Chapter Sixty: The Truth
"We still have an hour and a half before Shepard shows up. You guys have anything you want to do?" Garrus was perched in the center of the small group. The group's members included Liara, Traynor, Doctor Chakwas, James, Joker, EDI, Garrus, Mordin (who was finally available), Cortez (surprisingly), and some Ensigns. They were planning on going to see a vid on the big screen.
"Well, we could always get a bite," Cortez eyed a nearby restaurant.
"We would have to pick something up for our fearless leader," Joker said these words sarcastically. "Do you guys know how picky he is? He only accepts food that the gods themselves cook," Joker earned a few laughs.
"Liara could always pick something for him. Hopefully, she knows his tastes," Joker eyes gleamed mischievously.
Before something unfortunate came out of Joker's mouth, Liara interrupted, "I could get him something if you guys want to eat."
Suddenly an excited turian collided with James, who was on the outskirts of the group. "What the hell? What's got you so excited?" James asked him.
"Did you not hear? The big fight is about to start, you know the one set up by that underground group. I hear it's top notch fighters tonight. Damn, it's gonna be good," the turian started off again. The Normandy crew looked at one another, and wordlessly decided to follow.
The fight was decidedly larger than Liara had expected. It was definitely against the rules that C-Sec presided over, but in all honesty they were probably receiving kick-backs from it. In fact, she saw people who looked like C-Sec officers. There was a fee at the door, but that hadn't stopped a great deal of people from cramming into the large room. It was a rudimentary set-up with a slightly raised platform with ropes making a square for the ring.
They had gotten there after the fighters had been introduced. The two were stretching and getting loose. It appeared like their hands were wrapped, but it was hard to tell. The first person was a Drell, a huge Drell . He towered over the second person, who was a male human. He had a thick head of brown hair. Both were shirtless, wearing long shorts, and muscular.
"Is it just me, or does that guy look like Shepard?" Traynor asked. She was staring intently at the human.
"Shepard's head is shaved. No way it could be him. Does anyone know what Shepard was doing today anyways?" Garrus was also looking at the human closely.
"He told me, and I quote, 'I'm going to drink lots of Ryncol, impress Liara, dance till I drop, do Spectre stuff, and parade little Rosebud,"' James tried to mimic Shepard's voice, but it was awful. "Speaking of which, where is Rosebud?"
"With Richardson," an Ensign answered. Shepard rarely left his varren with someone else.
"When did you guys last see the Commander, anyways?" Cortez said with a thoughtful voice.
"Two days ago," was the general consensus.
"Shepard has to shave twice a day, says the cybernetics must make his hair grow quickly," Liara spoke for the first time in awhile. Doctor Chakwas coughed slightly, and looked rather uncomfortable.
"Guys, the human is dancing a little bit," Joker pointed out to the group.
They watched for about three seconds, and together they said, "It's Shepard."
"Ladies and gentlemen! Round One of three starts now!" A loud voice boomed across the room. Shepard and the Drell started circling each other. Their fists were close to their faces, and their feet were dancing to a soundless melody.
The Drell swung his right fist towards Shepard's face, but he dodged to the side. Unfortunately, the Drell was expecting this, and caught Shepard in the stomach. He stumbled back from the blow, but caught himself and repositioned. Liara regretted walking into this place, she couldn't stand to watch Colt getting beat up. She grabbed Garrus' hand for comfort.
The two exchanged a few more jabs, but nothing substantial. Then the Drell unleashed a barrage upon Shepard. One of his flying fists hit across Shepard's face. Liara could hear the smack from her seat. He went down hard, and stayed down long enough for the Drell to be declared the round winner. Liara clung to Garrus' hand desperately. The crowd was going crazy; their cheering hurt Liara's ears. It seemed like the minority had bet on Shepard.
When Shepard climbed to his feet, blood trickling down his forehead was visible. He stumbled to a corner to await the call for the next round. Liara wanted to look away, but she couldn't. When the announcer called the next round, Shepard started moving in a different way. Before he had been a little sluggish, and careless. With a start Liara realized that he intended to lose the first round.
Every punch the Drell threw was easily dodged, or barely touched Shepard. Colt didn't throw as many punches, but they were devastating. The Drell started to fade, making Shepard increase his attacks. After a flurry of punches, a particularly hard hit sent the Drell to the ground. The ref/announcer held up Shepard's arm, and a victorious smile graced the commander's face.
The third round started after the Drell had collected himself enough to fight again. Poor guy didn't know he was fighting against Commander Shepard. This time Shepard's opponent was more aware of what he could do, but the previous round had taken a lot out of the Drell. Almost every punch Shepard threw was a hit. The crowd noticed how the favorite was starting to fade, making it quieter than it had been.
In an odd turn of events, Shepard stopped moving his feet. He stood still for a millisecond, and then he launched into action. He twisted his whole body into the air, and caught the Drell's head in between his calves. Shepard's whole body was still spinning, so the Drell spun with Shepard. The Drell landed on his side with a disgusting crunch, while Shepard caught himself. Colt released the Drell, and jumped back onto his feet in case the Drell got back up. He didn't.
The crowd was silent while the ref announced that Colt was the winner. He walked around the ring with his hands up, a smug expression painted across his features. He shook hands briefly with the Drell, before the loser was escorted off.
"So he can do that, but not dance?" Joker asked with his usual sarcastic tone.
"I guess you don't have a lot of love for humans around here," Colt announced with a booming voice, and surveyed the crowd with narrowed eyes. There was not a noise. "No matter, I'm okay with taking all your creds instead of being congratulated. Enjoy the rest of the night ladies and gentlemen," Colt laughed, and leaped over the ring's cloth barrier.
"Let's go catch up with him," Cortez announced, and started heading towards the general direction Shepard had gone. It took them twenty minutes to find Colt.
"Nice fight, Jim," a bartender told Shepard. The commander was massaging his knuckles, and flexing his hands. He had already changed into a plain shirt and cargo pants. The group was heading towards him, but Shepard didn't seem to notice. "How are those treatments coming?"
"I'm not getting any better, but at least I'm not going downhill too fast," Shepard shrugged, and took a sip of what was probably Ryncol. Chakwas coughed, which made Shepard look at them. He blinked slowly at the group, like he couldn't quite believe what he saw.
"Hey guys. I didn't expect to see the pack here," Shepard downed his drink in one sip. He swallowed hard, and his normal demeanor around them wasn't present. His eyes were hard and unfeeling. "Wasn't I supposed to meet you in like half an hour?" He checked his watch, and gave a sideways glance to the people around them.
"You have hair!" Joker pointed out helpfully. He reached and touched Shepard's hair with a look of amusement.
"Yes, I grew the mane back," Shepard shook his head proudly. "I was going to shave it off before we met, so I guess it's a bonus you guys get to see it," he still had that indifferent look. It was so out of character, and frankly frightening. He was a different person.
"We still have a little while, we could get a drink," Garrus settled down at one of the bar stools.
"NO!" Colt hissed the words. The intensity of his answer made everyone jump, and Garrus climbed off the chair uncertainly. "Let's just get out of here," Shepard stood, took a cred chit out of his pocket, and threw it on the counter.
Shepard started walking out with a purpose. For the first time, Liara noticed the shady people in the fine establishment. Perhaps that was why Shepard was indifferent, he didn't want to draw attention. She saw the subtle gravitation to Shepard that everyone did. Even without consciously thinking about it, Shepard was the safe haven for everyone. Liara felt the same safety around Colt, and moved closer to him when she saw the hungry eyes looking at her.
"Hey, sweetheart, wanna come back to my place?" A sleazy batarian asked Traynor, and grabbed her arm. Shepard paused for a second, and then wheeled around on the batarian. This punch made the ones he was throwing at the Drell look like child's play. The nasty batarian was on the floor, out cold.
Two other batarians nearby stood up, both pulling out switchblades. Shepard was at their location in record time. He had his omni-blade to one's throat, and a switchblade Liara had never seen to the other's. They sat down without another peep.
Shepard walked back to them, allowing Liara to see his switchblade. It was Red with some sort of human writing on it. "Come on," he muttered while shoving his knife into his shorts. Nothing else occurred on their way out, except for the desperate glances of lonely men, and women. A lot of people congratulated Shepard on the win, but he never stopped and only threw out vague thank yous.
Once clear of the fight's crowd, Liara asked Colt, "So, what did the bartender mean by your treatments?"
Shepard looked back to her, and slowed down a little, "Oh that? Well-."
"Ya, Commander. What did that bartender mean?" A human male came up on the group's left. They were in the shadow of a large building, so his face was hard to make out. Apparently, Shepard knew him, because he growled at his appearance.
"Vincent told me that you hadn't told them yet, but I was skeptical. Everyone knows how close the legendary Normandy crew is. Led by the lovable Commander Shepard. Hero, loving boyfriend, loyal friend, Alliance poster child, the press's favorite person, and the galaxy's brightest star. A seemingly perfect person, but how many of you actually know anything about Commander Shepard?" Liara's eye widened at this guy's rant. First, she could feel the white hot rage boiling under Shepard's skin that was barely contained. Second, she felt guilty about being told that she didn't know a lot about her boyfriend. She hoped that it wasn't true.
"That's just the way he likes it, too. The more you know about him, the less you'll like. I'll give you an example. Your beloved leader has been lying to each and every one of you for weeks. He's not been very truthful about his health. Shepard's cybernetics are being rejected by his organic tissue. His organs are working at eighty percent or less. The doctors tell him that he has a year at most," the guy stepped out of the shadows a little more, revealing four deep scars going vertically left to right across his face, "The galaxy's only hope is a dead man even if he manages to live through the Reapers."
"Riiiight, and I'm Blasto," Joker cut through the tension. It did sound completely absurd to Liara. This guy was probably just some loon with a sick obsession with Colt.
"Does sound far-fetched," Traynor observed. Liara looked to the faces of her friends, and saw how they were also laughing, and dismissing the idea. She immediately felt better, and let the dread she felt at the admission go. The man slinked away into the shadows, and disappeared.
"What a total load of shit, right Shepard?" Garrus said with enthusiasm. All eyes turned to the subject, but he wasn't facing them. His shoulders were tensed, and his fists were clenched. Confusion swept through everyone like a wildfire. "Right Shepard?" Garrus asked with an unsure, small voice.
Shepard turned very slowly, but kept his eyes on the ground. The look on his face was indescribable. It was a mix of shock, shame, sadness, and an unspoken apology. The bottom dropped out of Liara's world.