Tali:
Tali was awoken from her nap as the ship jolted to a stop and slammed her into the the side of the pod. "Bosh'tet."
She began struggling to wake herself up, and opened her eyes to see a man welding her into the pod. Her body began to move on it's own as she pressed herself against the cushion. Next, she worked her legs up to the glass and began to push.
It was hard and she slammed her hand into the glass to crack it. The crack flowed down the glass and then began to circle around the exterior until it broke and landed on the man welding her in. She shoved out with her feet, launching the glass out of the pod and into the man, sending him back against the row opposite her. She drew her knife as she got out, and saw that he was unconscious. She kept it out anyway, and activated her omni-tool, ready to overload anyone else that tried attacking her.
She was ready to fire on a man that was running at her but he fell on his face halfway there, and she saw the hilt of a knife sticking out of his back. "You alright?" Bourne asked as he approached, eyes scanning the area for more, another knife already in his hand. She briefly wondered how he already had his armor on.
Of all the people for her to be saved by and see first thing in the morning, he was the last. She stood up and grabbed her knife that was buried in the man wiping it on her suit. "I'm fine, go help someone else."
He gave her a flat look. "The explanation is a long one, but I'd feel better if-"
He wheeled around as the doors opened, and she saw him tense up as a man walked into view.
"Sorry I'm late." The man said, and she recoiled when she saw his face. It was almost identical to Bourne's, but it had deep scars that glowed the same ugly shade of red as his eyes. His armor was almost the same shade. "But art can't be rushed." Even his voice was similar- as if his throat had been burnt but never healed.
"Didn't expect you to be so predictable." Bourne said coldly, stepping slightly to the side, putting himself between him and Tali.
He laughed. "Come now, do you really think I'd miss the chance to recreate my finest work?...actually, it's tied for first. Wiping out a few hundred thousand batarians at once I like just for the numbers and with this one nobody died...but it's more personal. Oh, and don't bother trying to get into my head to have this conversation. I want anyone to be able to hear."
Ty popped out of a glitch in the ceiling but was still half in it so he was hanging there. "Bourne and Tali… and Iron, oh you guys are going to love this!" Ty smacked the ceiling with his fist and the ground under the man- or apparently Iron-fired up like a piston and then another one fired from the ceiling and smashed him to the ground.
He just laughed as he got up, and Ty suddenly seemed forced out of the ceiling and onto his head. "You think that's going to work while things are in Bourne and my court?"
He was suddenly thrown sideways, glowing purple. "It's my court too Bronze." Hero said as she stepped into view, biotics at the ready.
He stood up and laughed again. "While even I admit you're a very powerful biotic-" He glowed, and his biotics were crimson. "I'm far more powerful."
He shot forward and slammed her against the far wall. "And you don't have the power Bourne and I do." He turned to Ty. "Incidentally, if you were wondering how your friend Danny's attempt to keep me out failed...well you're just going to have to keep wondering, aren't you?" He laughed maniacally.
A glaive flew from around the corner and buried itself into Iron's back. "Leave the racist alone."
The maniac just pulled it out with a shrug and turned to Drew. "Racist?...wait, isn't that the piece of crap armor you two were wearing when I first showed up and you were in the wrong bodies?"
"Pretty much." Bourne answered. "Drew, stay back. I'm the only one that can match him right now."
Drew put his hand out and the glaive flew back into it. "I think you will find that I am the correct choice to fight designation Iron Shepard currently."
"Shepard?" Tali wondered aloud.
He laughed, and then flew forward into Drew, slamming him against the wall, and punching him through it for good measure. "Bourne, don't try to pretend. I know your biotics are inactive, that's half the reason I came now. And as for your question Tali'zorah nar rayya…"
She finched slightly. "How do you know who I am?"
Drew disintegrated into a swarm and began to form around Iron and then pulled himself off Iron and stood his ground casually. "I think you will find that you're now on the same level as Bourne.:
He was suddenly blasted back by something Tali couldn't see, and Iron's biotics started to glow again. "You think it's only code I can change? Anything out place, I can correct. It put Bourne back in the right armor, it put you both back in the same bodies...and ah crap, I just turned your biotics back on, didn't I?"
Bourne answered by flicking his wrists and activating the biotic lashes. "Even better."
"You will now need your biotics reset again." Drew commented as he put himself beck together.
"Totally worth it." He said as the tables glowed blue and moved to the side.
"You think you can match me Bourne?" Iron asked with a laugh that said he clearly though otherwise. "Saren's made me more powerful than ever."
Bourne answered with a grim chuckle of his own. "Thanks to you and Ty, I'm three times as powerful as a normal biotic. And even if you're more powerful-" He spun on his heels and was teleported behind Iron. "-I'm a lot better."
He charged the maniac point blank before he could turn around, and he was launched into the door of Shepard's cabin. "And more than that- I'm just more determined to win."
"I doubt that." Iron said as he got up.
"You see everyone as a potential corpse. You want to kill everyone equally. Me, I see certain people as very important to me. And when you threaten them-" His blue biotics were joined by red and purple. "That's when I really get pissed."
Iron charged at him, but he teleported out of the way and he slammed into the wall instead. "And unlike you, I control my emotions. They don't control me."
He turned back around, rubbing at his nose. "Except that you also care about keeping me alive deep down." He gestured to the rest of the group. "Because while you're not as messed up as me, you're close. And having me around makes you look better in comparison. Think about all the people you've killed to keep yourself alive and well. That friend you paralyzed to keep your girlfriend alive. That girl you stabbed with her own knife- you've got the scar for that one." He smiled. "Have you planned Raptor's funeral yet?"
Iron began to laugh but stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Hey sexy", the hand spun him around and Cecelia punched him in the face so hard that he flew across the room and into the lunch table.
"I think I'm in love." He said as he got up.
"Dude!" Bourne exclaimed.
"Hey, you know what they say about-" he was cut off as Hannah reaved him from behind Cecelia. "Bourne, would you-"
He charged at him and detonated the explosion, tearing a hole in the wall. But as he grabbed Iron by the throat and threw him into the ceiling, it seemed to repair itself. "Hero, floor!"
She launched a reave a split second after he threw something himself, and a hole opened in the floor under Iron as he fell. It sealed itself behind him.
"What are you doing?" Cecelia asked angrily.
"I'll have more room in the cargo bay. Because one way or another-" His eyes glowed red. "I'm ending this." He spun on his heel and was gone.
"He is such an idiot sometimes." Hannah commented, limping slightly as she walked over.
"What do you mean sometimes?" Cecelia growled. "Come on, we need to get down there. Ty."
Ty grabbed her around the waist, "On it." They shot into a glitch in the floor and were gone.
Tali looked over at Hannah and pointed to a chair. "Sit there and I will reset your leg."
She just kicked forward a bit and was standing up straight. "Thanks, but I'm already good." She glanced at the elevator. "Drew, can you access the security or something to see if Iron brought anyone else with him?"
Shepard:
Cecelia quickly reoriented herself as she and Ty stepped out of the glitch and saw Bourne with his boot to Iron's throat, the latter still on the ground from when he'd fallen.. He didn't seem to even realize they were there as his biotics glowed red. "I'm done Iron. One way or another, this is the last time you hurt anyone."
Iron managed to lift the leg enough to wheeze. "What's the matter? Not like you won't hurt them yourself."
"He won't", Ty walked up and looked more pissed than ever. "He won't because Bourne isn't you, he isn't Hero, and he sure as hell isn't all of you combined. So quit acting like he is a part of you when you are three separate entities that just have to co-exist in the same body."
That just made the maniac laugh harder. "Don't you get it- I am him. I'm his dark side, and Hero's his light. All the good and all the bad- or at least she was all his good."
Bourne's foot stomped harder onto him. "What the hell's that supposed to mean?"
"Cecelia's this Shepard, remember? Your own powers are making us more like her. With me there's no difference, but with her-" he was cut off as Bourne reached down, grabbed him by the head, and snapped it around so his head was facing backwards as he fell to the ground limp. A moment later, he was standing upright again. "You had to know that wouldn't-"
Bourne cut him off by shoving a knife into the top of his head and pushing him onto the ground.
A moment later, the same thing, he was unharmed. "How many times are-"
This time Bourne shot him.
"I'm-" Shot again. "Just-" Shot again. "Going-" This time a knife took him down. "To keep-" Back to the gun. "Coming back."
Bourne snapped his neck again.
This time he charged backwards as soon as he was back up. "Seriously? Even I'd get bored killing the same person that many times in a row."
"Normally, so would I. You're the one exception."
"One word. Udina."
"...Maybe."
Cecelia walked forward and put her hand on Bourne. "Can I give it a try?"
"Knock ourselves out!" Iron said with a hysterical laugh. "Maybe this time I can stab you instead of that quarian bitch upstair-" He doubled over, hands on his crotch.
"Yeah, getting bored of killing you. Now I'm just going to torture you." Bourne said, throwing a second knife there and then teleporting in front of him and kicking both knives deeper into his junk. "Then, I'm going to tie you down and make you watch the entire run of My Little Pony. Then, I'm going to have Ty change you into a chick and we'll braid your hair. Then- Cecelia, have you ever actually spaced someone, or just used it as a threat? Because if you've never actually tried it, I've got the perfect guinea pig in mind."
She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Yes I have. Now, I need your help with Iron. Stand him up and let him biotic charge me."
Of all things, Iron and Bourne exchanged the same look. "You know, I think she's crazier than me." The maniac said as he pulled the knives out with a wince.
"She's a female." Bourne said simply.
"And an alternate version of me too." He said with a laugh. "Imagine when she finds out "Hannah" is too."
Cecelia readied herself and clenched her fist. "By this point, I can believe that she is Bizzaro Shepard. Now let him charge me."
Iron brushed off fake dust. "Damn, and here I was hoping for surprise. And seriously, I've heard you punch harder than the last version of me. I'm insane, not stupid."
Bourne pointedly slammed another knife into his crotch, causing him to double over in pain. "Bourne...if we weren't both male...I'd propose to you right now."
He stared for a moment before taking a step back.
"Bourne, aim him at Cecelia and hit him in the left kidney." Ty called while leaning against the same crates as Wrex, recording what was going on.
"Yeah, FYI, he did the same thing to you Bourne." Iron said.
Bourne slammed his hand into the specified place, and he shot forward. Cecelia reacted instantly and pivoted on her left foot bringing her right fist over her head and slamming it into his chest, shattering his chestplate.
Iron dropped to the ground in front of her and held his chest wheezing. "Why did that actually hurt?"
"Why did that actually work?" Bourne asked in response. "I mean, I've seen some unlikely shit...but that...Ty, you got that on video, right?"
"Hells yeah I did."
He teleported over to Cecelia, unable to hold back a grin. "High five."
Cecelia put her foot on Iron's side and pushed him over while giving Bourne a high five. "So, still think you are in love Iron?"
"Don't answer that." Bourne said as the maniac opened his mouth. "Ty, send that thing my way, will you?"
Cecelia smiled down at Iron and brought her heel down on his jaw and broke it. "You want to know how I punch as hard as I do?"
If Iron said yes, she couldn't understand him though his gargled bloody mouth.
"Well, I'm going to tell you anyway since I can't understand what you are saying. And the reason is that I have no idea how I do. It's one of those things that since I could punch I could punch hard." She smiled at the others. "One time, I broke a kids arm with one punch in kindergarten."
"And is that supposed to somehow surprise us?" Bourne commented, looking down at Iron. "He's not regenerating like before. And that blow was certainly severe enough…" he grabbed his belt knife and held it out to her. "I will literally pay you ten thousand credits right now if you castrate him with this thing."
Iron made a noise that was clearly surprise and shock..
"Call it payback for...well, not everything, but it's a start."
She took one of the knives from Bourne and knelt down by Iron. "Okay, which testical is your favorite?"
Iron shot backwards and against the far wall, cowering.
"You any good at throwing knives?" Bourne asked.
"Not at this range."
Bourne promptly threw one of his own that landed directly between Iron's eyes. "Well, now's a good as any to practice. In fact-" He bent a couple of his new knives and threw them at Iron, where they locked around his wrists and ankles and pinned him to the wall. "By the way, he's mentally saying that you're...wow, he is insane. I don't even want to repeat it about you."
Cecelia smiled devilishly as she spun the knife in her hand and took two steps toward Iron but something stopped her. It was like someone was trying to talk to her and tell her that she wasn't as insane as the man she was going to castrate. It told her that she wasn't a monster like him. The voice was calm and soothing but at the same time it angered her because it was right.
She dropped the knife and looked over at Ty. "Throw me my pistol."
Ty grabbed it off the table and threw it to her.
Bourne caught it with his biotics and held it front of her as he pulled his own off his side, holding it out to her as well. "Since apparently if I do it he'll heal-" He looked over at Iron, eyes suddenly glowing red. "Yes, I know I said nobody else was allowed to touch it, but I am totally going to make an exception here...because I hate your guts."
She handed him the knife and took Bourne's pistol. "You are probably wondering why I am just going to kill him instead of torture."
"Lady, as long as he ends up dead, I honestly couldn't care- Wait wait wait!" He activated his omni-tool and brought up the video recorder, aiming it square at Iron. "And, go ahead."
She pulled the pistol up and aimed it at Iron's head. "Iron, you owe thanks to Hannah that you are going to hell as a man rather than an it."
She fired Bourne's pistol four times and blew Iron's head off. He began to disintegrate into the same golden aura that he did when Ty hit him with the golden fist thing.
"Okay, I know I said ten thousand for the other thing, but-" her omni-tool beeped and she saw he'd transferred five thousand to her account. "I'm not going to complain." He held out his hand, and she gave him back his pistol, snagging her own out of midair.
She looked between Bourne and Ty. "Okay, why the hell did I hear Hannah talking to me?"
They exchanged a look.
"Well...fuck if I know." Bourne said, storing his pistol.
Bourne:
I looked at the spot Iron had vanished with a sense of euphoria, but rather than feeling like weight had lifted off my shoulders, it somehow felt more. What'd he'd said about liking having him around to be a villain...and the comment about Raptor's funeral hit me harder mentally than even Cecelia's hardest punch.
^The fuck is she talking 'bout?^
)Hero? Was that you?(
*Was what?*
^Did you talk Cecelia out of torturing Iron?^
*...Hell, I'd ask her to castrate that fucker.*
)...You've been spending waaaaaaaay too much time around me.( That was the other thing bothering me. If Iron was right about me somehow making her more like Cecelia...on the other hand, if it wasn't Hero, it must've been her conscious talking to her or something. And any other one us would have done it gladly before finishing him off.
^Maybe that's what separates Iron from Cecelia. She does what she does because she is trying to execute the mission as fast and efficient as possible. She's not a monster, she's a soldier.^
)Ty, I truly wish I could believe that. But there's a reason she's known as the Butcher of Torfan. Even if deep down she's a good person…even if she has different reasons, if she acts the same as Iron, what's really the difference?(
*The same argument could be made for you.*
)Yeah. It could.(
^Well, there is one choice that she can make and it will define her completely. Save the council, Don't risk the human lives, or fuck the council.^
)I hardly think one action can completely define anyone. Especially since I had at least 2 paragons sacrifice the council and one renegade save them. And I gave the order to Joker in my universe, and I'll tell you know I'm anything but a hero.(
*The measure of an individual can be difficult to discern from actions alone.*
^That's an opinion, not a fact.^
)And you're quoting your boyfriend, so chances are you're a little biased. Or would it have the same impact on you if someone besides Thane said it?(
*And you're not biased towards yourself by focusing way more on the negatives of what you've done than the positives?*
)When I saw I'm no hero, it's based on cold hard facts.(
*Some of it is, yes. But most of it is you letting yourself take responsibilities for Iron's actions.*
)If I'd been more alert, he might not have taken over in the first place.(
*Don't give me that- he had you beat the moment the cipher was in your head, and you had no way around it, and no way you could have known it was coming.*
^Lets just agree that I'm right and move on. What do you guys feel like for food? I kind of want some cheese burgers.^
)Hey Ty, didn't Drew say something about me needing my biotics reset again? How about you do that before I give into temptation and smack you across the room with the lashes.(
*I love you suggest, ask, demand, and threaten all at once.*
)Well, according to a certain tally he's keeping in the medbay, I've already agreed with him five times too many...though I'm pretty sure that's not an accurate count.(
*Pretty sure? What happened to having perfect memory?*
)I try not to think about moments like those.(
^Okay, stand still while I stab you in the back and reset your genetic structure.^
*You mean stab with a bunch of code or something, right?*
)You know, it's not like I haven't already been impaled this week. I doubt this can be any worse.(
"Bourne, what's going on with your biotics?" Cecelia asked suddenly, taking a step back and bringing me back to reality.
As I looked down at myself, I saw that my biotics were surrounding me in a field that looked like it'd warp anything that it touched.
Red suddenly appeared amongst the blue, followed by purple a moment later, and I almost felt time slow down as I saw them reacting. I grabbed Ty and Cecelia by their heads and threw them as far from me as I could, then rolled into the center of the cargo bay. With no idea how powerful this blast would be, I didn't want anything nearby that might get turned into shrapnel when it went off.
A moment later, the explosion went off- and instead of a normal biotic explosion, this one hit me with as much force as the ground- which was warped enough it looked like a crater. I felt bones breaking, and the familiar sensation of bruising, even parts of my armor melted to my flesh and multiple wounds and scars were reopened as my body let the energy out.
I collapsed to the ground, pain overwhelming every sensation at once, black tunnel at the edge of my vision, barely keeping myself conscious.
*Bourne! What the hell just happened?*
)It was worse.(
I felt myself fading, and slammed my eyes shut, retreating to the void. As I "opened" my eyes again, I could still feel the pain dimly- which was still pretty bad- but not enough to kill me as I feared it might have otherwise.
I leaned against a wall that I created behind me. )Better than the alternative I suppose.(
*Meaning you'd rather have yourself hurt than someone else? And you say you're not a Hero?*
)Just cause I fight on the side of angels, doesn't make me one.(
Ty stepped into the void and brought up a small laptop and started typing. "God, you screwed this up good."
*To be fair, Iron's the one who reactivated them. How bad are his injuries?*
)Wait, let me guess. Severe bruising over 50-60 percent of my body...feels like about 8 major bones are broken and multiple smaller fractures, probably a concussion and...did my Omega melt itself onto my chest? Because I swear I felt that in particular.(
^Well one out of three isn't bad. Your only break is in your spine. And you are literally warped.^
*That sounds unpleasant…you of all people should have gotten more of those right Bourne.*
)I was being pessimistic. And don't dance around the issue, just hit me with it….and the one I got correct was the Omega thing, right?(
*He told you have something broken in your spine; how is that dancing around it?*
^It is the omega. So, we will have to get you a new one in the Citadel. As for your biotics, you won't have those for four days.^
*Four? What happened to three?*
)Last time, they didn't explode. How long until we reach the citadel?(
*Actually, Joker just made an announcement. Iron's team managed to damage several things needed to get there. All in all, repairs are going to take another 3 days or so, plus having to get to the citadel itself, which'll take another 2, since that asteroid that hit us knocked us off course.*
)Ty, you sure you can still handle this with things apparently completely swinging my way?(
Ty drifted to the side a little bit but caught himself. ^Yeah, I can. Just quit distracting me.^
)Right...you know that since you're in here, you're bound to catch a few stray thoughts no matter what I do?(
Ty smacked the keyboard and a desk and chair appeared to which he leaned on and sat in. ^No, I won't. I can't read your thoughts unless you broadcast them or send them directly my way. It's like being in private chat when you are on xbox live. I can't hear conversations that you have when you switch to in game chat.^
*...you are such a nerd.*
^Fuck off or I will throw up on you when I get out of here.^
)What, did you figure out how to vomit on command?(
^I'm fighting it right now. I get the flu when the universe is in your favor.^
)Wonder why that is. With me, I got a migraine.(
^Probably because I have a different way of comprehending loss of power. I feel weakest when I am chuking my gut out.^
*Whereas he feels weakest when something's up with his head, like Iron trying to take over, or having the cipher shoved into it.*
)Seems like the flu would be more effective though. I can fight while in a lot of pain, but if I was trying not to puke, that would seriously make it hard to biotic charge- or teleport.(
Ty's head fell forward on the keyboard and he didn't move. ^I can't do this now. You are going to have to survive with some fucked up amps for a little bit.^
)That wasn't exactly a small explosion just now.(
*Having a time bomb on board seems like a bad idea...no offense.*
)Lady, I'm already like a timebomb half the time. Simple, I just don't use the biotics.(
*...You couldn't go five minutes without them.*
)I did in Ty's body.(
*Oh yeah, you gave up the biotics for being a demigod.*
)I couldn't use half the powers! Mostly I just asked Drew how Ty did stuff, or guessed and prayed.(
Ty stood up out of his chair and cracked his back. ^I got an idea, I'm going to force a complete system reboot of Bourne's amps and will just work on it when I feel better.^
*So, what, you'll just turn them off entirely?*
^Yep.^ Ty swung his arms out and matrix code began to flood from his system, filling the void.
)I can't believe I'm saying this- but I hope things go back to your way soon.(
*What happened to being able to survive without the biotics?*
)It's not the biotics that make me lethal. It just makes things easier.(
*You just don't like having to get up and get things.*
)That too.(
Suddenly, Everything went dark and I was forced out of the void. I opened my eyes and had to fight back a curse as pain burned across my nerves. I looked down to see my armor almost as destroyed as Ty's had been when I met him, and this time swore openly. "This stuff survives everything everyone else throws at it, and then I'm the one who breaks it? Fuck my life."
"You know Bourne-" I sat up with a wince as Cecelia spoke. "Most people would be more worried about themselves then the armor. Especially with-" she pointed down at my chest. "That."
I glanced down to see a nasty burn in the exact shape of my omega- and I knew there was no way it wouldn't scar. "Meh, cheaper than a tattoo."
Ty suddenly exploded out of my chest like one breaks the surface from under the water and pulled himself out of me. "Someone, get me some pie."
"I swear, that will never not look creepy." I muttered as he stepped out. "And what is with you and pie?"
"I have a serious craving for pie. Ty pointed at Hero,"You have twelve seconds to go upstairs and get me some pie before I turn you into a man."
"And how the hell am I going to do that when the elevator is back to being slow as shit and I can't teleport like Bourne can? Just glitch up there."
He threw up on the ground and it oozed all the way around Hero's feet. "You have twelve minutes then."
She rolled her eyes and bent down to help me up- or at least I thought so until she started carrying me bridal style. "I'll drop Bourne off first and then get you your goddamn pie."
"Hey Bourne-" I looked over at Cecelia as a bright flash went off, and I realized she'd taken a picture with her omni-tool. "You look so cute like that."
"You're welcome." Hero said with an evil chuckle.
"Okay, I'll be honest: I did not see that coming." I said.
"Thank you Hero", Ty said groggily as he sat himself up. "I'll hook you up with anything you want for this."
"I'll have to think about it." She said.
I grinned. "Just get her a copy of Drell For- ow!"
"Sorry, lost my grip." She said, not breaking stride.
"Hell, I'll bring her boyfriend back if she wants it for this."
She stopped short, but didn't turn around. After a moment, she just kept walking, until we were in the elevator.
"You okay?" I asked, seeing tears in the corners of her eyes.
She didn't answer, and I got the sense it was because she didn't know.
"You want him to, yet at the same time you'd feel guilty if you let him?"
She just nodded, looking like she was about to sob.
"Because you don't know-"
I cut myself off as she glared down at me. "Bourne: Shut up."
"Shutting up." I said. More emotion was radiating from her than I would have believed humanely possible, yet I had no idea what she was feeling.
The rest of the ride passed in awkward silence until she walked into the medbay, setting me down on a cot.
She almost seemed to stumble back as she sat down to wait and make sure Chakwas was around.
"He blindsided you with that one, didn't he?"
She nodded. "Let's just say, before I didn't fully get what you were feeling about this Ashley. Now...I think I do." She shook her head. "I made my peace with what happened- not easily, but I managed. Now, I have the chance to see him again...but for how long?"
"Because you'd also feel selfish using this on just yourself?"
She gave me an irritated look. "Bourne, just because I'm a paragon and enjoy helping others, doesn't mean I want to deprive myself of all pleasure in favor of others."
"Sorry, just...I don't know, I don't like seeing my friends hurt."
"I'm fine." She said in that tone that always means the opposite.
I let the lie stand. In the end, it was her decision. She accepted mine with Ash and Tali after all.
Ty:
I sat on the ground and shovelled the pie in my mouth that Hero had brought me. It was delicious and the more that I ate, the better I felt. The only thing that ruined it for me was Hero staring at me trying to figure out if I was kidding her about bringing Thane back. Smiling at her I asked a simple question.
"Something wrong?"
She twitched like she wanted to smack me for asking, but she stayed silent.
"You know, this pie is really good but your mood and attitude is killing the enjoyment." I took another bite off my fork and awaited her answer.
"Do you know how many times in my life I've used an omni-blade?" She asked finally.
"Being a biotic? Once to stab Kai Leng."
"Exactly." She looked down at her hands. "You know long it's been since that day? Exactly 5 months, a week, 2 days, and five hours. I thought I'd made my peace with what happened."
"Okay, and you are telling me this because?"
She sighed. "Because now, your offer has me almost climbing the walls. I mean, how would you react if I told you that I could bring back Layla, back when you enjoyed being with her, knowing what you do now?...forget it, you'd probably react completely the opposite. You always do."
"You're right, I would have dove right into it. Took the chance and held her close one more time. But, that was if she changed." I took another bite of my pie and realized that all that was left was the crust.
She sighed. "Yeah, that's what I thought."
I ate the crust and stood up throwing my arms out to make a grand gesture. "Why don't you do it? Be like me for once Hero. Act on an impulse and just don't contemplate it. Do something out of emotion instead of logic. Be human."
Her biotics flared around her for an instant, and she looked ready to put me through a wall. Instead, she just turned and walked away.
"Imagine if you were on the other side of this! Thane, wants to see you. What would you hope that he would do?"
She stopped, and turned back to look at me. "He would have joined me soon enough anyway. Kepral's syndrome would have seen to that." Something in her tone told me she wasn't really being honest- not entirely.
"Get it through your skull Hero. This won't be the Thane of this dimension or Bourne's but your'. Right after the moment that he died. He would get his second chance… for about thirty minutes."
"That's what scares me most." She said quietly. "Just...give me some time to think about it, okay?"
I shrugged and put my arms down. "You have all the time you need, just don't stare at me to think about your problems. Makes me feel awkward since you're contemplating stare is apparently Cecelia's manipulating stare."
"Just don't ask Bourne which stare it is of Raptor's." She said, heading for the elevator.
I felt my strength begin to come back to me and figured that the universe was out of Bourne's favor. "Well, I'll just ask her."
She stopped dead, and turned around. "You don't mean what I think you mean, do- on second thought, I'd rather not know what you're thinking. Easier to avoid being implicated that way."
"Eh, kind of need a test subject. Was thinking of seeing if I can connect to Bourne's universe. Ask Raptor if she goes Commando as well."
"Unlike certain 'strawberries', some of us are tough enough to take a little bit of heat. I think the only one on that ship who didn't wear anything was Alenko."
I crossed my legs while closing my eyes and put my hands on the ground. "You know what this could mean if I can open a link, Bring Thane here, or even open a portal to another universe? This could be my way home too."
She paused for a moment, then I heard her walk back and sitting down again. "You think you could get to Raptor's universe?"
"I think I might be able to bring something from there to here. It would be like saving an image from the internet verses uploading one to it without a site to upload too."
She glanced in Bourne's general direction, though he was currently having a few of his wounds taken care of- without pain medicine. "Ty, I know there's a lot of evidence to the contrary, but I don't think Raptor's universe is made of code. I think...if anything...Damn this would be easier if I'd paid attention in physics. What it boils down to is alternate timelines and all that, and he was sucked into another real world, based off the last thing he remembered because his brain waves were used as a map. Whereas you-" She glanced around quickly, making sure nobody was nearby. "You got sucked into a purely digital world through your X-box. And when he got hit by that rocket, something happened to his brainwaves again that sent them here. Probably something to do with his amps."
I heard what she said but didn't pay attention to it. I was using Bourne as an intermediate like using google chrome to enter the internet and focused on his universe. There was something very near him that I could lock on to. It was hot, some sort of liquid, and in a cylinder shape. Within seconds, I took it and pulled it across the dimensional lines and right in front of me.
I opened my eyes and looked down at it. "A… coffee cup? Hells yeah!"
"How long have you not been listening to me?" She sighed.
I picked it up and took a long drink from it before realizing that it tasted terrible and spit out. "Blech, way too much cream. Not enough sugar."
"That's because you're holding my coffee cup." She said, snatching it out of my hands. "This was a gift from my mother." She looked at it both fondly, and in satisfaction. "Look Ty...I understand why you want Bourne to be like you. But he's not. You are two wildly different...happenings."
"That's why I am doing this on my own." I sat my hand down on the groudn and readied to try again.
She cut me off with a raised hand. "You're only going to get to my universe or Iron's- or else one of Bourne's other versions, like Shade or Matrix. Raptor isn't made of code- and even if she were, Bourne never actually started her playthrough in the real world. The lightning hit before he could even start- he went to turn it off and planned on just redoing it later."
I closed my eyes and put my hand out. "Alright, then she is one her own. Give me your hands."
"Why?" She said suspiciously. A moment later, she looked in Bourne's direction again. "Also, is he blocking you out too, or is that just me?"
"He is the receiver and sender for our mental link. I reset him so we can't talk to anybody with the mental link. Now, give me your hands so I can use you as a direct link to your universe."
She paused for an uncomfortably long time. "You want to bring Thane out before I can talk myself out of it...or you want another coffee cup."
I smiled. "You going to dive in or contemplate whether you want to get in the water on this hot summer day?"
My eyes were closed, so I couldn't see what she was doing. After several minutes, I cracked one eye open to see she was still standing there, torn between longing to grab my hands and longing to walk away.
Her omni-tool suddenly beeped, and she looked down to open the message. "Hero, you left your comm on...another joke about that time of the month, need to remember to kick him later and...and I think you should do it?" She looked in Bourne's direction again. "Why would he…" She smiled sadly. "More paragon in his meter than he thinks."
After the briefest of hesitations, she reached for my hands, but didn't quite take them yet.
"Well, you gonna take them now or do you want to have a date with Thane on the Citadel?"
She pulled them back. "If it's a one time thing- then Citadel." She grimaced unconsciously. "Besides, I want some time alone with him- and the only way to get any time alone around here is to get put in the medbay...you don't think Bourne…"
"Look, it only affects me in that I will have to give up my body for the time that you take. Thane will take my place in reality and I will be stuck in a limbo sort of state. Basically like being in a coma again but my body won't be visible."
"...you don't mean that your body is going to turn into his or anything, right?"
"No, he will replace me in reality. Kind of like… do you want me to explain it because you seem to only get like half of my explanations?"
"I was just making sure that I wouldn't be hav- wouldn't be kissing you along with him."
I fell back and scooted away from her a bit. "Seriously? On the Citadel? For christ sake woman, show some restraint. You don't need to take him into the sack. Figures that's all you would be thinking about."
"It was not the only thing I planned on doing!...and I would have rented a motel room or something."
I felt myself stare off as I imagined if but quickly stopped before I get too in depth. "Geeze, how much time do you want? Guess best question is, how long can you survive without me?"
She bit her lower lip in a manner uncomfortably like Cecelia. "Joker said 5 days to the Citadel, Cecelia will probably drag you and Bourne off pretty quickly...I think I can make it."
Her omni-tool suddenly beeped again, and she opened it to find another message. "If you decided to actually go through with it, there should be a comfortable cot down- yeah, I'm definitely kicking his ass for this one." She said, covering up part of it.
"Look, I can explain to Cecelia that I have something to take care of for a day."
"I can wait. If for no other reason than to prove Bourne wrong." She flipped the screen so I could read it. If not, I'm pretty sure I heard a few of the lower crewmen saying they had the hots for you. And one of them seems to have a pretty good memory, even though there aren't scales or hallucinogens.
I stood up and stretched my arms out. "Okay, I will give you say twelve hours with Thane. Then, I am going to have to take my place back."
"Thanks." She said, still glaring at the message.
"Leave him alone, he is trying to distract himself from the pain."
"He might not have had worse injuries, but he's been in more pain than this and kept going."
"So, ever wonder what the ghostbusters felt like after getting covered in marshmallow?"
"Are you saying that's what he's feeling, or are we just finally changing the subject?"
"Little from column A and a little from column B."
S7: Uh, I hate being sick.
^Oh, bummer you got a cold. I feel like I am going to die but you know. Your sore throat is more important.^
)At least you didn't explode.(
(Unless the cold mutates into some sorta superbug and wipes out all of humanity.)
^... That won't happen will it?^
S7: I kinda like the idea.
T117: I have an I-phone game based pretty much on that premise.
S7: A super bug that spawns out of the snow?
T117: More just the idea of viruses/bacteria/fungas/other causes of disease evolving into plagues.
S7: Wait, you play Plague inc.? Dude, I do too. What form of disease are you on? I am to fungus.
T117: I beat all the disease types; on normal anyway.
S7: Ah, I am working through on hardcore. I have to say that fungus is the most difficult to beat on any difficulty.
T117: Really? I think Fungus is probably my best. Just keep using the spore clouds and upgrading infectivity, then when everyone's infected- blam, mutated to kill. Virus is my worse cause people notice it sooner cause it mutates.
S7: Virus was my best because I got the zombies and cysts upgrade that made everyone walk around and infect more people.
T117: Don't you mean insomnia? Or did you buy the expansion packs?
S7: The upgrade was called Insomnia but coupled with cysts you get one of those dual effects. Like the Oops effect with coughing and diarrhea.
T117: Yeah, or the...blood thining thing with cysts so people basically drip blood and infect everyone.
(Be right back, going to go buy that.)
S7: You know, you don't get to watch people die. It's just numbers on a screen.
(...Damnit!)
S7: You know, we should start a clan in Clash of Clans.
T117: Seriously, am I the only person who hasn't played that game?
S7: You know, there was a kid at my old high school that was branded on the ass to get back into a clan.
T117:That...sadly doesn't really surprise me.
S7: It was also a teacher's son on a class trip with our DECA.
T117: Yeah, let me put it this way. One of the teachers at my school was so bad, someone crapped in her decorative candle. Like, literally.
S7:... Dude, I bet that kid was smokin some dope.
T117: No, the teacher was just that bad; it basically got everyone's attention that "wait a second, just how bad could a teacher be that she prompts a kid to...wow, she really does suck." As a teacher at least. Nice lady, just shouldn't have taken the honors class her first year teaching.
S7: High School kids are fucked in the head.
T117: Yeah, tell me something I don't know.
(Babies don't blend up as well in a food processor as a plain old blender.)
S7: I kinda hate Pewdiepie.
T117: Yeah, I kinda just don't care about him one way or another. I've watched maybe four of his videos...meh.
S7: Okay, here is a question. What do you think is the best commercial for Mass Effect? My vote is for the Tobuscus Literal trailer.
*Would've been better if he'd done the femshep version.*
T117: You mean the one where she looks nothing like the default femshep in the game?
*You never even use the default designs.*
^Okay, why does it seem like I am the only person in the world that does?^
T117: I dunno, the default maleshep face just never really...I dunno, just not a fan. As for the femshep version, since you can't use the ME3 default in the first or second games, it'd just look completely different once you got to that point since you can only sorta recreate it. And if you're going to do that, you might as well just carry over the face from the second game.
)Which, of course, is my way of thinking about it too.(
S7: You know, I like femshep but she just… Her hair just doesn't look like what I would pick. It needs to be messier, not as formal. She is a soldier, not a politician.
T117: I dunno, military haircuts still have a certain standard.
*Yeah, but after wearing a helmet all day? No way it wouldn't be all messy.*
^I'm just not a fan of how short it is. I like girls hair to be down to their shoulders.^
)Yeah, but again, military standards. Even if they had it longer, it'd need to done up in a bun or ponytail or something so it didn't get in the way or so they could slip the helmet on over it. Besides, haven't you ever seen zombie movies? Long hair can be grabbed at close quarters- you're basically giving the other person a way to move your head exactly how they want it.(
^... It's fiction. They can say fuck what the military believes now. They allow long hair now. Aliens and Final Fantasy did it and both of those are inspirations for Mass Effect.^
(Could also be a hygiene issue. Isn't longer hair harder to wash or something? Especially with blood?)
S7: Just asked my GF, she said that it depends on how thick the hair is. You can have it long if you have straight hair but curly and wavy are a no go.
T117: And like Ty said, it's fiction. If they want to keep that bit of realism in there, that's their decision.
(Yeah, but they also made a decision to end the trilogy a certain way and look how that turned out.)
)Wow, another crack at the ending. Have you heard the expression "beating a dead horse?"(
(Yeah, and I don't get it. That's fun to do!)
^Eh, I am probably going to get flack for this but I took it for what it was and honestly, all my complaints were sated with the new ending.^
)And my main complaint about Shepard dying is mostly sated by headcanon and/or fanfics...hint hint Tre-(
T117: Dude, I'm not even sure of the ending for SaWoF, let alone the entire series. Spike's the one who's got his ending planned out already.
S7: And it is freaking poetic. I just… I seriously think that any fans of Users, all ten of them, will love it.
(Does that ten include the...four other people in the AN universe?)
)Four? Uh, check your math. There's the three of us, Trebor, and CTHI. That's five.(
(What makes you think I'm a fan?)
)You keep cameoing in the AN notes for Prime.(
S7: Yeah, was gonna say that it is kinda weird that you do and yet aren't a fan.
(I'm insane, remember? The best part of being insane is not having to be consistent...one second thought, that's the second best. The best part is all the orphan meat you get to sculpt into pretty dragons.)
S7: Are you cannibalistic?
(I don't think so. T117's got to draw the line somewhere...right?)
^Because if you are you would have the shakes.^
(Would I? I mean, with the cybernetics that can heal damn near anything…)
)Other than your ugly ass face.(
(I'm sorry, weren't you saying something earlier about a dead horse? Or was it the pot and kettle that you were mentioning?)
^Uh, it's a mental thing. Not a healing thing. You would have the shakes if you ate human meat.^
(Dude, we don't need to argue about biology in these things.)
~I think it's because they are just rambling trying to keep the audience entertained.~
)Yeah, tell me about it.( *Old news sister.*
S7: It's not our fault. We don't know what the audience wants us to talk about.
T117: Other than the questions, but if we only did that it'd become boring. And we'd eventually run out of subject matter anyway.
S7: So, can you guys leave us a review and at the end write something that you want us to chat about. And if you would want to join a clan with us.
(Can I be in the clan?)
T117: NO! )NO!( *NO!*
^Sure. Nothing better for clans then a bezerker.^
)...( *...*
T117: You know, he's got a point. Though I'd say bait more than berserker.
S7: Dude, a berserker is one that once bloodlust hits the allied army retreats because he is just in it for bloodlust instead of kills.
T117: Or bait cause while they're focused on him, sneak attack flanking thing.
S7: Alright, well, we better go.
T117: Yeah, I think that it's about that time. So, subjects to talk about, reviews, you know the drill. Sayonara.
S7: 1473I2.