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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
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Two apologies. First of all, sorry that I said Thessia would be next, that's actually next week. It's only thanks to an anonymous review that I remembered, so whoever that was, thank you very much for reminding me. You probably saved the story in fact.

And the second apology, sorry this is one day late. Got a bit distracted recently now that I have my PC back (I originally couldn't' use it because I had to give back the new hardware I got because bits were missing. Now a new version has been sent with everything there.)

Anyway, hope you enjoy.

Chapter 26

The Monastery

It had only been a matter of time before the Asari started asking for assistance. They were still mostly keeping to themselves, but quite a lot of the factions were joining up. Councillor Tevos was even starting to reconsider the original decision and had said that she hoped the rest of the Asari leaders would agree to joining the resistance.

In the meantime however, Asari High Command had informed Austin of a matter requiring their attention. Not many details had been given however.

"Any information dug up, Liara?" he asked.

"Yes, and I can see now why High Command wanted to hide it. We're heading to an Ardat-Yakshi monastery." said Liara.

"Like Morinth?" Dash asked.

"Morinth chose to be a killer. These Ardat-Yakshi isolated themselves to avoid that." said Liara. "But it doesn't mean they're harmless. Their urge to feed can be powerful."

"Sounds familiar." said Austin humorously, winking under his helmet.

Liara however gave him a serious look.

"That's not something to joke about, Austin." she said. "Especially since you nearly experienced that first hand."

Austin definitely could not forget how Morinth had briefly possesed him and forced hint o have sex with her. Now that he thought about it, Liara was right.

"Sorry." he apologised.

"Anyway, that is why High Command sent in commandos to investigate the monastery's distress signal." said Liara.

"Magnified biotics? Great. What's our strategy." said Jet.

"If there was a chance the Ardat-Yakshi could break loose, the commandos were to purge the monastery." Liara explained.

"You mean destroy?" Austin asked in surprise.

"They would've bought heavy explosives with them, yes." Liara nodded.

"Extreme, but I suppose it is necessary given the circumstances." said Jet.

"Don't assume anything. Maybe the Ardat-Yakshi themselves sent out the distress call. If the Asari want us to destroy this place, we need to know what happened." said Austin.

"Agreed. Once we give a report to High Command, they'll stop wasting lives here." said Liara.

The Hellhound touched down and everyone stepped out.

The entrance tot he monastery seemed to be an elevator of some kind.

"Elevator disabled. To prevent entry or escape, I wonder..." said Liara.

Austin simply shrugged and jumped. The others soon followed. The descent only lasted a few seconds before they all hit the ground hard with a loud clang. Liara had been the last since she'd at first wondered what they were doing.

"Sometimes I forget we can do that." she said.

"You're not the only one, Liara. Trust me on that." said Dash.

So far, there was no sign of any life. There were bodies though, Husk and Asari Commandos. No Ardat-Yakshi though. Not the most encouraging sign.

"Stay sharp." said Austin.

"This is starting to feel like a horror film now." said Dash.

"Long as you don't scream like a girl, I'm sure we'll be fine." said Jet.

Austin and Liara couldn't help but chuckle at this.

"Very funny. Let's all laugh at the scout." Dash sighed sarcastically.

"Took the words right out of my mouth." said Jet.

"That's enough, you two. Stay focused." said Austin.

Soon they came across what looked like the body of the Asari's captain. Dead unfortunately.

"This was the commandos' captain. It seems they gave their lives fighting the Reapers." said Liara.

"This monastery's out of the way. What would the Reapers want with Ardat-Yakshi?" Austin asked.

Dash picked up a datapad that had been lying near the Cpatian's body and started reading.

"Anything useful?"

"A floor panel marked with the NavPoint location of a bomb. It's inside the Great Hall." said Jet.

"So the commandos started the purge after all." said Liara.

"Seems rather drastic. Evacuating this place would've saved a lot of lives." said Austin. "If there's no survivors, we might as well finish the job."

"Ardat-Yakshi certainly have a very nice place to live. I'll give 'em that much." said Jet.

"They are given the best comfort so that their life is still enjoyable." said Liara. "They're a very far cry from prisoners."

"No argument there. Reminds of our house on Thessia." said Austin.

"Been so long since we were last there." Liara sighed happily.

"When this war is over, that's the first place we're going." Austin smiled under his helmet.

"Be a good place to raise the children too. Assuming you are going to have children." said Jet.

"Definitely." said Liara.

"Aw. That'll be so sweet." said Jet. "I'm sure you'll make fine parents."

"I havent' exactly had the best mother myself." said Liara, a slight bit of regret in ehr voice.

"You're not what you mother became. Besides, she was indoctrinated. Wasn't her fault. If she could see you now, she'd be even more proud of you than she was during her last moments." said Austin supportingly.

Leaving it at that, they proceeded into another large room of the monastary. Down on the lower floor there was the sound of a gunshot. When everyone looked down, they saw what was definitely a sight for soar eyes. An Asari Justicar they'd know anywhere.

"Very good. I almost didn't hear you." she said.

"Samara!" said Austin happily.

"It has been some time, Shepard. You are a most welcome sight. The corruption here runs deep." said Samara, smiling back at her old friend.

"I assume you're here on your own, Justicar. Perhaps for something special." Liara inquired.

"You are correct, Mrs Shepard. Two of my daughters live here, and I have come for them." said Samara. "Unfortunately, the Reapers had already infested this place by the time I arrived."

"Let's stick together. Maybe your daughters can tell us why the Reapers hit this place." Austin suggested.

"I expect they will have much to tell us. It has been centuries since I last saw them." said Samara. "We're out of time."

The Justicar vanished to fend of more Husks, leaving the others to carry on.

"This place is enormous. There must've been thousands living here." said Austin as they exited into a massive courtyard with quite the view of the night sky.

"Yet there are no survivors." said Jet.

"This is hauntingly familiar. You remember the Krallus colony?" Dash asked.

"Not easily forgotten, that place." said Austin, his mind forced to go back to the sight.

"Why? What's so special about that?" Liara asked.

"That's a story for another time, Liara." said Austin.

They were suddenly halted when they heard a loud crying.

"What's that?"

They then noticed a lone Asari crying in a corner. Her clothes were badly ripped and it looked as though she'd been attacked.

"Seems someone survived after all." said Dash, gently walking towards the Asari.

"Something doesn't feel right about this." said Jet.

Several more Asari who were int he same condition as the crying one. Austi could guess these were the Ardat Yakshis, but there was something wrong about this. They seemed to be looking at the Helldivers in a strange way.

"I feel it too." said Austin, keeping his gun at alert just in case.

Dash got closer to the crying Asari and knelt down to try and comfort her.

"Dash, wait a moment. Something's not right. said Jet.

"Hey, it's okay. You're safe." said Dash.

The crying Asari slowly looked up at Dash. At first everything looked normal. Only wen it opened it's eyes however did something not look right.

Her eyes were black, but not he typical Asari meld black, they were completely black. No lines, no pupils, nothing. They were as black as death itself.

"What the..."

And then the really terrifying part happened. The Asari's skin seemed to suddenly tear and rip itself apart, revealing a horrible sight. As the skin was torn off, it revealed an Asari husk, twice as tall as a human with sharp long fingers, and terrifying high pitched scream.

The Banshee lunged at Dash as he jolted back in shock. Just as the scout hit the floor, and looked like it was the end for him, the butt of a rifle hit the Banshee in the head, knocking it against the wall and temporarily disorienting it.

Austin quickly pulled Dash back up onto his feet. The rest of the disguised Banshees had torn their disguises off too.

"Stay together!"

The Banshees all shot forward at once using their biotic charges. Almost instantly, they attacked, clawed hands swinging and trying to grab at something. Both Austin and Liara drew their swords while Jet used either her jets to light some husks on fire while others where whacked away with her hammer. Dash stuck to his pistol and picked off any that were far away are at close range.

Liara was certainly struggling the most against these things. Not only were these her people, but also their screams… something about them was painful for her to hear. The others didn't notice this being human. Austin however did.

His connection to Liara allowed him to fell what she felt, and he could feel her pain. To her, the screams were of pain and suffering, as the Asari part of these husks were still alive and, constantly in pain from their transformation into husks and begging for death in order to be put out of their misery.

Sensing that Liara was struggling due to the screams, he quickly got closer to her. The Asari felt some of her strength return to her as her bond mate stood at her side.

"Disable your audio receptors. It'll block the screams out." He recommended.

Liara didn't hesitate and di as she was told. To her relief, it worked. Although she couldn't' hear anything at all now, it did at least allow her to concentrate. Plus, the feeling of her bond mate in her mind did offer encouragement.

"On your six!" Dash yelled.

Since Liara didn't' hear that, Austin only just managed to warn Liara in time. She quickly swung round, cutting another Banshee's head off.

Dash started to aim in multiple directions as he fired. There were so many Banshees that he was starting to panic, especially since he was starting to run a bit low on ammo.

In the process of his blind firing, he failed to notice several tanks nearby.

"Watch your fire! Those things are flammable!" Austin yelled.

Too late.

Two of Dash's blind shots hit the tanks. One ruptured it, the other ignited it.

The massive explosion hit everyone with a huge amount of force. It was only thanks to their armour strength and weight they weren't sent flying. Dash though was way lighter than the others and so the explosion sent him flying right into a small pool of water.

Jet suddenly noticed that Banshee's were now acting differently. All of a sudden, they'd covered their faces with their hands as if they were trying to protect their eyes from a bright light. They were also slowly backing away.

"That's it." Jet thought.

It was only a theory, but she sure did hope it would work because if it didn't, they were almost certainly screwed.

She activated both her flamethrowers which spat fire right at the Banshees. To the Helldiver's relief, it worked.

The Banshee's screeched in fright and started to flee. They all disappeared rather quickly.

"I think they're retreating!" said Austin.

Everyone took this time to get their breath back. The whole surprise and shock of the Banshees had certainly caught them off guard and they hadn't been prepared for it.

"Did everyone see that? Because I will not be doing it again." Said Dash, managing to pick himself up and get out of the pool.

"Those used to be people. Asari." said Liara, almost in shock. "What have the Reapers done to them?"

They went back inside, believing they would at least have a slightly better advantage. At the bottom of a set of steps, an Asari suddenly ran past as she was chased by several Cannibals. Thinking it was another Banshee in disguise, Jet was about to fire her weapon.

"Wait!" said Austin, quickly pushing Jet's gun down. "That one's normal. Come on."

The Cannibals came closer and closer. Then Samara suddenly jumped down right in front of the Asari, casting herself between the Cannibals and her.

She activated her biotics and threw them so far they hit the wall on the others die of the room.

"Mother! You came!" said the Asari.

"As soon as I was able." said Samara, turning to face her daughter. She then turned back to Austin. "Shepard, this is Falere, my youngest. She and her sister Rila are Ardat-Yakshi. They-"

"Mother! They have Rila." Falere interrupted.

"What?"

"I saw some of those creatures take her into the Great Hall. I've been trying to get there." said Falere.

"What are the Reapers doing here?" Austin asked.

"Harvesting us. They're turning us into... into theses monsters." said Falere, indicating to the corpse of a dead Banshee. "Please, you can't let that happen to Rila."

"We won't. We have to find her fast. The Great Hall has a bomb in it." said Austin.

"A bomb? Didn't you come to rescue people?" said Falere in surprise.

"We'll do all we can. But we can't leave this place standing with the Reapers all over it." said Austin.

"You sound like the commandos, and they didn't stop to help anyone!" said Falere angrily.

"Falere..." Samara interrupted sternly. "Shepard is not like that. He will help as best he can before resorting to the bomb. That I can promise."

"I'm sorry." Falere apologised.

To everyone's surprise, she then ran and jumped over the balcony, using her biotics to slow her descent.

"Falere!" Samara yelled. "The Great Hall. She's heading for Rila."

"You'd better get after her. We'll catch up." said Austin.

"Please be swift."

"Rila? Rila, can you hear me." Falere said desperately.

Rila slowly opened her eyes and stood up. When she blinked however, her eyes had suddenly turned the exact same black as the Banshee's had done when they were disguised. A horrible thought crossed Austin's mind that any moment Samara and her daughter would be forced to watch Falere rip her own skin off revealing a husk underneath.

Nothing like that happened though. Instead, Rila simply grabbed Falere's neck in her hands. She struggled briefly before her sister pushed her back, knocking her out int he process.

"Why did she do that?" Falere asked, slightly in shock from what had happened.

"Because they've begun to turn her into one of the Reaper's creatures." said Samara, a hint of regret present in her voice, despite how well she tried to conceal it.

Austin knelt down beside Rila and gently held her up close enough to him. He then activated his omni tool and scanned her. There was still hope for her.

"It's not too late." he said.

"Shepard..." Samara tried to say, thinking her friend was just saying that to try and make her feel better.

"She's still in there, Samara. If we get her back to the Normandy we can still save her. I'm immune to the Reapers and we've been studying this ability. From it, we've been able to find ways of removing certain amounts of indoctrination. Rila isn't past that point yet, so she can still be saved. I promise you that." said Austin.

"He's telling the truth, Justicar. If we hurry, we can break their hold over her." said Liara.

"Then what are we waiting for?! We have to get out of here!" said Falere.

"Can we set off this bomb?" Austin asked.

"We need a detonator." said Jet.

"Typical. Whenever we end up on mission that require us to use explosives, we've never got our demolition expert with us." Dash sighed.

"Incoming!" Jet yelled.

"Samara, keep your daughters safe. We'll protect you." Said Austin.

Samara threw up a biotic shield around herself, Rila and Falere while Austin and the others dealt with the husks. The screaming from the Banshees seemed to have an effect on Falere as well. Samara seemed as though she was managing to block it out. Being nearly as old as a matriarch, that wasn't any surprise.

One stray Banshee managed to get past the Helldivers and tried to claw at Samara's barrier. After a few strikes however, it suddenly stopped.

Then something very surprising happened. It suddenly turned and started to attack all the others. Everyone was completely stumped by this and momentarily stopped fighting. The Banshee struck down all the others and quickly killed all the other husks.

When it was over, it suddenly fell to its knees and groaned in pain, almost like it was trying to resist something.

Dash was about to kill the Banshee at point blank range when Samara stopped him.

"Wait. There's something about this one." She said.

The Banshee slowly looked up at her, then it spoke.

"Mo…ther." It managed to say, struggling in between its groans.

There was something shockingly familiar about that voice. It sounded like…

"MORINTH?!"

The Banshee slowly nodded.

"How is that possible? You've been dead for two years." Said Austin.

"The Reapers… found my body. Turned me into this… thing." Morinth managed to say.

"You shouldn't even be alive after that." Said Samara, just as surprised as Austin was.

"I don't know how either." Said Morinth. "But it doesn't matter. I don't know how long I have before I lose control. I can feel myself rotting away and my mind is slowly being consumed by the husk's mind. Please… kill me."

Austin looked at Samara for a moment. Did Morinth deserve a quick death? After the suffering she'd made others endure?

"Why should we? Your victims didn't get the same." Said Austin.

"I… know what I did." Morinth replied, struggling more than ever to talk properly. "Being like this… has made me see. I regret… what I did. Just please... don't let me suffer like this. I beg you, even death would be preferable to this."

"Samara?" Austin asked.

The Justicar considered this for a few seconds. Then she drew her gun.

"May you find true peace in the embrace of the goddess this time." She said.

"Thank you… mother. I'm… I'm sorry for everything." Said Morinth. "I… love… you."

Samara hung her head for a moment before she pulled the trigger. Morinth fell.

Rila meanwhile had suddenly woken up again.

"Rila?" said Falere.

"Falere..." Rila managed to say.

"How long does she have?" Falere asked quickly.

"Not long. We have to get her out of here, quickly!" said Austin.

"Leave me. It's too late..." Rila said weakly.

"Not it's not, Rila! We're not leaving you behind! I'll carry you out of here if I have to." said Falere, almost on the point of tears.

"You won't need to." said Austin as he scooped up Rila in his arms. He carried her the rest of the way. As they entered the elevator, they detonated the bomb. Any more Banshees left would hopefully have been caught in the blast.

They all hurried into the Normandy's med bay. Austin quickly put her on one of the operating tables. Rana, having done some of these operations before due to that fact that it was her knowledge that had had a hand in conceiving this method of removing indoctrination, quickly got to work.

"We need to be fast. The indoctrination's almost spread completely." said Austin.

A machine just above Rila's bed activated and slowly started to scan her.

"What are you doing?" Rila asked.

"Hopefully, saving you." Rana replied. "Try to remain still. This may hurt a bit."

"Falere..." Rila said.

"It'll be okay, Rila." said Falere, holding her sisters hand reassuringly.

"I love you." said Rila.

"Don't say things like that. You're going to be okay." said Falere.

Then machine then fired some kind fo beam at Rila. The Asari groaned, struggling against the binds holding her down. Falere almost cried seeing her sister in pain like this.

Then, some sort of dark essence slowly started to drain out of Rila's body.

"Almost there…" said Rana.

Rila's eyes opened again, pitch black and she started to struggle against her binds even more, wanting to attack. Thens he suddnely cried out as the darkness left her eyes too. Finally it ended and she slumped back onto the bed. The essence meanwhile simply disappeared.

"By the goddess." said Samara, rather shocked at what she'd just seen.

Falere ran up to Rila and removed the restraints.

"Rila? Rila!"

Rila's eyes slowly opened, now completely restored to normal.

"Are you alright?" Falere asked.

"Yes. I... I can't feel them in my head anymore." Rila replied, slightly weakly.

"The indoctrination's gone. She's cured." Said Rana, checking the scans to make sure they were absolutely accurate.

"I... thank you, Shepard." Said Falere, tears of happiness trickling down her cheeks as eh hugged her sister.

"Words alone cannot express how grateful I am to you, Shepard. You have performed the impossible before, I did not think you could do it again." Said Samara, unable to hold back a smile.

"Never say never." Said Austin proudly. He then noticed however that Samra's expression had changed to sorrow. "What's the matter?"

"Falere, Rila... the code demands that an Ardat-Yakshi cannot live outside a monastery that no longer exists." Said Samara, slowly drawing her gun.

"What are you doing?" Austin asked.

"I'm sorry, Shepard. By tthe Justicar's code... this is the only way to save my daughters." Said Samara.

"Mother, no!"

Just as she aimed the gun at her head however, Austin quickly stopped her and pinned her arm to her back.

"Let...go!" said Samara.

"What are you doing?! This is madness." Said Austin.

"I am fulfilling the code." Samara replied.

"By throwing your life away?" Austin asked back.

"I won't kill my daughters!"

"You won't have too!" said Falere.

"Falere?"

Austin let Samara go, but stood ready should she try to kill herself again.

"We'll stay at the monastery... home, no matter what's become of it." Said Rila.

"Without a proper monastery..." Samara went to say.

"We could've left any time. We don't need a building to honour our own code." Falere intrupted."

"And if the Reapers return, they won't take us alive. I promise." Said Rila.

"Then... the Code permits you to stay, as you are." Said Samara.

Both Asari hugged their mother. After a few seconds, Samara hugged them back.

The Hellhound touched down at everyone stepped out. Both Rila and Falere went towards the Monastery's entrance.

"Once this war is over, and if I am able, I will visit. As a Justicar should." Said Samara to her daughters.

"I'd understand if you wanted to help them rebuild a home here." Said Austin.

"It must wait now that I can help you oppose the Reapers." Said Samara. "I'll speak with my daughters, then join your forces. If you'll me, of course."

"We'd be more than honoured." Austin smiled under his helmet.

"The honour is mine, my friend." Samara smiled back as she and Austin shook hands.

Falere then went up to Austin.

"Thank you, Shepard. I only wish I could give you something other than words." She said.

"Just stay safe, for the sake of your mother and your sister." Said Austin.

"I will. We both will."

"Everything's taken care of down here. Let's go." Said Austin.

The Helldivers walked back into the dropship and it took off.

"What a day." Dash sighed.

Austin took his helmet and gave a deep sigh. He was quite relieved how well that had gone, it could've been a lot worse.

Liara then suddenly retracted her own helmet and gave Austin a peck on the cheek.

"You deserve that, love. And perhaps a little more." She smiled.

"You're so good to me." Austin smiled.

"I try."

"Major, I'm pleased to hear the Ardat-Yakshi situation has been put to rest." Said Councillor Tevos.

"Should I guess you're our contact inside Asari High Command, Councillor?" Austin asked.

"I'm merely here to convert the gratitude of the Asari people for concluding a difficult, sensitive mission. The next team of commandos we were sending to the monastery are now en route to the Resistance instead." "In the meantime, I have another matter to discuss with you. Come to the Citadel and we will discuss it further."

Right, this time it is Thessia next. As I said before, better outcome.

Sadly that will be my last chapter for this year. I'm going away for Christmas next Friday. But don't worry, I'll still continue writing, especially since I'll be working on the Citadel chapter while I'm away.

See you soon! :)

Sorry again for the delay, and possibly the short length.
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Mass Effect: The Helldiver Saga, The Last Cycle