“ - And talk to me like an adult, Joshua.” Locklear's final words rung clear like a bell in Leviathan’s head as the transmission recording came to an end. The metal man stood at the helm of the Andraste as it prowled through the perimeter of Valravn Citadel. An overwhelming rush of thoughts and voices loomed over his tired and overworked mind. The chemicals which kept what little organic material remained of Leviathan alive had left him damaged. His brain has been running on overdrive for so many months, the cruel experiment he had been subjected to was finally about to yield results.
“Worthless.” He spat out to himself.
“They all are.” A voice rang out from the back of his head. The lights which occupied his face had flickered for a brief moment.
“Irritating.” He said to himself.
“They’re only getting in the way.” The voice spoke out again, causing a myriad of colours to cycle, showing no sign of the original and neutral purple. Time was taking its toll. Leviathan’s patience had nearly become non-existent. His compassion was numbed and his rage had reached his boiling point. He stewed, stressing himself even further, standing now at the precipice of desolation.
“Don’t go over the line. Don’t go over the line. Don’t go over the line.” Leviathan repeated to himself quietly.
Footsteps approached from the rear as a lightly armored and branded medic walked along the aisle towards the towering metal figure of Leviathan. Four - one of the Davaran squad members, had come at the request of Venator Glass to assess the medical status of the Keeper. He volunteered, hoping it would potentially allow him to get closer to his roots and develop a social bond with his biological templates. The excitement was almost overwhelming of his timid composure. He came to a stop behind the Keeper and stood at attention, intending to show the utmost respect.
“They’re going to get in the way again.” The voice in Leviathan’s head chimed. Frustrated beyond reason, Leviathan cracked and relaxed any visible tension being represented by his body. He snapped.
Four cleared his throat. “Keeper. I have been tasked with being your personal physician. I am looking forward to wo-” The excitement in his tone of voice was interrupted with the blunt impact of Leviathan’s backhand. Shocked, dazed and confused, Four stumbled back. The tactical light on the side of his helmet was demolished. The blow would’ve likely killed him had he not been wearing his armor. As Four steadied himself, Leviathan gripped the jawline of his helmet, holding him in place. Four held up his hands in surrender, intending to show he meant no hostilities. Leviathan’s face flickered out of control. He said nothing. The fluidity of his actions were as if everything was calculated and premeditated. There was no hesitation.
Leviathan raised his hand, and viciously began to swing at the center of Four’s helmet with the full force of his cybernetic arm. He’d hit him again. Again. And again. Four attempted to struggle free, pushing and kicking at his attacker, yet to no avail. After the third hit, Four’s hands lowered weakly. “W-why…?” Four choked out. Another impact from Leviathan’s fist was the only response. It caused him to twitch briefly. The final impact - being harder than the others as Leviathan winded his shoulder - sent Four down to his back, limp and unresponsive. His helmet was dented inwards inhumanly. It was impossible to survive such a brutal blunt force assault.
The bridge of the Andraste fell silent as onlookers watched the horrendous attack on their comrade, unsure of how to react to the brutal actions of one of the Keepers. Leviathan glared around the room at them, his face a multi-coloured strobe light. The bridge personnel slowly backed off, some turned to run for the exit. Leviathan didn’t pursue any of them. Instead, he waited for them to be clear of the bridge and sealed the door. Immediately, he rushed for the command console and began rapidly typing in directives, locking down terminals and locking out other sections of the ship from controlling anything he might do.
By the time they had fled the bridge, the crew sent alarms to the Citadel, alerting the Phalanx of the situation. The hundreds of personnel and crew members on board the Osiris were scrambling to stop the lockout from happening. Engineering was the first to lose its console access, preventing any shutdown that isn’t done manually or destructively. Then, security stations began to lose camera and checkpoint control. People were getting locked into sections and separated. Isolated. He shut down the vessel’s engines, locked down the airlocks and primary hangar, and disabled external transmissions. Leviathan had control of the ship, and the crew were at his mercy.
The halls fell silent over the hours as word of what was happening spread like wildfire across the Covenant. The small society’s sole Battleship had been taken hostage. Leviathan shook, as if shivering out of control. It seemed almost impossible given his physical state, but nothing about this situation was okay. He lashed out and killed one of his own. Agitated with constantly second guessing his thoughts, Leviathan slammed his fists onto the console of the helm.
“Four was only trying to help. I-I shouldn’t have done that.” Leviathan said aloud, distressed as he began to realize his actions.
The voice cackled at the back of his mind. “Help? Please. You’ve said it yourself - they’re slowing down progress and after today they're going to shut you down. Their incompetence and decisions have put you in this position and now you’re backed into a corner with nothing left to do but fight.” It said. Leviathan sighed, continuing to argue with himself was hopeless. So many claws were digging in to his sanity, he began to recluse. Leviathan started to pace back and forth along the aisle, carefully stepping over the corpse of Four.
Outside of the bridge in the command section of the Andraste, Marshal - The sixth sibling of Davara - had rallied several marines together outside the now-sealed door that stood between the five armed soldiers and their malfunctioning leader. Marshal kneeled down with his team, ushering them close so as to not alert the occupants of the bridge of their presence. He silently gestured orders to the marines individually, devising a quick breach strategy to incapacitate Leviathan non-lethally. He handed out small pouches and spare magazines, containing a specialized non-lethal pulse round. The contents of the pouches were small, magnetic throwable shock grenades. Despite their intent for non-lethal action, they were not willing to risk a full confrontation with the Keeper.
Marshal counted down from five using his fingers to keep his team informed of the time. At one, they readied themselves and stood. The first marine placed out a mat-like explosive device over the bridge door whilst the others took cover positions around the opening and kept their weapons at the ready.
On the opposite side of the door, Leviathan stopped moving. The faint sounds of someone tampering with the door had caught his attention. “They’ve come to kill you for what you’ve done.” The voice said. Leviathan quickly began to evaluate his environment, eyeing around for cover or any edge he could give himself in this situation. The flickering lights of his eyes scanned the room slowly. Nothing. Leviathan sighed exasperatedly. He thought for a brief second, then froze and looked to the wall.
“That’ll do.” He said to himself as he set his sights on the fire prevention system.
Back on the hallway side of the door, the marine had finished setting up the breaching device, and stepped back. He gestured to Marshal that he was ready, yet Marshal raised a hand for him to wait. He noticed the faint sound of metal-on-metal pacing had stopped. Their plan might’ve been exposed. He waited for a moment longer to gauge the situation. The silence was broken as the footsteps resumed. The squad let out quiet and relieved sighs, relaxing slightly.
Marshal readied his weapon, and raised his hand to give the signal. Suddenly, he was interrupted by a fire alarm. The emergency lighting flicked on, turning the halls of the ship a flashing, eerie yellow. From behind the door, the automatic extinguishers could be heard spraying wildly into the room. White smoke seeped into the hall through the cracks in the door. Confused, Marshal shook his head and gave the signal. The marine pressed his thumb down on the detonator, and the breaching charge beeped twice, then began to burn a hole through the thick metal. The second stage hit and went off like a cannon, blasting a moderate sized hole in the middle of the door.
The squad moved through the hole into the room, only to be met with the thick smoke leftover from the extinguishers going off, and the low visibility of the lighting provided by the emergency system. Cautiously, the squad split up and fanned out to search the bridge, as Leviathan was nowhere to be seen. Marshal took the middle towards the helm, slowly moving towards the aisle. The four marines split into groups of two and searched both the left and right sides, cautiously moving through the environment and conscious of the fact that they were at a severe disadvantage.
The smoke from the fire prevention system coupled with the low lighting had brought visibility for the team down to three feet in front of them. The two marines who chose to search the left side of the bridge walked side by side, weapons at the ready. Consoles were idle around them, with chairs spun as their occupants had hastily vacated the area. The pair scanned around the terminals and stations, eyeing the various places one could hide. It seemed strange for such a large figure to vanish so easily, though the low visibility wasn't doing them any favors.
Marshal advanced slowly along the central walkway towards the helm of the ship. He passed the command chair carefully, scanning the area with his rifle and masking his footsteps with subtle movement changes. He eyed the smashed terminal to his right. "Damn..." He said to himself. Marshal continued forward towards the helm, scanning around the communications and sonar stations as he went along. He stumbled, as if tripping on something. Marshal aimed his gun downwards at the limp hand of someone.
It was Four. His sibling and squad mate. Speechless, Marshal dropped to his knees, looking over the battered remains of his brother. He didn't initially believe it to be true, that Leviathan - their creator and leader - could turn on his own so easily. He felt betrayed. Marshal took his brother's hand and sat for a moment, as he did over a year ago when their sister had been killed in action. It was a moment of silence and mourning for the loss of one of only ten.
On the right side, the other pair of marines were fairing much the same as the first. The noise from the fire alarm obstructed any chance at hearing where one might be hiding. They moved steadily along the right side of the bridge, looking over the consoles. Their formation was staggered, with one being ahead of the other rather than side by side. They were close enough together to not be of concern, however. They moved with their weapons at the ready and trained ahead as they hunted for their prey.
Like a snake, Leviathan tracked their movements with heat sensors through the smoke. The temperature differences made identifying their body silhouette through the smoke significantly easier, as the system had slightly cooled the air. The right side pair moved slowly forward, passing a set of server nodes along the wall. A section of their lights appeared to be disabled, yet they were neither interested in maintenance nor able to clearly see what the issue might even be. One of the marines squinted briefly, believing he saw something. The pair come to a dead stop and listen for footsteps.
The silence was interrupted as a metal cabinet door impacted the weapon of the marine at the rear of the duo, knocking the sub-machine gun from his hands. Before he could react, a large metal foot kicked him in the side, sending him toppling over one of the terminals and onto his side. The other soldier in the seconds this happened, had enough time to turn to face the towering, brimstone-light metal man. Leviathan cast a gaze to the soldier, which through the smoke caused a brief moment of hesitation. The metal figure lunged forward at the second soldier, grasping the handguard of his rifle and yanking it into the air and out of his hands, letting it drop to the floor. With his other hand, he grabbed the man by his throat and hoisted him into the air. Bringing his other hand around to the combo, he began to viciously choke the marine, only to end it seconds later with a sudden jolt upwards. An audible 'snap' is heard and the soldier goes limp.
The first soldier stumbled to his feet, grasping his side. It felt as though his ribs were broken. He watched as Leviathan tossed the lifeless body of his partner aside like it was nothing, and reached for the pouch of explosives. Leviathan looked over to the man who hastily opened the small pouch and shoved his hand inside, grasping at its contents. He lunged at him, smashing down the console screen that stood in his way. He kicked the marine clean in the center mass of his chest, embedding a dent in the man's armor. The marine stumbled back, gasping for air as his chest had been constricted and he could no longer breathe. He fell down, grasping at the release of his armor but to no avail. He looked up as Leviathan approached and raised a hand to finish the job. The marine flinched, only to have the situation interrupted by gunfire from their intended destination.
The left-side team had arrived and come to meet the others, spotting the metal figure on its approach to the survivor. They quickly intervened with several non-lethal bursts at Leviathan, who quickly ducked out of the way below the console next to the suffocating marine. He let out a frustrated sigh as the other two soldiers approached slowly, keeping their weapons up. The suffocating marine attempted to crawl away, going red in the face. Leviathan grabbed his leg and dragged him back. The man struggled and kicked at him, clawing at the floor to escape. Leviathan was unphased by his attempts. He grabbed the back of the man's collar and lifted him upwards, bringing the man in front of him like a human shield. The man panicked as they rose above the console.
The two marines saw the lights of Leviathan's face crest the console through the smoke, unable to make heads or tails of where he might actually be due to the low visibility. They fired a series of bursts at the lights. Leviathan ducked back behind the suffocating marine, who grunted and went silent as several rounds pierced his chest. The marine was dead and had served his purpose. The second team continued its advance and suppression strategy. The gunfire ceased as clicks from empty magazines could be heard in its wake. Hearing the mag-release, Leviathan stepped back and raised the human shield over his head with both of his arms. He threw the marine's corpse at one of his attackers, toppling the attacker back and causing him to drop his firearm and spare magazine.
The second soldier managed to step out of the way just in time, quickly attempting to load the magazine into her rifle. She struggled with it initially, but reached for the bolt to finish the process. By this time, Leviathan had closed the gap and was reaching for the barrel of her weapon. Having seen it coming, the woman ducked left and tucked her rifle inwards. Leviathan lunged almost clear past her, to which she responded to his proximity by attempting to hit him with the butt of her rifle in the head. She succeeded, but not in doing any damage. As the woman attempted to bring the barrel back around to follow it up with a pulse burst, Leviathan swung his head back and hit her square in the face with a headbutt. The woman stumbled slightly as her visor was now cracked. She was dazed.
In the meantime, her comrade struggled and managed to get out from under the corpse of the human shield. He scrambled for his weapon and retreated into the smoke to reload and gain a vantage point.
Leviathan stood up and gazed down on the woman who shook her head briefly before him. He gave her no quarter, quickly snatching the rifle from her hands and breaking it over his knee. He tossed it aside, and hit her with a punch to the visor again, cracking the C-1 even further. The woman was stunned. She dropped to her knees and nearly toppled over. Leviathan grabbed the sides of her head, and looked at her through the cracked visor. The woman gasped silently as she came face to face with the four, brimstone colored lights of the Keeper. Her helmet began to creak slightly, as the visor glass along the edges began to crack inwards. Pressure was being applied. Leviathan was crushing her helmet. She panicked and attempted to struggle, beating at her attacker's arms weakly. She screamed out in fear as all around her, the small metal bubble which was meant to protect her was crumpling inwards like a tin can. The scream went silent suddenly after a few more seconds. Leviathan released her and sighed. She flopped to her side, limp and unresponsive. She was dead.
Marshal, hearing the commotion, knew rushing in would be playing into the trap. He backed off towards the helm, setting up a small ambush with his magnetic grenades on detonators. He placed them in key spots along the floor of the walkway leading up to the helm. Marshal rotated to face down the way he came, looking over his brother. He waited.
Leviathan looked around the room at the three, lifeless soldiers. He then looked towards where the fourth had run. Despite having access to thermal readouts, the man was no where to be seen. Leviathan began to walk in the direction he went, slowly and confidently moving along the aisle towards his last known location. He moved through the smoke, listening for the slightest change in the setting he chose for himself. A faint, metal creak is heard from above on the helm walkway. Leviathan looked up, noting not one - but two heat signatures. Before he could determine who the other was, he was hit. Two bullets impacted the exoskeleton of his right shoulder from above. The marine who ran was leaning over the railing. "Put your damn hands up now or I'll go lethal!" The marine shouted. He repeated it a second time. Leviathan simply looked at him, dumbfounded.
"How the hell did you get all the way up there?" Leviathan responded.
The marine was confused. He lowered his weapon slightly, letting his guard down. He tilted his head to show it, but by then, the rifle from the first marine had already gone off three times. Three rounds impacted the marine on the second level walkway. Two in the chest, one in the head. Leviathan had kicked up, caught and shouldered the weapon as the marine lowered his in confusion, taking the first opportunity he got.
"Idiot." Leviathan said as he dropped the rifle afterwards and continued walking forward.
Marshal heard the shouting and gunfire, knowing his opponent was now armed. "So much for non-lethal..." He said to himself. He flipped the fire mode on his rifle to automatic. Marshal returned his gaze down the walkway and over his brother. The noise fell silent as the fire alarm shut itself down. The lighting remained unchanged. It was quiet now. There was no sign of any surviving members of the team, or Leviathan. Marshal simply held his breath and listened carefully. He waited.
Three soft clicks interrupted the silence. Marshal quickly rolled to his left as Leviathan landed right where he was hiding, with the intent on crushing the Davaran. Marshal brought his weapon up and fired at the Keeper, fully automatic. Leviathan ripped the helmsman's chair out of the floor and used it as a shield. Marshal kept firing, which was out of character for him. He was upset. This situation had him unstable and unable to think clearly. He wasn't trained for this. Suddenly, his worst fear was realized.
The gun clicked.
Leviathan dropped the chair and shoved it aside, stepping towards Marshal. Marshal dropped his weapon and reached for his sidearm. He drew it from its holster across his chest with quick speed and fired two rounds center mass on the metal figure. The rounds simply ricocheted off and bounced along the floor of the bridge. Before he could fire a third, Leviathan snatched Marshal's wrist and yanked it into the air. He reached to grab Marshal's throat with the intent of ending it quickly. However, the trap had already been set.
Marshal slammed the detonator with his free hand, setting off one of the pulse grenades beneath Leviathan's feet. The shock sent a jolt through the Keeper's body, causing him to briefly lose the ability to function. He twitched severely, stopping his approach for Marshal's throat for a few seconds. Marshal took the opportunity to drop his pistol and swing at Leviathan with a nearby metal bit from a smashed terminal, no bigger than a ruler. Leviathan's head lurched to the side from the impact, knocking him out of the pulse-daze. He swung back with fury at Marshal, who ducked the swing and tackled for Leviathan's center mass in an effort to knock him down. He wasn't successful. Leviathan grabbed the rear of Marshal's armor and spun him around, tossing him to his stomach several feet away and next to Four's body.
Marshal scrambled to his feet and got ready. Unlike Four, he was expecting a fight for his life.
The Andraste's crew and occupants had settled in, unable to freely move about the ship. The low lighting had everyone on their guard and frightened as more rumors poured in about the situation up on the bridge. While no facts have made it back, people were making assumptions and none of them were good for the reputation of the Keeper. Sentinel Aria - the second sibling of Davara, overheard much of what was being said while she waited in one of the tactical rooms with a few other crew members. It was upsetting, to say the least.
Ignoring the gossip behind her, Aria focused on tampering with the wiring of a console. Another crewman was watching what she was doing, unsure if he should stop her or not given the rank and similarities to the Keeper. He was clearly intimidated, and the looming danger of Leviathan wasn't easing the stress of the situation for anybody. Aria kept pulling wires out and switching their intended destination from beneath the console, hoping to somehow bypass the lockout from the bridge and send a message.
Back on the bridge, the two circled the platform like sharks, eyeing each other. Leviathan was stood upright, towering over Marshal by nearly a foot. He was relaxed, giving no sign of his intention. Marshal on the other hand was tense, keeping his arms ready in the event he needed to move at a sudden attack. The two circled around the body of Four, not breaking eye contact. Marshal looked to the pistol on the floor that he had dropped to escape The Keeper's grasp. He quickly looked back to Leviathan, who hadn't changed his demeanor in the slightest.
"How could you do this to us? Why?" Was all Marshal could say. The tone of his voice suggested he was fighting his own emotions.
"You really should've refused." Leviathan replied bluntly, referencing the notion that Marshal might've volunteered to kill him.
Leviathan lunged forward at Marshal, who promptly ducked and rolled to the right to avoid the hulking figure. He slid slightly and grabbed his sidearm from the floor, quickly snapping around and training his sights on the Keeper's face. He stood up and began to circle him again, keeping his weapon ready. Leviathan eyed the weapon and held his ground, circling the opposite way.
"You really think that peashooter is going to save you? You're dumber than I thought." Leviathan shook his head.
Marshal didn't react. He wasn't going to let himself be manipulated further. Noticing this, Leviathan chuckled. "Or maybe not." He commented.
Leviathan quickly evaluated the situation, noting Marshal's position on the platform. His back was facing the railing he initially used to ambush the Davaran and foil the trap. He was devising a way to change the scenery back into his favor, as the smoke from the fire prevention system settled like a layer of fog on the lower deck. Visibility was back up. He needed to change that.
Marshal in turn was watching Leviathan's footsteps, noting that he still had five more pulse grenades set up across the platform. He kept one hand loose on his pistol in the event Leviathan stepped over one again, so he might press the detonator just in time to set off another trap. He kept moving slowly left, unwilling to take his eyes off the Keeper.
Leviathan saw his opportunity as Marshal moved into view of an open area below. Leviathan looked down at the corpse between them, and charged for it. Marshal began to fire, yet the ammunition in his sidearm wasn't enough to penetrate the Keeper's exoskeleton. The rounds simply pinged and ricocheted off left and right. Six rounds were expelled in the brief moment it took the Keeper to close the gap to Four's body. Leviathan, with one foot, wedged it underneath Four, kicking the body up slightly. He dropped fast and grabbed it, throwing it in the direction of Marshal. Marshal ceased fire and ducked to avoid the body as it came flying over him. As he stood up to regain visual on Leviathan, he got more of a visual than he hoped for.
The second Marshal's eyes trained on the Keeper, the metal man's foot impacted his chest. The kick sent him toppling backwards over the railing and down into the aftermath below. Marshal landed amidst the bodies of his fallen comrades, and quickly hurried to his feet. He looked up as Leviathan dropped down into the smoke. Visibility was no longer on Marshal's side. Marshal quickly moved away from the Keeper, backing over the bodies. He tripped backwards over the broken-in-half rifle. Leviathan slowly approached him, menacingly glaring down at the man as he crawled up to his feet. Marshal trained his sights on Leviathan's four brimstone lights once again.
Leviathan backed up, distancing himself and placing a layer of smoke between himself and the shooter. Marshal fired two more shots into the smoke at the Keeper, but the familiar ping of the light rounds impacting the metal exoskeleton was no longer present. Marshal, concerned about the loss of visibility, crept forward carefully and stepped over one of the dead soldiers from his team. He scanned the floor and the smoke for any indication of Leviathan, or at the least - a bigger weapon.
Leviathan stood back, watching his creation like this was all a game, or some kind of test. He was evaluating him. "You certainly spared no expense with these ones, huh?" The voice in the back of his head spoke out. "They sent the best to kill you. It's clear you've got no friends left here. Your family hates you now. No sense in leaving them alive anymore." Leviathan shook his head and sighed out exasperatedly once again.
Marshal snapped his aim in the direction of the noise and fired three more shots. He pulled the trigger a fourth time, yet once again - he was out of ammunition. Leviathan stepped forward towards the muzzle flashes, emerging from the smoke like a beast. Marshal in desperation threw his sidearm at Leviathan's face. The pistol impacted, causing the Keeper to recoil slightly. Marshal ducked between the towering figure's legs and scurried away into the fog, grabbing the rifle Leviathan had dropped previously and swinging it up towards Leviathan's back. He fired two rounds, which made direct contact. Leviathan lurched forward and grunted, then looked back. He raised his foot above Marshal and slammed it down quickly. Marshal attempted to withdraw to avoid it, narrowly succeeding. The barrel of his new weapon on the other hand, didn't survive. It was bent downwards.
"Shit." Marshal proclaimed as he dropped the rifle. He looked up, quickly leaning back to avoid a grasping hand from the Keeper. Marshal stumbled slightly and regained his balance. He raised his two forearms as another swing from Leviathan came in, blocking the impact but being jarred by it nonetheless. He ducked as Leviathan swung at him again, going clean over Marshal's head. Leviathan kept on the offensive, unwilling to surrender. He swung and grabbed at Marshal like a savage animal. Marshal blocked another attack, stumbling back from the impact. Leviathan kicked at him again, pushing him slowly towards the entrance to the bridge. Marshal continued his defensive retreat up and out of the smoke.
The two came back to where it all started, with Leviathan still on the offensive. Marshal leaned back, gasping as another swing narrowly missed his visor. This time however, Leviathan expected the lean back and swept for Marshal's legs with his foot. Marshal tripped backwards, falling to his back. He looked up as Leviathan raised a foot to crush him, and rolled to the left to avoid it.
"Worm." Leviathan spit out aggressively. The tone of voice suggested he had no interest in reasoning out his actions. He was acting on the instinct to kill alone.
Marshal scrambled to his feet. Frustrated with the lengthy situation and the loss of life brought on by it, recklessly charged at the Keeper. He yelled out in anger and swung his fist for Leviathan's face, leaping across the small gap and charging him head on. Leviathan stood still, and grabbed Marshal's fist on its approach. He twisted Marshal's arm sideways, locking him in a hold. Marshal grunted in pain as his arm was bent an unnatural way. Leviathan quickly tugged Marshal inwards and spun him around, wrapping his arm around Marshal's Torso and grabbing his lower jaw, holding him in place. Marshal reached back and struggled to batter the Keeper with all his strength. Leviathan simply held him there as he struggled to break free. With a quick jolt of his shoulder, Leviathan yanked Marshal's head far to the left, snapping his neck. Marshal stopped struggling, going limp. Leviathan slowly let his body drop and glared towards the hole in the door.
There was an onlooker now.
Aria stood there at the breach point in shock, watching as her brother fell to the floor. The two made eye-contact, and shared the silence.
It was indescribable, the feeling Aria experienced as she watched her sibling fall to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Like a dark pit had formed inside of her stomach. Her world and everything she knew seemed twisted, if it wasn't already. Leviathan silently watched her, analyzing the potential threat. It was like he was on autopilot, outright ignoring who he might hurt. However, he had stopped himself. Before him stood his flesh and blood. The voices in his head rationalized it as a creation - a science project. They kept pushing him to try and disconnect from any emotional entanglement.
Aria took several steps back, unsure if she was safe. Leviathan noticed her movement. "Go." Was all he said. She took another step back, to which Leviathan reacted by taking a step forward. Again, he stopped himself. The lightshow on his face continued to display the instability of his thought process as he muttered incomprehensible nonsense in Aria's direction. Leviathan watched Aria like a hawk, waiting for her to make a move despite knowing who she is. "Leave. Now!" He yelled. Aria jumped in fear. She turned and took off sprinting down the hallway, back whence she came. H lurched forward, grasping at his head. An immense amount of pain would shoot through the connection he shared with the other Keeper, but anything being said was mostly scrambled and gibberish. Leviathan began pacing around, hunched over and rabid looking. He rambled on to himself, letting his thoughts battle it out on the bridge.
Aria kept running through the halls. She ran until the blast doors stopped her, well beyond the communications room she and a few others were taking refuge in. Rather than turning around, she kept running down an adjacent hall, taking herself in a large loop around the command deck. She didn't know what to think, what to do, or how to process what she had seen. Everything she heard was true. Aria continued to run, tears welling in her eyes. Her chest began to hurt as she became winded. She had been running at full speed for several minutes, just doing a few laps around the command deck. Finally, she came to a stop and buckled over to her hands and knees, gasping for air.
Catching her breath, she took this opportunity to gather her thoughts, albeit unsuccessfully. Aria raised herself to her feet and walked back down the hall towards the communications room. Once she arrived, she settled in at the only functioning terminal, and contacted Raven. Seeing first hand the lengths the pair had gone for each other in the past, it was the only resolution she could come to.
Back on the bridge, Leviathan continued to devolve as his mind tears itself apart. Despite the attempts at culling and calming him made by his partner, he couldn't even hear it. There was enough going on inside his head that it could even be described as white noise. The headache was excruciating. As time dragged on, Leviathan became more and more agitated with himself. He took a swing for his own face, stumbling back on impact shattering one of the four optical receptors. Even more frustrated with his actions, he simply yelled violently and ran out of the bridge like a feral animal.
The heavy impact of his cybernetic legs on the metal floor of the Andraste's halls was a dead giveaway for his approach. At least, to those that were paying attention. Aria, in the midst of the heated discussion with the other Keeper, wasn't. The communications crew went silent and took shelter, closing the door to the room. Of course, the door closing in the hall is what drew Leviathan's attention. He would've kept going until he noticed the motion and noise. He stopped outside of the room, and everybody - save Aria on the communicator - was silent.
"But whatever the case, I hope you do the ri-" Aria's sentence was interrupted by the loud smash of Leviathan's foot impacting the door. She hastily scrambled to disconnect her jury-rigged communicator to not attract suspicion. Another kick hit the metal door that separated the seven people from the hallway. The door had begun to develop a slight indent from the impacts. A third kick hit the door, breaking the air seal around the frame. Aria sighed and rose up from the terminal, she turned to face the door, drawing her sidearm from its holster tucked under her tactical rig. It was all she had, and she knew it wouldn't be enough. Nevertheless, she flicked the safety off and trained the sights on the door, about neck level. Even though she might not be able to kill him with a single round, Aria knew the ins and outs of his mechanical frame. She initially partook in maintaining it and assembling it. The chemicals which supported the life that occupied the body were being pumped up through the neck from the torso. All of the exposed hoses and pumps that make up the ergonomic nature of his neck, also made his neck a viable target. Cables and hoses are sturdy, but not sturdy enough to withstand small arms fire.
Another kick impacted the door, bending a portion of it inwards. The communications crew hid behind Aria and beneath their terminals, out of sight yet watching. Another kick impacted the door, causing alarms to start blaring in the communication room. The sinister red glow of Leviathan's face was visible through the cracks and openings of the door. Aria was trembling with fear, hesitant to act. She was cornered, people's lives were in danger. She had her orders and knew help was coming, but no idea what that help could be or how it could even get to where they are.
It was already too late.
The heavy door to the communications room collapsed inwards, separating from the frame and impacting the ground with a heavy smash. Leviathan, in the black robes he fashioned, was face to face with a pistol. One he had built. Aria kept her finger on the trigger, but was shaking. The sight was trained for the left side of Leviathan's neck, which would cut off the flow of oxygen to his brain. The tears in her eyes made it hard to see. Leviathan watched as she stood there, terrified and scared of the situation, and of him. The chaos he caused had brewed fear even in the people closest to him, and the voices in his head played upon that fact like a fiddle. As if on queue, the lightshow started again as Leviathan too hesitated and began to fight himself.
Aria looked back at the innocents behind her, sobbing uncontrollably like a child. She was practically one, after all. She knew what she had to do. She looked back to Leviathan and swallowed her pride, wiping her tears from her eyes and steadying her arm with her second hand. She held her breath, watching as the metal figure shook and trembled, battered its own head and rambled on like a madman. She waited for him to lean back and expose his neck again. Like clockwork, Leviathan thrashed back in an immense amount of pain, exposing the weak point she was hoping for.
Aria took the opportunity and squeezed the trigger, firing a single small caliber round at Leviathan's neck. The round snapped Leviathan out of whatever episode he was experiencing and back into combat mode. The bullet had impacted the door frame. Aria missed. Leviathan picked up the threat, and without hesitation he lunged at Aria. He snatched the sidearm from her hand so quickly that he unintentionally destroyed the weapon by bending portions of it. The second the firearm was clear from the picture, Leviathan went for the woman's throat. He lifted her up to his eye level, glaring at her with now-three lights. Aria kicked at him and struggled, attempting to use one hand to alleviate the pressure off her throat and the other to reach for a blade. As before, Leviathan began to apply pressure to her neck. He watched as she struggled and struggled to escape and retaliate, glaring Aria right in the face.
A sudden surge of emotions flared up, shooting through the link to the other Keeper. An image of what he was seeing and fear for his own actions and the well-being of the people he was with. For a brief moment, he had snapped out of it. Long enough to drop Aria down to her hands and knees and share two words through the link.
Aria coughed and gasped for air, keeping a hand on her soon-to-be bruised throat. She looked up with tears in her eyes at her attacker, who seemed dazed. Leviathan was staring at his hands. He shuddered at the thought of what was happening. For a moment, all the noise and chaos had been dispelled. The link was silent. Things were... Normal. Leviathan looked down at Aria, realizing what he had done. The onlookers were terrified as the Keeper loomed over their protector. Aria couldn't process the situation, as she was struggling to collect herself. One of the crewmen quietly crawled in the shadows, ducked behind one of the terminals. He reached a pair of other crew mates, who were hidden together, observing the situation and whispering to each other. He scurried over to them on his hands and knees, terrified for making a noise. Nobody here had any kind of equipment to deal with this situation. Despite this, the idea of sitting helplessly didn't work too well with them.
Leviathan shook his head. The lights on his face were flickering from the self-inflicted damage. He was coming to his senses it seemed. Aria recognized the hesitation, feeling the situation might've finally de-escalated. Leviathan reached down to her with an open hand. "A-Aria, I'm so-" He began to speak. He was interrupted by a blow to the back of the head from a chair, and the roar of three men. The communications crew jumped on the Keeper, dropping him to the ground with their body weight and the element of surprise. Aria staggered back on her palms. "No, wait!" She cried out. The three continued to wrestle the Keeper, trying to pin him down. "Don't worry, we got him!" The lead one replied.
Leviathan had hit the floor with an impact that would've knocked the wind out of him. Surprised and shocked by the attack, the haze took over again. "You see?" The voices and hallucinations called out. "They're going to kill you." They whispered, poisoning his delusions against him once more. They picked up in number and noise, filling his head with white noise. The link was once again bombarded with an absurd amount of unintelligible ramblings, rage and betrayed thoughts. In a panic, Leviathan thrashed back his elbow, smacking one of the crewman in the nose with a crack. The man buckled back, grabbing his now bleeding nose and yelling in pain. Leviathan forced himself up to his feet, taking the other two up with him in a struggle. They battered at his joints to try and knock him down again. Leviathan grabbed one of them off his back and tossed the crewman through a holo-display, shattering the glass and sending the man barreling over the table and to the floor. With an open hand, Leviathan grabbed the last man's face and pushed him off. He quickly followed up with an upwards swing, scratching at the man's face. The metal and swiftness of his hand tore clean through the man's cheek, and partially into the bone, coating the Keeper's robe in red spatter. The man simply dropped, screaming in agony and grasping at his face.
Aria leaped to her feet, waving at the others in the room to make for the door. Those hiding in the communications room began to evacuate out the door Leviathan had entered. The enraged Keeper faced down with the Sentinel and the last crewman, who helped himself up to his feet. The other with his broken nose, kept his hand over the dripping orifice and stood up. He attempted to stagger around the Keeper in a daze and make for the door. Leviathan snapped his gaze to the crewman and rushed him. The man panicked and tried to run, however Leviathan had closed the gap with a quick lunge and grabbed him by his collar and belt. He lifted the inured man over his head, and barrel tossed him towards Aria with a quick rotation of his torso. The man flailed as he soared across the room and over the terminals. Aria braced her legs and tried to catch him, but was hit with enough weight to be knocked down. The man that was thrown had hit his head on the corner of a terminal on the way down. He was unconscious and seriously injured.
The second crewman charged Leviathan, grabbing a metal rod from the damaged holo-display he had been thrown through. He bellowed and swung for the Keeper, who subsequently ducked the initial swing. However, the crewman performed a rather advanced maneuver with the pole, treating it like a bladed weapon. He withdrew briefly and used the momentum of Leviathan's dodge against him, to club Leviathan across the head again. He continued the barrage of assaults, the blunt force of which was largely mediocre and more stunning than damaging. Leviathan had enough, and grabbed the man's wrist of his free hand during a stab. He forced the man to step right, then grabbed his shirt and lifted him up. He walked with the man out of the room and into the hall, where the remainder of the crew had scattered for other rooms. Leviathan pushed the pole-wielding man into the hall, releasing his grip. The man charged at him again, going for an offensive approach. He stabbed and swung at Leviathan like a trained fighter, clearly having some martial arts experience.
Leviathan however, wasn't going to underestimate his opponent again. As the man moved in on the offensive, Leviathan sidestepped the stab, then leaned back to avoid a follow-up swing. Using the momentum of the lean, he swung his head forward and hit the man clean in the face with a hard impact. The man stumbled back and nearly toppled over, dazed from the unprotected blow. Leviathan ran towards him and leaped up, kicking the man in the chest with the full force of both legs. The man wet flying backwards, coughing out blood on impact. He slid briefly and came to a stop, briefly moving around and gasping for air. He didn't bother trying to get up. Aria and the man with the broken nose charged out of the room at the Keeper, hoping to draw his attention away from their fatally wounded comrades. Taking the bait, Leviathan swung his arm at Aria, who swiftly slid underneath his arm and danced around him in a flurry of spinning motion. The broken nosed man had stepped around Leviathan. He tossed his datapad at Leviathan's head. Leviathan easily dodged the object. He growled angrily and charged after the man. Not having the reaction time, the man scream was interrupted by Leviathan grabbing his head and throwing him into Aria once again. The force of which sent the two to the floor, causing Aria to hit her head on the floor hard enough to render her unconscious.
Leviathan turned his attention to his final opponent. The wounded man staggered upright to his feet. Terrified and alone, he turned and took off in a full sprint down the corridor. Leviathan looked around like a wild beast. He looked to Aria's body. A small laceration was present on her forehead from her impact. It was large enough that she'll require medical attention. The voices whispered in Leviathan's mind. "End it." They said, one after the other as he looked over the unconscious woman. She was vulnerable. "Do it now. If you don't, you know she'll come back and finish what they've started." The voices continued. Leviathan held his ground, staring at Aria. The voices continued to pressure him to break her neck. They became deafening, drowning out all sounds. He raised a hand slowly and took a step towards her. "Good." They exclaimed. Leviathan took another step towards her and began to kneel down, with the intent on going through with it despite his restraint.
His actions were interrupted when the man with the broken nose returned, roaring bravely as he charged the Keeper. He tried to throw his body weight into a tackle, in an effort to throw the Keeper off balance. As Leviathan was distracted, he succeeded in drawing his attention. Leviathan stumbled as the man attempted with all his strength to push him over, pushing him at the waist. Leviathan looked down at the man's pathetic attempt. He grabbed the man by the neck and started dragging him down the hallway, choking him as they went away from the bridge and towards a nearby security room. Along the way, the man continued to struggle, suffocating from the hold, his own broken nose and the blood that was pooling in his throat. Eventually, he lost consciousness. By the time they had reached the security room, Leviathan had left the man in a trail of blood, barely alive in a corridor several junctions away from where the fight had broken out. Leviathan continued on past the security room for the Captain's quarters to collect his equipment. As he moved through the halls, the occasional door would be slotted open just enough for someone hiding to be peeking out, yet no one said a word or made a noise.
At the Captain's cabin, Leviathan cared little for obstacles. He walked through the small table, toppling it over. He ransacked the place for his equipment, collecting a folding blade and his sidearm. He loaded up his holster and placed the blade in his hand. Leviathan examined the officer's sword and swung the weapon around briefly. It wasn't his. It was too short, but it'll do the job. He wasted no time in leaving the room, blade in hand. He marched his way back down the hall, retracing his steps towards the bridge. As he went, he came across the man he had left. He had regained consciousness and was struggling to get to his feet. Leviathan approached the man, who heard him coming. He slowly lifted his hand in defeat, not wanting to fight. The man couldn't. Before he could say anything, the blade of the officer's sword took his hand off and went into his torso, killing the man almost immediately. He dragged the man a couple of feet on the blade before it cut loose. Leviathan kept walking, intent on returning to a place where he could funnel any hostiles to him. Hunting was surely going to get him killed.
At this point however, what drove him didn't care what happened anymore.
![[Image: rherh3.png]](https://i.postimg.cc/Kj3ZvKXp/rherh3.png)