THESSIA

Shepard is pacing back and forth and back and forth at the foot of the bed in their home. Liara is still asleep as is Raina, Eva, Little A and Aethyta. A doctor came to the house to check on each one. Liara woke briefly but then feel asleep again saying she could not keep her eyes open. A mild sedative was used said the doctor. They will be fine said the doctor, they just need to sleep it off.

Arelia, Akira and Valya are in the family room not sure what to do. Samara is still at the house where she and Shepard were attacked. Meryl is on scene with the Justicar along with Kendall and Andrea and other police looking through the house for clues. The Justicar told Shepard she would call the minute the asari Shepard beat to unconsciousness woke. Sara and Naava are tracking down other leads. They believe they have found another follower and need time to check it out.

Now all the retired Captain can do is wait and it is not something she likes or is very good at.

"Shepard? Shepard?"

"What?" she stops and sees Valya in the bedroom doorway.

"What can I do?"

Shepard looks at the former commando, her friend. She looks tired. Shepard lets out a breath. She walks out of the bedroom and into the family room where Akira and Arelia are sitting. They stand when she enters.

"You don't have to stand."

"Are…is Liara awake?" asks Arelia.

"Not yet. I should check on the kids." Shepard goes upstairs. Little A was found on her bed asleep, but Shepard was the one who carried Eva to her room.

"What should we do?" asks Akira.

"We just have to wait," says Arelia.

"We need to find my daughter," says Valya.

Akira puts her hand on the detective's shoulder, "You think Shadow has her don't you?"

Valya averts her eyes which is answer enough.

Shepard comes down the stairs, "Still asleep." She walks into her bedroom without another word.

"There must be something we can do," says Akira.

"Do you have the serum ready?" asks Valya.

"I do."

"Good."

Shepard is sitting on the bed holding Liara's limp hand. "Come on Liara open your eyes, please open your eyes." The retired Captain wipes a tear from her cheek when she feels her hand being squeezed. "Liara?"

Shepard gets off the bed and kneels down close to her blue beauty's face. She sees her eyes flutter. "That's it Liara, open your eyes. Come back to me."

"El…Elly?"

Shepard kisses the back of Liara's hand. "I'm here. You're safe." Shepard stands and kisses each cheek.

"Th…the children?"

Shepard swallows. She is not sure how to respond.

"Elly?" Liara forces her eyes open. Liara tries to sit up but she quickly lies back again.

"Easy…take it easy Liara."

"The children? Are they alright?"

"I need you to relax Liara. You were drugged."

Liara, now able to keep her eyes open stars at her bondmate. "Why won't you answer me?"

Shepard takes both of her hands in her own. "They took Mia."

"What?" Liara tries to sit up again. This time Shepard helps by propping some pillows behind her back. "How? Who?"

"I was hoping you could tell me Liara. Arelia, Valya and Akira stopped by and it's a good thing they did. They found you, your father and the kids all sleeping. The doctor said you were drugged with a mild sedative.

Shepard watches her bondmate thinking.

The asari raises her hand to her mouth, "Goddess."

"What?"

"Lacy and Kaya."

"What about them?"

"Are they here?"

Shepard furrows her brow, "No why would they be?"

"They came over Elly. I allowed them to come over. Little A…" Liara starts to tear up. She swallows. "I allowed Little A and Raina to have a friend over. They were so restless Elly; I thought it would be all right."

"Are you saying….are you saying they hurt our kids?"

Liara's eyes dart around the room. "I cannot be sure."

Shepard sees Liara's eyes go wide. "What is it?"

"Tea. Lacy made tea. She said it was a special blend she made."

"Stay right here Liara." Shepard leaves the bedroom.

"She's awake. She said Lacy and Kaya were over. They made tea." Shepard starts looking around the kitchen.

Arelia, Akira and Valya watch the human go through cupboards slamming them when she does not find anything.

"Here," says Arelia.

There is a cup with a little bit of tea still in the sink. "Can you test it?"

"I can," says Akira. She places the cup on the counter. She brings up her omni-tool. It takes a few seconds to confirm their suspicions. "It's tainted."

"Who did this?" asks Arelia.

"Friends of our kids, Lacy and Kaya."

"Little A's girlfriend?"

"That is what Liara said."

"I am not sure if Kaya was in on it Elly." Liara is leaning heavily against the wall.

Shepard quickly goes to her and helps her to the kitchen chair. "It was Lacy who brought the blend."

"If Kaya was not in on it, where is she?" asks Valya.

Liara rubs her temples, "She is not here?"

"No honey."

"Maybe they took her too," says Akira.

"But why?" asks Arelia.

"Leverage?" says Valya.

"If they wanted leverage they would have taken another one of our kids. She has to be in on it."

"Maybe not Elly," says Liara, "I do not want to jump to conclusions.

"Dad?"

Shepard pops out of her chair and hurries to her daughter Raina. "How are you feeling?"

"I…" Raina's knees buckle.

Shepard catches her and helps her back into her bedroom. "Take it easy. You need to rest. You were drugged honey."

Liara is in the doorway with the help of Arelia. "Are you alright Raina?"

Raina shakes her head as tears pool in her green eyes. "I…I should have known."

"Hey now," says Shepard as she pulls her daughter into a hug, "none of that. This is not your fault."

Sniffling Raina says, "I…I didn't feel a thing Dad just…just sadness. I don't understand."

"Don't be so hard on yourself," says Liara. The asari walks toward her daughter under her own power. Arelia leaves them alone. Liara takes one of Raina's hands then kneels down in front of her. "You cannot blame yourself Raina, none of us suspected."

"What happened?" asks Raina.

"What do you remember?" asks Shepard.

"I was in my room with Lacy. She was going to help me with my interview questions." Raina goes quiet. She looks up at her mother then father, "It was the tea wasn't it?"

"Yes," says Shepard.

Panic crosses Raina's features, "The others?" She tries to stand but her parents stop her.

"Everyone…." Shepard looks away. Her throat is suddenly tight.

"They took Mia honey."

"Oh Goddess mother I am so sorry." Raina all but falls into Liara's arms and starts sobbing.

There is a small knock on the door frame.

Shepard looks up. It is Arelia.

"Little A and Eva are awake."

It is a large room. She is in the middle hoisted up by rope of some sort. Bound at her wrists, her feet barely touching the ground. Do not go near her is what Dava was told. Shadow gave specific orders; no one touches Mia T'Soni except her.

Dava is hidden in the shadows. Though the sun is shining outside, inside it is very dark. There are followers lined up along the walls of the one level abandoned building. They are about 10 minutes by sky car outside of Armali, nowhere near where the detectives were watching one of the followers.

Dava's head is pounding. Shadow has put her in charge of watching Mia and making sure the other followers do not touch her nor speak to her. The soon to be professional sky ball player is still unconscious, her head hanging limply. Dava walks along the walls of the building. There are about 10 followers per wall, so 40 in all inside the building. She had no idea Shadow had so many followers.

As she walks the length of the building she hears a groan coming from the middle of the room. There is a spotlight on Mia so when Dava looks her way she can see the asari is starting to wake up. Dava feels a twinge in her gut. She walks a bit closer to Mia to see if she can make eye contact with her.

Mia's head slowly lifts as she moans again.

Dava feels a sharp pain in her head. She looks at Mia then walks away continuing to walk the perimeter inside the building.

Shepard is on scene where she and Samara were attacked. The Justicar called her and told her the asari she beat unconscious is awake. Meryl, the police captain, agreed to allow Shepard to talk to the asari before transporting her to the hospital.

Though she did not want to leave her bondmate, Liara insisted Shepard go to see if she could find out anything.

"Where is she?" Shepard asks Samara as she walks toward the Justicar. They are inside the house, in the room to the right of the front door. Shepard sees the asari she beat strapped to a med bed.

"You can talk to her, but that's all Shepard," says Meryl. "I cannot keep her here much longer. You broke a few of her ribs and she is having trouble breathing."

"Am I supposed to care?"

Meryl steps closer to the human, "I am doing you a favor here Shepard. You touch her, you are done talking to her and I arrest you for assault."

Samara places her hand on Shepard's shoulder. She has seen the human angry before.

Shepard takes in a breath and lets it out. She looks past Meryl to the strapped asari. "Fine."

"I need your word Shepard."

Shepard looks the Captain in the eye, "You have it."

Samara squeezes Shepard's shoulder.

Shepard nodes to the Justicar then approaches the asari tied to the med bed.

"What's your name?" asks Shepard.

"What's happening? Why am I here?"

Shepard looks at the asari. She looks scared to death. What the hell?

"She does not remember what happened," says Samara. She whispers the information into the human's ear.

"It's okay," says Shepard to the asari. "We are here to help you. Can you tell me your name?"

"Maria."

"Maria, you can call me Shepard."

The asari nods. It is obvious she does not realize who the human is.

"Can you tell me what you remember?"

"I…I was shopping for shoes."

"Shoes?" Shepard looks up at Samara and Meryl, they both shrug their shoulders.

"This asari approached me. She was ..." the asari looks like she is blushing, "she was very beautiful. I was so nervous because….well because I felt like she was out of my league ya know?"

Shepard nods. She wants to hurry this along.

"She was talking to me and I just remember thinking we were the only two asari in the whole galaxy. I have never felt like that before, have you?"

"Do you remember what she looked like?" asks Samara.

Shepard is losing her patience, but she knows she needs to hold it together.

"She looked like you," the asari says looking at Samara.

"What do you mean?"

"Blue like you, not violet like me."

"Anything else?"

"She didn't have that headband thing you have."

Shepard lets out a breath. She is clenching and unclenching her fists trying to remain calm.

"Did she have any distinguishing marks?" asks Samara.

The asari takes a few minutes to think. Shepard nearly yells at her. "Yes. She had a marking on her neck."

"What sort of marking?" asks Shepard.

The asari's eyes dart between the human and the Justicar. "I…I am not sure."

Samara places her hand on Shepard's shoulder. The human gets the message. Shepard walks away to leave Samara to interview the asari. Shepard steps outside. She closes her eyes. The heat of the sun on her face feels good. Hang on Sport, I'm coming honey.

"The mark is an Ardat-Yakshi marking," says Samara.

"I didn't know markings like that existed."

"They are rare Shepard. I assume it was Shadow that approached her. She does not remember her name."

"Is that odd?"

"No. This Shadow reminds me of my daughter Morinth, though I hate to say it Shepard. I feel Shadow could be far more dangerous."

"So what can we do with a mark?"

"Meryl says she can run the information through their database to see if anything comes up."

"Well that's just great Samara, so we are no closer now than we were two hours ago!" She starts to pace back and forth on the front lawn.

"We must be patient Shepard."

Shepard stops and looks at the Justicar, "She has my daughter! Don't tell me to be patient!" Shepard hears her omni-tool. She brings it up, "Yeah!"

"Shepard?"

"What is it Valya?"

"I think I know where Mia is."

The blinding pain subsides. Shadow helps Dava up into a standing position. The asari assaulted her mind again. "Soon, I will make you mine Dava, but we have work to do."

"Yes Shadow."

Shadow is in the abandoned building now. She has turned on the lights. Mia T'Soni is still strung up. Her hands are bound above her head and her feet barely touch the ground. At times the asari tires of balancing on her toes. When she loses her balance her body weight pulls on her shoulders causing her more pain and making it more difficult to reestablish her balance.

"Everyone, I hope you are as excited as I am!" Shadow's voice echoes through the large empty space. "We have the great Mia T'Soni in our presence." Shadow approaches Mia who is totally awake now, struggling to stay on her feet. Shadow grabs her jaw, "What's the matter Mia? Are you in pain?"

Mia tries to kick the asari, but misses. Shadow merely laughs before punching Mia in the stomach. This causes Mia to swing. Her hands have gone numb due to the strain in her shoulders. She just hopes the numbness radiates down her arms so the pain ceases in her shoulders.

"You think you are so smart don't you!" Shadow stops Mia from swinging by placing her hands on either side of her hips. She punches her again. She can see that Mia is having a hard time breathing.

Dava takes a step closer. She is about ten feet away from Shadow and Mia. She has a blinding headache but cannot get rid of the twinge in her stomach.

"You think you are better than everyone don't you Mia T'Soni?"

"F…Fuck you." Mia spits in Shadow's face.

Shadow sneers as she wipes her face with the back of her hand. "You will regret that T'Soni." Shadow turns to Dava. "Bring it."

Dava turns and walks closer to the wall. One of the followers hands her a mallet of some sort. Dava takes it and suddenly feels sick to her stomach.

"Hurry up!"

Dava's head is spinning. Must do what I am told. Must do what I am told….No. Dava takes the mallet and walks toward Shadow. As she approaches she looks at Mia. She sees Mia mouth something to her. Something that makes her stop cold in her tracks.

Shadow narrows her eyes at Dava who has stopped short by about five feet. She looks at Mia then back at Dava then at Mia again. "Lift her!"

There is a loud noise then Mia screams as she is lifted off of the ground completely. Her body weight dangling from her wrists, her feet are 2 inches off the ground. "Stop there!" Shadow yells at one of her follows who is at the controls. Shadow is taller than Mia, even elevated off the ground by inches. She approaches Mia. She runs her hands up and down her leg. "You are strong; I will give you that Mia." Shadow's hand moves up her leg slowly. I wonder…" her hand is at her stomach now, "have you been with anyone yet?"

Mia cannot kick, if she does it will only pull on her shoulders more. She tries to spit again, but she has no more moisture in her mouth.

Shadow moves her hand up under her shirt. "You are very fit. Mmmm I could just eat you up." Shadow kisses Mia's stomach. Her hand moves up, she cups her breast. "I am going to have fun with you."

"Is…is this the only way you can get it Shadow?" asks Mia. "By force?"

Shadow squeezes Mia's breast hard, making the asari gasp in pain. "You want to say that to me again T'Soni? When I am done with you, you won't be able to live without me." Shadow presses her lips to Mia's. The asari is strong. Her hand is like a vice behind Mia's head keeping her in place. Mia tries to struggle but she can't. Shadow forces her tongue in her mouth. Mia nearly gags. Shadow stops the kiss and punches Mia hard in the mouth. "You are going to have to do better than that my dear."

"Dava….please…help…"

Shadow punches Mia again in the face. She leaves the asari dangling and swaying. She walks over to Dava who is standing like a statue. "You soon will learn what pain is T'Soni." Shadow grabs the mallet but when she pulls away Dava will not let it go.

She pulls again, again Dava does not let go. Shadow slowly raises her hand to Dava to cup her cheek. "Dava honey…do you need a reminder of just what you are?" Shadow's eyes go black.

Two doors to the building suddenly burst open.

Through one door is Shepard. She is shielded and firing her sidearm.

Through the other door is Valya. She too is shielded and throwing biotic balls.

Shadow's eyes quickly return to normal. She shields herself, grabs the mallet from Dava. She turns toward Mia. She brings the mallet back and swings hard.

Shepard has to fight through four asari. She hears a large crunching sound followed by a horrific scream.

"Mia!" yells Liara. She follows Shepard through the door. She throws the four asari off Shepard. They cartwheel through the air.

Shadow brings the mallet back again but this time she is struck from behind. The mallet falls to the ground but Shadow keeps her balance. "You!"

Dava is shielded and is standing in front of Mia. "No!" Dava throws a biotic ball toward Shadow.

Arelia and Akira follow Valya through the door. "Goddess," says the commando, "how many are there?"

The followers differ in biotic talent. Some are easy to knock over while others are proving more difficult.

The Justicar followed Shepard and Liara through the door. Her sole purpose is Shadow, but the sheer numbers of followers was not expected and each of them is being delayed where every second counts.

"How?" asks Shadow as she circles Dava.

Dava continues to remain in front of Mia. She can hear the tied up asari struggling to breathe.

"It is not possible to resist me you BITCH!" Shadow lifts Dava off the ground and slams her to the concrete floor. Dava is slow to get up. Shadow teleports to her and hurls her through the air. Dava lands and rolls hard on the floor.

Suddenly the rope holding Mia off the ground goes slack and she falls to the ground. She does not have the strength to stand.

Shadow turns to see her on the ground now. Bullets are hitting her shield. She walks up to Mia as if nothing is happening around her and kicks the asari hard in the stomach. She kneels down. Her hand grabs Mia's forehead. Her eyes go dark.

Liara throws a singularity and hoists four asari off the ground. Shepard sends them into the side of the building.

"Behind you Shepard!" yells Liara.

Shepard turns and takes a hit to the jaw. Two asari are attacking her. The other one kicks her on the side of the knee. Shepard goes down on her knee. Suddenly a blue ball wizzes by and the two asari are thrown back.

Shepard gets to her feet. She doesn't have to turn around to know Liara has her back. They fall into very old routines, it's like they never had a respite from the war.

Arelia and Akira take care of their side of the building. Valya ran to set Mia loose. She is running toward her daughter Dava now. She saw her thrown across the room. She is amazed when she sees her daughter get to her feet. Dava runs toward Shadow. Valya wants to help but she sees Samara go down. There are six asari on her. She quickly runs to the Justicar's aid.

Dava can see the pure agony on Mia's face. She knows what Shadow is doing. Dava kicks Shadow in the head. Mia slumps over convulsing. Dava straddles Shadow and starts punching her in the face over and over and over. Shadow quickly recovers. Her shields are up, her eyes return to normal. She bucks Dava off of her and is on her feet in one smooth motion.

"You are dead Dava do you hear me? YOU ARE DEAD!"

Dava shields herself then she sees it, the absolute evil in Shadow's face. Dava feels her heart sink. She sees Shadow's eyes move to Mia. Dava knows what she intends. Dava knows that surviving without Mia would be absolute torture.

Dava throws herself over Mia hugging the now still asari in her arms. "Mia hang on!"

Red and blue light form from Shadow's hands. She throws a biotic ball at Mia but Dava is there to take the blow. The asari is pushed about five feet as she clings to Mia, shielding her as best she can.

"You will NOT BEAT ME!" Shadow throws another ball. Dava and Mia are pushed another five feet. Dava is losing strength to remain shielded.

"Mia hold on, please hold on." Dava looks at Mia whose eyes are fluttering open. "I love you Mia, please remember that, I love you. I love you."

"Samara!" Valya is able to throw three asari off the Justicar. What happens next is something she has never seen before. The other three asari seem to implode. Samara stands. "We must get to Shadow!"

They both turn and see Dava holding Mia, shielding Mia.

Shadow has something in her hands.

Dava feels a crack to her right shoulder blade. Something hard has hit her.

"LET HER GO!" yells Shadow.

Another crack. Dava's arms go limp.

Dava sees Mia's eyes go wide. She feels Mia's arms wrap around her. Dava does not feel another hit.

"Now!" Arelia yells at Akira.

Akira levels her firearm and fires. The serum is on the way and hits Shadow in the neck.

The asari drops the mallet in her hands as she screams. Her hand goes to her neck. She turns around and looks for help from her followers. She is shocked to see zero followers left standing. All she sees is Shepard, Liara, Samara, Akira, Arelia and Valya slowly walking toward her.

Pain radiates through Shadow's body. She falls to her knees.

"What's happening?" asks Valya.

"I…I'm not sure," says Akira.

Shepard and Liara want to get to Mia but Shadow is in the way.

Shadow goes very still which makes all of the asari and Shepard stop moving.

Shadow starts to laugh. It is a laugh that chills to the bone. She throws her head back still laughing. "You think you can STOP ME?" Shadow starts to stand whens suddenly she staggers a little. She grabs at her chest. She coughs. She brings her hand up to her mouth and it comes away bloody. Shadow sees smiles on the faces of the people in front of her. She slowly turns; maintaining her balance though it is proving difficult. She sees Dava standing before her. She looks at her hand and sees a knife at her side dripping in blood.

"You…" Shadow coughs, "she will never fully love you." Shadow places her hands on Dava's shoulders which makes the asari wince. "You are not loveable. You're damaged goods." Dava finds the strength within when she sees Shadow smiling at her. She ignores the shooting pain in both her shoulders. She grips the knife then thrusts it into Shadow's stomach over and over and over again."

"Stop! You have to stop!" Akira runs toward Shadow but Valya grabs her with both arms. "She has to live….we have to know…the serum!"

Shadow slowly falls to her knees. Her eyes fall on Mia who is lying on the ground clutching her damaged leg. Shadow smiles at her before slumping to the ground never to rise again.

Dava steps back. The bloody knife falls from her hand. She feels like she is in a sort of trance. Everyone seems to be looking at her. She sees white lights that look like stars dancing across her vision. She feels the hard cold concrete floor before seeing nothing but blackness.