Chapter 5. I Know You

*Crunch!*,She devoured another potato chip from the bag.

Each time the Krogan passed, her facial expression frowned more and more with annoyance steadily creeping in. Jack couldn't actually see Grunt pacing back in forth in front of her since her eyes were closed, but the Krogan was so large that his presence was hardly concealed. All Jack wanted to do was sit back in the Combatant Lounge Area and enjoy her salt and vinegar potato chips.

"Grunt! If you don't sit your big ass down or something I'm going to hurt you," said Jack reaching her breaking point.

Grunt stopped in front of the biotic and firmly grasped both of her shoulders and sporting his usual toothy grin , "Don't you see why I'm excited Jack? In just a few hours Shepard is going to tear this arena apart! It will be a glorious battle!."

Jack slowly opened her eyes and booted Grunt away from her with her right leg, "Yeah? Well go cheer lead and be excited somewhere that's not in front of me!"

Grunt waved a dismissive hand at Jack and walked away. The irritation she expected to fade didn't unfortunately. Ah who was she kidding? Jack knew she was just taking out her frustration on Grunt because she wasn't being included in the action tonight. The fact that Armax Arsenal Arena just gave her reserved slot away to Shepard still was nagging at her gut. She wasn't upset with Shepard himself anymore, that Alliance chick was right, just happens that corporations love to play politics. On top of that the fact that Shepard and Ashley got to fight against a Cerberus enemy set? That REALLY just made her sick. Jack rolled her potato chip bag up, tossed it on the far end of the couch and laid down with her hands placed behind her head.

The Combatant Lounge Area was as comfortable as advertised. AAA's bottom line lives and dies on their participants ability to be able to put on a good show so everything in the room was suited to their needs. There were multiple luxuary leather couches lined up against the walls with top of the line holo-monitors and extranet terminals. The wall that faced the arena was a wall of glass that had a great view of the arena stage and the surrounding crowd of fans. Multiple tables were set up in the area with appetizers and if you were really starving, the lounge had it's own personal room service. Grunt was watching AAA's telecast on a holo-monitor listening to the announcers analyze the upcoming match. Down on the floor, laid Lieutenant Vega squeezing in a quick sit-up workout before the match. Garrus and Tali were looking out of the lounge's glass windows and were scanning the arena stage discussing strategy. Kasumi? Well Kasumi was unsurprisingly, no where to be found.

"What's up guys," said a voice as the lounge's entrance door opened.

Garrus who was closest to the door, turned to his left. The person standing there forced the Turian to smile, "Jacob?"

*Decloak*

"Look what I found! Isn't it cute?" said Kasumi as she suddenly appeared hanging on Jacob's left arm.

"Kasumi, you're stealing people now?," said Tali while shaking her head.

Kasumi defensively leaned closer to Jacob, "Hey they don't call me the best for nothing."

Jacob rolled his eyes "Can you guys stop talking about me like I'm just a thing?"

Garrus laughed and made his way towards Jacob, "Thought you'd be busy."

Jacob slipped from Kasumi's grasp then walked up to Garrus and gave him a classic shake with the forearm, "Heard about the match, Kasumi told me you guys were all hangin' out here."

"Glad you could make it" Garrus replied.

Jacob slightly paused in thought then turned his gaze back to Garrus, "Hey uh... I told Shepard, but I never thanked you personally for helping me get my group and I off -."

"Don't mention it Jacob...anytime." Garrus finished.

Jacob nodded then turned to Tali, "Hey Tali, it's been a while."

To say Jacob and Tali never hit it off during the mission with the Collectors would be an understatement. In 2183, two months after The Battle of the Citadel, Cerberus attacked one of the Quarian migrant fleet ships in an attempt to retrieve an experiment gone missing. Bad blood with everything and anyone associated with Cerberus had already set into Tali before she even stepped one foot on the brand new SR-2. Jacob knowing this, tried his best to be civil with the Quarian for the missions sake at least, but their relationship never went beyond professional.

"Hello Jacob, it's...good to see you are doing well, I read the reports on what happened." Tali replied.

"Yeah things weren't looking too good, but the Normandy really came through for us." said Jacob.

Tali noticed the sincerity in Jacob's facial expression. He still had that exact same look of he did during their mission. Tali would never apologize for not trusting him or the rest of the Cerberus crew during their fight against the Collectors. She knew that Cerberus would eventually show their true colors once Shepard was no longer useful to them. However, maybe Jacob was just trying to be nice and had good intentions back then. Maybe who he worked for didn't compromise who he was, it hadn't with Shepard. Maybe with the galaxy burning to hell, grudges were the last thing that she should be holding on to.

Tali turned and grabbed a glass beer bottle from a nearby table and extended it to Jacob, "Glad you're here." she said.

Jacob let out a sigh of relief that seemed like he'd been holding for decades. He then smiled and accepted the beer.

"One Thousand!"

Garrus,Tali and Jacob turned to the middle area of the lounge where Vega popped up from the floor, apparently finished with his exercise.

Vega walked over to the three of them and grabbed himself a beer as well, "Have you ever seen a GODLY machine of a human like me?," said the Lieutenant as he twisted off the cap.

Tali shook her head confused "Is that a rhetorical question or...".

Vega cut Tali off and looked at Jacob "Hey amigo, you a friend of theirs?"

Jacob extended his hand, "Jacob Taylor, I was with the Normandy crew that helped Shepard stop the Collectors."

"James Vega, I'm a Lieutenant in the Alliance, currently serving on the Normandy. You can just call me Vega...or James...or...The Incredible Vega" said James as he shook Jacob's hand with a smile.

Jacob nodded then smiled as he briefly gestured to the area Vega just came from, "One thousand? Not bad."

"What? That? That was nothing amigo" Vega replied.

Kasumi slid her arm onto Jacob's shoulder and leaned her weight against him "I think you could beat that Jacob, want to try?"

"Maybe later Kasumi," said Jacob half-halfheartedly.

Jacob looked past Vega and noticed Jack laying down on the couch, he excused himself from the group and walked over to her, "Jack? long time no see. Damn, you look good."

Jack opened an eye to identify who was bothering her then closed it back "Ah Jacob, so you're still alive huh, The Illusive Man didn't kill you yet?"

"He was pretty damn close. You alright?" said Jacob.

Jack turned to lay on her right side and continued to mope, "I'm fine, you can go away now."

Grunt from the far side of the room turned to Jacob, "Ignore her whining, she's got her quad in a bunch because Shepard took her place in the arena"

Jacob folded his arms and smiled "Well, good to see some things don't change."

Down at the arena, Shepard and Ashley were backstage waiting on the go signal for them to come out. Lisaya explained to them that when the lighting in the backstage area turned green from it's current red, the large backstage door would open and she would lead the Spectre's out into the arena. Apparently though, AAA had advertised this main event so much things were taking longer than usual to start. As she was checking the sights on her M-99 Saber, Ashley tucked a few loose hairs behind her ear that got out from her bun and peeked over towards Shepard. She noticed he was using one of the mirrors to fix some unknown problem he was having with his armor.

"What's wrong Skipper?" asked Ashley.

Shepard continued to grunt and squirm in his armor, "This armor is so tight and it chaffs a little."

Ashley latched her Saber on her back and strolled over to Shepard, "Here let me help."

Shepard lifted up his left arm while Ashley stood behind and undid the armor clasp on his left side. She re-adjusted the clasp then fastened it back into place, "How's that?"

"Better," Shepard replied with a sigh. He then turned around and slid his arms around Ashley's waist with his trademark seductive grin.

Ashley frowned her brow at him in thought, then she finally caught on to what Shepard was doing. "Your armor was fine wasn't it, you just wanted me to come over here."

Shepard smiled then leaned in and began to plant soft kisses on Ashley's cheek.

Ashley laughed then immediately pried herself away from her boyfriend, "Stop! I said no fooling around before the match, it makes me unfocused."

"Well it makes me focused." Shepard replied.

Ashley rolled her eyes at him, "Yeah I bet it does."

The two Spectres looked up when suddenly the red lighting that filled the room changed green. Shepard took his 2 Paladin pistols from the workbench and put one on each of his two hip holster slots. He grabbed his left hand stretched it in the glove then did the same for the other. "You ready?" Shepard asked Ashley.

"I'm ready," replied Ashley filled with determination.

The backstage door to the arena lifted open as Lisaya appeared on the other side. The Asari gestured for Shepard and Ashley to follow her to the middle of the stage where they were met with a roaring crowd of fans cheering and applauding. The praise the two Spectre's were getting humbled them in awe.

Lisaya activated up her omni-tool then turned on her mic and addressed the crowd. The asari theatrically spread her arms in the air as spotlights suddenly beamed over her. She began with AAA's motto, "Ladies and gentleman, it's combat night in the Armax Arsenal Arena!" The crowd suddenly erupted in a deafening roar of cheers, then just as quickly calmed for Lisaya to continue. "AAA is always searching for the best and brightest combat participants around the galaxy and tonight we have not one but two Spectres here to do battle!"

Shepard looked to his right and noticed the grin on Ashley's face. He could tell she was absolutely enjoying every moment of this and secretly he was too. This competition between Garrus and Tali started out as a simple bet, but now? Shepard was glad that he was making more pleasant memories with the people he cared about. Those kind of memories were becoming more and more...rare.

"Skipper!"

Ashley suddenly broke Shepard's train of thought. Shepard shook out of his day dream acknowledged Ashley, "Yeah?"

Ashley grabbed her Saber from her back holster,"They're starting the countdown! Let's do this!"

"Jack you sure you don't want in on this? I know you could use the creds," said Vega as he was sitting with the rest of the crew at a nearby table.

Jack still laying on the couch in her pouty mood, filled her lungs then let out a deep sigh. "Quit talking to me, I couldn't care less."

"Suit yourself." Vega turned back around in his chair and did a recap.

"OK, Kasumi and Jacob, you guys have Garrus and Tali for the win. While Grunt and yours truly are putting our creds on Shepard and Ashley."

Garrus folded his arms and lifted a brow plate, leering over at the table of gamblers, "Aww I'm hurt, no confidence in me Vega?"

Lieutenant Vega smiled and looked back "Sorry amigo, but I've seen Loco do some crazy stuff, I know better than to bet against him."

Jacob grabbed another beer and twisted off the cap, "Is it true Shepard took out a Reaper on foot?"

"Of course he did," Grunt cut in.

Jacob frowned and returned a puzzled look Grunt's way, "you were there?"

"No, but Shepard is my Battlemaster and he has no match. I believe it." Grunt stated proudly.

Tali walked over to the table and sat down next to Kasumi, "It's true. Shepard defeated the Reaper and stopped the war between my people and the Geth. He saved our home world."

Jacob leaned over in his chair and subtely whispered to Vega, "I can change my bet right?"

"Oh Jacob don't let them get to you" said Kasumi butting in. "Listen, I love Shep and he does kick ass but when he goes up against Garrus in anything, the Turian usually wins. Tali also has some skills herself, she even managed to teach ME a few new hacking techniques."

Tali held up her hands defensively a little shy and taken back by the praise, "It was nothing special, Kasumi is still the better hacker."

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

The intercom in the CLA and the holo-monitors around the wall all started a countdown for the match. Grunt jumped out of his chair and rushed to suites window, "HAHA! finally it's starting!"

The rest of the group including Jack joined and began to watch.

Shepard and Ashley drew there guns as six spawn portals appeared on the stage. Wingman was a stage that basically describes what the name entails. The stage was modeled after the left wing of a Turian Cruiser. Multiple barricades were set up for cover and there were two main stairs on each side that descended onto lower parts of the stage. The two Spectres were starting at the most elevated part of the stage while this round's summoning portals were activated at the bottom. Shepard sported his two M-77 Paladin pistols in each hand while Ashley shouldered her M-99 Saber.

"You take the left side I have the right" Shepard said simply.

"Got it" Ashley replied.

On the right side, three portals summoned two Cerberus troopers and one shielded Guardian, Shepard quickly dashed from his starting position and went to the right side of the stage. He dodged a hail of bullets while hurdling over a barricade and rolled, landing his back against cover. Shepard closed his eyes and gained his focus. He then stood up with a turn while raising his dual Paladins and squeezed off a storm shots. Three shots landed on the first Trooper which took him down and only one to the skull was needed for the second Trooper. Shepard continued his firing onslaught towards the Guardian but the shield it was carrying proved tough. The Guardian took every shot until Shepard was forced to reload, it made it's move and charged up the stairs with it's shield.

Dammit! Here he comes!

Shepard quickly holstered his right Paladin and reloaded the one in his left. He combat rolled when a shot from the Guardian came from the stairs. Recovering quickly out of the roll Shepard flared his biotics and used a Throw attack that stopped the Guardian in his tracks. He took both hands and aimed his reloaded Paladin at the Guardian and squeezed off one carefully aimed round at the Guardians head which exploded.

Ashley was on the left side of the stage taking cover from suppressing fire. A Cerberus Centurion and two Troopers spawned right after Shepard left her side. She popped up and returned fire towards the Centurion, assaulting his shields. Her hail of rounds bounced off and did minimal damage which forced her back into cover again.

Geez! They weren't kidding with these enhanced shields, she thought.

Ashley reloaded her Saber when suddenly a grenade landed near her position. She reacted instantly and leaped over the barricade, headed left safely making her way to new cover. Ashley regained her focus and popped up again, shouldering her Saber. Within her sights she could see the Cerberus troops had tactfully formed closer together, for what she couldn't figure out. At that moment, the Cerberus Centurion threw down a smokescreen which shrouded all three enemies at once. With hail of bullets coming from the smokescreen, Ashley's mind immediately went into a flashback.

No way this trick is working on me again!, she thought as she reminisced about her video game match with Tali. After her defeat, Ashley replayed that scenario over and over again afterward. Her competitive spirit itched, making her think of ways she could have won. As if fate was somehow using it's guiding hand, Ashley found herself now in a very similar situation. "Thanks Tali," she mumbled to herself.

Ashley reached for the belt on her armor and unhooked a grenade. Her plan was to use the blast power of the grenade to blow away the smokescreen, but an even better thought came to mind. Even if this grenade would work and blow away the smokescreen, her enemies would likely have time to avoid the blast just as she did a few moments ago. Ashley shouldered her Saber again and laid down some fire all over the smokescreen. When the Troopers started shooting back she dashed to her right and rolled out of cover. She side-armed threw the grenade deep into the smokescreen then mustered her inner focus. Time seemed to slow as she knelt and aimed for the grenade, one peferectly placed Concussion Shot obliterated the grenade just as it entered the smokescreen giving her enemies no time to react.

Ashley grinned as the smoke cleared. The two Troopers were utterly defeated and the Centurion was struggling to get up.

The Spectre latched her rifle onto her back and nonchalantly jogged down Wingman's stairs. As she reached the struggling Centurion her left arm raised and produced an Omni-Blade. Ashley smiled and struck the Centurion down with one final blow, "Game over asshole!".

"Took you long enough!" said a voice from behind Ashley. She turned around and saw Shepard strolling over with his usual stupid grin.

"Well I had to make it at least interesting" Ashley replied with a smile.

"ROUND 1 COMPLETE!"

Shepard and Ashley both looked up and saw the crowd erupt in cheers, everything was going well for them so far. Lisaya began to countdown then announced the next round.

"ROUND 2!"

Shepard took his dual Paladins and readied himself. he glanced over at Ashley and she nodded while reaching for her Saber. Both Spectres were aiming their guns around the arena searching for the next spawn portals.

"Umm, Skipper? I don't see any portals, you?" Ashley asked.

Suddenly a glint of light appeared in the corner of Shepard's eye, he turned towards Ashley and immediately his heart dropped. "Ashley look out!".

As if out of thin air, a cloaked portal appeared above Ashley. Dropping out was a Cerberus Phantom with it's sword already drawn in strike position. Ashley swiftly holstered her Saber and turned around with a fierce counter, blocking the sword with her Omni-Blade and forcing a melee deadlock with the Phantom.

This is more like it! Ashley thought with a grin.

Ashley's grin left as quickly as it came when she noticed a second portal appearing behind her. Sure enough, out came another Phantom charging directly at Ashley's back, sword in hand, thrust-ed forward and ready to pierce. With Ashley in a deadlock with Phantom #1, she had to think quick. Time seemed to slow as Ashley took her right hand and grabbed the Phantom in front of her by the throat. In one smooth motion she switched their positions and the Phantom was struck with it's ally's sword to the back. There was no time for Ashley to gather herself however. Phantom #2 quickly threw it's pierced ally off of it's blade and went for the attack. A downward strike from the Phantom commenced but Ashley dodged to the left, the Phantom never stopped motion and swung for the head, but Ashley ducked, the Phantom kept going, pulling the sword back then swiftly thrusting it towards Ashley's face but her reflexes managed to redirect it's trajectory with her Omni-Blade, forcing it to just miss to the left. Back and forth the Spectre and the Phantom traded a series of blade clashes and missed attacks. Ashley went on the offensive and thrust-ed her Omni-Blade towards the Phantom after seeing an opening, however just before her attack could connect, the Phantom cloaked. Seconds later it reappeared at Ashley's left side. Time seemed to slow as the Phantom gently placed a hand on Ashley's rib cage and shot a Phase Disruptor at point blank range, the force sending the Spectre flying.

"Ash!", Shepard began to run to help his woman when something thick and rope-like wrapped around his waist stopping him dead in his tracks. He instantly looked behind him and saw a Cerberus Dragoon had spawned and already had him caught. Shepard instinctively drew his Paldin but before he could squeeze the trigger, a jolt of electricity around the rope stunned him, forcing the Spectre to his knees. "Ahhh! Dammit!".

"GET UP SHEPARD!"

Grunt was going absolutely ballistic in the Combatant Lounge Area. A few of the others thought he might actually break the windows and jump down there to help. Garrus tried to calm him down from the excitement earlier, but he was met with a menacing glare that Garrus was pretty sure meant "GET AWAY FROM ME TURIAN!". Ever since then Grunt was given his own space and left alone.

Vega, Kasumi, Jacob, Tali, Garrus and even Jack were all standing with each other on the opposite side of where Grunt was, watching the match through the glass window. Jacob's heart was pounding in his chest at what he was watching, he decided he definitely made the right call coming to see this match.

"Did you guys just see that? How? How did Williams see that Phantom from behind?" Jacob asked.

Kasumi had a wide smile on her face, "Not only did she recognize the attack from behind, she used it to her advantage. Shep's girl is impressive."

Tali shook her head, "The way she dodged those attacks. I remember Ash being good, but Keelah! Not THAT damn good! She's gotten way better!"

Vega looked around at all the others like they were crazy, "Are you guys serious? I've trained with Ash a million times and I'm not the least bit surprised. They made her a Spectre for a reason."

"Yeah? Well she just got her ass kicked now," Jack blurted out. She shook her head and folded her arms, "If that'd been me that Phantom would be biotic dust right now."

Garrus grinned and put a talon on Jack's shoulder, "I imagine the whole arena would be biotic dust with how reckless you are Jack."

"Shut up Garrus!" replied Jack with an eye-roll.

Garrus laughed then looked back out into the arena with a thoughtful expression, "The real problem is Shepard. That Dragoon is going to try and make Shepard call for a submission with those Overload attacks."

"No way Shepard gives in!" said Vega with a balled up fist.

Garrus smiled, "I didn't say he would."

BOOM!

An explosion from another Phase Disruptor sent Ashley's way. The Phantom was keeping Ashley on her toes, blowing away cover with Phase Disruptor blasts every time Ashley would get behind something. The Phantom managed to force Ashley all the way back to top level, her guess was it was trying to separate her and Shepard as much as possible. As desperate as her situation was she had to check on Shepard. She kept running and rolled again into cover. The Phantom's barriers were recharging after it's series of Phase Disruptor attacks. Ashley took the short time she had and pressed the communicator attached to her ear. "Skipper! You OK down there?"

Shepard was still on his hands and knees, sweating in a struggle of endurance from the Overload attacks. He gritted through his teeth and responded, "Yeah... I... can... handle it. How's... things on your end? I saw you get hit."

"I'm fine. The whole left side of my upper body just went numb though, this nerual feedback is a mother!" replied Ashley while looking down at her limp left arm. She took a deep breath and continued, "I can't get in close quarters anymore, I'll have to use my Saber to take that son of bitch down."

"Ashley no wait! Let me help you." said Shepard.

Ashley looked confused, "How? You can't even stand up! I'll take care of this guy and come and get you."

"No! That's too much of a risk!" Shepard demanded. He paused for a brief moment to endure another shock from the lash around his waist then continued, "Listen, I trust you know me well enough Ash and I know you. Think! Analyze the battlefield carefully and I'm sure we'll come to the same conclusion."

Ashley looked even more confused, "What? Skipper just tell-"

"There's no time! That Phantom will be on your ass again in a few seconds...I believe in you" Shepard finished.

Ashley wanted to protest but Shepard cut off his communicator. "Really Skipper? Giving me some sort of field lesson in the middle of a battle? Cocky bastard...He is so dead after this"!, Ashley thought.

However, Ashley did what Shepard had asked and peeked over the cover she was currently behind. She scanned the battlefield and like the highly trained solider she was, reviewed what she saw. At the bottom and far side of the stage was the Cerberus Dragoon which had it's lash still wrapped around Shepard. In between Ashley and them however was the Phantom. Ashley noticed that the Phantom's barriers were recharged but for some reason it wasn't charging for another Phase Disruptor attack.

"Why change tactics? You have the advantage", Ashley thought.

The Phantom drew it's sword again, wielding it with both hands this time, it seems like it was preparing for a final strike. When the Phantom starting walking towards Ashley, she instantly deciphered what it was doing. "It noticed I can't use my left arm...Crap!"

Ashley needed to solve this problem fast. She crept back down and closed her eyes. Multiple outcomes to this situation started flashing in her mind, one after the other like pages being flipped in a picture book. She needed to analyze all data, all parties involved, including their talents and the best possible course of action. Finally, as if a light bulb flashed above her head, she figured it out. Ashley activated her communicator, "Skipper I got it! I'm going to start now!"

"DO IT!" Shepard responded.

Ashley looked back up at the Phantom and a familiar feeling of determination washed over the use of her left arm anymore, this would be a challenge, "Here goes nothing" she thought with a grin. Ashley began by holstering her Saber on her back and unhooking a grenade from her belt. She simultaneously threw the grenade at the Phantom and dashed from cover to her right. The grenade landed near the Phantom which forced it to activate it's Spherical Barrier and block the blast. Ashley, now had a running start as the grenade bought her some time. She decided she moved enough and slid into new cover. In one smooth motion she reached behind for her Saber, activated the scope sights and took aim towards Shepard. "Don't miss! Don't miss! DON'T MISS! she thought. Ashley pulled the trigger and shot the lash the Dragoon was using, freeing Shepard from his torture.

Shepard instantly felt the lash that bonded him snap, he smiled. "That's my girl!"

Without a second's hesitation, Shepard activated his omni-tool and laced his dual Paladins with Inferno Rounds. He quickly stood up, took aim and unloaded a barrage of pistol shots directly at the Dragoon. Shepard's gun draw was so quick the Dragoon had no time to come up with any type of defense, it shook violently from the hail of gunfire then fell to the ground and disintergrated.

Back at the other end of the stage, the Phantom quickly recovered from the grenade and made a beeline for Ashley's position with it's Barrier still up. With it's biotic ability and combined with a running start, the Phantom jumped high in the air with it's sword in hand clearly preparing to deliver a final downward strike.. Ashley stood up, walked backwards from her cover and looked up at her enemy. "There's no way I can block that. C'mon Skipper!" she thought as she one hand aimed her Saber at the Phantom.

As swiftly as Shepard drew his guns, he just as quickly holstered them. He turned around and started running, knowing the Phantom was on it's way downward towards Ashley. Shepard's biotics started to glow as he held out his right hand and charged up a Warp attack.

Time seemed to slow as Shepard mustered his inner focus, he carefully took aim and with a running start, launched the Warp attack towards the Phantom. Ashley with her Saber pointed upward at the Phantom was praying that Shepard's attack would make it in time. The Phantom being seconds away from it's strike gripped it's sword tighter and beginning the downward strike, but suddenly the Warp attack smacked the Phantom's Barrier dead on from behind.

"See ya," said Ashley as she saw the Phantom's Spherical Barrier go down. She pulled the trigger on her Saber and unleashed hailstorm of bullets that riddled the Phantom's body mid-air. Ashley didn't let the trigger go until her rifle was out of ammo. The Phantom dropped from the air and was defeated. The crowd of fans around the arena cheered and roared with thunderous applause.

Ashley let out a sigh that felt like she'd been holding for decades. She dropped to the ground on her bottom and rested against the wall behind her, she took in a moment to catch her breath. A few seconds later, Shepard arrived with a smile on his face.

"You did it," Shepard said simply while he extended his hand.

Ashley grabbed Shepard's hand and stood up, then gave him a warm smile right back, "Nobody does it alone."

Shepard brought his girlfriend in close and wrapped his arms around her. Ashley melted in his embrace, burying her face in his collarbone. "How's the arm?" Shepard asked.

"Some feeling is starting to come back but I wouldn't count on it for the last round" Ashley replied.

"ROUND 2 COMPLETE!"

The soon announcement of the next round forced the Spectres to end their embrace. Shepard looked at Ashley and could tell she was starting to feel some fatigue, she was too prideful to admit it but he knows his woman. She fought hard in the arena tonight and he was proud of her too, and judging by the crowd? He wasn't the only one. A familiar emotional sense of protectiveness suddenly washed over him. "Ash?" Shepard inquired calmly.

"Yeah?" Ashley replied.

Shepard unlatched the Paladin on his left hip holster, "I want to swap weapons with you, or at least one. Take my Paladin. It should be easier for you to use with one hand. Let me take the Saber."

Ashley as expected, was defiant. "For what? Skipper I don't need to be babied, I can handle it."

Shepard shook his head and smiled, "I know you can handle it Ash, but I don't want you to". Ashley held her gaze with Shepard while thinking it over. It was so damn frustrating at times with how persuasive Shepard could be. Sure it was useful when they were out with the Normandy on missions, but it was a double edged sword when it came to their relationship. His over-confident expression, the way the tone in his voice never came across as manipulative but as concerning, just the aura he carried made her feel safe even with all her proven ability to defend herself.

Ashley let out a soft sigh then extended the Saber to Shepard, "Here."

Shepard swapped weapons with Ashley then the both of them walked over to the top of Wingman's right side stairs. With a wall behind them, no spawn portals would catch them by surprise this time. The two Spectres readied themselves for the announcement of the next round.

"ROUND 3!"

Shepard shouldered his Saber while Ashley, right next to him, one hand aimed her Paladin. The arena had a moment of an eerie silence as everyone, including the fans were waiting for the next spawn portals. What came was something no one was expecting. Suddenly a huge portal, twelve feet wide and twenty feet in height, appeared at the center of the lowest level. The ground slightly shook as a Cerberus Atlus Mech stepped out of the large spawn portal.

"Skipper...we probably should have brought bigger guns" said Ashley.

Shepard grinned while he laced his Saber with Inferno Rounds, "We can handle it, just back me up OK?"

Ashley smiled, "Aye Aye."

Shepard leaped over the barricade in front of him and ran towards the Atlus Mech while Ashley laced her Paladin with Disruptor rounds and starting firing at the Atlus's shields. The plan was simple, Shepard would distract the Atlus while Ashley would work on bringing it's shield's down. The Atlus begin firing it's cannon bolts at Shepard, but the Spectre was more than able to dodge and even predict the Atlus's firing patterns. Ashley kept the strain on those shields. With a combination of Disruptor Rounds and her Concussion Shot attacks, she was able to create some tech explosions that were really effective.

"Here it comes Skipper, get ready!" Ashley yelled.

Ashley fired her last clip of Disruptor ammo into the Atlus's shields which brought them close to shutting down. Still focused on Shepard, the Atlus fired a rocket at Shepard which didn't hit him but the force of the blast knocked him off his feet. The Atlus aimed it's cannon at the cloud of smoke for another three shot attack when suddenly an unusually powerful Warp flew from the smoke and smacked the Atlus. The Warp attack created a biotic/tech explosion that completely obliterated any shield defense left and also left a staggering effect.

Shepard swiftly appeared coming out of the smoke and started firing his Saber, the Inferno Rounds inflicting significant damage. The Atlus was not finished however as it swung it's arm at Shepard but the Spectre rolled just under it's range. With a running start Shepard did the unpredictable and jumped on the Atlus's arm. He then ran towards it's torso while shooting his Saber at the Atlus's cockpit window. The Atlus twisted and turned, violently shaking the ground trying to get Shepard off of it. Shepard held on for the final blow. He holstered the Saber on his back, activated the Omni-Blade on his right arm and thrust-ed it into the cockpit window. Shepard then tossed a grenade inside the cockpit then jumped off. A few seconds later the Atlus mech was destroyed with a enormous explosion.

"ROUND 3 COMPLETE!"

"FINAL SCORE:...(CALCULATING)...(CALCULATING)...9750!"

The fans surrounding the arena erupted into it's loudest cheer yet. Ashley gingerly walked over to Shepard with a grin, "Damn thing didn't stand a chance against you."

Shepard returned the smile then kissed Ashley on her forehead. "Nobody does it alone."

AN: Uhhh...you know how I said that this would be the last chapter? I lied! LOL. I really wanted to finish this story in one chapter but I underestimated it's length, I didn't want to give you guys such a ridiculously long chapter for the sake of ending this story. So there will be another chapter. Once again I truly apologize for not updating in a timely manner, my time for writing is basically minimal at best right now. I do try my best to update I swear lol. Anyway thanks for taking the time to read as always, don't forget to REVIEW!

P.S. For those of you that do decide to review this chapter, first of all thank you and secondly I would really like to know how I did with the combat in this chapter. I know chapter 3 had some combat it in but this was my first time writing ACTUAL combat and I really want to know what you guys thought, please any feedback on that would help me tremendously because I want to get better at that and see what you guys think. Take Care and happy N7 day! (I know it's late)