Lore/SPECTRE - The End of an Era

***Lilith***

Lilith was in her office, sleeping, when the call came. She took a look at the number, Oliver's, and picked up. "We're ready. I got some old friends and... enemies I guess. In any case, we've located Carthik and we're ready to move in, on your signal."

Lilith snapped out of bed and threw on her clothes, saying into the phone as she did, "On my way."

They gathered at a rig just north, and the briefing begun. An ex-LAW member came forth, "There are but three of us, but we still have our secret weapon: chemical ones. We'll drop this gas from pells and let the rest of you handle the assault."

Lilith nodded, "Alright, thank you for coming to answer our call." She turned to address the rest of the men, "Alright listen up, what's left of Semangat Roh, previously known as Deathwatch, has gathered just off of this beach. They have good, strong defenses, so the gas will help, but we'll still need to coordinate this advance. We've been fighting an underground war for ages, but now it becomes loud, and it becomes hard."

She took a hard look over the crowd, looking at her old friends... and old enemies. All brought together for one reason: to end the chaos that Carthik was causing across Panau. "You... and your friends. Nightwatch, no?"

The ex-Enforcer task group nodded their heads.

"And you, Cobra? Yuri, you and Faceless are here I see... I definitely see some of Johann's old men back there, Hydra?"

Both men nodded their affirmatives. The Hydra representative spoke up, "We're nothing like the new Hydra, but we're still ready to make our mark. We'll fight alongside you, just as we did in the old days of the Alliance."

Lilith smiled and nodded. "Alright, so here's how it's going to go..."

And then a black helicopter descended from the sky. Most of the men scurried for their weapons, but Lilith stood still, and looked up. The helicopter landed, and out came 5 people: Oliver McQueen, Naku Vizla, Shae Vizla, Antonio Vizla, and another figure, dressed in all black, head to toe.

"We're here, sister, and we brought... this," Shae spoke.

Lilith approached the figure in all black, "The Dragon I presume? The Syndicate will be behind this attack as well?"

The figure nodded, and a feminine voice spoke, "Of course, this has been years in the making after all. You brought down Cedric, you brought down Niels, and now you are going to bring down Carthik. I'll be damned if we don't have at least some part in the sayings of this world."

Lilith shook her hand and gestured for her to sit, "Alright everyone, our forces are strong, so here's what we're going to do..."

***Carthik***

The night was black but far from silent. The red hue of flames burst into the sky, the smoke smothering the stars, and the zapping flares of gunshots riddled the air. Carthik paced in his quarters watching the battle raging below him. His men were valiant and strong but his enemies were endless, relentless, and fierce.

First came the gas, dropped in by scattered remnants of the disbanded LAW. Carthik's men had little time to put on their masks before a combined assault on the beach hit. Old members of the Hydra Republic backed by Cobra and the Nighthawks stormed the beachhead, ramming barges into the coast to drop off their men. At first the Semangat Roh held behind a wall of minigun turrets and sandbag emplacements but just as they mustered their strength, the Faceless sprung from behind the lines stabbing the occupied warriors in the back. Carthik watched as the fighting escalated to the camp, men shooting and slashing weapons every which way.

Despite the enemies bearing down upon him, Carthik refused to surrender. He would never kneel to the enemies no matter how strong or how persistent. He walked out from his quarters and drew his mandau blade. "Fight to the last man! Show no mercy! None shall be given to you!" he screamed as he ran his blade into the chest of one of the Dragon Syndicate's warriors, the Syndicate was present at the attack but Carthik knew the Dragon did not intend to face him herself. He knew this was a distraction but he would turn this into a message. As he slid the body of the syndicate man to the ground he heard a shot ring out from the hill. He turned to see his oldest enemies the SPECTRE units sniping his warriors from the safety of distance, with more units, garbed in some sort of strange, alien armor, pushing down the side of the hill, flanking the rest of his men. He grabbed a man from the battle, his quartermaster, one of the most trusted warriors in his force a man hardened by battle and decorated with the scars of it. "Take two men and get to the armory. I want every missile we have locked in the side of the havoc, clear that ridge at any cost!" he commanded to which the quartermaster shouted for some men to follow him to the helo pad to arm the havoc.

***Shae***

They had waited for the sounds of battle to reach the camp before they sprung from their hiding places. Lilith, garbed in her mando'ade sniper suit, along with Oliver and a few other agents, were laying down devastating sniper fire from the ridge. As soon as they begun to fire, Shae stepped forward, dressed in her full mando'ade body armor, armor which her father gave her right before he died. Armor which finally fit her... and which she had finally found the situation to use in. "SPECTRE, FORWARD!" Her agents who were not sniping on the ridge moved to charge in, following her in. She activated her jet pack and darted in ahead, her flaming-red hair waving behind her as she locked onto one target: Carthik.

***Lilith***

There was so much ash and soot in the air, that Lilith's eyes were burning and her blonde hair was turning black. Still, she fired. She then saw three old Deathwatch members run for a havoc. She quickly shouted over her radio, "Oliver, Northwest side of camp, take them out, fast!"

Oliver replied, "Understood!" and just as he said this, they both fired in unison. Two of the Deathwatch members fell, but the third entered the havoc and, before they could chamber another round, fired two homing missiles towards the ridge. The missiles arced high and headed straight for the ridge.

"BAIL! EVERYBODY BAIL!" She shouted as she tumbled down the side of the ridge. The explosion rang out behind her and she couldn't breathe as the flame sucked the oxygen from her lungs... and then it was passed. She looked to her left to see Oliver and another agent, gasping and panting for breathe. She looked to her right to see that two more agents had made it out. All other 5 of their snipers had perished on the ridge. She let out a feral growl and looked to Oliver, Oliver was able to read the message in her eyes and nodded his consent. "Everybody who still has the will to fight... follow me," she said as she drew her pistol and charged up and over the ridge.

***Carthik***

Another shot rang out, Carthik saw a Semangat Roh fall to the ground shot dead by a Cobra, he heard a blast and looked to see two more Semangat Roh being thrown to the side in flames from a Faceless's grenade. Just as it appeared that the Semangat would rally, a Reaper Leo, piloted by the newest SPECTRE, Dante Knox, descended from the sky and wiped out half of their remaining forces in a spectacular precision strike. The cries of the dying filled the air. Carthik's eyes went red with hatred at the sight of the slaughter. He ran into the fray slashing at his enemies. He cut one down from behind then grabbed another as he tried to pull off a shot, bending his arm so the man dropped the gun and then he swiftly broke the man's neck. He picked up the gun and shot down a member of the syndicate about to execute one of the Semangat Roh warriors on a minigun turret emplacement. Suddenly the sound of rockets lit up the sky, Carthik turned to see the missile blasting the hillside where the SPECTRE snipers were. Moments later he watched in horror as a woman, clad in armor unknown to him leaped from the hill and clung to the havoc. She pulled a gun and shot the pilot sending the vehicle into a spiral as it crashed into the camp sending flames over Semangat Roh and their enemies alike. Carthik stepped back and dropped his mandau to the ground... so much pain, so much death.... he gripped his head as he flashed back to his childhood memory.

The blasts, the fire, the death, the firing guns, the knives and swords, the screams of pain.... He saw his home, his village burn his people die before him helpless for he was a single child and he saw it all now again in front of him. His friends, family, brothers, sisters, those he cared for, fought for, protected, falling dead because of him because of his hate. A tear shed down his face... he could not take this pain. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see who had come for him. "Georgie?" he asked not understanding why the shaman was there. The image of Georgie Philanty nodded and looked up to see the armored woman pacing slowly towards them, her right arm extended.

***Shae***

Shae had had enough. She was not cruel, but she was decisive. It was time to use the weapon she had been saving for so long: Carthik's old friend. She pulled out the hologram that her old friend and SPECTRE agent, Anthony Vicent Salvatore, had given to him, a holographic recording of Georgie Philanty. She inserted it into her suit, and extended her arm, projecting the image right in front of Carthik. She saw him straighten out, shaking from the shoulders. Around her, the battle raged on, but she paid no attention. She heard Lilith shouting orders, Mario and Yuri screaming in battle, Naku, Antonio, Oliver, Adrian, and countless other SPECTRE agents fought on behind her. And still, she focused directly on the scene ahead of her. She slowly raised her other arm, her left arm, and fired one shot at the hologram, knowing what would happen next.

***Carthik***

Carthik watched the woman aim a gun at Georgie but as she fired, Carthik lept before the shot and collapsed feeling his blood drip from his chest. The image of Georgie faded... an illusion... he had taken the shot for a mirage.... he had thrown his life to save another and he cried... for he had saved no one. The fighting settled slowly as the Semangat Roh broke and ran. The enemies did not follow them, they had no need. They circled Carthik the manifestation of their hatred and they watched him crumble weak before their power.

***Shae***

Shae knelt down to Carthik and spoke to him, "Where I come from, we have a saying. Verd ori'shya beskar'gam. - A warrior is more than his armor. You fought honorably, you will now die honorably, but how much pain and suffering have you caused? You are not a true warrior, you hide behind your armor, you do not deserve this death. You deserve a far worse one."

Carthik coughed up blood as he looked the woman in the eyes "My body dies, in spirit I will remain." He begins to cough violently, speaking through the pain. "You have beaten me.... but what demons have you awakened now that I am gone? Please..... end it," he says fading.

Shae looks to the other leaders who had come at the Dragon's call to end this man who now fell before them. Their faces absolute, extreme, but all the same. She looks back at Carthik, a man once proud and strong. A man who had been her mortal enemy, her ally, and once, almost a friend. The night was silent, a single shot ended it all. She kneeled beside him and bowed her head. Behind her, she could sense her siblings, the other Mando'ade, Naku, Antonio, Lilith, and Adrian doing the same. She spoke, "Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum, Carthik Bradshei."

I'm still alive, but you are dead. I remember you, so you are eternal, Carthik Bradshei.

And behind her, the rest of the men muttered, "Nu kyr'adyc, shi taab'echaaj'la."

Not gone, merely marching in another army, far away.

And with that, Shae activated the flamethrowers in her suit, setting Carthik's body aflame. On the ridge, the few remnants of Deathwatch and the Semangat Roh watched the body burn. They turned and fled into the night.

She turned and nodded the the men, and they too, dispersed into the night. They would face the consequences of this battle for later, but for now, SPECTRE had finally completed the mission it was assigned to do, so long ago.

Now, Shae could finally rest.