Hello again! Thank you for sticking around for the second chapter! Few things before we start:

1) I changed Shepard's eye color to green in the first chapter. Forgot what her default eye color was when I wrote it, but it's fixed now. Also, this Shepard is about Paragon 65/35 Renegade; she has done some things in her past that she's not quite proud of, but is willing to do them again if need be.

2) My apologies for taking a while to get this chapter out. A few things prevented me from writing it: the fact that I'm still hesitant on exactly how far I want to take this fic (how long it will be), ADHD curving my attention and enthusiasm, and the fact that I apparently suck at writing from Liara's point of view. I'm trying to work on that last one though, as I will eventually like to write chapters from her POV.

3) The characters' backgrounds, motivations, ect. will be slightly altered from canon, making this a true AU, but their core characters will still be there. For example, to better fit the setting, Liara is a xenoanthropologist instead of an archeologist and her family relations will be different, but she's still Liara T'Soni.

Whew. Now with those out of the way, please enjoy! ^^


It was dark and she was choking.

Smoke filled her lungs and burned her eyes, using her free arm to cover her mouth as she moved. Frantic, she ran blindly down the corridor, hoping beyond hope that she was getting closer to the exit.

"It's okay, we'll make it out of here." Her words of comfort sounded forced and empty even to her own ears, but she had to be optimistic, for both of them. Her grip around that tiny hand tightened as she turned down the hall. "We're almost th—"

A wall of fire lashed out at her, a flash of light and heat glaring at her from around the corner. Silently cursing, she doubled back, dragging the little boy along with her as fast as his little legs would allow. There had to be another way out! She racked her mind, trying to remember where she was in the building, but it was getting so hard to think, so hard to breathe…

Everything started to blur together, started to hurt as the flames licked at her sides and the thick haze sent her into a coughing fit. But she kept running, pushing herself forward because his life depended on her. This was her job. This was her mission. She was the Shepherd—

A loud snap from above caused a sickening twist in her stomach. She knew that sound, what was about to happen, but she wasn't fast enough. The ceiling came crashing down around her and before she could react, that tiny grip was yanked away from her with terrible force. Her world slowed down as she turned, and all she could see was beams of charred wood and plumes of dust where he should have been. A bloodcurdling shriek ripped up from the back of her throat.

"JOHNNY!"

She shot up, green eyes darted about in a frenzy. John? Fire? No. Safe. Safe where? The new train of thought successfully sidetracked the Commander and she soon started to calm down. Lifting a shaky hand to her thudding heart, Shepard tried to steady herself as she glanced around. Where am I?

She pushed aside the white sheets that clung uncomfortably to her sweat-soaked skin, untangling herself from the covers as she swung her legs over the side of the cot. She winced when her bare feet met the chilly, metallic floor of her new quarters, hissing at both the cold surface and the cold reminder of her circumstances.

Ah, that's right. It was all coming back to her. She leaned her elbows on her thighs and buried her face into her hands as wry smile broke out across her face. Shepard had to stop herself from chuckling at the sheer ludicrousy of it all. I'm being held captive by fucking aliens. This was the third time she had awoken to this scene, and the novelty still hadn't worn off. Not that I've actually seen them yet.

It was true; she had spent the last three days in this tiny room and not once had she encountered the aliens she heard over her ship's communication. At several points she had wondered if it even happened. (Maybe that was all a dream and she was back on Earth in a detention cell, being penalized for some stupid thing she had done while drunk. It certainly wouldn't be the first time.) However, those thoughts were quickly dashed by the unnatural voices coming from the other side of the sealed door, and reality set in once more.

I should have done something! There was little to do in this room but think and all her thoughts naturally went back to that moment on the Normandy when she froze. Shame and rage filled her as she recalled her inability to act. I'm the Commander! I'm supposed to be the one everyone turns to as a steady foundation, the rock that will see them through even during the most trying of times! And I what do I do? Freeze up like a fucking deer in headlights! An angry fist slammed against her thigh. And now, all because of her, Shepard's crew was put in danger, or possibly worse. "Goddamnit," came the strangled whisper.

So here she was, three days without any news on her crew, trapped God-knows-where by God-knows-what, kept alive by three meals a day slipped through a grate underneath what Shepard was sure was a one-way mirror.

Looking at the stack of trays on the nearby bedside stand, she recalled being surprised when familiar food was slipped into the room and not some ghoulish horror that passed for alien cuisine. Shepard's mind was quick to mock her however, reminding her that familiar food just meant that they had her ship. At this realization, she had lost her appetite.

Exercise, eat, sleep, repeat; the minutes dragged on with nothing else to do. She had even tried to MacGyver her way out with limited resources, but her resolve dwindled as time passed, wondering why she was even being kept alive. What was the point if they weren't even going to interact with her? And what happened after she was knocked out? And where were her friends? And—

"Damn it!" This time she roared, her red mane flying as she threw her head back. Her white-knuckled fist made contact with the wall with a harsh thud, hard enough to make her hand go numb, and the lights built into the wall flickered before shutting off. Caught off-guard, her fury instantly evaporated into confusion, looking around the darkened room. "… This room is a lot more fragile than I thought."

Before she could dwell on this, the voices on the other side of the wall increased in volume, sounding alarmed. The Commander allowed herself a triumphant grin as she listened to steps rushing about; seems she'd caused some sort of chaos. Serves the bastards right. A thought occurred. Wait, if the cell is this easily damaged, maybe I can simply bust my way out of here. Her musings were cut short by a loud whirling sound, followed by a whoosh. The door was opening. Someone was coming in.

Shepard's breath caught in her throat as light slowly streamed into the room, revealing a silhouette of a… Human? Green eyes squinted as she tried to adjust her vision. Hope blossomed in her chest- maybe she was being saved! One of her crewmembers must have survived and broken free! The figure looked to be female; Shepard instantly grinned at the thought of Ashley barreling her way hoards of little grey aliens. "Hey Ash," the Commander started easily, "what took you so…" The rest died off as the lights finally flickered back on.

That's not Ash. Shepard's throat painfully tightened and breathing became an endeavor. That's not even a human. Anchored in place by the sight before her, she couldn't move. Blue eyes, blue hands, blue face- just, blue. She stared into blue, and blue started back, looking almost as stunned as she was. They stayed like that for a long moment before blue suddenly snapped out of it. The human watched as blue visibly gathered their wits before taking a step towards her.

Move, you idiot! Using her best Commander voice, she practically hollered in her head to do something, anything. Shaking herself out of her stupor, Shepard sprung to her feet and took up a defensive stance, muscle memory taking action while her mind was still trying to catch up. The figure before her locked up, eyeing her with alarmed freight and she took that opportunity to come up with a plan. The door is only a few feet behind blue, so if I go in for a feint, then duck past it and kick the back of their knee, that should stagger them long enough for me to—

Two more blues appeared in her vision and Shepard watched as they each leveled what appeared to be guns right to her chest. … Shit. Slowly, she raised her hands in surrender, green eyes shifting back and forth between them when the armed blues made no move to lower their weapons.

It was then that the unarmed blue spoke up, having shaken off the shock for a second time, moved closer to Shepard and- turned around? It spoke frantically, almost seeming to beseech the other two to calm down and settle things peacefully. But Shepard noticed the two, armed blues were looking at the third and Shepard wasn't one to let an opportunity slip by. She quickly rushed forward to the blue with their back turned and put their head into a stranglehold as her brain quickly ruminated at how to use a hostage to get out of here.

However, before she could even think of putting a plan into action, she suddenly felt like she was slammed by the broad side of a wrecking ball and flew backwards into the wall. Air escaped her on impact, paralyzed momentarily by the pain. The lights flickered but managed to stay on. … Huh? When her thoughts became coherent once more, she noticed she could move even after the pain was muted by adrenaline. She struggled a bit to move her limbs before realizing she wasn't even on the ground!

What's going on!? Her green gaze darted around before landing on the figure she had just had in a chokehold. W-what the—!? Tendrils of white and blue snapped off of a pulsing corona, eyes shining white as they stared in her direction, a hand lifted toward the trapped human's body. Shepard struggled in desperation and that hand curled ever so slightly, the invisible force binding her limbs and neck tightening just enough for a warning. Hearing the message loud and clear, Shepard stopped wriggling, recognizing that her life was in the hands of this blue, glowing alien.

The human tensed as the two, armed blues raised their guns, getting ready to fire, but they were halted by the third who held up their free hand and, in spite of the everything, spoke soft and clearly. She talked without moving her gaze away from Shepard, calmly instructing the others. They looked reluctant, voicing opposition but were eventually talked into lowering their guns and hesitantly leaving the room, glancing warily over their shoulders as the door closed behind them.

And the room was still. Once again, they were locked in a staring contest. Pregnant seconds passed them by before blue dared to speak. Shepard scowled in irritated confusion. "What?" Her limbs were starting to stiffen up now that the adrenaline was waning, and she was panting from exertion.

Blue frowned, muttering to itself for a moment before eyeing the Commander. A few beats passed before Shepard suddenly felt the invisible shackles loosen up a little, the alien still staring at her cautiously. Its aura lessened as it gingerly lowered Shepard to the ground, placing the human's feet firmly on the ground but not letting her free. It spoke and the inflection in its tone made it seem like it was asking something.

Green eyes stared into blue and noticed they bore no anger or hostility, only guarded hesitance. The tone and the gaze were neutral. Offering a truce? Still, even if it wasn't, Shepard was too mentally exhausted to even think about going another bout, especially against something that had weird, glow-y hand voodoo magic. She nodded heavily, "Yeah, yeah. I won't run." Appearing to understand, the binds holding her up disappeared and the alien returned back to its non-wispy state.

Shepard's legs immediately buckled and her back slid down against the illuminated paneling. She rested her head against her upward-bent knees and sighed, the gravity of the situation crashing down onto her like a two-ton weight. There was a blue alien in her room that slammed her into the back wall with weird telekinetic powers after being held at gunpoint.

Shepard made a self-deprecating smile, all her feelings coming out in a quiet, spiteful curse. "Fuck..."