Disclaimer: yeah, I don't own anything other than my OCs. Big surprise, right? Not really.

Hopelessly Blue: Yeah, I was literally snickering as I wrote that part, and thank you for those awesome points! XD I would do that to my own siblings (I actually have) as well and oddly enough, I'm the 'ignored middle child' too! XP I'm glad you liked that 'Kaiden' part, especially since I was a little worried his 'fans' would flame me or something. ;) isn't it wonderful we've got dry humor though? I love it. And thank you for the 'layers' thing as well! Personally, I hate it when a character- especially the main one- is explained right off the bat; it drives me crazy!

Liege Lord: I am going to have Shepard at least mention it to Raegas sometime, but remember: Kareck still needs to tell his big sis about it, eh? ;P I'm still not sure what'll really happen to Kaiden either but I do think he has the highest chance of biting the dust if someone really ends up having to die… Anyway, thanks for the review! :D

Kachie Takahashi: Yeah, I can't wait to see how that went either! XD Thanks a lot for the review; you're doing a good job boosting my writer's ego! XP

Kamika111: Yes, another quick update; I wonder how I'm doing it. :) If you really want me too, I'll try to write good/possibly funny disclaimers as well, 'kay? ;) I'm glad you looked it up too; it'll make the 'reveal' scene with Shepard all that more funny! XD You have a nice day too, friend. ^_^

She looks back at me one last time. "Goodbye."

"-gas! Raegas! Wake up!" I jolted awake at the urgency of the voice and the hands shaking me, almost desperately. My eyes snapped open and I realized I was breathing in ragged gasps. Tears were streaking my face as they had in the nightmare. Once the person calling me saw I was awake, they relaxed and let me lay on the bed, keeping their hands on my shoulders. I glanced up and saw that it was Shepard. Great.

"Thanks…" I muttered, closing my eyes and rubbing them dry. Shepard relaxed her grip and laid a hand on my hip, her other going somewhere else.

"Another nightmare, huh?" she asked knowingly. I let my arms fall from my face and I sighed, staring up at the ceiling.

"Yeah. My Ulaeviel partner sacrificed herself so I could live. Right before I was imprisoned, too…" I answered, figuring she might as well know why I was the only one of my sisters without a partner. It would save me questions later. Shepard was silent for a few moments.

"I'm sorry, Raegas I…" I put a hand on her arm to get her to stop before I got emotional. I knew she'd lost people before as well, but she didn't know what it was like to be truly bound to someone as I had been with Ciria. It wasn't her fault anyway.

"It's fine, Shepard. What time is it?" I asked. She let out a breath and relaxed a bit.

"It's 12:30. I'm glad you at least got some sleep, though." She said gently, causing a strange fluttering feeling in my chest to rise. I furrowed my brows in confusion and pressed a hand to my chest, but it did nothing to stop the feeling.
"Are you alright?" she asked, placing a hand to my forehead. Unfortunately, that made the feeling grow stronger and spread to my heart. It started to beat strongly against my chest, so much so that I was surprised Shepard couldn't hear it.

I gripped her wrist and took it off of my forehead, then sat up. I stared blankly at nothing in particular for a few moments, trying to see what was wrong. I couldn't have been sick… could I? I grabbed Shepard's hand again and pressed it against my chest, over my heart so she could feel it as well. Oddly enough, her cheeks flooded and turned red when I did so.

"I'm not sick am I?" I asked confusedly, earning a small laugh from her. She smiled softly, still blushing, and gave me a look I couldn't quite decipher. Was she making fun of me?

"You're not sick, Raegas, you're fine." She answered. I furrowed my brows deeper at that.

"Then what's wrong with me? Is it a disease?" I asked, utterly perplexed. She chuckled lightly before shaking her head.

"Nothing's wrong with you. You're heart's just saying hello." She explained, making no sense whatsoever.

"If you say so…" I conceded, choosing to let it go. I released her hand then, and she stood. I looked over and saw that Ciria was awake as well, looking up at me curiously. I picked her up and cradled her to my chest, where she snuggled, and I stood.

"We'll be reaching Noveria in about an hour, by the way. The Council wouldn't let us stay the last few days of shore leave." She said, sounding a little peeved.

"There's no need to wilt, Commander." I said, leading the way out of my room since I still had my uniform on. At least she didn't mention that little fact, along with how I still had the damned sedative. She stayed at my side as we entered the CC.

"It's too bad I can't say the mission doesn't depend on the fate of the galaxy." She sighed whimsically, crossing her arms and leaning against my table. I absently looked down at a piece of tech on the table, wondering if I could do something with it.

"It's more exciting that way, though. It would be boring if it was a simple negotiation or retrieval, no?" I said, fidgeting with my necklace. Shepard seemed to notice since she began to stare at it.

"What is that? I saw it around your neck back in the ruin, but…" she wondered, not taking her gaze off of it for a moment. I looked down at the necklace myself for a few moments and let out a breath.

"This is something passed down in my family. Once our child or heir earns their title and name, this is given to them as proof. It is also used for-…" I cut myself off, feeling the fluttering again. Why was I feeling shy now, so suddenly? I could swear I was starting to get sick, even if Shepard said otherwise; my stomach felt strange.

"For…?" she asked, not about to give it up. I sighed and let of the necklace so it just hung down as I braced my hands on the table and stared at its empty surface.

"It represents the very heart and soul of the wearer, so when they earn it, the necklace also becomes a promise. When we find our 'soulmate', we give this necklace to them to show our love and devotion. That's why it's so symbolic." I explained, fighting the blush trying to creep onto my cheeks.

"What happens after you give the necklace away?" she asked quietly, seemingly dodgy as well.

"The promise I spoke of is what you'd call marriage. We bind ourselves to our soulmate and swear to care for them always. After that, we would become the head of the family, if they're the eldest, and rule alongside our beloved as long as we live." I explained, looking down at the necklace once more.

"Rule?" she asked.

"I suppose that's a word you could use." I said, unwilling to come up with some other word at the moment, especially since I just wanted to get this conversation over with.
"It's also all I have left of my mother; it was her necklace before she handed it down to me. She died a year before I was imprisoned, so…"

"What happened?" she asked softly, placing a hand on my shoulder. I hated that she was being so kind to me. Most of all, I hated that I wanted her to be like this. Of course, with a subject turning to where it was, I couldn't be sure I would totally stay calm…

"There was a plague of corruption going around back then. She went to the source of it and absorbed as much as she could into her body, before it killed her, to spare the galaxy from being taken by it. I was with her as well, and took the rest of it into my body. That was the first time I went into a Bloodrage, but because of the Corruption, it went out of control. I was the only one there though, so I only succeeded in destroying the mountain." I explained, now sitting in my chair, staring at the ground. Shepard was kneeling in front of me, sadness in her eyes. It made me feel slightly better, honestly.

"I'm sorry. I wish you didn't have to go through that." She said, genuinely meaning it. The words pulled at me, and before I knew it, I slipped out of the chair to kneel in front of her, eye-to-eye. I wrapped my arms around her and dropped my head onto her shoulder. In response, she drew her arms around my waist and pulled me to her in a tight embrace. I knew I wasn't supposed to be doing this, but my mom was still a very raw subject. One I wish I could just forget.

I couldn't help it, and for that, I deserved to be locked away all over again.

"I'm fine now." I lied. "It's surprising how relieving it is to let someone know. I don't feel like I deserve it." I muttered, closing my eyes.

"Deserve what?" she asked quietly, resting her head against mine.

"…This." I almost whispered, letting out a breath. Shepard tightened her grip on me at that, but said nothing.

A few moments later, I regained myself and let go of her.

We both stood then, and Shepard bid me a reluctant farewell, saying we needed to get ready for Noveria. Ciria and I shared looks of foreboding after Shepard was gone, knowing what would happen. I couldn't say I was excited, but I wanted to get it over with.

…

"Oh hey, there you are!" I looked up from the piano I was sitting at to see Kareck and Raja walking up. Ciria went over to greet Raja excitedly while Kareck sat down beside of me.

"Mm. I wanted to see if I could adapt to this from what we used to play." I said, looking down at my hands as they were held above the piano's keys. Kareck looked down as well and ran his fingers along the smooth surface.

"It's surprisingly similar. Makes me remember the good ol' days…" he said, a small nostalgic smile on his face. I nodded and sighed slightly.

"Did you need something?" I asked, getting him out of his thoughts. He looked to me and smiled.

"Shepard told me about it so I'm here to tell you too!" he stated happily, making me swallow. I really didn't want this conversation at the moment.

"Yeah?" I asked, trying not to sound as if I didn't want to know. He only grinned.

"So here's what happened…"

"So I was wondering…" Kareck started, still wondering why Raegas had such a weird expression when he asked. He had thought she knew what it was, but since she said she wasn't sure, he let it go. His sister never was much of an open book anyway.

"Yeah?" the Commander hummed, taking a sip of her steaming beverage.

"What's a 'boner'?" he asked suddenly, causing the poor commander to breathe in sharply, choking on her human 'coffee'. She started coughing uncontrollably, clutching her neck with her eyes screwed shut.

As she hacked and shook from the forceful coughs, Kareck sat there awkwardly, unknowing of what to do if a human started having a seizure. The Commander leaned forward over the table, still coughing loudly, drawing the attention of Kaiden nearby. He ran over and started to slap her back, making even Kareck annoyed as the human male fussed over Shepard.

Said Commander pushed the male away strongly, perhaps on reflex, unable to speak from the hacking. Kaiden stood there for a few moments with a strange expression on his face before almost stomping away. Not long after, Shepard got ahold of herself and took steadying breaths for a few moments before looking to Kareck.

"What?" she rasped, rubbing the wetness from her eyes. The Vertoakan rubbed his palms together under the table, slightly worried over repeating the question.

"What's a 'boner'?" he asked, slower this time, not wanting Shepard to freak out again. The Commander only sat still, as if processing the information, before leaning back in her chair.

"Um… why do you want to know?" she asked, sounding slightly cautious. Kareck let out a breath, seeing Shepard was okay so far, and relaxed his hands.

"Well earlier, I and Tali were talking, down in Engineering. In the middle of the conversation, a crewmember walked by and muttered the word as he passed by. Neither Tali nor I knew what the human term meant, so I went to ask Ashley. She ended up telling me to go and ask my big sister about it. When I did, Raegas said she wasn't sure, and told me to ask you since you're better at explaining things than her. So here I am. What is a 'boner'?" he explained, seeing Shepard sigh at first. When his sister was mentioned though the Commander's expression got weird and she blushed just before furrowing her brows.

"Um… well, it's… it's a slang word…" Shepard started, exciting Kareck. Finally he would get his answer!

"For…?" he urged, leaning forward. Shepard's cheeks burned slightly rosier and she dodged his gaze, shifting in her chair.

"A-… it's a term humans use for a… well a… an… erection…" she trailed off awkwardly, fidgeting with her cup. Kareck was silent for a few moments, wrapping his mind around the new information.

Suddenly, he jumped up, startling the Commander. His expression was pissed, if anything and he fisted his hands, looking down at Shepard. He stood that way for a few moments as if making up his mind about something.

"That is an insult! I will not stand slanderous terms directed toward my good friend Tali!" he declared, shocking Shepard.

The Commander found herself at a loss as the Vertoakan stormed off with Raja running to catch up. She sighed and covered her face, trying to calm all the way down. She was going to get Raegas back for this…

I sighed heavily and facepalmed. Kareck really was too reckless. He may have said that, but he was slanderous in his own right; recall the time with that convoy? Exactly. Either way, I had a feeling he marched himself straight down to engineering and-

"I punched that guy in the face and accidentally broke his nose." Kareck stated, making me close my eyes tiredly. Yeah. 'Accidentally', alright.
"Anyway, I'm sure you need to suit up for Noveria, right? Get going." He smiled, urging me off of the bench I front of the piano. I sighed once more as I walked out of the room, heading towards my room. I was going to have to explain things later, wouldn't I?

Shaking my head, I decided to leave it for when Shepard brought it up.

…

Noveria. I hated this place. In our squad was Liara, Jasin/Waru, Me and Shepard. It was a powerful team, but it gave me a sense of worry as well. With what we'd have to go through, it would be best that I just go ahead and finish everything for them. It would save time in the end.

At the end of the walkway, I saw Captain Matsuo and Sergeant Sterling with that random turian. I got a sudden urge to flatten Sterling into a pile of oozing goo the instant she told us to stop. She just had that look where you want to beat her to death- that sneer.

"Sergeant Sterling, secure their weapons!" Matsuo ordered. The instant she said that and the sergeant took a step forward, we went offensive. Waru grounded herself and bared her teeth, growling, while Jasin aimed her AR at Sterling and Liara powered her biotics. Shepard pulled out her AR as well, and I activated my hand cannon, powering it up and aiming it at Sterling. Their shocked faces at my cannon would've been funny if I wasn't so pissed off at the moment.

"Try me." I growled, my eyes no doubt already red. I saw Shepard twitch slightly at my voice, but was gratified when she kept still. She trusted me enough not to, I suppose. The fact somehow made my heart stutter again. It kind of hurt as well, but she said I was fine, so I ignored it as I stared Sterling down.

"Captain Matsuo, stand down! Spectres are allowed to carry weapons here!" And there was Gianna over the intercom, ruining the mood.

At least they stood down. Shepard and the others did as well, so I forced myself to deactivate the cannon. Still, Sterling and I didn't break eye contact- mine were still red as well. The cool thing about shifting eyes is that when you're as angry as I am, your pupils slit to look like those of a viper or cat.

"Move out." Shepard ordered. As they walked past, I took a step forward, as Sterling did and kept glaring at her. She sneered, trying her best to also look intimidating. The expression was just pissing me off more.

"Soon, Sterling." I growled, catching her off-guard. She narrowed her eyes on me, evidently knowing what I was talking about. At that, I left through the doors to catch up.

Shepard had waited for me at the base of the stairs to the security walk. As I drew closer, she noticed my eyes were still changed. I calmed myself by letting out a breath and offering her a nod. We walked up the stairs then, through the checkpoint and to Gianna.

While she and Shepard were talking, I looked around absently, taking in the details of the walls and such. It wasn't long before Shepard was finished with Gianna, and after she left, Liara asked if Shepard wanted to talk with her about Benezia. I was glad to see Shepard said she didn't want to do so.

Once we were in the elevator and heading down, I felt someone's eyes on me. I turned my head to see it was Jasin. She was probably worried about me going into a Bloodrage. I only gave her shake of the head, telling her not to worry about it. She took it to heart and turned back to face the front of the slow elevator.

…

"It's so cold here, but this armor is somehow keeping me warm. How is this possible?" Liara wondered, glancing down at herself.

"I couldn't have anyone getting freezer burn, now could I?" I said, sparing a quick glance at her. We'd just talked to Lorik Qui'in, by the way. We were heading to his office to get his files at the moment.

"Freezer burn?" she asked confusedly, looking back at me. I had to remind myself she wasn't familiar with the term.

"It's just a human expression. They say it when something has been frozen too long and is damaged because of it." I explained. She made an 'oh' face in realization then.

"It's amazing how you understand humans so well, Raegas." She praised, smiling shyly. I felt glares coming from both Waru and Jasin at our banter, but I ignored it.

"It's not that amazing, Liara. Besides, you understand Protheans so well. I'd say that's more amazing, given their current status." I said humorously, earning a laugh from Liara. I was doing this just to annoy Jasin, but I wasn't lying when I said that. I noticed Shepard quickly glance at the two of us as we rounded a corner, but she didn't say anything. What confused me was my sudden rush of guilt. Hmm…

"That is only because I have spent years studying them. You have only been around humans for a few weeks, along with the other species here. How is it that you're not overwhelmed?" she asked. I smiled to myself.

"Because I was lucky enough to have Shepard. Otherwise, I don't know what would've become of me." I answered simply, finding that I truly meant it. I saw Shepard's secret smile as it spread across her features, and it made my heart beat like a drum. I was starting to hate myself even more than I did originally. And that was something of an accomplishment.

"I see. I am glad she found you as well." She said, giving me one of her cute smiles. I gave her a small smile and a nod in return before Waru nudged me in the leg. I looked down at her as Jasin stepped to Liara's side, starting a conversation. She gave me a look of conspiracy, making me wonder if she was planning something.

"What's up, Waru?" I asked, getting a small whine as she pushed her head into my palm. I scratched her behind the ears as we walked, her height making it easy for me to reach since she came up to my hips; just as most fully grown Ulaeviel did.

It wasn't long before we got to the elevator leading to Qui'in's office. Once it got us to the offices, the door opened and I saw the two guards at the end of the hallway. Shepard led the way, then they stopped us, and Shepard convinced them to leave. Just after they departed, we were fired upon by the other guards. Too bad for them.

Waru leapt forward with speed only natural to a fully grown Ulaeviel and took down a turian, biting out his throat. Barbaric maybe, but effective. I took down a biotic on the far side of the lounge as Shepard took another guard and Liara lifted two more. Jasin took out the ones Liara lifted with her own hand cannons, dropping their bodies to the ground. We bound up the stairs quickly and Waru immediately took out a biotic hiding behind a crate on the other side of the room while Liara and Jasin dropped another two. I incinerated the last guard with my trusty hand cannon, leaving behind a small pile of dust.

"Damn…" Shepard muttered, looking at the once-was turian guard. We moved to the end of the walkway, into Qui'in's office. When we got there though, Shepard just stood in front of the computer.

"Something wrong?" I asked. She looked up at me then, brows furrowed.

"It's encrypted. I can't access the computer." She said. This wasn't in the game. Sighing, I took a seat in front of the computer and activated it. As the encryption scrolled across the screen, I matched the algorithms to the appropriate set pairs then locked them in by using a bypass code used for common encrypted files. Of course, mine was used for stronger encryptions, so this was easy. Once I bypassed the encryption, I downloaded the files into the OSD Shepard handed me. The whole process was only about four minutes.

"Easy." I commented, giving Shepard the OSD. She smirked and put it into a compartment in her armor. I stood and we all followed Shepard back to the other end of the walkway, only to be stopped by Sterling.

"You know what we do to cop killers on my world?" she sneered. Instantly, my eyes shifted as my pupils became slits once more and my teeth became sharp fangs. I snickered and found that my voice had changed again as well. Their attention went on me then, and I stepped forward.

"Know what I do to killer cops?" I growled. Instantly, she raised her gun and I leapt forward, tackling her to the ground as everyone else opened fire. She struggled against my grip on her arms, but my strength mashed her own down easily.

A maniacal grin spread across my features as I inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of her panic and fear. My demonic gaze stared into hers as my murderous urge filled me. My Bloodrage was corrupted because of what happened on that mountain with my mother, making it harder to control, and that much more powerful. It took so much less to go into a Bloodrage with the Corruption inside of me.

"Get off me demon!" she grunted, still trying to point her weapon at me. A chuckle escaped my lips and I leaned down slightly, lightly aware of the firefight going on behind me and downstairs.

"Like I said; know what I do to killer cops?" she paled, stiffening. She knew what was coming. I leaned down, my mouth coming to her ear.
"I kill them." I whispered, activating my hand cannon.

I straightened back up and regarded her with a psychotic grin and narrowed eyes. I moved my cannon to rest on her forehead- and fired. The blood from her now non-existent face sprayed up, smattering all across my own face. I stood then and chuckled to myself, aiming my cannon at her body. I fired several more times just for the kicks, but soon stopped to look down at my blood-covered self.

"Raegas!" I turned around at Shepard's voice to see she was rushing back up the stairs. She rushed up to me, worry in her features, and looked into my blood red eyes.

Was she worried I'd kill her? No. As I saw into her own eyes, I saw she was worried… for me. At the realization, I managed to find myself.

"I'm…" I struggled to calm myself down, refusing to look away from Shepard. I gritted my teeth and concentrated, finding her to be an anchor as the Bloodrage threatened to take me in.
"Sorry…" I managed, my teeth slowly returning to what they were originally. "For…" I continued, my voice not so corrupted.
"Losing…" my eyes relaxed and my face fell when she laid a hand on my back. "Control." I finished, finally regaining myself. I took a deep breath, then pulled away to regard Shepard with sad eyes. She smiled slightly and patted my shoulder.

"It's fine. Let's go." She said. I nodded, and off we went.

A/N: I feel like this one was too obvious with everything going on in Raegas' mind, you know? It's nice we finally got to Noveria, but even so; I can't say I'm totally satisfied with this evidently dramatic chapter. Oh, and that 'killing Sterling very barbarically' thing? I was kind of afraid of and for Raegas myself when I looked it over, honestly…

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