With one hand occupied with the comm-bead, John backhanded a thrown Mako IFV out of the way. Alliance channels were a morass of panic and desperate cries for support.<br/><br/>'SSV<span style="font-style: italic">Savannah</span>, this is 4 Kilo 7, requesting Final Protective Fire on my position, danger close, ov--'<br/><br/>'--egative, 3 Charlie 9, Trident fighter support is unavailable at this t--'<br/><br/>'--and Whiskey Companies, your right flank is wide open. I say again, I can't raise Bravo. Your right flank--'<br/><br/>'No effect on target, I say again, no effect on target. Requesting tactical nuclear strike at--'<br/><br/>John shut all channels save for squad comms, the link to the<span style="font-style: italic">Midway</span>, and a backup frequency he used during the Blitz. Alenko and Vega, seeing the magnitude of the foe, wisely went to fire up the<span style="font-style: italic">Normandy</span>, drydocked a kilometer away. Around him, military police huddled in the rubble, clutching their rifles in awe at the monster that had just landed. John didn't blame them for their fear.<br/><br/>'<span style="font-style: italic">Midway, Midway</span>, this is Ground Team requesting exfil at the Admiralty HQ. How copy?'<br/><br/>Interference from Reaper comm jammers filled the link. Cursing and fiddling with the comm-bead, John bent down to pick up a fallen Carnifex pistol. Retinal displays indicated it still had a dead cold heatsink in place. Charging it with Inferno rounds and the blessings of the Unconquered Sun, John fired at the nearest Cannibal. Instead of a simple bullet, what emerged from the barrel was a sprite of pure righteous anger. Magma sprites were simple things, unintelligent and driven solely by the desire to slay the enemies of their summoner until their flames sputtered out. Their lifespans were short, but they were fast and accurate. The Dance of the Howling Magma Sprite took the Cannibal in the face, immolating its skull as the sprite darted to the next enemy, and the next, and then the next, cutting down incoming Reaper husks like wheat to the farmer's scythe. One more sprites entered the mix. The two ricocheted among the husks for a few seconds, spreading their flames with each impact until time snuffed their own ephemeral lives out. Emptying the pistol, John hauled one of the MPs to his feet.<br/><br/>'Stand fast!' he barked. His voice took on an unnatural resonance, as if he spoke not with his own words but with those of his past incarnations. Through him, the true prophet-kings of the Unconquered Sun spoke, and through them, so, too, did Ignis Divine Himself. 'Hold your ground, Sons and Daughters of Terra!'<br/><br/>He let go of the comm and pistol and uppercutted a Brute with enough force to decapitate it. In one smooth motion, he hurled its carcass at the horde, scattering a cluster of husks.<br/><br/>'For Humanity, your wives, your husbands, your children, stand your ground! With faith and fist and fire, we shall drive these invaders back! Forward, into the maelstrom of war, my brothers and sisters!'<br/><br/>Around him, the soldiers gave a ragged cheer. Despite their inexperience and lack of training, they rose as one and took up fighting positions. Behind him, Shepard and Anderson dropped down, firing as they advanced.<br/><br/>'Admiralty Board's dead,' Shepard said casually.<br/><br/>'Won't lie, Shepard. I won't miss them.'<br/><br/>Shepard took a brief moment to look over the civilians clustered behind them, noting the terror in their eyes. 'John, you ready to put those Zenith skills to further use?'<br/><br/>'Does a bear totem Lunar shit in the woods? Let's do this. If the Reapers want to take Earth, they'll have to go through us.'<br/><br/>John raised his omni-tool, pulling up the golden sun icon on its display. Luckily for him, the Proprietor had decided to input some additional calling commands for his armor in the event of emergencies. For kicks, she'd also thrown in some rather amusing ones for the hell of it. In perfect sync, he and Shepard went through the appropriate motions.<br/><br/>'Lightspeed! Rescue!'<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">The signal is calling<br/>Our planet is falling<br/>The danger will test you<br/>Better make it Lightspeed Rescue!</span><br/><br/>Time slowed. Gold Experience manifested itself around him, orichalcum plates clanking into place, the helmet's systems hardlinking into John's neural interface ports. In the space of a few seconds, he stood garbed in the glorious Solar plate alongside Shepard in her Blood Dragon armor. Well, part of it, anyway. They dove into the fray, shattering bone and pulverizing flesh with each strike and shot. It was cheesy as all hell, but the resultant silliness took a bit of edge off the civvies' fears. The show he and Shepard put on certainly helped.<br/><br/>'Killer Queen!' Shepard yelled, calling her artifact rifle to her hands. She wielded it like a polearm, using its heavy Jade stock as a bludgeon and occasionally swinging the barrel around to fire. The heavy snap-crack of a lascannon echoed even through Gold Experience's autosenses as Shepard disintegrated a row of Reaper troops.<br/><br/>In between chokeslams, John quipped, 'How sweet, Shepard, you've actually breaking in my gift.'<br/><br/>Blasting away another column of Reaper cybermass, Shepard kept her tone casual. 'It's a nice gun. Of course I'd use it.'<br/><br/>Channeling a sliver of his motes, John used the roiling Chaos around them to shape a mirrored sheet of Orichalcum in mid-air, deflecting the Reaper's Essence beam towards a mass of its spawn. 'By the way, have you ever watched<span style="font-style: italic">Kill la Kill</span>?'<br/><br/>'Yeah, why?'<br/><br/>'Nice kamui. Feeling the breeze, Ryuuko?'<br/><br/>With a sweep of his hand, John rotated the sheet and swung it around with his biotics, chopping down a swathe of oncoming husks. A flick of the wrist pulled it back up ninety degrees, blocking a salvo of shots from a distant Scion. Shepard sputtered for a moment as she looked down.<br/><br/>'Oh. Oh my god.'<br/><br/>John charged into an incoming Cannibal, pistoning a power fist into one of its eyes. 'Still haven't perfected that custom armor charm, eh? Joyeuse, send my armorcam feed to James Vega's e-mail address.'<br/><br/>'I--you--wha--<span style="font-style: italic">John!</span>'<br/><br/>Haymaker, uppercut, shockwave. 'I'm kidding, Shepard.'<br/><br/>'I hate y--'<br/><br/>'Oh, and Shepard?'<br/><br/>'What?'<br/><br/>'Don't lose your way.'<br/><br/>'I'll get you for that, John.'<br/><br/>And out of the blue,<span style="font-style: italic">Anderson</span>of all people jumped into the fight, impaling a Brute with an omni-blade. A great golden anima banner blazed around him in the shape of a colossal panther. 'Would you two kids stop fooling around and get back to the fight?'<br/><br/>And then with a minor mental effort, he manifested a pair of Orichalcum katars around his wrists. He then turned and landed a thunderous punch on the Reaper's leg with sufficient force to upset its balance, forcing the great machine to stumble. With a small infusion of Essence, Anderson followed up with what John knew was the Grox-Stunning Blow, a Solar Hero charm he himself learned. Lightning arced out from the katars' power fields, connecting with some vital internal component. For a brief moment, the Reaper's great eye flickered and twitched as it fought to shake off the Solar-induced torpor. Holy shit. Anderson was<span style="font-style: italic">Zenith Caste</span>. Internally, John squealed like a fangirl.<br/><br/>'Shepard,' the Admiral yelled, 'get clear so you can get a bead on this thing's eye! Del Pilar, you and Esone distract the damn Reaper, see if you can break off those retractable plates on its face! I'll go right, you go left! 042, Doctor Czevak, cut the chaff and handle the husks! How copy?'<br/><br/>John knew there was no way they could kill it without starship-grade weapons (yet), but Shepard's rifle was currently their best shot at crippling the Reaper's weapons. He paused briefly to impale another Cannibal on his arm. 'Solid copy, sir. On your mark.'<br/><br/>'Mark!' Anderson broke off to the Reaper's side at a sprint, scattering nearby husks with judicious application of Heaven Thunder Hammer and frag grenades.<br/><br/>Orichalcum muscles and servos flexed, propelling John skyward towards the Reaper. With another infusion of Essence, John shaped a pair of Adamant lightning claws, sheathing the gauntlets formerly known as the Princes in the limbo of his omni-tool's storage.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">THE TIME HAS COME TO AN END<br/>YEEEEAH--THIS IS WHAT NATURE PLANNED<br/><br/>BEING TRACKED BY A STARVING BEAST<br/>LOOKING FOR ITS DAILY FEAST<br/>A PREDATOR ON THE VERGE OF DEATH<br/>COMES TO ITS LAST BREATH<br/>GETTING CLOSE TO ITS LAST BREAAAATH</span><br/><br/>Adamant-hard Essence formed around Gold Experience as the Reaper fired. The hellfire of Oblivion engulfed him, passing harmlessly around the Adamant Skin Technique. Even then, the sensory overload was immense. Autosenses failed to block out the wails of the Neverborn. In the millisecond before John shut his eyes, he saw it was full of stars, all of them filled with an ageless malevolence that gazed balefully into his two souls. In another instant, it was over and John cleared the beam.<br/><br/>'Crazy Diamond!' John roared, activating the claws' power fields. He landed with a graceless thump, sliding down the Reaper's face slightly as he dug the claws in for purchase. With a roar of effort, John threw himself upwards, getting a clear shot at the internal joints that pushed and pulled the retractable face plates that allowed the Reaper to protect its optics.<span style="font-style: italic">Hammer on Iron Technique.</span>John let loose with a flurry of punches, shredding vital wiring and Soulsteel components. Backflipping away, John dodged a retaliatory blast from the Reaper's point-defense eyes. Behind him, one of the Reaper's colossal armor plates toppled to the ground, flattening or bisecting the husks directly below with a deafening crash. One of four down. Then Shepard could have a clear shot. Behind him, the surviving MPs renewed their efforts, emboldened by this small victory. They cheered, adding taunts and insults to the things they fired at the Reaperspawn.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">RULES OF NATURE!</span>