The doors swung open with interminable slowness and it was all Kaidan could do not to clench his arms around them and pull them open with the sheer strength of his muscle. Before they even had a chance to fully open for him, he surged out, quick, military steps pacing him toward the back of the Normandy's cargo bay and the small cluster of people who were milling around the now humming, glowing beacon.

EDI's mechanical platform was slowly prowling around the boundary between beacons, running an efficient hand across the lights that played over the strange, ancient surfaces and there were connections linking them all together. Miranda stood apart, keen eyes studying the people as well as the beacons and she was soon joined by James who whispered something over to her and she shook her head in response, dark hair flowing with the movement.

"EDI," Kaidan spoke up as he drew closer enough to speak without shouting, "Is everything ready?"

Without pausing from her study of the artifacts or turning to look at him, EDI gave the beacons another once over before looking down at the omni-tool along her metal forearm. "Yes, Major Alenko. We can activate the beacon."

Kaidan cast a quick glance over the assembled group, noting the absence of Steve or Wrex, assuming that they were probably still searching for evidence outside among the growing port. With a silent apology to them, Kaidan nodded once as EDI cast a quick glance over to where he stood. They didn't have any time to waste, not with things progressing as they had.

"Do it." There was a brief pause, like the anticipation before the sound of thunder rolled over the horizon, and Kaidan found that he was holding his breath as silence crept over the other observers. EDI ran a smooth hand over her omni-tool and engaged the mechanisms.

A hum. A slight buzz.

Kaidan swore under his breath as the flickering lights shot through the empty space, forming into the familiar, green ball of energy as the Normandy's lights shivered and wavered.

"Energy flow is unstable," EDI said casually, not at all concerned with the riot of electrical shorting and surging firing up around her.

"What's happening? Is it going to blow?" Miranda sounded a little more ruffled than Kaidan was used to, but he didn't have much time left to contemplate as the beacon flickered, seem to go dead, and then sparked as energy poured into the device and it at last completed its task, the form of the slightly translucent Prothean standing before them in a relaxed position. It seemed not to see them as it stood there, barely twitching.

Kaidan felt his breathing start to return back to normal levels as the lights in the cargo bay began to stabilize and return back to their familiar, comforting glow. "What the hell was that, EDI?"

"It appears that the beacon draws more power through itself when they are... linked," EDI replied, still tapping away at her omni-tool, "I am unsure as to the specifications, but I believe this crude method has a greater draw on our power than necessary. Shall I de-activate it and attempt to reconfigure?"

Kaidan threw a look at the Prothean VI standing before him. "Well, will it cause any problems?"

"It is difficult to say," EDI countered as she looked up away from the interface. "I believe that unless vast resources are allocated to process significant requests or information, the draw should be limited to what we have seen so far."

Kaidan nodded, turning once more to the VI. As long as they could work this, he didn't need to waste precious hours spent tinkering around with something which was, in effect, a secondary concern. That was unless, he could pull anything else of interest out of the VI.

"VI," Kaidan spoke up, addressing the translucent creation, "Can you hear me?"

"Affirmative," it immediately replied.

Kaidan pondered for a moment, curiosity getting the better of him as he hesitated. "Don't you... don't you need to, um, establish a time-scale or something like that?"

"Time-scale already established," the VI said, "Previous interactions are stored. I am called Ward. Holding for request."

Kaidan felt his hand moving along the back of his neck before he thought to halt the movement, glad that he didn't have to ask the VI for its name again after forgetting the VI's name. He blinked suddenly as the thought came to him; why the hell was he feeling sheepish about forgetting what the VI wanted to be addressed as? He shook out the thought as he felt about, using his words.

"Ward," Kaidan said slowly, "We've, um, we've linked you to a few more... beacons. Are there any significant changes to your, um, systems?" He cast a look over at EDI who had returned to monitor the beacon's progress and turned back as Ward addressed him.

"Yes," came the reply, "Connection established between other capsules. Integration is already complete at 99.99 percent. Processing power is now at optimal levels." It turned what seemed a questioning eye down at him. "What is it you require?"

"We, um," Kaidan struggled to remember, "you mentioned that there were... two, indoctrination protocols that you had stored... and, well..."

"Indoctrination protocols, two," the VI confirmed immediately.

"Great, just... just great," Kaidan said feeling like a complete idiot. Without Shepard present, there was no way to test for any form of indoctrination anyway and it didn't seem like-

"Warning. Protocols completed. Indoctrinated presence detected," Ward suddenly interjected.

Kaidan felt himself stiffen at the unexpected announcement and heard shrill sounds of panic and startlement at the pronouncement as the people around him cast wary looks about them and glared at one another accusingly. Kaidan was on the verge of triggering the mnemonics for his barrier as he studied the small assembled group. EDI cocked her head to the side in a biological imitation of thought as she studied the rising tension that was swirling around them.

"I sense no presence of Reaper signatures, Major Alenko," EDI said at last but Kaidan was still too fresh from the War, too fresh from the Reapers on Omega and Rannoch not to suspect the VI's damning conclusion.

"Ward," Kaidan rasped quickly, "Identify the indoctrinated presence."

The lights around them flickered briefly as the beacons drew in more power to process his command.

"Telemetry sources indicate that indoctrinated residue is most highly concentrated in our current location and approximately thirty meters above, toward the south-west," Ward corrected.

"Indoctrinated residue?" Kaidan blurted out as EDI said, "The beacon is referring to the medical bay."

"Correct," Ward replied as it shifted slightly in its pose, "Prothean biology allows for the deconstruction of DNA memory through touch. This adaptation was implemented into our capsules, though there lacked the combined processing power necessary to render it effective."

"There was an indoctrinated thing on board the Normandy," Miranda whispered softly, "Here, in the cargo bay."

"Asco," James mumbled like an overgrown bumble bee, "That's disgusting. We had a stow away, Major?"

"Ward," Kaidan said, ignoring them for the mean time, "I need more information."

"What information do you require?" the VI asked cryptically.

Kaidan bit his lip as he considered but before he could come up with a response, EDI stepped beside him and into the VI's range of view and spoke quietly to him.

"Major, I believe I can more efficiently question the device concerning indoctrination. Do I have your permission to continue?"

"Ward," EDI spoke up, addressing the VI, "Expand upon previous indoctrinated residue. Define characteristics."

"Human," came the reply after another brief flickering of lights, "Female. Approximate aged undetermined. Detected through protocol two."

"Define protocol two. Expand," EDI countered.

Kaidan nodded quickly, setting his mind racing as the information began to pool along the side of his brain. He was starting to get frustrated with the VI's stubborn help and, surprisingly, angry.

Wait. Angry? Why was he getting angry?

He traced back the dark, red path that glowered in his mind, following back to the source within his head before he realized that the anger and frustration that was building up inside wasn't coming from him, it was coming from the bond that he shared with Shepard. Shepard was awake and apparently transmitting his emotions, but he was perhaps too far away for thoughts to travel through their unusual quantum connection.

John? Kaidan thought as hard as he could. Can you hear me?

Nothing but silence answered. Silence, and a growing sense of anger and disgust.

"Reaper technology really is the finest in the galaxy, don't you think Skipper?" Ash said gaily as she stepped around his prone form. His eyes tracked her movements like a predator following prey.

He blinked.

Ash had disappeared, there one moment, gone the next.

"With this," came a sudden, buzzing whisper in his ear, "I can avoid being seen by all but the most scrutinizing sensors." A dark, gauntleted hand reached out and roughly grazed over his stubbled cheek, and he pulled away roughly from the touch like he'd been burned.

Ash laughed darkly as she stepped into his view again, and crossed her arms demurely across her armour.

"That was some display of power you showed on Rannoch," Ash said absently as she cocked her head to the side, "It caught me by surprise, but dark energy can be absorbed just like every other." She tapped lightly along the warped, dark metal and Shepard realized that she was trying to draw his attention to the armour that she wore. The colour of a Reaper's shell.

"I wasn't expecting you to blow me away after that though," Ash said bitterly as her queer gaze lingered over his body, "Stronger than we thought. More reckless. Wasn't that always your way?"

Shepard growled something unintelligible as his tongue twitched against the roof of his mouth. He experimentally wiggled his jaw and was gratified to feel the slightest echo of feeling shoot through him. The drug was apparently wearing off.

"Climbed right through the cargo bay," Ash cackled, "Looked a little different, but it was still the same piece of human-turian crap from all those years ago. That stupid Husk almost did me in, but that fat lump of lard quickly took care of that problem. Hate those things. Always have."

Shepard growled again, putting more of his anger into the sound and Ash looked up at him, expectant and pleased at his reaction.

"Another bonus," she replied, running a hand over her body, "No need for food. Water. Minimal need for air. Hardy stuff."

You're not even human anymore, Shepard thought sadly to himself, the only way he could respond. They've taken everything away that makes you truly alive.

"You can't imagine how difficult it was, after Virmire," Ash said casually, though her gaze had become more penetrating than ever. "You left me die, left me to sacrifice my life for some pathetic group of salarian insects that couldn't even hold their own. Krogan, turian, they're all the same, Skipper, and they all deserve to burn for what they did to me."

No Ash, Shepard swallowed convulsively, Not them. Me.

Ash had apparently gotten the swing of her monologue and seemed to enjoy the sound of her own indoctrinated voice, pacing as she threw barbs at him, spearing him with her words.

"It hurt so much. Damn near bled out when the last of the Geth came through." Ash kept glancing his way to see if he was hurting under the barrage of memories. "I screamed pitifully when they took me, before the nuke went off. Saren was just a distraction, had to buy some time so that they could take me, in the hopes of using me as leverage. You'd be surprised how these Reapers think, Skipper. So powerful. Like gods." Pure worship shone through those altered eyes and Shepard felt his gorge rose at the sickeningly hopeful look in Ash's expression when she spoke about the Reapers.

"Saren's exposure to the beacon on Eden Prime," Ash mused quietly to herself, "It was perhaps why he could fight off indoctrination the way that he did. Why you managed to talk him into shooting his sad, turian head off. Its probably the same reason you managed to fight it for as long as you did. Who would have thought, those extinct, green bugs would have found a way to counter indoctrination with something so basic."

No Ash, Shepard told the woman in his head, Not because of the beacon. Because deep down, he was good. Like you were. Like you are. He worked at his jaw a little and felt the sensation creep up stronger than before.

"After you destroyed Sovereign," Ash said softly, pain and hurt evident in her voice, "I was stuck. Left to rot on some shitty little rock, left to die. Again." Ash's voice blazed with hate, searing the air between them. "Harbinger found me. Or at least his proxies did. He was the oldest, the most powerful. At the edges of dark space, he could just barely influence the galaxy, communicate with the so-called Collectors. Bunch of little shits."

Memories swam through Shepard's mind as he tried to pull away from them, but their relentless claws hooked into him and dug through, imprinting themselves afresh. The Collectors, Harbinger. The Alpha Relay.

"It took the rest of the vanguard years to move through that nothingness," Ash muttered almost to herself, and Shepard stared at her as she giggled softly, hairs standing at the maddening sound. "Imagine. Faster Than Light travel in a place where there exists no light. So poetic."

Ash whirled and rounded on him, causing him to flinch slightly as his bruise throbbed along the side of his jaw. The sensation was familiar and comforting, not because of the pain, but because it indicated that his sense of touch was returning quickly. "I was seen as important. Powerful. I had ties to you, the creature who had single-handedly orchestrated Sovereign's destruction. They were curious and so, I was changed as the Collectors were once Prothean. Am I not powerful, Shepard? Am I not stronger than the strongest living thing in this galaxy? You?"

A muttered sound came from Shepard, but it was lost in Ash's wild tirade and the mad glint in her artificial eyes indicated that she hadn't heard. Shepard worked his jaw furiously as he tried to bring more sensation back, willing his body to burn through the last of the drug, his Cerberus enhancements fighting and steadily winning.

"Look at them," Ash said, flinging her hand out to the side as the door opened, leading outward to a dark, stony exterior. A Husk stepped through the portal and shambled aimlessly through the room and over to stand slovenly next to Ash. "Pathetic creatures. Not worth the time or the resources to create them. Cannon fodder. Come on, Skipper, take a good, long look."

Shepard wanted to look away, wanted to deny Ash her authority in even this small way, but harsh fingers clamped around his jaw and inexorably forced his head up to look at the pitiful thing standing next to the monstrosity of his former friend. It was a Husk alright, nothing special and Ash's grip turned painful as she dug her fingers in deeper, forcing him to see something that he just couldn't grasp. That gaping mouth, blank vacant stare, eyes rimmed with a trio of blue pupils that seemed to-

Wait.

Blue? Almost blue. Teal. Azure. Something in between. Dread sneaked up his spine as his mind tried to process the information. The Husks had always exuded a violent purplish hue, matching their rotten patchwork skin, and it shone through their torn flesh and through the metallic wiring that shot through them. This creature glowed blue. A very unique blue, that he'd only ever seen on one person. His eyes widened as far as they could go as the realization smacked into him and Ash finally let go as she cackled, realizing that he'd finally understood.

"Yes," Ash purred, running a metal digit over the scabbed and wrinkled skin of the creature next to her. "I'm glad you remember. Not really an old friend is he Shepard? We found him on the Citadel, surrounded by his cronies, as we were dragging it away from the Serpent Nebula. I'm glad you got to see your friend, The Illusive Man, one last time."

The Husk that had once been the most powerful and mysterious human alive, the leader of Cerberus's dark dealings, mewled piteously at him as clawed fingers twitched and shook. A blur cut through the air and congealed fluids spattered warmly against Shepard's bare skin, Ash's hand crumpling the Husk's head like cheap paper as she wrung the fluids out. She let the twitching corpse drop to the floor with no more care.

"You can't control us," Ash spoke quietly, menacingly, "You can't defeat us. All your efforts, all your sacrifices. They were for nothing, Shepard. You, humanity's finest, no, the galaxy's finest, couldn't do anything more than nettle and sting. But you're good. I'll admit that. And the Reapers, well, we need the best in our ranks."

"Ash..." Shepard muttered thickly, barely able to get the word out, "Don't do this. You don't have to be like them..."

Shock flickered in her eyes before she managed to recover and a rakish grin swept her full lips up in points. "Amazing. That didn't last as long as I had hoped. Oh well, I was getting a little sick of listening to myself."

"Please," Shepard continued, not listening. "You're better than this."

Hesitation painted her features and Shepard felt a thrill of hope shoot through him. Ash seemed to blink, struggling within herself. She step towards him, reaching out a careful, trembling hand.

"Skipper?"

The sound in her voice, so lost, so painful almost shattered his resolve, but he kept speaking, kept wielding the only weapon he had to use.

"Come on Ash," Shepard whispered encouragingly, strength returning to his jaw, "You were a good soldier, you can come back to-"

A whip crack sound threaded the air and pain blossomed along his jaw. His vision went white as another blow crossed the other side, leaving him two throbbing spots as he tasted blood in his mouth. He wiggled his jaw, testing for any broken bones or loose teeth, and the pain almost blinded him again. He raised his gaze up to look a grinning Ash in the face.

"I'm not a good soldier," Ash said in a sinister tone, that mocking grin plastered onto her face. "I'm the best. Did you really think that would work, Shepard? You were never a good listener were you? Always asking questions, not really giving a shit about what you heard. That crap worked on Saren because the beacon on Eden Prime destabilized the indoctrination. I'm not like him. I'm not as weak as him." Another blurry blow struck him across the face and the droplets of red that left his mouth soared through the air and landed on the hungry, metal floor. "It's the only reason you managed to escape the same effects, only you got to the beacon before you were indoctrinated. So you had a one up. But it almost killed you as well, didn't it?"

"The second protocol, Protocol fifteen-one," Ward confirmed, "Indoctrination is a poorly understood phenomena. During the occupation of-"

"Wait, wait," Kaidan quickly interrupted, "We've already heard this."

"Ward," EDI said after a brief second of thought, "Expand upon Tarr'Grish."

"You remember what it was called?" Kaidan blurted in amazement.

"Of course, Major," EDI said quickly, "I have the entire conversation stored within my data-banks."

Heat flamed in Kaidan's cheeks. "What else do you have-"

"Tarr'Grish," the VI responded softly as everyone strained to listen, interrupting Kaidan, "One of the many worlds that the Prothean Empire conquered during its expansion across the galaxy. It was a time of enlightenment and scientific progress. As such, many worlds were allocated purely for the search for scientific understanding and martial progress. Tarr'Grish was taken by the ones you call Reapers approximately thirty-seven years after first contact."

"Why was indoctrination studied on Tarr'Grish?" EDI replied carefully.

"It was not its sole province," Ward replied in his envious stillness, "Many of our greatest minds were turned to understanding indoctrination. It was only on Tarr'Grish that a breakthrough was discovered."

"What kind of breakthrough?" Kaidan whispered.

"Knowledge on indoctrination was subjective and non-absolute," Ward offered, "Similarly, the studies on the Reapers were as flawed. However, it became clear that the Reapers are organized in a system of castes, like any other societal construct."

"That would make sense," EDI clarified, "If the Reapers are the creations of biological identities, then like the Geth, they would mimic the different systems that were in place for such societies. Provided the unlikely outcome of evolving past that obstruction."

"That conclusion was reached by Master Riaton, who also documented the differences within indoctrination." Ward seemed to suck in a breath before continuing. "The initial Reaper invasion began with their vanguard, the strongest and most capable of their constructs, but also the oldest. We began to observe that certain Reapers also exhibited other traits, similar to organics. One of them was a scientific arm that studied biological processes. This divergent group actively sought out our greatest troves of knowledge and advancement and used the information to strengthen their numbers while crippling our own."

"A devastating tactic," EDI supplied. Kaidan nodded mutely at the thought of an organized hierarchy within the Reaper's otherworldly structure.

"It was discovered on Tarr'Grish during the occupation that certain indoctrinated individuals failed to register on the protocols that we designed to identify them," Ward spoke, "Master Riaton concluded that the manipulations of the subjects' cranial cortex were different from what our instruments were set to identify and he spent his life documenting the difference until his death."

"And what are these differences?" Miranda quipped up from right behind Kaidan, clearly drawn into the discussion. "What other forms of indoctrination exist that you've discovered?"

The lights flickered and dimmed as Ward seemed to glow with inner fire, drawing in more energy as it pulled data out of the other beacons surrounding it. "Indoctrination is believed to manipulate the neural pathways within the brain, adjusting and forcefully twisting the connective neurons in order to re-align the priorities of organics. Singular, base purposes of life shift and instead of whatever characterstics intrinsic to the nature of an individual, paths are connected in similar manners, through complex bio-electrical manipulation, in order to reroute all overriding desires toward those that benefit the Reapers. However, the brain is a complex organ that is built up on multiple inter-connecting pathways that share relations. Should one be altered, it will corrupt the other tissues that depend on that neural system."

"Which is why, the more you're indoctrinated, the more you lose your individuality," Miranda snapped as success made her voice rich and throaty.

"Correct," Ward offered, "Absolute control re-writes every single function within the brain, essentially rendering each pathway useless to any other. It was discovered on Tarr'Grish, that a more complicated and subtle adjustment could be made."

"What kind?" Kaidan asked, wetting his dry lips. The more he learnt, the more worried he was at knowing that Shepard was probably suffering under the hands of his tormentors as they browsed through this high-tech encyclopaedia.

"Concepts. Ideologies," Ward said not entirely helpfully, "Love. A driving force that is the sole purpose desire of a living, biological creature. Slow and careful manipulation of these core commands can turn a mind subtly over long periods of exposure, maintaining control while preserving the individual's identity. These subjects took longer to change, but the process is more irrevocable, as the creature's purpose becomes that of the Reaper's."

"Worshipping Reapers," Kaidan spat, hate thick in his voice as he finally understood what Ward was implying, "Whatever centres around a person's life, love, faith, greed, the Reapers they... they turn it towards their goals and their purpose."

"Correct," Ward confirmed.

"That's not something that we can simply erase," Miranda said in worried tones, "And Shepard was like this? How can you be so sure that you've removed the indoctrination from him, Alenko?"

Kaidan whirled on her, feeling the unnatural anger pulse within him, but he forced himself to breathe evenly as he considered the question. It was a good question, he just didn't think he was in the right state of mind to answer.

"You're right," Kaidan said in a controlled manner, "It's not just something that we can erase. It'll be ingrained into them, something that changes who they are. But I know what the Rachni Queen did for me. For John. She... took my memories of him. Everything that I had. I'm not sure how it worked, but we... I gave back to John what the Reapers took. So far, it seems to be enough."

"Is it enough though?" Miranda pounced on the opening. "I want to believe that as much as you, or anyone else who Shepard calls friend, but if this is deeper than that... We need to find him and see if the indoctrination sensor in the beacon can detect any trace at all. And who's to say he's the only one? Loads of people were exposed during the war. To either form. We would need to get-"

"Get the galaxy together to screen them?" Kaidan huffed in amazement. "When everyone's rebuilding Miranda? Do you even know how to get that done?"

"We have to try," Miranda insisted, "How many cultures, how many people will be building their new societies based on a group of people who could possibly have the Reaper's best interests at heart? Who knows how many planets will be warped by this."

"Look, I want to see that through too," Kaidan said with just a hint of acid, "But John's not here right now, and we have no idea where he could be. Whatever happens, I need to make sure that-"

"Wait, hang on a minute there Major," James broke in, stepping up to the VI himself, "Um, hey, green thing. Ward VI. You, um, you said something about different types of Reapers. Different Reapers that do different things."

"Yes," Ward said simply and Kaidan was sending the large marine a questioning look that was joined by Miranda's scorn and EDI's curiosity. James writhed under the scrutiny but kept his back straight, looking right at the VI as he spoke over their gaze.

"So, um, like you mentioned something about the vanguard. Vanguard Reapers? That means the first wave, or fore runners or something. Are there... are there more Reapers beside this... vanguard?" James swallowed as he finished the thought and Kaidan felt a tiny skitter of fear as he considered this new idea. He turned to look at the VI as it paused to answer, and he swore that he felt everyone else within the vicinity do the same.

"Knowledge is subjective and non-absolute," Ward replied, "But yes. It was postulated that there exists more of the ones we call Reapers in dark space."

"The Memory Pylon on Eden Prime, it-"

Another bruise to join the growing ranks that were populating his cheeks. This time he spat blood on Ash's armour but she seemed thrilled rather than upset with his defiance.

"Don't interrupt," Ash replied casually as she withdrew her hand. "Though it does have to do with that. My masters wanted you, needed to collect the best that the galaxy had to offer. Indoctrination had to be the way, but you were difficult. Stubborn."

"Yeah? You should ask Kaidan how well I-"

Another crack, another swelling of pain.

"Glutton for punishment," Ash chided, "If you keep talking, I'll take every tube I can find and pump it into your face. Would you prefer that? No?"

Shepard wisely bit his tongue, stopping the retort and Ash nodded approvingly, like a master rewarding a faithful dog with her regard.

"My masters," Ash began again and Shepard felt sick every time that word left her mouth, like she was offering prayers to the Reapers, "They knew about the effects of the beacon on Eden Prime before you destroyed the Alpha Relay. They were studying you, trying to find out why you were so difficult to turn."

"The Prothean memories," Shepard said thickly as much as his swollen face allowed.

"Very good," Ash crooned, "Yes. Your brain algorithms were altered. Changed beyond something even they expected. Indoctrination wouldn't take hold. It would just layer itself on top of everything else and make you even more insane than you'd become, Skipper. So we had to find a way to cancel that, remove it in some way. Could you think of any way we could do that?" Ash concluded innocently.

Shepard gritted his teeth at the mocking face of his friend plastered onto this Reaper construct but the thought shot through him, stopping his reckless desire to whip Ash down with his recalcitrance. A Reaper construct, and the only possible way that they could have known to remove any kind of influence on his mind...

"The Rachni Queen," Shepard answered softly, almost unintelligible. "That was why you hunted the Queen and kept her."

Ash clapped her hands together in a parody of gleeful delight, but her eyes shone with delicious malice and her grin was just as predatory. "Yes. Very, very good, Skipper. The Queen managed to fight off what we did to her, months of torture and twisting. But we couldn't break her, couldn't break into her mind. So we did the next best thing. We took her children, her precious babies, and made them suffer, turned them into the monsters that you called Ravagers. Powerful, but delicate. Glass cannons not worth keeping. But it was for the pain it caused, the absolute, delicious suffering it brought the Queen each time her child cried out for her, screamed for her. Begged for release." Ash's eyes shone with the joy and Shepard felt his throat close.

"You're a monster. You all are." Shepard said with barely veiled disgust. How could this creature be the Ashely Williams who sang to herself quietly and read poetry aloud to her sisters. There had to be something left inside that he could save. Ash's hand shifted slightly and he braced himself for the blow that didn't come.

"Yes," Ash supplied, "Monsters. Demons. Angels. Gods. It doesn't matter what you call us. We exist and we're so very strong Skipper."

"You're all alone," Shepard spat, "The last Reaper and its failed creations. We destroyed Sovereign without the aid of the Catalyst. We can destroy you and your 'master' as well. You'll never take me, and I'll fight you to hell and back."

"Sovereign, that old wind bag, was too overconfident," Ash supplied and Shepard wondered at the lack of awe in her voice, "Its time had come. And in case you're missing something, Skipper, I think you should know. We don't need the Queen now do we? Not now that our dear little LT has removed the last of the taint from your mind." Ash's smile seemed to cut the air like razors.

"No," Shepard said, shaky confidence injected into his denial.

"Oh?" Ash said, widening her eyes and placing a contrite hand along her cheek. "Is it because you're joined in the mind? Sharing each other's emotions and thoughts? It was something that we learned from the Queen. Done only from mother to daughter. A gift she called it, and I'm sure she would have given the great Commander Shepard anything after you saved her life. And killed her suffering children."

Shepard refused to be baited, letting the sarcasm wash over him but he felt a frission of nerves shoot through him as he considered something else. How much did they know? Too much, even that much was too much to give to the Reapers.

Ash's triumphant look was grotesque. "But you are right you know Skipper. Can't really do anything now that you've got another's mind linked to yours. We couldn't do it with the Rachni and we won't be able to do it to you."

"Then just kill me and get it over with-"

Ash's hand snaked through the air and crushed his lips shut. "Let me clarify, Skipper. We can't do it to you the way you are, but what if, let's say, we removed that link? Removed that last bit of protection? Wouldn't you be just as pliable as the rest of us? After all, you're only human, no matter what was done to bring you back."

Shepard's eyes widened in horror as realization dawned on him. He sucked in a scratchy breath and tried to howl his denial but Ash's grip was implacable, barely allowing air to trickle past his tortured mouth.

"Yes," Ash purred sibilantly, "Kill Kaidan. Watch him burn and die. Then, when he's gone from your mind, we'll take you. Body and soul." Ash laughed darkly as she shoved his head away to crash against the surface behind him, barely missing the amp port at the base of his neck.

"You'll never get your chance," Shepard said with malice as the white haze retreated, "He'll never get caught by you. He's better, stronger and smarter."

"Oh, he will," Ash said confidently, "After all, we have you. Love can make people do very stupid things, can't they?"

"You piece of shit," Shepard swore violently, "You're crap. I made the right choice to kill you on Virmire. Let the weakest die. You would never have replaced Kaidan, never in eternity. You'll die with the Reapers and Kaidan will-"

The blow this time tore at his flesh as Ash's metal knuckles cracked against his cheek, washing him in pain.

"Bastard," Ash hissed, "It should have been me! I should have been at your side! I deserved it, Shepard! But now, I think I'll cut out your tongue. Or maybe pull it out. You won't need it when you-"

Ash screamed suddenly, pulling Shepard from his pain-filled haze and he was equally pleased at watching his tormentor suffer and torn at watching his friend's face in a rictus of suffering. Ash's note of anguish filled the small space as she gripped the sides of her head and smashed her way through the delicate instruments around them.

"Yes, yes master," Ash all but begged brokenly, stumbling to a halt. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Yes. Please, make it stop. Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop!"

She stood on trembling legs, turning up a look at Shepard that was so full of loathing that he swore he could see the air warp around them. Without another word or blow, she slammed the surface roughly back to its horizontal position and engaged the thing's motor functions, pulling him along quickly as they exited the room, all sign of her previous anguish forgotten as she moved him, compelled by the will of her master.

Shepard craned his head up as the doorway blurred past his line of sight, emptying out into a darkness that he absently mistook for a night sky, except that there were no stars. The vast, sucking sounds of empty air intruded on his ears and the faint echoing footfalls pattered along ahead of him. Turning his head to his right side, he glimpsed smooth rock walls, covered with machinery and blinking lights, tubes and wires running throughout the spare surface, coiling along the floor and moving off in all directions. The air smelled crisp and sharp, the smell of eezo and energy. Vertigo sent his vision swimming as he suddenly arched up, swinging back up to his previously vertical position. He started, but recovered quickly as he stared hatefully at the thing before him.

It was dark, dark enough to suck in the surrounding light and octopoid in configuration. It towered over their tiny forms and reached black tendrils up to disappear into the ceiling above him. Its elegant bulk rested on thick legs that were splayed out, gripping the rocky floor covetously as large tubes came and went at seemingly random intervals around its body. The glow of red magma, yellow energy and noxious blue filtered through the tubes and seemed to gurgle and churn as they entered and exited the megalithic Reaper.

Sudden red light, unnatural in its hue, bathed him as the Reaper's oculus engaged and seemed to take him in, considering. Shepard turned his head to the side to avoid the malicious gaze and glimpsed Ash in her dark armour, head bowed and knees bent in a parody of worshipful subservience that made him grind his teeth.

You are the Shepard.

The voice tore through his mind, shredding his brain as if razor shards of ice were pelting through his ears and turning his mind into mush. He wanted to shout his defiance, but he stubbornly focused his will and met the red gaze before him, not giving it an inch.

"And you're an asshole," Shepard ground out.

Something struck at his solar plexus, winding him and sending him coughing and hacking as he tried to suck in life-giving air through his spasming diaphragm. He choked and sputtered, willing his muscles to respond and still as he recovered from the beating, sending Ash a bland look as she coiled back away from him, staring hatred at him as she bent back down to kneel before her metallic deity.

You are the Shepard.

"If you can't guess that, then maybe you have the wrong person." Shepard clenched his muscles tightly, bracing himself for another blow but it never came.

Bravado. Foolish pride. Your resistance is a weakness that consumes your kind. The organic failures. It shall be weaned from you.

"What the hell do you things want with me? Why me?" Shepard yelled out.

The Reaper shifted the red light slightly, seemingly considering before ignoring him.

We are what you call Reapers. We, are Ascendant.

"Sounds bad," Shepard grated out, "Better get it checked out."

Such empty words, how they ring in hollow tones. Your words mean nothing to us. You are but a blink, a pointless waste. But you will grow and you will threaten that which we must preserve. Thus, we harvest. But you will be preserved.

"Why. Me." Shepard said in strong, clipped tones. It wasn't a question this time. It was a command and he bared his teeth as the words clicked out of his battered lips.

You are the best this insignificant era has to offer. It intruiges us, how such a miniscule organism can resist. You shall be harvested, and taught to serve a greater purpose.

"Never," Shepard spat out.

The concept does not sway us. You will turn to our will, your body a shell for our glorious purpose. You will be ours, as we instructed you, some time ago.

"And what makes you think that will help you?" Shepard railed, "The last Reaper, stuck in your prison of stone. All alone. Do you think adding one more thing like me, like her," Shepard spat tossing his head at Ash's prostrate form, "will make a difference? It's only a matter of time. The galaxy will find you and end you like they did Sovereign. And Harbinger. We know now, how to fight your kind."

The light streamed past him and seemed to caress his skin with heated fingers and he couldn't control the flinch as the heat seemed to bubble and move around him and through him.

We are. We exist. We are the Reapers, the many names before given to us to hide the fear of the unknown, by those your better. All have fallen and we will reap you and your kind before us. There exists realities past your meagre comprehension, beyond, in the dark spaces. We are more than infinite.

Shepard paled at the threat, so bluntly delivered, trying to work through the grandiose delivery. Realities past the corners of dark space. More what? What the hell was this delusional squid talking about.

"We destroyed your fleet, monster," Shepard said through ground teeth, not willing to give in to despair, "We destroyed every last one of you. All except you and your lackeys."

Not all.

Fear chased up Shepard's spine. Were there, perhaps, more places like this? Little hidey holes that had Reapers stuck within them? Ascendant seemed to read his thoughts as its voice hissed through the halo of deep, red light.

This was but an experiment conducted by us. This world reflects that which you called the Catalyst, preserving our function. Unique. Fascinating. But it is a tool, and it has satisfied, but it will be discarded now that its purpose is served.

"Why the hell are you telling me all this?" Shepard spoke out loud.

We wish you to despair. To lose that which you call hope and faith. We wish to break you and reform the tatters of your broken form, to rise and become ascendant.

"Never," Shepard rang out adamantly.

But you will.

The Reaper, Ascendant, seemed to shift its red-eyed gaze over to Ash's still form, bathing her in lurid blood-soaked light as it considered for a moment. Ash raised her gaze with sick adoration and Shepard watched as little trembles seemed to consume the woman.

Hope. Faith. Love. Of the greatest of these, is what you call... Love. Is this not what you have been taught to believe in? To hold on to with impractical desperation?

Shepard's skin prickled at having ancient scripture, probably pulled from Ash's mind, being recited to him. The malicious light splayed over him once more as the Reaper turned and regarded him, like a scientist preparing to dissect a lab specimen in order to further understand and catalogue its functions.

You have love, do you not, Shepard? Selfish, ruinous waste that controls you and shifts your desire. Your fleeting instant is soaked in your search for love. The love of the one you call... Kaidan?

"Don't you say his name you son of a-" Ascendant's shrieking rang out, drowning out his cursing.

The faith of your friends. Those that shore you up and make you believe you are stronger than you are. They breed the hope within you. A triumvate of strength, feeding on each other as parasites do, lending false stability to an existence without purpose. What happens if we remove that faith? If we remove your love? Will your hope not flounder and die? Will you not burn with agony and broken hope to see your faith shriek against our will, to see your love pull away from you and obliterate benath our might?

Dread coiled thickly within him and it settled heavy tendrils through his chest, but he refused to surrender to the feeling, refused to give up. So he fought.

"You don't understand us at all," Shepard said, trying to equal the malice that he felt washing over him, "You don't understand that its not the way it works. Even without them, without that, I'll still fight you with everything I've got." The lie was sharp on his tongue. He knew how important his friends were to him, how important Kaidan was, and the fact that he'd found a family in this motely group was a testament to his tenacity and desire for normalcy. Especially considering all the twisted things he'd been through in his past, and in his short life. But he wouldn't give up, he'd been a fighter long before anything else. The only difference was, now he had something personal worth fighting for and no matter what would happen, whatever the Reaper would to him, still, he would fight.

We shall see.

"Fuck you," Shepard said succinctly, "I'll die first and fucking haunt you until you break apart and die."

A lesson, creature of weak flesh. We have existed for millions of years. Time is meaningless to our kind. The harvest continues. The great cull, continues. Life must endure, and we are the shepherds of life. As will you be. As so many others have become.

"Your fleet is dead and broken, that last of your bodies used to line-"

Shepard stuttered to a halt as the beam of light turned suddenly hotter, searing into his skin and pulling from him a yell of pain as each part of his body felt like it was being dipped into a vat full of acid. The pulse continued for a second more, for an entire lifetime, and he could almost feel his skin scabbing off, breaking and falling to the floor like dead leaves. His nerves were pure agony and he shuddered and groaned, trying his best to keep the weak sounds in as he fought off the mounting waves of pain.

Every cycle. Every harvest. There are a few who resist the inevitable. They are strong, for insignificants, and we seek improvement. It is efficient. For millions of years, we have kept them strong, parsed them of flesh and bone, weakness and independence. They are now, us.

No, Shepard thought blurrily to himself as the scent of scorched flesh singed his nostrils and the pain began to overwhelm even his greater regenerative abilities. He struggled to deny the words, but they came on anyway, digging relentlessly into his brain. He hung in his harness, unable to even stop listening to the words that bore down on him.

You see now. You accept despair. Yes. What you wiped from existence were the oldest and least evolved of our numbers. As we are. There are more, so many more. We are, more than what the limitations of your language can number. We are the herald, as were those that came before us, and we shall open the doors through the darkness and bring them to complete the harvest. All you have gained is a reprieve. Now, there will be no more Catalyst. There will be no more life. And when the bulk of our fleet emerges, you shall lead them. You will have, ascended to reap the harvest anew. And the cycle will begin and end, and continue eternally.

No! Shepard tried to voice out, but his tongue wouldn't work, his head couldn't move to stare his defiance and voice his strength. The beatings, the painful sensory overload was beginning to wear on him, and his muscles refused to listen as he clung on painfully to consciousness, glad for the restraints holding him in place. He wouldn't give up, he would fight, and in the end if it came down to it, he would make sure he never became a tool of the Reapers, no matter the cost.

Ascendant pulsed once more, flickering with lightnings as it settled back into its still form, shutting the rest of the world out as it went about doing whatever it was it needed to do. Shepard wanted to threaten, wanted to discern a way to circumvent that inevitability but the pain was eating into him now, making it difficult to concentrate.

Ash stood up, the audience apparently over, and sauntered over to him with a victorious smile playing grimly over her face. Shepard ached to wipe it out. There had to be some way, some way of turning Ash back to what she had been, to override the Reaper's control. If they could do it to him, surely they could bring Ash to the new Rachni Queen and asked for such a favour. The little ember of hope stubbornly stuck in his chest and refused to go out, no matter what Ash had done to him or become. He had to cling desperately to hope.

"Hear that Skipper?" Ash said as she playfully slapped his burned skin, eliciting a groan of suffering from his dry, cracked lips, "This is going to be fun."

But Shepard wasn't listening to her threats and barbed words, shutting out the world as he pulled within himself and raced down a line within his mind that was becoming increasingly familiar and sure. He wavered and stumbled but he focused unerringly on that single point and at last was rewarded with the warm glow of Kaidan brushing up against his inner self. So warm, so comforting. How had they all lived their lives with one another without this connection, he thought deliriously, without this warmth? It was a heady, rich nectar and it soothed away the aches and brutality that was done to his body, pulling him deeper into a well of infinite that was ecstasy, fire and ice, singing in his mind. Before letting himself get too distracted with the novel sensations and before he allowed himself a retreat from the world, he sent an urgent thought through the thin, tenacious thread.

Kaidan, he thought as loudly as he could, Stay away. Please, don't come and find me.

He pulsed the thought out over and over again, as often as he could, praying and hoping that Kaidan would hear it and keep away. He didn't have much hope, but as long as he could keep it up, he would do so. Even if he didn't have much, a little hope went a long way and it fuelled is resolve. The thought sent itself along the connection, again and again, Shepard stubbornly refusing to surrender as he focused on the situation on hand and tried to find a way to turn things to his advantage. As long as Kaidan was safe, Shepard could do what he had to do to stop the Reapers from ever coming back. Whatever it took.