A/N: Should've mentioned this before, but the song choice for the first part of this story is "Hymn For The Missing" by RED. I'll be posting more of these little songs so that you can all have a general feel for the mood I'm trying to set :)
Garrus refused to leave Elaine's side right up until Dr Chakwas forced him out so that she might perform some intimate examinations and treatments. Even then, the thought of leaving her alone made his stomach churn and his heart twist. It felt like he was walking through a dream. He'd managed to find her; after being left to agonise over losing her, he'd just as quickly found her. Perhaps it felt surreal because the 'reunion' had happened not quite how he'd imagined it. He'd pictured opening the shuttle and finding Elaine in there, scowling at him and demanding to know what took him so long. It was a fantasy, he knew, for of course he couldn't have back the same Elaine, the one who smiled and joined in with his jokes. No, Cerberus had done terrible things to her, and he hadn't come quick enough to help her escape.
A part of his brain told him it was pointless to blame himself. He hadn't been aware she was missing, he hadn't known she was in trouble, he was half a galaxy away. But it didn't make the guilt any easier to bear. And now, she was stuck in a Medbay, still out of his reach. It took all his self-control to not tear down the walls and go to her side. Deep breath in, long breath out. Attempting to think logically, he tried to rationalise his next step. Thinking in terms of what was practical helped to ease the storm inside his mind.
He decided that he needed to change out of armour. One thing was for certain, he wasn't leaving Elaine's side until he was sure she was going to be okay. And sitting in a chair at her bedside in bulky armour would grow uncomfortable after a time. So, civvies it was. He took a stop at the Mess-hall on his way back to order a stiff drink – he'd probably need it for whatever was to come.
Shepard met him outside the Medbay, in his own civvies. The pair nodded to each other. No words needed to be said – and Garrus didn't think he had the right ones anyway. They both waited in impatient silence for what felt like hours, until the doors finally opened and Chakwas beckoned them both in. Garrus immediately went over to the bed where the pale woman slept soundlessly. Elaine appeared at least washed, though her hair still seemed like a tangled mess. Tubes for air poked into her nose, IV's and other contraptions were linked up to her wrists and across her chest. Now that she was clean, Garrus could clearly see all the scratches and blemishes that adorned her skin. Some were obvious needle marks, others looked hastily cauterised sashes, and then there was bruising around her left eye-socket and cheek from where she'd been hit in the face. Each one made him want to reach for a gun, so he could scratch Cerberus' symbol in the side of the bullets. Whether it be today, or tomorrow, or at some point, he would pay them back for this, the Archangel side of him whispered.
"I've done everything I can for her, Shepard," Dr Chakwas was saying as she came towards the Commander – Garrus hadn't even noticed he was standing right beside him.
"What was the damage, Dr?" Shepard asked.
Chakwas glanced at Garrus, uncertain on whether she should speak such things in front of him. Garrus himself didn't know if he wanted to hear this, but he had to. Not knowing would eat him alive. He let Chakwas know the same thing as he levelled his stare on her. "It was rather… excessive. You see the multiple scars adorning her? From what I can gather, that's Cerberus' rushed work to take pieces of her."
"Pieces?" Garrus felt like he was gonna be sick.
"There's evidence of past surgeries, some a little invasive. My scans showed that they'd tried to take slices of her insides, like cuttings from a plant. It was nothing that would compromise her health, no piece was taken that was too large that the body would know it. At least, not at first. Just shavings of the liver, maybe samples of both kidneys, muscle tissue, I even found evidence of them attempting to take bone marrow."
"Why would they want that?" Shepard asked.
Chakwas sighed sadly. "You're guess is as good as mine, Shepard. Experimentation? Research? Elaine's unique physiology has never before been known to the world of science. Her tie to the taint we found in the Collectors is fascinating and mysterious. And considering your report of Cerberus attempting to infect their own troops with said corruption…"
"They're trying to make their own Grey Wardens…"
"And failing," the Dr huffed disdainfully. "I looked over EDI's analysis of the Cerberus troops you killed on Mars. It appears like a close variation of Elaine's, but not exactly the same. Some component isn't working correctly. These men are more likely simply tainted, not true Wardens."
"So, what happens for Elaine now?" Garrus cut in.
As if just remembering he was there, Shepard stepped back and allowed Chakwas to approach the bed. She came up to the many machines hooked into Elaine's body, on the opposite side of where Garrus stood. "I've given her a treatment that will stimulate her body to help regrow its lost cells. That, combined with the accelerated healing thanks to her Warden-abilities, will help speed along her recovery. She should be back on her feet in a week."
"When will she wake up?"
Chakwas hesitated. "That's up to her."
Shepard nodded. "Will you be able to psychically evaluate her as well?"
"I'm not a shrink, Shepard. But I will do my best to make sure all the crew of the Normandy are as healthy as horses."
Garrus didn't even let his mind try to decipher that human idiom, his brain was too exhausted to care. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Shepard came to stand at the foot of the bed and stared down at Elaine. Expression unreadable, unmoving, Garrus couldn't tell if his human friend was disturbed, grieved, or still in shock. He seemed to linger, as if he wanted to say something to the lifeless sleeping woman on the bed, but his lips never moved. Finally, he gave one last nod, and then turned to move away.
"Commander," Garrus reached out and caught hold of his sleeve. "Shepard, with your permission, I'd like to be here with Elaine. I know you want me planet-side, and I swear I'll be fit for duty soon. I just… I need to be here when she wakes up."
Shepard stared from him, to Elaine, and back. "It's alright, Garrus," he said in soft voice. "I understand."
Letting him go, the turian watched his Commander leave. Only the silence was left with him, broken only by the typing of Chakwas at her desk, and the beep of the machines linked up to the woman he'd loved. With a lonely sigh, Garrus pulled up a chair and parked it right by Elaine's bedside. He then sat at it and began his vigil.
Three days after Elaine's rescue, Shepard received word from Admiral Hackett of a Prothean find on Eden Prime that could potentially be of use in the war. He'd taken Liara and Vega with him to Eden Prime, as Cerberus had taken over the dig-site. Whilst a part of Garrus wanted nothing more than to go with Shepard to kill Cerberus scum in a vengeful spree, he also knew he was needed on the ship. Primarch Victus wanted continuing reports and counter-strategies to help the fleets better defend against Reaper attacks. Also, Elaine had still not woken up yet.
At least today, he wasn't alone in his post at her bedside. On the opposite side of the bed, sat Kasumi. Shepard had offered her all the hospitality of his ship for however long she wished to stay. She'd already made it clear that she wouldn't be staying on as part of the crew again and would be disembarking at the next big port. The small human woman gazed quietly into her coffee cup as Garrus studied her. Though he couldn't see her face, Garrus got the impression that she was tired, exhausted even, down to her bones. Six months ago, Kasumi had been a personality that was mischievous, carefree and spirited; but now it felt as if she was diminished, sad.
The turian decided to end his ruminations with a shar shake of his head and a cough. "Err, um, Kasumi. I… I guess I never did say thank you. You know, for helping to get Elaine back."
The woman startled as if his voice had snuck up on her. For a moment he witnessed heart-stopping panic in her eyes. And then it melted away just as quickly into a smile. "Come on, Garrus, I wasn't going to keep the princess away from her prince – the story has to have a satisfying ending."
He smiled and shook his head at her odd humour. And then his eyes drifted down to Elaine, still sleeping soundly in her bed, her body still battered and bruised. Perhaps the story wouldn't end so happily, he thought as he recalled her misery and hysteria back on the shuttle. "Kasumi…" he found himself saying quietly, hesitantly. "How did you find her?"
The woman drew away from the bed, closing herself off as she wrapped her arms around herself, hands rubbing her biceps. "Like you, I tried to make contact with Elaine when I thought she was incarcerated on Earth. When there was no word, I got suspicious. I investigated and discovered she wasn't with the Alliance – she never had been. The only thing I could dig up was that Cerberus had her. I tried to get information, but Liara and her network were too busy trying to dig up leads that would later be this Prothean device. So, I went out on my own. I infiltrated several suspected Cerberus bases, tried to gleam whatever intel I could. Eventually, it led me to the supply shipment to a little station out in the middle of nowhere. I had a whole plan ready to go – I just didn't count on Elaine herself beating me to the punch."
She smiled down at the sleeping woman, and gently clasped hold of her unmoving pale hand.
Garrus' gaze fixated on their joined hands, and then slowly travelled up to a little scar half way up Elaine's wrist. "Do… do you know what they did to her?"
"I can't tell you anything you can't already guess at."
"But do you know?"
Kasumi finally met his eyes and sighed. "I saw what she did to them. The brutality. The unnecessary gore. The hate. She wouldn't have done that unless they did something truly awful to her."
He closed his eyes, trying to banish the unpleasant mental images his brain tried to conjure up. A warm touch brushed his hand on the bed, and his eyes snapped open. Kasumi was leaning across Elaine, her fingers entwined with his. The warmth of her small smile enough to let him know her reassurances.
A groan came from the bed. The pair split apart to hurriedly stand over the prone woman. Kasumi's hand was reached out ready to press the button that would call for Dr Chakwas. Elaine's brows twitched, her eyelids scrunched up. It was the most she'd moved since she'd fallen unconscious. Another groan escaped her lips. Garrus found himself holding his breath as he waited. With agonising slowness, the eyelids fluttered and shifted back to reveal to him those icy-blue eyes he was so familiar with.
Elaine stared up at the ceiling, at first unseeing, as she blinked to adjust her vision to the light. Eventually, those eyes shifted left and right as she took in both Kasumi and Garrus leaning over her. Spirits, Garrus thought, those eyes – such a striking colour – still had the ability to make him catch his breath. Elaine stared up silently, her eyes fixed on him the longest. Garrus fidgeted on the spot. Should he say something first?
A shaky breath left her lungs as her eyes closed, a small tear began to flood beneath her long eyelashes. "So, this is another dream, then."
Panicking, Garrus hurriedly tried to fix his mistake, and swept Elaine's hand up into his grasp and squeezed. "No, Elaine." He whispered. "This is real. You're home."
She looked up at him sharply, really looked at him, as if trying to see through him completely. And then, Kasumi fished something out of her pocket and held it up. "Elaine, look! We got your coin? Trust us, sweetie, you're awake."
Elaine tried to reach her hand up, to take the coin back, a desperation in her expression dedicated to the sight of the strange coin with a drell's face on it. But her hand was too weak to lift, probably from all the drugs still pumping through her system, as well as not having moved or eaten proper food for three days. Seeing her plight, Kasumi placed the coin in Elaine's palm, and pressed her fingers around it.
At the feel of the cold metal against her skin, something inside the Warden snapped. She looked up at Garrus again, and he watched the tears pool into her eyes and stream down her face. "I-I'm back? They're gone?"
He did his best to smile through the lump forming in his throat. "Yeah, Elaine. They're all gone. You're on the Normandy. You're home."
A noise burst from her throat, a choking sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob. And then, suddenly, she was crying, weeping, uncontrollably. Just like she'd done down in the cargo-hold. And just like then, Garrus felt his heart pinch to see her cry. He did the only thing he could think of to do. Still holding onto her hand, squeezing it to let her know he had her, he leant forward and pressed his forehead to hers. And then Elaine was crying all the harder. At first, Garrus thought he'd upset her and considered pulling away, but then he felt an ever-so-subtle push back from her, even as she cried.
He held her for a long time after that, just letting her cry out her tears of relief to be rescued and grief for the nightmare she'd endured. Eventually, her tears ran dry, and when they did, it was as if they'd washed away the last of the fog that had clouded her vision, and she could now see the world clearly again. Chakwas was called in, who did a quick examination – and Garrus took surprised notice how Elaine tensed up at the Dr being anywhere near her – and then operated the bed to help her sit up. Kasumi had quickly left to fetch a hot cup of tea for Elaine, which Elaine insisted on attempting to drink by herself thanks to some light-stims Chakwas had provided.
As she sat there sipping her tea, Elaine tiredly rolled her head in the master-thief's direction. "I owe you an apology, Kasumi. I now realise that you'd come to save me, and in return I treated you like an apparition."
Kasumi attempted to brush it off with a shrug and a smile. "It happens."
"Be that as it may, I cannot think how I could ever repay you. You helped liberate me from Hell. I will try to honour that." Tiredly, the blonde attempted to smile. "With us both aboard the Normandy now, an opportunity will arise, I'm sure."
"No, Elaine…" Kasumi murmured, unable to meet her eyes. "I'm not staying."
Garrus winced; he'd hoped this could've waited until after she'd first woken up. Elaine frowned. "What?"
"Shepard's dropping Kasumi off at the next port." The Turian attempted to placate.
"But… but why?" Elaine asked, looking from him to Kasumi, genuinely confused. "Surely you would wish to fight with us again."
Kasumi snorted. "No thanks. I think last time proved I'm no fighter."
"Fighter or not, you should be helping us to take down Cerberus! After everything they've done, you'd let them get away with it?"
At Elaine's rising tone, Kasumi drew further into herself, shooting a glare of her own at the woman in the bed. "I don't have to do anything. I'm a thief. I should stick to that."
Before Garrus could calm the situation, Elaine completely lost it. "What, are you a coward now?!"
"Maybe I am! Maybe it's a little hard for me to sign up for galaxy-wide war when I still can't sleep at night! When I still have nightmares thanks to our little run through the Collector Base." Silence. Both Garrus and Elaine stared at the petite woman beside them. He felt like kicking himself for not seeing any of this earlier. Kasumi's bottom lip wobbled, before she ducked her head to keep her face out of sight. "I'm not… Some people are just not fighters, Elaine. Some people aren't cut out for that. Some people just want to feel safe."
"Kasumi…" Eaine murmured, the earlier anger gone from her, instead she looked stricken as she stared at the friend that refused to meet her eye. "I-I didn't–"
"Hey," Garrus gently took hold of Elaine's hand, directing her gaze back onto him and offering Kasumi a reprieve from the woman's scrutiny. "We're all suffering a little differently. But we're all here now. Doesn't that count for something?"
Elaine looked at her lap in shame. Garrus wished he could say something better, but no words would come to him. At least, none that he thought were appropriate. Was it the time they'd spent apart, or was it the fact that he felt completely out of his depth? Kasumi watched the pair of them for a long moment. Her hand dashed across her face to wipe away the stray tear that Garrus hadn't even noticed. With an uncomfortable cough, she promptly stood from her seat.
"Look, I should… I should probably get going. As soon as Shepard gets back, I'll be getting off. Eden Prime's a big enough port for me."
"You sure?" Garrus asked, "Shepard'll be docking at the Citadel soon enough, if you want to–"
"Thanks, but I'm good. Citadel's too high profile for me anyways."
Elaine's eyes watched the Master Theif's back, torn with indecision. It wasn't until she was almost out the door and nearly gone, that the Warden found her voice. "Kasumi!" The little woman paused and looked over her shoulder. Elaine opened her mouth to say something, but no words would come out. Finally, she settled for: "May the Maker watch over you."
Kasumi gave her old friend one last nod, before heading out the door. Elaine watched her go, a grieved expression on her face. Garrus knew that look all too well, had felt it himself once or twice. She was wondering if she'd ever get to see her friend again, if there would be time to speak the words left unsaid.
"Well…" he huffed loudly to try and break the tension. "That could've gone better."
"It was my fault…" she muttered.
"We're all on edge lately. Don't beat yourself up too much over it."
He squeezed her hand. She stared down at it, as if trying to puzzle out how it got there. Her voice was thick with emotion when she spoke. "I still can't believe this is real… I keep expecting to wake up."
"It's real alright." He smiled. "And don't get too comfortable with me being Mr Smiles. As soon as you're out of that bed, I fully intend to give you a piece of my mind. Didn't I tell you not to go? You and Shepard both need to learn: always listen to Garrus."
"I'm so sorry, Garrus," Elaine whimpered, tears suddenly hinting in the corner of her eyes. "I wish I had listened to you. I wish I'd done more. I wish I–"
Panic exploded in Garrus' chest. He immediately tried to snatch hold of her attention. "Hey, hey, hey! It was a joke, I-I didn't mean to…" he trailed off as her sadness continued. Way to go, Vakarian; he thought, way to put your foot in your mouth. Yet more evidence that he wasn't vastly inadequate when it came to situations like this.
"I wish I'd never gone!" she hissed, eyes screwed shut against her tears. "I wish I'd stayed with you! And now everything's ruined. After everything they did–"
"Nothing is ruined, Elaine. You hear me?" he told her fiercely.
"But… How can you want me after…"
Both elbows leaning on the bed, he took her hand up in his, pressing it to his scarred mandible. He let his talons run down the length of her wrist, his gloved hand feeling every bump and scar. "Let me tell you something, Miss Cousland: none of that matters to me. I got you back, that's all I care about. And in the future, anyone who wants to come after you, is gonna have to go through me first. It's going to take a lot more than Reapers or Cerberus to come between this cross-species liaison."
Her breathing was shaky as she tried to hold back her emotions. Her eyes were guarded, as if she was holding back from him, and he didn't like it. But, she'd been through enough emotional turmoil for one afternoon, he reasoned, and so decided to drop the matter in favour of letting her recuperate. Maybe her own body agreed with him, for as Elaine slouched into her pillow, she tried to stifle a huge yawn.
"You're tired." He said, daring to reach out to run his fingers through her hair. "Go to sleep."
Even as her eyes were lulled closed by the soothing action of his fingers, she tried to fight it. "I don't want to. I can't."
"Yeah, you can. You need it. Don't make me get Dr Chakwas in here with the sedatives."
Again, he'd meant the words as a joke. And again, he put his foot in his mouth. He noticed immediately how she tensed up, how her fists clenched as if ready to lash out. Breathing through it, she stared up at him, with such a sudden intensity he was taken aback for a moment. "Promise me one thing? Be here when I wake up. I couldn't stand it if…"
"I promise."
It took a little more coaxing and several minutes of silent relaxation before she would finally fall asleep. When she did, Garrus copied Chakwas' instructions in order to make the bed move so she could lay flat on it. Once that was done, he dimmed the lights, and tried to make his chair more comfortable for the long period of waiting ahead. He contemplated napping himself, but decided against it. He needed to keep an eye on her. It was a simple truth his gut refused to allow to abate, even as his rational mind attempted a half-assed excuse that she was perfectly safe here. But no, it was still there, an instinct deep inside that demanded he stay and protect her; demanded he make sure he never lost her again.
The sound of Oren's laughter floated all around her as the pair of them ran through the winding castle halls. Elaine's strides were slowed by the skirts threatening to twist about her ankles. Her hands slid along smooth cool stone. The child in front of her let out a shriek of laughter once again as he glanced over his shoulder at her. Shadows periodically swallowed him as the dim corridors held little light. Strange, for even in the dead of winter, the torches should've been lit.
Oren turned the corner ahead, and Elaine heard him giggling: "Can't catch me!"
"Oh yes I can!" Elaine called back. Her bare feet slid along the floor as she tried to turn the corner at speed… And then stopped.
Oren was no where in sight. Instead, shadows as thick as smoke surrounded and obscured her vision. She tried to wave them aside. And as they abated, a muted light began to glow through the fog. Trudging towards it, Elaine parted the mist in order to reach the warmth it offered in opposition to the cold dankness that attempted to cling to her skin. Shapes formed, and she saw her mother and father sat in great armchairs before the fire in their study. Her mother looked ancient, a large assortment of furs thrown over her lap to keep her warm. At her entrance, her father looked up and smiled. "There you are pup,"
For some reason, Elaine felt the unmistakable urge to cry at hearing him call her that. But why should she? He'd always called her 'pup', it felt strange to feel a sense of mourning over the word. Wordlessly, she came over to her father and wrapped her arms around his shoulders in an embrace.
From her seat, her mother gave a little groan. "Bryce, my wounds ail me!"
Elaine felt a jolt of alarm. "Wounds?"
"Yes," her father said gravely. "We summoned you to discuss a serious matter, pup. Your treason."
Elaine sprung away from her father as if he were engulphed in flames. He stood, looming over her as she often thought he did as a little girl. "T-Treason?"
"You ran from us. You turned you back on your family and left us to die."
Elaine stood frozen, trembling with terror and horror. From behind her father emerged a sneering figure – Arl Rendon Howe. Pulling a dagger from his belt, he grinned at her from over her father's shoulder. Elaine opened her mouth to shout, to warn of the danger, but her mouth was gagged, and no sound would come from her. Howe's grin widened as he grabbed hold of her father and plunged the knife under Bryce's ribs. Her father sputtered, blood shooting out of his mouth to spray Elaine's face. Slowly, he grew pale, the blood pouring from his wound, his mouth, his eyes, and he fell to the floor. Behind him, she spotted her mother slumped over in her chair, a dozen arrows sticking out from her chest.
"Aunty 'Laine?" said a little voice.
Turning slowly, Elaine saw little Oren in the doorway to the study. The child looked lost, as if he'd awoken from a deep sleep, and couldn't find his way in the dark. He stared up at her, his eyes – the Cousland eyes – wide and beginning to glisten. Behind him stood a woman, her hair pale yellow, her eyes the same as the boy's. Elaine felt a jolt to recognise herself stood with a loving smile on her face as she placed a hand on Oren's small shoulder. Then, she held up a silver sword, gleaming red in the firelight. The tip was ever-so-gently placed against the junction between Oren's neck and shoulder. And then, slowly, the other-Elaine pushed the sword deep into the boy's flesh. Oren's mouth fell open in shock and pain, blood squirted out from the wound until both Elaine and her doppelganger were covered in it. Elaine tried to scream, but no sound escaped her. The other-her wouldn't stop driving in the sword, no matter how hard Elaine silently screamed and pleaded, she didn't stop until the point of the sword came out again just above Oren's hip. With a wrench, the sword was pulled free, almost cleaving the child in two.
This time, a real scream did erupt from Elaine's mouth as she suddenly broke free of the invisible bindings that had kept her body frozen. She dived to try and catch the little body of the boy she loved like her own child. But before her fingers could touch his pale and cold skin, the inky smoke swept in and consumed them both. Elaine scrambled to her feet, stumbling, as she attempted to find her way in the darkness. There was something warm and sticky beneath her feet, staining her skin and the hem of her skirts. It slipped underneath her, and the woman fell hard to the ground.
Once again, she tried to push herself back up, her muscles straining as if from exhaustion. When she craned her head back, a light illuminated the world around her, just barely. Her heart shuddered to a stop as she looked up to realise her old friends were stood before her, all that is, except for Morrigan and Alistair. They looked exactly as they did at the Battle of Denerim. Even, Elaine realised with growing horror, the wounds they'd received in that fight.
This nightmare was unending, and she could only think to whisper one final plea: "Help me…"
Oghren spat at the ground. "You want our help? When did ya sodding help us when we needed it?"
Zevren scowled down at her with such hate, she shrank further into the floor. Wynne put a hand on his shoulder, as if to stay his anger, even if her own ancient eyes were clouded with tears. "You abandoned us. You abandoned your world. You abandoned your duty. Now we are all dead while you live on. I thought better of you."
Elaine felt her insides turn to ash, a hollowness eating away at her soul as tears streaked down her face. "I didn't want to! Please, I wanted to come back."
Leliana spoke in a voice so icy it chilled Elaine's bones. "This is all pretend to you. That what happened to us is some story you hope never happened. But I suffered. The whole world suffered. It was real."
And behind them, Elaine saw a vision of her world burning, people screaming, Darkspawn turning everything to rot. Above it all, in skies filled with horrendous magical storms that blocked out the sky, an Archdemon soared in victory, screaming out its dreadfully beautiful music for all the damned and the dying to hear.
A cold touch wrapped around Elaine's ankle and tugged. She was dragged backwards along the ground that stung and cut into her skin. She scrabbled to try and gain purchase with her hands, but all it did was turn them bloody. She twisted to see her assailant, and almost vomited in disgust, to see Cerberus doctors dragging her back towards their cutting table. Behind them stood Kei Leng, a smirk on his face. Elaine fought all the harder, screaming and pleading with her friends to save her, even as they grew further and further out of reach.
Shale listened to her pleas and crossed its arms stoically. Sten levelled her a stare filled with disappointment and shook his head. "You are Kadan no longer."
An iron grip wrapped around the back of Elaine's neck, she hissed as sharp fingers dug into her skin. Then, the force that held her began to pull her up, higher and higher, until she dangled with her feet a good several inches above the floor. Elaine flailed and struggled, fingers trying to unlock the painful grip on the scruff of her neck, feet kicking to try and find solid ground. Purposefully slowly, she was turned around, until she came face to face with the wrinkled face of Flemeth. The Witch was adorned in her battle-armour, her hair twisted into that strange horn-like way. The Warden attempted to fight, certain that she would meet her doom.
But then, Flemeth opened her mouth wide – impossibly wide! And then it yawned wider and wider, until all Elaine could see was down the great gullet of the witch. And there, inside, Elaine's eyes widened with horror, as she saw a young woman, curled up in a ball pressed against the walls of flesh within Flemeth's throat. The woman looked up, and Elaine squeaked as she recognised the face of Morrigan, the warm golden eyes, the beautiful face. Recognising Elaine, Morrigan bolted for her, attempting to climb her way out of her prison of flesh and reach for friend. As she stretched her arm out beyond the confines of Flemeth, however, her flesh turned fell from the bones like dust. Elaine tried to squirm away in fright but could not move with the same iron claws behind her neck.
And then, a wheezing voice, Morrigan said: "Let us end this…"
And suddenly, Elaine was falling, tumbling spinning, through empty air. She screamed, pinwheeled her limbs, but it did no good in her free fall. The ground seemed miles away far below. Something slithered along the barren ground, and Elaine shrieked when she recognised the gigantic reptilian form, the massive wings, the stench of corruption pouring from its every fibre. The Archdemon watched her fall, roaring up at her as it awaited her demise. But it was not like the Archdemon she knew from Ferelden. This one had wires and metal manacles attached to its legs, and one eye glowed up at her with a piercing red electrical light.
The Archdemon opened its mouth wide to swallow her whole, and Elaine screamed as she fell, unable to fly.
Elaine awoke, sweating and panting. It took her eyes several moments to adjust to the dim light. Confusion abounded as to where she was. The smell of disinfectant set off alarms in her head that made her instantly think the Doctors had taken her to another cutting room. The fools however had forgotten to strap her down! Her nightmare had set her instincts to fight and flee running high. She could jump up and fight free –
Her hand brushed something hard. Her gaze snapped down, and she stared at the Turian head cushioned in his arms on her bed. The silver plates and blue markings seemed so familiar… Garrus?
Memories slowly trickled back into her mind. Her escape, her rescue, Shepard, Kasumi, Garrus… Finally rooted in the present, Elaine attempted to fortify herself with a steadying breath. It was no use, the adrenaline coursing through her veins made it impossible for her heart to slow. She wet her lips, tried to swallow. No luck.
The words her family and friends had spoken washed back through her mind like the wave of a tide. Over and over they repeated. They told her in no uncertain terms how she had abandoned them, betrayed them, left them to die, and that she hadn't been good enough to save them. Any of them. Attempting to tune out the guilt that hurt her soul, Elaine turned her face away from the Turian sleeping soundly at her bedside. Through her misery, one little flicker of anger began to burn bright. Cerberus did this, she realised. It was them who had taken her away, them who had tortured and humiliated her, and it was thanks to them that her mind and body was now in shambles. No longer, she promised herself, she was back with Shepard now; sooner or later, she would be fit for combat once again. And when that day came, she vowed to slaughter every man and woman who dared to bare the Cerberus crest. But that was for later, she reconciled, now was the time to mourn her lost innocence. She curled up, pulling the thin blanket over her hide in an attempt to hide her tears from view, even if it couldn't hide the shiver of her body as she wept silently.
