Two years.

He should be more affected by this… but he felt nothing. Two years. He could vaguely recall a time in his youth when he had a bit too much to drink with a friend of his and woke up three days later. Apparently he had slipped on the floor, banged his head and fallen unconscious. Even just skipping three days had been an odd feeling. It almost felt like a waste. Three days of his life he spent literally doing nothing. Three days that was gone literally in the blink of an eye. But TWO YEARS? He should be feeling something, anything. Maybe in time it'll sink in. Or maybe he's still getting over the fact that he died. Yeah, he'll just go with that.

Shepard looked up at the two strangers sitting across from him in the cramped shuttle. The one on the right was named Jacob Taylor, an ex-alliance soldier who grew tired of the bureaucracy of the council and decided to join Cerberus. An odd decision, from what Shepard could gather of Jacob, he didn't seem like a 'results at all cost' kind of person. He felt he could trust this man though, Jacob was honest with him back on the station, and Shepard had a sense for knowing who to trust. It had served him well many times, especially during his hunt for Saren.

The other was a woman named Miranda Lawson. He remembered waking up briefly back on the station as she stood over him. He couldn't make sense of anything at the time though. He didn't feel… right. Like something was missing. Memories started flooding back into his mind, it was too much too fast and they had to sedate him. Next thing he knew, the station was under attack.

He didn't know what to make of Miranda. She had helped Shepard off the station but brutally shot Wilson the moment she saw him without giving him a chance to explain himself. A part of Shepard told him maybe that was exactly the reason she did it so quickly. He'll have to keep an eye on Miranda. Shepard knows how people like Cerberus work. So long as they're goals were aligned they would be allies. He wasn't sure yet what these goals were but if Cerberus was willing to spend so much time and money to bring him back, he does owe them at least a chance to explain themselves.

Jacob noticed the Commander was staring at the wall, a strange emptiness in his eyes.

"You okay Commander?"

"I'm fine; just a bit… how close are we to this Illusive Man of yours?"

"We're arriving now actually." Miranda nodded at the window, their destination quickly came into view. Shepard took a deep breathe as they began to dock. Jacob and Miranda stood up first and exited the shuttle ahead of Shepard. He couldn't help but twitch his hand near his pistol. Every time he has been inside a Cerberus facility he was greeted with a barrage of gunfire. He knew this wouldn't be the same but old habits die hard.

As they walked out of the hanger he couldn't help but notice the numerous cameras hanging over the halls. No doubt whoever he was about to meet was watching his every move. He had never heard of this Illusive Man, but then he figured that was the point. What kind of man spends billions of credits to bring back one person? Was Shepard really worth that much?

They stepped into what looked like an observation room. Miranda turned to Jacob, nodded, then walked on ahead to a console and began typing. Jacob turned to Shepard with an almost apprehensive look in his eyes.

"Just walk down that corridor; he'll be waiting for you."

Jacob looked like he was about to say something else but decided against it; instead walking towards the window and looking out into the void of space.

Shepard took one last look at the man before continuing on his own. The corridor lead down a flight of stairs and every step felt like a descent into the underworld. Fitting then they call themselves Cerberus, the guardian of the underworld, Shepard thought to himself. I just hope this Illusive Man doesn't have three heads as well; might make conversing with him a bit difficult.

The stairs came down to a dead end with a small circular platform in the centre. Stepping into it, a column of orange holograms rose up around him. As they reached over his head, his surroundings slowly changed. He was standing in a large room, with the only source of light coming from an enormous star in front of him. The flames swirled and danced over the sun, surrounding the only figure present in the room besides Shepard.

This figure was seated, a small cigarette in his hand that looked as much a part of him as his own hand. His clothes were casual yet radiated power. Like his business of brutal experimentation and advancing the human race in any way possible was as casual to him as mowing the lawn. But it was his eyes that stood out the most, they gleamed a soft blue that seemed almost calming, but it was the way they examined Shepard with the kind of cold, calculating nature that made them so mechanical. Shepard has seen many horrible things in his time; yet this figure was one of the few things that actually unnerved him.

"Commander Shepard," the figure spoke as casually as if he was talking to one of his own clients.

"Illusive Man."


So much for a simple rescue operation.

Tali stood with a group of about a dozen other Quarians, they were examining a holographic map of the colony trying to find the best route to Veetor. This entire mission made Tali nervous.

They received a distress signal from Veetor yesterday and since Tali and her crew were nearest they were tasked with finding him. However when they arrived they noticed a strange ship leaving the planet. She could have sworn it was the same ship that attacked the Normandy two years ago. It had no recognisable ship signatures and didn't match any ship from council space. Luckily, the ship left just as they arrived. Regardless, Tali warned her crew to be prepared for trouble.

Once they were planet side, it became quite obvious what that strange ship was after. Not a single human was in the area. As they passed through homes they noticed it didn't look like there was any sign of battle. Not a single bullet, explosion or gas grenade would have been used. In fact it looked like nothing had happened at all.

Did these people willingly leave with that ship? How else could they have gotten all of them on to it without so much as a gun being fired?

Tali shuddered. This colony made her uneasy. The only signs of activity were the mechs which suddenly started firing at them as soon as they became visible. They were easily dispatched, but Tali made sure to simply disable one mech.

Prazza was Tali's second in command and neither of them was very happy about it. He was used to giving orders and having to follow them for once made him aggressive. He was well aware of Tali's reputation, but she was an engineer, not a soldier.

"Why the hell are these mechs shooting at us? You said this place was empty!"

"It IS empty, Prazza. Or haven't you noticed the lack of living creatures around? It's possible the mechs were ordered to attack on sight when that ship landed."

"Well if that's the case why hasn't there been any sign of gunfire?"

Tali shrugged.

"They must have been reprogrammed afterwards then. Which would mean someone is still here. Keep a look out, I'll examine this mech I disabled and see if I can find out who."

Prazza turned away with his rifle raised and began to slowly walk towards a house. The others did the same, examining each house in turn to make sure they were empty of mechs. Tali crouched over the mech and activated her Omni-tool, she sliced into the signal being sent to the still active receiver and read the code being used to control them. She recognised it immediately, it was Quarian.

That must mean he's alive! Thank the ancestors; I was worried this whole thing was going to be a waste of time.

Tali stood up and ordered everyone to regroup.

"I found the code being used to hack these mechs. It's Quarian, meaning its possible Veetor is still here. I've managed to track his location. We'll set up a base and decide the best way to get there."

The others nodded. Immediately they began moving in formation, being sure to check every corner for signs of mechs. They found a suitable house that overlooked the colony, giving them an easier time to plot their course to Veetor. One of Prazza's marines brought up a scan of the colony. When mechs are inactive it's impossible to determine where they are from scans alone, so they plotted a course that would offer the most cover in case of a fire fight.

"Hold on, I'm picking something up, looks like a small ship is landing in the colony."

A ship already? Tali was familiar with the council and knew they wouldn't have sent a survey team so quickly. The Quarians themselves only arrived as quickly as they did by chance.

"Any idea who it is?" she asked the marine.

"Looks like… Cerberus."

Immediately the marines tightened the grips on their rifles.

"Excellent." It was Prazza who spoke up this time. "This will give us a chance to repay those heartless monsters for what they did to the flotilla."

A few marines nodded in agreement.

"No Prazza, we can't afford to loose people to Cerberus, we need to focus on finding Veetor." Tali needed to try and calm Prazza down before he went and did something stupid.

"And what if Cerberus attacks us before we can fight back? It wouldn't be the first time they did that."

"If they don't fire on us immediately let me handle it." Tali wasn't exactly confident in her diplomacy skills. That was Shepard's talent. But she did pick up a few things, mostly that all you need to do is convince people that what you want is what they want. Hopefully they can avoid a bloodbath and focus on Veetor.

Tali could tell Prazza wasn't happy with that. None of the Quarians were exactly fond of Cerberus to be sure but it looked as if Prazza was willing to sacrifice the mission just to kill a handful of Cerberus operatives. But he knew his place, he scoffed at Tali before sitting down and examining the scan of the colony once again. Tali could tell the other marines were on edge now, a mysterious ship, an entire colony empty of life and now Cerberus showing up. What in the world is going on?

As she looked out the window trying to figure out which house could be holding Veetor, she heard the door to the base open and at least eight rifles expanding. No gunfire, which means the intruders aren't hostile. She immediately turned around and tried to stop Prazza from firing if she could help it.

"Prazza! I said I'll handle this!"

As she turned to the intruders she quickly sized them up. There was three, a dark skinned male on the right, a white oddly dressed female on the left and the middle figure was wearing black armour with a red strip down his right arm. Wait, she's seen that armour before. It was the same armour that Shepard…

Impossible.


Shepard stood inside the elevator of the new Normandy. It felt almost nostalgic; the old Normandy had practically become his home. Having it ripped apart around him was heart wrenching to say the least. Like watching the house you lived in your whole life burn down.

We have a second chance though. I won't let it happen again.

As he reached his own personal deck he was stunned by how luxurious the room was. It was twice the size of his office on the old Normandy; there was an empty fish tank on the left wall and a very comfortable looking bed across the room. Seeing the fluffy pillows and soft sheets made Shepard realise just how tired he suddenly felt. After everything that happened with Cerberus, Freedom's Progress, Tali, Joker and the shock of a rebuilt Normandy, all he wanted was to sleep. He stopped himself though when he noticed the bathroom was equipped with a shower. He needed to wash, it's been over two years since the last time he did after all.

His skin was sensitive to the warm water rushing onto his face but it felt amazing. He emptied his thoughts as he stood under the cleansing water. Relaxation overwhelmed him; for the first time since his 'resurrection' he felt at peace. He was in the shower for a good thirty minutes before he turned the water off. Grabbing a towel and drying himself, he hunched over the sink and looked at his reflection in the mirror.

Miranda had told him that his scars were not fully healed and would take some time but these were no ordinary scars. They glowed red for one thing. At least they were faint.

He stared at himself for a minute. Ever since he woke up he could only focus on what he was going to do next. Now he had time to think and he realised that something was wrong.

There were… gaps in his memories. He knew he was forgetting some things but no matter what, he could not remember the details. There was someone he knew a long time ago; a girl, very smart and skilled with technology. But he couldn't remember who she was. Maybe she was his sister? No that wouldn't be right, he didn't have a sister… or did he? Was it Tali? No that couldn't be right either. He didn't know Tali when he was a teenager. Panic quickly overcame Shepard. If Cerberus were able to recover most of his memories, was it possible they implanted memories themselves?

If that was the case, they probably wouldn't have left all the memories he had of the Cerberus facilities he destroyed. He'll have to check the extranet and the alliance for any information he could find on himself to make sure they were the same as his memories.

Searching the extranet for himself, Shepard chuckled. How vain.

Shepard looked around the bathroom before staring back at the mirror. He suddenly remembered something he used to do with mirrors long ago. He 'discovered' it entirely by accident but the event had changed his perceptions forever.

Well, worth a shot to see if I can still do it.

Shepard then began to stare into his own eyes, ignoring everything else. When he was a teenager, he had stared into his own reflection for so long he actually stopped looking at the image as his reflection. Before long, he started to view himself not as himself, but from an outsider's perspective. To see himself as others see him. Looking at his face from the perceptions of another person then allowed him to think of times in his life where to him, his choices made sense but to others were nonsense. His altered perceptions allowed him to understand the perceptions of others; bringing with it an understanding and self-awareness that he had never experienced before.

He was not able to achieve that feeling this time though.

Maybe I've got too much on my mind. I'll try again later.

Disappointed, Shepard slowly dressed. The soothing feeling of being clean coupled with the exhaustion he felt from his first day back from the dead; Shepard collapsed on to his bed, and fell asleep instantly.


A/N: Well that was alot longer than I expected. If people are wondering why I'm skipping all the important parts with the Illusive Man and Tali it's because I don't see the point in just repeating what happens in the game. The reason I wrote this is to offer my ideas about what happened that we didn't see in the game and what the characters might be thinking.

As always, criticisms and reviews are encouraged.