Author's Note: Weird things were happening on fanfiction for last couple of days. It refused to send out notifications for a new chapter, so I didn't post until that started working again.

One more thing, there is a pretty inappropriate joke in the first section of this chapter. If you're offended by that sort of thing, then skip to the first three dots, and continue your journey.

Chapter Fifty Two: Old Friends

Liara knew that in some past time Colt must've been a food critic. Not a chef, though, his cooking would've been fed to the Reapers as a way to defeat them. If only the damn things stopped to eat. However, his taste in food was second to none. If they went to a restaurant, he could often tell her what ingredients had been used. This is why watching him eat on the Normandy was such a comedic spectacle.

When he ate his meal replacer, his face contorted into something terrifying. He would sniff the gray paste, and take the most delicate, offended bite out of it. No one could ever call him a calm person, but watching his large hands gingerly holding the packet almost convinced Liara. Other crew members noticed this too. Especially Garrus, who would take time out of his own meal to watch Shepard eat, and laugh at his pained expressions.

This was the scene before they docked with the Citadel. Colt and Liara had decided to have lunch together. Garrus had joined them. Eventually the majority of the crew had gathered in the mess hall. For a reason Liara can't explain, Krogan mating came up.

Everyone had crowded in towards their commander, as he was telling a particularly interesting story. Liara, Garrus, Cortez, James, Traynor, Doctor Chakwas, and two ensigns had taken a drink.

"Krogan mating can be summarized like this. It involves lots of flailing, splashing, and occasional bouts of drowning," Shepard explained this calmly. Liara swore she heard dramatic music as all those people who were drinking spat it accidentally out. Time slowed down as the liquid made its way toward Shepard, and he tried feebly to stop it.

In moments Commander Shepard was dripping. Everyone went silent for a second before a roar of laughter erupted. "Ewwww, this is the most disgusting thing that's ever happened to me," Colt stood, and ran for the kitchen. He put his entire head under the kitchen sink, and let the water run over him. After a minute he returned to the table dripping water. "That was...just eww," Shepard grinned at her though, which looked even more childish through the dripping water.

"Well when you say something like that, what do you expect to happen?" Liara asked.

"Well, I say stuff like that all the time, so now I'm worried. I'm gonna have to talk to you guys while in a plastic bubble of some sort. Then I could just roll around excitedly, and bang into things. I could get in touch with my inner Boo when I let him in his hamster ball," Shepard was obviously excited about this idea. He kept gesturing his hands with his words.

"Hey I'm all for it. Then I would know if you're standing behind me, and making a creepy face," Traynor replied. Everyday, sometimes multiple times a day, Shepard would stand behind Traynor, and make a funny face until she noticed. Then he would pretend like he was inspecting his shoe, or the ceiling behind her if she turned around. Shepard thought it was the most hilarious thing ever.

"First of all, that's hilarious, and everyone knows it. Plus it trains you to notice if someone is watching you. You're combat training, Traynor," Shepard cracked up a little bit when he heard training, and Traynor together. "You never know if my crazed clone might try to take the Normandy, and the only thing that might save her is you, because you had that training."

"Commander, time to rip yourself away from your beloved crew. We're at the Citadel," Joker's words dripped with sarcasm. Colt didn't care about Joker's sarcasm, apparently, because he stood and practically ran to the elevator. He was still soaked.

…

Colt walked through the crowd people. The crowd was mostly reporters, but others had come to see the legendary Normandy crew make their way from their ship to the Citadel's interior. On either of Colt's side stood Liara and Garrus. This was informal, so he wore his casual outfit. It was black, with white sides, and padded shoulders that had a strap going under his arm. The sleeves were rolled up, and his pants were black cargos.

He waved enthusiastically at reporters, and occasionally posed for pictures. Every crew member, besides him, hated these greetings. Every time they arrived on the Citadel it was the same greeting.

Something was different, though. A voice in the sea of voices was familiar. It wasn't a good reminder. Who could it be? The voice made Shepard's hair stand on end. Before he had been relaxed, but now every fiber of him waited for a fight. He had two modes, a mission mode, and normal mode. He was on mission mode.

Everything got ten times worse when he remembered who the voice belonged to.

…

Liara hadn't been particularly enjoying herself, but she enjoyed how much Colt was having fun. He was such a ham every time cameras were around. Today he was especially being funny. Not one camera got a serious picture of him. Days like these were a great morale booster to Liara, probably the whole crew.

Then something went wrong. Shepard had been lucid, and playful, and it changed in a second. He became tense, and his emotions were ones he usually had during fighting, not a pleasant walk to the Citadel's wards. The change wasn't so subtle that she only felt it, Garrus turned his attention to Shepard. Then Traynor, who was beside Garrus, turned towards Shepard, and the cycle continued until everyone was looking at Shepard intently.

He had been walking, even when tense, but he slowed. After a couple of feet, Shepard stopped completely. This halted the entire Normandy crew. Shepard was whipping his head around to look at the entire group of spectators. Blue flickered over his skin, but it was barely noticeable. The noisy space was now deathly silent.

Shepard kept looking around keenly, until his eyes settled on someone. His emotions had been defensive, and on the lookout, but they turned into hate. An emotion Liara had never felt Shepard have towards anyone, with the exception of the Reapers. It was clear hate, with nothing muddling the emotion.

The physical change was astonishing. His nostrils flared and beads of sweat gathered on his face. His whole body trembled. His breathing increased, but by far the most terrifying part was his expression.

Liara had never seen his face like that before. It was the face of the Shepard who lived on the streets, not Colt. Everyone noticed how dramatically his expression changed, and took an uncertain step backwards. The look in his eyes was raw danger.

He stepped from the people surrounding him. His omni-tool flared to life, and his omni-blade slid out. The reporters were going nuts at this point, and flashes went off with more frequency. The flashes lit up Shepard's face, and revealed the same hateful expression. His biotics had increased around his body, until the blue stood out in the artificial sunlight.

He was like a hurricane spinning towards its mark. His mark happened to be a section of the crowd without many people. The members of Shepard's ground crew had recovered quickly, and followed Shepard closely. He stopped at the barrier separating them from the crowd. Liara pulled up next to him, and noticed his blazing eyes focused on a specific person.

A low growl erupted from Shepard's chest. His voice was much deeper than it normally was when he said, "Serpent."

The other man with equal hatred in him rumbled, "Red." Then he turned, and disappeared into the crowd. Shepard watched him for a second, and then looked downwards. Liara followed his eyes. A knife was stabbed into the wooden barrier. A piece of paper was also shoved on the knife.

Shepard pulled a piece of cloth out of his pocket, delicately set it on the knife's handle, so he wouldn't get fingerprints all over it, and finally pulled the knife out. He grabbed the piece of paper, and looked at it. No one could see what it was, the exception being Shepard.

After a few seconds a low growl erupted again from him, but this came from deep within. He rubbed a hand over his head, a nervous tick. "Oh shit," he murmured.