Chapter III:
Worm in the Apple
"T-Thane?"
"Is there something wrong, Siha?" the big rounded black eyes of the drell loomed over her.
The very sight of the drell was enough to drain all the life in her. It was true that she wanted him back so bad; but not this instant. She tried to hide her disappointment with a mask of curiosity. "Why am I here?" she finally asked, "This is…the other side of the sea right?"
The drell nodded sadly. "Yes Jane, this is the other side," he replied crypitcally, "Yet you don't sound pleased to see me."
Shepard widened her eyes and sat up. "I-It's not like that! Thane, I swear I miss you so bad but— there's still war out there. My fight against the Reapers isn't over!"
Thane stood up at set his lonely eyes towards the red-orange horizon. "You've already done your best, Siha. There's nothing else you can do."
The drell's words struck Shepard's heart like an omniblade. "It's not like you! You know why I'm fighting. You know how I wanted to destroy those lobster-squid robots. You know—"
"I know those and I understood how you feel about it, Siha," Thane interrupted, "I was being weakened by my disease; yet I chose to follow you in your quest. I value what you value, Siha—more than you ever know. But what you haven't realized is—"
"That what: that this is the end of the line?" her tone became more agitated as she struggled on to her feet, "I sacrificed thousands of lives just to end this threat once and for all. I sacrificed my relations with other people just to spend more time finding a way how to put them down permanently."
Thane silently stared at the horizon as Shepard continued. "I didn't do everything of this just to gain nothing. I swore, by the time I got hit by the Prothean Beacon, that I will do everything to stop this threat. Every move, every breath, every thermal clip I waste—all of those I consider to be a stepping stone to victory."
Thane sighed and turned towards her. The afternoon sunlight illuminated his shiny green skin, making him look like a celestial being. "Is there anything stronger than death itself?" the drell whispered, "You are a strong woman, Siha. But can your will surpass even life and death itself?"
"I can't die now. I'm not yet DEAD!"
Thane waltzed slowly towards her, cupping her cheek with his hand. "Why are you doing this to yourself, Siha? You have done far more than this ungrateful world deserves," his melancholic voice almost rent her heart into two.
Shepard closed her eyes, trying to feel the cool touch of her lover's hand. "Do you really know me, Thane, or it isn't you I'm seeing?" She asked while removing his hand from her face. "I'm not just going to drop dead. If I have to go to hell and back again just to finish them off, I will."
"Stay here with me, Siha…"
"No. I'm sorry Thane. I can't."
The drell snatched her left arm, gripping it with his deadly, assassin-like movement. His pearly black eyes loomed over her like an obsessed being clutching the object of his fancy. The commander tried to wiggle out but his claw-like grip held her arm firmly. "Haven't you got enough whispering in your head, Siha? Haven't you suffered enough?" Thane growled, his voice having two or more distinct deep tones, "You've already lost this battle Shepard—why can't you just give up?"
"No! I won't die that easily!" Shepard growled. As she continued to focus on his face, an ocean of white light enveloped her vision, veiling the sky, sea, and even Thane. The white light continued to cover her vision until it almost blinded her. She shut her eyes tight and turned her head away; but the white light lingered in her sight.
. . .
Why did I do it?
Loki fixed his gaze on the unconscious red-head beside him. It was just luck that he recovered much power enough to teleport both of them safely to Midgard. But why push her with him? He was just planning for his escape, not theirs. He could have just jumped off the Bifrost while she and his brother Thor were arguing. It was far easier to escape unnoticed if had just gone off alone.
"Nnnnnhhh…." The red haired woman groaned. Loki could easily detect the anguish in her face. Crismon light glowed beneath the large cracks in her cheeks. Was she even a mortal? He shrugged his shoulders. Mortals could do bizzare things to themselves—like his brother's newfound friends. Unconsciously, Loki traced the cracks with his finger. Her skin felt like the cold, parched lands of Jotunheim. Funny, never did he ever imagine that he would be so curious to a single mortal.
"T-Thane…" her voice trailed as she tossed her head to and fro. Thane?
The Asgardian slowly withdrew his hand from the woman's face. Perhaps it would be safe if he would abandon her right now. He clasped the muzzle that constrained the lower part of his face. No, he was still too weak to go alone. But what were his alternatives?
He stood up and looked around. If his memory served him correctly, they were in the exact place where he and Thor had left for Asgard. Fortunately, only a handful of ignorant mortals lingered in the area. Judging by their actions, they had not taken any notice of them—yet. No one would alert the Avengers.
The Avengers…
Loki balled his hands into fists. The memory of his defeat flashed before his eyes. A group of unusual mortals, plus his oafish brother, banded together to defeat his almost perfect army. His plan almost succeeded—but in the end, it failed horribly. He squinted his eyes shut and shook his head. Those mortals would never get away for their treachery! Loki inhaled some Midgardian air and exhaled. He would soon rebuild his army—after he destroyed the Avengers completely.
As he turned around to leave the unconscious woman, he heard another painful groan.
"Don't…" she said.
Loki spun around to the strange woman's location. Mortals were very much similar with each other—yet why did the air of mystery lingered in her? He glanced at their surroundings; still, no one cared to approach them. He narrowed his eyes as he observed the woman. Her actions told him a story of an intolerable pain—a hell of a nightmare—inside of her. She squirmed, clawed the blades of grass beneath her, and turned sideways.
"…I…won't…die…that…easily!"
The Asgardian sighed. Should he give assistance or not? After all, she was the one responsible for his freedom. He shrugged his shoulders and crouched beside the mortal. Loki was about to hold her shoulder when he felt a quick burst of wind came from his left side. Letting his reflexes take over, Loki barely interecpted the crimson wind that almost came in contact with his face. Still shaking, he tried to refocus his vision and realized that he was holding a balled fist. He took his eyes off the fist and to the attacker. What greeted him was a pair of ferocious blood-colored eyes staring right at him.
He continued to grasp the incoming attack from the woman. Their arms shook violently until he pushed her away. The woman rolled out and skidded a few feet away from him. The Asgardian gave a big sigh, smoothed his black coat, and calmly stood up without leaving his gaze on the woman.
"You…" Shepard gritted her teeth and stood up, "You're the one called Loki, right?"
Loki nodded.
Shepard rolled her eyes. "Great, it's only a matter of time before Thor and his people rush here," she sighed, "It's not like I can do anything about it. They've already convinced themselves that I'm their enemy."
The man in the black coat stood still.
"I need some answers: Where am I now? You pushed me from the path and I landed in—" Shepard gasped, "What the—is this Earth?"
She squint her eyes and shook her head vigorously. She slowly opened her eyes and saw a green-filled paradise before her. It looked like the Presidium—with less buildings, fountains, and whitewashed walls. She turned around and what beheld her were the skyscrapers that almost reached the clear blue skies.
Shepard shook her head. "No, this isn't Earth," she whispered. She rubbed her temples in a small, circular motion. "I'm still dreaming. See, that Loki guy is still in front of you," she sighed and looked up, hoping that the man clad in black and green armor would just fade away. She stared at the man and the man stared back at him. His emerald green eyes almost reminded her of her beloved pilot, Joker. But the rest of his appearance told her otherwise.
"You and this place—it's just a part of my nightmares!"
Loki merely tilted his head sideways and blinked.
Shepard waved her hands up high. "Just go and disappear already!"
The man narrowed his eyes. Shepard groaned and turned around. "Okay, that's it! If you can't walk away, then I will!" she growled and marched away, "I'm sure there's a way out here."
The scenery felt familiar yet different to her sights. Her boots clanked on the reddish brown pathway. It had been a while since she had seen bricked pathways. The ground she used to see were made of metal, cement, or dirt. She scanned the area. There were no signs of any Reaper attack. She tried to observe the inhabitants. They all looked human; but it was impossible for her to be on Earth. How could this be?
"Look mom, someone's wearing some weird clothes!" a child-like voice squeaked.
"Shhhh Luke, don't go near the bad guy!"
Bad guy? The commander paused and turned to the speaker. Sure enough, the two had some sick sense of fashion. These idiots didn't even have a clue about military issue armors. Shepard glared at the woman. The woman returned the gesture, pulled the young freckled boy near her, and strutted away.
Ingrates... Shepard growled within herself. She closed her eyes, inhaled, and exhaled. The moment she opened it again, a familiar figure stood a few feet away from her. His short light brown hair stayed almost perfectly still in the almost airless place. The dirty cream colored hooded jacket, blue jeans, and the innocent look on his young face brought her memories. The day the Reapers landed on Earth and began to destroy everything on sight.
Her surroundings suddenly went into slow motions. The air around her turned icy cold; and her heart hammered on her chest. People stole glances at her but she didn't care. Whisperings came out from nowhere like resounding memories in her ear. Ashes started to rise up from the ground and the stench of war lingered in her nose. The boy looked at her helplessly and started to run away.
"Wait!" she called out as she ran after the boy.
You can't save anyone. You never did.
"What the—?" Shepard shook her head and continued running.
You even sacrificed three-fourths of your men in Torfan for the sake of the mission.
"Shut up!" Shepard gritted her teeth while not leaving her sights on the running boy.
Do you think that saving Joker from imminent death can erase the fact that you left the human fleet—
"It's a sacrifice I have to make!"
For what? For those three little idiots who never believed in any word you said? For those proud fools who never cared about humanity?
"I did that so I can shove to their faces the truth!"
But they didn't believe… you should have left the Destiny Ascencion to be consumed.
"It's all worth it. They joined the war effort."
So a thousand must die so a million can live?
"YO BITCH, WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOIN'!"
A quick, searing sensation suddenly fell on her skin. Her vision became blurry then it returned to normal. Shepard found herself in front of two trying hard gangsters. They reminded her of Conrad Verner in his imitation N7 suit of armor. She looked around, but the boy was gone. Towering bricked buildings stood on her left and right side, leaving a passageway to a dark alley at her back, and the two hoodlums on her front.
Shepard felt another pain in her joints but she tried not to show it. "What do you want?"
One of the guys snorted. "What do we want? You're the want who bumped to us!"
"Bumped you? I don't even know you exist."
The two guys almost popped their eyes out. They looked at each other and smirked—in a bad way. "Really, bitch, you don't want to be messing with us."
Shepard tried to resist the temptation of drawing her gun. "Think long and hard before you say those words, kids," she said, "I just need to get back to the front line. I don't care who or what you are. But I'm only going to say this once: STAY. OUT. OF. MY. WAY—or you'll get HURT."
The one with the fairly huge brown cap laughed. "Nice try bitch, but you ain't scaring us!" he said. In a quick movement, he drew out a gun and pulled the trigger.
After the act, Shepard calmly stood in front of the dumbfounded idiots. She barely heard a crack on her shields. "Nice try, kids," she laughed while activating her omniblade, "You've been warned: MY TURN!"
Without another word, the commander charged at them. The two guys attempted to defend themselves but Shepard made a quick job out of them. A couple of right hooks and jabs to the jaw already knocked them out cold. As the two assailants lay down at her feet, Shepard took one by the collar, pinned him against the wall, and snarled. "You guys are so helplessly pathetic that I didn't even have to use my omniblade on you," she grinned, "And now you're peeing on your pants. Well just to make this little waste of time worth it: I need directions for your MedBay, or a branch of Sirta Foundation."
"W-what the hell are you talking about?"
Shepard narrowed her eyes and dug her fists deeply into his collarbone, causing the poor man to scream. "I'm not playing games anymore. I need three things now: communication, medi-gels, and thermal clips," her tone became icier, "Start talking before I cut of those little balls in your crotch and stuff them to your mouth."
The guy let out a pathetic squeak. "Oh god, no, please! I swear I don't have any idea of what you are talking about."
Shepard reactivated her omniblade and shoved it near the man's eye. "I don't think you value your balls much," she said, "Maybe I should add your eyeballs in the menu."
The man trembled. Big drops of sweat began to form on his forehead. "No, lady, I ain't know nothing so please, let me go!"
"You useless little piece of pyjack shit—you dare pick on people like you know everything; but your brain is worse than Hanar jelly," she snarled and threw the man on a dumpster, "Oh well, I guess I have to scour this….city to find out for myself."
.
.
.
.
The odd human city was more complicated than Shepard had perceived it to be. Waves of people seemed to come from all direction. The hustle and bustle was far worse than the Citadel's. Everyone was babbling on their communicators with a cup of caffiene in hand. Strange-looking land rovers dash down the cement-paved streets. Neon lights and birght posters were plastered around the huge intersection. Huge advertisements of plays, dramas, and movies were hung up on the walls, surrounded by blinking yellow lights.
As she strutted down the paved sidewalk, she noticed a white van with a red cross on the side and a red, blaring light on top. "Must be the ambulance," she mused, "I hope they still have a supply of medi-gel."
Ignoring all the looks from other people, Shepard crossed the street in almost an instant. Shoving and pushing other pedestrians didn't bother her much. She kept her eyes focused on the white van until it went to a huge, well structured buildng. Without hesitation, she marched onward to the sliding glass door to the reception area.
"I'm Commander Jane Shepard—Alliance Miliatry personnel and a Spectre," Shepard leaned on the edge of the desk, "I need details of my current location, medi-gel, additional supplies, and thermal clips now."
The young, brunette receptionist didn't speak for a few minutes until she cleared her throat. "I—uh, you're in a hospital here in New York City and—"
Shepard interrupted. "Wait, did you just say NEW YORK? Are you crazy? I've visited this place once—and it's far more advanced—and dirtier— than what I see this time!"
"I-I don't understand—"
Shepard slammed her fist on the desk. "Stop fooling around, miss. I don't know if you're with the Reapers or not. But if you try to hide anything from me—"
"Ma'am, please calm down."
"How the hell I'm supposed to calm down when you tell me that I'm miles away from London!" Shepard half screamed, "My team, my squad, and the whole army need me there—and here am I, in the middle of nowhere of an outdated-like city!"
"Ma'am, one last warning…" a deeper voice came behind her. Soon enough, she could hear heavy footsteps coming towards her, "Or else we have to take you down."
Run for your life, Jane! They can't be trusted!
The hard words stung on her air that she breathed suddenly became thinner. Flashes of memories started to appear: Memories of abusive law enforcers beating up defenseless juveniles who were just trying to survive in the tough life of the metropolis, the dog-eat-dog prinicple of the undercity, the life of having to survive alone—without a shred of trust and mercy given to anyone, and the way of living through wits and guts.
She could feel guards aiming their guns at her. Bastards, she thought. Probably she was in an area controlled by the Reapers. Her brain screamed that the humans she was seeing were actually husks. Stealthily, she activated her omni-tool underneath the desk. The enemies were far too many to be tackled alone. She needed some vantage point, a good spot to flank her enemies. But first, she needed to…disappear.
"Huh, what the hell?" one of the guards cried upon seeing the newcomer vanish from the desk.
"Hold your fire!" ordered the head guard, "We've got injured civilians here, remember? Keep your search as discreet as possible."
"Yes sir!"
Shepard didn't wait for any of them to disperse. Her cloaking wouldn't last for long; and she had to pillage every supply she needed to survive. Sprinting up the long flight of stairs, Shepard tried to look for medi-gel, or some resemblance for it. After a few minutes of searching, she felt the tactical wear off. She hid in a tiny closet and activated her Archon Visor, hoping that it would speeden up the recharge time.
"Just use tranquilizers," she heard a voice outside say, "Can't risk any casualties…"
"Husks know how to use tranquilizers?" Shepard let a small puff of air from her nose.
Run, while you still can! They're coming for you! To them, you are the alien, the foreigner, the enemy. Look how they tried to neutralize you! You are the unwanted piece in their world.
Shepard felt her skull being hammered. "Just shut up, alright!" she groaned.
"Huh, what's that noise?"
"Oh shit, not now," she whispered while looking at her omni-tool. Only a few seconds left before a full recharge.
"I think it's coming from this closet."
Shepard let out a long sigh, pulled out her submachine gun, switched it to Cyro ammo, and aimed at the door. She could hear her blood pulsating on her ears, ready to burst out. She gripped her gun firmly with a finger readied on the trigger. In a split second, the door swung open, revealing two figures. Without thinking, she sprayed her cyro-cloaked bullets and turned them to ice in an instant. She jumped out of the closet, activated her tactical cloak, and made a run for it.
Sprinting through the corridors, she almost ran into a toussled haired, bearded man carrying a huge boquet of flowers. Luckily, she only slid right in front of the man, missing a few centimeters. She scanned the area and went into a room named Stockroom.
"Just any meds, please…" Shepard said to herself as she scoured at a box of tiny canisters. She took one that was labeled Painkillers and started to head for the exit.
Before she could head out to the main door, she found a group of black-armored men armed with high-caliber guns. Having her cloaking deactivated again, she ducked behind the potted plants and collected her thoughts. It seemed that they were all up to taking her down. A few had already been dispersed but still, a huge number still remained on the front door.
Don't hesitate to take the risk, Jane. Their lives mean nothing to you—only yours.
"Shut up! I can't waste my bullets on them!"
Who says about bullets? Don't worry, they're just husks….
She looked at her arsenal and spied two sticky grenades. She looked at the crowd of guards, then back at her grenades. "No time to think about this," she said to herself, "The longer I stay here, the greater chances I'll get caught."
Shepard reactivated her tactical cloaking, sneaked up behind the largest cluster of guards, stuck the grenade on the holster, and get out of the scene. Almost in an instant, the grenade exploded, causing panic to the other guards. While the survivors were searching the corridors, the commander quietly slipped away from the hospital.
.
.
.
.
Shepard ran until she reached the crowded square. She needed to hide, but how and where? She activated the HUD in her visor. Surprisingly, she couldn't find any available maps for the area. She sighed and jogged along the sea of people. Upon reaching a dark alleyway, she diverted from the crowd and went to a dark, open area. She went to the center of the area, pulled out the canister of pills, and popped a few to her mouth. After swallowing, she adjusted the frequency of her communicator.
"Shepard to Normandy: do you copy?" she said upon opening her communicator.
Only a loud static answered her call.
Shepard cursed under her breath and tried another frequency. "Shepard to Admiral Hackett: can you hear me?"
Nothing but a static.
"Shepard to anyone—anybody?"
Stop trying Jane; you're all alone now. No one to depend on but yourself…
"No, I have my squad to watch back at all times."
But why aren't they answering you?
Before she could answer, another white light blinded her eyes. She tried to shield the incoming rays with her arm, but it was no use. When the light disappeared, the boy in her dreams stood in front of her.
"You again?"
"We're all alone," he whimpered, "We're trapped; and we can't escape. They're coming for us. We can't do anything about it. We can run—but we can't hide. We did all our best to defeat them; but we didn't realize in our efforts, we are just digging our graves."
Shepard shook her head. "What are you talking about?"
"We lost, Jane."
Shepard gritted her teeth. "If it's about the Reapers, let me tell you: I won't rest 'til they're gone!"
"But you're already dead."
Before Shepard could even think of retorting, a loud humming sound came above her. It sounded like a flying jet. She looked up to the blue sky and saw an armored figure. The jet-like emissions were coming from the armored man's boots. As the man came down from the air, she could already judge how advanced the tech the armor was made of. And she could only think of one organization that could afford to have such technology—Cerberus.
"Okay now," the hot red-and-gold armored man said, "I was about to let the guards and the SWAT to take in charge of this one. But I don't think they can handle you. Besides, you almost killed Pepper with that grenade of yours. She's in the lobby when you did that, you know. So, I think I'll join the party."
Shepard instinctively pulled out her heavy pistol and switched it to Disruptor. "I don't care who you are. But one thing's for sure—you're with Cerberus. And if you're here to avenge the Illusive Man's death—"
"Uh, who? I think you're mistaking me for somebody."
Shepard activated her omni-tool and set it to Sabotage. "Don't play coy, Cerberus puppet! It's time to take out that little robot toy of yours!"
The two circled around the square arena, keeping their gaze with each other. While they concentrated on each other's moves, they didn't notice a tall figure hiding behind the shadows. He stood still, unmoving like the cold, still air in the dark alley. His emerald green eyes locked on the two figures who were about to blow each other up.
"I suppose bringing her here is not much of a bad idea," Loki mused, "Yet, her behavior is still a wonder to me."
A/N: Hello again, thank you for waiting and I hope this is a good one to start the tension. I hope you won't kill me for this. And don't worry, Loki will have more part in the next chapter: Public Enemy. Also, she'll get to meet the whole Avengers gang, in case you're wondering...but don't expect a smooth flow meeting. Hope you'll still tune in for the next chapter.
For the ones who reviewed: Amir-015, nemo, douchiesnacks, Elisa, JamesXenoS, Straight Edghe, Noir Detective, EmberEternal, Blinded in a bolthole, and anon; and also for the ones who Alerted and Faved...THANK YOU VERY MUCH! HUGS AND KISSES FOR ALL OF YOU!
So what's your reaction? Shocked? Pissed? Bored? Crazy? Please let me know...FREE BOTTLE OF RYNCOL FOR EVERYONE WHO REVIEWS THIS CHAPTER! (and in an "EDI" voice: That is a joke.)