Sympathy for the Devil
By Bulmaveg Otaku
AN: Okay, so I know most of you hate Kai Leng, as I did the first few times I played through Mass Effect 3, but sometimes you get bitten by the idea bug and it won't leave you alone. I know most people feel he was a poorly executed "Mary Sue" character that Bioware used as a fill in bad guy, but isn't that what fan fiction is all about? Here's my attempt at making Kai Leng a more interesting character, (ie fulfill his incredible potential)
UPDATE:7\21\13 I've done some editing during my long Hiatus, so there are a few minor changes that have been made. Mostly grammatical and such.
Disclaimer: Mass Effect and all its related characters are owned by Bioware, not me, and this isn't for profit, so there.
Prologue: Thessia 2186 CE
The blood pounded in Commander Shepard's ears, turning every labored breath into a cacophony of rushing wind. The air around her still spun with dust from the half collapsed Asari temple, coating her armor, face, and the giant, jagged slap of flooring that she was desperately clinging to. Her shoulder joints felt taut and stretched all at once, but, so far, adrenaline seemed to be keeping the pain at bay. With one more harsh breath she blinked her vision clear and began to haul herself up, in slow clambering steps and jerking leaps. Her legs burned from hip to toe with the exertion of lifting her up the broken edge of her dangling ladder. Her arms began to tremble perceptively as she neared the top. She said a silent prayer of thanks for her gauntlets, without which her fingers would have been shredded and bleeding, making such a difficult ascent impossible.
Her line of sight rose above the hole in the floor and she registered motion off to her right as she planted her forearms and began dragging her legs over the lip of the crevice. Kai Leng was moving back towards the entrance to the temple. He was going to get away! Rage flooded Shepard's chest, burning low and hot.
In that moment of flickering distraction, Shepard's knee connected sharply with the mostly severed joint of floor pieces, shifting the angle of the block enough to complete its separation from the horizontal slab still in place. Half a heartbeat later she was dropping back, her gauntlet saving her again as her right hand clamped down on the edge, jolting her shoulder and elbow and wrist painfully, but preventing her from tumbling in to the depths below. She could hear the clatter and crash of rubble shattering beneath her over the still loud whoosh of each strained gasp for air.
Instinctively, she blocked out all superfluous stimuli as she focused on one thing, her grip encircling the very rim of solid floor. With a grunt, she flexed every muscle fiber in her arm and focused on keeping her fingers clamped down. It was no use. The tips of her fingers began to creep inevitably closer to the termination point.
"Shepard!" Liara gasped as she reached over the edge and quickly grasped her Commanding Officer and friend by the arms. "Hang on!" With the Asari's help, the Commander was pulled swiftly up to safety. Waiting not a moment, she charged to her feet and dashed after Leng, pausing only to bend and scoop up Liara's fallen pistol. As the airship began pulling away she ran, firing four quick shots, knowing as the muzzle flashed, and the airship's distance increased, that it was a wasted effort. He was gone, and with him the Prothean VI, and all hope of figuring out what the Catalyst was. The fury burning in her chest flared as she scowled and clenched her jaw in frustration.
Her radio crackled and a desperate, feminine voice clawed its way into her head. "…anyone on the frequency? This is Lieutenant Kurin, My squad is trapped!"
The N7 marine's hand flew to her ear, pressing the transmitter in her ear piece. "This is Shepard! Give us your location."
"I repeat: Is anyone on the frequency!" The strain in the Lieutenant's voice loud and clear as she continued to reach out.
Shepard tired again. "We read you! Give me your—" but she was cut off by another voice.
"The lieutenant's down! Our whole zone is collapsing! What happened to Shepard? Did they make it to the temple?" the voice, filled with fear reached into Shepard's soul and raked it's icy fingers across her guilt. "I saw them—Wait, I've got a Reaper inbound!" Panic cracked the voice as it faded into screams. "Please! Is anybody there? I—Oh, goddess. No!"
Her eyes drawn to the horizon, Shepard could do nothing as horrific shapes descended from above and began decimating the Asari forces below. The rage in her chest shattered into a thousand splintering shards of helplessness and defeat.
When Liara reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, Shepard shrugged it off. She didn't want comfort, she didn't deserve it. She had failed, bested by the Cerberus stooge that had killed Kirrahe. It was almost more then she could stand. She turned and walked past Liara and headed back inside. Maybe there was something left behind. Maybe that Cerberus prick had missed something. Maybe… but she already knew the beacon had been wiped clean. There was nothing left.