terror Geth observed his arm for a moment, noticing how the Dark energy had now created another weave, binding it with his Geth form.

"It's as if Dark Energy now flows through me like blood." He said. "This certainly confirms my theories. But now I must determine if I am able to control it. There is one more experiment I must perform."

The Terror Geth once again walked up to the collection of dark energy crystals and took another shard. This time, he simply stored it, rather than embed it in his core.

"What are your orders, my lord?" Skarlack asked as he and Mirage gave a low bow.

"For now, remain here and await my command. Assume command in my absence." Nazara replied.

"As you wish."

"That doesn't make sense though. It may not be impossible, but you have to remember that Geth fry their memory cores when they die. Not to mention how damaged their internal systems become. The fact that dark energy can bring a Geth completely back to life seems almost impossible." Said Sill.

The recent resurrection of the Geth in the science lab had caused a lot of cause for concern. Currently, Austin, Legion, Tali, Leena, Dell, Sill and X-5 had gathered in the war room to discuss the new concern.

"It must be repairing them somehow, or at least to the point where they can function again, even if it's not very well." Said Tali

"Regardless, this isn't something we should take lightly. If Nazara can bring back dead Geth, that makes it even worse for us." Said Austin.

"Even so however, it's not gonna give him that big of an advantage, is it?" Sill asked. "I mean, where's he gonna get enough dead Geth to make another army?"

"We might know." Said Legion, a hint of worry almost noticeable in his voice.

Legion had been most insistent that they investigate a long abandoned canyon far away from any Geth territories. Austin, Tali, Leena and X-5 had all accompanied him.

"STATEMENT: Legion, you still haven't explained what we're doing here. What do we hope to find?" X-5 asked.

"The sight of the largest and also the last battle between the Geth and the creators. It ended the war." Legion explained.

"But surely the corpses aren't still there, are they?" Leena asked.

"We do not know for certain. That is why we are here." Said Legion.

"Even so, it was a long time ago. Surely the bodies might have been buried or something?"

Leena's question however was soon answered when they rounded a corner. Hundreds of long dead Geth and Quarian bodies looted the canyon.

"For the first time in my life, Legion, I had hoped you were wrong." Said Austin.

At that moment, the Terror Geth suddenly swooped over them, flying using two massive thrusters on his back. He landed on the high ground on top of one of the cliffs.

"Shepard. How fortuitous that I might find you here." He said. His eye then fell on X-5. "I see you brought your trusty watch dog here as well. I was certain he'd be convalescing in a scrap yard by now."

"REQUEST: Why don't you invite him down here for a chat and he can say that to my face?!" said X-5, banging his fists together challengingly.

"I know why you're here, Nazara." Said Austin.

"Hardly a surprise, Shepard. After all, you and I have been at this a long time. But now, you're time has come to an end." Nazara replied.

The Geth Reaper then took the dark energy shard out of it's storage and threw it at the ground. For a moment, there was nothing but silence, but then the whole ground began to glow black and red. The many dead Quarian and Geth bodies began to stir. The ground also started to move.

At the same time, the crystals on the Terror Geth's back started to glow brightly along with his eye and the gaps in his armour from within.

"Rise, my army!" he yelled.

The ground shook even more violently, and then it burst open in several places as the dead bodies rose up, each one glowing from within with dark energy.

"Keelah!" said Tali and Leena together in shock as they watched not only the dead Geth, but also their own rise up from the dead.

"BEHOLD! THE POWER OF DARK ENERGY!"

Within just a few seconds, the entire battlefield had risen from the dead and they were now slowly moving towards the team.

"Nazara has desecrated the resting place of our fallen ancestors, and the Geth's." said Tali.

"Not even the dead are free from the Reapers." Said Austin.

"So I was right all along. Dark Energy can be harnessed. I now possess complete control over my army." Said Nazara. "Destroy them!"

The dead Geth and Quarians slowly started to limp and advance towards them.

"Tali, Leena, get back to the dropship!" said Austin as he, X-5 and Legion armed themselves.

"We're not going anywhere, Shepard. We'll stand with you. Besides, you may all require tech experts when this is over with." Said Leena.

The team drew their chosen weapons and attacked. Austin, Legion, X-5 and Tali used their guns while Leena used her tomahawk and knife.

X-5 switched to meleeing one Geth when it got too close. He smashed off its head and then pulled off it's arm.

"RECOMMENDATION: Go for the limbs! The smaller the pieces, the better." He said.

"Sound advice, old friend." Said Austin.

Holstering his Revenant, the Helldiver drew Excalibur from his back and started hacking and chopping at the dead Geth and Quarians.

All the while, the Terror Geth continued to observe.

"I have mastered Dark Energy. When you fall, Shepard… you too shall join my army." He said.

Not long into the battle and a lot of the army had been cut down. However, all of that effort was starting to take it's toll.

Austin didn't feel out of breath, but he was starting to feel much slower than usual. He also felt as though he had to put even more effort into moving and that was starting to tire him out.

Leena appeared to be suffering the same. The two stood back to back for a moment, starting to pant in an effort to get more breath into their lungs.

"I feel… heavy. Can't move as fast as I used to." Said Leena.

"STATEMENT: I and Legion are suffering the same." Said X-5, also sounding somewhat weak and moving noticeably slower than usual.

Legion also was indeed looking as though he was struggling to move well.

"This much prolonged exposure to dark energy must be zapping your power and it's affecting your strength." Said Tali, the only one who was so far unaffected.

"We cannot falter now." Said Austin.

The team continued to fight, but with their energy drained massively and their strength weakened, they weren't fairing any better than before. Worse still, Nazara's army wasn't relenting and they were still coming.

As Austin cut down a dead Quarian he suddenly felt another grab onto him. With his strength almost exhausted, he was unable to move fast enough to shake it off and he soon found others piling onto him.

Very soon, the same started to happen to X-5 as well. The Quarians pulled hard on his arms, causing the robot to topple over while the Geth tried to claw at him.

"X-5!" Leena yelled.

But the Quarian was unable to provide any assistance as the dead Geth and Quarians also started to pile on top of her. Even Tali and Legion were now powerless against the almost infinite army of the dead.

From atop the cliff, Nazara observed. The dark energy combined with his synthesis and Geth body had indeed changed him. It now had him experiencing things he never had before.

Only a few emotions were present. The Geth/Reaper had counted on something like this happening and so had made sure an inhibitor had been installed in case the synthetic weave in his new body ended up with some organic side effects.

In this case though, the dark energy had mostly just given him a personality One or two emotions could be felt or experienced by him. A hunger for power and desire were two of them. more than emotions. One or two emotions could be felt or experienced by him. A hunger for power and desire were two of them.

That desire was to evolve even further. Now that he knew who he really was, he now had a new goal in mind.

Though this new body made him stronger, and more intelligent than nay normal Geth or AI, the Terror Geth still had the desire to attain the final stage of it's evolution, becoming a true Reaper.

When all this was over… when the cycle was ended and Shepard and all other life was extinguished, then it would recycle all Geth and use them in the construction of it's brand new body. A true Reaper body.

Right now, that future was now looking very likely. His army of the undead had prevailed.

Just as it looked like the battle was over however, Austin suddenly burt out of the pile of undead that had been holding him down. He fired several shots and finally threw the dead off him. He then went over to the others and quickly cut down the Geth and Quarians that had them pinned.

"After all these years, Shepard. Still at the top of your game." said the Terror Geth. "Struggle all you wish. It will do you no good. Finish them!"

The army continued to march. It seemed that Nazara had possess all that was left of the remains, so the numbers were starting to dwindle.

Despite their weakened state, the team kept fighting. Husk after husk fell until finally, it was over.

"Bravo, Shepard. Though think of this a prelude. You may wish to save your strength for the main event." said Nazara.

Using what strength he ha left, X-5 desperately climbed the rock to try and get at the Terror Geth. In his weekend state, it was a real struggle.

"DEFIANT STATEMENT: You will not prevail, Nazara. Not while energy still flows through my form." he said exhaustedly.

"Fitting. For it is dark energy which flows through mine." said Nazara.

The thrusters on his back then kicked in as X-5 made a swipe for him and he flew off.

Austin looked back and the hundreds of pieces that were left of the dark energy army.

"If this wasn't Nazara's end game… what is?"

A day or so later, Austin found himself once again asking that question in his head.

He was snapped back to reality though when Raan's voice suddenly spoke through the comm.

"Major? It is as we feared. Geth squadrons have begun massing on a path to intercept our liveships." she said.

"Understood, Raan. We're almost at the server. Keep us posted." he said. He then turned to Legion "What's our status?"

"We remain undetected on encrypted Geth channels. Resistance is likely only within the server." Legion replied.

"Within? It's that big?" Austin asked in surprise.

"You misunderstand. Direct virtual interface is necessary to extract Geth from the server. You must enter our consensus." Legion explained.

"You want me, to virtually interact with the Geth?" Austin asked, making sure he hadn't misheard by accident.

"QUERY: Is that even safe?" X-5 asked.

"I'm not a machine, even with this suit. How do I go into a virtual world?" Austin asked.

"Your species has experimented with virtual interfaces. You saw this on Project Overlord." said Legion.

"I saw how Nazara almost had a quicker way of controlling your people."

"We have refined the interface created and have equipment from Normandy to facilitate safe contact. We request your trust." said Legion.

"I have your back, Legion, even if I don't quite understand why you need it." said Austin.

"You are an unknown. This is an advantage. Geth security is not adept at targeting organic thought processes. While we occupy the system's intrusion countermeasures, you will disable the squadrons by removing Geth from the server." said Legion.

"If it saves the liveships, we've got to try it." said Austin.

"Telemetry data predicts this operation has a high chance of success." said Legion. He then went up tot he dropship door and opened it. "There is little time. We will bypass security while you secure safe landing."

"Wait. You're not going to-"

Legion however let himself fall out. He landed in the same sort of way a Helldiver would and quickly went ahead into the base.

"Seems he just did." said EDI.

When the team entered, they found that Legion had indeed been busy. There were dead Geth all over the place.

"This it?" Austin asked.

Legion was stood next to what looked like several pod like structures. Austin couldn't help but notice that a few deactivated Geth prime were inside some of them.

"Yes. Hostile Geth fighter squadrons are networked to this server." said Legion. "Due to restricted access, we can only send one organic in."

"Well that's no problem. X-5 and EDI can just connect remotely." said Austin. "Alright, let's do it."

"Initiating peer-network integration. Proceed to docking port." said Legion.

As Austin opened a pod and stepped in, X-5 and EDI went into standby mode as they worked on connecting with Legion.

"Establishing connection." Said EDI.

"Mapping to consensus. Remain still." said Legion.

Austin did so. He watched from inside his suit as a blue hologram moved one him several times like a scanner.

His vision suddenly went funny for a moment, then returned to normal. The pod then opened and he stepped out.

Instead of a Geth base however, a new sight greeted his eyes.

Ahead of him was kind of digital block world. It was a strange sight.

"Shepard-Major, we acknowledge your integration into this server. We welcome you to our consensus." said Legion as Austin looked around for a moment.

"What is this?" Austin asked.

"We have installed filters to allow you to make visual sense of this servers raw data. Your mind perceives our world as something familiar." said Legion.

"I wouldn't call this familiar. Where are you?" Austin.

A hologram fo Legion then appeared in front of him. At the same time, X-5 and EDI also appeared next to him.

"Here. We have made ourselves visually distinct for your convenience." said Legion

"What about the Geth already in here?" EDI asked.

"You will perceive Geth as surveillance footage, audio logs, sensor records. We do not require bodies as our software communes. Our hardware is merely a tool. This is our true world. As we remove Geth, it will grow dark." Legion explained.

"This is like wiping out a city, isn't it?" Austin asked.

"We have no choice in this matter. It's a question of survival. There are two communications nodes on this server. We must access them to disable the hostile Geth's fighters." said Legion. "Establishing connection to access point."

Several large plates appeared on after the another, making a path for the team to follow. Eventually though, the path was blocked by some kind of large glowing orange structure made out of blocks.

"Warning; Connection blocked by infected code. Use combat to disrupt the infection." said Legion.

"Good thing you let us keep our weapons." said Austin.

Sure enough, the team still had their guns. They didn't have their melee weapons though, most likely because they didn't need them.

"This foreign code is a part of Nazara's virus." said Legion as the team opened fire on the code and it disintegrated.

"Then won't taking it out completely free all the Geth?" Austin asked.

"No. The virus is distributed directly for Nazara. This method is used for wider range control. It will free a few Geth from it's control though." said Legion.

"Well, that's a start." said Austin.

The team continued following the continuously building path until they reached a much larger sphere of the Reaper code.

The code connected to the sphere in a few key locations. Severing those connections allowed Legion access

"Accessing data cluster." he said.

"What is this?"Austin asked as a large green hologram was projected in front of them.

"Data clusters contain historical data. Your connection permits streaming of information from our archives." Legion explained.

The hologram showed two Quarians standing over a Geth. It looked as thought hey were working on it.

"You really want to remove the VI networks?" the female Quarian asked.

"Absolutely. The mobile hardware release deserves a little ceremony." said the other.

"Unit Zero One? What is the Khelish word for "servant of the people?" the female asked.

"The word is "Geth" Creator Zahak." The Geth replied.

"Yes-very good!" said the male Quarian.

"Ancestors, you fuss over it." the female sighed.

"Weren't you here until midnight fixing Zero-One's circuitry?" the other asked.

"Well, it needed resoldering." said the female.

The recording ended and the holograms vanished.

"Wasn't that footage from the past? Why are the Quarians masked?" Austin asked.

"You process our memories by using your own. How many creators have you witnessed unmasked?" Legion replied.

"Good point."

A little while alter into the mission and they were nearing the viruses source.

"Legion, give me an update." said Austin.

"One node remains. We are currently-" Legion tried to say, but his voice started to become a bit static.

"What's wrong?" Austin asked with concern.

"Old machine presence detected. Nazara is in the consensus with us." Legion replied.

"Damn it. Does he know where we are?" Austin asked.

"Not yet. But it is likely Nazara will work on putting up defences on the remaining parts of the virus." said Legion.

Pretty soon, the virus' core was in view.

However, just before they could get close enough however, a sudden surge of energy appears in froth of them, blocking heir path. Within a few seconds, it materialised into digital form of the Terror Geth.

"Uh oh."

The Terror Geth quickly took notice of the intruders, most especially Legion.

"Legion. I knew you would come here eventually." he said. "I would wonder how Shepard came to be here in this digital world, but it matters not. You soon won't be. Now that I have oyu within my grasp, you will be destroyed!"

"Legion, can you get us our melee weapons?" Austin asked.

"One moment." said Legion.

Sure enough, both Excalibur and EDI's electrostaff materialised in their hands.

"Right, that's better." said Austin, now ready for a fight.

"RECOMMENDATION: Let's kick some cyber metal!" said X-5.

The Terror Geth attacked first, hurling a large amount of cyber dark energy at them.

The team narrowly managed to doge this, but they were quick to get back up and attack.

X-5 was the closest and he swung a punch. Before hsi fist could hit it's target however, Nazara suddenly disappeared.

His skin faded away to a dark red digital wireframe which soon faded away as well, causing X-5 to miss him completely.

The robot was left confused by this and looked around. He failed to notice in time however that Nazara had suddenly rematerialized behind him.

The Geth/Reaper swiped at X-5, hitting him hard and sending him to the ground.

Austin slashed from behind, but his sword passed right through the Terror Geth like he was a hologram.

The Terror Geth turned to face Austin and zapped him with energy, sending the Helldiver onto the floor as well.

Legion and EDI both tried an attack, but Nazara once again disappeared. The two AI's quickly froze to avoid hitting each other by accident. The Terror Geth however quickly reappeared in front of them and smashed them both aside. He then threw more energy at Austin and X-5, who had just got back up from earlier. The two narrowly dodged it.

"Why does this thing get harder to fight every single time we meet him?!" Austin said rhetorically.

The Terror Geth growled and threw another round of energy at Austin, which once again knocked him to the ground.

EDI tried to sneak up from behind, but the Terror Geth knocked her out of the way. At the same time, Legion attempted a melee, but he too was grabbed by Nazara and thrown to the floor.

"You have no hope of defeating me! In this digital domain, I reign supreme!" he said.

"I'm starting to think he has a point." said Austin. "Legion, can you get us somewhere safe?"

Legion didn't even have to reply as a holo doorway suddenly appeared.

"Shepard-Major, this way." he said.

Everyone hurried through. Austin stayed behind for a bit to cover their escape, ending up in ablaze lock with Nazara.

"Catch you later." he said.

Before he could disengage however, the Terror Geth suddenly counters his blade and grabbed him with his left hand, hauling him up.

"I think not!" said The Terror Geth. "You are going nowhere!"

"Shepard!" X-5 yelled.

The robot charged, smashing straight into the Terror Geth.

"THREAT: You will not harm my friend!" he yelled.

The two robots battled fiercely with one another. Despite that this was only digital, it still felt real. The force of their punches, the denting of the metal, it all felt so real.

Finally, the Terror Geth nearly had X-5 pinned to the ground with it's foot.

"You dare attack me?! You are inferior!" he said.

"STATEMENT: We do only what we're meant to do." Said X-5 defiantly.

"Then you are meant for one thing, weakling. Termination." The Terror Geth growled.

In the process of speaking though, his head had come very close to X-5. Acting in desperation, X-5 grabbed onto his head and pulled hard. In the process, the robot managed to get a hold of the Terror Geth's secondary small eye and it ripped off completely.

This caused the Terror Geth to back away, freeing X-5 in the process. Seizing the chance, X-5 helped Austin up and they both hurried into the doorway.

The Terror Geth quickly regained his sight and aimed at the two. When he tried to fire however, nothing happened. By the time he'd realised the problem, Austin and X-5 had disappeared through the doorway and it had vanished.

The Terror Geth growled as his digital form fixed itself and his torn off secondary eye rematerialized back onto his body.

"I take it we're safe here for now?" Austin asked.

"We are inside a software program behind several firewalls. Safest we could find in the spur of the moment." said Legion.

"QUERY: Do we continue with the plan?" X-5 asked.

"Yes. We came here to save not just the Quarians, but hopefully liberate a few Geth as well. So that' what we're gonna do." said Austin. "However, if we run into Nazara again…"

"We may have a way of better improving you for those situations. One moment." said Legion.

Everyone suddenly found themselves glowing and their forms changed ever so slightly. Now they had extra armour on them that had a distinct cyber look to it, such as glowing lights and such, as well as fortifications on certain areas.

"This cyber armour should give you more of an advantage." said Legion. Even he had applied these upgrades to himself.

"Not bad. We'll put up more of a fight now." said Austin. "Alright. Let's get back to the job."

The holo door appeared in a new area near to the virus' source. Hopefully this time, they'd be better undetected.

"ANALYSIS: No trace of Nazara detected." said X-5, remaining vigilant.

"Then let's find the source of the virus and destroy it." said Austin.

This time they were able to avoid detection from bazar and were able to reach the virus' core. As usual, it was guarded in a data cluster connected by several strands.

"Alright. Here goes."

The team opened fire on each connection. Very quickly, the defences fell and Legion worked on accessing to data so that the virus could be destroyed.

"Accessing… Wait, something is wrong we are being denied access." said Legion.

the data clusters wells fell apart to reveal a most unusual sight. Some kind of huge mass had been incased inside, and it was composed entirely of the organic cubes that made up the Reaper code. Only this time they were much smaller and there was enough of them to actually form very detailed shapes.

It looked like some kind of massive tentacle creature.

"That doesn't look good." said Austin worriedly. "Legion… What is that?"

"The source of the virus… is a Reaper." said Legion, almost sounding surprised.

"STATEMENT: Tell us something we don't know." said X-5.

"You misunderstand. This Reaper is not Nazara. There is another Reaper in the consenus." said Legion.

"Well that's just great." Austin groaned.

"And not just any Reaper. A Cyber Reaper."

As if on cue, the Terror Geth suddenly materialised again, this time on the platform that the cyber Reaper was wrapped around like a snake. The force of his materialisation caused everyone to lose their balance.

"Rise, weaklings! Rise and be destroyed!" said Nazara.

"Same old Terror Geth, same old noise." said Austin as he and the others picked themselves up.

"New upgrades will not help you. Now you face the combined might of me, and my creation." said the Terror Geth. As he spoke, the cyber Reaper started to move. One part of it that was undeniably the head moved and turned to face them. Another part that look more like a tentacle moved with it.

"So this was the main event you mentioned all along." Said Austin.

"Indeed. And once I have killed you, I will bring my creation into the real world using the true potential of dark energy. Not that you'll live long enough for it to matter. Destroy them!"

"Shepard-Major, the Cyber Reaper is not yet fully complete. Some of its functions have not been fully activated yet. There may be an exploitable weakness." said Legion.

The cyber reaper's arm lunged forward and then swung right at them.

"Jump!" Austin yelled.

Everyone just managed to jump in time as the arm swung under them.

Everyone quickly sheathed their melee weapons, swapping them for their guns instead.

"ROCKETS ONLINE!" said X-5.

His rocket launcher went berserk and fired 4 shots per second just as the Cyber Reaper's arm made another swipe. This was too much for the reaper to handle and it's tentacle collapsed.

"NO!" the Terror Geth yelled. "I will make you suffer for that!"

The Geth/Reaper leapt from the platform and landed on the ones Austin and the others were on.

The team quickly switched back to their melee weapons, this time prepared for Nazara's attacks.

The Terror Geth attacked first, firing another beam at Austin. This time though, Austin was able to block it with his sword. Legion had also made modifications tot heir weapons so that they should now be able to damage Nazara without passing through his digital form.

"Not this time! We're ready for you now." he said.

"Is that so?!"

The Terror Geth quickly teleported behind Austin. The Helldiver didn't react fast enough and a blow from behind caused him to stumble.

"You're weak flesh is no match for the unyielding might of steel!" the Terror Geth growled.

Legion and EDI attacked faster this time, but Nazara countered their blows.

A sudden punch from X-5 however knocked him back and the robot then emptied his rocket launcher into the Geth/Reaper.

When the smoke cleared, there was definitely some visible damage. The Terror Geth quickly walked back to the edge of the platform, facing the Cyber Repaer.

"Leaving so soon?! We're just getting started!" said Austin.

"Code rerouted. Overclocking software. All primary systems online!"

The cyber Reaper once again stirred. It's original arm once again came back up. This time though, 3 more came up to join it.

"Alert! Nazara has fully activated the Cyber Reaper!" said Legion.

"Oh crap!"

Nazara jumped back onto the platform to join the Cyber Reaper.

This time, the Cyber Reaper's attacks were faster and more ferocious. In addition to that, the Terror Geth would also occasionally fire upon them when the cyber reaper wasn't protecting him with it's fifth arm. It swung and thrust viciously, the ends threatening to infect and kill them with the virus if it touched them.

After some time, they finally managed to cause enough damage to weaken the lower left arm. Austin quickly drew Excalibur to finish it off.

The Cyber Reaper thrust it's arm forward, only for it to be blocked by Austin's sword. The hell diver was only just bale to push back enough without the Cyber Reaper's strength overwhelming him.

Finally he managed to give enough push that he was able to parry the attack and the arm slid past him. It quickly retracted and aimed for another thrust. This time though, Austin had a plan. As the arm thrust at him, he moved to the side just enough so that it would miss him. As it slid past him, he dug his blade right in, slicing the whole thing in two.

Unable to repair itself, the virus arm dissolved.

"One down. Three to go." Said Austin.

"QUERY: Not a fan of rockets?!" said X-5 as the Cyber Reaper gave a mechanical screech as his rockets hit its next arm.

Pretty soon, the arm was weak enough.

X-5 once again used his rocket launcher and set it to fully automatic. The combined force of the rockets prevented the arm from lunging forward and pretty soon, it succumbed to the damage. So much in fact that the upper left one fell in the process as well.

The battle continued to rage on. The team worked to gather to take down the final arm. With the Cyber Reaper's defences down, it could be destroyed properly.

Everyone quickly switched to their guns. Austin and X-5 even captivated their plasma cannons and charged them up to full.

"All together now! FIRE!"

The Cyber Reaper's head was completely disintegrated and without it's source, the rest of it's body disappeared align with it, leaving just the Terror Geth.

"Cyber Reaper destroyed. Old Machine virus eliminated." said Legion.

"Then get us out of here, quick!" said Austin.

Legion once again opened another doorway, this time back to the exit where Austin had originally entered the consensus.

"Through the node. Hurry!" he said.

"You will not escape!" Nazara yelled, firing at them as they retreated.

Austin was the last one, but this time he wouldn't lag behind. Still running at the exit, he continued firing at Nazara. He then jumped through just as the doorway closed before Nazara got too close.

"NO!"

A new emotion filled the Terror Geth's mind. It was easy to recognise this is rage.

"You and the Quarians will pay dearly for this, Shepard! If I cannot have Rannoch, then no one will!"

"Root access acquired. Severing all connections to this communication node." said Legion. "Geth no longer reside on this server and the virus has been removed. We may now exit the consensus."

Not wantign to waste any time in case Nazara suddenly found them again, Austin quickly hurried back into the pod.

"Terminating connection." said EDI as she and X-5 vanished.

"Terminating remote access. Removing programs. Deleting archives." said Legion.

Austin once again felt his vision go funny for a moment, and then everything returned to normal again.

The pod opened and Austin stepped out.

"Are you alright, Shepard?" EDI asked.

"Did it work?" Austin asked.

For a moment, Legion was still offline. But then suddenly he reactivated and turned to the team.

"Geth fighters have been disabled. Any remaining squadrons attacking the liveships have withdrawn. The server is offline." he said.

At that moment however, several more of the pods opened and the originally inactive Geth Primes stepped out.

"Are you sure?" Austin asked raising his gun cautiously. "What's happening?"

The Geth Primes walked up to them, but did not attack.

"We have transferred Geth firewall programs from the server into these platforms. They are now immune to the virus." said Legion. Sure enough, the Prime's red lights suddenly changed to a bright blue. "They wish to join us. Now able to resist Nazara's control, they have renounced it's rule and will oppose the Reapers. They are now us."

"I understand not wanting to leave anyone behind." said Austin approvingly.

"You accept our actions?" Legion asked.

"The liveships are safe, and we have more Geth on our side. We both did what we came to do." said Austin.

"We judged you would understand. Prime units will be available once Nazara's signal has been located and destroyed." said Legion.

"Remind me to warn Admiral Hackett he's got some primes coming. Let's get back to the Normandy." said Austin.

"Impressive, Major. The Geth squadrons attacking our liveships have been completely neutralized. If there is any chance we could duplicate the feat, I would be happy to lend my expertise." said Admiranl Xen through the vid comm.

"Legion's the one to ask if you're looking for other servers." said Austin.

"I thought as much, but your Geth claims to have "no data available" whenever I inquire. Perhaps you can help me with something else." said Xen.

"What's that?"

"How did you get Geth Primes to work with you?" Xen asked.

"They volunteered." Austin simply replied.

"I see." Xen sighed. "Well, should you wish to examine these Geth to confirm their new allegiance, please do not hesitate to contact me. Xen out."

Finally the Reaper base next week.

It's from there though that a sacrifice is made. I won't say who, but there will be a death.

That death though does lead to something very cool though. I've got some very nice changes and additions planned for that chapter.
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Mass Effect: The Helldiver Saga, The Last Cycle