You wanted more? Here it is. After a disclaimer joke of course.
I don't own anything of Bioware's. If I did, Sagacious Zu would have made it to the end of the game. Killing off a character that cool? Come on Bioware. It's almost like killing off Shepard! Oh wait, you did that too. (Um, Spoiler alert?)
And just to clariy, Italics are Bourne, normal are Shepard. I wanted to do it from both POVs.
Shepard looked in shock as Bourne's Biotics turned a sickly shade of red. His eyes changed to the same Shade. She was so engrossed by this fact that she almost didn't hear what he was saying. Then it hit home.
"I can still hurt you though." Shepard's hand dropped to her gun, and she took a step back. Bourne's voice had become low and monotone. And it was filled with hatred and loathing; it wasn't Bourne's voice.
"I'm going to enjoy this!" His face was split by a horrible sneer as he drew back a fist. The three Biotics acted on instinct, trapping him in an extra thick stasis field.
"Jason what the hell is wrong with you?" Ashley yelled at him.
Shepard shook off her shock, and drew her pistol. Saying something was wrong with him would be an understatement. "Bourne, you have five seconds to calm the fuck down!"
)Well this is just great. I can't move! And that was before the stasis fields(
(You mean you can't move your body. Believe me, it's working just fine.)
)You're awfully smug for a guy that can't move so much as a finger.(
(And you are awfully smug for someone in your situation. I'm actually doing you a favor. Now you won't have to kill Kaiden yourself.)
)And just how do you plan on getting out of here?(
Bourne smiled. A wave of energy tore through all three stasis fields. "Tsk. Tsk. You really think you can hold me? Liara pulled a similar trick not long ago and it was no harder to break out of then." He threw his arms apart, sending Kaiden and Liara flying apart, falling to the ground.
Shepard shoved the gun right in his face. "Stand down."
He simply wrapped himself in a barrier. "You really think you could get through my barrier and my skull in one shot? I'd snap your neck before you could even pull the trigger."
Impossible! You shouldn't be able to break through all three fields!(
)You've been holding back unconsciously. You can't utilize the full power that you received from "Hero"( and I've been keeping you from mine. I have access to more than you've ever had.(
"What about a shotgun?" Wrex shoved his gun into the back of Bourne's neck. "I think that might do the job."
Garrus also had his sniper rifle aimed squarely at Bourne's head. "Give up now Bourne. Save yourself a fight."
Ashley had her own gun aimed at them. "Are you crazy? Think about who this is!"
"This is the guy that just tried to kill all of us." Garrus replied, still keeping his eye on the scope.
Bourne laughed, a chilling sound. "Tried to kill you? I was merely toying with you. But if you truly want me to try to kill you, I can oblige."
Shepard's mind raced through the possibilities. His mind might have snapped from the strain of the cipher. He might have cracked under the pressure. Or maybe he had always been like this, and Shepard just hadn't seen it.
Some part of her screamed at her for hesitating, but she knew in her gut that this wasn't Bourne's fault.
"Bourne, calm down. Don't do something you'll regret." Kaiden said, getting back to his feet. Bourne turned his head to look at him.
"I simply regret not doing this sooner."
"What? Going insane and trying to kill us?"
"No. Not doing, THIS!"
One second he was standing in front of Shepard, the next moment he was pinning kaiden to the wall, his arm across his throat.
'He can charge too? But he hasn't tossed any singularities around so maybe he can't use those' I thought.
(You know I can hear everything you think whether you want me to or not?)
)How! How did you get control?(
(The cipher weakened you and let me take over. I've been influencing you for days, keeping you bitter and isolated. You simply didn't realize it. And now I am the master.)
"Now then," Bourne slowly drew his pistol and aimed it at Kaiden's head. "Which eye would you like me to shoot you in? I'm really not picky. Eh, I'll shoot in the middle, then everybody goes home happy. Well, you go home in a box, so I guess you might not be happy…"
"You're a sick bastard."Kaiden managed to gasp. Shepard lined up a shot, but held back, knowing that she wouldn't be able to hit Bourne without hitting Kaiden as well.
"Thanks for noticing." He dropped the gun suddenly, stumbling back.
Liara swiftly retrieved it and aimed it the owner. But despite their training, Shepard knew she'd be little more than a distraction in a fight. Her eyes were drawn back to Bourne as he clutched his hands to his head.
"No. NO." his Biotics flickered a moment, shifting back to blue. "Get out of my head!" he screamed.
They flickered back to red. "Oh, so you are putting up a fight. Good. I was afraid this wouldn't be any fun."
"Screw you." He collapsed to his knees, still clutching at his head, blue once more.
I threw myself at him, but I had lost the element of surprise.
His eyes flashed back to red, and he stood. "What's the matter Bourne? Having trouble maintaining your Identity? Losing the fight for Supremacy? Is the Ultimatum? Is this what's going to be your Legacy?"
)I get it. Bourne. (
"You shouldn't even bother fighting. It will only make this more drawn out and painful."
Shepard was now thoroughly confused, and clearly she wasn't the only one.
"I knew he was crazy, but this is a little more than what I'm used to." Wrex muttered as he dropped again, Biotics shifting purple, as the the sides battled for control.
He smiled. "Oh I'm crazy all right. Crazy like a fox." The evil voice said
"No, I think you're just plain old pyscotic." The real Bourne replied.
"Of course. What else would you expect?"
Shepard fired a shot at Bourne's feet, getting his, or maybe their, attention. "Bourne, whatever's wrong, we can help you."
"No Shepard, I don't think you can. Corpses aren't much good at that."
He lurched forward as Ashley pinned him from behind. "Jason, listen to what you're saying!"
He sneered, back to red. "Ok, now this is getting irritating."
He shrugged his shoulders, sending her flying back. Then he spun and gently lowered her to the ground, blue once more.
)I get it, you think taking her out will distract me and allow you to overwhelm me. It would only seal your own fate.(
( I wasn't going to kill her. I romanced her too, remember? I have some feelings for her or I would have let her die back on Therum. I was going to knock her out at the most. Bah, it is irrelevant. I will still end this.)
He focused on Kaiden, intending to charge him, but I threw myself against him, willing a singularity into being in my hand. He couldn't cancel it as he was never able to create on. As long as I kept my hold on it, I would be able to remain in control.
"Nice try." He turned to Shepard, face twisted in pain. "Shepard, if you want any hope of ending this, you better take knock me out. I don't know how much longer I can keep him at bay."
Iron tried to warp her, and I focused on canceling it out. But it made me lose my grip over the singularity. He was quick to take the reins again.
He hunched over, laughing evilly. "Did you really just ask her to knock you out? As if she needs anymore reasons."
" Garrus, Wrex, hold him down!" Shepard shouted, aiming her gun at him. As much as she hated it, her only options were to take him out, or to take him down.
Wrex didn't take two steps before he was sent flying back into the wall. He dropped the ground, stunned but recovering and Bourne turned his attention back to Garrus.
"This is almost too easy. Tell you what, I'll give you a fighting chance and not use the Bioti-" his words were cut off as Garrus rushed forward, landing a solid thwack to the jaw. He managed to roll with the blow though, allowing him to stay conscious, if only barely.
It hurt like a bitch.
(It felt like a fly landing on me.)
He slowly got back to his feet, facing Garrus. I couldn't tell what he was thinking, but I felt the face grin evilly, and his hand reaching towards my pocket. I frantically tried to wrest control back, but Iron was immersed too far in the hunt for me to stop him.
"Come on Garrus, show me what you've got. Unless you'd rather leave? The door's right there."
Garrus swung at him, and he easily jumped back. "You'll have to do better than that"
Garrus had too much training to just rush in, and hung back. Shepard circled up behind him, aware of the dwindling numbers. Ashley was still stunned, and Kaiden had been weakened by the lack of oxygen.
Liara was hardly a fighter to begin with, though Shepard was glad that she'd been kept out of harm's way. Bourne paid no attention to her once he had broken free from her stais. Her Biotics were good, but not good enough against a fighter like them.
Garrus kept throwing blows, and Bourne dodged without effort. He dodged a hook, and landed an uppercut right to the jaw. Had Garrus been human, his jaw would have been snapped in half.
As it was, it only staggered him, and he swung a blind blow, forcing him back. Shepard didn't dare take a shot, even a disabling shot; they were moving too fast to get a clear line of sight.
"Not bad Vakarian. You may have reach, but I have speed agility, endurance, "
)Dude. You realize how gay that sounded, right?(
"And more importantly, I have this!" he pulled his switchblade from his pocket, slicing at Garrus' head. Garrus stumbled back, narrowly avoiding the blade. He dodged wildly, not expecting this sort of attack.
"Give up and I'll make this quick. As it is, I might just start cutting things out until you stop screaming."
He thrust his other arm forward, sending a pulse of energy at his feet. Garrus fell to the ground, and Bourne pinned him there with a foot. "Oh, Remember when I said I wouldn't use the Biotics? I lied."
He shifted his grip on the knife. Shepard grit her teeth and fired at his exposed back. They were easily deflected by his Biotics. Bourne's dark side was too focused on the kill to even notice.
"I'd say this would be quick or painless, but I'd be lying."
He raised his knife, ready to send it into Garrus's heart.
He was suddenly knocked to the ground from a shotgun blast. Tali aimed it at his head. "I have a shotgun, and I'm not afraid to use it."
Bourne got to his feet, and Tali aimed her gun right at his face. He simply swatted it out of her hands. "Oh, there you are. I thought you'd fled when you had the chance. It would have been the smarter decision."
Tali reached for her pistol, but he disarmed her again. Without warning he did the same to Shepard and Liara.
"Oh, look at this. A bunch of helpless fish just perfectly strung up to be gutted. My favorite. Too bad we don't have any lemon salt to go on it."
)Ok that's just sick. If I was still in control of my stomach, I'd have just hurled.(
"So who's first?"
Wrex answered by charging at him, shotgun in hand. Bourne met him head on with his own Biotic charge. Wrex was knocked to the ground, and Bourne slit his throat.
"Not bad, I'll give you a solid…eh, b minus. But between you and me, I go for the A grade." He stabbed his hump several times, before turning to meet Shepard's assault. "Ok, I'll come back to him in a second." Wrex's wounds were already starting to heal, but he'd be out of commision for a few minutes.
Bourne was good, but Shepard hadn't qualified as an N7 operative for her looks. She blocked his blows, even as he blocked his. They broke apart and circled each other, searching for weaknesses. Shepard saw the door, and motioned the others to block it. If he escaped, he'd slaughter everyone on Board.
"Come on Bourne, hit me with your best shot." Shepard taunted, hoping his pride would make him take her up on the offer.
"What are you waiting for lady? I'm right here." He responded, holding his arms wide, waiting for her to come into knife range.
Tali lunged at Bourne's outstretched arm, boot knife in her hand. He only barely managed to avoid having his tendons severed.
I was surprised at Tali's combat skills, but I guess she carried the knife for a reason. She was more than a match for Iron; he had been expecting a helpless victim, not a fighter.
"You don't really think you can beat me do you?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing you insane Bosh'tet!"
"Tsk tsk. I can handle the near severing of the arm, but the name calling is just rude."
Shepard landed a solid punch to the side of his head, and he staggered. Shepard moved to press the advantage, but he put her in stasis for a crucial group of seconds. Kicking at Tali, a wild swing that made her pull back, he managed to back up far enough to grab Garrus from the ground. Holding him from behind, he put the knife to his throat.
"Now then, let's sit down and discuss this like good little victims."
"Let him go." Tali said, surprising Shepard with the force of her words.
"Or else what?"
I seized the opportunity, again throwing myself at Iron. He dropped Garrus and the knife, clutching at his head. I could sense him weakening now.
(No! I won't be denied! I am a god!)
)If you're so powerful, why haven't you won yet?(
He growled, and pointed his hands at Garrus, energy crackling between them. He prepared a warp field guaranteed to kill him.
(Stop resisting! If I go out, he goes with me!)
)I'm the one that warps reality, remember? What makes you think you can kill him in the first place?)
(I will end him! I will!) The biotic field grew, and he tried to send it at him. But I was right; this was not his destiny. Whatever Iron's deluded thoughts, he still was bound by the laws of reality.
We were both distracted as Pain shot through my right arm, and the knife dropped from nerveless fingers. We both looked at Tali's knife in shock, stuck into my arm. Blood dripped from the severed veins, weakening the body.
"Bourne, it's over." Shepard said, kicking Bourne's switchblade away.
I felt Iron's control slipping, and I quickly seized control, focusing on every aspect of the body that was mine. My dark hair, my glowing blue eyes, the scar on my finger from another life. Iron knew that he had lost.
(You may have won today, but I haven't lost the war yet.)
) You're finished. This time, stay dead.(
(You really didn't hear me did you? If I'm going out, someone's going with me.)
With a demon's will, he seized control over my left hand, tendrils of red among the blue. He fought with mad strength, outpowering me with his last efforts.
Shepard was almost certain that the knife had taken the fight out of Bourne. She was even more sure that his other self was gone, driven away by blood loss and exhaustion.
"Ashley, get Chakwas in here." She said, taking her eyes off of Bourne. She instantly realized her mistake and turned back to see his red glowing arm yanking the knife from his flesh.
"Tell her to bring lots of anti-biotics then. Someone's going to need them." He threw the knife, hitting Tali in the gut. She doubled over, her suit already pumping her full of disinfectants. She fell to her knees, losing consciousness.
"I think that's yours" The evil voice laughed wildly. The eyes faded back to blue and he slumped to the ground unconscious as well.
Shepard activated her radio. "I need a medical team up here stat! Tali is down!"
Chakwas's voice crackled back. "What happened? Never mind, I can ask later. I'm on my way, and my assistants are setting up a clean room." The last part had the force of an order, clearly telling them to start it.
Shepard looked at Bourne, blood still pumping. "Bourne is wounded as well." She hesitated, then added "Bring lots of Biotic suppressants for him."
"I'm heading on the elevator now."
Shepard looked at the rest of her team. They were banged up, but the only other one really hurt besides Tali was Wrex, and his regenerative abilities had already kicked in.
"If Bourne lives through this, I'm going to kill him." he muttered, getting back up. "Should probably get some pressure on that bleeding. Not much you can do with the Quarian though. Just hope that the infection doesn't get her."
"Don't talk like that!" Garrus shouted, kneeling at her side. "She can still pull through!"
"Don't delude yourself. That was a pretty big wound. Hell, even I would feel something like that."
"Shut up Urdnot before I shut you up myself!"
Shepard stepped between them, holding them apart. "Enough you two! We already had one team member try to kill us today, we don't need you at each other's throats.
"That thing was not Jason." Ashley said, applying pressure to staunch the flow of blood.
"Be that as it may, until we figure out what the hell just happened, he's still a threat. " Shepard swallowed, saying something she thought she never would. "As soon as Chakwas patches him up and gets his Biotics suppressed,"
She lowered her gaze. "I want him confined in the brig."
Two cliff hangers in a row? Man, now you guys will definitely hate me.
A special thanks to the guy that sent me the message reading "Right more now!" Followed by about a hundred exclamation points. That really brightened my day. (Sarcasm.)
In all seriousness, I try to update as much as possible, but I do have other obligations. And this isn't always easy as it looks; it took me a good 2-3 hours total to write this chapter; it's pretty time consuming.
But I love this far too much to stop now. Heck, I'm already thinking about the sequal. And the follow up in ME3. And the alternate versions of both.
And a possible new series with a different version of Bourne.
But maybe I should finish writing this one first. Until I can get back to doing that, I hope you enjoyed this installment of "Stuck in a World of Fiction."
Sayonara.