Two hours later she was fighting exhaustion and trying to get a word in. "So about that IPO, your company released a–"
"And here is the fifth bathroom!" The Count announced, never breaking his stride as the viewing continued. It was like every door opened out to another palace, just as big and just as ornate as the space they were in.
Gianna sighed and swooped in before he could take them to the fourth rec-room of the main floor. "Look, Count I appreciate the extended tour, I really do. But it's almost midnight and I need to see your financials before your IPO proposal can be reviewed by the board."
Something like defeat finally announced itself in his haunched shoulders and Almeda stopped. She didn't want to push him, but she couldn't exactly go back with a viewing catalogue. "As you wish, Ms. Parasini. I will show you to your room and then my associates will bring you the paperwork."
"Thank you," Gianna replied, falling into step beside him as they turned back.
"And might I interest you in some fine wine?"
Gianna shook her head and smiled. "Thank you, but I'm on the clock. Even when I'm not."
"As you wish," the count resigned, leading them up the stairs and into the guest corridor. This place had a thing for long ornate corridors. The upstairs was no different.
As they passed the first room, Almeda stilled. Gianna managed to stop before she would collide into him and raised a brow. "Something wrong, Count?"
Those dead eyes turned to her with a coldness that chilled her blood. "Ms. Parasini, I would advise you not to open this door tonight. No matter what you hear."
"What might I hear?" she asked, wishing Noverian Intelligence allowed her to visit the premises armed. But the bosses didn't want to upset Almeda in any way. This man was a major entrepreneur and the last thing anyone wanted was for him to leave Noveria. Or rather for his money to leave.
The Count smiled and continued onwards. Gianna lingered by the door, feeling the cold tendrils beneath the sill prick the skin of her toes like knives. Whistles and whispers sounded from beyond, calling out like a distant song from a memory long ago.
"Ms. Parasini?" The Count called, waving her over.
"Yes, coming." Gianna unglued herself from the spot and swallowed her distrust. He used to be indoctrinated, he didn't show those reaper tendencies now, none of them did. It was all in the past, she told herself.
The husks treated her to room service despite the fact that she made it quite clear she already ate. Refusing the counts dinner invitation was rude, she knew that much. But the mountain of paperwork concerning his IPO needed an all-nighter if she was to be out of here by morning.
The grapes at her bedside tasted as if they were plucked right from the vine, ripe and juicy. She couldn't help but indulge in the luxury while she could. As she poured over three years worth of reports, detailing the company's holdings, Gianna couldn't help but let her mind wander back to that door. Just what the hell was the Count hiding?
"Mooooooore, fruuuuuuit, Msssss?" A husk asked, appearing like a shadow in her room, uninvited.
"No, I'm good thanks," Gianna stammered, trying to keep her heart from jumping out of her throat. The little servants were too slick and silent for her liking. "I think I'm done with food for tonight."
"Oooooooof coooooooooursssssse," the husk rasped, as he cleared her trays and left. For such creepy things they sure were efficient.
Chimes woke her at midnight. Face down against her datapads, Gianna scrambled for her omni-tool, only to see that it was nowhere near morning.
A deep trumpet-like horn ripped through the quiet, shaking the entire mansion as if they were hit by a mortar. After contemplating to just stay in bed and let this night pass, Gianna leapt from bed and dashed for the door. The halls were packed with husks and marauders patrolling the place in perpetual motion, as if hypnotized by the sounds.
She slunk past them, intent on finding Almeda, only to freeze at the locked door. The draft tickled her bare feet again, but this time curiosity won over as she approached and put a hand to the the cold wood. It didn't budge. Something was in there alright and whatever it was, seemed to be responsible for the sudden reaper-like noises that had been absent from the galaxy for over a year.
Kneeling she tried to peer beneath the door, hoping for anything that would make sense of this crazy night. The sound continued in pulses, definitely originating from the other side but there was no one there. Only blue lights danced across the floor.
The cold draft was starting to chill her eyeballs, so she stood. The Count's walking dead continued their lifeless walk around her, seemingly oblivious to their bewildered house guest. Husks trudged after other husks, while marauders mirrored them on the other side of the mansion's rail.
Something wasn't right, this entire picture wasn't right and the sound of reapers boomed louder. Gianna inched away from the door. Almeda was behind all this, he had to be, and she was done playing his house guest.
She turned for the stairs, only to slam face first into the count himself. As Almeda staggered back, she charged her omni-tool and aimed for center mass. "Don't move, Count."
Almeda smiled, his eyes swirled with indoctrinated darkness as he froze. "Is something the matter, Ms. Parasini?"
The deafening roar of the reaper sounds screeched from behind the door. Marauders and husks alike, stopped in their tracks and gave an inhuman growl. She didn't know what to make of that, but it's not like there was time to ponder the phenomenon. "Open that door," she commanded.
Almeda's shoulders sagged as he watched the scene before him. "I don't think you want me to do that."
"Open it!" Gianna commanded, hovering the tip of her omni-tool close to his heart. She was no expert with tech attacks, the board issued pistols not omni-tools. But undercover sessions of stunning any would-be aggressors gave her the confidence to maintain control now.
The Count seemed to consider this as he raised a finger to his chin in mock contemplation. Was he for real? It didn't matter. Reaper sounds were getting more intense and before she could unleash a stun attack the man nodded and swiped a hand over the console.
A swoosh of doors revealed an empty room with a desk and pulsating blue device that caught the corner of her eye. The deafening sounds of reaper noises faded, husks and marauders returned to their patrols, unfazed by the events. None of them seemed to care that their Count was at her mercy.
"What is that?" Gianna asked, glancing to the blue device.
The Count stepped in before her and bowed. "I think that's something you should see for yourself, Ms. Parasini. Please, you are my guest."
Training said not to trust him, but the allure of the blue box tugged at her curiosity, propelling her onwards. There was nothing particularly interesting about this box, it was a solid slab of grey with a red, blue and green button pattern on top.
She looked to Almeda for instructions but the Count just stood back with his arms crossed, watching, waiting. He was clearly no help here. Her hands hovered over the options, unsure of what to press first.
"There's only one right answer," the Count said, sending a chill down her spine as the weight of the mystery settled into her being.
"Do I get a hint?" she asked, only half-joking.
The Count did not reply, but his small grin of amusement fueled her sense of adventure. Three buttons, three choices, and only one of them was right ... or so he said. Of course walking away was always an option, but she was stuck here until daybreak anyways so what was the harm in pushing a colored button?
Careful to keep the omni-tool trained on him she surveyed her options. Her index finger hovered over the red, feeling like a school kid about to press one of those yahg-in-the-box toys. But red seemed to obvious. Green held the middle spot, but it felt too safe, too much like the easy way compromise between two rival colors.
"What the hell," she mumbled under her breath and pressed the blue button.
Blue light shot out from the box, painting the ceiling. Instinct told her to dive for cover, but something about the hypnotic display prompted her to watch. The beam split in two, proliferating into a projection of a VI who looked suspiciously like a certain Commander everyone in the galaxy praised just a year ago.
"I'm Commander Shepard, and you are my favorite investigator in the galaxy!" the VI spouted, the loop restarted and Shepard put his hands on his hips to replay the line.
"What the hell...?" Gianna asked, turning to the Count who was still leaning against the wall with a smugness that only a pompous Count could master.
Laughter came first, then the entire dark facade crumbled as his laughter filled the room. It sounded odd to her ears, since indoctrinated people had yet to show any emotions to the galaxy. But here was this regal post-indoctrinated count, laughing his ass off. She didn't know what to make of it but kept her aim steady.
"You were scared shitless, Gianna," the count said in a surprisingly casual tone. "And here I thought you always wanted to be a cop?"
"Yeah, but what part of dealing with nothing unpleasant did you not under..." she trailed off, her eyes twitched wide before regarding her host with a newfound realizing. "Wait ... Shepard?"
"The one and only." The Count, or rather, Shepard pushed away from the wall and clapped. "Happy Birthday, Gianna."
He looked nothing like the VI. The Count was older, somewhere in his sixties with barely any hair left on that shiny head where skin was sagging en-mass. Her face fell. "But, you're ... indoctrinated?"
"I control the indoctrinated," Shepard replied.
A husk walked in and suddenly began speaking casually as well. "Everyone from the husks to the cannibals," the husk said as Shepard spoke through him.
Gianna didn't know what to do, looking between the corrupted Count and enslaved husk she felt like a contestant on bizarre creations. Not only had one of her good friends returned, but he surprised her and was kind enough to remember her birthday, one she had long since stopped celebrating.
She didn't know whether to zap him or run. Instead she rushed up and flung her arms round the Count, drawing him into a fierce hug. She felt his arms tighten around her and smiled into his chest. A million questions ran through her mind, beginning with this strange phenomenon and ending with the IPO, but none of them really mattered. No, the hero of the galaxy was back and for now that was enough.
"You look exhausted," Shepard commented when he drew back. She didn't know how anyone could see through those rotted eyes, but then remembered the second perspective from the husk beside them.
"No thanks to you." She shoved him playfully as years of stress seemed to leave her body. "I still can't believe it. This ... whatever this is ... it's unreal."
Shepard chuckled and patted her shoulder. "You should get some sleep, Gianna."
"Are you kidding?" She grabbed his arm and rushed past the husk, "I don't see you for a year. Everyone thinks you're dead and now after scaring me half-to-death you want me to sleep?"
"Where are we going?" he asked, trying to keep pace. It was harder than it looked, the old man's legs were nowhere near as agile as hers.
"Wherever you keep your priciest wines," she said over her shoulder. "We're getting hammered and then you'll tell me everything."
After an alcohol fueled night where they shared everything from his final moments on the Citadel, to her agonizing account of Noveria trying to re-adjust to the now benign reaper race; the two of them trailed after the husks who scampered ahead with her suitcase.
"So every husk...?" she asked, gripping his bicep, as if afraid he would disappear.
"Is really me," Shepard explained, as they strolled through the skywalk. "I think I empathize with the Shadow Broker now."
"I'll bet," Gianna pondered, watching him carefully. "But can't you just block out the signals?"
He shook his head. "Not if I want to keep the peace."
"That sounds stressful," she replied, knowing the effects of workaholism.
The sunlight filtered through the skywalk windows, as he stopped and turned to her. "I get bored every now and then, but ... I have broad shoulders for a reason." He smiled. "Besides, it's all worth it when I can still surprise a friend."
Metallic screeching from the docking Gondola, cut their talk short. Shepard leaned in to give her a hug and she thanked him for the wonderful night of relaxation and company. When they parted he turned to go, clearly not ready to show his favorite reclusive human puppet to the world.
"You could come with me, you know?" she said quickly, before her brain could process just what she was saying out loud. "You could explain everything to the board, help the Galaxy accept the reapers."
Shepard stopped at the skywalk and looked to his trusted husks. "I'm always with you." He smiled. "Just remember that and take care of yourself."
There was nothing left to do but nod as she watched his retreat. That was when the rays of light caught her eye. The disturbing paintings from last night where nowhere to be found, only windows lined the skywalk.
Her lips parted in question. Was it all a part of the trick too? Or was it ... Gianna shook her head. "Why do I even bother?" she said to herself with a smile, before trudging over to the Gondola.
Odin peppered her for answers but she only smiled, feeling powerful with the knowledge of one of the galaxy's best kept secrets.
A/N: I wanted to do something light hearted, as well as play with the idea of indoctrination in a post-'blue pulse' world. Thanks for reading and let me know what you think!