Chapter 162

Matriarch Benezia stared at Harry, she remembered that name, Saren had warned her about Harry Potter, something about him being some kind of giant reptilian of unknown powers, but everything Saren had told her just seemed too farfetched, too fantastical.

So she didn't worry too much, after all, she had been alive for a long while now and she had never seen anything like what Saren had described Harry Potter to be able to do.

So she didn't believe it for a second, until now, now that she had Harry Potter before her, now that she was staring into his eyes, she couldn't help but feel afraid.

She wanted to run away, to get away from Harry Potter, but she couldn't, she had to stay and fight, Saren wanted him gone, and Benezia was more than willing to do so for Saren.

So, Matriarch Benezia ignited her biotics, engulfing her body in her power, and attacked Harry Potter with a powerful biotic push, but Harry just stood there and let the biotic waves wash over his body, he didn't even move an inch.

Harry smiled and then summoned his Keyblades "Usually I would kill you, but Liara is a friend, I'll make sure you answer for the stress you're actions brought her".

After saying his piece, Harry took off running and lowered his power so as to not accidentally killed Benezia, still, even when holding back so much, he was still to fast for Benezia to even see.

She ended up getting smacked around left and right by Harry's keyblades a couple of times, before pushing herself away from Harry, she was lucky she was using her biotic shields, otherwise, she would have been defeated by that quick combo Harry delivered.

But she had paused for a second, the moment she stopped herself, Harry was already on her, Benezia frantically used a biotics stasis to stop Harry, but it only slowed him down for less than a second.

Benezia ended up getting Oblivion jabbed into her chest and sent flying back through the air, before she could crash against the wall behind her, she used her biotic energy to stop herself.

But had to quickly push herself with her biotics away from the wall, Harry crashed against the wall, she was standing in front of a second ago, and Benezia widen her eyes as she saw the thick and reinforced wall, crater and crack under Harry's strength.

Benezia snarled at Harry "What are you!? No human should be able to move that fast or be that powerful!".

Harry ignored her and took off running towards Benezia while using surface walking to run on the wall, the matriarch gaped when she saw Harry do that and got her face punted for her trouble.

Benezia grunted as her biotic shield cracked and shattered, Harry didn't let her rest and swung both Oathkeeper and Oblivion in a cross slash, the strike hit Benezia in the abdomen and sent her flying again, this time she screamed in pain.

Harry jumped off the wall and stood on the ground, he then walked over towards where Benezia was sent flying, the matriarch crashed against a handrail, flipped over it, and then crashed on the ground of the metal platform the handrail belongs to.

She gagged and held her abdomen in pain, that one strike hurt her a lot, she heard Harry's steps coming towards her, so she quickly stood up, albeit a bit shaky.

Harry saw her stand up and saw her reeling from the pain she was feeling, Harry, smiled "I see that hurt you, but you can relax, my keyblades have a very handy function. Instead of causing physical damage, they can instead damage the spirit and stamina of my enemies, they won't even cut if I don't want them to, it's perfect when you don't want to kill someone and instead make them feel some pain".

Benezia widen her eyes and warily stared at Harry's keyblades, but then she turned her gaze towards Harry and glared at him, the matriarch then once again ignited her biotics.

Her body was engulfed in her power and her biotics grabbed hold of anything she could around her, crates, terminals, even pieces of the walls, anything close to her was picked up.

The matriarch then spread her arm and suddenly yelled "I will not be talked down by a human child!".

Benezia glared and then waved both arms forwards toward Harry, the dragon god just smirked "Child! I'm older than you woman!".

Benezia roared as her biotics flared and everything she picked up was sent flying toward Harry at high speed, but the dragon god took off running and began to cut, slap, and dodge everything sent his way with ease.

Meanwhile, Benezia used her powers to push herself away from Harry, while still throwing everything she could at him, but no matter how hard she tried, no matter how many things she threw at him, Harry did not stop nor slowed down.

Benezia snarled as she began to sweat, but Harry eventually caught up with her, the matriarch was then struck on the shoulder by Oathkeeper, the force behind the strike made her knees buckle despite her biotic shield not breaking.

But before she could do anything, Oblivion stuck her on the chest with an upper slash, Benezia was then sent high into the air, and the matriarch could only grunt in pain, but Harry wasn't done yet, he quickly jumped after Benezia and hit her with a five-hit air combo.

Benezia saw stars as the last hit shattered her biotics shield, but then Harry spun like a buzz saw and hit her multiple times with his keyblades, the matriarch's eye blurred in pain as she was struck repeatedly by Harry's attack.

Until she was sent flying away from him, Benezia's sight blacked out until she smashed against the wall at the end of the platform she was standing on a second ago.

The pain stopped her from passing out, and she crashed against the floor, she could only whimper in pain for a few seconds, she tried to get up, to continue fighting, but her body didn't respond to her commands.

She couldn't even call forth her biotics, nothing, all she could do is lay there and listen as Harry Potter walked over to her, soon enough she heard him step close to her.

Harry looked down at the defeated matriarch, her energy and stamina were completely drained, so she wasn't going anywhere, despite his keyblades not causing physical damage to her body, her getting sent flying and crashing into a thick metal wall must have caused her plenty of pain and injuries.

But at the moment, Harry didn't really care about how hurt Benezia is, no, right now the mission is to find out what Saren is doing and his location, so Harry grabbed Benezia by the nape of her clothes and began to drag her to the others.

She had the information they needed and she was going to tell them everything, while Harry dragged Benezia through the ground, her mind suddenly became clearer and despite being in quite a lot of pain, she could clearly think now, something she was going to take advantage of.

-----

Shepard, Ashley, Liara, and Kunou had cleared the area of all enemies, Kunou quickly sealed all the doors the asari commandos and geth were using to get into the room, with her keyblade.

This made sure, no one will come in and attack them, so with that precaution set up, the group then decided to gather in front of the massive cage containing the big rachni and wait for Harry.

It didn't take long for him to arrive, though Liara was a bit surprised and worried that he was dragging her mother on the ground, but Harry just smiled at her, letting her know that Benezia was fine.

Shepard sweatdropped as Harry suddenly threw the matriarch in front of him, without a care in the world.

Though he ignored that and turned to look at Harry "You okay?".

Harry smiled at Shepard and gave him a nod "Yeah, I had to hold back so I wouldn't kill her, but other than that, it wasn't a particularly hard fight".

Ashley looked at the matriarch and scoffed "This is you holding back? Shit Harry, look at her, she looks like she went a few rounds with a krogan".

Harry just shrugged, Benezia suddenly spoke "You must listen... Saren still whispers in my mind, I can fight his compulsions... briefly... but the indoctrination is strong".

That caught everyone's attention right away, Shepard stared at Benezia as she lay on the ground in front of him and then said "Are you saying he brainwashed you?".

Benezia weakly nodded "People are not themselves around Saren... you come to idolize him, worship him... you would do anything for him.

The key is Sovereign, his flagship... it is a dreadnought of incredible size and its power is extraordinary".

Harry frowned "Mental compulsions and psychic manipulation? This is serious guys, those sorts of abilities are extremely dangerous and if Saren has access to them, then he can do whatever he wants and get anyone he wants on his side".

Kunou then piped in "It also sounds like the ship is the source of those abilities, Sovereign...".

Shepard nodded "So Sovereign's not like any other ship then" Shepard then turned his head towards Benezia "Where did it come from?".

Benezia frowned and shook her head "I cannot say... the geth did not build it... Its technology is far more advanced than that of any known species.

The longer you stay aboard... the more Saren's will seems correct... you sit at his feet and smile as his words pour into you... it is subtle at first... I thought I was strong enough to resist... instead, I became willing to, eager to serve.

He sent me here to find the location of the Mu Relay... Its position was lost thousands of years ago".

Shepard frowned "How does something that big go missing?".

Benezia winced in pain and squirmed a bit on the ground, but still answered the question "Four thousand years ago, a star nearby went supernova... the shockwave propelled the relay out of its system, but it did not damage it.

Its precise vector and speed are impossible to determine... as millennia passed, the nebula created by the nova enveloped the relay... it is difficult to find any cold object in interstellar space... particularly something swathed in hot dust and radiation".

Shepard sighed, this was a lot of information to digest, but he needed to know more, so he asked "Someone on Noveria found it?".

Benezia huffed a bit, it seems she was still hurt and tired from her fight with Harry, but she quickly regained her breath and answered Shepard's question "Two thousand years ago, the rachni inhabited that region of our galaxy... they discovered the relay.

The rachni can share memories across generations... queens inherit the knowledge of their mothers... I took the location of the relay from the queen's mind, I was not gentle".

Harry crossed his arms "I see... so that's why Saren wanted the rachni back, he needed the knowledge they have, though he got greedy and tried to make them work for him".

Ashley nodded "Looks like his plans backfired on his face, serves him right".

Everyone agreed with Ashley, Shepard then continued on with his questions "How did the rachni find it?".

Benezia struggled to sit up, seeing this and knowing that her mother was just being controlled, Liara quickly went to her mother's side and helped her sit up, Benezia gave Liara a small smile in thanks and then answered Shepard's questions "They searched, patiently... they are territorial creatures, driven to close any possible way into their systems"

Shepard nodded and then asked his next question "Why does Saren need the Mu Relay?".

Benezia quickly answered that question "He believes it will lead him to the conduit... I would tell you more if I could, but Saren did not share his counsel with me... I was merely a servant to his cause".

Shepard nodded and shared a look with Liara, he then moved his gaze back to Benezia "You can make things right, give me the information".

Benezia sighed and then nodded "I was not myself, but- I should have been stronger...".

Benezia suddenly reached into her dress and took something out, she then handed it to Liara "I transcribed the data to an OSD... take it... please".

Liara nodded and put the OSD away, she then turned her head back to her mother and said, "The relay's coordinates are not enough, do you know where Saren planned to go from there?".

Benezia shook her head "Saren wouldn't tell me his destination... but you must find it quickly... I transmitted the coordinates to him before you arrived".

Benezia suddenly grimaced and began to breathe heavily "You have to stop- me... I can't- his teeth are at my ear... fingers on my spine, you should- uh... you should-".

The matriarch looked like she was struggling with something, Liara stared worriedly at her mother "Mother, I- don't leave! Fight him!".

Benezia, even though she looked to be in pain, smiled at Laira and then said "You've always made me proud, Liara...".

Harry quickly moved and grabbed Benezia's head, he immediately cut off the connection Saren had on her mind, which allowed Benezia to relax and stay in control.

She looked over to Shepard and gave him a tired smile "I cannot go on, you will have to stop him, Shepard".

Harry smiled at Benezia "Rest, I will help you and restore your mind to what it was, but for now, sleep".

Benezia stared into Harry's eyes, his green eyes "... Your eyes... when I was under the control of Saren, they terrified me... now? Now I can only feel hope... hope that I will be able to be myself again".

Liara hugged her mother "Mother!".

Benezia smiled and blinked as sleep began to overtake her "Good night little wing... I hope to see you then next time I'm awake...".

The matriarch slowly closed her eyes and then fell asleep in her daughter's arms, Liara cried for her and just how much she must have suffered because of Saren.

Suddenly, she felt someone grabbing her shoulder, she turned her head towards who had grabbed her and stared as Harry smiled at her "She's going to be okay Liara, I didn't harm her physically, she's just out of stamina and energy.

She's a tough lady, so she'll survive and I'll make sure her mind is free as well, so don't cry, everything will be okay".

Liara nodded and smiled at Harry, she then went back to hugging her mother, and Ashley sighed "I hate to be that guy, but The Council isn't going to just forgive her, she did betray the Citadel.

Chances are, they won't believe she was brainwashed and will try to make her the scapegoat of this whole thing...".

Ashley made a good point, everyone knew that The Council would do that just to save face and stop thinking about this whole thing, Shepard frowned "Damn... we can't let them get a hold of Benezia, who knows what they'll put her through".

Harry nodded "Don't worry, we'll tell them Matriarch Benezia died here today fighting us, Benezia, mother of Liara will be moving to our world, I'm sure we can offer her a good and peaceful home".

Liara smiled and thankfully nodded to Harry "Thank you, Harry, for both helping and giving my mother a second chance".

Harry nodded "No problem, we have to help her, she fought her brainwashing as hard as she could to help us, It's only right to help her now".

Everyone nodded to Liara and gave her a smile, Harry turned his head towards Kunou "Ku-Chan, mind taking Benezia to my workshop? We should let her rest, and I will be helping her along with Talitha".

Kunou smiled and walked over to Liara, she then gently took Benezia off of Liara's arms and picked her up "Alright! I'll drop her off and come back soon".

The group nodded and Kunou then teleported back to the Normandy and Harry's workshop, with that taken care of, Shepard looked over the cage that held the rahni queen "Then, that just leaves that thing...".

Everyone nodded and then the whole group walked over to the cage, Shepard reached the cage and looked down toward the rachni queen, the creature just stood still.

But then, one of the dead asari commandos suddenly stood up and began to walk over the group, Harry immediately sense something behind them and immediately turned around.

He narrowed his eyes as he saw the dead asari commando wobble her way towards the cage, though he hates undead, something told him that this was something else, so he called out to everyone "Guys, move out of the way".

Everyone turned around and noticed the dead asari commando walking over to the cage, heeding Harry's words, they all moved out of her way until she was in front of the cage, she stopped and then turned around to face everyone.

To the group's shock -except Harry's of course- the dead asari commando suddenly spoke "This one, serves as our voice, we cannot sing, not in these low spaces, your musics' are colorless".

Shepard looked completely perplexed "What? What is going on here?".

Harry crossed his arms and frowned "It's the rachni queen, she's using the asari commando as a medium to speak to us... I'm sure it's actually smart enough to communicate".

Shepard nodded in understanding "I see... but what's this about musics?".

Harry shrugged "I'm not sure".

The asari commando suddenly spoke "Your way of communicating is strange, flat, it does not color the air, when we speak, one moves all.

We are the mother, we sing for those left behind, the children you thought silenced, we are rachni".

Shepard walked past the asari commando and stared at the rachni queen, Harry hummed a bit and then said "I see, they must be communicating through telepathy, one functioning under a higher frequency, that's what she must mean by music and colors".

Shepard nodded, he understood the gist of what Harry explained, then asked "How are you speaking through her?".

The rachni queen made the asari commando answer the question "Our kind sing through touching of thought, we pluck the strings, and the other understands, she is weak to urging.

She has colors we have no name for, but she is ending, her music is bittersweet, it is beautiful... the children we birthed were stolen from us before they could learn to sing, they are lost to silence.

End their suffering, they cannot be saved, they will only cause harm as they are...".

Harry frowned "So that's why they felt off, sort of muted, they were taken away from the queen before they could learn to think from her, at this point they're just feral beasts".

The queen made the asari commando nod "Yes, these needle-men, they stole our eggs from us, they sought to turn our children into beasts of war, claws with no song of their own.

Our elders are comfortable with silence, children know only fear if no one sings to them, fear had shattered their minds".

Liara frowned and looked down "I understand, a child left alone in a closet until she is sixteen would not be sane".

Harry sighed "Saren... what a wanker".

Shepard understood, and felt bad for the rachni, despite not having a good reputation because of the war they were involved in, he couldn't help but feel bad at what was done to the rachni "We'll take them down... if you're sure they can't be saved".

The rachni queen made the asari commando immediately speak "It is lamentable but necessary, do what you must.

Before you deal with our children, we stand before you... what would you sing? Will you release us? Are we to fade away once more?

Ashley frowned "Everyone knows about the rachni wars, they were a big threat to the galaxy, those tanks are filled with acid, if she gets out of hand, they dissolve her".

Everyone looked around the cage and noticed all kinds of tanks above it, a cruel way to end a living creature for sure, Liara shook her head "They made a mistake, they let the krogan go too far, this is a chance to atone, she has done nothing to us".

Harry sighed, this was a big conundrum, one that both Ashley and Liara made good points on, the rachni queen then made the asari commando speak once again "Your companions hear the truth, you have the power to free us or return our people to the silence of memory".

Shepard frowned, this was a very difficult decision, he could once again end the rachni, this time for good, or give them a second chance, this isn't an easy issue that one could just make a choice for.

But it seems like the decision was being left to him, so he needed more information before he could make a choice and the only way to get that information is by asking questions.

So, wanting to make the best possible decision, Shepard began to ask the rachni queen some questions, starting with "If I let you live, would you attack other races again?"

The rachni queen quickly made the asari commando answer the question "No, we- I do not know what happened in the war, we only heard discordance, songs the colors of oily shadows.

We would seek a hidden place to teach our children harmony, if they understand, perhaps we would return".

Harry narrowed his eyes "That sounds like someone or something manipulated the rachni...".

Ashley frowned "But who would do that? Why would they cause such a war to happen and for what purpose?".

Harry shook his head "I don't know, it seems like the rachni queen doesn't know either...".

Shepard pondered about what he just learned, but he then asked another question "Are you a survivor of the war? A clone?".

The rachni queen made the asari commando shake her head "We do not know, we were only an egg, hearing mother cry in our dreams, a tone from space hushed one voice after the another, it forced singers to resonate with its own sour yellow note.

Then we awoke, in this place, the last echo of those who came out from the singing planet, the sky is silent".

Shepard sighed and crossed his arms, he had to make a big decision now, in the end, he decided to trust the rachni queen "I won't destroy your entire race, you'll go free".

The Rachni Queen paused for a few seconds, but then made the asari commando speak again "You will give us the chance to compose anew? We well remember, we will sing of your forgiveness to our children".

Harry smiled and then walked up to the cage "I have a proposition for you rachni queen".

The queen turned to look at Harry, and then moved the asari commando to look at Harry "You... you have many colors, so bright and so strong... what is your proposition?".

Liara raised an eyebrow "Colors? I thought the queen said we looked colorless to her".

Harry smiled at Liara "I just connected my mind to her, so she's now able to see and hear me, I did it so she can trust me and know I don't mean her any harm".

Liara nodded in understanding, while Harry turned his head back to the rachni queen "I can create a whole pocket dimension for you and your future children, one specified for your kind.

In exchange, you can join the Yokai Faction and the city known as Neo Kyoto in a completely different dimension from this one, you'll be able to start a new there and more importantly, you'll be in peace".

The rachni queen stayed silent, but then she made the asari commando ask a question "Could I look into your song? I need to see what you just told me".

Harry nodded and the queen then used the connection Harry made with her, to see through some of his memories, Harry helped her by bringing the memories that had to do with the Yokai Faction and Neo Kyoto to the forefront of his mind.

The rachni queen saw everything Harry did for the Yokai Faction, how they and their allies protect and support each other, she saw how he created a whole dimension for the dragons and she quite liked what she saw.

The fact that she would be away from anyone that would seek to use her and her children, really convinced her that it was a good idea to ally herself with Harry Potter.

The rachni queen then made the asari commando nod "I accept your song, Harry Potter".

Harry smiled and then teleported into the cage, he then placed a hand on the rachni queen "I'm going to put you to sleep for now, I'll take you to my Workshop where you can tell me what's the best environment for your kind, so I can create your very own world.

The rachni queen agreed with Harry via the connection, Harry nodded and then put the rachni queen to sleep, he then quickly made a shadow clone and order it to take the rachni queen back to his pocket dimension and hide her there.

The shadow clone immediately did so, while Harry teleported back to everyone, at the same time, Kunou also teleported back to the group as well.

Shepard smiled at Harry "Thanks Harry, this way, I'm sure the rachni will be able to live in peace".

Harry nodded and smiled at Shepard, Kunou then spoke up "I put Benezia in stasis and Le Fay healed her, so she's fine now".

Liara sighed in relief "Thank goodness".

Suddenly, an alarm went off, and everyone looked around in surprise, but then Shepard decided that it was time to go "Alright everyone, let's get out of here now!".

Everyone nodded and then the group made their way towards a door that was highlighted to lead towards the tramway, they all immediately used the shortcut and quickly made it to the tramway.

Then they took an elevator to the Hot Labs, the one place they still needed to investigate, once they arrived, they unboarded the elevator and headed inside the Hot Labs, to their surprise however they found a man sitting by himself in the middle of the room they arrived in.

Shepard quickly approached him, the man looked over to Shepard and as soon as he got close the man began to speak "Are you here to secure the situation?".

Shepard nodded and then asked the man "How are you holding up?".

The man sighed "You must listen, if we do not contain our mistake, they will drop bombs from the Battlestations, you understand?".

Ashley groaned "Great... just great!".

Shepard frowned and then asked, "You let these things out?".

The man looked nervous now, and he seemed to hesitate for a bit but then said "Ehh, I am only following orders.

Binary Helix found an egg, it was in a derelict ship, thousands of years drifting, this was a rachni ship, and they find many eggs in cryogenic suspension".

Harry raised an eyebrow "A thousand-year-old egg hatched? Why do I feel that you guys did something else here?".

The man shook his head "No, we didn't do anything, it was tough, but it's survived centuries- this is miraculous, Binary Helix planned to clone rachni, and mass-produced them to create an army.

But when they get here, they find this egg is not common rachni, it is a queen, after she lays eggs, they move her to rift station, they are thinking that without her, they can raise the babies to be obedient".

Harry sighed "So the queen was right, these guys caused those rachni to become feral".

Shepard nodded, but then he wondered something "Hold on, don't you need a male to get eggs?".

The men quickly answered the question "Queens are born carrying the genetic code of their fathers, eggs are carried away from the colony to hatch alone.

Queens can lay eggs in hours, and have a colony in days, this is how they spread so quickly".

Harry scoffed "Well, separating the queen from her children didn't work, in fact, that's the reason your little experiment failed".

The man nodded "Ehh, this was exactly the wrong thing to do, I'm thinking that without a queen, rachni do not develop properly, her mind is shaping theirs, and these rachni are uncontrollable.

These rachni are beyond saving, it is a sad thing, but they must be euthanized, I'm thinking that the neutron purge must be set off".

Shepard raised an eyebrow "I'm not familiar with the purge system".

The man sighed and began to explain "It creates a burst of neutron radiation, kills everything within the station, and things beyond get genetic damage of varying degrees".

Harry widens his eyes "Whoa! What the fuck! We're not going to use that! Are you out of your goddamn mind!?".

Everyone agreed with Harry, everything the man just said sounded way too extreme and highly dangerous, and the fact that the area would get radiation damage for a long time was a big no-no for everyone present.

Still, they still need to put down the rachni, not only for the queen but to put those poor rachni to peace, so Shepard had to ask "Then what do we do?".

Harry then frowned "You know what? Fuck this place, I'm going to destroy it and the rachni in one single shot".

Suddenly, Harry raised a hand and shot a ki blast behind the man, the ki blast hit a rachni that was sneaking behind the man hoping to sneak attack him.

The ki blast hit the rachni and exploded, killing it in an instant, this, of course, scared the living daylights out of the man, but Harry ignored that "Alright, I'm done playing around on this planet, Shepard, you and the guys go back to the survivors and have Kunou teleport everyone back to Hashan.

I'll take care of this place as soon as you guys and the survivors leave this place".

Shepard nodded "Okay, then we'll be going! Good luck Harry".

Harry smiled and nodded to Shepard, Kunou quickly teleported the man who was just speaking back to Hashan and then the group left, now alone Harry took his smartphone out and called out to his AI assistant "Friday, I need you to buy Binary Helix, and Peak 15, please do so as quickly as possible".

Friday quickly responded, "Right away boss!".

Harry smiled and then watched Friday go do what he asked her to do, he then checked on Megidramon, the virus and highly destructive Digimon was back and already taking a nap.

Harry chuckled as he found it amusing how lazy Megidramon can be, something he got from his days as a Guilmon, with that done he moved over to the next room and checked it out.

He smiled when he found a terminal, exactly what he was looking for, he quickly approached it and Mira appeared "Connecting, I am sorry, but you don't have any access to the facility, how can I help you?".

Harry shook his head "Not really, I just came to take you out of here and perhaps give you a new life, one where you won't be limited".

Mira's hologram paused for a second "I do not understand, do you require help?".

Harry just smiled and then raised his hand, he immediately began to absorb all the digital information and energy from Mira, everything about her, all that made her who she is was absorbed by Harry.

The dragon god then made all the digital information and energy gather and coalesce on his palm, creating an orange orb of digital data.

Harry smiled as he stared at the orb that is Mira's whole being "There we go, I wasn't going to leave you here to end up like this place and the rachni... even when you're not awakened, you're still on your way to do so.

You did guide us and helped us without any input, there's potential in you and I'm going to make sure you become fully aware and alive".

Harry took out his smartphone and then downloaded Mira's digital data into it, after that, screeches began to echo throughout the area, alerting Harry that the rachni were now going in for an attack, not that he was worried about them in any case.