AN: Took a while but here's the next chapter. A quick mission, but more will be coming up soon!


Chapter 10

Sean took a staggered breath as his eyes shot open. His heart raced and cold sweat formed on his body. The nightmare was in his mind, but only partially. Like a book with it pages torn out. But at that moment only one thing stuck in Sean's mind and it terrified him.

No. No, it couldn't be. Not again. Not this time. Sean thought. It wasn't the same as the last one, but it was all there. The look at Cerberus' plans, the troops lining up and shipping off, but this time there was more than just that. His head swirled as he slowly stood up, making his way to his dresser. Groggily he clothed himself and shuffled his way towards the door. Today just didn't feel like his day. Yawning, he keyed open the door. He gasped and stepped back, startled to see Shepard just outside his door.

"Didn't expect me?" Shepard asked.

"You could say that." Sean said, trying to brush off the awkwardness of their meeting.

"Were you in the middle of something?" Shepard asked.

"No. I just woke up actually. Was going to grab something to eat." Sean said stretching.

"Well quickly get some food inside of you, we're going planet side in forty minutes." Shepard said, her omnitool materializing from her wrist.

Startled, Sean asked, "What's going on?"

"Remember the shipping facility we got you off of?" Shepard asked. Sean nodded. "We tracked a shipment directly to Noveria."
Sean's mind searched for a connection between Cerberus and Noveria. Instantly it stopped and his eyes grew wide. "No." he said looking Shepard directly in the eyes.
"The same place." Shepard said nodding.

"But I thought it was abandoned, that we cleared it." Sean said trying to make sense of it.

"Well whatever happened Cerberus is back inside and they're using it as a full fledged fighter base." Shepard said.

Sean pinched his nose with his middle finger and thumb. He didn't want to return, not with his history there. His past of being brutally used as Cerberus test subject had been quietly locked away in the back of his mind, he didn't need to relive it. He opened his mouth to protest, but Shepard beat his to the punch.

"I your history here, and I have told Alliance command about what has happened inside that lab. They replied with new orders. They said that they want the lab decommissioned," Sean eyes slowly returned to Shepard's, "permanently."

Sean couldn't help but show his relief, "You got it Commander."


The bitter cold of Noveria bit at Sean's face as he stepped out onto the metal landing pad of the Cerberus lab. The entire place still felt like a dark cloud had settled over it. It was one of the darkest points of his life, and he still wasn't entirely ready to see it again. Here was where his best friend was executed before his eyes. At least this was the last time he would ever see this place again, hopefully he'd get some closure from the rubble this place would become. He shivered as his eyes traced the outlines of the enormous place before him. Pushing the butt of his rifle against his shoulder, he scanned the area and proceeded forward.

"It's empty." Sean said rather confused, lowering his gun and walking towards the cargo area.

"This isn't right…" Shepard said, thinking out loud, "Hackett said that scans showed this facility alive with movement. Why now? What's going on?"

Sean traced the outline of one of the cargo containers. The rusty metal scratched against his gloved finger. Another memory of his dream flashed back to him.
"Shepard don't!" He yelled as Shepard moved towards the main door. Sprinting back to her position.

Immediately stopping, mid stride, she turned back to Sean, "What's the meaning of this?" She asked, her voice borderline suspicious.

"Cerberus. They trapped this area. The door." Sean sputtered. Shepard returned with a confused look. Sean pushed them behind one of the structural support beams and inched his way closer to the door. Reaching his hand forward, he activated his omnitool. He keyed the door open and dove behind another support beam.

The doors rumbled as their motors slowly warmed and began to separate slowly. As the doors opened just a mere two inches apart a loud bang sounded. Shepard and Liara jumped as the explosion from behind the doors sent them flying past Shepard and into the cargo crates behind them.

Sean shook the stars from his eyes and gingerly stood up. As the ringing in his ears ceased he looked back at Shepard, she only stared back at him.
"Sean, what was that?" She said, skeptical.

"There's no time. We need to go. They already know we're here." Sean said turning to run inside.

Reaching forward, Shepard grabbed hold of Sean by his collar. "What happened back there?" she asked harshly.

Sean sighed. He knew this would eventually happen. "I saw this happen." Sean said.

"Go on." She said not letting Sean go just yet.

"It was in my dream. This entire scenario." Sean said taking a deep breath, "I saw Cerberus setting up a bomb behind those doors."

"From a dream? This sounds a bit far fetched." Shepard said. Sean could feel her disbelief sinking into him.

"I know." Sean said running a hand through his hair, "That's what I thought too. But that's how I saved the Salarian Councilor."

"Sean this has nothing to do with that."

"No. It has everything to do with that." Sean said, desperation evident in his voice, "The night before the Citadel attacks, I had a dream. In it I saw Cerberus planning for an attack. I saw the Illusive Man talking to that assassin, showing the Councilor as his next target."

"When were you planning to inform me about this?" Shepard asked, trying to make sense of the entire conversation.

"Soon." Sean said, near panic, "But we need to go now. They're taking them out!"

"What out?"

"Reaper artifacts! That's why they came back to this lab! The fighter base is only a front!" Sean yelled.

"Alright lets move!" Shepard ordered, "This isn't over Sean."

The trio ran into the labs and quickly dispatched the Cerberus troops that waited for them inside the lobby. Inside the alarms blared and the thunder of boots pounding on the ground echoed throughout the facility. Sean let a sigh seep out from his lips as he scanned the room looking for the load bearing walls, eager to finish this place off once and for all.

"Commander? Come in Commander." Cortez's voice crackled over their headsets.

"We read you Cortez. What's the problem?" Shepard said looking around the room for any sign of where to go.

"EDI says she's reading some spikes in some… Well I'll just have her tell you."

"I'm picking up a signal from the base's defensive turrets capable of shooting down ships in low orbit. " EDI's voice said clearly over the comm., "If reprogrammed this base could serve as a powerful foothold in this system."

"Understood, I'll keep a look out for the controls. Shepard out." Shepard paused as she weighed the consequences in her mind. Taking control of this base would give them a strong foothold in this system, but if Sean was right about Reaper artifacts being held in this base the possibility of it falling into the wrong hands could be devastating.

"EDI are you picking up any Reaper signals?" Shepard asked.

"No commander." EDI replied. Shepard glanced back at Sean who seemed to be in almost a sleepwalking state. "But my scans can only read the uppermost floors of the base. There is a possibility of some being deeper inside."

"Understood. Keep me posted." Shepard said ending the comm. channel, "Alright, we're moving deeper into the base, I want to find out exactly what Cerberus has been up to in here."

"Deeper?" Liara asked confused, "Weren't we supposed to just destroy the base?"

"Destroy it or not, we need to know what we're up against. Especially from a power like Cerberus." Shepard responded. Liara and Sean both nodded and fell into stride behind Shepard.


Sean knew exactly where Shepard was headed. It was the same path he had followed his first time. Walking down the same hallway that he walked through on his quest for answers of his previous life. He thought that there was a possibility that if he were to never focus on those memories that they would eventually fade away to nothingness in time. But being here now, it felt like salting a wound.

Shepard pushed open a door and quickly entered the room, followed by Liara. Shepard and Liara both circled around the new equipment there examining whatever was on display and possibly radioing The Normandy, but Sean didn't care. He just meandered through it once again taking in another room from his past. This room, this place, this was where he confronted the man personally responsible for making Sean what he was today. He took in a staggered breath as his eyes fell upon a bloodstain on the floor. Sean fell to his knees and put his hands over the stain. There, this exact spot, this was where he held his friend as she slowly had the life sucked away from her. Emotions he couldn't explain welled up inside of him. He brought his hand up to his eyes and tried to cover the pain on his face, but to no avail.

Shepard turned from the Reaper artifact. She saw Sean kneeling before the dried puddle of blood. She saw his face contort as memories returned to him, probably some that he kept bottled up inside.

"Shepard?" Liara said quietly.

"This is the lab." Shepard said her eyes slowly falling to the ground, "The same lab Sean was experimented on in. We came back here. He wanted answers, but when we arrived the doctor in charge of the project had his friend captive. In an attempt to get Sean to return to the person they created him to be he executed his friend before his eyes. That was where he watched her die."
"Oh." Liara said, pain entering her voice, "I had no idea. I didn't know-"

"I understand Liara." Shepard said putting a hand on her shoulder. Now there wasn't a doubt in her mind. This lab needed to go.

Sean looked up slowly, his eyes red. Slowly Shepard and Sean's eyes met.

"Come on. I think you've had enough of this place." Shepard said offering him a hand.

"For a lifetime." Sean said taking hers and pulling himself up, "So now what? Reprogram the turrets?"

"We're getting rid of this place." Shepard said reaching into the pack she had brought along.

"Shepard?" Sean said perplexed.

She pushed a pair of explosives into his hands. "Come on." She said giving a comforting smile.


Sean slowly stepped onto the drop ship. His emotions were jumbled; he didn't exactly know what to feel. On one side he was leaving a place that defined what he was today, a place that shaped his very outlook, but on the other hand he was erasing one of the hardest moments of his life.

"Take us back out of the blast radius and wait." Shepard commanded.

"Sure thing ma'am." Cortez responded.

Once they reached a safe distance Shepard moved towards the window on the side. Sean looked up from his seat and at the giant cement building that only seemed like a spec on that mountainside.

"You ready Sean?" Shepard asked. Sean looked up at her quizzically. "I want you to do this." She said handing over the detonator to him. Sean took it and waited. He felt the weight in his hand and had to pause before he could make the final decision.

Standing up, Sean walked to the window beside Shepard. He felt his finger around the button, and then with one hard squeeze he pressed the button. The charges did exactly what they were supposed to. The base quickly crumbled in on itself. Sean sighed as he watched nature then take over as the facility and his past became buried inside the mountain.