-Consciousness awake. Deleting this platform.-
^what!?^ A dozen images flashed before my eyes as I blinked rapidly, slowly coming to the realization I was being shot at, and probably looked stupid just standing there for no good reason. I instinctively rolled to the side, trying to throw myself out of the line of fire, thankfully landing behind some random chunk of metal that just happened to be laying around. That seemed a little too convenient for my liking. I took in the area, frowning as I did so.
^Huh. Looks a bit like…^
~Eden Prime.~
^Who said that?^ I looked around frantically, searching for the source. I saw nothing but a swarm of...Geth. Of course. Nope. Not happening. I squeezed my eyes shut, letting my ears take over my senses. Just a dream.
~Denial has been found in all subjects. Ignoring seems prominent. Introductions appear necessary. I am your instructional platform.~
^Again, WHAT?! Why are you in my head?! I don't appreciate it. Now get out, and let me return to reality!^
~Consensus reached. No further information to be given at this time. Proceeding with instructions. If you open the scanner in your helmet, you will see several Heretics closing in on your position. Locate weapon on back and defend this position.~
^What? You know… I'm getting real tired of this. If I ignore you, you'll go away. Just like the other voices. I wouldn't give in to them, and certainly...^ My thoughts were interrupted as a bullet whizzed through the metal next to my head. Terror shot through my veins, even as my mind told me it wasn't real. I would just wake up, and this would be over. And because it wasn't real, I could have some fun while I was here. My hand went to my back, finding a solid chunk of metal that quickly expanded into what I recognized as a pistol. I held it in place, looking over the chunk, firing randomly. My good arm, the one I hadn't lost movement with in the accident, shook as it tried to hold the gun steady. Why was my other arm still broken if this was a dream? I didn't try to understand. I locked my elbow, and pulled the trigger. Big mistake. The first shot drove me into the ground. I couldn't understand why everything had to be so real in this dream. I should have been able just to will the bullet to hit the target, even if I had no gun experience. A creeping feeling of dread washed over me. What if this was, somehow, by some impossible phenomena, real?
^Uh, voice? Any advice? Is this real?"
~Affirmative. Advice: Firing at the targets is advisable.~
^I KNOW THAT! That isn't any form of halfway useful advice!^
~We are unlocking your secondary weapon now. You may find it more useful than a gun. Look at your right arm.~
I looked down instinctively, and near punched myself for not seeing the freakin robot arm now mounted to my body.
~Inside your arm is a powerful Plasma Arc Generator. You have two shots before overheat, and as it is attached to your body, overheating is inadvisable. It runs off standard heavy weapons ammo blocks. To fire, activate the sights function on your omni-tool and line up your target. Then hold your thumb and forefinger together for three seconds. If one of these steps is forgotten, it will not fire.~
^Er...How do I open my Omni-tool?^
I swear I could hear the voices roll their eyes.
~Twist your wrist to the right ninety degrees sharply.~
I did so, and was soon overwhelmed by the novelty of the item.
~There will be time to fidget with your toys after you survive this heretic attack. Enemies are closing in thirty seconds.~
I swore sofly, found the sights program, and aimed at the rapidly approaching figures. A blast of pink surged forward from my arm, and I found myself once again on my back. The figures in front of me had nasty holes and melted limbs. None of them were moving.
~Mission directive: Escape planet and….~
Static cut through the plans. A new voice, one much less helpful, broke in.
~Instructional platform complete. Deleting this platform.~
^Hey! Bring the other guy back!...Please?^
There was no reply. Not that I expected there to be one, but I could hope. I felt confused. I didn't know who was in my head, but I had a hunch. And I had no idea when I was, how I got here, or even what the previous voice had tried to tell me.
I didn't have much time to worry about these things as another set of images bombarded my mind. Images from the game, along with new ones I had no idea where from. It was a lot like how the Beacon was portrayed on screen, minus the whole blacking out part. I sighed, leaning against the metal. If the images were of the future, I had to go save Nihlus now. But there really was no good way to do that without altering everything. And if they were of the past, then there was no point other than getting an idea what the heck was going on.
~Logged. Subject has gained short future.~
A third voice. I reached out to where it was, but it was gone. I was confused. Subject? Future? And could they hear everything I thought or said?
I was jerked out of my existential crisis and self pity by a single, loud gunshot echoing from the valley.
^Nihlus! If I had only been faster!^
I picked up my feet, shoving the pistol on my back, and took a blind leap of faith over the edge of a cliff. I slid onto one ledge after another, and silently thanked whomever was watching me for not letting me die doing something so stupid. I tumbled forward, finding my feet, and sprinting the last few feet to the Turian on the ground. To my great surprise, it was not the black and white face I remembered so well, but the pale grey blue of Saren, his eyes staring up into the void. I slid his eyelids closed.
A cold block at the base of my neck told me I wasn't alone.
"Don't move, or you'll meet the same fate."
I put my hands, ever so slowly, above my head, surrendering.
"Good. Now turn slide your weapon over to me and turn around." The deep, dual toned voice told me who I should expect to see. I slid the pistol over the ground, away from me, and turned to face him. The black face with white markings.
"I'm only going to ask once: Who are you, and what relation do you have with the Geth?" He motioned to my clearly Geth arm.
I panicked as I racked my brain for an explanation. And surprisingly, my name. What was my name?
~Z-E1. Body Designation: Elsabeth Aubourn. Species: Human. Occupant Designation: Unknown. Species: Human.~
The earlier voice helpfully supplied. I still had no idea what my name was. On top of that, it now sounded like I wasn't occupying the body I remembered.
"Thirty seconds, Human."
No words came out of my mouth as I tried to explain.
"Last chance."
"I don't know!" I blurted out.
"You...Don't...Know." He repeated slowly "And why is that?"
"I...I can't explain. I don't know how I got here, and I can't remember my own name. I don't remember having a Geth arm, and having usage of that arm period is a new concept." My words came out in a tumble.
"Get up." He gestured with the gun. "You'll tell me everything you do know later. I don't have time for this." He moved in a flash, pushing me against a wall and activating some kind of device, and I found myself stuck in place.
"Wait!" A flash from earlier came back to my head. "Get down!" The bullet meant to kill us sped inches from his head, and impacted the wall next to mine.
He regarded me again. "Thanks." He fired off two shots through a scope, and the whir of metal told me he had hit his mark. A new set of flashes danced across my vision, but I didn't have time to look at any of them before he interrupted my thoughts.
"Shepard. Thanks for the sniper round earlier. I have a person of interest for you to pick up when you get here. I'm moving to the spaceport."
He must have gotten a response, as he dashed off from the storage bay. I felt exposed, stuck to this wall.
A chuckle came from the body I had assumed dead.
"Took him long enough to get out of here. A pity that the former occupant of this flesh couldn't manage to dispose of him properly."
"Who…" A thought crossed my mind, accompanied by a flash of images, stirring up from earlier. Too little, too late. "Nazara."
"You're quick. You know things you shouldn't." Saren- No, Nazara, stood up. He reached a taloned hand towards the device that held me in place, and shattered it with a flash of purple biotics. Silver and red eyes bore into mine.
"Come with me. You seek answers only I can give. I seek power only you can offer."
I admit to being tempted. I admit that staring into those eyes, I wanted to go with him. I shook my head anyway.
"I can't."
Metal talons danced across my cheek. "Why not? You can be whomever you want here. You could be saved. Your abilities are too precious to… dismiss. You could become a melded one. You could be my vessel. The choice is yours, if only you work with me."
"What do you know about me?" Panic edged into my voice as I realized I was trapped against the wall, and he blocked my only escape. How did he know about the flashes? Did he know about my origins as well?"
"Only what the Geth have stolen from the platforms who foolishly established a base here. So I know everything about you, Subject Z-E1."
I shuddered involuntarily. Did he know...Everything? Or only what the Geth had logged? And I had been pretty sure before, but the thought of the Geth of all things bringing me here didn't sit right with me.
"You will come to no harm. You are best left...Unhindered. The supreme force has demanded it."
"I can't go with you."
"I understand your reluctance. Unfortunately, the supreme force as demanded your presence."
I squirmed out of the way as his talons lunged for the collar of my...armor. Which I somehow missed the fact that I was wearing. Looking briefly at it, it was battered in several places and shredded around my Geth arm. It looked aged, but that could just be my ignorance of this time. What I knew was only computer graphics and flashes that made little sense.
"Resistance is futile. The units under my command are already closing on our position."
Sure enough, at least thirty units became visible as I took in the area. Then the gunfire came.
I hunkered down, but not a bullet came from the Geth before it stopped. I looked up to see that Nazara had left, and three all too familiar figures trudged down the hill towards me, one holding the most massive sniper rifle I had ever seen.
Purple eyes stared at me with suspicion, before holding up a hand to put her followers at ease.
"Given that the Geth were ready to attack you, I'm going to assume you're not going to try and kill me too."
I nodded quickly. "Not at all."
"Good. Now, given your arm, I would guess you are the one Nihlus warned me about?"
"I think so?"
"Follow Williams. Stay behind us at all times, and do exactly as we say. Understood?"
"Yes." I breathed a sigh of relief, hoping that Nazara wouldn't dare attack now. I was safe. Maybe. Hopefully.
~Subject is on course to depart~
^Would you stop talking like I can't hear you?^
I shouted right back at the voices.
The trek to the spaceport progressed pretty uneventfully, just like it had in the game. Well, a little quieter without having to talk to the mad archaeologist-person-man-doctor? But when we reached the port, another slight change became apparent. All the bombs were disarmed, and then the pieces had been neatly taken apart and smashed. Geth bodies littered the ground.
Rounding the corner, Nihlus stood next to the Beacon, which wasn't glowing. At all.
^You know you want to touch it^
^Of course I do! That's any fans dream! Wait...As if my day wasn't bad enough. Now I have to put up with you again?^
^Your mind is in a state of turmoil. As such, I can resurface.^
^Please leave me be. I'm already dealing with a new set of voices not of my own creation.^
^Now where was the courtesy the last time you kicked me out of your head?^
^Go. Before Something happens and I lose my last shreds of sanity^
^Only if you touch it.^ The voice in my head taunted.
I must have been insane. I must be insane. I can't even remember what happened next. I remember being there, and I remember doing. But I don't remember how. How I somehow got close to it. I think it had something to do with punching Kaiden into Shepard. How I somehow got my freaking omni-tool open and scanning it, then got a wire hidden in my arm, that I didn't even know about, to interface with it. I don't think I was in control. That scares me. How I somehow got myself to activate the Beacon, and then...it started downloading. I didn't think it possible, but it was nothing but a machine to begin with. It didn't hurt. I don't remember seeing it at all. All I can remember are a few faint words, followed by several solid ones.
~Retrieve...Activate...Power...Override…~
~Stop! STOP! You're…~
~Data received. Quarantining and locking platform for future analysis. Subject may now follow departure course.~
And then Shepard was there, shoving me to the ground. She was yelling, but I couldn't make out the words. My mind swum, as if awakening from a deep sleep, or after drinking far too much.
^You actually believed me? What makes you think I didn't WANT you to go insane?^
^You never wanted that. You just wanted revenge.^
^I know. I didn't think you would touch it. What happened?^
^I wish I knew, Yellow, I wish I knew.^
My senses began to clear. Hearing swam back, vision coming back like I was seeing everything in slow motion, and I was pinned on my stomach, Kaiden's knee on my back, my arms pinned behind me. I couldn't do a thing about anything.
There was a lot more shouting around me. Shepard was caught in the Beacon's pull. It exploded. Kaiden was blasted off of me, the heat running across my cheeks as I lay there winded. He ran to Shepard's side, leaving me alone. Not really. He still had me in an effective stasis. Since when did he use stasis? I needed to help. I needed to free myself. I needed to explain. I forced myself up, shoving the force that pinned me to the ground away as it weakened from Kaiden focusing elsewhere, the faint blue glow hissing out of existence as I powered through it. My muscles all complained, an the taste of blood welled up in my mouth. Yet, it was all for nothing, as a round disk decided to improbably fly into my stomach, picking me up off the ground and away from the only people I knew. I reached out to them, tried to get down, but I couldn't react fast enough. I was flying away, far too fast, a metal talon or three digging into my arm, red eyes staring hungrily into my own.
Closer, closer and closer I was carried to the Reaper. I was dumped into a small room that looked to have once been a hangar unceremoniously. I lay there winded from the drop for some time. Finally, I pushed myself up, taking a look around. It was dark. Dark like sleep. It was time to wake up. Just wake up.
^It's a dream. Just a dream.^
^Or you're going into denial again. Really, when are you going to face facts and act like a sane person? Panic, for crying out loud! Pinch yourself! Figure it out!^
^Eh..Sanity is overrated^ Nevertheless, I pinched myself, hard, and felt the very real pain.
^Oh. Crap.^
Alright I'm back with a new, completely revamped version. I really hope that it's better than the original, it's certainly longer! All the characters are staying the same, however personalities and roles are changing.
All this said, I really would like a beta(Maybe even two?) for this, if nothing else to bug me to post. I have anxiety, so constant posting is a real issue especially when I feel people don't like my writing. So I'm hoping a beta will help me get better at both writing and posting more often.
As of now I have four arcs planned out, and hope to add many more personal and side missions into this version than the one before.
As always, I feed off of feedback. Just please please please, if you don't like something, at least tell me what it is so I can fix it and/or give me a suggestion on how to fix it. Please keep it constructive because I know I'll retreat again if too many people start posting "You suck" or my personal favorite, "This is ****ing ***l***t."
Thanks for reading!
