Mass Effect: The Tale of a Million Ends.
Summary: "The Reapers are gone. Cerberus is gone. It's been a quiet five years since the Reaper's defeat and Cerberus' attempted takeover, but that doesn't mean that the Galaxy is going back to normal- or back to whatever "normal" was supposed to be- anytime soon. Now, nothing is what it seems as old foes, and even older wounds, suddenly start to resurface, threatening the balance of the entire Galaxy on a whole new, terrifying level. So, once again, follow the Promise-Keeper, as he navigates through a cruel, "old-new" world, uncovering secret after secret, clinging desperately to a special promise he'll do anything to keep along the way. Then, follow the Missing as she heads back to where it all started for one last fight that will decide everything- and force her to choose between her past and future once and for all. And follow the Wanderer, as he discovers a grim, devastating reality of his own, and, as he comes to terms with it (with a little help), watch him follow a new, lonely path that just might make all the difference in the end to the people who never even knew it existed in the first place. Then, finally, follow the Old Soldier as he contemplates his life, his mysterious past, and the end he can feel is coming, all as he is suddenly thrust into the middle of one more battle- one that he knows can only be his last." (The Promise-Keeper: Garrus Vakarian. The Missing: Joleen Shepard. The Wanderer: Kolyat Krios. The Old Soldier: Adelais Vakarian)
Warning: This story is a sequel to the story, "Every Story Has A Million Tales," for all those out there who don't know that already. I highly suggest going back and reading that before continuing with this one, because it really will make a difference. In all seriousness, this story will be heavier and darker than the previous story, because of themes including: vulgar language, blood/gore, violence, a character death, references to child abuse/neglect, and other mature ideas. You have hereby been warned, so I don't want to see any more complaints in my email.
Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect. Do not make me say it again.
Author's Note: Just so we're clear, the name "Adelais" is still Latin for "noble" and the name "Carissa" still means "the most beloved one." The name "Caecilius" means "blind one." Please be on the lookout for more of these Latin names, because they all mean something and might have an impact on the story.
N._.s._.S
Chapter Two: The Missing I.
The last five years had treated Joleen Shepard pretty well.
Without the Reapers, without Cerberus, or any kind of threats to deal with after the "Control Incident" (as the Council had begun calling it after it was done), she was free to do as she wanted for the first time in almost all her life, without the guilt of wondering what she could do.
Now, though, five years later...
Slipping out of bed, careful not to wake Garrus (who had came back from C-SEC late the night before), Shepard pulled on her robe and went into the bathroom, closing the door silently behind her.
Everything had changed.
For starters…
Shepard gently took the dark blue, velvet box from its place on the shelf next to the mirror, and opened it, revealing a small gold ring, embedded with two bright amethyst stones beside a glittering diamond. She took the ring out of the box and slipped it onto her finger, smiling at how the pretty jewels caught the light before putting it back onto its shelf and disrobing.
She showered and dressed in a pair of jeans and one of her old Alliance shirts- a black one with the N7-logo emblazoned on the chest. She then brushed back her shoulder-length dark brown hair and pulled it up into a short ponytail before brushing her teeth.
Just before leaving the restroom, she put on her ring.
Garrus was still sleeping when she left the restroom, and before leaving the room, she gently pulled the blankets back over him, smiling at the Turian when he didn't wake.
After Executor Bailey finally decided to retire and go back to Earth two years ago, he nominated Garrus as his replacement (along with half the other Officers), and with the Council's approval, Garrus had ended up "beating his dad to the top…"
Something Adelais had actually smacked Garrus over the head and lectured for an hour and half for saying the next time they saw each other.
Hanging on the wall were the pictures that Shepard had taken over the years and had on the Normandy. They included pictures of Adelais and Vega, her original team (or what was left of it) after stopping Saren, the full Suicide Mission team after destroying the Relay, the team a few months before the end of the War, Kolyat waving from the bottom of the Normandy after Cerberus' attempted invasion five years ago, and one of each of the people they'd lost (Mordin, Legion, Thane, and Ashley), each with a burning candle next to them.
On the wall above all of these, was a large "old-style" portrait. Featured in it were Shepard; standing with her arm around Garrus' middle and grinning, wearing a beautiful white dress with a blue sash over her shoulders, and a Turian-make headdress (which Adelais had refitted personally for her) perched on her shoulder-length, dark brown hair, Garrus; wearing his old, midnight blue armor, newly repaired, Adelais; looking stern and proud, shoulders up, one arm formally folded behind his back, the other resting on his daughter Solana's shoulder, and Solana; wearing bright silver armor, standing straight and proud just like her father.
There were only two copies of this portrait.
This was one, and the other was hanging in Palaven in Adelais' study.
Shepard stared at the photographs in turn, smiling at each of the happy memories that came with them. One of the smaller, miscellaneous ones she had hanging around the portrait were of Thane and Garrus, during one of their contests in the Cargo Bay, with Jack and Grunt cheering behind her.
"Shoot, Vakarian!"
"Beat his ass, Krios!"
Then there the one of Wrex and Grunt arm-wrestling, Mordin in his lab looking up at the camera with a startled, but pleased look in his eyes, Miranda working in her office, Jack practicing her Biotics on a pretty unhappy-looking Cerberus trooper, Vega giving the double thumbs up, Kaidan and Chakwas sharing a drink, Jacob and Legion sitting quietly together in the shuttle, and one of Tali and Engineer Adams playing chess.
But, the best one, she had to say, was the one of Garrus, just after destroying the Omega 4 Relay. Of course, she'd taken lots of pictures of him, much to her Turian's embarrassment, but even he had to admit that he looked "dashing" (his word, not her's). It featured him cleaning his sniper rifle, scope in one hand and staring down at it in serious concentration- looking for scratches.
Shepard had found it unbearably cute.
But Garrus still couldn't figure out why she still had it.
There were many of these pictures hanging around the house,
Just as she passed the photographs and entered the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee (a constant staple to her relatively otherwise healthy diet over the years), her Comm went off.
"Hello? Ambassador Joleen Shepard speaking."
"This is Chief Advisor Adelais Vakarian speaking."
"Thought you were retired," Shepard chuckled, "Good morning, Adelais."
"I am retired, but I get to keep the title, apparently… and I don't know about 'morning,' Ambassador," he added with some amusement, "It's late afternoon over on this end."
"Is it hot out there?"
"No worse than the usual."
During her and Garrus' Mating Ceremony five years ago (which several people, including Kolyat, ended up watching from the Normandy because the sheer humidity of Palaven stifled them within minutes), Shepard had to drink a lot of water to keep from becoming dehydrated, as did everyone else-
Except the Turian guests, of course.
"What do you need, Adelais?" Shepard asked as she took out the coffee mixer and poured in some of her favorite kind (the New York Blend, of course) into it, "Did something happen?"
Please, she thought, Let everything be fine…
"Nothing bad," Adelais assured her, kindly, "I just need to ask Garrus for a certain C-SEC file."
"A C-SEC file?" Shepard asked, curiously, "What do you need it for?"
"To put it simply, my old partner in C-SEC, Aelius Quentius, dug up some dirt on the Eclipse years ago- their Red Sand production in Council Space, specifically," the old Turian explained, quickly, "I wanted to consolidate my files with his so I can get rid of the old reports in my study."
"All right," Shepard said, "I'll have him call you as soon as he can when he wakes up."
"He's still asleep?"
"Uh-huh," Shepard said, looking up at the ceiling, "He had a long night at the office."
"What time did he get back?"
"Around two in the morning."
"Good Spirits." Adelais said, sounding impressed, "What happened?"
"Someone down in the Wards caused a scene, apparently."
"Someone in the Wards is always causing a scene."
"With an assault rifle?"
"No, usually it's a shotgun."
At that, the two of them laughed.
N._.s._.S
By the time Garrus woke and came downstairs, Shepard was finishing making her coffee.The strong, dark brown (instead of the black thanks to Shepard pouring in some milk and sugar beforehand), still scorching hot from the kettle, gently poured into her mug that she had waiting underneath the machine to catch it.
"Adelais called when you were sleeping," She told him as she carefully screwed on the top to the mug so she wouldn't spill it, "He wanted me to tell you to get back to him when you could."
"Is everything all right?" Garrus asked in immediate concern, instantly flipping open his Omni-tool, "I thought he retired last year."
Shepard chuckled a bit at him, while at the same time happy for it- Garrus had told her all about how he and his dad fought and argued, even during the time she was comatose after the War, and was so happy that they'd made up. "So just because he's retired now means he can't check up on you every once in a while?"
"My dad doesn't do the 'I'm checking to make sure you're still alive' thing," Garrus said, and Shepard saw some faint amusement in his eyes as he said it, "What makes now so different?"
Shepard took her toast to the table as she responded, swatting his shoulder as she sat next to him, "Oh, come on. He'll be sixty-seven this year. He's got to be worried now that he's got nothing to do but think all day."
"I offered to get him back into C-SEC," Garrus answered her, "But he said-"
She immediately knew where this was going.
After Adelais had retired last year at sixty-six, Garrus was worried about his father staying alone in the house all by himself (either because his dad had confessed that he hadn't been feeling his best weeks before, or just because Garrus didn't like to think about him all alone somewhere), and offered him a position at C-SEC, but the older Turian had politely refused, saying he just wanted to rest for while.
"I'm too old to go running around chasing dealers and mercenaries." were his exact words.
"-that he wanted to stay in Palaven," Shepard interrupted, gently, knowing how sore this subject was with him, even a year later after it happened, "I know. I think he just wants some peace and quiet- but God knows Victus and Sparatus are still bugging him, even if he is retired. He's been through enough to last lifetimes."
This was true.
Before Garrus could think of a good retort, Shepard's Comm blinked for the second time that morning, and curiously, she answered it, wondering if Adelais had called back so soon.
But she grinned when she heard the voice on the other end.
"Hey, Shepard! Mind if we drop in for a couple days?"
Joker!
Shepard hadn't seen him in a good few months- the Council had the Normandy all over the place, especially after Cerberus' attempted coup. Only Joker and EDI were part of the original crew that manned the Normandy now, but Joker and EDI were both happy to be back traipsing through the Galaxy-
Together.
"Hey, what's up?"
"We got shore leave for a week on the Citadel."
"Really?"
"Yep."
"Oh, that's great," Barely able to contain her excitement at the prospect of seeing their old friends (even if it was just for a week), she looked over at Garrus and winked at him, letting him know everything was fine, making him give her a curious, but also suspicious look.
"Is Garrus with you?" Joker asked, "Put him on."
"Yeah, here," Shepard said as she handed the Comm over to him.
Garrus shot her a curious look before taking it from her.
Then-
"Joker?"
She heard the surprise in his voice and grinned.
The pilot's incredibly loud reply of "Hello!" was so loud that Garrus actually had to hold the Comm away from himself, causing Shepard to laugh at him the entire time as he continued, "You'll never believe where the Normandy's docking this week!"
Garrus gave the simplest of Turian-smiles as he replied.
"I think I might have an idea…"
N._.s._.S
"But it's Sunday! And they'll be here in fifteen minutes."
Garrus gave her an incredulous look. "Never thought I'd hear you say that," he declared, making her smile as they continued up the stairs toward his office, "But I have to check in. Those guys go absolutely crazy without me there giving orders half the time. They'd probably-"
Shepard barely heard the rest of what he said, and flung out a hand to grasp his shoulder as they reached the top of the stairs. "Hey," she said, pointing discreetly at a group of Hanar and a familiar-looking, one-armed Drell standing in front of the Salarian Councilor's office, "Look."
When Garrus looked over to where she was pointing, she added, "Isn't that Kolyat?"
Kolyat looked better than he had the last time Shepard had seen him- through a Holo-Comm. The Drell had been worried and tired, mostly because he'd had to endure yet another surgery for his missing limb (something about more internal bleeding) and had just accepted his position as the Hanar Ambassador to the Citadel- which ended up only worsening his condition. She and Garrus had spoken briefly with him several times during the last five years, but only once or twice in person.
She wanted to go up to him, but he looked so busy with the Hanar that she ended up deciding against it.
I'll talk to him later, She decided, firmly, as she and Garrus entered his office, I'll call him tonight.
N._.s._S.
"Surprise!" Joker shouted triumphantly as he hobbled out after Vega, and EDI, emerging from the Normandy. "I found him while fueling up on Earth."
"More like I found you!" Vega countered, folding his arms, and EDI quickly added, "Agreed. You were stuck outside the Normandy with a sprained ankle and Captain Vega assisted you in getting back."
As Joker wrung his hands together and called in embarrassment, Vega spoke up.
"Hey, Lola, seen the others around?" Vega asked, his voice surprisingly serious for such an innocent question, "Like from Liara or Tali?"
"Of course," Shepard answered, "They come around every few months or so."
"What are they up to?"
As they walked back to the Wards, Shepard explained to the best of her knowledge the other's whereabouts- which were all pretty accurate. The members of her old teams all sent her letters, telling her what they were doing and some brief notes about their lives now that they were "normal" again.
After, Vega seemed a little more cheerful. "So they all went back to their lives, huh?" he said before rounding on Garrus. "What about your dad? He's not here on the Citadel, is he?"
"No," Garrus replied, instantly, "He retired last year. He's on Palaven."
"Retired? Man, he didn't look that old."
"He's only sixty-seven."
"Sixty-seven?" Vega crowed in shock, "That's old, Scars!"
"Maybe to you. Most Turians serve until they either die or turn seventy."
Shepard swatted his shoulder and shot him one of her old look.
"And what about Loco?"
"He's around here on the Citadel," Shepard reported with a smile at the old nickname for Kolyat (earned five years ago when Vega first found out that Kolyat first jumped the Vassla Cliffs on Kahje to escape Cerberus and warn the Citadel of their impending invasion), "We just saw him."
"Oh, yeah? I haven't seen the crazy kid for a year…"
N._.s._.S
"See you soon!" Shepard called as Garrus left. He turned and waved at her once more before disappearing from her line of sight, and she slumped back into her seat, disappointedly.
"Cheer up, Lola," Vega said, handing her another drink, "Come on, drink!"
She chuckled and shook her head. "It's fine."
"Why's he working on a Sunday?" Joker asked, "Pretty workaholic of him."
"It's not that bad," Shepard answered, "He just needs to make sure none of his subordinates do anything stupid. He's a good leader," she added with a smile, "They listen to him."
"'Course they do," Vega said, "If they piss him off, they'll have you to deal with!"
Shepard laughed.
N._.s._.S
