A/N: Here is the next chapter! I do need to give out a trigger warning about the topic of abuse in this chapter and abusive actions for anyone who could be triggered by it or who cannot stomach it. For those of you who stay and read on, thank you so much for your time and please enjoy this chapter.
When the unknown name finally left Shephard's mouth, every single person in the room froze - especially the crazies. The man who was holding the bloody bat above the commander's head stopped mid-swing and stared down at him with those dead eyes. "I never forgot you." Shepard addressed the accusations in a calm tone while Ashley burrowed her eyebrows in confusion at the scene unfolding before her.
Shepard has never mentioned that name to her, nor did she remember him ever bringing up the name at all! While she is aware that not everything in Shepard's past was disclosed to her, she would have expected him to at least mention the name of the person who was so near and dear to his heart, aside from her, of course. What are you hiding from me? The words spoke from Finch earlier kept replaying in her mind, and she was starting to believe that there was more to the story that Shepard was not telling her.
The man named Mochi stared down at Shepard unwilling to shed any emotion about the old name that he was given a long time ago. The government name that he dropped many years ago once he was able to escape the hell he was living in. "What happened to you, Jaiden?" That was the one question that got a reaction. A bad reaction.
"What happened to me?" Mochi repeated the question Adam asked as he placed his hand on his chin albeit thoughtfully and tilted his head to the side mockingly. It was evident that he was angry with the commander for this apparent betrayal, but how angry was he really? Was that a question that anyone wanted the answer to? The dead look in the leader's eyes was replaced by a frightening anger, one that made his eyes flash red for a second and Ashley was not ready for what happened next.
A large blast of dark energy was released and blew the commander a few feet away, knocking Shepard against the wall in a single blow. "What do you f*cking think happened to me?!" There was that rage that showed itself for the first time and Shepard let out a groan from the impact of the blast. He wasn't expecting that hit, especially not after using a name that he thought would work at this time. He was wrong.
Mochi released a manical laughter that shook his entire body, making him look crazy just like the others. "Do you know HOW long I've been looking for you? Do you understand how badly I want to smash your face in with my bat?" he treaded towards the commander very dangerously as his demeanor had completely changed. Mochi's entire body was glowing with dark energy that could easily match up with an Asari commando's at this point, even stronger, if that was possible.
Ashley was watching in terror as she watched the scene unfold before her. She really wished that she could knock out the German doctor on the side of her, but there were two more crazies standing behind her with guns, it is way to risky. "Shepard!" she called out, feeling more angry at the fact that there was not a single thing she could do to save her lover.
"Where is Elodie?" Shepard asked, still hoping that he could reach out to this angry man and try to stop him. He may be the only one who can at this point, if he was lucky.
"She died." Mochi responded getting close enough to Shepard and stared down at him with angry eyes. "Do you know where I went? To every damn foster home we had back in the city! Did you know what those f*ckers did to me?" Shepard's eyes narrowed down to the small pink burn marks that slightly poked out from Mochi's collar. "Let me show you an example. Just one of them." The evil lunatic smirked as he watched Shepard tremble from the words, clearly catching his drift. It's not going to be pretty.
Mochi whistled at the mangled up Asari who escorted Ashley to the room and she left momentarily and came back with another prisoner. A young man. Ashley examined the man - she took in the fact that he resembled the rest of the crazies, with a surgical mask and missing limbs. The only thing about this man was that he was human...there was genuine fear in his eyes as he was led by the Asari to the deranged leader. What the hell?
"Vince," Mochi tsked at the man mockingly as he folded his arms over his slim torso staring the frightend man in the eyes, reveling in his terror. "You tried to escape...you know what happens if you get spotted by an outsider." he taunted the weak man, knowing that he was never truly one of them. None of his people are supposed to leave the garage...the moment they are spotted they meet their maker. And the moment an outsider spots them they become them. Easy rules to follow.
The man Vince shook his head as the tears welled up in his eyes uncontrollably. "N-No Mochi! Please!" he begged and it made the other man laugh in pure satisfaction, knowing that begging for his life will only entertain the leader before he kills him.
That is when Mochi proceeded to go on with his example albiet the man's resistance. "Every single day, I had to live in fear for my life...I was covered in bruises and my small body was battered beyond recognition. Cuts, bruises, and worse." Mochi punched Vince in the face knocking him down as he reached for the large can of gasoline. "what their favorite thing to do was...light a match." Mochi threw the gas over the man's torso and tossed several lit-up matches on him to light up his torso.
The flame was small and wouldn't kill Vince just yet. This was only an example, after all. Mochi was beyond angry, he wanted the world to feel the same pain he did. And he wouldn't stop until it did. "No!" Vince cried out in pain using his hands to put the flames out only making it worse and spreading it to his sleeves.
Shepard could feel his own eyes well up with tears as he watched this man be tortured by the one person he loved above all else. The one person he ignored after getting into the alliance. "Jaiden. That's enough." he tried to be stern with his tone and it only made Mochi laugh.
"That's enough." Mochi called to his men who grabbed a bucket of water and threw it over Vince before it kill him. He stared down at his prisoner and scoffed. "Relax...we're just getting started." Mochi laugh manically again as Vince began groaning in pain and pleading for his life again.
Ashley tried her best to remain calm as she tried to secretly access her omni-tool device without alerting the others. Mochi called the two men who were holding her at gunpoint over to him and the German doctor remained at her side, but was focusing on Vince. I need to alert the others before this sick bastard turns his attention back to us. Just a few more seconds. She pulled up Anderson's omni-connection and sent him an SOS and her location. Just need to wait it out now. Ashley looked over to Shepard who was still cornered and sighed. Hang in there, commander!