Chapter 10
Anamanaguchi: Just Like In The Movies (from Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game.)
A/N: We're finally back! That's right, my school stuff is temporarily dealt with until the next round of exams…meaning I can write again! Wooo! Seriously, I'm sorry it took this long…but my exams went well, so the break for revising was at least worth it. A Normandy chapter isn't the most explosive thing to come back on, but oh well.
Yeah, after the craziness of Feros, we've got some Normandy stuff to deal with. It's gonna take more than one chapter. As far as I'm concerned, BioWare made an absolutely phenomenal cast, and just one chapter can't do their personalities and stuff justice. So if you like crew interactions, you're in luck…if you prefer the action style stuff, I promise it's coming, you just have to wait.
One last thing: story shout-outs. First off, you all need to go and read a fic called 'True Identity' by porcupinetheater. As soon as you've finished this chapter, do it. If you like Masses to Masses (and considering you're reading chapter 10 of the sequel I assume you do) you'll love it. Self-insert that runs parallel to the ME storyline as the protagonist gets recruited into the Alliance rather than Shepard's squad…if you like original stories, like self-inserts, trust me, you won't regret it.
And if you enjoy Fable III, and were gutted you couldn't romance Ben, a story called 'Melting the Ice' that I'm betaing over in that section should solve your woes. Written by Kassandra Black, I don't even play Fable III, and I enjoy reading it!
One final thing, Masses to Masses has a TVTropes page! The link is on my author page on this website. Do some Wild Mass Guessing, give it a read, whatever.
On with the chapter!
"If you keep moving around, Ian, it's not going to make this any easier," Chakwas says sternly, eyes focused on working away at my broken nose from where the geth smacked me with an assault rifle. I screw up my face as a fresh wave of pain hits from where she's messing with the bone, but try to control my movements as much as possible for the doctor. "You've taken quite a knock there," she observes. I open my mouth to reply…just as she twist her wrist deftly and something in my nose cracks, turning the words I had planned into one sharp yell of pain.
"Knock doesn't quite cut it," I gasp, after the sting dies down. "They might not look like much, but geth can pack quite a hit."
"I'll bet they can," Chakwas replies, a little absent-mindedly, moving to inspect the burns on my chest from the creeper acid. They've left a big scar, it's just too bad it doesn't look cool like the one I got from being shot. Blotchy bits of skin, a few scabs where the acid sunk through deep…apparently chicks dig scars, but this is probably going over the line. "I imagine you'll want this scarring removed, right?"
"If it's alright," I reply, still a little shocked by the doctor's casual manner. Even Shepard confessed to feeling a little sick after she saw the burns when we all came down to the med-bay for the post-mission checkup, though to be honest it could have just been the side effects from melding with Shiala. God…my mind drifts back to Feros, the events just before I left. No Cipher, and now one person knows a secret that should have remained buried…
"Shouldn't be too much of a problem," Chakwas says, grabbing a datapad and putting in a few details, knocking me off my train of thought. "I can have these removed…whenever you want, really. I need to get equipment prepared, but that's not going to take long. I should be ready in about two hours, and the operation should only take an hour or so, at the most."
I raise an eyebrow at her estimate. It's been over two years I've been here, yet the medical advances never cease to amaze me… "You don't seem to put off by my burns," I point out, unable to help the surprised tone creeping into my voice. "The consensus from the rest of the crew is it's pretty disgusting."
"Please, you're hardly a medical emergency," Chakwas laughs, storing the datapad away and motioning for me to put my t-shirt back on. "If you came in here missing a limb, I probably wouldn't have batted an eyelid. When you get to my age and you've been serving in the Alliance this long, you've pretty much seen it all."
"Really?" I ask, genuinely curious. I never really got to know Chakwas much during the game…plus she's the only other British person on this ship, so we've got something in common there. "Like what? What's the worst thing you've ever seen?"
"My seventh year in the Alliance, had to deal with a marine who got knocked into some lava on a mining world out near the Terminus systems," she replies immediately, obviously knowing my question was coming. "He wasn't there long, and the rest of his squad managed to pull him out so he lived. Full first-degree burns all over his body, at least half of his skin had been almost completely incinerated."
"Jesus Christ," I mutter, gagging a little bit as the image of what that would like forms in my mind…curse the fact I'm a visual learner! "What happened? Did you save him?"
Chakwas smiles proudly. "He made a full recovery. We had to replace a lot of skin, blood transfusions, surgery on affected blood vessels…but he made it through. You should see him now," she chuckles. "He's pretty good looking, if I say so myself." I laugh as well, and we both share the moment for a few seconds before it finally dies away, then her expression turns slightly more serious once again. "It's why they chose me for the Normandy. One of the reasons, anyway. Apparently I'm one of the best medics in the Alliance, plus Jeff needs someone to help him keep on top of his Vrolik's."
"Oh, I see," I say, trying my best to make it sound like this is news to me. "Well, if you can save a man from falling into lava, I'm sure I'm in safe hands for a little operation."
"Indeed," she smiles. "It's weird, you know, having another Brit on board. And here I was thinking the Alliance stopped hiring us after I signed up."
"Tell me about it," I grin. "All the mispronunciation and weird spelling around here. Makes me want to cringe every time I hear someone say toe-may-toe." Chakwas laughs properly when I say that, shifting her position slightly on the counter she's leaning on and letting me catch a glimpse of a bottle of something sticking out from behind some files. I wonder…
"Is that Serrice Ice Brandy?" I ask, pointing towards the bottle neck. Chakwas looks surprised, then reaches out and brings it out to inspect closer.
"Yes," she replies, sounding a little shocked it's there. "I'd almost forgotten I had this…actually, your file said you didn't drink. How'd you know what it was from the bottle neck?" Oh, shit! Think of something plausible!
"I don't drink, but if you spend enough time around people who do, you get to know an awful lot," I say back, after a second's hesitation. "Garrus must have tried pretty much every liquor in the galaxy the two years I've been partners with him."
"I can imagine," Chakwas nods, "turian livers can take much more alcohol than ours can, so they can do it with pretty much impunity. Still, I must have had this bottle for years, now…"
"Saving it for a special occasion?" I ask, knowing fine well what the answer's going to be.
"Yes," she smiles ruefully. "But I've been saving it for so long now…I can never seem to find the right time for it."
"Then let me make a suggestion," I smile. "Once all this is over, with Saren, you crack it open then. I'll come down here specially for it."
Chakwas grins back. "Now there's a thought. But…I thought you didn't drink." Ah, good point, but…
"I guess I can make an exception for a special occasion," I laugh. "It's more about the gesture of having a drink like that, something symbolic, rather than me just getting hammered. I'll still keep away from it normally, though."
"Of course," Chakwas chuckles. "And good on you for it. You'll live longer." Looks like I've made another friend on the Normandy…funny, you never really got to see this side of Chakwas in the games…and she's actually a really cool person!
"Well, I guess I'll see you in a few hours," I say, rising to my feet out of the chair I was sitting in for the examination and holding out my hand. "It's been a pleasure meeting you, doctor."
"Please, just Chakwas. It's been good to meet you too, Ian," she smiles. "And I'm holding you to that drink we've agreed. I've got the alcohol, you bring the glasses."
"Roger that," I say, giving her a mock salute and heading out of the med-bay door. "I'll see you in a few hours." She nods back, turning to her work and preparations as the med-bay door slides shut behind me. I make a mental note to remember the glasses as I head around the corner towards Kaidan, but my mind's so filled with other things I'll probably forget it. Feros is still fresh on my mind, as is Shiala…
#############
So, the Cipher didn't work, because my subconscious rejected it. Why the hell would it do that? Perhaps the vision isn't actually of Prothean origin, though from the looks of it I'm betting it somehow is…but even if it wasn't, that shouldn't mean my subconscious should totally reject the ancestral memories! I should have just absorbed them, even if it didn't change the actual vision, but Shiala specifically said I rejected it…it's ironic that I asked for her help to find answers, but all I've ended up with is more questions. Too bad I'm really not in the mood to find it funny at the moment.
Plus someone knows my origins now…someone I can't keep an eye on. Sure, Shiala makes it into Mass Effect 2 safe and sound if canon gets followed…but considering I'm here, what else in canon can change? What if she lets it slip to someone, or worse, what if Saren sends agents back to investigate what happened on Feros?
Oh, for fuck's sake Ian, calm down. Nothing bad is going to happen…and besides, there's no point worrying about Shiala now anyway. She's gone, a factor out of my control, so it's not like me stressing out over it is going to help anyway…no, I just have to get my head straight, and stay focused on working what the hell is going on with me. Maybe talking to Kaidan can help me relax a bit…Shepard's lounging around on a chair behind him, with what looks like some kind of advanced remote control for the screen mounted on the wall. I wonder what she's doing…but it can wait until I'm done talking to the Lieutenant.
"Alright, Kaidan?" I say, on approach. The man himself turns around to look at me, small smile on his face.
"Not too bad, kid," he replies. "Finishing up my part of the report on the Feros mission, but nothing that can't wait a little while. I'm almost done, anyway."
"You have to do a report?" He nods, smiling at my ignorance. "Christ, I'm glad I'm not Alliance. I hate writing that kind of thing."
"Didn't you do a lot of that during your time at C-Sec?" he asks.
I nod vigorously. "God, yeah, loads, but that doesn't mean I had to enjoy it. Garrus and I hated the stuff, it's part of the reason we joined up with Shepard. We could investigate Saren with C-Sec, but the amount of red tape we had to cut through meant we were never going to get anywhere with that. Now, I've got you to do it for me," I smile, and Kaidan chuckles.
"Is that so?" the Lieutenant replies. "Well, for that clever little comment, someone's write up is getting changed in the report…"
"Hold up, you're writing on me in there?" He nods, grinning now he knows he's holding the cards. "I take it all back, Kaidan, I have nothing put appreciation for the fantastic work you put in."
"Alright," he says, in a mock-thoughtful tone. "I'll let it slide this time. Seriously though, I've written some good things about you, kid. You handled yourself more than capably, kept going even when you got injured, stayed calm and helped Shepard deal with that Jeong situation extremely well…" he nods, pretty much to himself. "It's very good indeed."
Cool, I got a good write-up! It's almost like getting some kind of school report or something, except I actually care a ton more about this… "Cheers, Kaidan," I smile. "You don't have to make it out like I'm good though, just to please the Alliance."
"What? No, I'm serious, kid. You were damn impressive. Seriously, have you ever considered signing up for the Alliance? We could do with more people like you."
"Nah," I laugh. "I can't see myself doing this all the time. Once Saren is dealt with, well…I dunno, I'll probably end up going back to the Citadel. Depends on what Garrus is doing, more or less."
"You two are close, then?" Kaidan asks. "I've been wondering, actually…what is it between you two? Most turians and humans won't even talk to each other." Hmm, I could always give him a straight answer here…or I could mess with him for fun. Yeah, latter option sounds better. I'm considering it payback for all the times he's called me kid.
"It's a sexual thing," I say immediately, without batting an eyelid. Kaidan's eyes grow extremely wide when I say that, almost taking a step back. Heh, if I said that to Ash, she'd probably have fainted…Kaidan's expression almost makes me laugh, but I keep my face stony and impassive.
"Erm…" he finally coughs. "Shit, really?" I just nod back, not trusting myself to open my mouth in case I burst into laughter. Kaidan's jaw is practically on the floor now… "Wow, I had…no idea. I mean, you seemed close, but I didn't think that close…" He actually looks like he's about to faint or something…time to put him out of his misery.
"Nah, I'm just fucking with you, Kaidan," I say. The outrage on his face is what sets me off laughing, and even Kaidan sees the funny side after a while.
"Why'd you do that?" he finally asks. "How is that even funny?"
"Just wanted to gauge your reaction," I chuckle. "Seriously, your face was priceless."
He frowns mockingly, folding his arms. "I'm sure it was. You ready to give me a serious answer now?"
"Yeah, alright. Well, we've been partners at C-Sec for two years, so we were always going to be friends because of that…but we were still good friends out of the office as well. Hell, I lived with him for quite a while! Plus he's saved my life more times than I care to mention, and vice versa."
Kaidan nods understandingly. "It's good that you two know each other well. The more team members get to know each other, the more trust we have, and the better we work."
"Yeah, but there's nothing wrong with being friends without work motivation coming into it," I point out. "Sure, it helps in action, but it's not always about the job."
"True, true," he agrees. "I didn't mean it like that. It's still been great getting to know you, but you can't deny it helps in battle as well."
"Friends forged in the fire of battle, then," I say. "To put it in the most epic way possible, anyway." Kaidan smiles and nods. Actually, on second thoughts, that doesn't make too much sense…but Kaidan seems happy with it, so I'll let it go. "Actually, speaking of getting to know each other a bit better, you said back on Feros you had some story about a close encounter with varren?"
Kaidan looks surprised at my question, breaking eye contact as he thinks back to the mission. "Shit…I did, didn't I?" I nod, smiling a bit. "When I said the report could wait a little while, I didn't mean that long."
"Long story?"
"You could say that…" he smiles. "Ian, I swear, after the next mission I'll tell you." Well, looks like this conversation is coming to an end…and I've still got about an hour and fifty minutes until the operation. Fuck!
"I'm not forgetting, Kaidan," I say, starting to head away and pointing a finger at him jokingly. "You'd better."
"I'll see you later, kid," he chuckles. I turn around to look over at Shepard…and the scene that greets my eyes is horrifying. A horde of about twenty zombies charging towards the armoured woman, the person in the question blasting away at them with a handgun, kicking a zombie away while another comes up behind, arms outstretched…
"Holy shit, Shepard!" I shout. The zombie gets elbowed in the head, and Shepard turns around to look at me, slight worry in her eyes. "You got us a games console!"
The pause menu pops up onto the widescreen, and Shepard gives me a grin. "I should have known the youngest person on the squad would appreciate it," she laughs. "I got the best, as well. Treysonic 4, just came out last year. Got Galactic Terror Six as well."
"Galactic Terror Six? That's a…really shit name."
"I know," she frowns apologetically, "but it's a damn good game. Long story short, Citadel gets overrun with a zombie infection, and it's up to one turian C-Sec officer and an Alliance marine to try and escape the station."
"So it's not big on plot, either," I observe. "Got to say, Shepard, you aren't selling this very well. What, is it two player?"
"Yeah, of course," she smiles, picking up a second controller and lobbing it over towards me. "Think fast!"
I manage a fumbling two handed catch, but manage to keep a hold of the controller and inspect the interface. Seems awfully similar to the xbox, with the analogue sticks in alternating positions, twin shoulder triggers, four main buttons coloured red, green, blue and yellow…the main difference is that the letters on the coloured buttons are in some weird alien language I don't quite understand…looks like salarian, if I had to guess. Shepard unpauses the game and continues playing, giving me pointers as she does.
"You see, if you shoot them in the head or limbs, you can set them up for a melee attack," she points out, reinforcing the statement by shooting a salarian zombie in the head, running up to him and launching a two footed kick straight into his head, taking it clean off with suitable splattering of blood and gore. "You've got to stand still while you're aiming, use the laser sight, you can access your inventory with the yellow button…" she gasps as a zombie grabs her character from behind, and she starts frantically mashing a button to shake it off. "That's pretty much all you need to know. Just press the button in the centre of the controller to join."
I do so, and the screen splits in half as I take control of a turian in C-Sec armour, standing about ten metres from the Alliance woman Shepard's fighting with. I'm getting a massive Resident Evil vibe from the game…and the controls seem to be pretty similar as well. Alright, here we go…a regular human zombie comes lumbering towards me, but I've got plenty of time to bring the pistol up and shoot it in the arm, making it stagger. It's been a while since I played a games console, never mind Resident Evil 5…but it's one of those things you just don't forget how to do. My turian right hooks the injured zombie, sending it staggering into a crowd of its friends and causing them all to scatter like ninepins.
"Not bad," Shepard notes, as I start making my way towards her character. "You played this before?"
"You could say that," I reply, switching to some shotgun looking weapon and blowing the group of zombies surrounding Shepard away. I can vaguely make out a turian head flying through the air after the blast, small blood trail following it…graphically, this isn't actually that much better than the xbox or PS3…then again, that's not too surprising. People would probably be a bit uncomfortable if the zombies actually looked like real people, including myself.
"I'm not keeping you from anything, am I?" Shepard asks, casually shooting indiscriminately into a crowd of the flesh-eaters. "I can do this solo if you need to be somewhere else."
"No, no, this is perfect," I reply quickly. "Chakwas has me in surgery in like an hour and a bit, get rid of my burn scars. This is exactly what I needed, to be honest. Actually, why'd you get a games console?"
"For fun, obviously," she says, glancing at me like I'm stupid. Mind you, after asking a question like that it's probably a fair assumption… "I've always enjoyed gaming, and I figured it would give the crew something to do in our downtime. I even got the controllers for other species," she points towards the other, different shaped ones lying on the table in front of me. Of course, considering species like turians and quarians don't actually have five fingers to use they were always going to need something different…
"Good call," I reply. "Tali and Garrus would probably enjoy this, if you've got any four player games." I can already see Garrus and I getting crazy competitive over this…if I can't beat him kill-wise in real life, I'll be damned if I can't do it in video games!
"I've got one, Systems Warfare. First person shooter, the main campaign is told from two perspectives, an Alliance marine and a turian soldier. It was controversial, but it's one of the best games out there. Plus the online is awesome." Shepard explains eagerly. "That said, I'd like to finish this chapter before we get the rest of the crew."
"Okay," I nod, smiling. "You've only got me for just over an hour, though, so we might want to get this done quick."
"Not a problem, if you can keep up," Shepard grins back. Well, she's certainly cocky…I focus my attention on the screen, adjust my grip on the controller slightly, and start firing again.
#############
"Shepard, I need the first aid!"
"I can't right now, I've got about ten of them on me…oh shit, krogan charging!" The dodge prompt pops up on my screen, and I barely hit it in time to send the turian rolling out of its way. Shepard's character rushes up to me and uses a healing item, causing my character to stop clutching at the various wounds he's picked up. Got to say, this is a shitload harder than Resident Evil 5…the krogan whirls around for another shot, but Shepard whips out the rocket launcher we've been saving for an occasion just like this…
"Having fun?" a flanging voice asks from behind us, making me jump almost out of my seat in surprise. Shepard's hands jolt as well, causing the rocket to fly past the krogan and explode harmlessly against a wall.
"For fuck's sake, Garrus!" Shepard yells, though her smile suggests she isn't really pissed off, instead rather amused.
"What have I told you about sneaking up on me, bro?" I add, taking a second to quickly glance at the grinning turian before turning my attention back to the game.
"That you're paranoid, jumpy and you don't like it, which is exactly why I do it," he retorts. "This looks…interesting." As he talks, I kneecap a zombie, run up behind it, and execute a melee attack where the turian simply drives one talon through the zombie's head, getting a wince from Shepard.
"Hey, Garrus, can turians actually do that?" I ask. Part of me really hopes they can, just for the pure badassness…
"Not sure," he says, flexing a talon. "Want to test it out?" Damn, he's got a comeback for everything today…
"You know what, I think I'll pass on that," I reply sardonically. "What are you doing up here, anyway? Searching for something to do now you've got no Mako to calibrate, or just being a prick for the fun of it?"
"Bringing the Mako into it, that's a low blow, Ian," he says, feigning hurt. "I spent ages doing the calibrations, and it didn't even last a mission. I'm still pretty torn up about it, if you must know."
"Oh, that reminds me," Shepard suddenly pauses the game and turns around to look at Garrus. "We're on course for the Citadel at the moment, the Alliance is providing us with another Mako." I swear Garrus's eyes light up a little bit when she says that…goddamn, it's like he gets withdrawal symptoms from not doing calibrations or something! Although, I could actually do with getting my armour fixed and customised, so I suppose the Citadel is as good a place as any…
"Any chance of a bit of shore leave once we're there?" I ask. "I've got a few armour repairs to get done, amongst other things."
Shepard nods happily. "Sure. I imagine we could all use a day to relax after Feros, plus knowing C-Sec customs it'll take at least a day for the Mako to get put onto the ship."
"You know, we could probably pull a few strings to speed it up," Garrus points out. "Ian and I still know a few people at C-Sec –"
"No thanks, Garrus," Shepard cuts him off. "I could probably get past them with my Spectre status anyway, but generally the rules are there for a reason. Besides, if we're on shore leave anyway there's no point in me speeding it up, plus I'm not going to start flaunting Spectrehood for the sake of it." She might be a badass, but at the core Shepard's still a real paragon, isn't she…I take an absent-minded glance at my watch, then do a double take when I realise what time it actually is. Fuck, I was supposed to be back in the med-clinic half an hour ago! I always lose track of time when I'm playing games…
"Shit, sorry guys, I've got an operation to get to," I say hurriedly, leaping out of my chair and only pausing to drop out of the game. "We should do this again some other time though, Shepard."
"Of course," she grins. "Looking forward to it. If you're going, fancy a game, Garrus?"
"Sure," the turian says casually, grabbing one of the different shaped controllers and sitting next to Shepard. "I'll see you later, Ian,"
"Yeah, in a bit," I say, backing off towards the med-clinic as Shepard restarts the game and both turian and human turn their attention towards the screen. Garrus says something to Shepard I don't quite catch, then Shepard lightly punches him on the arm when he shoots her in the back with the shotgun. I stand still for a second, watching them, unable to help myself. There's something there for them, a little spark…they're definitely firm friends, but anything further? I don't know, yet, but I still feel a little pang as they both share a laugh. I'm used to it just being Garrus and I, and now that he's hanging around with Shepard more and more I'm feeling…well, worried about losing him, I guess. Before, it used to be just him and me, but now he's spending more and more time with Shepard…what if he really is in love with her, and they get together? What's going to happen to our friendship?
'Don't be a hypocrite, Ian, did you and Garrus grow apart when you were seeing Rebecca?' I think to myself. That's a good point, actually…even when I had a girlfriend, we still stuck together. Garrus gave her and I room then, but we still stayed best friends…this is probably how he felt when Rebecca and I started dating, and he didn't say a word about it to me. I should show him the same courtesy.
Shit…thinking of Rebecca reminds me, I need to see Garrus about those transponder codes to Saleon's ship…
"There you are!" Chakwas's voice snaps me out of my trance. "I was wondering where you'd gotten to!"
"Sorry, doc, I totally lost track of time with Shepard and Garrus…"
"Don't apologise, it's fine," she reassures me. "I hardly expected you to rush to the appointment over having a bit of fun, anyway. You're alright with anaesthetic, by the way? I'm going to have to knock you out for the operation."
"Yeah, of course," I nod. "Shall we, then? I'd quite like to be conscious by the time we reach the Citadel."
"Don't worry about that," she laughs. "We're still a good few hours away, and you'll only be out for about one of them, up and moving half an hour afterwards. Plenty of time for you." I nod, satisfied. I'd quite like to go and see the rest of the crew before we get off the ship, plus I promised myself I'd hit the gym after how tired the Feros mission left me…still, an anaesthetic induced power nap right now would really hit the spot. "Just follow me, please," Chakwas smiles, walking into the med-bay as I follow behind. "Lie down on the operating table, make yourself comfortable." I hop on, shuffling around a bit to make sure I'm in a nice position. It's kind of irrelevant if I'm comfortable or not, actually, considering I'm going to be unconscious either way…still, it's a matter of principle. Chakwas reaches over next to the table, grabbing a mask attached to a gas tank and moving it close to my face.
Oh shit, I hope the vision doesn't flare up while I'm unconscious…before I can do anything, the mask is on, and I feel the faint taste of the anaesthetic tickle the back of my throat. Shit, I guess I'll just have to pray it doesn't happen…God, I'm knackered. This room seems so dark…I wonder what Pallin's doing right now…maybe I should see what Tali's up to after…after…
My eyes grow heavy and slide shut of their own accord, and the last image in my mind when I go under is of Rebecca on the rooftop I took her to on the Citadel, laughing at some joke I don't remember…
Then nothing but blackness, as my sense slip away.
A/N: Well, hopefully that did the cast I talked to as much justice as I hoped…next up, after the operation, we've got Wrex, Tali (all the male readers leap out of their seats with joy), and of course, Ash, though the way Ian and Ash talk is going to be rather unorthodox…there's a little action scene lined up for next chapter for those suffering withdrawal symptoms from stuff being punched, shot and/or blown up, so look forward to that!
Remember to go and read those fics I mentioned, by the way, to fill in the gap between now and the next update. You know you want to.
And we're almost at the 200 reviews mark, already! (Head explodes from sheer awesomeness.) Big, big, big thank you to reviewers both past, present and hopefully future. I know I say that pretty much every chapter, but I mean it. Words fail to do justice to my happiness.
Alright, see you next chapter!