AN: This is a little different as far as fics go, but it's still Miri/Shep focused, despite the OC so I'd hope that people are still willing to give it a chance. The first chapter however will be from said OC's point of view (one of only a small amount chapters that will be) in order to set the story up, so bear with me. Any chapters from here on out will be a great deal more Shepard or Miranda centric. Please leave a review (/comment now?) and tell me what you think. I'm completely open to criticism… but I prefer praise. And lots of it :3
1: The Line
.
It is a well-known fact that reality, as a concept, is very much elusive by nature.
It is neither objective, nor concrete in its existence, never present in the same way twice, and always appearing different to another's perspective. As much as we as a people feel bound by the constraints of the world around us, each of us see the world differently.
A child sees the innocence of trees, and the shining of the sun while a blind man sees neither. The mute cannot share song or laughter, but observe in silence with the deaf never knowing the difference.
Does sound exist to the deaf? Their reality is silent. Does colour exist to the blind? After all, if perception is the only vital tool in distinguishing reality, then reality as a whole is only that which a person chooses to believe.
Sanity is categorised by one's belief of reality being the same as the majority's. If the majority decrees a man did something he did not, is he insane to believe them, or to believe himself instead? In such a case, reality is often blurred, and the truth of the matter can quickly fade away.
Who is to say which reality is true?
In the end, the truth is only as real as we believe it to be.
XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIX
The voices were quiet, like whispers in the back of the mind, indistinguishable and unclean. There were no words, not where they should have been, instead a deep hum sounded throughout the small boxed room like a ghost, there but not quite.
Shaking and sweating, paralysed by the murmurs that danced in and out of one's ears and crawled upon one's skin, the world grew cold.
It was always like this, the same ceiling staring down, oppressive and dark. The same three walls pressing in, squeezing the air away until all that was left was fear. The same glass panel, murky and jaded, windowing a figure or two at times, or another dark wall in the distance. It was all so unknown and mysterious, but by now so very familiar.
It was a home away from home, a strange and painful home where everything was confused and numb, or bright and painful, as if opening eyes into the light for the first time.
Nothing made sense, but it always hurt.
As if the thought itself begged more pain, the glass panel slid open, the shape of a strange man looming overhead; a terrible silhouette, ready to inflict more horror down upon the weak. With a raised arm, the man swung and the world began stinging violently. The cruel gleam of teeth shone against the gloom in a single smile, and the silhouette swung again. The pain was dull compared to the ache everywhere else, deep and unforgiving with no sign of ending.
The pain would never leave. Nor would the memory, this little boxed room haunted the mind, plaguing all sanity, a cruel delusion and disease of the mind that consumed and consumed until it was so very real.
Real, as in moments like this, when the light of day was so very far away and the terrible silhouette was all that remained.
The only solace came when the world began to grow dark, and the voices grew quieter still. The shadows beckoned like an angel's embrace and enveloped the weak in its wings.
This bitter visage was soon to fade, as would the pain, and light would return to the world once again. The voices would remain however, a vicious memory of a recurring nightmare that never disappeared. But this wasn't life, this wasn't real.
It was only a whisper.
XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIX
The alarm rang at an offensively loud volume, shaking wildly against the backdrop of sun that was intrusively forcing its way through the curtains. The ringing persisted for a long while until a swift hand batted it across the bedroom, one grey eye opening wearily to watch it smash and shatter against the wall.
Suffice to say, Alexandria Keane was not a morning person. If the alarm wasn't enough to go by, the irritated groan that followed was proof enough of the fact.
"Come on grumpy. Get your ass out of bed before I kick it!" The familiar voice soon interrupted the treasured silence that had been achieved following the unfortunate alarm clock's demise; it was a fact Alexandria was not all too impressed about.
Another groan.
"Alright you asked for it…" came the amused response, a faked dramatic sigh was soon followed by the sound of pitter-pattering footfalls, growing faster and louder as they neared. Alex only had time to open her eyes in alarm and realisation before she was pummelled in the side with great force and sent tumbling off the side of the bed.
Not a moment later, the same weight that had knocked her so rudely from her place of rest came crashing down on top of her. Adding insult to injury as it were, was the smiling face of her attacker staring down at her from inches above, victory written everywhere in the piercing green of her eyes.
"What are you doing down there?" The intruder grinned incorrigibly, a perfectly arched brow raised in a mocking display of innocence. Alex growled.
"Tori, get the hell off me!"
The only response was laughter. This evil creature clearly had no pity for her lost sleep, nor the comfort of the bed that had been so cruelly deprived of her. Instead, she was laid in a tangle of sheets on the floor, with a ridiculous lump of a best friend curled up on top of her.
There was obviously no God.
Alex sighed, pushing the other woman off her in annoyance. If there was one thing nobody messed with, it was her sleep time, and even that her friend had ignored in favour of rolling around on the floor at God only knows what hour of the morning. Is there nothing sacred?
"Why? Was there any need for anything you just did right there?"
"Does my insatiable lust for annoying you count?" Tori replied from the floor, resting back in the fallen duvet casually, arms crossed behind her head. It was almost as if it was done purposefully to make the small grey shirt she wore ride up just enough to show off her toned abdomen, so she could add:
"…Or what about my love for rolling around half naked with beautiful women?" Her brows danced and Alex couldn't resist the urge to smile. Damnit.
"Beautiful huh? I knew it. You've been just waiting to jump my bones ever since you suggested we move in together."
Tori simply mock gasped, raising a hand to her chest in 'horror'.
"Am I that transparent?"
Alex rolled her eyes with a grin, reaching out a hand to pull the redhead from the floor. It was thankfully accepted without incident; with Tori, one could never be too careful.
Once back on her feet, she wasted no time in heading off towards the kitchen and hopping up onto the bench, beside a blonde man with an incredibly handsome smile.
"Nathan, what are you doing here?" Alex grinned at him, unable to supress the happiness she felt at seeing her younger brother. Since his going to college, it felt as if she rarely saw him at all anymore.
"What do you mean? You knew I was coming over." His brows furrowed.
It was only then Alex noticed the fact that he was wearing his track outfit, and holding a water bottle in his hand. She quickly glanced back at Tori, still lounging on the bench with a half-eaten apple in hand.
Alex regarded her for a moment, noticing that she was not only already dressed, but that she was wearing tight shorts and her well-worn jogging sneakers. Realisation hit soon after.
"Today's Saturday isn't it?"
Tori's face scrunched.
"You forgot our run." It wasn't a question, but an accusation. Tori took her running seriously, almost as seriously as Alex took her sleep. She sighed.
"Sorry. I just have a lot on my mind." It was no lie. She often felt her whole mind would be swallowed up by her nightmares, until all that was left was that dark room, her home away from home. Her terrible, agonizing home. Subconsciously, she rubbed at her aching muscles, trying to pretend that the pain was from her fall that morning, and not from that dark figure in her dream. The truth was, it hurt every morning. She hurt every waking moment of every day.
Sometimes, on better days, she dreamed of space. Of aliens and planets and flying vehicles, of spaceships and stars.
More often, she dreamed of hell. She dreamed of shaking, and pain and darkness, and monsters lurking in the shadows. And it always hurt.
She quickly snapped herself from her thoughts. It was enough that she was haunted by that strange, unknown place every night; she didn't need to plague herself with thoughts of it during the day.
"I'll go get changed."
In a rush to keep her mind off such unpleasant things, she quickly retreated back into her room and emerged minutes later wearing grey sweatpants and her hair tied back. Tori grinned, hopping off the counter with a wink and instantly Alex felt comforted.
It was just a nightmare. This was her life, with the sun shining outside and her best friend and her brother smiling without a care in the world. This was all that mattered.
"Come on. Hurry that fine ass up or I'll kick it out the door too." Tori shouted, already out the door.
"Hey, don't hit on my sister! That's gross!" She heard Nathan echo.
Alex just shook her head and followed, smiling once again as she listened to them bicker. There was definitely nothing to worry about she assured herself.
When she got out the door, Tori was already doing stretches, with one long, lean leg resting straight atop the fence, pushing down on it with her hands before swapping to the other. She mostly pretended not to notice the admiring glances she got from passers-by, who took every chance to give her the once over… several times over. Even Nathan seemed to suddenly be struggling to look anywhere but at her ass, and failing.
Though, Tori was used to it. With her long lashes, full lips and long red hair cascading down her back, it wasn't surprising that people stared. Add to that a body that – as she frequently liked to remind them - both an athlete and an underwear model would be proud of, and she was more than accustomed to garnering the appreciative attention of most sight-blessed mortals.
That of course didn't mean she didn't enjoy all the attention, so she endured with a smirk and continued her warm-up.
She didn't even stop for the wolf whistles she got from across the road, but instead turned mid-stretch to get a view of her spectators. The whistle itself seemed to have come from a tall, muscular blonde man, wearing a smug grin on his face, despite holding the hand of a rather hurt looking brunette girl.
What an asshole.
From the look on Tori's face, she thought very much the same. There was little Tori hated more than assholes, arrogant pricks or men who didn't treat their girls right. Unfortunately for him, that particular man had the look of all of those things.
"Screw you asshole. I'd come over there kick your ass if I thought you were worth washing the blood off my fist." She stared him down fiercely, with an expression that left no room for doubt that she was being completely serious. Tori was not the type of person you messed with, no matter who you were. In a good mood, she was flirty and mischievous, but get on her bad side and a fiery stay in hell seemed less scary.
The man however, appeared to be the rather unintelligent type.
"Got a mouth on you huh? I could put that to good use." His laugh was lecherous. Tori was nowhere near amused, seething angrily, her face a vision of pure rage.
"I told you to stop." She fumed, but the word's came out like a whisper.
Alex's brow furrowed. The sound was wrong. At first, she couldn't put her finger on it, strange and unnatural as it was. Like a murmur, indistinguishable and unclean.
Alex froze.
Tori's voice, distorted and strange, was ringing in her ears. Dread shook her to the core as she recognised the muffled sound, her eyes widening as it echoed inexplicably.
Not here. It's just a nightmare. It can't follow me here.
But follow it did, words whispering in the back of her mind, like the voices in her dream, as if they were reaching out from the darkest spaces of her brain and seeping into her real life bit by bit. The horror choked her as she stood, black spots slowly beginning to cloud her vision.
"You okay?" Tori's voice was there again, cleaner this time, but Alex's head was already spinning. Just as the pain seemed to have slowly faded from her bones, it re-emerged inside her skull, pounding violently.
"Alex! What the hell is going on? What's the matter?"
Alex turned blankly from her friend, staring across the road to find the couple nowhere in sight. Disappeared. I'm going insane.
Her breathing was heavy, the world going black around the edges of her vision, a sickness devouring her lungs and tearing at her chest. It was all too much.
The ringing in her head grew louder, more whispers crawling in her brain.
"Alex?"
'Shepard…'
"Snap out of it!"
'They're loose!'
"Alex!"
'Kill them all!'
XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIX
With a mighty heave, the world twisted and spun. A moment later, it went dark.
Sound began to bleed into existence once again however, loud and unfamiliar. Sirens whirred obnoxiously in the background, muffled and strained beneath the heavy toil of lungs and deep breaths clouding the mind.
Alex groaned, her eyelids flickering against the sudden glare of light. The ringing hadn't stopped, only this time the alarm was nothing she could stop with the swing of an arm. It was loud, excruciatingly loud to her already pounding head, which screamed in protest of being moved.
Finally peeling her eyes open fully, the black spots began to fade from her vision, only to reveal something worse than a nightmare.
Not here. Not again.
The room was lighter this time, the sounds no longer muffled but loud and painful. It all felt far too real. While still groggy, her limbs no longer felt numb and useless, or on fire from the pain, instead a dull ache resonated throughout her body. Making a move to sit up, her skull split in agony once again, forcing a cry of pain past her lips.
Taking a deep breath, she tried again, this time ignoring her body's protests as she pulled herself up onto her knees.
The room was empty. Alex was grateful for that small mercy at least, yet still worried that the dark figure from so many times before would return, and bring with him the fiery torture she had grown so used to in the past. After the minutes ticked by however, and nothing changed, she found herself at a loss as to what to do next.
Every time she had been in this room, everything had been dark and unclear, the sound, her vision, even the sensation of touch was numb but for the pain and altogether it never lasted too long before she woke once again. No control, no real feeling or conscious thought. It made everything easier to pass off as a nightmare.
But now, everything was bright. There was no dark, blurry monster, hidden round the corner and waiting to pounce, no lack of control or thought. She felt very much within her power to move and think and feel, and that scared her even more than anything she had suffered in this room ever before. If she could control it, it had to be real.
Alex sat in shock, waiting to wake up in her real life any moment now, with Tori leaning over with a smirk, laughing at her for fainting like a damn school girl. That's what it had to be. The heat had been too much and she'd passed out and now was suffering from delirium. It was the only plausible explanation. Or at least the only explanation Alex was willing to believe in.
After more minutes slowly passed her by however, it became apparent that whatever this new form her nightmare had taken, it wasn't just going to disappear any time soon.
Gathering her courage, she dragged herself to her feet, stumbling slightly toward the glass panel that until now had always remained closed. But for the entrance of my torturer of course. The mere thought of it made her peek around the corner of the doorframe, seeing the outside of her cell for the first time. It was even less pleasant than the inside. The structure was all glass and metal, thin corridors coated in blood. Fresh blood. She shuddered involuntarily.
Quickly retracting her head from the doorway, she rested back against the cool steel wall of her cell, slipping her eyes shut for a moment to focus on breathing; so much was going through her mind that she became worried she'd forget even that soon. For a moment, she mused that perhaps that wouldn't have been so bad.
No. I'm not letting this place beat me.
Resolute, she stepped out into the blood-stained corridor with a renewed sense of determination picking a direction and beginning her trek throughout the abandoned compound, unfamiliar and daunting as it was. There were more cells along each corridor, some with dried blood and signs of battle, others with broken bodies.
Terror gripped her heart once again, looking into the lifeless eyes of a man in red prison uniform… her uniform. Blood pooled around his body, from what looked like major gun-shot wounds to the chest.
The further she walked the more of it she saw. Prisoners dead everywhere, with the occasional body of what could only be a guard, decked in blue armour. The same blue armour the monster that had attacked her had worn, beating her in her cell. And monster was certainly the right word. Some of the guards looked strange, the shapes and structures of the body beneath not looking entirely… human. Don't be ridiculous! Alex reprimanded herself silently, concluding that the pressure of this impossible illusion was getting to her.
"Stop right th- Aagh!"
Alex snapped her attention to the glass walls of the corridor she was in, looking below for the source of the scream. Beneath was a vast expanse of destruction, fire raining down from broken platforms and machinery, bodies littering the concrete in a patchwork art of red and blue. Alex watched, mesmerised as a team of three, battled their way through the area, all in their path falling to the ground in a hail of gunfire, or suddenly being lifted from their feet and flung into the air by nothing at all.
I am so definitely insane.
The team soon disappeared across the other side of the courtyard, and the compound seemed dead once again. It was empty but for the bodies strewn about the place, leaving Alex alone to amble around the facility in confusion, with no real destination at all. She needed to find someone to help her, but with all that she had seen, she was unsure that having anyone find her at all would be a good thing. So far, it seemed like for everyone else, it had been the fastest way to end up dead.
She forced down the panic that threatened to strangle her in that moment, running on the pure adrenaline that coursed through her veins and hoping it would last until she could find a way out of this hellhole nightmare and back home.
Concentrating simply on putting one foot in front of the other, she attempted to block out everything else; the growing sounds of gunfire and agony, of anger and threats, all the while desperately hoping that she wouldn't end up caught in the crossfire.
Almost as soon as the hope entered her heart, it was crushed by the sound of nearing footsteps.
She turned just in time to see the blue of a guard's uniform, terror taking a vice like grip in her heart, unrelenting in its application of force. As soon as he saw her, his shotgun was un-holstered from his back and aimed directly at her chest.
"Please…" Her throat was dry; the word came out broken and mumbled. She began to backtrack fiercely, stepping back one foot at a time until her heel connected with something, sending her flying over onto her back. Just in time it appeared, as a shot rang out above her head. The guard soon re-established his aim on her, slumped on the ground against the body she had tripped over. Ironic, as the same body that had saved her life seconds before, was to be her sole companion in death. Even more ironic was the fact that he was a guard too - or at least had been before his recent demise – and would have killed her himself had he been given the chance.
That chore however had been handed over to the man above her now, drawing in like the monster from her nightmare. For all she knew, it could have been the same man, helmeted as he was. How poetic. It's only right he be the one to finish the job after so long.
She turned her head to the side, ready to die as the coward who was unwilling to look down the barrel of the gun. Her cowardice however, seemed to be her saviour, for it was in that moment she spotted the dropped pistol to her left, and it was that same moment her body sprung into motion.
Before she knew what she was doing, she leapt to the side, diving for the pistol and kicking the shotgun from the guard's grasp in one fluid motion. Another loud shot rang out, the guard's blast grazing the ceiling just as Alex's hand gripped the pistol. Rolling forward with the gun in her grasp, she spun and instinctively pulled the trigger, landing a series of several loud shots straight through the glass of his helmet.
He dropped to the floor, and everything was silent.
If she had been able to think in that moment, she would've said something 'quippy' and clever, like 'bullseye' …or something less completely moronic. Thoughts however, seemed to have abandoned her as she stared in disbelief at the dead guard before her, the man she had just killed.
She dropped the gun like it was poison, staring at her hands in horror. A small part of her was dismayed by the fact that she had just taken a life, while the majority of her brain was completely astounded by how natural it had been. It wasn't humanly possible. She had no training, no magic wand or genie's wish. No help or thought or experience. There was no explanation for how she could possibly have just ninja kicked a gun, mid forward roll before turning and executed a string of perfect headshots all in the space of a few seconds. Except that I'm insane, and all of this is a dream.
"Impressive."
Alex whirled round instantly, eyes wide as she came face to face with three more guns aimed in her direction. She recognised them immediately as the group she had seen tearing through the facility earlier - 'with guns and magic' she mused - with the addition of a rather irritated looking bald woman, tattoos canvasing her entire body. Alex raised her hands in surrender; the constant fear that had been stemming from her insides now had solid icy tendrils firmly rooted throughout her body, snaking all around her chest. The leader of the group, distinctly female through her grey and red armour released a brief chuckle, distorted from beneath her helmet.
"Surrendering are you? The guy before me fell for that one too." All three guns remained trained on her, unwavering and precise. Alex swallowed nervously.
"Please, I just want to go home. I'm not even supposed to be here."
"Don't listen to her Shepard. If she's a prisoner here, it's for a reason. You saw yourself what she can do." Another woman in a skin tight cat suit added coolly in an Australian accent, icy blue eyes never leaving her for a second.
Shepard? The familiar whisper made Alex's brows rise in shock. She shook her head at just another thing that didn't make any sense. How could she have heard that before? Her head felt ready to explode, eyes already watering with unshed tears of frustration. As the tiny droplet made its way down her cheek, the leader softened, gun lowering slightly.
"What a fucking pussy!" The bald headed woman spat, whether at the woman in grey, or herself Alex wasn't quite sure, nor did she really care. She was sick of this entire ordeal. It was bad enough having the haunting nightmares, but to actually be stuck in one, so very real with so many things that didn't add up was becoming far too much to cope with.
"What do you mean you don't belong here?"
"Shepard you can't seriously be-" The woman in the cat suit interjected, but was abruptly cut off by the mysterious Shepard.
"I'm sorry, are you the commanding officer here Miss Lawson? Have I been sleeping in the wrong suite? Cause I sure as hell don't remember seeing any of those skanky cat suits in the wardrobe selection of the captain's cabin."
The dark skinned man who had been silent up until that point almost choked on his tongue at his captain's words, while the bald woman openly guffawed. Lawson however appeared much less entertained; wearing an expression so cold Alex actually believed it could turn people to stone.
Shepard was unaffected however, turning back to Alex with what could only be described as glee. You could almost see the grin forming beneath the helmet.
"I'll ask again, hopefully without being so rudely interrupted this time…" She spared a glance at the Australian, who was positively fuming silently behind her.
"So, you're not supposed to be here. What does that mean?"
Alex found herself swallowing nervously once again. Even she didn't really know what she meant, but her answer could determine whether she lived or died.
"I… I don't know. I don't know how I got here. I don't remember. I'm still trying to figure all of this out myself. I swear, that thing before: even I didn't know I could do that."
Shepard stayed silent for a moment, emotions hidden behind her helmet, before shrugging and lowering her weapon completely.
"I suppose that explains the constipated look on your face after it happened."
Alex was unsure whether to be relieved because she had believed her, or offended about the constipation comment. Considering the gun had been lowered, and the others had followed suit, she supposed she should err on the side of relief.
"Shepard, you really think we can trust her?" The man asked cautiously.
"Maybe. If not, I'm pretty sure we can handle it, but as is, I'm not prepared to leave a potentially innocent woman on a prison ship about to go down in flames." Shepard said nonchalantly, before turning back to Alex and reaching for the clasps on her helmet.
"Well, if we're going to be travelling together, I suppose we should be formally acquainted."
The helmet slid off, revealing an utterly gorgeous redheaded Goddess...
…A very familiar redheaded Goddess, with green eyes.
"I'm Commander Victoria Shepard. A pleasure, I'm sure." She winked.
And Alex passed out.