A/N: Since I'm really just beginning with this fanfic, this is the new (and improved) fic I started writing instead of my first ME fanfic, Faithless, I had a few good ideas that didn't fit into that story anymore, so I decided to start anew. Since the story is still in it's toddler years, consider this a glance at what's to come ;) ATTENTION: I am currently rewriting this! I've improved a lot since I started and I want to get rid of the loose ends, inconsistent facts etc. etc.
Oh and the spoken words in Italics are translated from an unkown language.
Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect. If I did... well, let's say a LOT of things wouldn't have made sense to you. Besides, it'd be totally awesome! Well, for me. :)
A Mass Effect fanfiction:
Recycled
1- A late awakening
"Reactivation sequence initialized, cryogenic suspension deactivating." sounded the lone mechanic voice amidst the ruin.
The pod slid outside with a hiss. Only opening to reveal a frozen body inside.
"Stasis wearing off..."
The body began showing signs of life, a ragged breathing started in its chest, eyes moving behind closed eyelids. But once they flew open, the body had completely restored to previous function.
"What-" She exclaimed when Her opened eyes were met with darkness and Her ears with silence. She gripped the edge of the pod and hauled Herself out of it, Her movements jerky and Her mind barely conscious.
She landed on hands and knees on the dusty ground, coughing when clouds of it wafted into Her face.
Memories flooded Her mind, the deaths, the destruction, the despair, the last hope.
She pushed Herself up from the ground and stared at the pod She came from, then at Her surroundings.
The hope She felt was immediately obliterated. The pods were dark. She was alone.
"Welcome back, Goddess." sounded near Her.
She started and whirled around, "Ksad?"
"No, Goddess. Merely his memory." the badly damaged hologram that filled Her vision said.
"Vigil." Her shoulders slumped, it was as She feared then.
"The others?" She asked nonetheless.
"I am sorry, Goddess. I had to deactivate the cryogenic pods to save necessary power. " Vigil said, his form flaring and interfering.
She clenched Her jaw, closing Her eyes in grief. But She did not grieve for long.
"How far is this cycle?"
"At its end." Vigil said, his voice alternately soft and loud.
She closed Her eyes again, this time in despair.
"Why did you bring me back?" She asked, anger rising, green light flaring around Her.
"This cycle is different. They have a chance to delay the arrival of the Reapers."
"How?"
"I awoke the last twelve scientists. They left through the Conduit to ensure the Citadel could not be used as a Relay for the reapers. They did not return, however I believe they may have succeeded." Vigil's form was fading, and She knew it was not long before the VI would use its last power.
"How do you know this?" She asked, fighting the despair that threatened to taint Her soul.
"They came here, the indoctrinated. But there were others, organics. They were still fighting."
"Organics... Asari?" She exclaimed surprised.
"There was an asari, yes. But also humans, they left through the Conduit, I have given them a way to deactivate the Citadel. I have awoken you to assist them." Vigil said.
"How much time?"
"Ten minutes." Vigil was inevitably fading.
"Please, what more can you tell me?" She asked desperately.
"Find Shepard."
"Shepard?"
"You know your duty, Goddess. You are this cycle's last hope." and with that he finally disappeared.
"I will not let you down." She whispered, bowing her head.
She glanced to the deactivated pods, "nor will I you."
She awoke Her inner power, green light swirling around her, the air crackling with raw energy. She whispered one last goodbye to the last of Her kind, whom She would never lay eyes upon again.
Then She ran, faster than the wind, green energy boosting every step of the way. She ignored the lifeless pods in the long trenches, reaching far to all sides, even above Her. She could not acknowledge the death of the entire race, not yet. She had a mission to complete.
She came across bodies, not organic, synthetic. The asari and the humans Vigil mentioned must have had a good head start. She was surprised that Her body functioned optimally after ten-thousands of years frozen in time. But She was different from them, She had been here before them, and they had seen Her as a Goddess. A name She resented, but respected.
Now, however, Her focus was on saving this new cycle, or going down with it. Either way, She would finally know peace.
Music reached Her ears, not beautiful and fleeting, but raw and rough. It was the music of violence. She forced Herself to sprint even faster, almost being able to outrun the light She emitted for a short moment, but then She halted Her movements.
The Conduit, She had seen it before, but never active.
Blue light swirled in a circle-like motion in the machine. They had truly done it then, they had uncovered the secrets of the Mass Relays.
She had no time to stare in wonder however, She did not see the asari nor the humans, which meant they already passed. She took one second to glance over the rough terrain She had to cross. Still functioning synthetics had not yet noticed Her presence, they were too busy regaining control of their motor-controls in the various states of destruction they were in. No doubt the organics had caused this. She wondered what these synthetics were, what were they doing here? Were they created by the Reapers, or were they simply thralls?
Still forming these questions in Her head She rushed over to the small relay and took one huge leap, boosting Herself with green energy, and entered the swirling blue light just before it shut down.
She opened her Eyes wide, taking in the feeling of weightlessness and impossible speed during the short journey, and before She knew it She was thrown towards solid ground.
She landed with a cat-like grace however, more than familiar with combat situations. She had been seen as a Goddess, and that title did not come without power.
She recognised the place She was in, even through the debris and various stages of destruction She saw that She was standing in the Citadel.
It was obvious this cycle had used it like Hers. Painful flashbacks played across Her eyes when she saw the ground strewn with bodies, liquid of various colours slushing around Her feet. Disgust was clearly visible on her face, but She could not dwell. Not now, not yet.
She followed a corridor not yet touched by destruction and saw another body lying on the ground. It had clearly hauled itself to safety, leaving a trail of red behind.
She knelt near the still breathing vessel and observed, refraining from showing any emotion. It was human, though different than in Her memories.
It sensed Her presence and opened its eyes. It took some time to focus but when the eyes finally saw Her they widened in awe.
"Wha- What are you?" it asked, coughing.
She cocked her head in curiosity, this was the first time She heard a human speak. They had evolved better than expected. Nevertheless it was a language She did not know. She sighed, there was only one way.
She gently reached out her fingers, ignoring the fearful look the human gave Her. It was scared, but too wounded to fight back. She smiled bitterly, She doubted it would survive-
He had only been on this goddamned place for two days and all hell broke loose, no-one said anything about this kind of freighter! Hell, no-one knew how the Geth had pulled this off...
…
"-Commander Shepard, first human spectre!"
He politely clapped his hands, finally humanity was recognised, even if it was that bitch that took the throne.
…
"The Citadel. That's what I'm talking about, son." the man in front of him said while throwing him a smile. He could only stare through the reinforced glass as their ship entered the gigantic arms of the Citadel.
"Big place!" was all he could say.
"Yeah, that's what they all say." the man said.
….
"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" he said while gripping his leg, blood pouring from the bullet hole.
"Suck it up, marine." someone hissed at him.
He glared at the woman next to him.
"Is there a problem, marine?" she said, her tone mocking and challenging.
"No, ma'am!" he said gritting his teeth.
Commander fucking Shepard is a bitch... just, great.
"Holy fuck!" the human man screamed while She gritted her teeth and waited for the pain in Her head to subside, She had not been as strong as She thought. She tried to process all the information as fast as possible. The races thought that they were being attacked by synthetics called geth, while in reality it was a Reaper. This was... inconvenient.
"You're a- I saw-" the man sputtered.
"I am from a different cycle, you saw the destruction of our race." She said in the human language, observing the human curiously. There was a person in his memory who was interesting, powerful, the one Vigil told Her to look for.
"Fuck... So that thing out there, it's not geth?" the man asked, groaning when he tried to sit straighter.
"No."
"Shit I need to- I need to warn the fleets!" he said, panting as he tried to get up.
"Do not move, you will die." She said, pushing him down.
"Great, thanks for the support." the man said in a strange tone.
She recognised it as sarcasm, it was something humans used commonly.
"There is a woman in your memories, a powerful woman. Shepard."
"Her? What the hell do you want with her?" the man asked, surprised and bitter at how everything was always about that woman.
"She can help save this cycle."
"Huh. Saviour of the whole freakin' galaxy. The bitch would love that." the man coughed, "I don't know where she is. She's supposed to be chasing this rogue turian, Saren."
"Turians... yes, I saw them in your memory."
He stared at Her, finally realising what She was saying, "you saw... my memories?"
"As you saw mine." she bowed Her head, knowing exactly what horrors he witnessed.
"That's fucked up."
An explosion rocked the floor and walls, throwing the man back against the wall. He gasped for breath when new blood exited his wounds. He struggled, but his skin was already a ghostly white. He was dying.
She wanted to help him, but She knew a lost case when She saw it.
"May you find peace with my ancestors, human. I will try to honour your loss." She said in Her own language, Her hands on his forehead to ease the passing.
He blinked slowly, then closed his eyes. With the release of his last breath his body slumped and fell to the side.
She bowed Her head in a brief sense of loss, She had seen his entire life, therefore he would be another addition to the list of mourning.
She raised and walked towards the elevator that would take Her to the council, She knew the way now. She knew the importance of telling them that the very ground they were standing on would be the source of their annihilation. But when She reached the place where the elevator should have been, the doors opened to reveal a gaping hole.
"No!" She screamed in Her mind as all the air left Her and She was flung into space. She managed to grab onto a metal plate, but Her body was already demanding oxygen. She pulled Herself inside again, using the green energy to strengthen Her shaking limbs.
But Her strength was fading. She had used too much in her rush to the Conduit, and now She paid for it. Her body was not as restored as She had thought, but She should have known! Of course Her body would be weak after being frozen for fifty-thousand years-... It was too late. She was thrown back outside by another explosion near to Her. She could not find the strength to grab hold of anything solid, and slowly floated towards Her own death.
It was pathetic to die like this.
She had a clear view of the Reaper assaulting the citadel now, to Her surprise it was attacked by many ships, and they were actually doing noticeable damage. Then, suddenly, with a flash of bright scarlet, the Reaper released its hold of the Citadel tower and was torn apart by massive explosions. And in the midst of all the violence was a small ship that delivered the last blow.
It was a magnificent sight, the annihilation of a Reaper in complete silence.
At least Her heart was hopeful now, their arrival was delayed for this cycle. Maybe they could win this time. It was a shame she could never see it. A shame She would... never know peace again.
She was unconscious by the time She was picked up by one of the ships that had been attacking the Reaper. Two soldiers exited the ship in their suits, their pilot carefully manoeuvring the ship so that they could get a hold of Her arms and pull Her inside. Her body was barely alive.
But Her body automatically started breathing when there was air again to breathe, and the best scientists were willing to experiment a little to restore this new species, if only to ask it why it attacked the Citadel.
They thought She was the one behind the attack.
They couldn't have been more wrong.
"No!" She screamed as they hurt Her again and again, asking in their language what She was, why She did it. So many questions, so much pain.
"I'm not your enemy!" She screamed over and over, but they didn't understand Her, so they hurt Her again.
But it was enough, they had done enough. She was a Goddess, they should bow to Her! She would show them the wrath of a Goddess.
The raw power built within her each time Her body cried out in pain. Fear filled their eyes when they were enveloped with green energy. Their blood painted the walls when She pulled them apart with it.
She broke from Her restraints and sped away, leaving a path of destruction in Her wake. She only stopped when She was far away, the threat gone, and Her body breaking when She realised what She had done.
"No, no..." She said as She broke down in sobs, leaning against the filthy wall of a building. It was too much, the loss of Her people. The cruelty of these, all the death. All the blood.
"Are you okay?" a small voice asked nearby.
She looked up to see a girl, not quite yet an adult by human terms, looking at Her concerned.
"Go away." She said in their language.
"Are you hurt?" the girl said, walking over.
"Yes- No! Please, leave me." She said, fearing for the girl's safety, Her blood was still rushing, the blood-lust not yet gone.
"You're bleeding." the girl said, now so close that she could touch Her.
She recoiled from her touch. It was pathetic, She was like a wounded animal
"You need to go." She said through gritted teeth when She felt her body start to shiver.
"No, I won't leave you." the girl said stubbornly.
And she made the mistake of touching Her.
Both their bodies convulsed and She was wrapped in green light. Tendrils reached out to the girl's body. Her body slowly disintegrated while the green energy slowly poured into the girl. And then, with a single bright flash, only one body was left.
She coughed and scrambled to her feet, looking around her with surprise.
"What the hell? Where is she?" she mumbled as she shook her head, she had a killer head-ache.
She stumbled away from the alley and went back home, her brother wasn't gonna believe this shit.
I imagine your faces are all like 0_o wtf just happened? Yeah, me too, me too, except I do know what happened... I know I'm evil.
Seriously, I hope you liked it though, because I'm definitely making this more than a five-chapter story.
Anyhow, If you got any ideas or comments, review! I'd appreciate it greatly ^^