New Start Plus: in spaaaaace! - Chapter 19 - Omaster44 (2024)

Chapter Text

Chapter 19

Storytime 3

-/-

Super-Duper Nova Part 2

Yero'Xezh POV

"Ow, ow ow owowow!" I hissed as Tali bent me into an impossible angle. "Is this really necessary?" I wheezed, I think my knee is stabbing my liver.

"Yes," Robert answered, also doing the same stretches I was with far more ease, I didn't know people could be that flexible. "One thing about combat kid, you are going to have to be able to move, meaning your body needs to be able to twist without cracking. When you build the muscles, well~." he lifted himself from his twisted position with one hand, before twisting into a new pose still in the air, and gently putting himself back on the floor. "It's smooth sailing."

"More than that it opens your body for Chi," Tali answered.

"Chiiiiii!?" I squeaked as Tali bent my spine inside out, or at least it felt like it.

"Chi is an internal energy of one's body, described as either spiritual energy or life energy. It is a subtle power, but it could be used to perform incredible feats by pushing the body to and beyond its physical limits," Steve gave a textbook definition, doing stretches with us.

"What Poindexter is trying to say, is thatChiis Will," James muttered, lifting weights. "Where magic uses hocus pocus from some other place to change the world, Chi is power over yourself."

"HoooOOOW~!" I hissed, "Do you do thaaaat~!?" Is she trying to rip out my spine!? If she wasn't pressing her breasts against my back, I would be so upset!

"Nick calls itHaki," Tali explained right next to my ear, it would have been very alluring... if my foot wasn't also right next to my ear. "He literally coats himself with his will, increasing his strength to impossible levels, he can even expand his will to the world around him, if you aren't strong enough to handle its weight, it will crush you," she warned.

"Are you really like thaaat!?" I hissed at Holo-Nick as he nonchalantly floated around the room.

He just shrugged, "I have no idea what he is like, I'm just a top-layer copy of him, I'm only skin deep, the same way one day you will be a piece of me. When you retire or gods forbid die, the next Nova will be trained by you, but unlike Nick, who used me sporadically, you are my true user, I will know you better, I might even get better at teaching. For now, though, I'm all you got."

"Ghost man still in the room?" James asked.

"It's naaaaaat a ghost," I hissed. "It's a hologram trainer only I can see and hear."

"...That doesn't make it better," he huffed.

"What have you learned?" Steve asked.

"Energy beams and how to float, kindaaaaaa~. Oh... that was nice," I wheezed.

"Kinda?" Robert asked.

"I, uh, I can float for like a minute before I fall back to the ground," I answered.

"Okay~," Tali cheered, helping me to my feet, "Now we run~." she led us to a dozen or so treadmills... in the fully stocked gym... in a tiny fighter... this place was crazy.

"Um, for how long?" I asked.

"Just a 20-minute jog~," she smiled.

"...Um... That's impossible," I drawled, Quarians weren't runners, we were ambushers, I've never seen a Quarian run longer than 300 meters before needing a 30-minute nap. Lisa called my people 'space cheetahs'.

"Well, you better get used to it, because that's going to be your daily routine," Tali warned starting up her machine and started running.

I watched her run for nearly a minute straight, it was the craziest thing I have ever seen, and I've seen the inside of this ship. I ran for exactly 33 seconds before collapsing, begging for death. Running is the worst thing ever invented, why aren't people born with wheels or the ability to fly!?

"You okay?" Tali asked... still running.

"Please... let me... die~," I groaned.

"Yeah, cardio sucks," James muttered, also running on a treadmill.

"Why... do humans... run?" I gasped, hoping the questions prolonged my rest.

"We were made to run," Steve answered, keeping pace with the others. "We used to live in trees but when they started disappearing, we had to hunt down our food, and by hunt down, I mean 'hunt down', we would run after them until they looked like you, and then we poked them with a stick. We then learned about rocks and it was a done deal after that, everything was food."

"Is that why humans sweat so much?" I asked. It was one of the most interesting and gross things I learned about humans.

"Yep," Robert answered, helping me to my feet. "Best way to keep cool, I'm guessing Quarians didn't evolve like that?"

"Not even a little, ambush all the way, usually from trees or thick brush, with a powerful burst of speed in case prey ran. We could sweat, but it was more for long periods of heat, mostly for the summers, to keep us cool, not-" I gestured to the treadmill, "-This monstrosity! We should burn it."

"Relax, when you unlock your Chi, you'll be running like any human... mostly. I've heard humans domarathons," Tali whispered loudly. "42 kilometers... of nothing but running!"

"Keelah!" I hissed. "Who would do that!? What sick savages do something so horrible!"

"And that's just a normal marathon, you should do a full-distance triathlon," James laughed. "140.6 miles long, it includes a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and a 26.2-mile marathon run."

"You people are monsters," I hissed.

James nodded, "yeah. We should sign you up for one."

"I would throw you out the airlock," I threatened.

"Meh, I'll just stand like 200 yards away and watch you collapse and whine for 30 minutes," he shrugged.

"I have a super helmet that lets me fly," I huffed.

"Lets you float~," he corrected.

"And shoot deadly Lasers!" I added.

"That couldn't hit the broadside of a barn, I think I'll be fine~," he countered.

"Why I oughta!" I brought my fists up for some action.

"No helmet, no powers, ya got nothing." I flicked my omni-tool on and hacked his treadmill, accelerating it. "OH DAMN!?" he panicked, tripped, and flew off the machine, landing on his face. "Ow... well played," he hissed.

"Hey pudgy, back to running~," Tali hissed.

I touched my tummy, "Pudgy~?"

"Don't think I didn't see you eat your 7th yum-yum canister... of the day," she huffed, keeping up her speed.

"I was... making sure they weren't spoiled."

"I saw you huddled in a corner, slurping them like a gremlin," Robert teased.

"THEY ARE MAGICALLY DELICIOUS!" I yelled. "They clearly have some kind of evil spell on them."

"Yeah, they're called spices," Tali laughed. "Now back on the treadmill."

"Ugh~," I groaned, getting back on the torture machine, thankfully Tali lowered it to a fast walk, my legs were still killing me though.

-/-

"Exiting Hyperspace," Robert called out. The blue warp of hyperspace vanished as real space returned, a station filled with hundreds of ships coming in and out of its docks appearing outside the window. "Fifth Fleet is still gone~. Arc Tower, this is Puma-x8, do you read?"

"Arc to puma, we read you," A female operator answered

"Permission to dock," Robert asked.

"Granted, hanger F-31, welcome home boys," she called out. "Heard you guys visited the Quarians, their docks pretty as mine?"

"Nah baby, you know you got the prettiest docks, just my size," Robert teased.

"That's what they all say," the operator laughed before cutting off.

"Nice and easy~," Steve smiled and entered the station's dockyard, hundreds of other fighters being worked on or put away. Everything was spotless, where the Dockyard in Ket'osh was made with parts of some of the Mothballed fleet, Arcturus looked like it was just fabricated. It took a second for the magnet clamps to lock the ship in place. "And we're docked, thanks for flying Air Puma, we know you had no other choice."

"I'll get Roger to refuel our FTL Buoys and survey drones," James answered.

"Come on, Yero," Tali called out, "Shepard should arrive in Dock number SR-1."

I quickly followed her out. "Dock number SR-1?"

"SR, stands for Special Reconnaissance, technically the Normandy is the only ship with that designation but it still has its own dock number," she answered.

Walking through the Station was kinda like walking through the Rayya... if it was cleaner... and larger... and had dozens of extremely muscular service members running around.

"RUN FASTER YOU LUMPS OF FATTY WASTE! I WANT THOSE 5 LAPS BY THE TIME MY SON GETS HERE!" A woman with red hair roared louder than a busted heat compressor.

"Captain Hannah'Shepard vas Orizaba," Tali greeted the angry human with a smile and wave.

"HUH!?" The small woman got up in Tali's face, "Oh, punk girl~," the tiny woman huffed, returning to normal. "KEEP RUNNING!" she yelled at her troops. "Whatcha doing here? Realized that the Alliance is the best military in the galaxy and joining up?" she asked.

"Nah, I'm good, I'm still getting paid for modeling, Nick hasn't taken me off his payroll," she answered.

She's a model? I can see that~.

"So, who's the perv eyeing you up?" she gestured to me.

"No! I! Me!? What!?" I panicked.

Captain Shepard rolled her eyes, "Calm down kid, I'm a perv too, you think John appeared out of pixie dust? No, I made my husband, God rest his soul, do things to me that might be considered torture in some countries," she huffed. "I don't care what advanced civilization you come from, perverts survive and thrive because we all have a kink and only a pervert can scratch that itch." she jutted her thumb at Tali. "Just look at this punk, antsy, grumpy, trying to distract herself, she's me after my first deployment away from my Ulysses." She shook her head, "I got jacked," she flexed, "7 months of celibacy was not fun, had to work out that need. I broke my poor Ulysses's pelvis when I got back here," she sighed, "Good times. What I'm trying to say kid is that everyone's a little pervy, just make sure you get consent," she huffed.

"Um... okay," I nodded.

"So whatcha doing here kid?" she asked Tali.

"We're here to meet up with Shepard, and congratulate you on your daughter."

"...What?" Hannah drawled.

"Oh good, you are as confused as I am," Tali nodded. "John told me he had a new sister but didn't explain."

"What's that boy doing," she muttered. "He should be here within a few hours, he had to talk to me about a Cerberus base, he didn't go into detail, and I'm beginning to think why. Come on, we can wait for him at the farm."

Farm?

-/-

Swearing at the Soiree part Trois

Briala POV

"This place is huge~," Lady Qina muttered, admiring the Winter Palace.

Madame Vivienne rolled her eyes; she requested to join us as we left the ballroom. I said requested, but it was more like a demand.

A huff from Seeker Cassandra answered her. Seeker Cassandra was the Chantry's representative. The second we left the Ballroom the Lady Seeker, with the tact of a raging bull, inserted herself into our little group.

"It's ostentatious," the Seeker growled.

"I mean... it's supposed to be, right? Like, look at all my money, ya peasants," the cleric sneered in an Orlesian accent. I wanted to be offended but she sounded exactly like Grand Duchess Florianne.

I didn't know how to interact with her. Technically she was an elf so talking with her should not be that difficult, but she was also a holy figure in Ferelden, not only that, she was also a mage. Everything my spies tell me leads to her just being a farm girl from Redcliffe, born to a human woman and a Dalish man, her mother still lives in Redcliffe but stays with her in Sky City during the winter. Her family has had no noble nor magical blood in the last 10 generations, by all rights... she was a normal woman.

But... something about her just... felt right, like she was trustworthy.

"Lady Qina, may I speak plainly with you?" I asked. I wasn't getting anywhere being quiet, and it was an easy way to test her character, you know someone by the way they treat the help.

"You can call me Ayla, I don't think anyone's called me Lady anything, I mean other than Lia. You can call me Healer Qina if Ayla's too much, I've met enough people who think it's blasphemous to call me by my first name, they're a little... out there," she muttered, making crazy symbols with her hands.

"Ayla..." she nodded. "What is a cleric?"

"Like the textbook definition?" she hummed, "Clerics are intermediaries between the mortal world and the distant planes of the gods. As varied as the gods they serve, clerics strive to embody the handiwork of their deities. No ordinary priest, a cleric is imbued with divine magic," She answered like a teacher.

"So, you 'speak'with the Maker~," Madame Vivienne drawled, her voice dripping with condescension.

Ayla snapped her fingers at her, "You got it in one~." she pulled out her book. "This is my Holy Symbol. A holy book straight from the Maker." she opened the book, bathing the hall in a golden glow and curing my afternoon fatigue, it gave me the same warmth I felt in the morning waking up next to a naked Celene, I was safe, happy even. It ended as quickly as it began, as she shut the book.

"What spell was that," the Lady Seeker hissed, shaking cobwebs from her head.

"It wasn't a spell silly, it was just the Maker's Aura, it is the metaphysical power of the Maker. The book is a link to his realm in the Celestial Plane," she explained.

"Celestial Plane?" I asked.

"The realm of the gods," she answered.

"You mean the Fade?" Vivienne asked.

"No~. What you call the Fade is the Realm of Magic, the Celestial Realm is home to the gods," Ayla drawled.

"And you expect us to believe you?" the Seeker tsked.

"I don't give a damn if you believe me, I'm telling you a fact, if you want to stick your head in the sand, that's your business," Ayla huffed.

"Lady Ayla, can I see your 'holy' book?" Vivienne asked. The idea that Ayla would give away the holy book given to her by the Maker would be-

"Sure, here you go."

-SHE GAVE IT TO HER!?

Vivienne opened the book... to nothing. No glowing light, no feeling of love and warmth. Nothing. "It's blank?"

"You want to read it?! That's a bad idea," Ayla warned.

"Why is that darling?" Vivienne asked.

"Because it's not written in Common, it's written in Celestial, they are quite literally holy words, unless you have powerful mental shields, or a cleric, or a Paladin, or a god, your mind will not be able to handle it," Ayla explained.

"I am the Enchanter to the Imperial Court of Orlais dear; I think I can handle some words," Lady Vivienne drawled.

Ayla just shrugged, "No skin off my bones," she placed her hand on the book, the feeling of warmth returned and the hall received the other-worldly glow.

I couldn't tapper my curiosity, quickly taking a peek over Lady Vivienne's shoulder.

It was... everything. It was the Maker; it had to be. It was his divine glow, his love, his joy. I stood in front of the Maker, and he loved me.

... and then my face hurt really bad.

"OW!" I hissed, cupping my cheek. I focused, finding Ayla smirking at me. "Ow," I hissed again as she gently cupped my burning face.

"Healing Touch~," Ayla whispered, a cool sensation spreading across my cheek. "So, did you have a nice read?" she teased.

"I..." her hand was really warm. The Winter Palace for all its beauty, was enormous, to heat the palace alone would take hours, maybe even days, that's why most parties are designated to certain areas. Ayla didn't have that problem. Her very aura beat back the cold.

"Yeah~," she laughed, "Celestial script can be a real mind fuck."

"I... I don't understand?"

"You and Lady Vivienne looked into the book and froze in the spot," the Lady Seeker answered, "My words could not rouse you. Ayla slapped you awake."

"It's a technical tap," Ayla answered. "Had to reboot your hardware." she mimed a slap. "Your brain couldn't handle the words and just shut down."

I'm not sure what 'reboot' or 'hardware' was, but it sounded like I fell into some kind of magical coma. "Thank you, Lady Ayla."

"Meh, you don't have to thank me, we're all curious, you should have seen Leliana~," she giggled, "Every time we had a free moment she would peek over my shoulder and ask me to read the Maker's words to her."

"Leliana?" Cassandra asked, "As in the left hand of the Divine?"

"Yeah~, you know her?" she smirked, "We're good friends, we fought the Blight together! Thick as thieves~, sisters from other misters ~."

"I... We work together, but I don't know much about her private life."

"Like work friends? That's fine I guess, making friends is never easy," Ayla shrugged. "So... you want to wake Vivienne?" she jutted her thumb at the frozen mage, looking at her empty hands. "Telsa told me not to hurt anyone unless absolutely necessary."

"How long will she stay like that?" I asked.

Ayla shrugged, "Until she dies, or someone adds outside force."

"You won't wake her?" Cassandra asked.

Ayla huffed, "She wanted to read the book, she thought she could handle it, but she couldn't, this is a tomb of her own making. It's not my job to wake her up. Briala are we going the right way?"

"Um," I gave the hallway a quick glance, "Yes, this will lead us to the water well near the kitchens in the servant's Quarters."

"Perfect~," she cheered, walking down the hall, leaving the Seeker and Lady Vivienne behind.

It didn't take long for the sound of a slap to echo down the hall, getting Ayla to giggle. I couldn't help but to smirk. Lady Vivienne has not made a lot of friends with the staff during her time in the court.

-/-

Celene Valmont the First POV

"What the Void is wrong with you?!" I hissed at my champion the second we were out of sight.

"I am sorry my Lady," he bowed.

I don't give a damn about your apologies," I hissed. "It was one thing to insult Prince Alistair, that's just normal Orlesian-Fereldan animosity, but Jak Hope is Walters's lover and closest confidant, and Walters isn't above killing nobles. If Walters takes offense to your actions, he will challenge you to an honor duel to the death."

"I am not afraid of a mage," he scoffed.

"He would slaughter you; we have reports of him slaying bandit camps of over 50 people with his bare hands. Or worse, he might know whatever you're hiding and tell the world." that made him stiffen. "What are you hiding?" I hissed.

"It... is nothing my Empress," he bowed.

"Ser Michel, I now know that you have a secret, and Iwillfind it. Cut the middle man and tell me," I glared at him from behind my mask.

"...I am elf-blooded," he whispered so low I almost missed it. I traced his jaw with my eyes.

It was nearly impossible to tell the difference between a full human and an Elf-blooded human. There were some tells but if you weren't looking for them you would never see them.

One of the tells was a slightly narrower jaw, barely noticeable, even if you knew what you were looking for. Usually, a background check would reveal anything like that, but it is not unreasonable that Michel would be hidden away, a bastard child of a noble and an elf, it happens all the time, and with Comte Brevin de Chalons taking interest in the boy, any elven heritage would be hidden away beyond even the most detailed search.

This could... no, thiswoulddestroy him. Orlais was a beast of power and secrets, an elven Chevalier, even of noble blood, would never be allowed. Everything will be thrown into question, and worst of all, Ferelden already knows.

I looked back to the Fereldan group.

...Prince Alistair is elf-blooded.

An idea was forming... a dangerous idea.

"I'm going to start tonight's entertainment early, challenge Prince Alistair, make sure he's there."

"...What?" he blinked at me.

"Just do it, I'll spread the word and get as many participants as possible," I ordered.

If Alistair is as powerful as Fiona and Vivienne say then he should put on a good show. Ser Michel doesn't have to win, just make it to the end.

-/-

Michel de Chevin's POV

Following my empress's orders, it didn't take long for just about every Chevalier in the party to appear in the courtyard holding different practice weapons, all surrounding Alistair and I, as the Nobles looked overhead like specters in a colosseum.

"Wait? What kind of test is this?" Alistair asked, adjusting the dish strapped to his chest.

"A melee tourney," I answered.

"...Okay~, but whose idea was it forherto join?" he pointed to Sky Skipper, who was waving, blowing kisses, and whistling at her little group.

"...it got a little out of control," I muttered.

"Okay, so... we need to team up here, because~," he waved his wooden sword around, "This isn't going to scratch her."

"Where's her dish," I asked.

"Top of her head," He answered. I couldn't even see it, blending with her hair perfectly.

"Great~," I muttered.

"Chevaliers, knights, and heroes!" Celene called out, catching our attention a mage using magic to amplify her voice. "For tonight's surprise entertainment, I have prepared a classic Chevalier's training tourney. For those not in the know, this is calledWeakness. Each player is strapped with a single cup, if broken, the player loses, and the winner receives one boon from me, Empress Celene. May the best warrior win."

And with that the mage to her left fired off a fire bolt, starting the match, and causing chaos to flood the courtyard. Everyone launched themselves at us. Something taught inAcademie des Chevalierswas to defeat the largest threat in the field first, which would then throw the rest of the enemies into disarray.

"AHH!?" one of the warriors screamed, flying through the air.

"HAHAHAHAHH!" Alistair laughed, dodging blows and sending men flying with every single blow. It was insane, he had the power of a dragon and the agility of a cat. At one point he gained another sword and was attacking twice as fast. His attacks were always dead center and never slowed down for a second.

By my 9th combatant, Alistair was on his 20th, and Sky was on her 40th. The numbers were dropping fast, people were either grouping up or betraying each other, it didn't take long for there to be only 8 of us left.

Ser Robert Chapuis, one of Gaspard's greatest supporters. He made me sick, everything about the man was slick with lies.

Ser Jean-Gaspard de Lydes and his Brother Duke Remache de Lydes, both a deadly combination that worked great together.

Lady Honorine Chastain, 400 jousts, never unseated, and had amazing... Technique.

And Lady Reeve Asa, out of all of us, was the most beaten, but her dish was still in one piece, and the look she was giving us was nothing short of unbreakable, something expected for a 3-time tourney winner.

"Ladies and gentlemen~," Alistair smirked. "Now I'm sure we would love to have a dramatic fight, but," he looked over to Sky who was waving at her group, blowing kisses. "At this point, if we don't team up, none of us will win."

"Like I would believe you! You Ferelden Dog L-ACK!" Robert was cut off as Sky swung her tail, hitting him right in the chest, ragdolling him into a wall with a nasty smack, his dish shattered into a hundred pieces, completely knocking him out.

She gave us a very toothy smile, showing off her teeth meant to break bones and tear skin.

"You know... now that I see her up close, maybe a team effort is needed," Reeve Asa muttered.

"She is rather large~," Jean added.

"How do we defeat someone like her?" Remache asked, backing away, making sure she couldn't take us out all at once.

"I distract her," Alistair muttered, "but I need someone to keep tossing me swords, while one of you sneaks up behind her."

"Toss you swords?" Lady Chastain asked.

Alistair didn't answer, one second, he was next to us, the next he was slamming both his swords against Sky's tail, the noise was deafening. For the first time, Sky Skipper stopped proceeding.

"Sky~, how about we talk this out," Alistair teased, tossing away his shattered wooden swords, snapping his fingers at us to toss him new blades.

Sky brought up her tail to her face inspecting any damage. Her eyes widened as one of her scales came loose and fell to the floor.

"Whoops~," Alistair muttered as a wave of death hit all of us. It felt like a physical blow, all the air in my lungs was violently ripped out. It felt like I was drowning in heavy armor, the pressure, unbearable. I couldn't move, I was dying. DAMN IT, I was helpless, like I back in the slums, fighting for every little thing! Another thunderous attack knocked me out of my funk. "It's going to take a little more than death to put me down Sky!" Alistair laughed, unleashing another fierce attack, completely unaffected by Sky's aura, as the new swords shattered.

Sky Skipper seemed to toss away her fun demeanor and got serious. "Is that right?" she growled. She raised her right hand, as some kind of black metal covered her skin.

Alistair laughed, "Hakihuh? Don't think you're the only one training!" A new pair of swords flew from the courtyard and landed in Alistair's waiting hands, courtesy of Reeve Asa, unlike the rest of us she was actually moving. Alistair smirked, pointing his swords at her, as they turned the same black color as Sky's fists. Was it some sort of spell? Was Alistair a mage?

It was a 'blink and you'd miss it'moment, as Alistair and Sky blitzed toward each other at impossible speeds, the earth underneath them shattering to pieces at their strength.

"MABARI HUNT!" Alistair yelled.

"CRUSH!" Sky demanded.

And their attacks collided, where before their blows sent out minor shockwaves that brushed my skin, now they threatened to throw me off my feet and into the air. The winds lashed out at me making it hard to breathe, forcing me to stay low, lest I fly off.

What is this!? This can't be real! I've been to the Circle of Magi in Val Royeaux, I've fought apostates, and seen them in battle. While they were flashy, they were nothing like this. I caught a glimpse of Alistair through the madness.

He was smirking.

Is this what it meant to be a hero in Ferelden? To be a complete monster.

"AAAAAHHHHH!" Reeve Asa roared, coming from the air, a wooden great sword in a downward arc, attempting to strike Sky's cup. I didn't see it, but where the rest of us were on our knees, trying not to be blown away, Reeve Asa allowed the winds to send her airborne giving her a chance to come from above. And it would have worked, if Sky didn't sprout wings from her back, blocking the strike, and pushing the knight away, not looking away from Alistair for a second.

Reeve Asa in an amazing show of agility, did a flip in the air and landed on her feet not far away. She was breathing heavily, eyes wide, and hands shaking... she was terrified, but was getting ready to do it again.

She didn't have to wait long, Alistair and Sky met again, the world-shaking at their combat. Before my eyes, Reeve Asa was gone again, the wind sucking her into the air. It wasn't going to work, Sky knew her trick.

"RRAAAAAR!" Lady Chastine roared, attacking from Sky's flank, not that it did much, Sky hadtwowings, just like before they were rebuffed, but just for a moment... there was an opening.

Their interference didn't seem to bother either of the heroes as they continued fighting, the world crying out with each blow countered, the courtyard was completely shattered, and any of its former beauty turned to rubble.

I looked over to the brothers, no words were needed, we just nodded.

As the next attacks came, I followed Reeve Asa into the air. It was... terrifying... and amazing, just for a moment I was above the madness, free of the terrible pressure that threatened to snap my spine, I saw the nobles and servants looking at the fight in awe and fear. Celene was looking right at me, calm and collected, complete trust in me. And then gravity pulled me down, down to the combat, down to the madness, down to earth.

Reeve Asa, right next to me, our swords coming down with the ferocity of the Maker. With Alistair taking her face to face, the brothers attacking her flanks, and Chastine her tail, Sky's head was open.

The loud thwack echoed throughout the courtyard, both our swords shattering on impact, as we landed at her feet.

Everything grew quiet, nobody moved, the air thick with anticipation, did we break the dish or were we off?

The beautiful sight of porcelain raining down from her head felt like rain on a hot summer day.

.

.

.

"MAN!" Sky huffed, stomping her feet like a petulant child, "I was going to steal like, a million kisses from Celene!" she growled and walked away.

Alistair laughed, "Better luck next time Sky!" he discarded his broken blades and picked up two new ones. "So...where were we?" he smirked, pointing his blades at us.

Right... almost forgot about him.

-/-

Madame Vivienne de Fer POV

"You were rather firm, Seeker~," I hissed at the right hand of the divine, rubbing my cheek.

"My apologies Lady Vivienne, but you would not wake any other way," the Seeker answered.

"At least you removed your gauntlet," I muttered. We made haste to catch up with Ayla and Celene's servant. I've been here long enough to know where the palace's well was located, so it didn't take us long to find them. They were talking with some other servants about the well.

"...There have been a few but we believed it was just a winter fever," a male servant answered a question.

"I need you to take me to them, but first." she opened her book. "Be cleansed by the Maker's light. Purification!" she chanted. A beam of light appeared from the well and shot into the sky, before slowly fading. She dumped a bucket into the well, pulled up some glowing water, and took a mouthful. "AHH~," she cheered, wiping her face with the back of her hand, like a barbarian. "That's some good holy water~. The well should be good to drink from now, the holy effect should fade in a month or two. Want some?" she gestured the bucket to the servants. One of the servant girls, no older than 17 summers, took a step forward and took a drink.

"Ahhh~," she gave a little gasp, "What's that taste?" she took another drink.

Ayla nodded, "Just a bit of holy magic, it helps with sickness, curses, period cramps, Demons, Devils, zombies, wrinkles, and acne."

"Some of those aren't like the others," I muttered, walking up to them.

She shrugged, "I don't make the rules. It also helps heal minor injuries," she pointed to her cheek.

I took a sip, from a glass! My lips were not going to touch a bucket. It did have an interesting taste, sweet but foreign enough for me not to pinpoint the flavor. The pain on my cheek faded. "What flavor is this?"

"Nick called it horchata, it's a rice-based drink with sugar and cinnamon," she answered.

"Interesting~," I muttered, looking at the glowing liquid, it was a beautiful color of cyan.

"I sense the magic in this, but it's... different," Cassandra muttered.

"It's holy magic~!" Ayla groaned for maybe the 5th time tonight. "It doesn't come from the fade! How many times am I going to have to say it? You got problems," she huffed and started walking towards the servant's quarters. I took another sip and followed after her.

Her magic was different, whether it was holy or not was not up to me to judge, all I knew was that it didn't pull from the fade.

"Lady Ayla. I understand that the Tranquil in Ferelden have been cured. Am I to believe that you were the cause?" I asked.

She shrugged, "The Maker and I, sure."

"...Can others do this?" Cassandra asked.

Ayla gave her a confused look, "Yeah, silly. How do you think you got your powers?" she laughed.

"I... What?" Cassandra stopped.

Ayla quirked an eyebrow at her before her eyes fully widened. "Maker~, you don't know."

I looked at the Seeker and then at the strange mage. "Can you explain darling?"

"Right, mmm, how do I put this. The Rite of Tranquility is a butchered skill that the monks outside Thedas callTranscendence. It is a powerful meditation skill meant to dive deep into the soul while the body works on its own, eating and helping their fellow monks keep their temples clean. It is dangerous because the mind is trapped within the soul and needs a remarkable will to break free, that's why only masters are allowed to try."

"but why do this?" Celene's handmaiden asked.

"Inner peace, and a terrifying amount of power. The soul grows bigger than the body when the mind returns, so the body adjusts, with stronger muscles, a longer life, and advanced Chi, all to regain balance. The monks that are able to do it are written in legends and folklore. You can understand that this power could be dangerous, so they have a 2-year time limit, if the master hasn't returned from their souls by then, fellow masters pull them back out."

"What does that have to do with the rite?" Cassandra hissed.

Ayla rolled her eyes, "The Seekers do the same thing," she hissed. You shove lyrium into a poor person's skull and dump their minds deep into their souls with no way to return, just like they did to you, but you didn't have a team of powerful monks or a god to pull your mind back from your body, so they used a spirit." She eyeballed the seeker, "A powerful one, Love, Faith, Justice, maybe Hope? I'm not sure. The Seekers probably summoned it and used the spirit to bring your mind out of your soul, making a contract in the process. Probably giving you powers, making you immune to possession, and growing your mana core. That's why Nick called you a warlock, you gained your power through a contract. It's a fast way to gain power and a dangerous one. Tell me, seeker, how many of your group, disappear, travel to far-off lands for training, or have deadly accidents before they become Seekers?" she drawled.

The Seeker was quiet. A terrifying admission.

"So, the Seekers are abominations?" I asked. Much to Cassandra's glare.

"No, not quite. Nick taught me twice but Dagna asked a million questions ~," she groaned. "She isn't possessed, it's more like a spiritual guardian. When the spirit pieced back her mind, it left a piece of itself behind to act as glue, keeping the pieces from falling apart. This 'glue' makes it impossible for another spirit to take purchase in your soul. You understand? The Avvar have a similar practice, but unlike you guys, they do it right, full contract and rules written out, the mortality rate is far smaller, I'm assuming."

"The Avvar make their Mages into abominations!?" I hissed. "And you have not stopped this!?"

She gave me a confused look, before laughing, "You're right enchanter Vivienne, I'll start with killing every Seeker in Thedas. Can you please hold Cassandra down, I don't want to dirty our dresses." The Seeker reached for the sword at her hip. "Oh my, is something wrong Seeker? You are an Abomination, more than any Avvar augurs, at least they can remove the spirit, you can't, it will always be a piece of you, and unlike the Mages I brought back, you weren't blessed by the Maker; you don't have a piece of divine spark that holds your mind together. According to Vivienne and the Chantry... you are a monster that needs to be put down. Lady Vivienne, as a proud circle mage and an Andrastian, youhaveto put her down, and Cassandra that goesdoublefor you... we'll take a few steps back as you slit your throat. Don't worry, I'll burn your body as well as all your fellow abominations." she clapped, "Hop to it now, we don't have all night."

The courtyard was quiet, the silent tension thick with danger, Ayla was smiling all the way, like she was doing a great thing.

"I..." Cassandra muttered.

"OH MY!?" Ayla mockingly gasped, "Cassy~, are the blinders you've been born with opening up a little? Can you see the colors in your black and white world? It's not so simple anymore, is it~?" she laughed. "11 doesn't equal 2? Trust me, I've been there, 4 years ago I was a nobody half-elf girl, working on my family farm whenHoweappeared," she hissed the name with enough venom to make me back away," killed my father for being an elf, the 5th blight started, undead attacked Redcliffe, some crazy madman with beautiful eyes showed up and took me on a quest to save the world on a flying island! It was all insane CASSANDRA! None of it made any sense!? Just saying it out loud sounds like a ridiculous story a child would make up! And you know what..." she sighed, all the tension leaving her, "I couldn't be happier. My life is crazy... but I love it so much, I have traveled this world, seen things you couldn't imagine, talked with people you couldn't understand, eaten food that still haunts my dreams due to how delicious it was, fought monsters that would make even the bravest knight run, and,I, love, it~. I can never go back to being a farmer, at least, not entirely, I'm more than happy to see a shirtless Nick plowing the field, before he plows my field, if you know what I'm saying," she giggled. "Raise a small army of kids and fight evil on my off time. You think I'll make a cool mom~?" she didn't wait for an answer, just continue to walk toward the servant quarters, "At the end of the day... you are nobody to me~, maybe in the future we could be friends, but today, we are strangers with the common goal of helping others. Now... if you aren't going to kill yourself, we have people to help."

We watched her leave, uncaring if we attacked. I wanted to say we could take her, but I knew she'd kill us without breaking a single sweat. Ahh~, so this is what it feels like.

To feel weak.

-/-

Celene Valmont the first POV

Okay... I believe the worst has passed. I looked over to a grumpy Sky being comforted by Jak Hope, the other Nobles giving her a wide birth. I wanted to say the million kisses comment was a joke... but I didn't think it was. I really should have added more rules on the reward.

Alistair's boisterous laughter caught my attention. Normally, it would be impossible to hear anything this high up, but the Courtyard was created in a bowl shape with my balcony being the focal point, by walking around the balcony I could hear everyone below as if they were right next to me. It was an ingenious design without the need for magic.

"I must admit, you guys are pretty good~," Alistair laughed. "Have you ever thought of joining the Vanguard?" he parried and danced around his opponents.

"Hold still!" Reeve Asa roared, unleashing wild swings, but Alistair only laughed blocking and slapping her sword away, before shoulder-checking the poor woman and throwing her to the floor. Her only saving grace was the fact that her dish was strapped to her right forearm. Some would think that would be an easy place to strike but my Bard training taught me otherwise, very few people attacked the arms, they weren't exactly killing blows, and in battle, death tends to come to those who play with their foes.

Of course, there were exceptions to the rules, and it seemed like Prince Alistair was one. It also seemed like he had eyes behind his back, ducking as Jean or his brother attacked from his flank.

"Why do you play these games, Prince Alistair!?" Chastine roared, attacking with her wooden great sword."

"Games?" Alistair asked, parrying her strike off to the side, slipping under Jean's thrust, and kicking Remache away, all without looking at any of them.

"You are clearly skilled," Michel muttered, his sword at the ready. "We've seen you do magic, why hold back?"

"Magic? I can't use magic silly," Alistair chuckled. "I mean my mother is a mage but I never gained the ability."

"And what, turning your blades black was a trick of the light?" Reeve Asa hissed.

"Black? Do you meanHaki? I'm impressed you could see that, but you are fighters after all," he muttered. "But no,Hakiisn't magic, in fact, it is the complete opposite of magic.Hakiis powered byChi."

"Chi?" Michel asked.

I've never heard of this.

"Listen, I'm not an expert on this sort of stuff, all I remember Nick teaching me was that the sorcerers are born with magic, Wizards learn magic, and artificers build things using magic, butChi, that's all-inner power, no need from the Fade. Everybody hasChi, from Celene to the horses you used to get here, you just have to learn how to unlock it." he glanced over to Reeve Asa, "For some, it's easier than others. Are you sure you don't want to join the Vanguard? Good pay, get to travel the world, you get a cool sword with the Maker's light, we'll even help you with yourchi?" he offered.

"I haveChi?" Reeve Asa muttered.

"A bit, yeah, not a lot, and zero control~," he teased. "you've probably been using it subconsciously to enhance your body and heal wounds. I mean look at you, jumping like 10 feet into the air three times and landing with nothing more than a slight twitch, Michel over there is limping~," he gestured to Michel, who grimanced. "Not only that, some of your old wounds are already gone, you might not have a lot of Chi but your regeneration is through the roof. The only other person I've seen like that is Nick. Some proper training and you might become the strongest fighter in Thedas." he brought up his sword to attack. "You won't mind if I test you a little, right?" he didn't wait for an answer, disappearing and reappearing in front of the woman.

Reeve Asa was able to block the first strike, but it brought her to her knees, shattering the floor under her, it looked extremely painful. Without hesitation he brought down his other sword, attempting to shatter her dish, but the female warrior was able to slide the first blade into the path of his second strike, forcing him to pull back, lest he shatter both his blades, and leaving him open to attack.

"Ow~," Reeve Asa hissed, slowly getting up to her feet.

"Impressive," Alistair nodded. "But let's see if you have the chops for a little Haki~." his blade turned black.

"Aren't you forgetting someone!" Jean roared, charging him.

"Not really..." in a single move, he swung his sword, creating a deep gash in the floor, causing Jean to stop before crossing the makeshift line in the dirt. "She's not the only one I'm testing. Cross that line..." Even from up here I felt the murderous aura, "And I won't hold back." he leaned out of the way dodging Reeve Asa's jab. "Right~, where was I?" some of the other knights moved forward to strike his back but paused at the line. "Show me what you got!" he unleashed a horrible combo at the female knight, each blow pushing her back until she was pressed up against the wall. "Mmm," he paused his attack. "Was I wrong about you Reeve Asa? Maybe you're just lucky?"

"This is... a little unfair?" Reeve Asa hissed, her hands shaking like a leaf in the wind. "I don't even know whatHakieven is."

Alistair quirked an eyebrow at her. "I suppose you're right; this would be a poor test if you don't have all the questions." he took a step back. "Chiis soul, your willpower, your drive, it's you.Hakiis your will manifested, where mages use magic to affect the world around us, Haki users like me and Sky use our willpower."

"That doesn't make any sense!" Reeve Asa hissed, attacking Alistair but he just batted away her strikes.

"Nick gave me a simple explanation. Willpower is standing against the impossible, Haki is knowing you'll win. The odds don't matter, the opponent, whether they are a mage, or Archdemon ,or god, means nothing," he lifted his sword into the sky, "You will win. Your next strike will land. You will put down your enemy." his sword turned obsidian. "LET THE WORLD RAGE! LET THE GODS CALL FOR YOUR SOUL!YOU, WILL, NOT, BOW!"

He swung.

His black blade met another obsidian sword.

And then the world froze, as if... just for a moment, gravity stopped working and the air around us became solid, at the corner of my eye, I saw people fainting, unable to handle the pressure. Even so far up, I felt lightheaded, using all my strength to keep myself upright and look unbothered.

Then the world broke, as if made of fragile glass, glowing cracks spread throughout the air, and then a shockwave exploded from the fighters, threatening to blow everything away, at least it would have, if a golden barrier didn't appear over the warriors keeping the explosion contained.

It was Ayla, with Briala, Seeker Cassandra, and Madame Vivienne.

"What? ARE YOU IDIOTS DOING!?" Ayla roared, appearing over the two fighters and unleashing two bone-crushing overhead blows, slamming both fighters into the floor, head first, their cups shattering. "Do you have any idea who has to foot this bill!? I'm going to tell you right now it's not going to be Telsa! She'll have us working a desk job until we die trying to pay her back!"

She didn't have to yell, both fighters were completely knocked out.

She continued to rant as she dragged them out of the courtyard.

Everyone was stunned at the turn of events. Alistair seemed like an insurmountable obstacle, and Lady Ayla showed up and put him on the ground with a single blow. While this may not have been my plan, it was my goal. Everyone awake just witnessed an Elf, even a half-elf, put down the most dangerous man in the field, showing off that elven power that nearly took down Orlais in the past. No doubt elven soldiers were going to be a new trend starting soon.

Even if people find out about Michel's heritage, it wouldn't matter. It would just seem like a smart move on my part, getting ahead of the curve, my own elven-blooded warrior.

... I do need to fix my courtyard though.

The price of playing the Game.

-/-

A Warden, a Mage, and a Champion walk into a bar

Varric Tethras POV

"Sigrun," Anders muttered, his blonde hair puffed up like a hissing cat, looking at the Dwarf with face tattoos and warden armor. She was cute, in the, I'll dance on your grave, kinda way.

Shit~, I knew this was going to happen sooner or later. Theron wasn't the only one who did research on my friends, mostly for funny blackmail material, it didn't take long for me to find that Anders wasn't good with the Wardens. Anders has been using his Grey Warden card to escape most Templars, he was even able to fool Carver into thinking he was a senior warden assigned to a PR stunt in the Free Marches, but ever since we met Stroud, I knew he was on borrowed time.

"Skirt boy~," she huffed.

"...So~, need help with something?" Blondie asked, trying to play off his nervousness.

"Did you really think the commanders wouldn't find you? You should be thanking your friend there," she pointed to a confused Merrill, "Aeden was ready to come get you himself."

Anders gave an involuntary shiver, I saw the visible strain in his muscles, he looked ready to sprint to the nearest exit, or at least make one.

"The commander?!" he whimpered.

"Aeden?" Choir-boy asked, "As in Warden Commander Aeden Cousland? A hero of Ferelden? I didn't know you knew such a man."

"He's a monster," Blondie hissed. "Him and Theron held no mercy for any kind of Darkspawn, or sassy mages."

Sigrun smugly huffed, "Yeah, they're super cool, they even have a fan club in the Legion of the Dead. You're just upset he took you to Suplex City every time you looked ready to run."

"I'm beginning to like this guy," Fenris smirked.

"They nearly broke my back three times!" Blondie hissed.

"Then maybe you should've, STOPPED RUNNING!" she yelled back. "Stone, you're still so whiny, oooh~, the templars were bad, I'm oppressed, someone feel pity for me, LOOK AT MY CAT!?"

"That last one wasn't whining," he countered. "And is Sir-pounce-a-lot okay!?"

"He's fine, he works for Oghren, killing any rats that get into his bar!" She showed him her phone with a picture of a cat with a tiny Chevalier's hat and feather.

"THANK YOU!"

"Stop screaming," Aveline muttered. "Lady Warden, may I ask what you want with Anders, Last I checked it wasn't illegal for Wardens to travel the world fighting monsters." she eyeballed a nervous Anders.

Sigrun nodded, "Correct, extremely beautiful red-haired woman whose muscles make my heart skip a beat, Wardens who completed their training are allowed to travel, help the innocent, and recruit."

"...Thanks?" Aveline muttered at the complement.

"But skirt boy over there, hasn't, completed his training," she added, pointing at a flighty Anders.

"Hold on!" Carver broke away from his brother and ran over, "You told me you were a Senior Warden!"

"I am!" Blondie countered. "I've been with the wardens for 5 years!"

"...THAT'S NOT WHAT BEING A SENIOR WARDEN MEANS!" Junior yelled.

"Oh... How was I supposed to know that," he muttered.

"By the Maker's hairy nutsack, we traveled into the Deep Roads with a baby warden!? I'm surprised we aren't all wardens or darkspawn shit!"

Fenris snickered, "Baby warden~."

"I knew what I was doing!" Blondie hissed. Carver angrily gestured to himself. "2 out of 3 ain't bad."

"...I'm going to kill you," Carver hissed.

"Don't you like being a warden?" Daisy asked.

"Of course I do!" Junior huffed. "The camaraderie, the travel, the respect, meeting new people, it's all amazing! I will forever be grateful to my brother for not giving up on me when I did, but I didn't choose this life, someone else did. I wish I chose, took control of my own fate, it's kinda annoying."

Daisy tsked, "Yeah, I kinda get that."

I think we all did.

I looked over to Hawke.

"Jumbo-size you say? How much would that cost?" he asked into his phone, pausing for a second and looking over at me, he had the look of a man who was about to sacrifice one of his best friends. "... I'm listening~." he looked away, almost ashamed.

What's that rat bastard doing? I never trusted him.

Blondie just sighed, "Sigrun, what do you want from me? I'm not going back."

Sigrun laughed so hard and long I thought she was going to pass out from air loss.

"No." she stopped laughing. "You need to understand Anders. We don't want you back. Normally I would just kill you." The look she gave us sent shivers down my spine, even Hawke paused his call, his eyes staring down Sigrun, muscles ready for action, it was like standing between two pissed-off high dragons. "Cowards aren't exactly conducive to the warden lifestyle." she sighed, her body relaxing, the dangerous air around her vanishing. "But we are not in a blight, nor had the Architect shown his ugly face, so we aren't needed, yet. Aeden still wants your ass over a fire, but is willing to just remove you from the Wardens." she pulled out a potion. "The hard way."

Anders nervously eyed the potion, "That's-"

"Enhanced Cure-all potion, just for us Wardens, I have over 50... just for you," she gave a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Start chugging."

"There has to be another way!"

"There is...start chugging," this time she growled.

"I'm going to have to call you back~," Hawke muttered. "...Yes, jumbo size, I'll talk to him, goodbye." he put his phone away. "Can someone please catch me up?"

"Anders's been fired!" Daisy answered.

"She's not wrong~," Rivaini agreed.

"Okay? And? Anders didn't you want to quit the Wardens?" Hawke asked.

"Not like this," Blondie whispered, never looking away from the potion, like it would come to life attack him if he looked away. "Advance Cure-all potions don't go well with wardens. It tends to... remove what makes us wardens."

"What?" Carver asked, "Is that true Senior Warden Sigrun?"

"Yep~." She continued to smile, shaking the potion at Anders causing him to hiss like a cat.

"Can we do this somewhere else? I drink here," Anders asked.

"I also drink here, if that helps," I added.

"We can do this outside but the second you try and run... I'm removing your legs." her creepy smile never left, as her hand moved to the dagger on her hip.

"Just take your punishment," Fenris huffed. "You knew this was going to happen sooner or later when you ran."

"I agree with Fenris," Aveline nodded. "You used the Wardens to escape the circle, that's understandable, but then you ran from them to... actually I have no idea why you ran from your warden duties, from the outside they seem great, free train rides to anywhere in Thedas, griffons are making a comeback, people are starting to respect the warden again. Why did you leave?"

"The Wardens didn't care about the Mages," Anders muttered.

"Funny, coming from you, skirt boy. From what I remember you didn't care about mages, just banging your way through one city to another," Sigrun laughed.

"I wanted to be free!"

"RIGHT THERE!" Sigrun pointed at him, "There is that whiny little shit who complained about everything. I swear, if you werefree, you would just complain about something else just as stupid. Guess what butt face,nobody is free," she hissed. "We all have responsibilities, we all have to do things we don't like, but like grownups, we deal with that shit, responsibly and with proper form. What have you done since you ran away like a little girl, oh wait, I remember a little girl in Amaranthine that killed a Hurlock with a sharp spoon, while you faked your death! You are worse than a little girl! Blaming everyone else for your problems." she shoved the potion into Anders's arms. "Chug. I wanna go home and train my griffon, I've been here long enough, having to find your ass in this city."

"I-"

"CHUG IT DOWN!" I felt the building rumble at her roar. "The only reason I'm asking, is because we were friends and Commander Theron didn't want his sister to be upset, but Commander Cousland was more than happy if I have to shove it down your throat. It's your choice."

"...Let's do this outside."

We followed them out.

"Here's good," Sigrun answered, standing in the middle of the street.

"But-"

"HERE, IS, GOOD!"

Anders looked at the potion before taking a deep breath and popping the cork. The way he looked at it I would have put money it was poison.

He chugged it.

.

.

.

"Huh, it does taste like-" and then he threw up. Ejecting what looked like gallons of black ink from his throat and nose. "Maker... it's worse... than I... thought," he cried as bile exploded from his mouth after each word. It was horrible. I've been sick before but this... this was bad.

It took another gallon of bile but he finally stopped, laying on his knees, black nastiness staining the ground and face. He slowly got up and stumbled away from the filth.

With a single uncaring flick, Sigrun tossed a match into the black gunk which immediately caught on fire. It was green and didn't produce smoke or heat... it was... wrong.

"Where are you going?" Sigrun asked, pulling out another potion. "Every drop."

"Hey-hey, give him a second," I blocked her.

"No, once started, we have to finish or it won't stick," she moved passed me, giving Anders the potion.

Anders, to his credit, didn't hesitate to chug the potion like a man dying of thirst, and like before, he projectile vomited more ink. It became a pattern, chug potion, throw up the nasty black ink, burn ink, chug another potion, lather rinse repeat, by the end of it he must have puked up more than all the blood he had in his body. It was the grossest thing I'd ever seen, it felt like hours, but in truth, it was probably less than 15 minutes. That was when one of the potions finally stuck, instead of barfing, he sighed, as if coming out of a sauna.

"Fucking finally!" Anders roared, slamming the potion bottle into the floor, before dropping to his knees, looking emaciated, a stiff breeze away from death.

"And that's that," Sigrun huffed, lighting the last bit of bile on fire. "Anders, you are no longer a Warden, return your badge." she held out her hand.

"...my badge... right." he reached into his cloak and pulled out his silver griffon badge, giving it one last rub, something he did for luck, before handing it over.

"Also, you're banished from Ferelden," she added nonchalantly before walking away.

"...What!?" blondie screamed.

"It's Ferelden," she huffed, "running away from your duties tends to be a big deal for them, or did you forget Commander Cousland was a noble, you should be grateful, the commander wanted to send Oghren, he wouldn't have been as polite as me," she laughed waving goodbye over her shoulder.

We all stood there watching her take a corner and disappear into the city, probably heading to the Train station.

"I think I'm going to stick with being a warden," Carver muttered, looking at the burnt-black stains on the ground

-/-

Future Varric POV

"So, Anders was kicked out of the Grey Wardens," the Seeker huffed.

"Oh yeah~, the stains are still there if you want to check," I answered.

"Did they know about his... passenger?"

I shrugged, "Maybe, but he wasn't their problem anymore."

"Was his exile the reason for his actions?"

I shook my head, "...No, Anders was broken well before the Wardens tossed him to the curve. Theron once called him a Rebel Without a Rebellion. I think it was the Chantry that broke him, treat someone like they're monsters long enough, and they'll become monsters to survive."

"The Chantry doesn't do that," she hissed.

"HA!" I couldn't help but to laugh, "And here I thought you didn't have a sense of humor. Face it Seeker, the world has gone to shit, and the Chantry has a good chunk of blame on its shoulders. It's true, I don't know what the Chantry used to be, but I can tell you now, that it's super corrupt. It's not even funny. Petrice tried to start a war with the Qunari and killed the Viscount's son, Elthina did fuck all, and the Chantry just waved it away, blaming the Qunari. Right now, you guys are in a piss poor shadow war with Ferelden's Chantry because, unlike Orlais, they actually have the Maker looking out for them."

She narrowed her eyes at me, "How do you know this?"

"Because Julia Hope loves my books, she's my contact down there. I give her quality writing; she gives me information... and money. You guys shat the bed hard, shoving the fear of mages into the people, and then proceeded to give those scared people dangerous drugs, a title, and zero to no supervision. What the Void did you think was going to happen!? I am not blaming you Seeker, I'm really not, this has been going on for nearly a thousand years, there was nothing you, or your order, or any kingdom could have done to stop what happened, if not Anders, it would have been someone else, not that I'm excusing his actions, just stating a fact," I explained.

"So, the Wardens weren't involved," she muttered.

"I swear, in one ear, out the other. I still don't know what you want Seeker, are you trying to shift the blame? Are you hoping Hawke caused the Mages to rebel or the Templars to abandon the Chantry?"

"Just continue, in detail," she ordered.

"Right~. So, Anders wasfree... unfortunately, so was Justice."

-/-

School Life

Neria Surana POV

"Neria~," A soft and loving voice called out, trying to pull me from my sleep. I heard a giggle as the tender feeling of lips danced up my inner thigh, rough hands gently pulled my legs apart, getting better access to my core.

It's Friday~. Maker, I love Fridays. It cost me a golden ticket, but sweet Andraste was it worth it. Every Friday until I die, sign me up~.

I felt a strong tongue playing around my edges, teasing me to wake up. Oh, yeah, this was Dagna~. She was good, she was no Nick, but she be damned if she didn't try her best, her master taught her well.

I felt another pair of hands cup my breasts, massaging them with love and longing that demanded my attention... Nat~. She was a thug, short and simple, you didn't find love in Dust Town, just distractions, pleasure to distract you about the hellhole you lived in. She knew all the right places to catch my attention.

I was going to give them a moan to show my appreciation but a pair of strong lips captured my mouth, they were hungry and rough, Sereda~. Holy maiden my ass, out of all of us she was the wildest, I blame her upbringing, being a warrior princess gave her very specific dating choices, most of them didn't match up, but now... she was free, and she would take everything.

Damn it, they worked well together~. I felt everything tighten before I snapped in Dagna's face and moaned deep into Sereda's mouth, she didn't stop for a second, none of them did. They road me until I stop twitching, my contracted morning orgasm finally coming to an end 15 seconds later.

"Neria~," Nat whispered, "Are you awake, or do I need to get Julee."

"Nnn~," I groaned. "I have work today." If Julee came in here, I wasn't getting up until noon. I tried making my Coaching classes on Mondays and Wednesdays but they already had the time slotted, leaving me the shitty morning Friday classes. Only crazy people get up this early.

"You're the one who wanted to work~," Dagna teased, giving me a slow lick that made me hiss and jerk, my core bursting into flames, she knew I was still sensitive! She and Nick did that all the time. I grabbed her head and shoved her between my legs.

"Have a full taste!" I hissed. She didn't fight, just dug deep. Damn it! I keep falling for that. Once is never enough for these monsters!

It took me 2 more pops and a promise to return the favor tomorrow before they let me escape to the kitchen.

"Someone looks tired~," Ava teased, standing behind the counter, making some breakfast.

"I fell into their trap again," I huffed, gently taking a seat. Maker, they were so rough. Mabaris! All of them.

"Here," she passed me some pancakes. Ava was the best~, out of all of us women, she was the only one who could cook, having to take care of her sister.

"I love you so much~," I cheered through a mouthful of pancake goodness. "how's the hand coming?"

"... It's going," she sighed, flexing her new arm. "Five years is a long time to get over a missing limb, big motions are easy but detailed work is a bitch."

I reached over, gently took her right arm and kissed every finger. "How about me and you go out for lunch" I slipped our fingers together. "There's a new restaurant opening up in the school district."

"Little Antiva?" She asked.

"That's the one," I nodded.

"I can do some pasta," she agreed.

"Great, it's a date!" I quickly stuffed my face and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Love you!" I ran off, someone had to get those lazy punks working.

-/-

"One, two! One, two!" I called out to my students as we jogged around the campus. "Break! 5 minutes!"

Most of them flopped to the floor, gasping for breath, the babies, we've barely run a mile. Most of them chugging water like their life depended on it.

"Professor Surana," Sally Bar, the Changeling, called. Of course, it wasn't her face, she looked like Victor, the Fey.

"Yes, Sally?"

She tsked, "How~?"

"You're leaking mana kid, you look like Victor but he has way better control of his power," I explain.Mana Sightwas one of the skills I gained from being cured of my tranquility, it kinda worked like Nick'sObservationskill, just without the detail. Everyone's mana was just that little bit different, for normal people with low mana it was difficult, it all looked the same, but Sally was enhanced, she was bleeding mana, and due to being a Changeling, she had a thin layer over her skin.

"So... cool~," Tomas Dudemeister, famous Hogwarts troublemaker, wheezed from the floor, Turik Espinoza, Kossith mage, gently fed him some water. "I love you so much, Tee~."

Turik blushed and rolled her eyes, "Your love means nothing, I once saw you say you loved an extra curvy tree."

"I... love nature~," he wheezed.

"Is there anything you don't love?" she huffed.

"Running~," he groaned.

"Then why did you take this class?"

He smiled up at her, "Because you love running~... And to be the man of your dreams... I must also like your hobbies."

"I..." Poor Turik was blushing up a storm.

"But... can we maybe start with a light jog first," he wheezed.

"You're a dork," she teased, giving him more water.

"Ugh, just make out already~," Sally muttered.

"Do you have any idea where this idiot's lips have been?" Turik deadpanned.

"His pillow~," Sally teased.

"Happiest pillow this side of Ferelden~," he argued.

"I'm just grateful it can't get pregnant," Sally muttered. "Professor, do we get to use the Soccer field today?"

"Yes, we do," I answered. "The soccer club is training with the Flyers down at the stadium today, so the field is open."

"Lucky~," Tomas groaned.

"If you want to play with them, you should try out for the Soccer club," I answered.

"And run? No thank you~."

"Speaking of running, on your feet! One two ladies! We have the field until noon!" I marched them to the soccer field.

Soccer had interesting positions, there were the normal spots, forward, midfielder, defender, and goalkeeper, but some players were given special titles.

There wasMage, someone allowed to use magic with a cooldown of 5 minutes, great for defense or offense, you just needed to time it right.

Templar, someone who blocked mages, Mages aren't allowed to use magic 15 feet from a templar or their cooldown goes from 5 minutes to 15. Usually, this player stuck to a defender, making it a gamble for any mage striker.

Potioneer, it was an interesting position, the potioneer didn't play. Instead, they created potions for players in the field meant to empower them. A potioneer could only make a single potion at a time and had limited supplies, making their potions valuable.

Rogue,a player created to counter the Potioneer. Thieves had the ability to steal potions from other players, but like everything it was a gamble, having to drink it as soon as they got stole it, while there was only one active potion on every team at a time, they were allowed to give everyone else dummy potions to trick a thief. A play created by Samuel Mullner, the potioneer from The Redcliffe Wardens.

If the rogue is able to steal the potion it could cause a huge twist in the game because the Potioneer could only make one active potion at a time.

If the potion was a Buff. Sofia Acceptati, Potioneer to the Southern Hawks, created a minor Immobilize tonic, which tricked the Witchhill Templars' rogue, leaving them a man short.

This created theHealer, they were either a potioneer or Mage who acted exclusively as a field medic, healing any players, interesting part was that they didn't only have to heal their own team. If a healer helped someone from the other team, any cooldowns their team had were cut by 50%.

What I'm trying to say is that this sport was crazy. All of it. Just insane. Personally, anyone who played it had nothing to lose, the uniforms consisted of tight shirts and booty shorts for men and women for Maker's sake! The cheerleaders had more clothes.

It was stupid to play, but awesome to see. Especially when a team was in sync with each other, it was no wonder Ferelden fell in love with the sport, it was just short of a death game. It was only a matter of time before they released bears into the field just for fun.

I watched the students group up and pick positions, I was acting as a ref and trained medic, someone every game had in case things got ugly.

"Ah, Professor Surana, hard at work I see," A relaxed Nevarran accented voice called out. I turned to find a man in his early 30s.

"Emmrich~," I smiled. "Good to see you." Emmrich Volkarin, Professor of Necromancy and Advanced Mathematics, it took a healthy donation of gold and 3 dozen maid Golems but Nick was able to hire someone from the famous Nevarran Necropolis, they sent Professor Volkarin and his assistant.

"Hah~!" the rattling of bones greeted me.

"Manfred~, looking... extra boney today," I teased. Manfred, a literal bag of bones, was a wisp of curiosity placed in a skeleton that Emmrich made when he became a master of Necromancy, he was a kind being, if a bit spooky from time to time, so Emmrich fitted him with some crazy goggles and school shirt, he also had an afro, but I think that was some of the kids pulling a prank, it back fired because Manfred loved the hair. Emmrich would throw it away but Manfred always found a new one, we had no idea where he kept getting them from.

"Hah!" the skeleton happily cheered.

"Here to watch a friendly game of soccer?" I asked.

"I'LL EAT YOUR SOULS!" Sally roared changing into Grunt and kicking the ball downfield. A timer of 15 minutes appeared overhead, the entire stadium was magically automated, something the Rune students had to create as a final project. "Ah, what~? Oh, right, Teresa's their templar." she morphed back to her normal body.

"This is why you can't be a good mage~," Turik muttered, "You can't keep it in your pants."

"Shut it!" Sally hissed running after the ball.

"Friendly aye?" Emmrich teased.

"Friendly by Ferelden standards," I countered. "Still exploring the school?"

"Ah, yes, Gereon and I've been here for 5 months now and Hogwarts has dozens of secrets I've yet to find," he smiled.

"Hah!" Manfred nodded.

"Hundreds," I corrected. "Nick loves his secret rooms and vaults. I heard someone finally found the Clock Vault?"

He nodded, "A young Dwarf woman, Harding, I think her name was. I believe she was part of the Scouting Program. Gain quite the fortune."

I nodded, "Nick tends to be generous with his Vaults. Usually filled with gold or magic items. I think the Clock Vault was filled with about 100 gold and some magic boots."

He nodded, "Yes, young Harding has been seen hopping from building to building with her new magical boots. It sent the school into quite an uproar, with students running up and down the halls looking for secret rooms and vaults. An Explorers Club was created, dedicated to finding all the secret rooms in the school."

I laughed, "What about the vaults in the city?"

"There are vaults in the city?" he sighed at the new information.

I giggled at his exasperated face, "Nick was here since the beginning, he helped build the city, you think he didn't build secret vaults? Magical wonders? Like one that could give you an infinite number of fake afros," I looked over at Manfred, who was making it their job not to look at either of us.

"Manfred~," Emmrich huffed.

"Hah?" the skeleton shrugged, trying to look innocent.

"Neria, is there a Vault in my office?" he asked.

"A vault? In the office of the only Necromancer in the school? Who has a skeleton assistant that never has to sleep? Only a crazy person would sneak into your office, the reward would be... astronomical," I drawled. If a skeleton could sweat, Manfred would be drenched.

"Hah!" he gasped, pointing to his wrist, before waving goodbye.

"You don't have a watch, and our Friday classes don't start until 4 in the afternoon," Emmrich huffed, following the fleeing skeleton at a slow jaunt but somehow still keeping pace, like a serial killer in a movie. And he wonders why people find him scary.

"Oh my~, did I just miss Emmrich?" A posh Ferelden accent called out.

"Gereon, good to see you, and yes Manfred's got into a little trouble, he should be back soon. So, visiting your son and wife for the holidays?" I smiled.

Gereon Alexius, father, husband, magical researcher, Tevinter Magister, and if things go wrong... future enemy.

He nodded. "Oh yes, I was planning on taking them home but Sky City is just amazing."

"Have you thought about Renn's proposal for the teaching job? We still need a professor for theoretical magical studies," I offered.

"Mmm, yes, my wife and son want me to come live here, have the whole family together, I'm tempted to take it, there has been some mad cult spreading through Tevinter's upper circles. They make me... uncomfortable, especially on how fast they gained a foothold."

"But?" I asked.

"I have a crazy apprentice who wants to change Tevinter for the better and isn't willing to leave. I'm positive nothing short of the apocalypse is willing to move him away from Tevinter, bloody fool nearly ran down here when we heard of the 5th blight. 19, and thought he could fight an Archdemon on his own," he sighed.

"Sounds like he has a chip on his shoulder."

"The size of which you would not believe. Dorian is a good lad, he just wants to prove himself, but I'm worried he's going to get himself killed. He called me steaming mad about someone ransacking my office last week, he looked ready to burn Minrathous to the ground."

"Someone robbed you?" I asked.

He waved away my worry, "Not the first time, I'm not what you would call 'popular' with the rest of the magisterium, I've been fighting hard to remove slavery in my country, but it's like pulling dragon teeth with them. I blame Aurelian Titus," he spat out the name. "Sycophant, we have been in argument for years now, he's been trying to revert Tevinter back into worshiping the Old Gods and legalizing Blood Magic. This is probably just another attempt to push my buttons."

"Legalize blood magic, in public? That's insane."

"I wouldn't say in public, more politically if anything, trying to slip passages into bills. One of them was to use the blood of a dragon, he's a Maker damned madman," he shook his head. This could be a problem.

"Manfred! Where are you running young man!? There's nowhere to run!" Emmrich roared

We watched the skeleton running for his immortal life as an annoyed mage marched after him.

"Oof," Alexius stretched his back, "That brings up some memories, like the time I found Felix running with a knife."

"I'm guessing this is a parent's rite of passage?' I giggled.

"This, and being yelled at for not understanding what they're going through," he sighed. "Laugh now, but just you wait, that's going to be you in the future."

I watched Emmrich chase after Manfred.

A small smile crossed my face. Sounds like fun.

-/-

Family

Nora Shepard POV

I felt my nerves tingle as the airlock ran its decontamination cycle. I didn't like it; it wasn't like the tingle I felt when I was in combat. I couldn't fight this feeling away. This dress wasn't helping.

"You'll be fine~," John sighed.

"What if she doesn't like me?" I have no idea why I felt like this, why should I care about what some woman thought of me?

"You'll be fine~."

"Is that all you can say?" I hissed at him.

"...You'll be-" I punched him, "ow! You really got that Shepard gene in you," He hissed, rubbing his shoulder.

The airlock door opened to Arcturus station's docking bay. A tall dark-skinned man greeted us. Information flashed through my mind, David E. Anderson, N7 Soldier, First Human Councilor, Enhanced... Dangerous. I felt my muscles tighten on instinct, like when I was about to enter combat.

"Anderson~," John greeted with a smile, "Do councilors not work or..." he teased.

"The council has been barking at each other about the information you gave us. Technically, I'm here to see how the System Alliance is responding to this 'new' information," he air quoted, leading us into the station proper.

"How is the Alliance taking my footage?"

"Nothing's changed, still gearing up, still buying weapons, still making ships. All this did was cement our decision, if a bit faster after the timeline you gave us. Not sure what we can do in 8 months," he answered.

"Better to have that time than be completely blindsided." he gave a little cough, "Where are my manners, "This is Nora, my little sister," he introduced me out of the blue.

"Yeah, I can tell, she has her mother, 'I'm going to punch you in the face' stance. David Anderson, good to meet you, if you ever want to know about your father you can ask me, Hannah tends to... Embellish him," he muttered.

"Shouldn't you be more shocked that I have a sister?" John huffed.

Anderson rolled his eyes, "I've learned to expect the unexpected from you. This-" he gestured to me, "-doesn't even reach a 3 on my Shepard Madness Scale."

"What's a ten?"

"Giant elder eldritch robot abominations hell-bent on destroying the galaxy," he huffed.

John nodded, "Yeah, though would do it. Where are we going? I thought Hackett's office was toward the center of the station."

"He moved it to the Farm."

"The Farm?"

"The nickname the crew gave to the manor Nick made."

"Hackett just took it?"

"There was some pushback from the cleaning crew, arguing that it used to be a broom closet making it rightfully theirs, he had to take a pay cut to give the cleaning crew a pay raise, but he got it in the end."

"Found anything cool? Nick loves his secret rooms and vaults," John asked.

"The upstairs library had a secret room, with books on beginner's magic," he answered. "None of the books could be moved from the room, every time they tried a magical barrier would block their exit. At the moment, only trusted scientists are allowed in the room, there's a waiting list a mile long."

"that's got to be a headache~," He teased.

"Don't get me started, I've been getting emails from every scientist in the Alliance, demanding a time slot. I'm not even in control of the Library," he huffed, opening a door that led to... the outside? The warmth of a star danced on my skin and a breezed played with my hair. "Welcome to the Farm."

This place looked to have been ripped straight from a storybook.

"Johnny! You have some-" an annoyed voice called out, only to pause, I turned to find a woman standing in the manor's front doorway, staring at me. Red hair with gray corners, blue eyes with crow's feet, 5'4, muscular, scars over the right eye and lip. Hannah Shepard. She didn't say a word, just walked down the stairs, getting a closer look. I was slightly taller than her. She gently cupped my face, "Sorry kiddo, it looks like you got stuck with more of my genes," She teased. I don't know what it was, but a pressure that threatened to crush me since I got here finally slipped off my shoulders. "What's your name?"

"I... I'm Nora."

"Nora~, that's a good name, if Johnny was a girl I was going to call him Hannah the second," she laughed.

"Maker~, that would have sucked," John coughed.

"Shat up!" Hannah huffed.

"Um... thank you Ms. Shepard-"

"No! none of that! Mom," she ordered.

"wha-"

"MOOOOOM~," she drawled, squishing my cheeks.

"M-mom," I answered.

She gained a big smile. "That's my girl, I need to get you a birth certificate."

"I already have everything filled out," John answered.

"Good, send it to me so I can sign them," she gave me a confused look, "Why is she wearing a princess gown?"

"...I thought it would be funny," John smirked. I reached over and punched him again, he just laughed.

"You have a sister for half a day and you're already making fun of her. Why am I not surprised?" a woman called out, exiting the manor. Pale purple skin, bio-enhancers, glowing white eyes, with a purple cloak with detailed symbols. Quarian, most likely Tali'Zorah due to her friendly relationship with John. There was also another unknown Quarian next to her, with blue highlights in her hair. "Tali," she greeted, "Hope your brother hasn't tossed you around yet. He tends to suplex first, talk later."

"He's... okay."

Tali giggled, "That was a long pause."

"Don't bad mouth me," John huffed at his friend.

"Stop suplexing people."

"I am a Spectre, I have all the right to suplex anyone I want for whatever reason I want."

"Good to see having unchecked power hasn't corrupted you," Tali teased. "Where's Liara?"

"Back in the Normandy, she had a truckload of work and has been trying to get her bot to help organize it, she could use your help."

"Probably, I once saw her look at a toaster like it held the secrets of the universe," she sighed. "This is Yero, the new Nova... or is it the first Nova? We need a ride to Nick~," she asked, in a way that wasn't a question.

"That makes two of us," Anderson added, "I have another list of possible recruits for Project Hercules."

"...Have you found him?"

"No. He's gone to ground, and we've been finding some bases, if we're lucky, they are empty, if not... let's just say that the Illusive man is cleaning house."

"What's Nick's last location? Is he still back on earth?"

"No, Hackett found something in Eden Prime," he answered.

"Javik?"

"Possibly," he nodded, "whatever it is, was dug deep. The beacon we found was barely a quarter of the way down."

"It has to be him; Nick wouldn't waste his time going if it wasn't," John answered. "Is the Puma here?"

"Dock number F- 31," Tali answered.

"Good, Call Liara and have her, Garrus, and Mordin meet us there." he turned to me, "Hate to say it but this is where we have to split up, Ma will take care of you, but I have no doubt you be back in the Normandy in no time."

"No~," Ma called out, "Take her with you."

I was a little confused, "But-"

She cupped my cheeks again. "You have no idea how much I want to take you under my wing, teach you everything, but I can't, not yet, you need to be brought up to speed as fast as possible, and Walters, the annoying ass-hat, is the fastest way to do that. Don't worry I'll visit every chance I get." she gave me a sad smile. "You'll do great, my wandering star."

"Nicknames already," John teased.

"You got any problems with that my wet bandit!" she huffed at her son.

"Nope," he quickly answered.

"Wet bandit?" Tali asked.

"Not important!" John hissed, marching out of the Farm, causing Hannah to giggle,

"Be safe," she gave me a kiss on the forehead, "Your brother tends to get into trouble, he gets that from my side of the family, so you better be prepared for that," she teased. I gave a hesitant nod. "I've only known about you for an hour and I would destroy this galaxy and myself if anything happened to you, I love you, and take care." I nodded. "We'll do 20 years of Mother0Daughter bonding next time, okay?" I gave another nod. "Good, now, let's catch your brother before the universe declares war on him for eating a holy vegetable or something equally stupid."

She led us into the hallway.

...So... this is what a parent's love is like.

...I like it.

-/-

A/N: ghdfvblidahvblsdihfvb! Alright! One step at a time, I'm thinking one or two more of this before ME 3, there is just so much world-building to make and I'm enjoying these little stories, I hope you are too.

Mild Spoilers!

So, DA: Veilguard... meh. It definitely could have been better, let's not even try to argue that fact. It should have been like Avengers Infinity War and Endgame. It should have brought back everyone from the previous games, within reason, If Alistair was king of Ferelden, it wouldn't have made a lick of sense for him to be in Tevinter, but still, Hawke, if they survived, should have been there, the inquisitor, the Warden, Fenris, Zevran, shit Feynriel, the Architect, KIERAN!? It should have been cameo after cameo, the best part, it's a video game, it doesn't have the restrictions of a movie's run time! Take your time building your characters and world!

I'm not saying it is the worst game in the world, it gave me plenty of ideas and I could easily shape my world around it. I had the time to build it up right, they kinda just went lazy with the world building, it's all'the elves did it'It's kinda boring, but don't worry, I could easily make it better with half a thought, I already have dozens of ideas to make it better.

Anyway, now that my rant's over, there is like a 10-year gap between Inquisition and Veilguard, that's a lot of time to play with, so I'm probably going to make a story in between, unless you want me to dig deep into Dragon Age Lore.

I'll make a few openings for possible non-cannon stories at the end of my A/N, and you tell me if they're decent or not, you can even add some suggestions, but please don't be upset if I don't pick one you like. If I want to make a decent story I need to dig into that world, to see the little things that make it work, and that's why I'm starting now.

So, review, if ya want.

Sorry for any shitty grammar.

I have a par-treon in my bio, with my Deviant art page.

-/-

Izuku Midoriya, hero name: N/A, Quirk: One for All, POV

And today started off great too. Rescue training was my bread and butter, it was my ultimate goal, sure, fighting Villains and saving the day is nice, but saving people~, that's what a hero does. The USJ was amazing, really reminded me of UA's terrifying budget, Cementos must be paid a fortune for helping build this stuff. Meeting Thirteen, Quirk: Blackhole, her catchphrase,'Don't worry Houston, I'm the solution', caused me nearly fainted, she was so COOL! I had a million questions;

Can you shoot out anything your Quirk sucks in?

Can you use your quirk from anywhere in your body?

Is your power just a black hole or a warp gate?

Where is it connected to?

Is your costume heavy?

What was the working with NASA and JAXA like?

Will there be space heroes and will you be one?

Do you taste things you suck up?

Can you go to a dump and get rid of all the garbage there?

Why become a hero?

What's your favorite color?

Have you ever thought of working with Savage: the ancient hero, to make a funny buddy-hero agency, purely for the aesthetics?

I had all the questions. Of course, all that was put on the back burner as Villains broke into the USJ, throwing us into all-out madness. I'm going to have to give Tsuyu my jelly for the rest of the year for saving my life twice within 5 minutes, I need to learn how to be cool under pressure like her, in a boat surrounded by villains and she was cool as a cucumber. She is way ahead of me in the hero department, I bet she has a cool hero name already.

Our latest escape didn't go as smoothly as I wanted, escaping with a broken finger and Mineta bleeding from his scalp wasn't All Might worthy, but we stopped the villains and made it to our homeroom teacher, Mr. Aizawa AKA Eraser Head, who had the ability to 'erase' Quirks, was currently being shoved into the ground head first by a huge monster named Nomu.

"Well, this was fun," The main villain, Tomura Shigaraki, teased. "But I didn't come to fight an entire team of heroes~," he glared at his partner, a human covered in shadows, Kurogiri, he had some kind of Gate Quirk allowing him to open portals between two places, maybe more. He has a weakness, every quirk does, especially quirks that can affect the body, no matter how powerful a quirk is, it needs the human body to function, they have limitations ,so it doesn't kill us... mostly.

Even Heteromorphic quirks like Mezo'sMulti-armsand Fumikage'sDark Shadowhave drawbacks.

"Nnn," Kurogiri groaned, "Again, I apologize Shigaraki, nnn, the students here are better than we, Nnn, thought," he groaned.

"... the hell's wrong with you?" Shigaraki muttered.

"I... Nnn, I don't know, Thirteen must have done more damage than I thought she did," the villain hissed, touching his large metal collar.

The collar! Why have that visible if you could just be completely intangible? Unless he needs it to open a gateway! What a glaring weakness, how did I miss that!?

"Whatever, let's get out of here," Shigaraki hissed, before pausing, "You know what~, let's leave a present," and before I could blink, he was already in front of us, his hand outstretched, reaching for Tsuyu's face.

The same hand that turned Eraser Head's elbow to dust.

Only for nothing to happen.

"Holy shit man~," he giggled looking over to my teacher. Mr. Aizawa's glowing red eyes met his, "You really are-"

"SMASH!" I roared at the top of my voice, shoving as much as One for All energy as I could into the blow, I didn't give it a second thought, losing my arm is better than Tsuyu dying. The blow rattled the world around me.

Good news, my arm didn't shatter, bad news, the Nomu blocked my blow without a single twitch, good news, the winds my attack knocked Tsuyu and Mineta to safety, more good news, it also knocked away the villains, more bad news, The Nomu has got my arm.

"Oh damn, that was close," Shigaraki gasped, "That definitely would have knocked my block off~, were you trying to kill me, hero~," he teased.

"NNNN! Shigaraki, we need to leave," Kurogiri groaned, holding his collar.

"Keep your panties on, this kid nearly killed me, I think I deserve his arm, don't you? Nomu-"

"AHHHH!" Kurogiri yelled in pain.

"What the hell is wrong with-" a huge robot hand exploded from the Shadow man's chest, "WHAT THE FUCK!?" Shigaraki jumped back, clearly, this was something... new. As another hand joined the first, Kurogiri kept screaming in pain as the hands gripped the edges of his shadows and began pealing him wider.

It did not look or sound pleasant, even through Kurogiri's screams the sound of tearing seams was easy to hear.

From the shadows, came a huge mecha straight out of a sci-fi movie, slightly taller than the Nomu and built like a tank.

Everything grew quiet, aside from Kurogiri's whimpers.

"What... the fuck... are you," Shigaraki hissed.

The mech snapped its gaze at him. Causing him to jump back. Some kind of scanner danced across the villain, "Human, age 20, Asian ancestry, Language: unknown, Japanese origin, Warlock. Extremely pale, underweight, not enough vitamin D." it answered in a monotoned voice. "I am designated MG-5455, dimensional Golem."

"...Cool... Nomu kill it!"

Without a second thought, the monster unleashed an impossibly powerful right hook into the mech's face. It would have killed any normal person, but the mech barely moved.

"Hostile actions detected, you will cease hostile activity immediately or-" it was cut off as the Nomu unleashed another blow to its face, just for a second, I spotted what looked like some kind of shield flicker to life. "Lethal action authorized!"

That was all it said before it snapped its hands out, grabbed the Nomu's head, and tore it clean off its body. The monster's blood drenched the mech in crimson. For a second the head looked to try and reattach itself to its body, only for the mech to crush its head to mush.

I felt sick.

"Threat neutralized, returning to normal sub-routes. Hi... I come in peace."

"PEACE MY ASS, YOU JUST KILLED MY NOMU!" Shigaraki roared.

The mech looked down at the villain, "Are you a threat?"

Whoa, that was a scary question.

"Uh-" he didn't get to answer as the USJ's massive doors slammed open, revealing the angriest-looking All Might I have ever seen.

"Fear not children.For I am here!" his voice seemed to echo throughout the massive building.

"Yeah... that's about right," Shigaraki hissed, "The main boss shows up after my teammates log out."

I launched myself forward, arms outstretched, guarding the mech from All Might'sHighway Blitz, one of his techniques he used when fighting a large group of villains at once.

I don't know what this thing was, but it just killed that Nomu without breaking a sweat, if he didn't have to fight this thing then I'll make sure he doesn't.

The mech looked down at me, scanning me over, "Human, Age 15, Asian ancestry, hair: green, natural, mutation. Heart rate over 120, Warlock. You are in grave danger; you must leave the area."

I don't know what that meant.

"Villain, your attack is over," All Might declared. All around him were the groaning beaten bodies of every villain in the courtyard.

"Scanning." the mech called out, "Human, age: 54, Caucasian ancestry, Language unknown, Japanese origin. Irregular breathe rate, old injury."

"He's with us!" I called out. All Might gave the corpse on the ground a look then to the mech covered in blood.

"Young Mid-"

"He saved me!" I cut him off.

"We will talk about this later," he looked over to Shigaraki, who was now standing next to the fallen shadow man.

"Kurogiri, get up, we're leaving," he hissed.

"I think not, Villain," All Might hissed.

"How about you-GAK!" he vomited an impossible amount of black bile, "Really Sensei~," he groaned under his voice, "You haven't seen the last of me, ALL MIGHT!" he flipped us the bird before completely swallowed by the ink and disappearing, leaving a rancid smell behind.

"Another warping quirk?" I muttered, Kurogiri was also gone, but only them, the other villains, and the Nomu's corpse were left behind, I'm not sure if it was because it was dead or just too far away. Still, warping Quirks are rare, super rare, for them to have two, and the Nomu, it took a direct blow from One for All without flinching, Shigaraki called it the perfect All Might killing weapon.

"Human, Injured," the mech didn't much care about Shigaraki's threats, just moved toward Aizawa.

"Hey wait! All Might! There are more villains in the USJ! I got this! Go!" I called out running after it. Tsuyu and Mineta were already at Mr. Aizawa's side, trying to help him.

"Children, move aside," it ordered.

"Izuku, what is this thing?" Mineta whimpered, as the mech gently pushed him out of the way.

"I... don't know, but I don't think it wants to hurt us," I answered.

"Dislocated and Broken right and left arm, lacerations and decay of right elbow," MG-5455 gently rolled Eraser Head on his back, causing the pro-hero to hiss. "Deep cut to the right eye, Healing needed. Deploying Nurse Golem."

"Nurse Golem?" I asked. A hiss came from the large mech's back as a smaller, more feminine robot slid off his back.

"Alright ya big lug, move over!" the smaller golem huffed, she sounded a lot more human, taking a look at Aizawa, "BY NICK'S MORNING SOUP!? You should have called me sooner! Did Nick make you with the brain of a toaster!? You, boy!" she pointed at me.

"Me?"

"YES YOU! Come here!" she ordered. "His arm is out of his socket, I need to move it back into place, I need you to hold him down. If he moves it could get worse. You and you" she pointed to Tsuyu and Mineta, "hold his legs." we froze. "NOW!" we jumped into action. "1 2 3!" she roared, snapping Aizawa's arm into place, getting him to hiss and jerk in pain, "Stop your bitching! The worst is over." one of her fingers popped out a syringe and stuck it into his arm. "This is going to feel weird, most regeneration potions are drunk, but I doubt we have the time for that~," she hissed, looking at 5455 covered in blood.

"Threat neutralized," he answered.

"I can't believe we were created by the same person," she muttered. "This gash to his eye is bad, Orbital rim fracture. Boy!" she roared at me, "Are you a qualified medic?"

"...No," I answered.

"Then you better listen up, if I don't operate, he could lose the eye, hold him steady, 5455, sterilize!"

The larger mech gave us another scan but this time it felt like I was slightly burned. I didn't complain, just held my teacher's head. She injected him with another needle, causing him to relax, "sedative," she answered my unasked question, her fingers opening to reveal surgical tools, beginning to peel away at his eye.

It was... gross, there was a reason I didn't want to be a doctor. She moved at inhuman speeds, it was more than a fracture, his entire eye socket was shattered, it was bad, but the little robot didn't flinch, moving the broken bones into place and adding some kind of gel that seemed to reattach the bone, good as new.

It felt like hours, every broken piece painstakingly put back together, but she did it. Finishing by pinching the skin back together and adding more gel, fusing the skin back to normal, leaving the tiniest scar.

"Done, Good job boy, didn't even barf once, you should be a medic," she complemented.

"It was impressive," a cheerful voice called out. I snapped my head up to find... a white bear? "Am I a bear? A dog? A mouse? I'm the Principal!"

"Principal Nezu!" I called out, one of the smartest people in the world. All around us were the school faculty ready for action as well as my classmates.

"That's me~," he cheered. "Care to explain what you are doing to my teacher?"

"Broken eye socket, needed emergency surgery, he should be fine now, just needs rest," she answered, holding her hands up as 5455 burned away the blood.

Nezu gave Aizawa a look over, "I thank you for your help."

"Think nothing of it, I was made to help."

"Made?"

"I'm a golem," she answered.

"Like in the Jewish folk tale?" he asked.

"No... yes? I don't know, my creator never cared for religion. I'm a being created by my master to help this big lug explore the Multiverse," she answered.

"...What~." I muttered.

"Nurse 5455, look!" the mech called out, pointing at Midnight.

"Me?" she pointed to herself.

"a scantily clad woman-"

"Well that's true~," Midnight smirked.

"-and water." he pointed to the lake. "We've made it to the beach dimension. I'll set up the portal."

"I'm sorry, the Beach Dimension?" I asked.

"Yes, Master Walters has been trying to find the beach dimension for some time," Nurse answered. "I think he should expand his requirement list."

"Which is?" Nezu asked.

"Scantily clad women and water, within eyesight," she answered.

"Yeah... he should add a few more," Present Mic muttered.

Aizawa gave a gasp, snapping awake, "What happened!? The students!?" he tried getting up but I held him down.

"Mr. Aizawa, We're okay!"

"Huh~, a bit tougher than your average human, or is this normal? You humans are so strange from dimension to dimension."

He gave the robot a queer glance. "Midoriya!? What's going on!?"

"The monster hit you, two broken arms and eye socket," I answered. He gently touched his right eye finding it just fine. "The Nurse healed you." I pointed to the robot.

He flexed his arms, which were broken not 30 minutes ago. "Thank you."

She shrugged. "It's fine, I was created to help."

"Who is your master?" Nezu asked.

"Nick Walters, mad man, lover of beautiful women, and is about to come through that portal," she pointed to the large glowing gateway.

"Huh-" I didn't get to say anything as what looked like a large mirror shattered inwards, into what looked like a galaxy, and a dog came bouncing through, it was huge. It looked like a German Shepherd but it was the size of a small horse.

It looked right at me, judging me, everything I've ever done, everything I could have done, and everything I've yet to do.

He chuffed.

"He likes you," Nurse giggled.

"Nick Walters is a dog?" I dumbly asked.

"Not quite," a voice called out from the portal, as a man, standing at 6 feet and change, wearing sandals, an opened Hawaiian shirt, and trunks, walked through the portal. His glowing blue eyes pierced right through me, "This... is not the beach dimension." The squelching of blood came from his feet, "someone better start explaining."