I hastily glanced at Raal with confused face who grabbed Yela by her neck and was holding a pistol. Wait, Carnifex?

I abruptly tried to probe the spot where I left it last time and I didn't feel it. He already took it, and was pointing at my forehead with it.

When did he? And… why the fuck he would do that? With his own Inszel?

"You let me go, no one gets hurt." He broke me from my thoughts by his 'conditions' and started slowly walk away from the table, using her as a body shield. She tried to break free by holding the hand which locked her in place, but without success.

She's also silent. Either she's overwhelmed by a fact that her own lover is using her as a body shield, or either it's just a master plan of getting away from me.

Though I highly doubt that.

As I gradually place my hand on the coach to push myself from it, I felt the Carnifex's barrel so close to my forehead.

"Don't do anything you might regret!" He demanded bluntly, as he continued to depart from our place.

I stop, instead waiting for a moment to get off safely without getting shot. I don't know why I'm so calm. If you're being pressured by the barrel of the gun at your forehead, you're supposed to be scared, right?

That's doesn't happen to me. Probably because I have a barrier, surrounding me any moment I feel danger.

At this moment, I noticed that everyone noticed all of us and slowly began to make a race towards the exit, leaving only that bastard and me around. Good, I won't have to worry about any civ casualties.

Yela is definitely shocked. She kept staring at me with her widened eyes, trying to get free due to the pressure against her neck, as she was trying to say something, but I didn't understand what.

But I really understand I have to stop this.

I tried to approach again, as immediately Raal jerked with the pistol in order to stop me. Having no choice, I stop abruptly, looking with narrowed grimace and with sharp eyes.

"If you try to move again, I'll shoot you." He demanded again, trying to make his way for the exit as well. Though… why his voice is different? Why he suddenly lost his accent?

My barrier should at least one or two bullets, right? Right?

I continue to approach him slowly as he was walking away from me, keeping the same distance between ourselves, as I noticed my cyber-scars began to pulse brighter again.

The moment I dashed forward, Raal pulled the trigger of the pistol, releasing a bullet right at me. The moment it collapsed right at my barrier made something tickled within me, grabbing his arm and lifting it forward as he shot again, changing the trajectory of the bullet.

I proceed abruptly twisting the whole arm to the left side, causing Raal wince in pain, in a kickback dropping the pistol and releasing his hold of Yela's neck, freeing her.

Then, Raal abruptly tries to knock me off by punching me in the face, though I don't feel any pain from it.

With a grunt, I kick his guts with my knee, staggering him and making him almost lose his balance.

Getting this opportunity, I charge right at him, subconsciously amplifying myself with biotics, pushing both of ourselves right through the doorframe. We plugged out from the café like a plug and felt down into the ground, sliding a few meters after.

Groaning as I tried to push myself off the ground, I immediately got punched by Raal's fists, as I felt on the ground again with a squeak. His mask is shattered, though it seems I dealt some good damage for him.

"You…fuck!" He declared, pulling out his knife as he headed for my side. "I'm gonna kill you!"

Just before I could do anything, I hear piercing sound of Carnifex, as Raal screamed and winced in pain, dropping his knife and holding his left hand, hiding the pierced tissue, suit rupture and… blood. Turning my head to find the source, I find Yela, holding my pistol, tightly holding it in her hands as she made a shot.

Not losing another opportunity, I charge at him again, collapsing his body against the ground and accidentally smacking his head in the meantime, completely breaking up his mask.

What the fuck…

He's…not… he's a not a quarian?

Whatever he is… he's definitely not a quarian. He looks like a human, his skin tone is black and eyes colored with green color.

Pulling him up by his upper body, I abruptly crashed Raal against the wall. I didn't notice that my cyber-scars started leaking something akin to flares of red energy, spitting out from my marks and going up until they dissolve.

"Who the hell…are you?!" I yelled, smashing him against the wall again. He's not Raal, that's for sure…

But then again… how the fuck a human managed to squeeze himself in a quarian enviro-suit?

"Fuck off…!" he responded loudly, before coughing a few times, probably of bloody lump in his throat was about to spit out. This enraged me even more, grabbing his left arm, and twisting his left elbow with help of my biotics. I stop when I heard a crack, releasing it and making Raal scream in pain and fell down into the ground.

"I'm gonna break every bone you have unless you won't answer the next question!" I yelled again, standing right next to his side. "Where is Raal?!"

"Docking bay… N31…" he groaned, yet trying to spit out everything he knew probably just get rid off me. "Where he passaged the – t-the ship… storage A-5."

Killing him is no choice; I don't need more problems with C-Sec.

As I took a big breath in order to calm myself down, I hastily opened my omni-tool, opening the link between Den and myself.

"Daemon?" he answered, not in way changing his 'calm' voice tone. "What do you need?"

"Long… it's a long story." I breathed, meanwhile checking if that guy was in check. "C-can you send someone where I am right now? I have just incapitated someone who pretended to be Raal." I asked, meanwhile trying to find Yela.

"What?" his voice tone had slightly shown he got confused for a moment, nevertheless not losing composure. "What are you talking about?"

"I'll explain later, can you just do that?" I urged, as I find Yela leaning against wall. My pistol was lying right next to me in armed position, while she was hiding her face-plate in sobbing manner.

"No. Apparently, someone already report a crime approximately close to your location. Something about quarian using another as a hostage and units are already on their way. Were you involved in it?"

"Yes…"

Den sighed with a quiet grunt, before adding, "Just do what you wanted, but I expect you with full report once you return. Understood?"

"Got it." I said, before abruptly breaking the link as I was just a few meters between Yela and myself.

The closer I was coming, the louder her sobs could be heard. As I picked up my pistol and tried to lend my hand to her, she bluntly pushed herself and collapsed right at me, leaving me almost without balance, hearing her crying with wild tears.

"Yela, I know where Raal is." I declared, as my hands subconsciously hugged her back to comfort her.

That was enough to let Yela speak again. "You k-know…?" she asked through her sobbing and my attire.

"If we don't hurry, he'll die…" I said, stopping holding her as she tried to get off me. "Come on, we need to find him." I motioned with my hand, as I started running.

Because I wouldn't accept his death.


Multiple suit ruptures. Extensive blood loss. Serious infection.

Raal had everything to experience a near-death state.

Surprisingly, he was still in his suit when we found him. His body was lying at the corner of the storage, merely hidden by the boxes and other stuff. Only his moans and crippled calls for help helped us to find him, because that storage was enormously sized.

But… at least I'm glad he's not dead.

And now, well his body is contained in some kind of a bio-chamber, specifically designed for treating Quarians in the Citadel hospitals. I was surprised they even had one, considering how badly they are treated among other races, but I should say only Presidium located hospitals do have one, I don't know about the rest. It's probably true that only those have one, since he was transported immediately into one.

At this moment, Raal was put into an artificial coma, to at least have a chance to stabilize his vitals, the remains of his enviro-suit was scrapped off and only a darkened glass shelter is keeping him save. Though I must say, I didn't had a chance of looking at his appearance without his suit. Not because I didn't want to, I was simply not allowed to, due to the fact I could give him even more nasty things to his existing ones.

Yela is doing fine, if I can put that tag on her. Ever since Raal was put into the bio-chamber, she didn't move an inch from it, sitting right next to it without a move, even without a word. Her glowing eyes are blurred, a clear sign she cried extensively. Even when the sensors showing sensors are showing his vitals are somewhat stable, she still doesn't want to go.

"I'm sorry, Ms…" the Doctor, which was a human male, named Tray Rundebt, suddenly walked in the room, slightly spooking me at due to the fact I didn't expect any 'doctors' to come here.

"Y-Yela…" she muttered, not trying to look at him. "Yela'Laame."

"Right," doctor Tray coughed to clear his throat and continued. "I'm sorry, but R…-Raal is in very critically dangerous condition, he must be treated right now. If you have planned to leave the Citadel right now, I'd highly suggest to change your plans, the chances that he would survive the trip is slim."

"And that thing… bio-chamber isn't transportable?" I asked, meanwhile pointing at it with my thumb.

"Sadly, no." He shook his head with a sigh. "This equipment is very expensive, and it happened that only a few hospitals has those at their disposal. It should be noted that these bio-chambers weren't designed for transportation, very fragile as well, unfortunately."

"And…" I could clearly sense a true despair in her voice. "how much it's going to take him to r-recover?"

"In ideal one month." He said with another sigh.

Shit…

"Keelah…" her eyes gone shocked as Yela grasped slowly. "one month." She repeated the very words he said with downed face.

And the thing is… I think that Yela only got two options right now. Either she rushes back to their passaged ship, or either she stays here , in the Citadel for a whole freaking month. And, if she decides to stay, where would she go? She's a quarian, and it's likely nobody would like a 'suit-rap' to snuff into their house for a month or another. I could, if I had one, but Den most likely won't allow her to stay with us.

I wonder if someone had a shittier Pilgrimage than those two.

"Can I… stay with him?" she asked sheepishly, tingling her fingers against each other.

"Stay as long as you want, I won't disturb you." He said calmly, before departing from us, leaving us alone.

Yela sniffed quietly, before continuing staring at Raal's capsule. She slowly laid her hand against glass cover, and slowly, she went sobbing again, leaking out her tears inwardly.

Deciding I should leave her alone, I open the door as well and go away, glancing over my shoulder as I do so. Sighing, I lazily sat down at the bench, laying my chin against my palms as I started to think what would I do. Because, really, she probably won't make it alone.

And as I hate being involved into something without my choice, I can't just ignore it. Not this one for sure.

I'm so tired already. My second day in my new life and already done such things I couldn't do normally. Killing someone… saving a quarian… getting myself into a gunfight… fistfight. Got interrogated, was interrogating a quarian couple.

I can't say I'm mad. No, I'm…somewhat enjoying it, if being honest.

"Shepard has some important 'business' with the Council right now, so she allowed me to come here."

Huh? I'm not alone in here?

Slightly poking my eyes to the voice's source, I immediately pulled them back to myself. Tali is sitting right next to me. With another quarian.

Sitting right next to me, what she's even doing here?

"So, a human is your Captain now?" Another quarian had a distinctive feminine tone, though I didn't listen closely to it.

"Yeah. She's been nice to me, ever since she saved from the Fist. And – accepted my help against Saren."

"And before that you're saying you was saved by another human?"

Oh yeah, that human was me.

"Did he say his name?"

"Something… something started with 'Ed' I think… we were on edge and he just randomly spat it out of nowhere-"

It's kinda funny hearing her own trying to recall my own name. I'm even flattered, really.

"Eduard?"

"Right!'

Huh?

"Did that idiot had white hair and red eyes?"

"I don't know about his eyes, but he really had a long bleached hair. And for some reasons his face was glowing with... red?"

"Definitely him."

Definitely who?

"Who?"

"My brother. My… adopted brother."


A/N: This chapter had come through my beta-reader, Ghostboy95, and I thank him for checking out this chapter.

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