Chapter 25: Fury Road Pt.2

"I could get out and run faster than this…" Harry stared at the canyon walls as they slowly passed by from his perch on top of the crane on the back of the cargo truck. "Is this really as fast as we can go?" he questioned over the team comm channel. "They're going to be pissed that we stole the core and blew up their base."

Darra winced from her seat in the truck cab as the wizard's voice was heard, watching the turian driver's talons as they began to dig into the wheel. "I don't think we can go any faster right now Harry" she quickly said, attempting to defuse the situation. "Perhaps we should just let Avitus drive and…"

"You're welcome to come up here and switch spots with me if you think you can drive better!" the turian Pathfinder's voice roared through the radio, making the wizard flinch. His anxiety was slowly rising as more rain drops had begun to fall, some splattering on the windshield as if to taunt him. "I'm trying to maneuver a big rig through a box canyon on an unpaved road carrying an alien bomb. What the hell did you expect to happen?!" The truck swerved to the side as if to highlight his rant, barely missing one of the acid spewing beetles that was sunning itself on a rock.

A large raindrop hurtled towards the sand, it's velocity constantly increasing as it's volume grew from gathering the surrounding moisture as it fell. It's journey abruptly ended as it splashed against the beetle with enough force to violently jar the insect's head. The bug had just enough time to twitch it's antenna in distress before it violently exploded, sending a shower of acid on the surrounding area.

Avitus's brow twitched as he watched the insect's death in his rear view mirror. "What kind of backwards ass planet has insects that explode from rain drops?" He swerved again as another of the beetles made a mad dash for the perceived shelter of the truck only to meet its end halfway to its goal. A pool of melting sand was left in its place, the only sign that something living was once there.

"A planet that a krogan can be proud of" came the quick reply from the wizard, unable to help himself. A roar of approval from Drack could be heard from the front of the truck.

"Harry, just go back to keeping a lookout" Scott cut into the conversation. "Let the turian drive without distraction before you get us all killed." He took a second to glance over at his twin, both of them occupying a narrow ledge on the back of the truck bed to fight off any pursuers.

Sara rolled her eyes at his unasked question before reaching up to mute her comms. "This is why I never wanted your job. It isn't worth the drama." She braced as the truck lunged to the side to dodge another obstacle, using the opportunity to 'fall' and dig an elbow into her brothers thigh right above his kneecap. She owed him one after all for the last fight back on the Tempest.

Scott ignored the dig, stamping his leg down to get some feeling into the now dead limb before pausing to listen. A faint echo rolled off the canyon walls, there one minute, and gone the next. It was heard again seconds later, though stronger. "It's an engine" he heard Sara say as she looked back into the canyon as well, her head cocked and hair pulled out of the way of her ear.

"Looks like it's about to get messy" was all he could reply with as they both pulled on their helmets and withdrew their pistols. "Play time is starting people" he announced over the radio. "Avitus, how much farther until we get out of this canyon and reach the open desert?"

The Turian Pathfinder swore softly as he kept his eyes on the road, only taking a second to look at Darra's omnitool a she held it up in his peripheral vision showing a map. "We're just over halfway" he answered back before concentrating forward again. "I can open it up to about three times the speed once were in the dunes but it's slow going until we reach there."

"Goddess, this is bad" Sarissa muttered to herself from her perch on top of the cargo container. "What's the rest of the route looking like until the canyon ends?"

"Clear all the way through" Liam reported from the driver's seat of the Nomad. They were parked on the top of the canyon, directly over it's exit having reached it in a few minutes with the man flooring it the entire way.

"You're going to want to step on it though" he warned them as he watched a dust cloud lazily float out of the top of the canyon, marking the trucks position as it drove along. He frowned as he watched an absolutely massive dust cloud moving behind them, and it was gaining rapidly. "It looks like every asshole on the planet is moments away from showing you just how bad a plan this heist was".

"We're aware" Scott cut him off, doing his best to avoid another rant from Avitus about the speed not being his fault. He had to shout to be heard over the sound of dozens of engines that now blasted through the canyon walls from their pursuers. "It's still too early yet for a confrontation. We might cause a rockslide if explosions start going off in here."

He glanced upwards to where his most powerful asset was perched in the overwatch position on top of the crane. "Is there anything you can do to help Harry?"

Said wizard pushed himself to his feet, the sigh of the damned escaping from his lips as he thought for a second before glancing over his shoulder back at the truck cab. He apparated to the door, landing with his feet on the rail and his hands holding himself steady against the vehicle. "Good afternoon everyone!" he exclaimed to the cab's occupants, a large smile stretching across his features as the turian and angara stared at him as if he was deranged.

He waited as they rounded a corner, pulling onto a large straight away. Darra found a hand held out to her by the most interesting human she knew, his green eyes alight with mischief as if knowing a joke that no one else had realized yet. "Will you help me?" the wizard asked, his eyes never leaving her own as he waited for her reply.

She nodded hesitantly before taking his hand in her own, marveling at its softness even as her bioenergy began to react to his own where their skin met. They disappeared with a pop, leaving the remaining occupant of the truck to continue driving. Avitus shook his head as he mentally reviewed the scene he had just witnessed. "Spirits but that human is smooth" he muttered, mentally taking notes to try something similar with Vitesia after the mission ended.

Harry noticed none of this, quickly kneeling down to the ground. He buried on hand in the sand, grimacing at how cool it had already become while his wand dropped down into his other hand. "This is going to take a lot of my magic" he explained to his friend as he began to channel his power into the earth even as he began the wand movements for an enormous transfiguration.

Afraid of distracting him, Darra simply stepped up behind him and ran her hands into his hair while pushing her bioenergy outwards. It was immediately apparent that she had much more available this time as she barely felt herself weakening even as she continued to help him. The observation was immediately shunted to the back of her head as she watched in awe as his magic began to take shape. The rain that had begun to come down heavily seemed to freeze in the air all around them before flying to the sand directly after the corner they had just turned on.

Darra felt her energy flow to Harry shift for a moment as the water flash froze, leaving a field of ice that stretched from one canyon wall to the other. She shivered involuntarily at the rapid drop in temperature, drawing closer to the wizard to take in his body heat as she pressed against him. The angara stiffened as she heard her friend drew in a large breath before he stabbed his wand into the sand at his feet, the string of strange words he muttered never stopping. All of a sudden she felt exhausted as her body finally registered a gigantic pull on her bioenergy, much more than anything she had experienced before.

Harry showed that he hadn't wasted her gift as the very environment began to shift around him. A large pit began to form directly after the ice field, expanding until it was twenty feet deep and thirty feet across. To top it off, a thick rock wall began to rise out of the sand. It stretched from one end of the canyon to the other, rising until it was almost half the height of the rock walls on either of its sides.

The angaran resistance fighter barely caught the wizard as he began to pitch forward after breaking the spell. She pulled him upright, propping his arm across his shoulder to hold him even as she pushed what energy she had back into his empty reserves. She pulled back as he held up a hand, a tired smile spread across his face. "That's more than enough" he assured her before giving her a quick hug in gratitude. She returned it with enthusiasm, disappointed when he let go. The next thing she knew, she was back on top of the truck's crane. She held on for dear life as it rounded another corner, leaving the new hellscape behind for their pursuers to encounter.

Harry simply sat back against the crane's frame, a tired smile on his face as he brought his hand up to his helmet. "I think I've slowed them down for the moment" he reported, the exhaustion in his voice clear to all those listening.

"You did more than that" Cora said in awe from her perch on top of the cargo pod near Vitesia and PeeBee. "You just turned the route into a box canyon and they have no idea." Every time she thought she had a handle on just how powerful the wizard was, he would go and pull a stunt like just now to keep her on her toes.

"Isn't it great?" Drack chuckled as he watched with glee as the first fireball rolled into the sky from farther back on their route. "What I wouldn't give to be a pyjack on the wall when they find out."

XXXXXX

"What in Kalros's maw is happening up there?" Jorgul swore to himself as he watched yet another crawler speed past him. It fishtailed wildly around the rocks on the road, so ladened down with raiders that they clung to the roof and held on to the sides in an attempt to join in on the action. The speeder followed two others as they swung around the curve farther ahead before a loud crunch of metal was heard and a fireball shot into the sky, visible to everyone as it rose above the canyon walls.

Jorgul Strux was nobody's fool, having long survived situations where other krogan fell before him by using his brain for something more than estimating the range of the enemy and soaking up barrels of ryncol. He let his foot slowly off of the accelerator, letting the dozens of smaller crawlers shoot past him in their rush to meet the enemies first. Only a dozen of the larger vehicles who had been following behind his tomkah had the ability to slow enough to match his speed, their drivers watching with growing alarm as their fellows disappeared from view only to fall silent on the airways. They all slowed to a stop, unwilling to go forward any farther as they tried to find an alternate path out of the canyon.

Unfortunately, in their rush to stay safe, they had forgotten that their lives were still very much in danger from the blue ball of crazy sitting in the passenger seat of the tomkah and growing more impatient by the minute. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" the asari growled, glaring at him through her goggles. "They're just ahead of us. We almost have them and you're just sitting here!"

Jorgul simply growled at her, turning off the tomkah's engine and crossing his arms as he gestured towards the smoke rolling lazily into the sky ahead of them. "In case you haven't noticed queen…" he answered in a tone laced with heavy sarcasm, "you probably just lost over half of your men. We don't have any idea what's ahead and no one is willing to risk it to find out."

Kiere simply stared at him before a demented grin slowly began to spread across her face. "This right here is why you aren't leader of the krogans Jorgul" she explained as she reached into her cleavage before pulling out a high explosive grenade from Kalros only knew where. "Leaders lead, which means that they go first and the rest follow." She activated the grenade, her thumb firmly pressed on the trigger to keep the timer from starting. "Now lead the rest of the men around that corner or I'll turn everyone in this vehicle into a fine paste for those wonderful exploding beetles to munch on."

"Cool your azure. I'm going" the krogan muttered, throwing his tomkah back into gear and laying on his horn to signal the others. He floored it without a second thought, knowing full well that his only chance at survival past the next minute was to follow the crazy bitch's orders.

He careened around the corner, his wheels powersliding before catching traction again to shoot him forward. Terror flooded his veins as he stared at the mountain of crushed vehicles set against a wall across the canyon that he knew hadn't been there that morning.

A blue hand slammed down on his knee cap, accelerating the tomkah forward right before he hit an ice field of all things and began to slide towards the mountain of wrecks. "Don't slow down!" the insane asari ordered as she leveraged herself out of the passenger window to climb up onto the hood, ignoring the fact that she had inadvertently given the other occupants a free show as her hot pants clad blue ass bounced directly in front of them. She braced herself as the tomkah's tires caught traction on the broken vehicle bodies and began to climb the mountain. Her body wreathed itself in biotic energy before she winged the grenade at the top of the wall. A blue biotic sphere shot from her hands directly afterwards, colliding with the grenade and creating an explosion that shattered the stone.

The shock wave arrived before the sound, shattering the window and peppering Jorgul as he struggled to keep control of his vehicle. His passenger used the momentum to drop to her belly and slide backwards until she landed back in the passenger seat, taking a moment to buckle herself in. This proved fortuitous as the tomkah launched itself off the top of the pyramid, staying airborne for a few precious seconds before plummeting back to the ground so hard that it almost broke the shock absorbers that had been rated against thresher maw attacks.

"That is how it's done Jorgul" the asari preened as she leaned back, propping her feet up on the dashboard. "You may continue on now" she ordered, casually waving her hand towards the now open canyon ahead of them. "Our prize awaits us ahead."

Jorgul fumed as he started forward again, ignoring the groans of his men who had chosen to forgo their safety restraints. The rest of the vehicles began to land behind him, some of them not escaping without damage and one crashing into the side of the canyon and turning into a fireball. He was getting off of this rock the moment this mission was over, even if he had to work for the damn kett. Nothing was worth staying near this crazy bitch one second longer than his contract required.

Kiere ignored him, choosing to grab the comm unit and switched it to broadcast on the Initiative band. "I know you can hear me my king" she cooed into the microphone, her demented grin in place as her voice practically oozed excitement. "Don't you worry a bit! I'll rescue you soon and you can take your place by my side. I wore my best outfit just for you after all…" she closed her eyes, picturing her new partner as the krogan did their best to ignore her presence entirely.

XXXXX

"Switch to emergency channels!" Scott commanded, shouting to be heard over the crazy asari's ramblings. Blessed silence met his ears as SAM changed his frequency, small bursts of static signalling as each of his team joined the channel themselves. "Ok… what the hell was that all about? Does anyone know who she was talking to?"

"Heh heh heh…." Drack's chuckle signaled the arrival of bad news for the team, one of the only things he ever tended to find humorous. "That is the leader of the Raiders, an asari named Kiere who has more than a few screws loose in that blue head of hers. She's been on a quest to find her king to help her rule over the degenerates ever since taking power, but it hasn't worked out so well… on a count of them all ending up dead once she gets them in the sack."

Sarissa gasped in surprise as her mind began to connect the dots. "But we left them back in the Milky Way! We screened each asari's genetics to make sure those genes didn't come over with us!"

"Don't know about all that" Drack muttered before the happy lift began to return to his voice again. "What do know though is that every time she mates, her eyes grow black and the next thing you know, her partner is brain dead. It's driving her absolutely nuts trying to find a partner that can with stand sex with an Ardat Yakshi."

"I don't get it" Liam commented from his position in the Nomad outside the canyon. "If it's certain death, then why the hell do people still try to get with her? It seems like a pretty easy choice to me." His omnitool chimed, indicating a message from Drack to the entire crew. Opening it up, he couldn't help but whistle at the picture of the finest asari that he had ever laid eyes on.

Her proportions were ungodly, yet still contained in an hourglass figure that was clearly athletic. This was accentuated by the fact that that she wore less clothing then some of the models in Fornax minus the boots. The slight hint of crazy in her eye just seemed to add to the sense of danger she seemed to possess that just drew people in to her.

"She would have given Jona Sederis a challenge for the leadership of the Eclipse, but felt she would be better off starting her own group in Andromeda" the krogan explained. "One falsified passport later mixed with a bad case of freezer burn lead us to where we are now. I've lost a few scouts to her already since she settled on our moon. She either shot them, fucked them to death, or converted them to join the raiders." His eyes trailed up to the crane where his friend was still perched, almost recovered from his spell work earlier. "I'll give you one guess to who's she's talking to on the comms."

Harry's response was the middle finger, held up far enough for Drack to clearly make out. The krogan roared in laughter before hunkering back down and checking his flamethrower for the tenth time. Drack hadn't been able to use it yet on any of the missions and was confident it was finally time for him to cut loose.

Avitus ignored the banter, slowly accelerating as he spied the canyon walls start to dip away ahead of him. The truck shot out into the open dessert, its tires struggling for purchase in the dampening sand as it fishtailed before finally surging forward. "We're clear" he reported smugly as an icon appeared on his HUD, signalling were their destination was. "Heading to the NAV point now."

"That's nice" Sara said sotto voice as she stood with her brother as they watched a growing crowd of ramshackle vehicles pile out of the canyon before grouping up to pursue their truck. "We're about to have company though and I don't think Harry can pull the same trick twice out in the open dessert."

"All we can do is trust in each other" her brother returned, before cringing as a bullet came close enough for him to hear it over the truck engine. "It's time to raise the shield Sarrisa" he ordered, before raising his own pistol to return fire.

"All right girls" the Asari Pathfinder shouted from her position above the cargo container, "it's time to earn our paychecks!" A blue glow surrounded her body before it bubbled out, slowly growing until it encompassed the entire truck. She strained to hold it until she felt the others contribute their biotic energy to the field, the ease of holding it until the base now almost a certainty barring anything bad happening.

Avitus swerved around another dune, unwilling to risk losing momentum in an attempt to climb it. "Morda!' he shouted into the comms, uncaring if she took offense at this point. "We have your damn drive core! We just made it out of the canyon and still have a dozen raider vehicles in pursuit. If you don't give us assistance then it's on you if your colony loses out!"

A growl was heard over the comms before a second NAV point showed up on their HUDs, this one a symbol for New Tuchanka. "Get to the plateau before the base and we'll cover you" the Overlord commanded. "We can't go any further with the flash flooding that is happening in the valleys. It's on you to make it that far on your own. DON'T. LOSE. MY. CORE!" she finished with a shout before cutting the comms from her end.

"Bitch" the wizard muttered to himself before laying down on his stomach to face the rear of the truck from his perch on the craine. The nearest raider vehicle reminded him of one of the dune buggies that he had seen ridden in Baja Mexico. It nimbly weaved between the dunes, easily gaining on the truck as it's occupants began to empty their weapons at their target. The biotic shield glowed fiercely as it blocked each mass effect shot. Deciding to end the threat in the easiest way possible, the wizard focused on the front left tire of the vehicle and cast an overpowered summoning spell.

XXXXXX

Jorgul flinched as his scout car suddenly wrenched to the side as if pulled by an invisible force. It seemed to recover, even if driving a little wobbly before it was wrenched to the side again. This time the tire flew off completely, hurtling end over end towards the truck ahead. It barely missed the scaffolding before plowing into the wet sand, sending a geyser of it into the air. The scout maintained control for a few seconds longer before coming up on a dune and needing to turn. The driver over compensated, sending the vehicle pitching forward and catching the sand on the bumper before flipping end over end until it was a mangled wreck.

"Dumbasses" he heard the asari mutter next to him, not even bothering to look at her fallen men as they drove past them. He couldn't help but agree after thinking about it. Continuing at top speed in a broken car seemed suicidal to the krogan leader.

"Everyone move in" he growled into the comm, watching as the other vehicles surged around him to draw near the truck. "Going one at a time will let them pick us off. We need to overwhelm them at once. And make sure not to damage the core!" he flinched as an elbow dug into his chest before rolling his eyes. "And don't harm the magic user more than necessary for capture unless you want to answer to Kiere."

His job as coordinator finished, he slammed his hand against the wall behind him, signalling to his crew to get ready for a boarding attack as he accelerated forward. Movement could be heard as they moved to the doors, throwing them open.

Kiere took this as a signal to begin her own assault, moving to climb back out on the tomkah's hood again. She made it halfway before a claw curled around her ankle and yanked her back into the cab again.

Jorgul growled at her, unwilling to be cowed by her fury this time. "Leaders also need to stay alive to be useful" he explained as he swerved to the side to avoid an explosion before accelerating again. The sand was getting to the point of becoming unpassible. Only the fact that the truck was having even a worse time of it kept him from giving up at this point. "They're using unknown weapons and tactics that we've never seen before. Let the grunts soak up some of the damage and wear them down before we commit."

The asari scowled, crossing her arms petulantly as she was yet again denied her fun. This only lasted as long as it took the first vehicle to pull up next to the truck, just outside of the biotic field, before a stream of flames was released from an obviously krogan shape to set the raider vehicle alight. The flaming wreck coasted off to the side as raiders desperately piled out to dive into the wet sand in a desperate attempt to douse the fire clinging to them. A krogan victory roar could be heard echoing between the dunes, signaling to all within range that dominance had been established.

Three more trucks attempted a coordinated boarding maneuver. The truck on the left was set on fire too, while the one at the back recieved a massive biotic blast from two sources sending it end over end. The truck on the right succeeded however, offloading at least a dozen raiders before it was set on fire and forced to break off as well. Gunfire and biotics soon began to light up the truck as it slowed while the boarders were repelled.

"Now we're getting somewhere" Jorgul grunted, flooring the accelerator pedal to begin his own boarding attempt. The two Pathfinders who had mocked him would learn their place before he was done. Kiere simply grinned in anticipation, her eyes locked on the crane where multiple flashes of light were being shot in a kaleidoscope of death at any raider within site. It was beautiful as it was frightening, and soon it would be hers.

XXXXXX

Kallo was unaware of any of this. The salarian having been forced to pull the Tempest out of the atmosphere entirely to escape the storm that now encompassed the entire moon. "Look at it!" he exclaimed, overcome with awe at the raw power that was being unleashed on the planet. It made the storms on Habit 7 look like child's play in comparison.

Suvi bit her lip in anxiety as she left her seat, wandering to the glass viewport that took up the front of the bridge and stare down at the moon below. "Where are they Kallo" she asked quietly as she held her hand against the window. She gasped as a NAV point popped up to answer her question, dangerously close to where a funnel was beginning to form in the storm clouds that seemed to stretch up into the top of the planet's troposphere.

"All we can do is trust in them" the salarian murmured from his seat at the pilot station. "To do less would be doing them a disservice after all they've accomplished." He blinked, before leaning back in his chair. "Besides" he commented, "I'm sure they saw it with plenty of time to get out of the way."

XXXXXX

"Avitus…"

"I know"

"AVITUS!"

"Spirits! I know already you damn primate!" The Turian Pathfinder's flanges grit together as he pursed his lips. Everyone was a damn critic of his driving. Yes he saw the giant death funnel. And no, he had no intention of driving into it. It was directly in between them and their backup though meaning he fully intended on skirting it as close as possible to minimize the time they had to remain exposed. Now if only everyone would stop shouting at him.

The battle had stopped momentarily, all parties driving silently as they stared at the storm that looked like a cross between a tornado and a hurricane as it moved over the landscape. Black clouds swirled around the giant funnel while bolts of lightning surged in random locations. The real fear however was the new canyon being scoured into the ground as the storm passed by. The winds having such power that they blew through the sand clear to the bedrock beneath. Sand, stones, and even remnant ruins were all torn from the ground by the storm as it passed by over head while a remnant architect orbited on the outside of the storm, having gone previously unnoticed in the face of the more imminent threat. The alien machine was absolutely dwarfed by the tornado, desperately firing some kind of beam into the winds in a futile attempt to tame it.

Recovering quicker than the rest due to seeing more of the unnatural in his lifetime, Harry took the opportunity to fire a massive blasting curse at a raider vehicle that had been pursuing them on tank treads of all things. The unaware raiders disappeared in a blast of fire, bringing their fellows back into the fight as they did their best to exact vengeance for their fallen comrades.

Their orders had been thrown to the wayside as desperation had begun to take over. Their addled minds wouldn't allow them to break away from the fight, concentrating solely on taking down their opponents even as the reason for doing so had disappeared from their thoughts.

Kiere realized this as she watched one of her men climb on top of the roof of his car and shoulder a rocket launcher. The projectile flew to the side as the truck desperately swerved even as the raider moved to reload. This would not stand. The crazed asari reached towards her target, a biotic field surrounding the raider before the hapless man was thrown from the car. He flew through the air until the winds caught hold of him, pulling him towards the tornado as he screamed for help. His cries were cut short by a lightning bolt before he disappeared into the funnel.

Three of the remaining raider vehicles saw this, pulling off of the chase to disappear into the dunes in an effort to outrun the storm. Their loyalty broken and fight or flight response finally triggered as death drew down on them from all sides. This left Jorgul Strux and three other heavy vehicles to try and stop the transport that was beginning to pull farther and farther away as it skirted closer to the storm.

Unwilling to give up, the raiders began to move in as well. The tomkah and two of the armored trucks maintained enough weight to fight through the storm. The last scout car that tried to follow them was unable to fight off the howling winds. With a metallic wrenching noise, it was picked up off the sands. It's occupants hung on for dear life as it began to circle around the outer reaches of the storm as the winds carried it higher and higher before it's mass carried it far enough away to let it hurtle back to the ground again.

Scott grimaced at the sight, glad he had ordered the Nomad to circle well away from the storm and return to the krogan compound to wait for them. He could see the barrier was beginning to weaken around the truck as it continued to soak up fire. "Time to step up" he ordered his sister, motioning towards the top of the truck. She rolled her eyes in response before punching him in the shoulder and climbing upwards out of sight. The barrier flashed, before becoming a strong blue again as a fifth member added her strength to it.

He jumped in surprise as Drack dropped down onto the platform next to him, a savage grin on display. "Bet I get more kills than you" the krogan bragged, mentally tallying up the two cars he had flamed already. Scott stared at him deadpanned before pulling his best impression of his sister. He raised his hand up as a biotic flare began to form, pumping as much power into it as he could before letting it fly. The angry ball of dark matter flew true, arcing towards the two raider vehicles before it landed between them, missing both entirely.

Wrex grinned, about to mock the Pathfinder before the man held up a finger signalling to wait as he watched the two raider trucks. The one on the left lost control from its frantic swerve to escape the ball of death, overcompensating before flying into a skid that brought it crashing into the side of the other truck before flipping onto its roof. The second truck had been redirected by the crash, running it directly up the sand dune they had previously been driving around. It went airborne as it reached the top of the dune, shuddering in mid air as it's momentum ground to a halt before it was sucked upwards into the tornado and disappeared into the blackness.

"And then there was one" Ryder said smugly to the krogan.

Drack simply watched with his jaw dropped, unable to comprehend the unbelievable luck of the human. "That doesn't count!" he growled, one arm holding him to the truck while he used the other to point dramatically at the Pathfinder. "You missed and they killed themselves by driving like idiots. That's their own damn fault, not yours."

"The hell it isn't my kill" Scott shouted back, his own forehead pushing into Drack's crest as they squared off against each other. "Don't be a sore loser old man!" He looked up to the crane that had begun to sway back and forth in the wind. "Can I get a judgement Harry?" he called into the comms as both he and the krogan looked up at the other witness to the battle.

"I'm a little busy" the wizard mumbled to himself as he shot another blasting curse at the fast approaching tomkah. This one was a tough nut to crack. Every time he fired a spell, a biotic field would pop up to cancel it out while the vehicle continued to approach them. Picking up on the distress in his voice, the two fighters turned to fire on the approaching vehicle.

The battle was fast becoming a stalemate. Harry and his biotic adversary were locked in a duel, waiting for either side to blink first. Scott was forced to fight off the krogan that had clambered up onto the back of the truck, taking them under fire as they desperately worked to fire back while holding on against the powerful winds. Drack was stuck sweeping his flamethrower in wide arcs to keep the tomkah far enough away to avoid the risk of it either ramming them or allowing more boarders to jump onto the cargo truck.

Harry felt the back of the truck begin to leave the ground as a gust of wind hit it. He quickly cast a weight increasing spell on the truck but was forced to drop it a second later as it sank into the sand. Knowing he was on borrowed time, he began to formulate a desperate plan in his head. "Scott" he called out to his teammate. "I need you to count to three, then fire a blast in front of the raider truck!" Scott complied, a flare soon flying at the tomkah before it was cancelled out by the opposing biotic. This left them open to Harry's blasting curse, the explosion denting the heavy armor but not doing much else for damage.

The wizard frowned before a tired look crossed his features as he realized what it was going to take to end the fight. He signaled to his teammates to hold fire, getting a pair of confused looks before complying. Twisting in place from his position, he reappeared on the hood of the tomkah. He immediately cast a sticking spell to his feet before casting a lumos maxima at the knocked out window. The looks of surprise on the krogan and asari inside were priceless before they screamed as the magical equivalent of a laser pointer hit their eyes.

Ryder watched in disbelief as the tomkah swerved heavily to the side before flying up a sand dune and entering the storm. He didn't know what happened next, only returning to clarity as he found himself laying on the ground with Drack's foot holding him down. "Finally calmed down?" the krogan asked as he watched the human closely. "You almost hurled yourself off the truck after them."

Scott nodded despondently, accepting the massive hand that pulled him to his feet as they watched the tornado start to shrink as they put some distance from it. "It just happened so fast that there wasn't anything I could do to help" he explained.

Drack snorted, eyes still scanning for threats even though the immediate danger had died off. "If anyone can survive that it's the runt. The kid is tougher to kill than a krogan."

XXXXXX

"What the hell does it take to kill you, you damn pyjack?!" Harry smiled grimly from his spot on the tomkah's hood as it's driver raged within the cab. The armored vehicle had gone airborne moments after entering the storm, the krogan clinging to the back having been carried off one by one as their grips weakened. Now it was down to him and the two leaders as his teammates escaped. The only problem was, it was impossible to hang onto his wand with the wind howling around him requiring him to stow it in his armor. He would be doing this with brute magical strength thanks to the remnant jewels in his gauntlets instead of finesse with his wand.

Not getting an answer, the krogan clambered out onto the hood. His claws dug into the metal, barely holding him in place as he faced down his opponent while the vehicle slowly spun in the wind. Both opponents stopped for a moment before the battle truly began, appreciating just where they were. The wind tore by them, more than enough to keep the tomkah aloft even as it seemed to shackle a lightning storm in it's center. One of the Remnant Abyssals arched slowly into sight as it slowly flew through the storm, it's movements still lazy as if it had nothing to fear even as the storm tore at its body. 'Songs are sung for battles like this' the krogan realized as he began to pump himself up.

Jorgul pulled out his claymore shotgun, only for it to go flying off into the storm as the human made a gesture with a glowing hand. Growling, he surged forward towards his opponent. Harry cast a banisher at the krogan, only for his eyes to widen in alarm as another biotic shield tanked the blast. Then it was too late as his opponent was on top of him. Harry ducked under the first claw swipe, rabbit punching the krogan's chest to little effect. Movement from the window distracted him just long enough to take a haymaker to the helmet, spider webbing the glass and making it impossible to see.

The wizard frantically fell back while wrenching at his helmet, tearing it off and letting it go in the wind. He wasn't given time to recover though as his opponent was immediately on top of him again, this time giving a brutal headbut that sent the human's vision swimming.

Jorgul roared in triumph over his downed opponent before grabbing the front of his armor and lifting him back to his feet. "Do you have any last words for me to tell your people when I seek them out for vengeance?" he sneered as he raised his hand with its claws out, intent on stabbing his opponent through the throat.

Harry frantically shook his head, able to see once again even if his ears still felt like they were faintly ringing. "Just let them know how I won" he ground out, his hand grabbing the krogan's armor before it glowed blue. His other hand reaching forward to the krogan's chest, bypassing the biotic field. A banisher propelled Jorgul back into the driver's seat, his head swimming from hitting it on the tomkah's roof during the flight. As his body worked to heal itself, the portkey Harry placed on him activated. With a flash he was gone, only to reappear again in another flash. Jorgul's body was shocked extra crisp, the smell of cooked meat and ozone wafting off of him as he groaned in pain, barely holding onto life.

"My hero!" Harry blinked in confusion as one of the most drop dead sexy asari he had ever seen crawled out of the passenger seat of the tomkah to make her way towards him. He moved forward to help her, not wanting her to be lost in the wind before his brain finally rebooted enough to remind him just who she was. Too late to stop her, the asari wrapped her limbs around him like an anaconda while pressing all of her body flush into his.

Kiere reveled in how strong his muscles were as they flexed against her grip. They just felt so right together. Now was the perfect time for them to become one. The fear in his eyes saddened her, she would never hurt her one and only king. 'Bonding will fix everything though' she reminded herself as she brought her hands up to the side of his head and leaned in to kiss him. The taste of his lips was absolutely devine and her body tingled as she felt the bonding begin to take over. "Embrace Eternity!" was the last thing she remembered shouting as she leaned her head back to look up at the storm before everything went black.

The wizard had not enjoyed the experience at all. The bitch had latched on before he could do anything to fight her, and her biotics had stopped him from using his magic to escape her grip. Getting felt up was bad enough but then he felt something hammering on his mental shields with strength equivalent to Voldemort during their final battle at Hogwarts. He couldn't make out what she said through the pain but the next thing he knew, it felt as if a dementor was directly in front of him trying to suck out his soul again. Reflexes kicked in at that point, years of training against that specific threat long unused, but not forgotten kicked in.

Harry Potter's magic surged under his skin, his thoughts flashing through his head rapidly until they stopped on a moment on the Tempest as everyone gathered to spend time together and watch a movie together. "EXPECTO PATRONUM" he roared out, an ethereal phoenix shooting from his chest to collide with the asari and drive her back into the passenger seat to lay next to the kentucky fried krogan.

Kierce lay there with a huge grin on her face, never having felt so fulfilled before with any of her previous partners. It was as if every good feeling in the galaxy had all gathered together and become her's for a brief moment. She would do anything to feel it again.

Remembering the lecture Lexi had given him about Asari reproduction, Harry quickly shot a strong contraceptive spell at the comatose asari before turning towards the storm and pulling a broom from his pocket, unshrinking it and mounting up. Waiting for the tomkah's flight path to take him to the outer edge of the storm, he kicked off. It took nearly all of Harry's magical power pushed into the broom to allow him to escape the edge of the storm.

The wizard was barely able to hold himself upright as he flew in a lazy arc towards the truck in the distance. The rain stung as it splashed against his uncovered face, half blinding him as he worked to stay aloft. A feeling of being watched caused him to pull up short, as he swung the broom around to look back at the still growing tornado.

The remnant Architect hung in the air less than a kilometer away from him. It's red eyes staring angrily at the wizard as it regarded him like some kind of bug. "Designation Potter, Explorer recognized." It's hissing seemed to echo around him like a second storm due to it's force. "You have been identified as one of the individuals responsible for initiating the planetary storm. Assistance is required to mitigate damage before planet's biosphere is destroyed."

Harry frowned, his power barely there as his eyes fluttered, working to stay open. "What could I possibly do to help" he hissed out in parseltongue. "It's your designation to handle events like this. Do your job!"

"Negative" was the reply, it's mechanical eyes narrowing as it moved closer. Harry's head whipped around on his shoulder as another architect floated up behind him to box him in. "Compliance is not optional. As a creator you are required to assist as needed. It is one of the three primary rules of our programming."

'Since when was I a bloody creator?' the wizard ranted to himself as he pulled out a pepper up potion and downed it in a single gulp. A surge of energy washed through him as steam flew from his ears, prompting one of the machines to lean forward in curiosity. He leaned forward on the broom, drawing both of the machines' attention.

"Where do we start?"

A/N: Welp, finally got out this chapter. The hate mail can stop now. To all those who encouraged me to continue, Thank You and hope you enjoy it. To all those who flamed the story, thank you for reading it and I hope you enjoyed at least parts of it. And finally, to the Anonymous guest who accused me of quitting everything I had ever written even though I was continuing to update, Fuck you and your mother.

Finally completed the core recovery and just need to finish up with Elaaden before moving on to bigger and better things. Just an FYI to the readers, this will be written in books, and we're nearing the end of the first. Just don't rage too much if the story ends with out all the plot holes filled up. There has to be stuff left for the sequel after all.

A/N II: Harry's love life has been too simple, if crowded, until now. Crazy has been introduced and will not be leaving any time soon.