Hey y'all!
I'm so glad you've stuck with me through this silly thing. I hope you've enjoyed the short journey we've had here. I've been doing a Trope Bingo Event for r/FanFiction, and I have managed to work the last three tropes from my bingo card into this final chapter. The tropes I've included are Rescue Romance, Take Up My Sword, and Great Escape.
Without further ado, please sit back, relax, and enjoy this final installment.
Stardust, dATa CoRRuPtEd
Part III: Slancio
Garrus strolled into C-Sec the morning after Shae's performance with an easy confidence, regarding his fellow officers absently as he replayed the night's events over and over in his head. He hadn't expected it to be like that, so vocal and passionate—not that he was complaining. Their intense curiosity and attraction had hindered his control (and Shae's as well, it seemed), which had led to a deeply satisfying experience. Garrus did hope, however, that the next time they were together, they'd take it a little slower. He liked to savor things, after all.
When he found his way to Chellick's office, the older turian's green eyes were narrowed at him, his arms folded as he sat at his desk.
"So," he began amiably, "anything to report, Vakarian?"
Garrus felt his neck flush, but he didn't shy away, "I went to Miss Shae's performance last night. As she'd promised the other day, she reserved a ticket for me."
"Did she now?"
"Yes, sir."
Chellick's head tilted, "And after?"
He held the man's intense gaze, unshaken, "I walked her home."
"Is that all you did?"
Garrus' flush intensified, "No."
The detective barked a laugh, "Being stingy on the details, are you?"
He shrugged, "It's personal, sir."
Chellick sighed, "That it is—and now I owe Lamont a hundred credits."
Garrus snorted, shocked, "You bet on us?"
"It isn't like you two were being particularly discreet, Vakarian. You were seen—both leaving the theatre and at her apartment—by two different patrols. It's the talk of the agency," his partner said, almost sounding impressed.
"I… see."
"In any case," Chellick said, sighing again, "I do hope that whatever happened has satisfied your interest in her. You can focus now that you've put it to bed."
In more ways than one, Garrus thought, damn near saying it aloud. But he thought better of it. He had no intention of leaving Shae either—if she wanted him, she would have him.
Chellick's office door hissed open behind him suddenly, and Garrus turned right as Neltan the volus lawyer charged in (as only a volus could).
"Where—hccck—is she?!" he demanded angrily.
"Who?" Chellick asked, standing.
"Shae, damnit! Hccck—she's been taken—hccck—from her apartment!" Neltan growled, "I know you're—hccck—detaining her! I won't—hccck—stand for it!"
Garrus snapped his eyes down at the lawyer, all his focus on him, "When? How long has she been missing?"
"This morning," the volus said to him. "Early."
"We don't have her, Neltan," Chellick said, rolling his eyes. "She's probably off scheming somewhere."
"I want a personal—hccck—tour of the cells!" he shouted from below.
The detective shrugged, "Fine."
Neltan pointed at Garrus, "YOU! You—hccck—show me!"
He looked back at Chellick, who waved a flippant hand, "Go ahead, but hurry back, Vakarian."
"Yes, sir."
Garrus followed Neltan out of the office, but then quickened his stride to lead the lawyer out towards the agency's personal elevator. There were several floors within C-Sec, and the elevator allowed for private access to each one, the lowest of which were the holding cells.
As soon as the elevator's doors closed in front of them, Neltan turned to Garrus.
"I know you—hccck—don't have her," he told him. "But—hccck—she's in trouble."
Garrus looked down at the volus, "How do you know?" He didn't want to panic—Shae was confident and smart, that much he knew. She also had the biotic implant, and he'd seen firsthand how she could defend herself. But that didn't stop the worry spreading in his chest, making his heart quicken.
"She was supposed to—hccck—meet me for breakfast. But—hccck—she never showed. That's bad," Neltan told him. "We have a protocol—hccck—in place, that, should she—hccck—not show to one of our meetings—hccck—without notice, it is because something—hccck—has happened to her."
"Then why tell me this in secret?" Garrus asked.
The lawyer made an exasperated noise, shaking his head, "Because! A person—hccck—on the Citadel—hccck—needs to be gone for at least—hccck—ten hours before C-Sec—hccck—determines they're missing!"
"I know that," Garrus said, glaring, voice urgent. "I'm asking you, why me?"
Neltan scoffed, "Oh please! Do spare me—hccck—the innocent act, officer. You two—hccck—were very clearly eye-fucking each other—hccck—when I was here before." Before Garrus could interject, the lawyer held up a hand, "Truthfully—hccck—I spoke with the idiot Dekuuna-clan—hccck—who was supposed to be watching—hccck—over her all night, once—hccck—I realized Shae was missing. He told me—hccck—you left with her, and—hccck—I feel like I can trust you, Garrus Vakarian. Hccck—I feel like you know—hccck—she's a good person."
Never thought I'd hear a volus curse like that, Garrus thought. His eyes narrowed further, "Have you been by her apartment?"
He nodded, "It was where I first—hccck—looked for her. Door wasn't locked—hccck—but no sign of struggle."
"What else do you know, Neltan? I get the feeling you're not telling me something…" Garrus hit the pause button on the elevator. "Talk. Fast. I can't pause this thing for long."
Neltan growled, "Her former gang is—hccck—hunting her, I think."
"Yes, I know," he said gravely. "We're trying to figure out their names—do you have anything like that?"
"There's Theo, her former boss," the volus said. "Then the three men—hccck—she ran into the other night—hccck—here on the Citadel. They're Vincent, Leon, and Richter."
"No surnames?"
"Not yet—hccck—but my associate on the Presidium—hccck—is working on getting their—hccck—arrest records," he told him.
"And who is that?" Garrus asked.
The lawyer shook his head, "He won't—hccck—talk to C-Sec—hccck—not an officer like you."
He rolled his eyes, "Will you send them to me, then? Whenever you get them?" This was breaking protocol for C-Sec—performing an unauthorized investigation could get him fired with extreme prejudice, but… this was Shae.
Shae was worth it.
"Of course," Neltan said.
Garrus started the elevator again, antsy. "I just hope she's alright…"
The lawyer nodded, but said, "I have faith in her."
o0o
Garrus returned to Chellick's office a few minutes later, still reeling from the conversation. He thought about his conversations with Shae last night, trying to recall anything that might help him identify the men from the alleyway, but he came up short.
"Was he satisfied?" Chellick asked sarcastically.
Pulled from his panic, Garrus nodded, "Yes. For the moment, it would seem."
"Good." The detective stood from his chair and straightened his back, "You and I have a special assignment today, along with some other senior officers and their partners."
"What is it?" he asked curiously.
"It appears the station is getting a special guest, and the teams are being gathered to escort him as well as guard his ship—that'll be your job, along with the other new recruits," Chellick said pointedly.
Garrus nodded, "Yes, sir." He jutted his chin, "Who is this special guest of ours?"
"A newly-promoted Captain of Earth's Alliance Navy—David Anderson. He's here touring some experimental joint-funded ship that both Palaven and Earth military scientists designed," Chellick answered. "They're calling it the Normandy SR-1."
SS SS SS SS SS SS SS
A harsh hit of the back of someone's armored hand woke Shae, and she hissed in pain. She struggled, but her hands were bound tightly behind her back—the annoyingly old-fashioned way, she realized with a grumble. No hacking out of traditional cord… Her head was throbbing, and her ears were ringing, but she didn't whimper or whine. Blinking until her vision cleared, she saw Vincent smirking at her. She smirked back, and then swiftly bucked her forehead directly into the bridge of his nose, hearing a satisfying crunch. Vincent groaned and backed away from her, his nostrils bleeding.
"Birdie's got bite," she heard Theo rasp from the darkened corner of the room. "You always did. I liked that about you." He emerged, and his mismatched eyes looked her up and down in a way that made Shae's stomach roil in disgust. "Filled out, didn't ya?" Theo said with a cocky grin.
Shae just glared at him.
"Ohh, we're gonna have some fun with you, lucky bird," he promised darkly. "But I promised Aaron the first round. You remember him, birdie?"
Shae spat on the ground.
Theo laughed, "Yeah, you save all that energy for him, baby girl. You're gonna need it. He'll be here any minute, but in the meantime… why don't you enjoy these omni-phones?"
Without warning, a man behind her shoved a device around both her ears, and then Theo conjured his omni-tool, tapping at something on the controls.
A shrill pounding of sound came screaming directly into her ears that made her brain quake in her skull. Theo laughed along with the other goons, speaking words left unintelligible.
Shae screamed, and she couldn't hear it.
GV GV GV GV GV GV GV
Garrus hurriedly walked the halls of the lower wards. He felt explosive, like the lightest touch would set him off. He didn't know where he was going, but he only had so much time before Captain Anderson would arrive. Shae needed to be found, and fast. There had to be someone for him to talk to, someone who knew where low-lifes would congregate. Wherever these gang men were, they'd be in the lower wards—but the wards were immense, and easy to hide in…
He made a turn, headed down a ramp, deep in his thoughts. Garrus didn't know whatever horrors they would bestow on her, and it didn't help picturing it. I'll find you, Shae, he thought.
Looking up, he found himself in the marketplace of the wards, bustling with people of all races. It was noisy and smelled a little like fuel, and Garrus fought the noise as he scanned the crowd.
In a shadowed corner, he spotted the krogan mercenary he'd met after Shae's performance, and then swiftly approached him.
"Wrex," he greeted.
The krogan looked at him, giving a rough jut of his chin in a mild greeting, "Turian."
Garrus straightened, "You remember me, correct?"
Wrex blinked slowly in response.
"I need to know if you've run into anyone calling themselves, 'The Tenth Street Reds,'" he said quietly, out of earshot of those nearby. The market buzzed with life behind him.
"And if I did?"
"I'd be grateful for the information," Garrus told him flatly.
Wrex grunted, "How grateful?"
His eyes narrowed, "I cannot pay you for it. That would be violating at least a hundred C-Sec codes, as well as a few dozen laws."
The krogan assessed him for a moment, looking him up and down, "Something tells me you're already doing something you shouldn't." A side of his mouth quirked in a greedy smile, "So again I ask, how grateful?"
"I don't have time to haggle with you about this," Garrus told him curtly, his eyes narrowing. "There… might be a life at stake."
"Yeah, and why should I care about some turian I don't know?"
"It's not a turian," Garrus said, "it's a human."
Wrex paused, "The ballerina."
"Yes."
He snorted, "Is she an ex-girlfriend to one of those assholes, or something?"
Garrus glared, "Something like that. So you have met them."
"Possibly. Might be that one of those Tenth Street Reds was mouthing off in Chora's Den a while back. Maybe he tried to start a fight in the bar, but ran away when he noticed me there." Wrex stepped forward, grumbling, "And maybe, I later saw him with a group of his friends outside one of the shipping warehouses in Zakera Ward."
"You think you could tell me where?"
"On one condition," Wrex countered.
He sighed, "And what's that."
The krogan pointed at him, "You let me come along."
Garrus let out a short laugh, puzzled by that, "Why would you want to?"
Wrex shrugged casually, "I got my reasons…"
SS SS SS SS SS SS SS
She was dizzy. Her stomach lurched, but she wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing her get sick. Shae held fast, trying to see what she could through her blurred vision. Whatever sound device they were using on her ears made it impossible to summon her biotics—she couldn't muster the concentration. So, she simply grit her teeth and bore the disorienting pain, glaring at the fuzzy silhouettes of Theo and the others.
When the shrieking of the device suddenly stopped, the silence that followed was almost painful in its own right, and it was hard to feel relieved from it all.
Shae blinked a few times, her vision clearing once more, and she saw a new person had joined the group of men.
"Ahh, morning there, darlin," a slithery voice rasped. "My, my… you've changed over the years. Pretty thing, aren't you?"
"Fuck you, Aaron," Shae said, glowering at him. "You're a monster."
Aaron just laughed, shaking his head, "You've got a sharp tongue there. Always were a smart cookie. That plan you worked out with the cops was pretty clever."
"I didn't talk to the cops, you asshole," Shae said to him, but glancing at all the others. "Why the fuck are you mad at me, anyway? Theo's the one that sold the rest of the gang out when he got arrested." She smirked at Theo, "You used to call us a family—but all that went out the window when you got caught, huh? How much did you get shaved off your sentence for snitching?"
Theo growled, "You little—"
Aaron held a hand out, "Now, now—I get the first go, remember? You promised." He dug in the pocket of his medical coat and pulled out an old-fashioned scalpel. "Besides, when I'm done with her, she won't have such a sharp tongue anymore…"
He began to approach her, a sinister grin spreading across his mouth as he held up the blade. Shae fought against her bindings, glaring at him, refusing to scream. Aaron's free hand shot out to clamp around her jaw, and before his fingers could flex, Shae spat in his face—it hit directly between his eyebrows and she smirked proudly.
Aaron laughed, wiping his forehead with a sleeve, "That's good, girlie. That's real, real good. Now… open up!" He went back to grabbing her jaw forcefully, pressing his fingers and thumb into each cheek until her mouth opened. She tried to bite his fingers, but it only made him laugh harder. The scalpel flashed in her eyes, and the cool metal touched her lip—
A door hissed open behind her, and Aaron immediately backed away, putting his hands up, "Shit…"
"Well, well, well—what have we here?" a dual-toned voice said smoothly.
Garrus?!
Shae gasped and turned her head as much as she could, but was unable to see him. She struggled more against her bindings.
"Looks like a torture party to me," a deeper, gruffer voice said, also behind her. It sounded familiar…
"Seems that way," Garrus agreed.
"What the fuck is C-Sec doing here?" Richter asked from the corner, his hands up.
Garrus' voice feigned innocence, "I was just doing my rounds as a patrolman, and then I hear shifty sounds coming from this warehouse that's supposed to be empty." He tutted his tongue, "And then I find this."
Theo peered at the intruders suspiciously, "You're not here in official capacity, are you?"
A gun cocked.
"Who says I'm not?" Garrus asked.
"You can't just shoot us," he snorted, mismatched eyes glaring.
"No," Garrus agreed. "But he can. Wrex?"
A three-round spurt of bullets hit Vincent in the leg, and he screamed in pain.
"Oops," Wrex said. "Should have checked the safety."
"I'm taking her," Garrus insisted, and Shae felt him step close behind her. She could feel his leg touching her bound hands. "And you lot are going to get to know my krogan friend really well. After that… well, I know who you are now—and I know none of you are supposed to be associating with each other now that you're out of prison—so you'll be getting a visit from more of my friends very shortly."
The energy in the room shifted, and Theo glared with the rest of the group—save for Vincent, who was still wailing on the ground, clutching his shredded leg. Shae saw Richter's hand reaching behind him, and Leon stepped towards a crate where his gun was sitting.
In a flash, Garrus severed Shae's bindings with his omni-blade, and she quickly sent a biotic blast towards Richter, knocking him on his back. Garrus fired his pistol at Leon, and the shot hit his hand, blowing hole through it. Another wave of blue light went out, and instead of knocking Theo back into the wall—it enshrouded him and froze him in place with a barrier. Shae looked at her hands—she didn't do that.
They both looked at Wrex in shock.
The krogan cocked his shotgun with a shrug, "What? Never seen a krogan biotic before?" He jerked his head towards the door, "Go, I can hold these guys off for now."
Shae stood and she felt Garrus put his arm around her protectively. "Thank you, Wrex," he said genuinely.
"Bah, I'm just doing this to get their credits and weapons, turian—don't flatter yourself."
"Of course," Garrus said with laugh. He looked down at Shae. "Come on, we need to hurry."
Shae nodded, and they quickly left the warehouse. Her legs were recovering, and she started to run. "Thank you, Garrus," she told him, panting. "I… I wasn't expecting that."
"No?" her turian officer asked cheekily. "I thought someone like you had all your bases covered."
"It's not my fault," Shae told him as they reached a cab station. "I was rather distracted the night before—don't you recall?"
He chuckled, typing a few things on the cab terminal, "Oh, I remember our time together, Miss Shae." A few moments later, the cab showed up to the station, and he opened the door for her. "Get in, and get somewhere safe. Call Neltan when you can."
Shae nodded quickly, stepping towards the cab, "Wait." She paused, turning around.
"Shae, I don't have ti—"
She yanked him town to her mouth, kissing him fiercely and slipping her tongue against his. She memorized the texture of his entirely alien mouth, parting from him reluctantly.
"Thank you," she whispered again. "I'll see you again soon."
"I certainly hope so," he told her. "Now, go."
Shae turned back around and slid herself into the cab, typing in an address. Emotion squeezed at her heart, a tightness in her chest. She closed her eyes as the cab sped away, knowing what she would have to do…
GV GV GV GV GV GV GV
C-Sec came to the shipping warehouses soon after Shae left, where they found the former Tenth Street Reds in a single heap of tangled, armored limbs, all of them groaning in pain from being tossed around with biotics. Curiously, none of them had the weapons Garrus had seen when he first came into the warehouse, and they complained of having their credit chits stolen—complaints that fell on the deaf ears of C-Sec agents rounding them up and hauling them off. Guess Wrex got his payment after all, Garrus thought.
Thankfully, no one suspected anything of Garrus—he was just in the right place at the right time. Chellick eyed him heavily, but said nothing. The arrest was a big one, and deserved to be lauded for a new recruit.
But now, as he stood outside the Normandy SR-1 with his fellow junior partners, Garrus could only think of Shae, and not the victory he'd achieved.
Neltan had gotten him the information on the Reds who were on the station, and there were smaller cells of them sighted throughout Council space and the Terminus Systems, likely in a certain amount of communication with each other. If it was known to any of them that the Citadel group was hunting Shae—with their leader heading the search—the cells outside the station might come after her once word reached them about today. And that meant…
Shae would have to leave.
Garrus stood with the other C-Sec officers guarding the stealth ship, and he sighed quietly to himself. Chellick's words from his first day echoed in his mind, "Women like her, Vakarian, they don't stick around for long…"
I just had to fall for a criminal, didn't I? Garrus thought sadly. Dad would be absolutely livid with me.
Just then, everyone's omni-tools starting pinging with the tone of C-Sec Command's urgent message alert, and Garrus joined his fellow officers in opening it.
"They're switching out our unit," one of the human officers said. "We're to report to Citadel Tower immediately."
"We can't leave the ship unattended," an asari next to him protested. "We should at least wait until the replacement unit arrives."
Garrus read his message, and it simply said: YOU STAY PUT, HANDSOME.
"I'll stay behind until they get here," Garrus blurted. "I'll call for backup if I need it."
The rest of the group looked at each other, shrugging. "Alright, if you're sure about it," another human said.
"Go ahead," he told them, giving a polite nod. They left after a short goodbye, stepping as a group into the docking bay lift. Now alone, Garrus simply waited, taking another deep breath.
A skycab drifted from the fray of cars whizzing past in the open air, landing at the port near the lift. Shae got out, wearing that maddeningly tight and glossy catsuit and boots—this time complete with matching gloves. Garrus exhaled through his nose with a shake of his head. Damn…
She grinned at him as she approached, her mischievous silver eyes fixed on him. "Hey there, officer," Shae greeted. "Fancy meeting you here."
"Heh, you're not planning on stealing this fine ship, are you?" Garrus asked, somewhat worried she actually would.
She feigned offence, her eyes going wide and gesturing to herself in shock, "Me? I would never!"
He chuckled, "Well, good. I've met the pilot, and he was quite reluctant to leave—very possessive of his job, that one."
Shae shrugged, looking at the ship behind him, "I wouldn't even know how to fly something that big." Her head tilted, "Sure is pretty though. And sleek—just like me." She flashed a cheeky smile at him before looking back at the Normandy, "It would need a new paint job if it were going to be my ship, though."
"Oh?" Garrus asked. "Do tell."
"All black, with one silver stripe up the sides," Shae said with an appraising nod.
"Classy."
She laughed, "I think so, too." Her face fell and she turned her attention on him again, "Garrus, listen…"
He sighed, "I know. You're leaving."
Shae took a step towards him, "And I don't want to."
"But you have to."
She nodded, "Yeah." She conjured her omni-tool a second later, tapping at a few things before waving her hand. Garrus' omni-tool pinged in response. "I just sent you a list," Shae explained. "I've spent years making it, gathering dirt on a whole host of important figures on this station." The corner of her mouth pulled up, "A man like you could do a lot with a list like that, if you want. I had all kinds of plans with that information." She shrugged, "It's… a gift, and an apology."
Garrus shook his head, taking her in his arms, "You have nothing to be sorry for, Shae."
But Shae did the same, offering a soft, bitter laugh, "There's a lot I need to be sorry for."
"But not with me. I understand," he told her.
Shae's silvery eyes watered as they looked up at him, "I wish we had more time…"
"I know. I do, too."
She sniffed, shaking her head again, "We… We could have been so good…"
Garrus kissed her softly, holding her cheek in his hand. "In another life," he murmured to her, pressing his forehead to hers.
"I'll meet you there," Shae promised, tears falling.
Garrus kissed her a final time, sealing the moment in his memory—her taste, her warmth, her boldness, all of it. His hands moved up her back and down her waist, then over her hips to clutch that tempting backside of hers—it fit perfectly in his palms, just like he thought it would. Shae gasped from their kiss, giggling.
"Dirty cop," she teased.
"Thieving temptress," he fired back.
Shae chuckled and Garrus let her go. She walked towards the Normandy, using her omni-tool on the military-grade locks in place on the main door.
"I thought you said you weren't stealing it," Garrus said amusedly, folding his arms.
The doors to the ship hissed open when she turned back at him, "I'm not. Just gonna stow away for a little bit. They'll never know I'm there."
"And if you get caught?"
Shae shrugged, stepping inside, "An old friend of mine is the captain. I'm in good hands, Garrus Vakarian. Don't worry about me."
"Good luck, Shae Shepard," Garrus told her.
"I've never needed it, Garrus, but… thanks," she said with a parting smile. The doors hissed closed, and once again, he was left alone.
That was the last time he saw her.
Garrus went on to do many great things in his C-Sec career. While some things did indeed come from the list Shae gave him, countless others were due to his own talent and dedication to his job. He rose through the ranks, proved himself, and received awards and honors that even his father hadn't gotten in his time at C-Sec. His name would be known on the station and back home on Palaven for generations to come.
But one thought plagued him for years—after he got married, after he had children, and after he retired with the highest honors—a thought that hadn't stopped since his one and only night with Shae…
...was what he would give up, just to see her dance again.
o0o
Put your pitchforks away! Don't hate me! Just be happy they're both alive (as if I would EVER kill Shae or our precious Garrus)!
I hope you liked this, y'all. Thanks for sticking with it. I have more Mass Effect stories on my mind, so don't worry. I may not write anything for this fandom for a little while though, as I have other fandom pots on the stove at the moment. There's a Seasons of Anime Bingo Card I have to get through, and then the actual Seasons of Anime Exchange event piece I have to work on. Those won't take too long to write though. The word count requirements aren't bad at all!
That being said, I'll be writing more installments/one-shots for FMA, Inuyasha, even Castlevania (as well as a fandom I have to keep secret for now, because of the rules of the Exchange)! So, if there's any of you that enjoy those fandoms as well, I hope you'll join me over there until we revisit Mass Effect again.
Thank you so much for reading this again.
Y'all stay happy, healthy, and warm,
Glacier