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Beta Reader: Marie-Fanwriter

Chapter Three

She Swallowed the Spider to Catch the Fly

It's her eyes.

The black webbing now covers her body, from her head to her toes. But the lines are thinner, faint enough not to be noticed from a distance, but still contrasts her pale skin once noticed. The slice on her arm is healing at an alarming speed, sewing itself together in front of their eyes and glowing with cybernetics. A few bruises are visible from where the restraints had held her down, but even those are fading before they have had a chance to fully form.

Shepard's mouth is slightly parted as her even breathes expand her crumbled shirt and she stares out at the group beyond the window.

It's her eyes.

When Garrus had first seen her on Omega, and looked into her eyes, he was caught off guard from the red lights shining back at him. At the robotic eyes that both were and weren't hers. Right color around the edge of the red lights and the right shape and size, but to cold and fake; he was sure he had died and demon had come for him in her skin.

Then she smiled. Lips pulling her too tight skin like it were the first time she ever smiled and crinkled the edges of her hollow eyes. And the light faded, not by much, but it faded. She knew his name and was just so damn happy. If she was a fake, a dream, then she would look the same, act the same, and not show him a whole new side of her that fit her so well. He had though she was happy back on the SR-1 but, seeing her fling her arms wide and smile, he realized he never even brushed the surface with her. That he mourned a woman, a friend, that he barely knew and he was going to change that.

The red light was gone not long after he joined the SR-2, so now the sight of it makes his stomach drop. The color of her eyes is hidden behind the angry red glare. Her face is empty and eyes wide as she stares.

"Commander?" Joker finds his voice first. He looks back at the AI. "EDI, what's going on?"

"I do not know," EDI tone is regretful as she talks. "But my scans show her brain actively has not increased. It appears she is still unconscious."

Sleep walking? She's never done it before, so why now? It has to be the influence of the toxin in her system, but to what degree?

Jeff looks back at Shepard and his breath hitches. "Where's the Doc!" He hurries to the glass and looks down at the floor. Garrus can't bring himself to look away from Shepard's eyes, even as Joker makes another panicked noise. "Shit, is she-?"

"No," EDI quickly says. "Shepard just knocked her unconscious."

"Shepard?" Alenko questions as Garrus finally pulls his gaze from the woman in the med-bay and focuses them on EDI. A solid body collides with him as he does so.

"Get down!" Javik is pushing both him and Kaidan to the side as EDI grabs Jeff. Garrus looks back to the spot Shepard is in only to find it empty. He makes out her coiled form against a metal surface just as she launches herself at the window. The shutters are too slow to stop her as she smashes through the glass. She lands hard as she slides across the glass covered floor; traces of red marking her progress.

"Shepard!" Garrus is on his feet in time with her. "Wake up!" He snaps. He is not sure what is happening but he knows her waking up is the only way to end this without hurting her. Can he hurt her? He's bigger, faster, stronger, and has his full senses, while she is still moving with awkward twitches and jolts. So he can in theory.

Just in theory.

The others, minus Joker, are moving to surround her. Each moving slowly and carefully as the commander scans the room with a sweep of her head. Her eyes catch on EDI on her second sweep of the room and the bot takes the chance to move closer.

"Commander Shepard," EDI raises her hand to mimic the same way Kaidan has been walking with his palms out. "It is advised to contain a person under sleep distress when they are a threat to themselves and others."

Joker grits out in a stage-whisper, "How do you knock out someone who's already knocked out?"

"We may have to tie her down," Javik says as his biotics begin to glow.

"No," Garrus glares at him. "No one is tying her down."

"There has to be a way to wake her up?" Kaidan also glared at the prothean.

Shepard lunges at EDI. The AI brings her arms up, ready to take the blow, only Shepard darts past her. Her movements are wrong but familiar, like he's seen the way she running before. Even the way she is crouching on the mess table with her shoulders hunched and head bent.

They freeze as she does; her eyes still on EDI.

"Put the ship in lock down," Garrus orders EDI. She does so without question and the room flashes red. Shepard leans back on her feet and they ready themselves for her to run again, but her hand darts to her mouth. It's with a twist of his stomach he realizes she has been crouching over the small silver tray.

She just swallowed the spider's body.

"Why the hell did she-" Kaidan starts as Shepard flips backwards off the table and Garrus finally places her movements.

A phantom.

"Shit!" He growls advancing on the retreating commander's body. "She's being controlled!" How she's being controlled is not important to him at the moment. He just knew without a doubt he's right and that there is no way he's letting her leave this ship.

"What!" Kaidan hesitates as Garrus and Javik close in on her. "EDI scan-"

"I'm being jammed; more proactively than before." There is a slight inflection in her voice. "My systems are being overridden. I have achieved a firewall but I am unable to erect it in the vicinity of Shepard, ten feet in diameter. She is a blind spot in my system."

Shepard is now standing with her back to the doors to life support. The red lock flashed green and the doors open, allowing her to dart in.

"Halt!" Javik yells as he sends a blast of biotics at her. It hits her square in the back and sends her stumbling to the ground. Garrus advances with a curse, pulling her to her feet and pressing her against the glass window with her hands locked behind her back. He knows from experience how much pressure she can handle in this position and bitterly forces himself to add more.

"Be careful!" Alenko hisses.

"I know!" Garrus yells back and makes the mistake of letting his eyes flicker to the major. Pain erupts in his face and he falters from the blow. No wonder she can head-butt a krogan; that is steel in there! A reinforce skull is another thing he can add to Shepard's 'upgraded body parts' list. He tightens his grip as she tries to twist free. Her head slams forward this time; shattering the glass in front of her and Garrus scrambles to pull them from the shower of glass. Shepard quickly brings her feet up and kicks off the bottom metal wall, knocking him off balance and sending them falling back. He lands hard and she finally yanks free of his hold.

Alenko throws his hand up, laced with blue biotic, and it causes Javik to lower his as a double blast would do more harm than good. Only Alenko hesitates. And that's all the red-eyed Shepard needs to jump into the maintenance shaft.

Garrus almost finds it funny how not an hour ago he was angry with the man for daring to try to hurt her, and now he was furious at him for doing the opposite and letting her get away.

The shaft is too small for them to quickly follow, as Shepard is far more nimble and quick.

"Head her off!" Garrus orders as they rush from the room. "EDI is there any way to slow her down?" He knows the AI can't stop her, not with how things have gone so far.

"I shall try. It appears she is heading up to her cabin." EDI, Javik, Kaiden and Garrus pack into the elevator. Garrus notices Jokers is absent as the door close and he feels his first flicker of worry at Chakwas' state, but pushes it away as they head up.

Why her room? The weapons are stored on the fifth floor. Why go up? Why not head down and arm-

Spirits.

"EDI, scan for any ships loitering near us and undock us now."

"Scanning." It is just her ship speakers responding. "I have initiated undocking protocols. It will take-"

"Do it now!" He stares at her platform. "Rip us from the bay if you have to."

"I cannot. Doing so will tear the hull as long as the magnetic clamps are in place. They will disengage in eight minutes. I have also picked up several sky cars with irregular movements."

Garrus shifts on his feet. "Close the shutter to Shepard's skylight."

"Done. I have short circuited the shutters motors." Good girl. "The captain's cabin has now gone dark. Shepard is in the room."

The doors open and they enter with caution. The room is darker then he's use too. Clothes, both Shepard and his, are scattered around the room. Garrus hangs back with EDI as Javik and Kaidan advance into the room, biotics ready.

Shepard is standing on her bed. Eyes glowing red as she stares up at the now closed the shutter. There is a thud on the ceiling and EDI frowns. "Cerberus troops are now above us." Then she adds. "Five minutes remaining."

Kaidan curses. "Cerberus? Didn't we just deal with them?"

"They are like a plague," Javik agrees, "One that we must cure the commander of."

Shepard looks at them with her impassive face and crouches into a fighting stance. There are more thuds from above.

"They are setting charges. Four minutes remaining."

Shepard leaps at Alenko, who drops his biotic field in favor of grappling with her. They fall onto the floor and begin to roll as Kaidan tries to pin her. Shepard goes slack as Kaidan ends up on top and she ducks her face against his armed chest.

A shield.

"Three." An explosion rocks the room as the shutters tear open and Garrus drops to the ground to protect himself, with EDI bending as well to protect his unarmored body. Javik and Kaidan both throw up their shields.

"Two."

Garrus can't see past the thick smoke but he can hear Kaidan cry out in pain and the heavy foot falls of the troops as they pour into the room. One Cerberus shock troop emerges from the smoke and aims at Garrus. Like lighting Garrus strikes; sidestepping the man and knocking the gun from him. He kicks the weapon to EDI as he reaches out and snaps the troopers neck easily, even with the man's heavy armor. The sound of gunfire and biotics are deafening the room and Garrus takes out another trooper and keeps this gun for himself.

"One- canceling." Garrus feels his heart stop as he blindly rushes through the smoke. A bullet grazes his shoulder and he fights the urge to fire back in that direction; not knowing who all is in that area. "Shepard has left the ship."

No.

"Cerberus vessels are in full retreat."

No.

"With Shepard aboard."

Is she… dreaming?

Her body is rocking. Swaying gently as the familiar hum of the Kodiak cradles her. The air is hard and stale, with the same recycled taste that the solider in her has grown used to. The seat is oddly hard under her rear and the seatbelt is digging into her chest; both things she shouldn't feel through her armor. So this has to be some odd dream right?

Only she's not wearing any armor.

That's the lightning bolt that jars her mind awake. After all, when has she ever been in the Kodiak without her armor? Even in her dreams? Other things hit her at once; the engines are too loud, her head is aching from the meds Chakwas gave her, she's still in her pajamas, her eyes are open….

That last bit is the hardest to process. She didn't open them. They were already stretched wide apart; blinking only as needed. She's starting at the window in front of her and realizes she's in a skycar as the bright gleam of the Citadel shimmers back at her. Everything has a red tint that brings her back to her dreaming idea, but the pounding in her head is very real.

What? Why I'm I here? Are they moving me to a hospital? That though would be reasonable if she was strapped down on a stretcher for transport, not sitting up looking out a window.

"Garrus?" She calls but her mouth refuses to move. It must be taking the medicine longer than she thought to wear off. Shepard tries again ("Garrus?") and is met with the same lack of response. There is no resistance or barriers she can feel stopping her. Her mouth just refuses to work. Turning her head is impossible. She tries to clench her eyes shut in frustration -not fear or panic as it is way too soon for that, she reasons- only to find her lids refuse her will as well.

No, don't panic. At least her heart is still hers; even if it's quickening shows she is indeed panicking. Am I-? No. That option isn't right. She is still moving. Her body is holding itself up. She can still feel her body. It's just in the middle of some strange mutiny.

("Garrus?") She tries again with the same results. Hell that even sounded frantic in her head. Her breathing is increasing with her heart rate but her mouth refuses to take the deep breathes needed to fill her lungs. The feeling of suffocation only riles her up more.

The skycar hits a patch of light as it turns and, for a brief second, she can see a reflection. Her heart skips a beat as she takes in the armored form of Cerberus agents; all sitting next to her like she wasn't enemy number one in their book.

"Heart rate has spiked," a near monotone voice behind her says. "Brain activity high; she's awake."

A voice to her side, the driver, answers back with a similar lack of interest. "Breathing's erratic. Calm her down."

Shepard can hear movement and sharp prick on her arms follows. Her heartbeat slows and breathing becomes easier.

The first voice returns. "Vitals are within acceptable parameters. Is control still being maintained?"

Shepard lifts her hands experimentally and turns them in the red light of the car. She gives a hard nod in response.

"Good."

Now seems like a good time to panic.

And she does.

Next Chapter!

So They Spun Lacy Webs