Sincere apologies for not updating sooner. I have a really good reason why my muse has fallen apart.
Shepard had an uneasy flicker in her stomach as she and Garrus headed towards the police station that was supposed to be keeping track of Samara. She didn't know if it was from the prospect of meeting the Justicar or not but it was damn distracting. Glancing at the turian beside her she smirked at the new armour, "Really does look good there Garrus, might need to brandish a shotgun to keep the ladies off you."
Garrus snorted, "Ladies have a thing for scars."
Shepard grinned but it was only momentary as she thought of a particular lady who did not have a thing for scars, "Well then maybe I better not worry about the shotgun... I'll bring out the Cain we might both need the protection."
Garrus actually laughed which was a really good feeling, something he hadn't done much of in the last couple years. What made her statement even more amusing was the number of asari checking Shepard out in their rather overt way that made it blatantly obvious they were intrigued by the human female striding beside him.
They were heading through the markets when a scent hit Shepard from out of nowhere. She came to an instant halt, her nostrils flaring as she drank in the whisper of a trail, her pupils dilating making everything looked sharper and more focussed, her brain was categorizing the beings she could see into threats or non-threats, their aura's shining a little even though she wasn't using her biotic vision. Turning to trace that scent her senses honed in on a human male who'd just passed them, a man who'd made a point of not looking at her unlike the rest of the people around her. There was something about his aura...
Garrus looked back at Shepard when he realized she wasn't beside him anymore to see her going back in the direction they'd come, "Shepard?"
Shepard was too focussed on the man, on her prey, her thoughts were taken over by instinct and she followed him, slipping into the crowd and seeming to just disappear.
Garrus tried to follow but even his height and predatory senses couldn't see her, "Shepard what are you doing?" he called her comms.
No response.
Now he was starting to get a little concerned, "What's going on Shepard? Talk to me." He demanded, an unsettling feeling writhing in his gut as he looked around and could see no threat but no Shepard either. "EDI can you locate Shepard and keep track of her?"
"She is currently heading south of the marketplace, I'm sending tracking data to your omni-tool." EDI responded promptly.
Garrus checked his omni-tool and sure enough a map appeared showing a blip moving quickly away from him. He began to follow quickly, "Is there any indication that something is wrong with her communicator?"
"It is functioning optimally."
"Is there anything abnormal in any of her other readings?" He knew that Cerberus had installed medical analysis software into Shepard's armour to be able to monitor her vitals.
There was a pause.
"Adrenaline has spiked and core temperature has risen, however, the medical analysis system is not equipped for a full medical scan. Is there a problem Garrus?" EDI sounded concerned.
"I don't know. One minute we're talking, the next she's gone and isn't responding to her comms. If there was trouble she would've warned me and this is not the kind of prank Shepard would pull for a joke." Garrus muttered, moving quickly to catch up with her without wanting to arouse curious glances or suspicions from the crowded marketplace.
"Should I inform Operative Lawson?"
Garrus thought for a second, if anyone could get through to Shepard it would be Miranda, "Yes."
"Steph, where are you? What's going on?" Miranda's voice came through her piece and Shepard came to a stop as memories surged.
That scent. She couldn't get it out of her senses. Her mind was shifting and she could FEEL it. Her heart was pounding so hard it hurt. She was hot, so hot the sweat was beading on her face and pouring down her back. EVERYTHING was assaulting her senses. The breeze cool on her skin. The sounds; peoples footsteps, their voices, their breathing, those nearby she could practically feel their hearts pounding in her ears, then there was the traffic, the sounds of the busy harbour city of Sydney. It was all so loud but it wasn't a wall of sound, no, she could hear and identify everything individually. Her vision was changing, crisper, clearer, focussed, brighter and strange glows began to form around people. She could smell the sweat, the colognes, the perfumes, the ocean, the foods but they all took secondary place to that one scent, that scent that had captured her body and mind, that was dragging her through the street, that she instinctually NEEDED to find!
She cringed as her communicator rang in her ear, it was Miri's personal code and it reached into her subconscious. Miri. Miri's calling. Miri. She came to a dead halt, "Miri..."
"Seph?" Miri was worried. "Where are you? What's going on? Father's just boosted my security and you're not here."
Persephone blinked and looked around as she realized she didn't know where she was, Miri's voice pulling her senses back, "I... I don't know." Her breathing was ragged and she was confused. "I can't... I don't remember..." Now she was starting to panic. That scent wafted through her senses again and she groaned, "Miri..."
"Stay where you are, I'll have..." Miri stopped suddenly and Seph could hear shouting through the line. "Damnit!"
Then there were shots being fired.
Miri was in danger.
This ignited something in Seph she couldn't remember feeling before. A primal rage that pushed aside whatever this scent was coursed through her and once again instinct took over. "I'm coming Miri." was all she said before she turned and sprinted.
"Come on Steph, talk to me, what's going on?" Miranda's matured voice broke into the memories and scent.
"Please tell me you're on the Normandy." Shepard trembled, sweating and heart racing just like so long ago.
"I'm at the lab cleaning up the files..."
"Shit! Jacob and Kasumi?" She began to panic, her mind not yet fully freed of the memory with that scent lingering in the air.
"On the ship, Steph what is it?" Miranda's voice was insistent now.
"Last time this happened to me you were attacked. Someone..." The realization that dawned on her was like a sucker punch to her abdomen, "Holy shit no!" she sagged against the wall to her left. "EDI hack into the security net of the lab complex Miranda's in."
"Shepard I must remind you this is a Cerberus facility."
"So was Lazarus and those bastards got to Miranda there! Now just DO IT!" Shepard ordered fiercely, clenching her fists and fighting to stay upright.
"As you command. Hacking security systems."
Upon hearing that and the panic in Shepard, Mirandawas already doing what she could to speed up the data transfers and deleting files. Whoever these people were they couldn't get their hands on the new data concerning Shepard and herself.
"There is a squad of six armed personnel heading towards Miranda's location." EDI informed them.
"I can handle six fools." Miranda assured Shepard quickly.
"Just like you did on Lazarus?" Shepard countered softly.
Miranda stilled, whatever they'd done on Lazarus they'd been able to pose as legitimate operatives and had been able to wipe her memory of it.
"I'm coming Miri. EDI slow them down." Shepard growled, instinct kicking in, pure, powerful and possessive instinct. Unleashing her biotics she rushed in a sustained biotic surge that matriarchs would be envious of.
Garrus was nearly bowled over by the surging biotic fury and barely got enough of a look to determine it was Shepard, "Whoa! Shepard!"
"Garrus, I recommend proceeding to the lab as quickly as possible. Operative Lawson is about to come under hostile fire." EDI advised the confused turian.
That made sense. "I'm on it." He went into Archangel mode and took off after Shepard.
Miranda whirled around, biotics flaring as the door behind her opened and a research associate sauntered in with a confident smirk across his face.
"Operative Lawson." He greeted her in an amused tone.
"And who are you?" Miranda demanded, her entire being on high alert as she sensed this man was trouble.
"Oh that's right, we lowly associates are not worthy of the attentions of the Illusive Man's right hand woman." He sneered and put his hand over his heart, "Pliar Nochli." He beamed at her.
Miranda's biotics instantly vanished and she felt a wave of sudden and inexplicable exhaustion wash through her, her eyelids so heavy she struggled to keep them open. She grunted and fought with everything she had to stay awake knowing that if she fell it was all over, Shepard was still too far away to be able to do anything.
"Isn't the human brain an amazing thing. A biological machine that can be programmed for so many things. Especially dear little Persephone's, she took to the programme oh so well and look at her now!" He crowed in triumph as she swayed on her feet, admiring the fight she put up.
At the mention of Persephone, Miranda found something within her strengthened, "What did you do to Persephone? Where is she?"
He grinned, "Why don't you ask Shepard, oh wait, you won't remember this. Pliar Nochli!"
Miranda tried to use her biotics to stop him before he could say it but she couldn't summon the energy and fell like a stone, unable to fight whatever conditioning they'd put in her brain.
The power went out leaving them in the dim light that filtered in through the windows.
With a frown the associate tapped his communicator, "Security team what seems to be the problem?"
There was no response. Whatever had cut the power had cut the comms as well.
"Well we'd better get a move on then." Striding over to the fallen woman he rolled her onto her back and slid a slim head band around her forehead and activated it. The holographic interface flashed over Miranda's face and he began his work.
"Shepard, Miranda has been compromised and is unconscious. A human male posing as one of the research associates is currently attempting to re-write a sequence into her brain." EDI informed Shepard quickly.
Shepard snarled and pushed herself harder, faster until it felt as though the entire world had slowed down around her. Her rage at the knowledge that Miranda was being violated unleashed the wild beast within her to a far greater extent than she had ever felt before.
Seeing the speed Shepard had reached EDI did her best to clear the path before her, opening doors, closing off others, altering traffic flow seamlessly and breaking many laws concerning AI's in the process. However, she had been commanded by Shepard to assist in whatever capacity possible.
Shepard burst through the lower levels of the facility and didn't bother with the elevators, she took straight to the stairs. Bounding up them she burst through the opening emergency door and all she could see was red. Snarling she threw herself at the first figure. She couldn't tell if it was male or female; human, turian or asari; military or civilian. It's aura was red. Red meant kill. So kill she did.
Gunfire tore through the air but bounced harmlessly off the biotics shield.
Screams reverberated through the halls but no alarms were activated. All the security systems were down.
There was one last red being between her and the door that led to Miri. It was frantically backing up, trying to get away from her but there was no escape.
Shepard leapt clear over the console the figure was trying to hide behind and snarled as she punched her hand through his chest with biotically empowered force that thrust out the back of his chest with an explosive spray of blood, lung and heart matter. She didn't even notice the terror in his eyes as she pulled back her arm and he fell to the floor lifeless.
When the gunfire and screams had first started the handler had locked both doors, he needed time, this was an incredibly delicate procedure and would take more than ten minutes to complete. With the doors locked he felt safe enough for now. Communications were still down though so he couldn't call for reinforcements. All he had to do was remain calm then slip out the back once his task was done. Persephone had been drawn away in the opposite direction so he didn't have to worry about her. He smirked, that was something he could tick off, she still responded to the pheromones as expected. He figured that it was just the crew of the Normandy coming, they could be dealt with.
The main door suddenly swished open.
He looked up startled. Then all the blood drained from his face.
In strode the very being who was to be feared above all. Her face twisted by an animalistic snarl, her eyes and scars blazing red, her biotics raging around her like a purple tempest, blood dripping from her face and hands. Here was the culmination of their work. The ultimate predator. And she was here. Stalking him.
If she was able to get her hands on the Kirohan Device she'd be able to undo everything. All their carefully laid plans would be for naught. He knew he was a dead man. But this was one last thing he could do.
He moved quickly.
So did Shepard.
He got his hand to the device and ripped it from Miranda's head, crushing the main circuitry just as a powerful force threw him back with bone crunching force into the wall. In the blink of an eye she was on him.
Shepard slammed her fist into his chest, but instead of punching through she ripped out his heart.
He coughed up blood, looking down at the lump of flesh in her hand, his vision fading as she tossed it aside.
With a snarl she proceeded to tear him limb from limb. This was the one who'd hurt Miri. She had no control. The beast had taken over. Right now there was nothing of Persephone conscious.
EDI was trying to reach Commander but Shepard wasn't responding. There was something clearly wrong with Shepard. So she tried a different approach. She altered her voice to match Miranda's, "Stephanie that is enough." EDI commanded with the same authority Miranda would.
Shepard stopped.
"I need your help Stephanie, please turn around." EDI was quite pleased when Shepard did so.
Shepard was gasping for breath but at Miranda's voice her senses were returning, slowly but surely. Her eyes focussed on Miranda laying motionless on the ground and her heart skipped a beat, "Miri!"
Kneeling beside her she reached out to lightly shake Miranda and saw the state of her hands. A coil of steel razors tightened around her heart and stomach, "Oh goddess what did I do?" she gasped, horrified as she couldn't remember. On Torfan she'd been in control still.
"Shepard, the data from Rana indicates that you and Operative Lawson can meld your minds. I conclude that doing so will aid in reviving her." EDI's normal voice came through to her.
"Right." Shepard swallowed. She'd been loath to do this, and especially now that her mind was so ravaged but if it was the only way...
Pulling off her gloves she lay down beside Miri and pressed her forehead against Miranda's, tenderly holding Miri's face in her hands. Taking a few deep breaths she forced herself to calm, to reach into Miri who felt so empty right now. As careful as she could possibly be she let her love flow into Miranda and used it as a bridge between them.
With no real idea if what she was doing was right Shepard felt her consciousness lightly brush against Miranda's. Miranda's was so still. Tentatively she nudged again and this time she caressed that normally brilliant mind.
'Miri you need to wake up beautiful.' She whispered, feeling her words and emotions swirling around Miranda's mind. Subconsciously she was too scared to actually delve into her, to truly meld. The beast within her was too strong, too close to the surface and the thought of tainting Miranda was to terrifying for her to consciously go deeper than this.
'Come on darling, I'm here, I'm right here, come back to me.' She pleaded with Miranda desperately.
Garrus slowed at the carnage Shepard had left in her wake. Throats had been mangled, chests had massive holes in them, heads had been twisted to impossible angles, blood spattered the walls like something out of a horror vid. This was the work of the Butcher of Torfan. Swallowing nervously he made his way through the level, thanking the spirits this was the only floor Shepard had been on, had unleashed her fury upon.
When he found them he felt sick. There had been another human in the room. One that was now beyond any form of recognition beyond genetic.
Shepard was laying over Miranda, their faces pressed together and she was murmuring, begging Miranda to wake up. Her normally brown hair was black and had fallen loose from its tie, now in unruly clumps and dripping red down Miranda's face and neck. Her hands seemed paler than usual having been covered by the gloves but now becoming stained with the drips from her hair.
Garrus had no idea what to do. Was Shepard even stable right now? This was nothing like the Commander he knew and respected.
Shepard groaned, the gentle approach wasn't working, "Miranda Claire Lawson you wake up right now or so help me I'll kick your arse if my name isn't Persephone Eve Calleyuss!"
Garrus started, Shepard's name wasn't Stephanie Shepard? What in the spirits was going on here!
Miranda jerked awake with a startled gasp.
"Oh thank the goddess, I thought I'd lost you." Shepard sobbed and kissed Miranda deeply. That was until Miranda shoved her off.
"What do you think you're doing?" Miranda exclaimed, the metallic taste of blood filling her senses. She looked up at Shepard in shock at her audacity to have kissed her like that then shock turned to horror at how blood covered she was.
Shepard sat up, confused by the emotions she was feeling from Miranda, "Well saving your mind from the people who messed up your memory pathways, that doesn't deserve a kiss?"
"Why on earth would I want to kiss you, Commander?" Miranda just about spat, trying to wipe the blood from her face that was feeling sticky and revolting with the sleeve of her shirt.
"What? You were quite happy kissing me at lunch..." Shepard's voice trailed off at the gut wrenching shock and surprise that rippled through Miranda and her own realization, "Oh goddess, what day is it?"
Miranda went to check her omni-tool.
Shepard reached out and stopped her, "What day is it?"
Miranda thought for a moment, "Tuesday, sixteenth of march."
Garrus wasn't up to date with human time keeping so looked to Shepard for a response.
"Oh no fucking way..." Shepard sat back on her heels, utterly deflated, her heart crushing at what that meant.
Miranda hissed and clutched at her chest, "What's going on? What's wrong with me?"
Shepard couldn't speak, but she was about to empty her stomach. Clumsily getting to her feet she staggered away to hurl behind the console.
"Shepard!" Garrus rushed over to her filled with worry and confusion.
Shepard cried out at the pain in her chest.
Miranda groaned and collapsed back to the ground at the hot bands constricting her heart.
"There was a... a band on her head... he pulled it off... find it." Shepard forced out.
Garrus nodded, "Right, a band." Immediately he went to search for it.
Shepard knew she had to calm down, she was hurting Miranda she could feel it.
The pain in her chest slowly eased and Miranda looked over to where Shepard was kneeling, hand over her head, head bowed, breathing ragged. Shepard shouldn't be awake yet, she wasn't finished! She wasn't... looking around Miranda realized they were not on Lazarus station. Quickly activating her omni-tool she checked the date.
April twenty-third.
Miranda was seeing the date but finding it hard to process. She had lost five weeks of her memories? In the last five weeks Shepard had woken and they'd... they'd become romantically involved? How in the stars had that happened?
Garrus found the pieces of the device and clenched his mandibles. It was useless. "Uh, Shepard."
Shepard turned to see the pieces in his talons. Red rage crossed her vision and she surged to her feet, "NO! That fucking bastard!" She roared.
Miranda stared for only a moment as Shepard attacked the hunk of flesh that had once been human with unbridled rage. Then she was on her feet, "Shepard!" She rushed over to her, grabbing the marine by the shoulders and pulling her away.
Garrus stayed right back, but was ready to enter the fray should Shepard need to be restrained, it would kill Shepard even more if she ended up hurting Miranda.
"Don't you get it! These people have taken you away from me TWICE! They fucked up your brain so bad if I tell you who I really am you'll die!" Shepard yelled, catching her balance quickly.
Miranda jerked back.
"You THINK you know everything there is to know about me but you're WRONG! You know what they've LET YOU KNOW!" She gestured towards the mutilated body furiously.
Miranda swallowed the bile that was rising in the back of her throat, "And who are they?"
"I have no fucking clue. But they're the ones who created this." she held up her bloodied arms, "They fucking trained me to be a beast, an animal when the right triggers are met. YOU being in danger is a trigger. One I don't think they anticipated otherwise they wouldn't be working so hard to erase us." With a cry of rage she lashed out with her biotics and threw the console that Rana had been using yesterday.
"Shepard you need to calm down." Miranda tried to soothe her.
"CALM DOWN! YOU are my calm! YOU are my centre! You always have been! Whenever I've lost myself it's memories of YOU that bring me back!" The biotics were rolling off Shepard in her rage and she was beyond dangerous levels now.
Miranda thought quickly, she had to act, if she couldn't calm Shepard, Shepard would kill them all. Closing the distance between them she reached her hand around Shepard's head and brought her in close and hard, kissing her fiercely to try and break through that rage.
It took a moment for Shepard to register that Miranda was kissing her. Then with a sob she clung to Miranda and returned the kiss with a gentle tenderness that had Miranda softening in response.
There was something about the way Shepard was kissing her, those soft lips that were trembling beneath hers, the way Shepard held her so dearly, that had Miranda's heart starting to beat to a different tune. The surging of emotions that were drowning her began to change. The anger and hate melting away into passion and... oh god Shepard loved her! As that love reached into her she could feel such depth beneath its waves that explained why Shepard had reacted so violently.
Shepard didn't resist this time when she felt her mind reaching for Miranda's.
Garrus had long since backed out of the room and now stood guard. Wingman he might be but the way those two had started kissing... he wouldn't be surprised if they ended up ripping off the armour and clothes from each other.
Miranda had no idea what this sensation was but it was incredible!
'I don't know how to help you beyond this. I love you. I've waited for you for so long, I'll wait for you a little longer.' Shepard whispered into Miranda's mind.
Miranda gasped but Shepard wouldn't release her, wouldn't let her pull back. There was a presence in her mind, a presence too great, powerful and alien it was overwhelming but it was being so gentle with her, caressing, soothing, loving. It was Shepard. Shepard was melding with her. It was breathtaking. She was breathtaking.
Shepard felt Miranda melt against her, into her and she stood strong, holding Miranda steady, keeping her strong. This wasn't about giving in to desires. She wanted to restore Miranda's mind. Rana had said melding would help. EDI had said it would help. No idea how to meld she simply soothed Miranda and in doing so found that she herself was also soothed.
Neither of them realized how long they'd been standing their locked in each other's embrace. When they finally pulled back, gasping for breath they sought each other's eyes, Miranda for an explanation about what had just happened, Shepard to see if Miranda remembered. From the look of awe and wonder in Miranda's eyes and the uncertainty she could feel in her Miranda hadn't remembered.
"Lazarus station was destroyed, Wilson was a mole and turned the mechs against the station personnel. You had to wake me prematurely, hence the scarring," she reached up and touched her cheek.
Under all the blood it had been hard to see but now Miranda could and she grimaced at the thought that all that time and Shepard wasn't perfect like intended.
"Jacob, you and I were the only ones to make it off alive. We hit dirt right away, Freedom's Progress was abducted and there we found it the ones responsible are the Collectors." Shepard bit her lip a little at the surprise and shock within Miranda at that revelation. "We've been gathering specialists for my squad since then. Garrus Vakarian, Mordin Solus, Kasumi Goto, Zaeed Massani, Jack and Grunt so far. We're here on Illium for Justicar Samara and an assassin called Thane Krios as well as to study our biotics, the connection between us and how to undo what has been done to your mind. But it seems that your mind is not the only one that has been manipulated." She looked to the body of the scientist and shuddered. "Rana Thanoptis might have some ideas, she's been working with you to fix this."
Miranda felt sick to the stomach, violated. That someone had been able to do this, to take her memories so completely that none of what Shepard was saying was familiar. However, words aside, what she was feeling with Shepard, this connection, while wild and intense, felt right, Shepard felt right. Hesitantly she reached up and cupped Shepard's face.
Shepard swallowed and stopped speaking, her eyes returning to Miranda's.
"How is it possible that I can feel you like this?" Miranda breathed as the connection intensified at her touch and she waivered on her feet.
Shepard gently took hold of her hips to steady her, "I don't know. I truly don't know. We... share some common anomalies but Rana hasn't found an explanation for them yet. Perhaps we should clean up and talk more on the Normandy."
"I'll contact the Illusive Man, he'll arrange for a Cerberus cleanup crew to handle... this." Miranda nodded towards the brutalized body.
Shepard swallowed and grimaced, how had Miranda been able to kiss her when all she could taste was blood and bile and it was enough to make her stomach churn again. "Tell him he has the fucking worst security if not even his top operative is safe in his own facilities. Oh and you haven't told him about us or that we've been studying our brains to figure out how to fix your neural pathways. You know he'll pull you from this mission if he knew everything." she growled then turned and left.
Miranda took a deep breath as the storm of emotions calmed with Shepard leaving. Shepard was probably right about being pulled from the mission, but was it required? The mission was all that was important, if she compromised it with whatever this was with Shepard... But Shepard had said that she was her calm, her centre. Would Shepard be able to complete the mission without her if that was true? While the thought of being so vital to the mission was a boost to the ego, what it meant was daunting. She had to clean up before calling the Illusive Man anyway, it would give her some time to think.
"Operative Lawson, I am EDI, the Normandy's artificial intelligence." EDI introduced herself, she had of course seen everything that had happened.
Miranda was a little startled, "Yes EDI?"
"I have locked down the level you are currently on, however local law enforcement is on its way." She advised both Shepard and Lawson.
"Good work," Shepard spoke before Miranda could, "Garrus hold them off saying this is a SPECTRE investigation."
Miranda blinked as a memory of being on the Citadel with Shepard flashed through her mind. They were sitting in a lounge having drinks after Shepard had just been reinstated into the SPECTRE's. Shaking her head she remembered the feeling of warmth that had come not from the brandy but from seeing Shepard smile at her, a feeling she'd quashed at the time but for some reason stood out right now. That warmth led her mind to Omega, the playful banter between her and Shepard...
I have donned a fictional heavily padded sumo suit and now await your reviews... ;)
Oh and this chap was totally influenced by 30 Seconds to Mars - Hurricane, just in case you're interested in knowing. ;)
Also big thanks to those who were brave enough to review To sei il mio tutto. I call nerves on posting such a provocative piece but given the number of hits and the kind reviews I didn't do to bad. All for you Cambia Forma! Glad you're enjoying it to ;) Hmmm what to do with Seph and Miri...
Oh and more snippets on my BoD tumblr!