Whole team entered Normandy. John was shaky and went along with Tali to the Med Bay.
Miranda almost ran into her office while Max vanished engaging cloak. Garrus did his best to just keep it together. He decided to take a bottle from gun battery and drown some nightmares.
Once he slumped in the corner of the mess hall, Kasumi approached him.
"Garrus...?" She asked carefully without any playfulness. "What happened there? Shepard is all shaky, Miranda cries in her room and Max...I can't find him. I've looked everywhere."
Garrus drank straight from the bottle and sighed. "What we've seen there..." his voice was morbid. "Damn Cerberus was experimenting on geth... They tried to control them."
"Control? How?"
"The guy running this freak show had a brother. Autistic genius who cracked the geth way of thinking through mathematics. He actually talked to them" Garrus took another gulp. "But Illusive fucker wanted more, pushed the guy beyond limits. It all ended when mad doctor plugged his brother directly into geth network they got from crashed ship, full of geth."
Kasumi's eyes widened. "Plugged?!"
"Yeah...We saw..." Garrus was moving his mandibles trying to find words "This brother, David. He was in a tank...stuffed with tubes...everywhere, needles everywhere... All that torture, his mind screwed up, overwhelmed by geth programs...All of this just so Illusive Man would be satisfied" Garus spat and took long sip from the bottle. "We taken David to safety, Shepard contacted Alliance and arranged safe trip to them. He'll be safe."
"And Max?" Kasumi was slightly shaking.
"He...He lost it. He was angry for a moment but then...He broke down. Find him Kasumi. He needs you" Garrus finished his bottle and rested head on the table hoping this would erase memories of Aite.
/.../
Kasumi decided to look for Max again, starting in the Armory. She even asked EDI but AI stated that Jester masked his presence. As she entered Max's domain she heard his voice. She locked down both doors and walked further. She found him sitting against the wall. Distant stare and expression of utter shock. Like he still didn't wanted to accept whatever he saw there. He was incoherently mumbling to himself.
"Max!" Kasumi leaned to him. He didn't moved. She sat against him and cupped his face with her hands. "Will! Talk to me, please!" That did it, he glance at her in a way that made Kasumi shiver.
"I keep seeing this. I-I can't get it out of my head!" He cried and wrapped his arms around himself. Kasumi winced, she never imagined something would hit him so hard.
"His own brother...Just tossed like a tool...Tubes, needles...Hooks keeping his eyes open..." Max was muttering avoiding Kasumi's stare "I know I'll see it again...I know that the moment I'll fall asleep I'll see either me or Logan there...And other one will just stand there, in a lab coat..."
"Max!" Kasumi in panic just hugged him the tightest she could and held praying that he would break away from this. "It will be okay...I'm here"
She looked a him again, he blinked few times and single tear ran down his cheek. She kissed him. "I'm here."
Max only wrapped his arms around her and broke into cry.
/.../
"You're saying a human/VI hybrid entered your mind?" Chakwas repeated what she heard trying to hold on to what senses she still had.
"Hacked more like it but...It's only explanation I can come up with." John shrugged, he felt fine now but the aftermath was about to hit him. The whole moral sewer.
"Kheelah!" Tali was freaking out beyond her mind. Just the thought she would loose John was...She tried to not think about it.
"Relax, I'm fine now. Physically at least, right doc?"
"Yes you are, but I'm concerned about your mental well-being"
"I've been hacked through my implants so yeah I'm rattled a bit...I'm more worried about the others tough. Miranda just got punched in the face with reality about Cerberus, and Max..."
"What happened?" Chakwas felt concern about younger Shepard. His outburst on Tuchanka showed he has few but very sensitive spots.
"He crashed...He was angry at first, punching the guy responsible for all this but...But he just broke seeing that someone would torture and experiment on his own family, a brother, just to gain a pat in the head from Illusive Man."
"Anybody seen him after this?"
"I'm straight here, I don't know. I hope he's with Kasumi. He was pulling us out from hell, maybe she'll help him now."
/.../
Max was still sitting like before, only now Kasumi sat on his lap, still hugging him.
"You...Thank you 'Sumi..." Max still had throat clenched and his voice was breaking. "Thanks for pulling me out...of this" he faintly smiled.
"You helped us all Max...We're always here for you. I'm always here for you" Kasumi kissed him still shaking.
/.../
"Commander, Operative Lawson requested to talk to you at your convenience" EDI announced to Shepard.
"I'll be there in a minute." John tried not to ponder at the addition 'at his convenience'. It was a request, no longer a demand.
As he entered Miranda's office he noticed the change. Miranda was sitting on her couch, face in her hands.
"Miranda?"
She looked up, her make up was all messed. She cried.
"Shepard..." She tried to collect herself "What I saw on Aite...This...this isn't what I believed in..." Miranda took a deep breath. "I've read all reports you submitted about Cerberus cells you shot down...I was told they were roque..." Miranda stood up and looked at Shepard. "But it was all a lie...Illusive Man knew about everything...Like Teltin...Like Overlord..."
"Miranda..."
"Let me finish, please." Miranda took another deep breath. "I can't believe all this happened...all to pursue some higher goal, but always in sick and twisted way. That's not organization that I signed up for...When you asked me would I do the same thing to Oriana as Archer did to his brother? There was a time when I would."
"But you didn't. And you won't Miranda." Shepard felt how hard it must've been for her. How painful and shocking the truth was. "You've found something more in your life than servitude."
"And only thanks to you Shepard...Thank you for...for giving me a chance."
"You are a good person Miranda. You just have to realize it."
"I'd rather not advertise it. Specially not before we're done with the mission but..." Miranda walked up to John. "I'm done with Cerberus. I'll pull whatever I can, then I'm done with them. Illusive Man can go to hell."
John smiled. "Welcome aboard Operative Lawson. We always have place for new allies."
Miranda smiled and cleared her throat. "I'd better collect myself. I have reports to write. Very carefully."
"Carry on XO." Shepard left her office. In the darkest times, the strangest things happen, he wondered.
/.../
"Commander...Whole squad seems very distraught after last mission" Kelly spoke to Shepard when he entered CIC.
"Cerberus crossed the line. Again." Shepard only replied. Kelly lost all her cheer already.
"What was there?"
"A scientist tortured his autistic brother only to achieve goal that Illusive Man demanded." John replied trying to not get angry on innocent yeoman. "And before you ask or submit any report. It was not isolated incident, it was not the first nor the last time when Cerberus will hurt humans in the name of advance for humanity."
"That...That's preposterous!" Kelly grimaced in shock.
"Welcome to the real world Kelly. You, just like everybody else on this ship, had been tricked into believing that Cerberus isn't all that bad. Well it is." Shepard felt certain relief when he could say things like that and open eyes of people who doesn't deserve a fate of a terrorist. "That's also why I will protect every member of this crew. Because you are no longer Cerberus. You stopped being it once you came aboard. You are my crew, under my protection. And no matter what, I'll come back for you."
"That's...Thank you Commander! We all believe in you." Kelly gave heart warming smile and hugged Shepard with a loud sniff. Luckily it was short. Last thing John wanted were some rumors about him being unfaithful to Tali. Shepard wondered once what scared him more, Tali's shotgun or just her wrath she can unleash using only her mind...
"I will relay this to any crewmembers who would question it sir. Though I doubt this situation would happen."
"Thanks Kelly. Have you seen Max around?"
"I don't, however Kasumi entered the Armory and I didn't saw her leave so..."
"Thanks."
/.../
Shepard walked up to the doors. Red console meant lockdown. He slammed his fist on the doors three times.
"It's Logan" he announced just in case. Three seconds later doors opened. He walked into the workshop.
"Max?" He stared at his brother sitting on workbench. "You okay?"
"Yeah..." Max sighed and ran hand along his face. "I am now." Now John noticed that next to him Kasumi was sitting, her head resting on his arm.
"Everybody got worried when you just vanished." John tried to smile a bit. "But I figured if one person could help you it would be our favourite thief."
Max chuckled. "Yeah..." he glanced at Kasumi who responded with a smirk "She did."
"I'm glad it's okay brother." John felt an urge to say something, to set record straight. "Just so you know? I'd rather die, than turn on you Max."
"Thanks John...So do I." Max nodded and smiled.
John left him with Kasumi. They could use more time together. Specially regarding that that they've just begun installation of Reaper IFF, they have few weeks until EDI decodes it and Tali reverse-engineers to incorporate it into Normandy. And then they will go trough Omega-4 Relay...On a suicide mission.
/.../
"Shepard-Commander" Legion stated when John entered AI Core next day. "We request your assisstance."
"I'm listening."
"We were sent to the Old Machine to obtain an information regarding a Weapon. Heretics obtained one that could be described as 'virus', it was given by the Old Machine. Sovereign. Over time, this virus would change geth. Turn all of us into Heretics."
"Woah...Now that's disturbing. Okay...I can ubderstand that you don't want your race doomed...But how this virus would work? Geth cannot be hacked for longer than few seconds." Shepard raised his eyebrows.
"It's very subtle change. Geth operate on higher mathematics, the heretics would introduced a small change on very basic level like changing 1.18812 to 1.18813. This would disrupt and change all of our higher functions and our way of 'thinking'. We would conclude that worshipping Old Machines is valid, or that organics are enemy and should be destroyed."
"Oh...Shit. Okay, I'm sold. What do you need Legion? If you want us to find and kill a Reaper it'll be hard without few fleets a hand." John noticed his own humour, despite grim reality. Maybe he found his coping mechanism, maybe he was insane, or maybe just Tali was around lifting him up no matter what.
"We require your assistance in shutting down a transission of this virus. In a base located on fringes of galaxy. Taken over by Heretics." Legion replied. "We will provide coordinates."
"EDI? Open channel for Legion." John spoke looking up. At least some form interaction with bodyless AI.
Legion opened omni-tool buit in his arm. Interesting that synthethic was using omni-tool like organic. Another action mimicked?
"Coordinates uploaded." Legion stated moving flap around his glowing eye. His head did resembled a desk lamp...
"Commander, the Heretic station is located in Sea of Storms. Phoenix Massing. Confirm destination." EDI chimed in.
"Floor it EDI. Tell Joker to stop browsing Fornax and get us there on the double." John replied.
"My observations indicate that he's a long time subscriber of Krogasm" EDI shot back. "That was a joke." She added after ten seconds of awkward silence.
John exhaled and made a facepalm. EDI at some moment caught up with Joker and tried making lame and awkward jokes that only embarrased everybody.
"You're lucky you don't try crack jokes like that about me in front of Tali..." John only muttered walking into elevator.
"Your extranet history is very short and civil. Tali'Zorah however browsed extensively on human dating customs and interspiecies relationship advices." EDI replied. John waited ten long seconds.
"That was a joke right?" John asked finally.
"Negative."
John walked back into the elevator and decided to have a drink at Kasumi's. He was adamant about the rest. Drink was obligatory right now. Or two. And then a brain bleach martini...
