Subsider34: And you shall have one. I wanted to write one as well so it seems you will get to see Tela and Calista talking it out privately.

Wolf Girl811: I don't know if I would call her last life 'peaceful'… but I suppose it wasn't as stressful as Eden Prime was, considering she now knows what will happen. She knows she isn't Shepard; she just wants to help. The good Geth? I'm not sure how she'd react with them. She knows about them though.

Hopelessly Blue: Well, something always goes wrong. Your feeling may be accurate. Hah! Donald Trump's infamous line would have been so funny! But unfortunately this is not a parody so I can't do things like that. But don't worry; I am going to have Udina make an appearance (I don't think he would stay quiet even if I tried to keep him out) and there will be more funnies. Perhaps Shepard will be Paragade? We just know that she's mostly paragon right now… ;)

Gillian Grayson: Don't worry. We can't skip over so many people just like that. We need them.

Kaiya Smith: You make very good points. I tried to get it to make more sense this time around as well. Some things just didn't make sense in canon so I wanted to alter them a little to make it more 'realistic' you know? I'm counting on you to keep me in line.

A Fan: I appreciate it! Thank you for liking.

"You must have hit your head if you think I'm going to believe that." Tela stated as she wrapped my bleeding shin in soft bandages. I told you I had bad balance due to my lack of energy and messed up head didn't I? So falling down some stairs wasn't far out of the realm of possibility.

"I'm not kidding!" I argued. "We have to!"

"Right." Tela replied dryly. "We have to go and recruit a random quarian with magical evidence that tells us what to look for. Oh, but before that we need to go and fetch a Krogan from C-Sec to find out where the quarian went. Oh, but wait. We also have to find a C-Sec officer out for blood."

I frowned at her mocking tone but chose not to comment. "Yes." I stated. "Tali needs us to rescue her before she gets killed, and we need Wrex and Garrus to help us to save the galaxy!"

Tela heaved a sigh, bringing up a hand to rub against her forehead, "What is this 'we' you keep saying?" she pinned me with her beautiful russet eyes. "You have been through enough, Cali. I am not going to let you get any more hurt than you already are."

I was desperate at this point. Tela's stubbornness was going to create more problems than fix them. "But I have to." I murmured intently, bringing my hands up for my fingers to curl into the front of her collar.
"We both lost a choice when the beacon-"

"Cali." Tela interrupted. I knew she didn't want to hear it because she felt guilty for not being able to protect me.

"It happened." I responded. Her eyes broke from mine and she turned away, covering her forehead with a hand again. "Yeah, I saw things that were horrible, and terrifying. But they'll also help us find Saren and stop him from hurting more people."

Tela shook her head but said nothing.

There was a pause. "Tela." I began apprehensively. She finally turned back and looked into my earnest eyes. "You don't want more kids to be hurt like me, right?"

She released a breath through her nose and enveloped me in a tight embrace. "Without a doubt, kid." She pulled back and kept her hands on my shoulders. "But I will not risk losing you in the process."

My hands wrapped around her wrists, "You won't lose me." I smiled lightly in return. "It's not like Shepard will let me on the ground team, right?"

Tela rolled her eyes sourly and pulled away again. "Commander Shepard." She frowned. "That woman might have saved you but she also let you get taken by that damn machine."
She turned back to me, "You could have been brain damaged-, you could have died! I will get shot before I allow her to take care of you."

"Tela!" I whined. "She's the best bet we have of stopping Saren too!"

"What makes you think that?" Tela demanded.

"I already told you!" I snapped.

Tela looked off with a humorless smile, "Yeah, the dreams you've had for as long as you could remember. Why did you not mention them before, Cali? I would have tried to help you get rid of those nightmares."

"I didn't know they would really come true!" I stated hotly. "Now that they have we have to do something and help Shepard stop Saren!"

"How? She didn't stop him on Eden Prime in the first place!"

"She disarmed the charges and secured the beacon! It wouldn't have blown up if Kaidan wasn't so stupid!" I shot back.

"A leader takes responsibility for their subordinates' actions!" She snapped. "His actions got you hurt! If I let go of you Commander Shepard could very well get you killed on the next planet they take you to!"

"Not if I stay on the ship!" I challenged. "There's more to gain by taking me than leaving me behind! What if they die because I wasn't there to tell them something bad might happen?"

"If your dreams are really accurate you might change too much by telling them and get them killed anyway!" she matched my raising tone.

"I know that!" I shouted. "But I have to try."

"I can't let you lose your childhood over this!" she almost yelled.

"I already have!" I screamed.

Tela flinched, and stared at me. Silence reigned in the air for what felt like forever as we regarded each other, and I felt my raw emotions bubbling up to a dangerous degree.

"Tela…" I began, my voice quiet. "I've always been different." She seemed to deflate, and grew still as she continued to gaze at me silently. "I'm smarter than the kids I knew at school, and even some of the teachers. I heal so fast that some of them think I'm a half-Krogan in disguise." My voice cracked.
"I'm the only person I know that knows a Spectre let alone lives with one of them. I have nightmares that apparently tell me the future, and now I have some ancient Prothean massacre playing in my head." I wiped a stray tear away as I struggled to keep my voice level. "And I just found out that I'm some biotic. I don't even have an amp." I was quiet for another small moment.
"I think I lost my childhood when I lost my memories."

I sniffled and hid my face behind my arm, holding the soft white material covering them against my eyes to stop the tears from falling down my cheeks. I didn't know exactly why I was crying. Maybe it was because I had died and lost everything in my old life. I hadn't seen my brothers in years. Maybe I was crying for the life this little girl lost before I came to inherit her body. Maybe I was crying because of the violent deaths I had watched on Eden Prime. The deaths of friends. The knowledge of how bad it was going to get.

I guess it was because of everything. All of this was just coming to a boiling point, and I didn't see the temperature going down. I knew it would only escalate further. I could only go so far with nothing but willpower. No matter how hard I wanted to change it, I was still stuck in a child's body. I didn't have amazing skills with tech like Tali. I didn't have Wrex's strength. I didn't even know how to use these biotics on will. The only thing I could contribute right now was knowledge.

Arms came around my smaller body and I sniffed, releasing a small whimper as I wrapped my little arms around Tela's neck. "W-we have to." I murmured, sniffling automatically, eyes shut tight in an effort to stop the tears, "We can't abandon them, Tela."

Her arms tightened. "I know, Cali." She whispered. "I know."

…

Tela stepped into the office she had in her apartment and wasted little time in contacting the Council. It only took moments before their holograms flickered to life in front of her comm terminal. She only had a few minutes to spare since Calista was waiting in the other room watching the news on the vid-screen, but this was necessary.

"You have a report for us?" Valern inquired.

Tela slipped her discontent to the back of her mind and straightened, clasping her hands behind her back. "It's about Calista." She replied.

"Has new information come up regarding her status?" Tevos asked with the smallest hint of worry.

"As you know, Black Frontier installed mutations into her DNA using spliced samples from modified genes of several species." She began. "I believe the stress and the beacon on Eden Prime may have activated some of them."

Sparatus brought his hand to his chin in contemplation, "We know the modifications have been steadily settling and developing in her for a little over two years now. What level have they shown themselves at?"

"She activated biotics strong enough to throw an adult to get him away from the beacon. Her healing abilities seem to be showing up at a slightly faster rate than before as well as her brain's development." Tela answered. She clenched her fists behind her, hard, hating what had been done to her little girl.

"The researchers have noted her body's slower rate of maturation, however." Sparatus added. "She may be mentally maturing to the rate almost at the level of a salarian but her physical signs show significantly more sluggish development."

Tevos glanced at him, "Specific genes taken from asari blood have been found in her DNA's altered structure. She may be aging slower due to her heightened level of healing."

Valern crossed his arms. "It must still be subtle." He commented. "The child's growing a little slower, yes, but it isn't extremely apparent as of yet. She also has yet to grasp exactly how much she has been changed, if she's noticed at all."

Tela knew Valern and especially Sparatus wanted to rush Calista's development. They had mentioned before that it would give Tela more information on what Black Frontier did and so allow her more options in tracking their movements. Tevos was the only one to really agree that they could wait, but it was mostly due to the asari life span. They had more time.

"Have the researchers come up with any more information?" Tela asked, changing the subject slightly. Every six months Calista was taken to the hospital for a check-up. Among the regular routines of a physical, a vial of blood was taken to be tested and studied by those working for the Council on a secret project. It had taken an entire month to convince the councilors to let Calista stay with her instead of at the research division.

"Aside from the obvious benefits Black Frontier intended to tie into Calista, there are definite drawbacks. A few of which have been identified." Tevos answered.

Sparatus nodded once, "The amount of genetic modifications has made her permanently sterile." He said. "She still retains the features of one, but Calista is also no longer entirely human."

Tevos regarded Tela with some hesitation, "Her genome hints at blood matches to members of her immediate family as well."

Tela's eyes narrowed, "You mean…?"

Valern nodded, "Some of the asari DNA that was spliced and inserted into your niece corresponds with your own." He affirmed. "The injuries you sustained from their soldiers just before Calista was taken could be the reason behind their having had your blood."

Sparatus nodded once in agreement, "Not only are you related to Calista through your sister but you are a powerful warrior and biotic; a Spectre. Your blood was a perfect component to their experimentation."

Tela was speechless. Sure, it made sense as to why they would use her lost blood but… Calista was genetically related to her now? This was becoming more and more straining on the realm of sense. The poor girl still looked the same but on the inside she had been changed so much. It didn't make a difference to Tela: she still loved the kid with everything she had. But upon this revelation Tela could only imagine how much Calista was going to go through for being so different. How many more things had been changed?

"It explains why she is able to use biotics." Tevos said. "But there are other things still being tested."

Valern nodded, "We will contact you when more information is uncovered."

"For now, we recommend you keep a close eye on Calista. That vision in the beacon may have triggered higher levels of emotional stress. If that is so, the mutations may spike again and cause more damage to her." Sparatus added.

Tela refrained from snapping at them with several insults and nodded slightly, "Understood."

The hologram blinked off and Tela released her stiff posture. She blew out a long sigh and looked down to the ground before closing her eyes. Calista shouldn't have to go through these things. It wasn't fair. Not to her late parents or her. Tela wished she could just make it and Black Frontier disappear.

She shook her head and looked back up, turning to her door. She could revisit these revelations later. For now she had to look after Calista and help that human commander. She knew it was the right thing to do whether or not she wanted to let go of Cali, and she didn't want another argument with her beloved girl, as stubborn as she was.

Walking out of her room and entering the living room she looked to the couch in front of the vid-screen she'd left Calista on.

"Come one kid, let's go." She said, walking around the couch. "We've got people to-"

… Calista wasn't on the couch. Tela felt worry creeping up her spine but assumed the girl had gone to the bathroom. She turned toward the door between both bedrooms and approached it, internally hoping the girl hadn't overheard her conversation with the Council.

Knocking on said door, she said, "Hey kid, hurry up! We have things to do right?"

Silence greeted her ears. She felt her worry increase as she pressed the panel to open the door. "Cali?" the light flicked on upon the door opening only to reveal an empty bathroom. Tela felt her heart rate growing to dangerous levels.

Calista was gone.

A/N: Cliffhanger alert. Don't worry, I know you like them. I love you so much that I put another one in just for you. … There's no need to give me that look.