Ty:
Hero cleared her throat, and Bourne turned her way. "It's...a bit more serious than that."
"I really do not like that look. Why do I get the feeling I'm about to go apeshit as-"
"You might not actually be from the real world." She blurted out.
He froze with his mouth half open.
She shook her head. "You might want to sit down for this."
Instead, he just fainted and fell to the ground.
I took it as my chance to find out and jumped right into Bourne. This time making my way into his mind instead of his amps.
I formed the void around me into a hotel hallway with doors adjacent to each other on both sides. Each one had the do not disturb sign hanging from the door but instead of saying do not disturb they said what was behind the door.
I walked down the first row of doors and saw first memories of Mass Effect, Combat Prowess, and Biotic Usage.
"Okay, I know that generally having an empty head is a bad thing, but I think that I prefered it to this." Bourne said as he suddenly appeared in front of me. His eyes were blazing, and he fingered the knife on his belt, in full armor.. "You want to explain what the flying fuck just happened, and what the hell she meant by me not being from the real world?"
I took off down the hall with him hot on my heels. "She could be wrong, but I need to find one door in order to know for certain."
A wall suddenly appeared in front of me, and he was there as well. "Do we really need to have the discussion about me not liking other people in my head?" He asked as he spun a knife in his hand.
I waved my hand to the left and a new hall budded off and I took off down it. "I'm just visiting. Plus, you probably don't want to come with me where I'm going."
He followed me anyway. "Well, obviously if you're in here, you're looking for something. And it probably pertains to what she said. Which she was rather vague about, so maybe you could fill me in."
"Your past memories. If you have them then you are real, if you don't… There is no hope for me."
He appeared in front of me, walking backwards with his arms crossed. "What would make you- or her- doubt that I am? And how exactly is my realness dependent on being from a world where this universe is a game?"
I felt my anger surge forward again and I reacted by picking Bourne up by the throat and slammed him into the wall. "Damn it, if you aren't real, then I am screwed because I am just an isolated incident. I am ground zero and ground zero usually doesn't get the best endings. Bourne, do you get this? If you aren't real then what hope is there for me? That would mean I am the only real person here, the only one that can get out, the only one!"
I was suddenly sent flying back into the far wall. "Word of advice. This is my head, so I have a lot more practice changing things around. And before I just throw you out, I'm giving you one more chance to explain what you're talking about."
"I lied." He turned as Hero appeared in the hall next to him.
"About what?"
She took a step backward unconsciously at his tone. "Your memories of the real world don't exist. Because they might not be your memories."
"Not be my-" He cut himself off.
While Hero had him distracted, I restructured the hall and made the section of wall that Bourne had me pinned to into another hall. I quickly fell backwards and smashed into what felt like an old door. When I looked down I saw the sign said pre-xbox memories.
The whole set up suddenly turned back into the usual void. "You're saying you suspect I'm a clone." It was said in a flat tone of voice. "What's the punchline?"
"I wish I had one."
He crossed his arms, gesturing with his head for her to go on.
"They brought in three of us into your head, you know that part already. But how they got the...personalities is another matter. Since I was being broken apart and broadcast by the crucible, they got all of me."
"But not all of me?"
I brought the door back up and looked down at the door. I grabbed the handle and went to open it but realized that it was locked by a keycard. One look behind me and I saw Bourne holding it without knowing.
"They said you and Iron were harder to get. Because you were being blasted by lightning at the same time, and Iron was...exploding."
He brought his hands to his head slowly, and noticed the key card. He looked at it a moment before shoving it onto his belt.
"They said they only got fragments of one of you, and had to piece it together as best they could- create a new mind entirely... It could have been Iron, but-"
"But you suspect it's me because of the lack of memory.
I leaned against the door and felt the crack spread from my shoulder up and down the door. Something was trying to get into it besides me. The crack kept spreading like someone was repeatedly smashing into the door to prove my suspicions..
"So you lied and said that you could give me back my memories, knowing I'd turn down the offer."
"Well-"
"Clever of you. I still am sorely tempted to break your neck, but I'm also very impressed you were able to so skillfully manipulate me of all people. Oh, and Ty, will you knock off whatever the hell you're doing? It's beginning to give me a migrane."
The door was smashed into another time and the light began to shine out of it. "Bourne, I suggest you allow me to open it and take a peak. Or something is going to break it open."
He turned around to face me, and his eyes were crimson red. "Both of you have about five seconds to get the hell out of my head."
"Bourne-" Hero was cut off as she was sent flying backwards.
"Let me guess. "It'd be better to know, you don't want to live your life not knowing-" I don't give a damn. Either I'm a clone who saved the goddam galaxy, or I'm someone from the real world who saved the goddamn galaxy. Doesn't change who I am."
"But it does change who I am…"
His eyes blazed again. "You know something Ty, I'm getting really sick and tired of you saying that because in one universe this is a game, that everything is just a bunch of BS made of code." He took a step forward. "I'll say it again. Get out of my head."
Hero cautiously took a few steps towards him while his back was to her. "Jason, there's another reason I never told you."
He looked down at his right hand, and the glove disappeared. "You might have done it?"
"How did you-"
"The only reason three minds could exist in one body was all the tech inside it. And you had to cut part of it out to break Iron's control for good." He disappeared and reappeared a few meters away so he could see us both at once. "And if my mind was also on a digital backup of some kind-"
"They had to stabilize us all." She said quietly. "Including our memories."
"So if I had them to begin with, you might have cut them out?"
She hung her head in shame.
He turned to face me. "So either way, there's nothing here. So you're just wasting all of our time."
There was another slam against the door and the light spread out of the crack further. "Then, why does something want in there?"
He crossed his arms. "You expect me to believe that isn't one of you? Who the hell else could it be?"
"You."
"Last I checked, I'm right here, not knocking on that door."
"Because somewhere deep down in your mind, you want what's behind this door."
He appeared directly in front of me. "What I want and what's right are two different things in that case. Whereas they sync up perfectly with me wanting you out of my head. The only reason I'm not just tossing you out is because I'd rather not have you naked in the comm room. But if you continue, I'm going to stop caring because it'll make it easier to cut off certain parts of your anatomy when we're both back up."
Bourne was beginning to make me desperate and I closed my eyes allowing to my emotions to some to the front of my mind. "Bourne, I will get behind this door. Even if I have to let go. And if I do, it might destroy your mind."
"What do you mean, let go?"
"What did I tell you about letting go… The one limiter I have will be gone and I will have enough power to take what I want."
He crossed his arms. "I don't think it would play out that way. You want to know if you're alone or not- mostly due to emotions. Without those, you'd probably think it would more valuable to have me on your side and not know then to know and lose your best chance at surviving this whole thing." He looked at his palm again, and his glove reappeared as he clenched it into a fist. "And if it does play out that way, you just killed a friend for no reason." He met my gaze cooly, voice as calm as if he were talking about the weather. "So, the question is, is it worth the cost to know?"
I stood straight up to Bourne and held my ground. "Bourne, I'm not asking you to look in it too. I'm not going to tell you to look to. I won't even tell you what I see. I just need to know, what point is there in me going on if you aren't real. I have no fucking clue how to get out of my own universe, but if you are from the real world then there is a chance that I could meet someone else that comes and goes out as they please. Someone who knows how to get out."
He was silent for several moments. "You know something Ty, I think you're considering letting your emotions go because you feel fear. Not of not going back, but of not wanting to go back. I think in the same way I want to know about my past, you enjoy the power you have here. I think you're afraid of going back and losing that power. Yet at the same time, you don't want that power because of all the consequences. It's a no-win situation, but you want to lose as little as possible."
I rolled my eyes at him. "No, I want out. I would give up these powers in a second to get back home."
"Would you." He said flatly. "You certainly don't seem to mind the powers. Or certain company here...Certain strawberry company."
We both held our ground for several seconds but even he couldn't hold a straight face after his last comment and we both busted out laughing. "Strawberry company? Really?"
"I hate both of you." Hero groaned.
"Calm down Hero. You know what. Bourne is right about not finding it outbut that is about it." I felt my confidence and my hope returning to me like an old friend.
He crossed his arms as his face went back to normal. "I let you do this, there's a condition."
"Fuck it, I'll make my way out without your help." I smiled again and made the bar table from Chora's Den come up. I quickly jumped up on and yelled, "After all, I'm not going to stop manipulating until I control the Heavens!"
He looked at the table, and I fell on my ass as it disappeared. "Can you erase your own memories, or only those of others?"
I sat up and leaned on my elbow. "I can do both."
He gestured to the door. "So, here's the deal. If those actually are my memories, and Hero's wrong- the second you find out about how-" He made airquotes with his hands. "Real I am, you erase anything you saw from memory."
"Isn't that a little-"
He cut Hero off with a glare over his shoulder, eyes blazing red. A moment later, she disappeared. He turned back to me. "Deal?"
I made a face like I was going to say yes but took a step backwards and said, "No."
His eyes went from red to blue. "I've explained many times why I don't want my memories. And that means I don't want any chance of them coming to light- accidental or otherwise."
I let myself begin to split from Bourne. "Then do what Hero told Tali and really think on it."
"She was giving Tali a little false hope to improve her mood. I've thought about this more times than I can count- even with perfect memory. So if you want to know, that's the deal. Otherwise-" His eyes went the same color of purple as Hero's. "You'll have to let go and kill me."
As Bourne was explaining to me his deal I felt the defiant User within me awaken. "Nope, I'll figure it out on my own. Just because you might not be real doesn't mean I can't get out. isolated incident or not."
He chuckled. "If anything Ty, you should be the one who's worried about not existing. What's that old saying, I think therefore I am?"
"Bourne, think of it. Now that you are letting me just waltz in and take a look. Now, I don't want to see what's in there. Defiant to the bitter end." I finished the process and was released from Jason's head.
Bourne
I opened my eyes in time to see Ty stepping out of my chest, and pushed myself to my feet. "Funny, you seemed pretty desperate to see in there a moment ago."
I was suddenly knocked into the air as some purple blur flew under me. When I got back up and could see straight again, I saw that Ty was on the ground, staring up at the ceiling blankly.
"You two are such- Argh! You're friends and you were this close to ripping each other apart?!"
I looked over at Ty as he stood up. "Yeah, I don't think my memories are the only lie she's told recently. Definitely that time of the month."
Ty pointed at me and sat his other hand on the ground. "Watch this."
Hero was in mid-rant when the ground underneath her shot up like a piston and slammed her into the ceiling and knocked her out.
I slid a knife out of my pocket and threw it at him hilt first in one move, hitting him right in the nose, causing an explosion of blood. "You did that to me, I might actually laugh it off. Do it to my friend, and I just do that."
He wiped the blood from under his nose and flicked it into my face. "Dude, she was the one that fired off a shockwave at me."
"We were kinda asking for it." I said as I picked up the knife.
Ty wiped the blood off his nose and looked down at Hero. "You know, you have been going red eyed a lot since we met Iron. Maybe that's affecting Hero."
I thought about it for a moment. "It'd make sense, but I don't think it is. The red eyes only seem to happen when I'm really pissed off- and let's face it, that didn't really change much from before." I thought for a moment, going over the time since he'd reappeared, and noticed something odd. "Have my eyes gone purple at all?"
"Uh…they're purple right now."
I frowned slightly, and the lighting in the room seemed to change subtly.
"Now they're blue."
Any further conversation was cut off and Shepard barged in and tackled us both to the ground. "What the hell are you two doing!?"
"You want the long version, or the easy to understand version?" I asked sardonically, managing to free myself and get back to my feet, keeping my knees slightly bent so my stance was strong, but not rigid.
She elbowed me in the gut- though thankfully not where I'd been impaled- and knocked Ty in the head. "Whatever makes the ship stop shaking!"
I closed my eyes, and focused on the image of the comm room as it had been. When I opened them again, she was staring open mouthed at the chairs that had rearranged themselves, and the damage having been repaired. "It's a cliche, but actions speak louder than words."
"Ugh, what hit me?" Hero asked, sitting up and groaning.
"I think it was...that section of the floor right over there." I replied. For that, I got identical glares from both versions of Shepard.
"Hehe, good one."
Cecelia smacked him in the back of the head. "Explanation. Now."
"Uh, I kind of flipped my shit."
"That's putting it mildly." Hero and I muttered under our breath practically in unison.
"Sorry, but when you get told that the hope you have been holding is a lie then I won't hold it against you if you go on a rampage."
"Good thing I rarely hope then." I said darkly. A moment later, I was not entirely sure how much I meant it.
There was an awkward pause followed by Ty stepping backwards into a glitch and saying, "Well, off to the lunch hall."
*You realize it'd take her maybe a minute to walk down there and kick your ass?*
)It's not that far.(
*I mean after she's done kicking your ass first.*
^Well, I'll just enjoy this cheese burger like it's my last.^ Ty cut us out after that.
"If I didn't want to kiss him for being okay, I'd kill him." Cecelia muttered under her breath.
Deciding that letting her know I'd heard would be stupid beyond belief, I just sat down in the nearest chair. "So, I'm guessing you're going to want an explanation?"
She glared at me. "I want the ship to stop shaking. It has, for now. How did Ty do that is the explanation I would like to hear."
I gave her a flat look. "He did it the same way he does everything. AKA, I have no bloody idea, he just did it." I gestured to Hero. "She was here when it happened- I got sucked in by a random glitchportal from the medbay."
*You are an ass.*
)Says the one who lied to me and caused this whole mess.(
*...*
)Yeah, that's what I thought.(
^You just got told.^
*First, it's your fault way more than it is mine. Second, what happened to blocking us out?*
)I think you're both equally at fault, actually.(
^Find how many fucks I give.^
I was about to reply when Cecelia cut me off. "I don't care about what program he used, or what nanites he manipulated how the hell he did it. I meant why he did it."
I glanced at Hero. "You know those videos we found on the Cerberus ship?"
"What about them?"
*You didn't watch those, remember?*
)Yeah, I know.(
"I teleported in there at one point to watch them for myself. And Hannah and I are pretty sure they're fabricated- at least in part."
"...you teleported into my room?"
"I made sure you weren't in there." I said flatly. "I make no claims to be a genius, but I'm not an idiot."
Cecelia wound up for a punch that I prepared to dodge, but then stopped. "Fabricated?"
"As full of shit as that line about Asari not being women."
^Uh, what the fuck are you doing?^
)Lies often work better if they're partially true.(
^The particular lie you are messing with is my alibi.^
"We're not completely sure, some of it seems real enough, but it's at least possible. With my half anyway." I gestured to Hero. "She told Ty, but didn't realize some of the connotations my story has on his. And he went a little...earthquakey."
"Earthquakey" Hero said as she facepalmed. "You just beat out the antibiotic line."
The doors to the comm room opened and Ty walked in holding a cheeseburger and a can of Cocacola. "Dude, look what I just figured out."
"...I'm torn between making a crack about preferring Pepsi, and just caving and asking for one of those myself."
Ty held out the can he was holding and I took it as he pulled another from his belt. "Figured we needed to have a peace drink since the whole head thing just happened."
I went to open it, and then stopped. "I'm going to let this sit for a couple minutes."
"You really think he's immature enough to shake it up so...yeah, good call." Hero said with a shake of the head and a wry smile.
"Want me to open it?"
I rolled my eyes and popped it open, though I did hold it away from me.
"Okay, if you two don't start talking, both of those cans are going in places you will not enjoy them." Cecelia said, one eye twitching.
Ty handed his can to her. "Drink this. I'm sorry that I made an earthquake in the ship. I promise to make it a monsoon next time."
)Dude, are you a masochist or something? I mean, she can literally go "puny god" on you and leave you in the ground.(
*Wouldn't it be more accurate to say she'd Hulk out and do that?*
)It's referring to a more specific instance than him just smashing stuff.(
"How the hell do I open this?" The can distracted Cecelia from the matter at hand and she was holding it upside down tapping on the underside.
*Are we sure she's actually the alternate version of me?*
)You all have a weakness. With you and Raptor, it's driving and dancing. With Iron, it's being a lunatic. With her, it's...being a little messed up in the head. And not having the benefit of my pre-relay knowledge.(
Ty grabbed it out of her hand, turned it around, and handed it back to her after he opened it. "There we go. Now drink the greatest thing in history."
She gave him a wry smile. "I'm a little surprised you're saying that about something other than alcohol."
With one quick motion, he pulled a flask out of his belt. "It is even better with spiced rum."
"Whew. For a second I thought you'd been replaced with a robot clone." I said as I rolled my eyes and took another swig.
Shepard took a drink and began guzzling it as it lifted until it was at an one-hundred-and-eighty degree angle. Her eyes opened and she pulled it away from her mouth, crushing it in her hand. "That was… Where can I get more?"
*Can I just point out I've never seen her grab coffee in the mornings with breakfast?*
)So?(
*Do either of you think giving her caffeine is a good idea?*
^I always assumed that caffeine was outlawed by this point in the future.^
*...no. No it isn't.*
)Not only does the Normandy have coffee, I found a starbucks on the citadel by accident at one point.(
^That means nothing. Caffeine is a dangerous substance and allowing aliens that have never experienced the substance could cause some serious issues.^
)Let's see, Krogan drink something that can put you or me in a coma, so I doubt it'd work on them, Turians and Quarians would be killed by it anyway, same probably goes for Volus, Salarians have a faster metabolism so it'd wear off pretty quick- and they're pretty hyper to start with most of the time...not sure about Asari or Batarians.(
*He's right about what it does to Drell though. Best day with Thane was followed by the worst day.*
Cecelia grabbed Ty by the collar and held him close. "What was that? I need more."
*And medigel is technically also illegal, but since it's so useful nobody cares. Probably the same reasoning here for powering through shifts.*
)Unless the Coffee is like...I don't know, fake caffeine? I mean the stuff can be addictive, but if they made cigarettes that had no negative side effects…Yeah, Ty, now would be a good time to run and or glitch away.(
Cecelia looked at us all, "Everyone to the lunch room, Ty is making more of this."
I looked at my can, which was still mostly full. )Okay, let's go.(
*You don't think this is a problem?*
)Either the novelty will wear off on its own...or the 'earthquake' unsettled some of the cans.(
^I made these out of the juice boxes.^
*He means one of us shakes a can up when she isn't looking, then when she drinks it to open it, it explodes in her face and she doesn't want to drink it any more.*
)Now that I think about it, the fact that it can be weaponized might actually make her like it more.(
^Well, lets go.^
*I am just stating for the record that I think this is a terrible idea.*
)You got anything better to do?(
*...one of us is going to record this, right?*
Cecelia:
In truth, Cecelia thought that the drink was pretty good but not as much as she was freaking out about it. She had a plan crafting in her mind and Hannah was it's target. Though she couldn't put her finger on it, she just didn't like Hannah. It might have been her desire to always do right or the fact that Ty liked her at one point. No matter what though, it still ended the same with all her anger pointed towards the wannabe angel.
Bourne sat down across from the others at the table, and his eyes suddenly went from blue to purple. She decided not to ask.
First off ,she needed another one of the cans and what better excuse to get it than to tell Ty it was for everyone. Step two, switch the can that they obviously would shake up and give to her with Hannah's. Lastly, record it for future laughs.
"Ty, make us four cans."
Bourne pointedly held his up. "I'm not even half done with mine."
"Three it is." Ty grabbed out three orange juices and each one of them turned into the same red can.
One of them glowed purple and flew into Hannah's hand, where she popped it open with just a thumb. "So, you want to hear the rest of the story now, or are we going to get all caffeinated up instead?" The Adapt asked after taking a large swig.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed as Bourne's eyes went back to blue. Somehow the bastard knew her plan but that only meant that she would have to mix it up a little. She stood up from her seat and pointed toward her room. "Anyone want to play cards?"
Bourne smiled. "You realize you're asking a person with one of the greatest poker faces in existence?"
"Can you shuffle the cards under the table so that he can't use his perfect memory to his advantage?" Ty had a mischievous smile on his face as Bourne glanced at him. His eyes went red for a moment before going back to blue.
"Of course. I want this to be a nice clean game." He said, though from his tone he meant just the opposite.
"You know, maybe holographic cards would be better." Hannah chimed in. "He'll find the imperfections on every single card and memorize which go with what."
Cecelia opened up her omni-tool and looked away for a second so that they would shake up her can. With a quick few presses, she hit the camera button without them noticing and opened up the holographic cards. The cards all came out and formed into one deck in the middle of the table.
Two cards shot into each person's hand. "There we go."
Cecelia picked up the can and set her cards down on the table. She acted like she was struggling with it and pointed it right at Hannah at the moment it opened. Coke flew from the can and directly at her, drenching her in one gush.
"I told you she'd notice." Bourne said, eyes on his cards.
The other can flew from Ty's hand, spinning rapidly in the air and Hannah aimed it at her, opening it before she could react. She was similarly drenched. Only, she actually had hair to get stuck together by the sugar in the soda.
She wiped her hand down her air and flicked what was stuck in it into Hannah's face.
She replied by grabbing Bourne's can and flinging the soda in that right back.
"Ty, be a friend and hit me with another one, will you?" He said calmly.
Ty leaned forward and put his head in his hands and sighed. "After the two of them leave."
Cecelia stood up from the table, glaring at Hannah. The biotic glared right back as she stood up. Cecelia picked up what was left in her can and threw it in her face- or rather tried to, as she put up a barrier to block it.
"Well, I need to take a shower."
Bourne looked pointedly at Ty, as though waiting for something.
"Wait till they are gone. I don't want this to become a bigger waist of code that I manipulated."
"No, it's not that- I was expecting some crack about if she wanted company." A moment later, his eyes were suddenly crimson, and he glared at Ty.
"What's with the glare? And why do you assume I am going to make perverted comments about stuff that is easy to make fun of?"
"Shall I regale you with previous instances where you have done so? Because I'm fully capable of doing that."
Cecelia held up a hand. "What do you mean code that you manipulated?"
"It's a nickname for the nanites." Bourne said, eyes going back to "normal."
Ty held up his hands. "I manipulate genetic structure and atomic structure. I refer to it as code."
"Nanites, process the nanites carry out, whatever."
She rolled her eyes and shot Hannah one last glare before walking back to her room. To take a long shower.
Upon entering, she realized that it wasn't only her face and hair but also her clothes that had the sticky substance in them. She absolutely dreaded the short shower she took because she didn't have any casual wear left that wasn't embarrassing for a ship Commander to wear. Granted the standard issue coveralls were the only acceptable thing for a commander to wear.
She really hated it but she was going to have to make Ty make more. Who am I kidding, I have been waiting for an excuse to make him do this.
All she needed were the right assets to get him under her thumb completely.
As she considered it, her omni-tool beeped, and she saw she had a new message from Bourne. She opened it to see a video file of Hannah getting hit in the face with the soda- and then the rest of it cut off. Didn't know how good an angle you got of that. Feel free to put this on the extranet- she hit me with a shockwave earlier and it'd be good payback.
Before she could reply or decide whether or not to, her Omni-tool beeped again with another message. Bourne had snapped a picture as Hannah flipped him off. Never mind, I'm putting it out myself.
Cecelia got a sly smile from Bourne's video and grabbed her towel off the bed. She wrapped it around herself and took a seat, activating her omni-tool and sending a message to Ty. Mind helping me out for a sec?
Her omni-tool beeped within seconds of sending. You dressed?
She bit her lower lip while she thought of her reply. As much as I need to be.
Sorry, can't make it. Was all she got back.
Shepard's hands worked faster than her mind. What!?
I am setting up an extranet site for Bourne and the video of you spraying Hannah with soda. The video sharing site he uploaded it to crashed in about 5 minutes.
She suddenly got another message, this time from Hannah. It was a picture of Bourne and Ty being held aloft in the air upside down.
A second later, a picture followed of them on the ground, stunned. Sorry the explosion was too fast to capture.
The next picture was from Ty and it was Hannah smashing into the ceiling by what looked like liquidized metal. Be there in a sec.
Bourne's reply was a little longer. Can you please tell Ty to get her down from there before she warps out and breaks the ship? More than it already is from Ty's tantrum?
Ty fell out of a glitch in the ceiling and landed on the pile of his clothes on the table. "So glad that I left these here."
She stood up and made sure that Ty saw that she was just in a towel. "Mind giving me a hand."
There was a slight pause as Ty saw her and then he panicked and fell off the edge of the table and got covered in clothes. "Uh, you're in a towel."
"Glad to see your sight wasn't damaged in that little explosion just now." She gestured to the clothes. "I'm out of anything to wear, and was hoping you could help me with that."
Ty's head stayed covered and he held up a pair of shorts. "Here you go."
She rolled her eyes. "I'm going to need a little more than that…in public at least."
He held up a shirt. "Problem solved."
She walked over, making sure the towel would still cover her from the angle he was at. "Ty, do you really think I asked you in here because I needed help getting dressed?"
"Uh, oh god. Cece, I like you but you have to take me on a date first."
"...Cece?"
"Cecelia!"
She rolled her eyes again. "I'm just asking you to customize the clothes a little bit so I'm not walking around in the same coveralls as everyone else."
Ty's head shot out of the clothes and smirked. "Sure, why not? What are you looking for?"
She leaned against the wall, thinking.
Ty through one of the shirts to her and it changed mid air into a tank top. "Can you at least put this on? It's kind of getting… awkward with you only being in a towel."
She walked over to the table next to the bed and grabbed her dog tags, sliding them over head onto her neck. "That better?" She asked sarcastically as she grabbed a pair of underwear from her dresser. She made sure that Ty could see them as she pulled them out, and when she looked back, his face was bright red and he was looking at the ceiling.
"Um, I think you are enjoying this."
She just smiled as she put on the clothes. "Now, what about pants." She said, leaning over on the bed to face him, with just a hint of her waist showing to where he was.
He threw the shorts and they morphed into a pair of pants in mid air and landed on the bed. "You do know you gave me a perfect shot of your tramp stamp right?"
She smirked, though inwardly she was cursing herself. She'd meant to tease him, but not that much yet. "So, now I just need combat boots and...maybe a leather jacket like Bourne's, but in blue. Or do you think that'd clash with my eyes?"
Ty stood up and held up one of his jackets, transforming it into a blue leather jacket with a red zero on it's back. "This work?"
She thought about it a moment. "Put my N7 logo on the front and you're done."
Ty poked it once and the N7 appeared. "I can't take the zero off, sorry."
She smiled. "Well then, I guess we match." She stood up and grabbed the pants off the bed, sliding into them slowly before reaching for the jacket.
He smashed his face into the pile of clothes. "I don't want to match."
She shrugged on the jacket. "What do you want me to do, wear a backpack to cover it?...actually, that wouldn't be such a bad idea." She was pretty sure her sniper rifle could fit in one, and it'd be handy to carry around other things. She saw why some women used purses, but she wasn't going to stoop to that.
He pushed himself off the ground and held his hands out. "Got a crate or a box that I can recode?"
"Tell Bourne to move that crate of knives out of the Mako and put them in his locker." She said after a moment.
Ty nodded and turned to walk out the door. "Will do."
"Wait, Ty." he turned around and she ran over and gave him a hug. "Thanks."
As the door opened, she saw Bourne and Hannah arguing, though they turned to see Ty walking out. Before the door closed, she saw Hannah glaring at Bourne and opening up her omni-tool, apparently transferring credits to his account.
She pulled up her omni-tool and sent Bourne a message. Why did Hannah pay you?
Just a little bet she was foolish enough to make. He replied.
And it was?
She put down 5000 that you called Ty in there to join you in the shower...I think it may be that time of the month for her.
Just because she likes company in the shower doesn't mean that I like it too.
Hah, unless there's a Drell on Board I don't know aboufuiag;haighalguaih;ljaipqan
What the hell was that?
She saw what I was typing.
Tell her that if she wants to look like a lizard then she should shave her head more often.
There was a brief pause before Hannah sent a message herself. The cybernetic implants I have restrict hair growth. I haven't shaved my head in over 6 months and it's still like this.
She put her jacket on and walked out of the room and up to the comm and looked over at Bourne and Hannah. "Bourne, come up to the comm with me. Ty will have to meet us there."
He took in her new appearance with an approving nod. "Remind me to have Ty put omegas on mine...though without the zero in back." He added as he followed her up.
Ty shot out of a portal in the wall and snapped to draw attention to himself. "Found my hat."
Bourne looked between them with a wry smile. "Was the matching thing intentional?"
Ty looked down at his shirt and immediately tore it off, obviously forgetting that the zero had tattooed itself to his skin. "We're not matching."
The biotic pointed at it. "What, are you going to get a matching trampstamp next?"
Cecelia hit him in the back of the head hard enough to knock him off his feet. "Was that joke really worth it?"
"Maybe." He muttered into the ground. He stood back up and looked at Ty. "You're sure you can't speed up the process with the amps? I don't think I'll make it much longer without biotics."
"I could extend it." Ty was obviously angry about the matching comment.
"So you could shorten it for say...5000 credits?"
Ty pointed at himself. "Billionaire, remember?"
"Well, I seem to recall you saying that if I wanted an omni-weapon, that'd be the cost." He shrugged. "I figured if Hannah was going to make a bet like that, might as well put the cash to good use."
"How about better guns?" Cecelia pointed out.
In response, he pulled his pistol from his pocket. "I have a gun that shoots explosive rounds. Anything that could match it would be more than I can afford." He shoved it back with a shrug. "Manipulating dark energy vs sending metal at someone...gotta go with the biotics."
Ty picked up his shirt and started to put it on again. "Whatever, so what was it that I heard about needing us in the comm room?"
She pointed up the stairs and everyone began walking up the steps again. "I think it is time to reveal you two to the council."
Bourne darted in front of her, cutting her off at the top of the stairs. "Okay, hold up a sec. Reveal who to who? Because I know I must've heard you wrong just now." Though his face was its usual mask, he seemed tense, and genuinely worried about her suggestion.
A smirk appeared on her face as they exited the stairwell and into the comm room. "To the Council of course."
"And why the hell do you think that telling them about-" He gestured to Ty. "Is a good idea? I mean, what they don't know hasn't hurt them yet...at least, not that I've heard, though maybe I'm just being pessimistic and when you call them it'll turn out the Turian slipped in the shower and broke his neck."
"Uh, I don't think it is a good idea to tell them about me either." Ty shook his head and walked over to one of the walls across from her.
"Yeah, considering that he's basically a demi-god...and while I'm not arrogant enough to say I'm on his level, I'm at least in the top three human biotics of all time, with all sorts of experimental genemods and cybernetics. And I don't know how you feel about vivisection, but unless it's a guy who really pissed me off, I'm generally against it."
She looked between the two of them in surprise. "Ty, Bourne, you have to be kidding me. You guys could be my ticket to getting a fleet to back me up. Just imagine how much the Council will fear a super assassin and the man who can shake the very ground they walk on."
Bourne nodded after a moment. "That's possible. But they may also see us as a threat- and group you in with us. Then you'll get a fleet at your back- shooting at it." He pointed at her head. "And no offense, but you have to admit the whole "Reaper" thing is a little hard to swallow. Hell, he and I only believe it because the same could be said about us. You try telling them about him- or maybe me, but mostly him-, they'll put us all in a padded room."
"I could break out of it." Ty said while reaching into a glitch.
The biotic rolled his eyes. "Well, duh, any of us could. But it'd be a major pain in the ass. And it'd give Saren extra time to do whatever it is he's doing."
"We're heading to the Citadel anyway. I'm just calling ahead so they can get ready to see you in person." She responded.
His eyes blazed red. "That's an even worse idea."
"How so?"
"I wasn't kidding about hoping the Turian broke his neck. And do not let me get started on Udina." He looked down at the knife he'd grabbed out of his pocket as though surprised to see it.
Ty pulled the locker full of Bourne's knives out of the glitch and they all dumped out of it on the ground.
"Ty, I know you're going to also bring my locker through that so I can put these away." Bourne said, eyes going purple as he took a deep breath. "Because otherwise, that thing about me and vivisection on people that really have pissed me off is going to start applying to you."
He looked down at the knives and shrugged as it changed into a one strap backpack that had the same color patterns as colossus armor. "Here Shepard, and Bourne", He kicked the glitch making Bourne's real locker shoot out of the ground. "Here you go."
He grumbled something about biotics as he bent down to pick them up and put them into the locker.
"Now then, when you're done with that-"
Bourne cut her off. "Ty once suggested we waltz into a firefight pretending to slap each other, 'accidentally' missing and slapping the guys unconscious. I think this idea is worse than that one."
"It totally would have worked."
"You're so full of shit. We've have been gunned down in five seconds flat.
Cecelia hit the button on the comm and spoke quick before the Council pulled up. "Whoops, looks like I hit the button. Too late to talk about it now."
One of Bourne's knives flew past her and hit the button on console, shutting the holograms back off. "Unless you want to keep doing that for another...wow, 299 of these things are left. And unless you want to waste both our time with me throwing every single one of them, I suggest we suggest this like rational adults. Or at least like people who can fake it."
She ignored him and reached for the button, only for him to throw a knife that landed squarely between her fingers, barely missing them and stopping her before she hit it. "And I for one, would be faking it right now." He stated, another knife in each hand. "So how about we do discuss this before I break the damn console all together."
"Do you really think what you're doing is smart?" She asked sarcastically, carefully moving her hand away.
"Yeah, you don't have a lot of room to talk here." He responded. "And unless you can convince me otherwise, that console is going to stay off."
She crossed her arms. "I'm sorry, did you get a promotion to admiral when I wasn't looking? And even if you did, I'm a spectre, so I'd be able to ignore it."
He looked at Ty, though most of his attention was kept on her. "You got anything to add here?"
"I kind of want to meet Sparatus." Ty scratched at the zero on his chest and looked away.
"So, you think that telling them that- seriously, how is that I can get stabbed or shot and just go "Not again" instead of screaming, have literally pushed my friend out of an elevator, regularly admit to enjoying killing, and yet I'm apparently the sanest person in this room?"
"Guess that's that then." She hit the button and the Council came up quick again. "We will be in the Citadel at six-o'clock GST. Our comms seem to be failing."
"Seriously, I'm right now considering just hurling this knife at your head, and this other one at his, and knocking you both out, and yet I'm the sane one here?" Bourne muttered just loud enough for her to hear, though the council apparently couldn't.
"Then see to it that your comms are fixed." The Turian said, and she could almost feel her blood pressure rising.
With a quick motion, she shut off the comm and laughed. "Bourne, you need to realize that I get what I want."
"Shepard, let me ask you something. Do you really, honestly think that it's a good idea to get on my bad side?" His eyes were like red suns as he asked it. "Especially considering I could literally- argh, if I'm doing this-" he turned to Ty. "Then I'm not doing it without the biotics active."
Ty patted Bourne on the shoulder and gestured to the Comm room vid screen. "Well, who wants to watch Hero get a face full of soda on the big screen."
The biotic's hands twitched toward his throat. "Ty…" he said warningly. "I'm not in the mood. Can you do it or not?"
"Strawberries?"
He began laughing, while Bourne's hands just twitched and his eyes glowed even redder. "What did he say?" Cecelia asked.
"He said, he's going to speed up the process because he doesn't want me to spread a certain embarrassing video of him."
Ty pulled up a picture and showed it to Bourne making eyes glow brighter. "Yeah, don't try to blackmail me when I have this."
He just responded by showing Ty a video as well. "And before you try deleting it, know that there's backups hidden behind several layers of encryption and passwords on several sites...and this is not the only one, it's just the only one I kept to show you." He said with an evil smile. "Being stuck in your body for a bit had its advantages, few though they were."
"Stuck in his body? What the hell are you talking about?"
"Long story you wouldn't believe. So how about you...tell you what. Speed up the biotics, and that knife from the Krogan is all yours."
Ty tapped his foot again and the machete shot out of the ground into his hand. "Booyah, I already got it."
He glared at him, then looked at Cecelia. "Do I need to tell her about a certain...incident with Layla?"
"Go ahead and tell her. I don't care."
"What's that you're talking about Bourne?" Cecelia asked, voice icy cold.
"I think it's fair to say she'd be more creative than any threat I could come up with. Or you can just speed up...oh, I get it. You don't want to admit that there's finally something that's impossible for you to do."
"You know, I'm not stupid. You are going to try and play me and to that I say, I can't speed it up anymore without risking making your amps glitch."
"Then I guess you can call the council back and say we'll be a little bit later than you said."
"Why? And what were you going to say about Ty's ex?"
"Because I'm not going anywhere near them without biotics, and if I have to...well, let's just say you're not the only one who can find ways to get what they want. And as to the second one...I was actually bluffing. I suppose I could have thought of something if I tried...or I could ask the lady downstairs who has all of your memories and is really unhappy with you both right now."
"I gave Hannah all my memories of relevant missions. Nothing that she could use against me."
"Are you sure?" He asked deviously. "That's not what she said to me."
"I'm sure, if she did then she was lying. I cut everything that was embarrassing or showed any of my monstrous acts."
He just smiled wickedly and walked out of the comm room. "I'd call them back if I were you Shepard."
She looked at Ty. "What the hell is he talking about-" She was cut off as an impact suddenly shook the entire ship. She activated the comm to the bridge. "Joker, what the hell just happened?"
"Something just hit us."
"At FTL?"
"Not sure what happened, but I think a meteor got sucked through a mass relay by accident."
"What? The chances of that have to be-"
"I've only ever heard of it happening once before."
She swore under her breath. "What's the damage?" She was suddenly knocked off her feet as the ship slowed abruptly. "Uh, Drive Core just shut down, along with a few other noncritical systems. Looks like it'll take about 60 hours to repair."
The door suddenly opened and Bourne walked back in, grinning slightly. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
"How...there's no way you could have-"
"Stupid as it sounds, rather than 'coding' like Ty, I just can have very good luck." He leaned against the wall, spinning a knife in his hand. "Better than my other plan though."
Joker's voice came over the comm again. "Alert, we are being boarded!"
"And then there's the times my luck is not just terrible, it's so unlikely it defies even my expectations." He said, storing the knife. "Which unlike the other one was not intentional."
Ty smacked Bourne in the back of the head- though the only reaction from the biotic was a roll of the eyes- and walked to the door. "You idiot, wait here both of you. I got some work to do and it may involve using parts of the ship to smash Geth."
"Unless it isn't Geth." Bourne said, eyes suddenly turning purple as his broew furrowed.
The door to the comm room opened and a Krogan Battlemaster stood at the door looking down at Ty. "Hey."
Ty held up a finger as the Krogan pulled his fist back for a punch to get him to pause. "Wait, can I have a last words?"
The Krogan stopped and cocked his head to the side. "What?"
"Data purge." Ty's zero fired off and launched the Krogan into the galaxy map.
"You know, I have a gun that fires explosive rounds and could have killed him in maybe 4 shots." Bourne commented, said gun in hand. A moment later, the Krogan was somehow standing in the spot he'd been before, looking unharmed. "What the hell just-"
He was cut off as Bourne's pistol fired several rounds and splattered his brains across the far wall. "Okay...for once, I can't say I told you so, because I'm not sure what just happened."
"Bourne, I hate it when physics stand in your favor."
^So, we gave Cecelia some caffeine and the Normandy got invaded?^
S7: Yes.
~What the fuck happened? I was gone for like ten minutes and this is what you do?^
(Was it really only ten minutes? The blessed silence seemed to last far longeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer.)
)Uh, why were there like a hundred 'e's?(
*I slammed his head into the keyboard for being an ass.*
~Thanks Hero.~
S7: Okay, so has anyone seen the new update from Bioware on twitter about Mass Effect 4.
^Space Nun!^
*So, maybe Justicars?*
T117: I'm just glad Asari are back.
*Cause there's the possibility of lesbian make outs again?*
T117: No!...Okay, yeah, maybe there is that. But it's more cause it's a good sign that more of the other races could make returns.
S7: Well, they are talking about little to no Krogan or Quarian present.
(Boo!) *Lame.* )Boo on no Krogan, don't really care about the latter unless it means no Geth either.(
^I think the problem is all the choices and how they will need to work with it and make a game that doesn't in any way give to any of the endings. All you will know is Shepard saved the day.^
~So, they are pulling an Elder Scrolls?~
^Bingo.^
T117: Bloody cop out is what it is; if that's what they're doing, my hopes for the game are significantly less now.
)Yeah, they should've just taken the same species and changed the backstories from reapers and protheans and stuff to something new. Or hell, throw in some time travel, like someone travels back in time and changes up the timeline.(
(...What, like Star Trek?)
)...pretty much.(
T117: That or make Shepard someone else, or even kill Shepard so someone else takes his/her place. Same with Saren and co.
S7: Well, on a lighter note, I have uploaded chapter 9 of Users: Prime.
T117: Yeah, I gotta be honest man; I think you may have set the goal a bit too high. One chapter a week is doable, but anymore than that is just asking for sudden inability to write.
(How would you know? It's been...I dunno, probably over a year since you were releasing anything without having a huge backlog.)
S7: It's more of my own sheer laziness that is doing it. Plus, I am kinda falling into the one chapter a week.
^Once he hits Summer then it will be extremely doable.^
T117: Yeah, I'm just saying. I thought I could rewrite my entire story over summer break, and I got...I think nineteen chapters done in all that time. You're doing way less than that, but still.
(Well, if it's just cause he's lazy, then when he does, it isn't going to make a difference...sorta.)
S7:Plus, I am halfway to my goal for the rewrite. Then it is just editing.
T117: I'm not trying to discourage you, just saying that it's better to go for something you can meet when you're working on so many things at once.
S7: Well, Users 2: Glitched comes out the 23rd of October, no matter if I finish Users: Prime or not.
T117: I say if for some reason you can't finish it- and I think you can- you could always replace the original Users chapters with the new Prime chapters.
S7: It shouldn't be too hard.
T117: Dude, I've helped you write some of it. I think I know the level of difficulty; it's not all that high.
(Yeah, pretty easy to improve on something that sucked so much to start withhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh)
)So, how's that keyboard tasting Iron?(
*Man, I wanted to do that.*
)You get the next one.(
S7: You know, most people reading this story would probably agree with Iron.
T117: Users was good. It was just...unpolished as far as the writing itself went. Like the plot just didn't quite translate into words the way you did it...I dunno how to really describe it. I just know that Prime is definitely better.
(Of course it is- I've cameoed in a couple of the author's notes. Anything with me in it automatically becomes funnier.)
)You're right, a giant blender would be pretty funny if I threw you into it.(
^Speak for yourself, I think it sucks worse then Users.^
)...Okay, this I can't wait to hear the logic behind.(
^I am getting stabbed, cut, blasted, blown up, and smashed a second time.^
)Yeah, so did I. Hell, he gave me another scar cause instead of having me get stabbed directly in the liver, he had me get stabbed on the other side, then the liver was poisoned so they had to cut me open on that side to replace it.(
T117: Well, if the krogan had the knife in his right hand, that's what'd probably happen. Besides, I also made you way more mature and toned down the stupidity...or transferred it to Iron.
^Still, it sucks. Bourne, we should unionize.^
)Yeah, but if we did that, they'd also probably have to stop torturing Iron, so I'll stick with how things are as is.(
^Why? We just don't have Iron in our union.^
)Unfortunately he's a package deal.(
^How?^
T117: Because shut up.
S7: We better go before they start making a list of demands.
(I say if we do, we demand every author's note comes free wit-
)Heh, good luck typing with the keyboard USB cut in half.(
T117: Yeah, leaving seems prudent. Sayonara.
S7: Alright, if you get the chance after reading this, head over to Users: Prime and leave me a review if you like it. 14732.