Disclaimer: I do not own or have any rights to representation of Bioware, EA Games and any other mass media trademarks within this fiction. Characters belong to Bioware. All is represented within the context of private entertainment.
The title: Was inspired by/stolen from the song "(I Just) Died in Your Arms" by Cutting Crew. For some reason, I kept hearing that song in my head as I thought about this story, so there you go.
The rating: I decided to rate the story M to be on the safe side and have more freedom when I write, without thinking "would this be appropriate for a teen to read?". However, do expect adult themes on future chapters but not smut, because I don't think it will be necessary for the story, but also because I don't trust my ability to write well that kind of scenes.
Notes: Except for the prologue, the rest of the story will take place after the ending of Mass Effect 3. Everything that happened in all three games and every DLC will be unchanged, except for one little detail that is explained here in the prologue. What ending I chose for this story, and other important in-game decisions, should be clear in next chapters.
I'll post new chapters when I have the time to write them, I cannot promise any certain frequency.
Oh, for those of you that read my other stories, Shepard here is not Melody. Yay? Finally? Of course, that doesn't mean I'll abandon Melody, I'll keep updating her journey.
Also, keep in mind that I try my best, but English is not my first language.
Prologue
"Look at you. What makes you so damned special?", she asked, her voice loaded with anger and contempt, "Why you and not me?"
The shuttle bay of the Normandy was open. Two identical looking women were hanging from the external border, just outside the shielding of the ship. They were holding themselves with all their strength, because the spacecraft was flying over the Citadel and falling would have meant certain death.
"Hang on!" said a turian voice, the urgency apparent in his tone. It had to belong to Garrus Vakarian, the ugly scarred alien that had abandoned C-Sec to join the cult of Shepard.
Two figures ran toward the other woman, while the one who had spoken tried to climb back on the floor.
"We've got you!" said Kaidan Alenko, the second human Spectre. They both helped the other woman up. The other Shepard. The one that people called 'the real' Shepard, but that was nothing more than a mess of doubts and emotions.
She knew that she was better than that 'real' Shepard, but yet she failed to climb on her own. She looked directly at Maya Brooks for help. Or Hope Lilium. Or whatever the hell her name was. It didn't matter, because the former Cerberus agent turned her back on her. She was on her own, and she had failed. She lowered her head, while the other woman thanked her companions.
"What about her?" asked Vakarian in his dual-toned masculine voice, looking at the Shepard that he had referred to as 'the clone'. She was slipping and wouldn't resist much longer.
"Here, take my hand," said the 'real' Commander, who had moved to where she was and was extending an arm toward her. Her green eyes shone in the light of the shield produced by the Normandy.
"And then?" the 'clone' asked, looking directly at her intended rescuer.
"And then you live!" replied the other Shepard. She was frowning slightly, but her expression didn't seem to reveal anger or displeasure.
Live, she said. Live knowing forever that she had failed, that she wasn't going to be humanity's salvation as Lilium or Brooks or whatever her name was had promised. The 'real' Shepard could speak about life, because she hadn't be created to be spare parts.
"For what?" she asked, scoffing. She made no effort to hide her hatred.
The 'clone' opened her hands. However, she had taken a second too long to do it. She slid a little, but the other Shepard jumped forward and caught her arm. She tried to break free, to fall. Nevertheless the other woman was just as strong as her, and she was being helped up by her team.
The 'real' Shepard pushed her further inside the shuttle bay of the ship, and handcuffed her. She was aware of the fact that the other woman had risked her life to save hers, but damn if she understood why.
She was forced to sit on the floor. Major Alenko kept an eye on her, apparently in the event that she decided to suicide again. She thought that it was useless that he watched her. She had been defeated not only in taking Shepard's identity and the Normandy, but also in taking her own life. She no longer had the strength to attempt hurting herself at that moment.
Seconds later, she heard the 'real' Shepard discussing something with her crew. She didn't pay attention because she wasn't interested, until she heard the voice of Maya Brooks. The traitor was also handcuffed. The 'clone' wished to get up and punch Brooks or Lilium in the face, and then load a full clip on her chest. She tentatively looked at Alenko, to gauge if he was distracted enough to allow her to try doing that. He wasn't. He simply shook his head to her, and she lowered her gaze. Defeated again. She had to hear the exchange between the former Cerberus agent and the 'real' Shepard, unable to do anything but watch.
"Admit it, Commander," said Brooks at one point, leaning forward. "You'll miss me."
At that moment, Maya broke free from her handcuffs. She started running away before anyone could catch her. Calmly, the other Shepard just rose her gun and shot her on the back.
"Not at this range, I won't," the Commander remarked, as Brooks fell dead on the floor.
"Maintenance to the shuttle bay," requested the pilot of the Normandy, the man that went under the nickname of 'Joker' according to the profiles she had read about them.
The 'real' Shepard approached the woman looking exactly like her, and looked at her directly in her eyes.
"What will you do with me?" asked the 'clone', showing disdain in her tone. She was still sitting on the cold floor of the ship.
"You'll be taken to an Alliance high-security facility," explained the other Shepard.
"Why saving my life, but killing her?" she asked in turn, glancing at the corpse of the woman that she had thought as her only ally and associate.
"Those six months you took to learn how to be a human?" the 'real' Commander said. "You didn't get it right. You need more time to figure it out. She, on the other hand," she said pointing at Brooks' corpse with her pistol, "had all the time she needed, and still didn't get it. There was no hope for her."
Neither of them had much to add. The Commander walked away, leaving Alenko and Vakarian behind. She didn't move, didn't try to stand up, or didn't even blink when the Normandy docked. Minutes later, Alliance soldiers surrounded her.
"Is this the clone, Major?" asked one of the soldiers looking at Kaidan. "Her resemblance to the Commander is remarkable."
"Valerie," the 'clone' grumbled from the floor, staring at them. "If you won't call me 'Shepard' or 'Commander', at least have the decency of leaving me a first name. She doesn't have the monopoly on the name 'Valerie', does she?"