Sweat trickled down Shepard's toned physique as he sat up in bed, desperately trying to get his breathing under control as the faint glow of the fish tank in his cabin on the Normandy SR2 coloured the darkened room. He sighed as he wiped at his brow, turning to plant his feet on the cold floor from the bed.

"Are you feeling unwell, Commander Shepard?" EDI's voice emerged from somewhere around him. "Your current readings indicate-"

"I'm fine, EDI." Shepard pushed himself off the bed. "You don't have to be concerned."

"It is not a matter of being concerned, Commander. It is-"

"EDI. I'm good. Please." He walked to the bathroom, not bothering to reach for the shirt or boxers that were carelessly left on the floor. That was a new development. During his time in the Alliance, he'd have never dreamed of leaving such a mess. But he wasn't in the Alliance any more.

"Very well, Commander. Logging you out."

Shepard stepped into the bathroom and turned on the faucet, feeling the cool water through his fingers. He paused before turning the tap off and instead stepping under the shower, waiting for a moment before the cool water sprayed over him. It only lasted a few seconds before it warmed up, the heat bringing immense satisfaction to his aching muscles.

The dreams that disturbed his sleep weren't new. They'd been with John now for as long as he could remember. From before his cut short career in the Alliance. From before his heroic actions on Elysium. From before his life on Trident with the Shepard's, his adopted parents. And that's where his memories ended. Shepard could not remember the first ten years of his life. The agency that he'd been with had no information. He'd simply been found on the streets, confused, beaten and bloody without any memories of who he was or where he'd been. A call for information led to no answers in the search to try and find his abusers. For John, his life began with Raymond and Fiona Shepard. He'd long given up his search for any more answers.

Yet the fractured visions he saw in his mind kept coming back. It had been years since he dreamed of the place that he seemingly knew, the face that almost haunted him every night for a time. After the Prothean beacon on Eden Prime left him with horrific images that led him to bring down Saren, the Geth and Sovereign, the dreams returned. They were always the same. Running. Screaming. Gunfire. Blood. So much blood. Men in uniform, begging for their lives. The girl. Her rage.

Ever since he'd been brought back by Cerberus, they were more constant, more vivid than ever before. He considered approaching Miranda Lawson, head of the Lazarus Project, but what would he say?

So, Miranda, you know when you put me back together? Did you accidently slice something important that makes these nightmares return on a more regular bases? If so, can you do me a favour and fix that please?

The truth was that he didn't want the Cerberus operative two floors below him to know. He didn't want his pilot, Jeff Moreau, the man who had flown him into a treasonous act against the Council, to know. He didn't want Garrus Vakarian, the Turian who had stood by his side for months as they battled across the universe to stop Sovereign, to know.

This was his curse to bare. And while it was interfering with his sleeping patterns, he could still do his job. And the job at hand was going well.

The Normandy SR2 was on it's way to the 'Purgatory', a maximum security prison starship located in the Hourglass Nebula. There they would pick up a convict, only known as 'Jack', a supposed powerful biotic that the Illusive Man, Cerberus' head honcho, personally recommended for the mission. After giving them the leads to find Garrus on Omega, as well as Dr. Mordin Solus, who was already proving his worth in the science lab on board the Normandy, Shepard was willing to bet that Jack would be a strong asset too. While he wasn't exactly feeling comfortable with being on a Cerberus ship, with their crew and being personally resurrected by them, he'd moved on from wanting to shoot Miranda and Jacob squarely in the face after they'd revealed their true identities. After all, Shepard had run into, and shut down (usually by force) a large group of Cerberus strongholds during his fight against Saren.

Shepard leaned against the wall as the hot water trickled down his back. He'd accepted this body. It was basically the same. After the new Normandy had been presented to him at the Minuteman station (just after he ordered the Cerberus insignias painted on the side to be covered), he finally came down with a crash as soon as he was alone in his cabin. He'd stripped off the attire that Cerberus had given to him, rushing to the mirror in the bathroom to take a good look at himself. The colour of his eyes, the shape of his nose, the abs that he'd worked so hard to achieve, even down to the size of his penis and the slight slant of his big toe on his right foot. It was all the same, it was all him, except it actually wasn't. The only thing that hadn't been returned to him during the reconstruction was the small scar that used to run mere millimetres above his left eyebrow. It had been there since before he had known himself, and now like those memories, it was long gone. Shepard had a million and one questions for Miranda on the process, but as of yet, he had yet to find the confidence he needed to truly tackle what had happened to him.

He reached for the controls and turned off the shower. Grabbing a towel, he quickly patted himself dry and wrapped it around his waist. He stepped back into his cabin and checked the time. It was 6.21am. The Normandy was due to dock with Purgatory just after 10am. It would be a simple pick-up on their way to the Citadel, where they were due to meet with David Anderson, now Humanity's Councillor on the Citadel. They had only exchanged messages up to this point, with Anderson urging for Shepard's return to meet them in person. Once Shepard had sorted out the assurances that he wouldn't in fact be arrested and his new ship impounded, he'd agreed to meet his old Captain in the embassies of the Citadel. Truthfully, it was where neither wanted to be, but they both had their own missions and circumstances to adhere to.

"EDI?"

The AI's voice returned immediately. It was something he was still getting used to. "Yes, Commander?"

"Is Garrus awake?"

"No, Commander. Do you wish for me to wake him?"

Shepard shook his head. "No. Knowing him, he'll be up soon. Just let me know when he is."

"Very well, Commander. Operative Lawson is at her station if you wish to discuss your elevated stress levels with her."

"No, EDI." Shepard gritted his teeth. "That'll be all."

"Yes, Commander. Logging you out."

Of course Miranda knows. EDI knows, which means she knows, which means the Illusive Man knows. There's no escaping the chain of command, and EDI has all of her, it's, eyes on me.

"Commander, Garrus is awake."

Shepard frowned. "Did you wake him, EDI?"

"No. You told me not to."

"So it's just a coincidence?"

"Yes, Commander."

Shepard shook his head. Why do I have a hard time believing that? Choosing not to reply further and with EDI seemingly getting the hint that the conversation was over, Shepard walked towards his draws to get dressed. Even though he wouldn't need his usual team of three with him simply to pick up Jack, he wanted Garrus to accompany him and Miranda (who as the highest ranking Cerberus officer on board needed to be there to process the transfer) as a precautionary method. While he was sure nothing was bound to go awry, in their time working together they'd already lost track of the times when something supposedly simple, was actually anything but.

For once it'd be nice if something went smoothly. Lets break the habit of a lifetime today, eh?

Okay. I cursed this. My bad.

Shepard shot a glance towards Garrus as they ducked down into cover on the Purgatory prison ship. After meeting Warden Kuril, Shepard had immediately been suspicious of the Turian, due in part to the demand for Shepard's weapons. Obviously, Shepard had disagreed with the request much to the Warden's chagrin. Shepard slyly sent off a message to Joker as they were taken on a mini tour of the facilities, ordering the pilot to disengage from the prison ship until he'd heard back from him. If he hadn't heard back within the hour, something had clearly gone awry. Moments later, Kuril had excused himself and made his departure. Here we go. He knows that we know something isn't right here.

Out-processing was where Shepard, Miranda and Garrus found themselves though it certainly looked like anything but the area they needed to be in. A lone tech pointed to a large door at the end of the room, but Shepard simply raised an eyebrow and stood firmly in place.

"And Jack is through there, correct?"

The tech was clearly nervous. "Yes, yes. Just through the door." He twitched as he looked down at Shepard's pistol, still attached to his armour down by his side.

"You want to try that one again?"

The tech yelped and sprinted away from the room as sirens began to blare. As they ducked into cover due to the Blue Sun troops that were now sprinting in their direction, Garrus' look said all that Shepard needed to know.

Just one day it'll be simple, right?

Shepard simply offered up a shrug and went right to work, unleashing a biotic barrage that the mercs simply couldn't stand up to. Add in Garrus' precision accuracy with his sniper rifle and Miranda supplementing with biotics of her own, the three quickly made their way through the forces and found their way into the control room where the tech from before was hiding behind a display.

"Please! Don't hurt me!"

Shepard didn't collapse his weapon as he stepped into the room with the door closing quickly behind Miranda and Garrus. "Hasn't gone quite to plan, has it?"

"I'm not a part of this! I didn't want anything to do with locking you up."

"How convenient," Shepard motioned to the cryo controls, where Jack was located as per Kuril's earlier information. "You going to do this, or do I have to put two in your kneecaps?"

The tech quickly shook his head. "I don't have authorization. All I can do is-" He quickly paused, but Shepard pounced on his words.

"All you can do is what?"

The man was clearly desperate. His eyes were pleading with them. "Open it all. Everything, all the doors. All the prisoners would be free! It'd be a disaster."

"The way I see it," Shepard stepped closer to the man. "Is you do that, or I kill you and hope to find someone else who can. I'm not leaving here without what we paid for, you got me? This place can go to hell for all I care, and Kuril with it." Shepard aimed his pistol at the tech's head.

"No! Please!" The tech pleaded. "I'll do it, okay, I'll do it!" He rushed to his feet and slid round to the front of the console. Shepard could see the sweat dripping off the man's forehead. He began to type, Shepard keeping a watchful eye on what he was doing.

Below them, lights began to turn red. While the cryo release command had been initiated, so too had the LOKI mech's that were standing guard.

Oh for fucks sake.

The tech made a run for the door. Shepard rolled his eyes and shot him once in the leg, the man quickly falling down with a howl of pain. "You brought that on yourself." Shepard's eyes were brought back to what looked like a cryo facility of some kind rising from the floor. A woman was attached to a series of constraints. Her shaved head now glistened under the light, with what looked like hundred of tattoos covering her naked torso. The mech's simply stopped in front of her as the prisoner's eyes began to flutter, opening tentatively as she took in the world around her. Shepard stared at her face, feeling as if he was imposing by looking anywhere else.

Wait, it can't be. Those eyes. She's older, but it's...

Blood. So much blood. He's begging me to kill him, before she can. She's faster, he doesn't get his request fulfilled. I'm following. Where are we going? She doesn't care. She's going through everyone she can. A guard comes for her from the right, I get there first. His head disappears. Did I do that?

John blinked as he pulled himself free from the images inside his head. The woman, Jack, was staring directly at him.

"Shepard?" Miranda stepped closer to the window to take in the scene. Suddenly, Jack's head diverted from them and instead to the mech's that were facing her. She growled, ripping the restraints away from her and launched herself free as her biotics came to life. The ground rocked Shepard as she disappeared from view somewhere under them.

"Shit!" Shepard cursed as he ran to the door and past the tech who was now whimpering in the corner. "Lets get after her."

"Am I the only one who thought that Jack would be a he?" Garrus asked as he followed.

Shepard didn't have time to think. He had to find her, to stop her from getting away.

Because she was the one he'd been dreaming about for all these years.

Jack felt the energy pulse throughout her, the skin smashing off her fists as she put another guard down. It was freedom, and goddamn had she missed it. She was certainly making up for lost time now.

She dove into another room. A set of prisoners were there, a dead guard laying at their feet. They'd beaten him to death.

"What the-" One of the prisoners stared at her.

"The fuck you looking at?" Jack spat back, but didn't attack as of yet.

"Damn girl, you got a tight little bod on you dont'cha?" An older man licked his lips. "Give us a spin. Let us see that ass." He laughed and began to rub himself just below his waist.

Hatred filled Jack's veins but before she attacked, she looked down at herself for the first time, following their eyes. She was completely naked. That's why they were staring.

Jack snorted. "Enjoy that feeling while you can, fucker. It'll be the last time your blood is anywhere but the floor." She launched herself at them and tore through the group before they could even react. While it took three of them to beat one guard to death, it only took seconds before she walked away from their corpses. She stopped at what looked to be another guard. He was clearly off duty, either soon to be starting or leaving, due to the civilian attire that he was wearing before he jumped into the fray and quickly died at the hands of the riot. She stripped him of his jeans and pulled them on. They were baggy, so she tore them at the knees, turning them into makeshift shorts. The belt just about kept them from falling back to the floor. His hooded jacket was about three sizes to big, but still Jack pulled it on and zipped it up. The boots were way too big for her, so she ran off barefoot.

"Where the fuck do they keep the goddamn shuttles?" She wasn't a great pilot, but as the prison ship was seemingly going down in flames, Jack would have to improvise. But on the way, she was certainly hoping to run into the Warden too. She certainly owed him one.

"Commander?"

No answer.

"Shepard?"

Still no answer.

"John?"

Shepard finally blinked. Garrus was staring at him, concern evident from the Turian. Miranda too looked to be making frantic notes internally on the situation. He caught sight of the dead Turian at his feet. It was Warden Kuril. "What happened?"

"You rushed him when he fell from the platform, Commander." Miranda explained it back to him as calmly as she could. "You grabbed Kuril by the throat and lifted him into the air. You shouted 'Who is she?' over and over until you choked him to death."

"I.. don't-" Shepard licked his lips. "We need to find Jack."

"Wait a minute, Shepard." Garrus reached for his arm. "What was that? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I just want to get this done, okay?" Miranda and Garrus shared a look which Shepard caught. "You want to do some sort of analysis, Lawson? Fine, you get that when we're back. But this ship is going down in flames. We either get out of here, or die here, your choice."

Miranda nodded. "Very well, Commander." He knew that Miranda would follow up on the subject. After what he'd been told, Shepard had to admit, it'd probably be a good idea.

Find her.

Shepard set off in a run from Kuril's body, alerting Joker to bring the Normandy back to the docking area. He was hopeful that Jack was already on her way to the area, or if not, she'd see the ship and consider it an exit strategy and make her way towards it. Joker had informed the ground team that no shuttles or escape pods had been launched thus far from the prison station. Of course other prisoners and not just Jack might also notice the Normandy. It wasn't going to be easy. But when is it ever?

They caught sight of her just ahead, nearing the docking bay. Whether she was already going there, or making her way towards the Normandy, Shepard didn't know or even care at this point. All that mattered was that they were just behind.

Shepard rounded the corner, his pistol raised. A guard fell from a biotic throw in front of Jack, but behind her, another guard got back to his feet with his rifle raised. Shepard shot once, a clean shot directly through the back of his head as he fell to the floor. Jack spun around to the sound, but stopped as she saw who had fired the shot.

"You got me out. I saw you. Who are you?" Jack was hardly out of breath considering what she'd been through, now wearing a hooded top and some type of ripped jeans. The look on her face demanded answers.

Shepard approached her slowly, his pistol down by his side. "My name is Commander Shepard. I'm here to get you out of here." Who are you?

"Yeah?" Jack snorted. "Shit, must be my lucky day then. What earned this show of kindness?"

"I'm on a critical mission and I need your help. If you're willing to hear me out, we can talk about this on my ship." Why do I know you?

"You show up in some type of warship-" Jack pointed at Miranda. "With some sort of catwalk porn-vid hybrid and want to whisk me anyway somewhere? How about some straight fucking answers?"

Shepard gritted his teeth, he could feel the scowl on Miranda's face. "This ship is going down in flames. There's no time for this." Where are you from?

Jack laughed and stepped forward towards him. The action caught Shepard off guard. "Time is all I've got left, so why don't you-" She stopped abruptly, all signs of gallows humour now written from her face. Jack starred at him. "I.." Her voice caught in her throat. "It's.. no." She shook her head. "No." Jack stepped back, her hands pushing at her head. "You're not him. He had-" She ran her hand mindlessly above her eyebrow.

Shepard followed the motions. His heart began to beat faster, his voice trembeling slightly. "A scar." Shepard spoke faintly as he got the words free. Jack's eyes returned to him immediately. He motioned to just above his eye. "A scar. Right here."

"Commander?" Miranda asked, clearly confused by what was happening. "Commander, we have to get to the Normandy."

Shepard stared at Jack, the woman staring back at him in equal measure. "What happened to it?" Jack mindlessly reached out for the position where the scar on Shepard's forehead used to be. He didn't pull away from the action.

The honesty flowed from him. "I died when my previous ship was attacked. I was rebuilt by an organisation called Cerberus. When-"

Jack's eyes widened as she lept back. "You motherfuckers! You fucking cocksuckers!" Biotic energy flew through her and crashed into Shepard, the SPECTRE flying backwards into one of the space station walls as he was caught completely off guard from the shockwave. "How dare you!" Jack screamed at the top of her lungs.

Shepard could hear Garrus and Miranda's yells as his vision rocked and shook, the darkness flowing though him as everything was torn away from his consciousness. As Shepard's eyes closed, he heard her voice once more, seeing her face again as she came to him in another dream.

Stay with me. We're getting out of here, scar. Just you and me.