A/N: With this chapter, this story has officially passed False Masks in length. I just wanted to thank everyone who has made that possible, which is everybody who has reviewed, sent me a PM, followed, favorited, or simply dropped by every once in a while to see if I'd updated (I do keep an eye on how many views this story has received). I love writing this series; I wouldn't have got this far if I didn't. At the end of the day, though, it's you guys who deserve a very large amount of the credit for how despite a few issues (both in terms of writing and real life) I've always managed to continue this series despite my own doubts and insecurities.

So thank you.

Responses to reviews are as follows:

AnarionRising27: That's one of the reasons why my updates have been more frequent recently. After 200,000 words in total including the first story, I really wanted to get to this moment, but also not to rush to it. This scene could have been in the first one, but I thought that might be much too early. It's awesome to hear you really liked this chapter; it was certainly my favourite to write in a while given it includes the scene I think everyone wanted to see a long time ago.

Egil The Skald: Wow, thanks! It's fantastic to hear you love this story so far. I've noticed all of your follows and favourites and was hoping you might drop a review at some point, so it's great you did. One of the best you've read, huh? That really does mean a lot. I know the feeling of racing through a story or series on the site and then having to wait for the next upload and how frustrating that is.

A couple of people complained about the pacing in the first story, which is something I tried to improve here. I'm very glad you found that to your liking.

Guest: Fair enough, interesting point of view.

Chapter 20: Similarities

She couldn't remember the last time she had felt this content.

The metal flooring beneath her was uncomfortable, she would almost certainly feel very unwell in a few hours, and they could potentially be found at any moment. Despite all of that, though, Shaela honestly just felt… happy. There really was no other word for it.

She was breathing the same air as everyone else on the ship. It might have been the slightly stale kind common to certain makes of craft, but it was still the same air that the other three occupants were inhaling at this very moment, rather than the heavily filtered kind provided by her suit. It was strange really. Air was something she had never really given that much thought to aside from how it could potentially be laden with microbes. She hadn't imagined how strange it would feel breathing without the use of her suit after so long without removing her mask. It certainly wasn't hard in any way, but it was still different. It felt right.

The quarian sighed happily as she adjusted her position slightly, staring out of the front of the cockpit at the walls of the valley beyond the cave. Night was falling. One day was ending so another could begin. It was certainly fitting. After all, after what had just happened, nothing would ever be the same again.

And she couldn't have been gladder about that if she had tried.

She heard Rassen make his own noise of contentment in response, the arm that was currently draped around her shoulders squeezing her gently as she remained pressed against the human's side, the side of her head—which was still covered by her helmet—resting against his armoured shoulder. They had been in that position for hours now, but it felt like only a few minutes had passed as the two of them stared from where they sat in the direction of the valley, neither of them speaking, the two of them content to merely enjoy one another's presence.

"We should wake the other two soon."

Shaela shook her head slowly, glancing up at Rassen as he turned his head in her direction. "I don't want to," she said, knowing how immature it sounded but not caring in the least. "I never want to leave this room."

"I know the feeling," the human sighed, a look of reluctance on his features. "But we both need to sleep ourselves. I have noticed you almost drifting off a few times."

"I wasn't drifting off," she muttered quietly.

"Then what were you doing?"

Shaela scowled up at him, which only caused the human to laugh gently at her expression. "I did not notice your eyebrows before," he chuckled.

She felt her scowl change into a look of confusion. "What? You spent ages looking at my face earlier."

"There were a few other features of it that demanded much more of my attention."

"Such as what exac—"

She never finished her sentence, a low groan of satisfaction leaving her mouth as Rassen kissed her gently, allowing his lips to linger on her own for a few moments before he pulled away. The quarian's eyes fluttered shut before opening again when she realised the act was much shorter than she had hoped, the return of her scowl producing the same reaction from the man next to her as it had before.

"So what were you doing?" Rassen asked again, unable to hide the smirk that tugged at his lips as he looked at her own. Realising her mouth was slightly open, Shaela closed it before deciding to tell him.

"I was… I was daydreaming," she admitted.

"About what?"

"Us." As the human frowned in confusion, she began to elaborate. "I mean about what happens if we survive this. Let's say the Mandalorians and batarians are dealt with. Then what?"

Rassen used his free hand to gently stroke her cheek as he took a moment to think, causing her eyes to close at the sensation. The material of his glove was smooth as it ran across her skin, the feeling indescribable to her despite how mundane it would have been to almost anyone else. She could actually feel it as opposed to having to imagine what it felt like with her mask separating her from the sensation. In that moment, Shaela promised herself she would never take an occasion where she was able to remove her mask for granted.

"I honestly am not sure," the human said finally. "You mentioned there are many people out there who are still suffering from injuries caused by the Reapers, right? I would like to help as many of them as I can. Perhaps I could accompany you back to Rannoch when all of this is over and help you treat those in need?"

Shaela felt her expression morph into a wide smile as she leaned up and kissed him, taking the Jedi by surprise if the look on his face as she withdrew was of any indication. Still grinning as she enjoyed her revenge, the quarian pressed the side of her face against his, closing her eyes at the strange yet comforting feeling of the short beard Rassen now had against her cheek as she replied.

"I love that idea," she whispered next to his ear. "No more violence, but we'd still be helping people." She allowed her voice to drop even lower in volume. "And if I remember correctly, there was a big surplus of temrathaylene at the hospital before I left, since it can only be administered to quarians and turians."

The slight shudder that Rassen gave off caused her to bite her bottom lip in response. "The idea sounds better and better," he managed. "First, though, we need to get out of this alive, and that means waking up Shepard and Kasumi."

"We can leave them for a few more minutes," Shaela replied, moving her face back in front of his. "I have something I want to do first."

As the human began to ask what it was, she pressed her lips to his in a wordless answer, both of them moaning into the kiss as they decided by mutual agreement they could afford to spend another moment or two together.

Something had changed in the atmosphere.

As she slowly blinked the fatigue from her eyes, Kasumi glanced over at Rassen, who had woken her a few moments ago. Even though she still felt tired, the thief could tell he seemed… different from normal. More upbeat, as though a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Despite how groggy she was, the change was obvious enough that she had picked up on it the moment he had gently pushed against her shoulder a few times to wake her before turning in the direction of Shepard, who he was attempting to rouse in the same way.

Her mostly still asleep mind struggled to work out what had brought about the change. They obviously hadn't been found yet, so perhaps he was happy about that? No, that couldn't be it. He was too… not carefree, but something like that. Rubbing her eyes as she heard Shepard mutter something unintelligible as Rassen continued to try and wake him, Kasumi continued to try and work out what it could be.

There was something I told him to do. Something he already…

Her internal monologue trailed off at the sound of approaching footsteps which, given how Rassen and Shepard were still firmly in her field of vision, could only belong to the ship's fourth occupant. Turning her gaze in the newcomer's direction, the thief couldn't help frowning as she noticed Shaela seemed to likewise have undergone a mood change while she had been sleeping, the quarian appearing more relaxed than before, her shift mirroring Rassen's. Glancing between the two of them as Shepard finally woke up, a small smile overtook her features as she saw them look over at each other.

The smile exploded into a grin as the quarian shyly glanced away from the human, trying and failing completely at pretending as though everything was completely normal between them. Rassen hid his own reaction a little better, but the way one corner of his mouth curved upwards told her whatever had happened between them in the last few hours hadn't stopped at them simply talking.

Before she could try and pry anything out of either of them, Shepard suddenly attempted to rise from the bed, throwing his legs over its side before trying to lift his weight onto them. He cursed as he fell back down after only making it a few inches off the mattress before immediately trying again, only to fail for a second time.

"It will take a bit longer, Commander," Rassen said understandingly, causing her to glance at him. "I know it is frustrating now you have had some rest, but your body is still becoming used to being outside a kolto tank again. You still need to avoid overexerting yourself for another few hours or so."

Kasumi felt a small amount of frustration well up as Shepard shook his head. "We don't have time for that," he grunted, attempting for a third time to rise. "They could find us at any moment. I'm fine, I just need to—"

Whatever he had been about to say was lost as he managed to finally stand up properly, only to collapse against Rassen, who winced at the other man's weight. The Jedi gently lowered Shepard back down to the bed so he was sitting on it once more before inclining his head in Shaela's direction.

"Our resident doctor agrees with me, I am afraid," he said, a small smirk in place as he spoke.

Looking over at Shaela, Kasumi noticed her jump slightly before shaking her head. "I'm not a doctor yet… Oh, right. Yes, that's true. Definitely."

I was right. Something a lot more intense than just talking happened while we were sleeping.

"Sorry, Shep," Kasumi shrugged apologetically as he looked at her for support. "I've got to third that idea. You're still a long way from one-hundred per cent, whereas I," the thief got up from her chair, ignoring how her back screamed in protest at moving so quickly after having been in such an awkward position for several hours, "am feeling a lot better."

She turned to look at Rassen before moving her eyes to Shaela, gaze flitting between the two of them, her grin almost as wide as her face as they both began to shift uncomfortably. "Did anything interesting happen while we were asleep?" she asked as innocently as she could manage.

"No," Shaela replied, the quarian shaking her head with slightly too much energy for it to be convincing. "We haven't seen any sign of the Mandalorians and batarians, but with only life-support running, that's not surprising. We're currently on a planet called Venture, which seemed like the best place to hide given our options."

"Huh," Kasumi nodded, forcing herself to be professional despite how Rassen and Shaela were now once again looking at each other in a way that told her they knew something she didn't. "Well, you two need to rest. Shep and I can handle things for the moment. I'll keep an eye on him, don't worry."

To her surprise, Rassen shook his head before replying. "That can wait a bit longer. We still owe him an explanation about what the situation is. We can sleep after that."

Kasumi watched him curiously as he picked up a nearby chair before placing it in front of Shepard and lowering himself into it with a wince, clearly more exhausted than he was willing to admit. Rassen opened his mouth to speak, only to close it as Shaela selected her own chair before joining him, sitting so close to the human their sides were touching. Smirking at the sight of the two of them, Kasumi followed suit, grabbing her own chair and moving it before settling down on the quarian's other side.

"Brace yourself, Shep," she said, unable to keep a smile from tugging at her lips. "This is going to be a big one." She turned to Rassen and Shaela. "Do you two mind if I catch him up on what he's missed on my end first?"

"Not at all," Shaela replied, Rassen simply shaking his head. "Take all the time you need."

"Thanks." Kasumi turned her gaze back to the man sitting on the bed, whose attention was now completely fixed on her. Ignoring the strange feeling the intensity of his stare caused deep in her stomach, she took a deep breath before beginning. "What's the last thing you remember, Shep?" she asked gently. "We can start from there."

Shepard's face tightened as his eyes moved over the room's other occupants, who clearly picked up on how uncomfortable he felt. "Maybe we should leave you two alone for this bit," Shaela said, the quarian rising to her feet and nudging Rassen to do the same. "You've only just met us, Commander. If you'd rather just tell Kasumi, then we can come back later."

"I… No, that's not necessary," Shepard grunted, waving a hand at them. "I just… just don't want to think about it too much. You helped me when you didn't have to, and I owe you one. Besides, if you're going to tell me about yourselves, it's only fair I do the same."

He shifted slightly on the bed before continuing. "I should probably start with what happened just before I passed out and woke up to find Balak standing over me. During the battle on Earth at the end of the war, it all came down to one final charge. We had to get to the Citadel. It was our only chance of defeating the Reapers. If we couldn't, then that was it. Every member of every advanced species, every man, woman, and child would be either killed or converted by those monsters. So we charged."

Kasumi swallowed heavily. She had heard this part before. Liara had told her of the near suicidal rush towards the beam of bright blue light that led to the Citadel, how she and Garrus had sprinted just behind Shepard as infantry and vehicles alike were obliterated by the Reapers as they tried to prevent anyone reaching the objective. The asari had trailed off when she had spoken about how she and the turian had nearly been killed, leaving Shepard to carry on alone.

She was as silent as Rassen and Shaela as Shepard described how he had said goodbye to his friends before charging the last few hundred metres or so without support, a single Reaper, Harbinger, of course, noticing him as he drew closer and closer, the colossal machine's eyes glowing like a demon's as it sent a beam of scarlet energy towards him, the attack knocking him unconscious.

"When I woke up," Shepard continued, voice much thicker than before, "everything hurt. I thought any second might be my last, that I wouldn't make it. Somehow, though, I did." He trailed off, eyes moving to meet hers as Kasumi rose from where she was sitting to walk over and join him on the bed.

"It's okay, Shep," she said gently.

He nodded slowly before taking a deep breath. "After heading through the Citadel for a while…" he trailed off, and Kasumi got the feeling he had suddenly decided to leave out something important. Before she could even begin to guess what it could be, though, what he said next stopped her cold.

"I met the AI responsible for the creation of the Reapers."

Kasumi gasped, Shaela doing likewise a split-second later. Rassen didn't react quite as obviously, but his brow furrowed, the Jedi clearly understanding there were beyond serious implications, even if he didn't fully understand them.

"It offered me three choices," Shepard continued, "three options to bring an end to the war. I could choose to destroy the Reapers, which would also wipe out all other synthetic life. I could sacrifice myself in order to replace the AI and so gain control of them. Or I could sacrifice myself to merge organic and synthetic life together, thereby removing any possibility of future conflict between the two."

"And you picked the first option," Kasumi whispered, unwilling to say any more than that. For a moment she thought she wouldn't have to, but Shepard's gaze drew the truth out of her as he asked the question she knew was coming.

"EDI… the geth… they're gone, aren't they?"

"Yes," she managed, hating herself as his face crumbled.

"Damn it," he whispered almost silently.

Fury, despair, and regret raged across Shepard's face, and the realisation she had never seen him so vulnerable left her barely able to breathe. "I should have told it no. Told it to just wipe out the Reapers and nothing else. But every second I stood there thinking I saw another fighter get wiped out by those monsters, saw another life end. I panicked, I chose what I thought would do the least damage."

Tears began to fill his eyes, and Shepard wiped at them furiously. "I could have chosen one of the other two options. EDI and the geth would still be alive if I had just—"

"Of those three, you made the right choice."

Kasumi turned to look at Rassen in shock, the room's other two occupants following suit a split-second later. While the Jedi looked a little uncomfortable at the intensity of their stares, he didn't back down as he looked at each of them in turn, seemingly taking a moment to think about what he would say next.

"Based on what little I know about the Reapers," Rassen continued, eyes now ceasing their movement so they rested on Shepard alone, "they were constructs of pure evil. How can anything that was designed to end or convert all advanced life be viewed any differently? Merging both organics and machines would have taken away from the individuality of both, assuming it did not simply kill everything outright, given how fundamental such a change would have been. It would also have been forced upon countless billions who had no say in the matter by the choice of one individual."

He took a deep breath before continuing. "As for attempting to control them… that would have made you the most powerful being in this galaxy… if it was truly still you, Commander. Power itself is rarely as important as how it is obtained, however, and using the Reapers could easily have made you like their creator." Rassen shook his head. "The Reapers existed only to destroy. What guarantee would there have been that they would never resume that function at some point in the future? For the sake of everybody, you had to stop them."

Kasumi watched Shepard as he continued to stare at Rassen, who to his credit still did not back down. "But I couldn't save them all," the older man managed, voice cracking. "I knew I was condemning an entire species to death, as well as one of my closest friends, but I still did it."

Rassen was silent for a long time, and Kasumi began to wonder if he would ever reply. When he did, there was a note of sadness to his voice, one that hinted at a past wound that had healed as well as it ever could but would never fade completely. "Sometimes…" he trailed off, only for Shaela to take his hand and squeeze it. Rassen smiled sadly at her and turned back to Shepard. "Sometimes we cannot save everyone. We all wish we could, and we all do everything we can. Even so, it hurts when we fail."

"And you know what that's like?" Kasumi winced at the edge Shepard's voice had taken. Not that she could blame him; she had no idea what it was like going through what he was dealing with.

"Yes," Rassen replied gently. "I have failed to save people I care about… and I carry them with me as best I can." Kasumi frowned as she noticed his free hand twitch towards the robe he wore over his armour, fingers pressing against something presumably concealed inside it for the briefest of moments before relaxing. "That is all any of us can do, Commander. All a good person can do is help as many others as possible and remember those they could not help."

There was tension to the air now, the atmosphere feeling as though there was a great thunderstorm on the horizon as Shepard struggled to his feet before staring down at the man opposite him, who calmly looked back. "Who are you?" he demanded, voice filled with anger but also curiosity. His eyes moved over to Shaela. "Who are both of you?"

"Like I said, Shep," Kasumi stood up and reached out to gently lay a hand on his shoulder, that same feeling from before returning as he calmed slightly at her touch, "this is a big one."

Slowly lowering himself back onto the bed, he took a deep breath before looking away from Kasumi and at the room's other male occupant, who continued to stare back at him with the same calm look as before. Shepard didn't get a bad feeling from him necessarily, but something told him the other man was different from anyone he had met in the past. Everybody he had served with, both before Eden Prime and until the end of the war against the Reapers, had felt different from one another on account of who they were, but this was about more than just personality. Rassen felt strange to him, almost like he didn't belong. Shepard really couldn't phrase it any better than that.

"Go on then, kid," he said finally, waving a hand in his direction. "You heard about what happened to me, now it's your turn."

Rassen raised an eyebrow in response. "Kid?" he asked, unable to conceal a small amount of indignation.

"How old are you?" Shepard countered, crossing his arms as he did so. "Early twenties? You're certainly unusual, I'll give you that, but you're still pretty young at the end of the day." He glanced over at the quarian sitting next to the other man. "Your friend is as well."

"You're slipping, Shep," Kasumi's voice caused him to look back at her, noticing with surprise that while she too had sat back down, her hand was still on his shoulder. Following his gaze with her own, the thief swiftly withdrew it and glanced away, but he could have sworn her cheeks had coloured slightly. A confused mixture of emotions welled up as he began to consider all of the possible meanings behind the gesture before he dismissed them. She was probably just trying to offer support, he told himself.

Kasumi turned her gaze back only seconds later, the colouration of her face completely normal. He had probably imagined her blushing. "They're a bit more than friends…" she continued, trailing off at the end. "And I bet you they were doing a lot more than just talking while we were asleep."

"This is getting a bit off topic," the quarian, Shaela, if he remembered correctly, interjected, prompting a quick but grateful look from the man next to her. "We should probably start from the beginning. I'm Shaela'Tole vas Rannoch, originally nar Kilal, and this is Rassen Voratt, Jedi Knight. I grew up on the Migrant Fleet like the rest of my people and had a pretty normal life… until I ended up on Omega during my Pilgrimage."

"Ah," Shepard winced, "not a good place to find yourself, even at the best of times."

"No," Shaela shook her head, causing him to notice she was missing the trademark hood every other quarian woman he had ever met had worn, the thick cables that connected to the back of her helmet on full display. "It was a stupid place to go, but I'd never been outside the Fleet before. I didn't really understand how dangerous the galaxy could be if you weren't ready for it."

She took a deep breath before continuing, voice growing quieter. "One day I found myself being chased by a gang of batarians. I still don't know why they came after me. Maybe they just wanted to hurt me because I was a quarian. One of them threw a metal pipe at me and damaged one of the bones in my ankle. I ran as fast as I could, but they were right behind me."

Her voice returned to its normal volume as she looked at the man next to her. "And then you were there," she said simply, the smile on her face obvious to Shepard despite how he couldn't see it. "You saved me… it wouldn't be the only time."

"No, but then the first time you saved me was only the first of many itself," Rassen said, a smile on his face as well as he looked back at her. Shepard could sense his reluctance as the other man turned his attention away from the quarian, though his smile remained in place. "I am afraid it will take a bit longer to explain everything about myself up to the point Shaela and I met, Commander, so please bear with me. Not everything I say will make sense at first. The most important thing to know about me, is that I am a Jedi. Jedi are…"

Shepard could only feel his disbelief increasing as Rassen, assisted often by Shaela and less frequently by Kasumi, told him who he was. How he was from a different galaxy to the rest of them. How he and Shaela had met when he had appeared on Omega and eventually fallen in love, finding themselves having to contend with a Sith Lord—the evil opposite of a Jedi—called Zaressh.

Rassen's voice remained strong through most of his account, breaking slightly on a few occasions when mentioning the death of his teacher, someone called Master Dorass, and also when describing how he had left Shaela behind to confront the Sith on his own. Despite his scepticism, Shepard couldn't help smiling when the younger man reached the point he and Shaela had admitted their feelings for one another, the quarian enthusiastically joining in and providing her own memories of the event. The atmosphere in the room immediately soured, however, when they spoke about the final confrontation against Zaressh, and how once he had been defeated he had separated them as his final act.

Then, if it were possible, things seemed to get even more interesting.

As Rassen, visibly requiring more support than before from the quarian next to him, began to explain how he had tried to find a way back from his galaxy to Shepard's own, Shepard noticed Kasumi leaning forwards slightly, eyes intent, the thief every bit as interested as he was. Clearly, she had not been told this part as of yet either. Finally, the Jedi—voice hoarse by now—spoke about how he had finally found a way back, how he had tried and failed to save everyone on Horizon, and how he and Shaela had been reunited, only to agree to help Kasumi rescue him.

"She was very insistent," Rassen explained, "that she was going to head to your location immediately. Given the injury she had sustained on Watchman and the amount of blood she had lost because of it, Shaela and I agreed to go with her. While Kasumi used her tactical cloak, I donned a suit of Mandalorian armour—as you already know—and Shaela supported the two of us from a distance using the base's functioning security cameras. Once we had you we obviously fled, and we are currently on a planet called Venture in the same system as Horizon, like Shaela mentioned." He turned to the quarian. "Did we miss anything?"

"Yep."

Shepard turned to Kasumi as Rassen and Shaela did the same. "You still haven't told us what happened while Shep and I were sleeping, big guy," the thief teased coyly. "Are you sure nothing interesting occurred?"

"No," Shaela replied in Rassen's stead, but much too quickly to be convincing. "We just spoke about what happened between when we were separated and the two of us being reunited after Horizon. Absolutely nothing else happened. Right?" The quarian looked over at Rassen for support.

"Nothing else of interest whatsoever occurred," the Jedi said smoothly, but Shepard caught the slight twinkle in his eye as he looked at the woman next to him, unable to prevent himself from smiling slightly at the couple. Sensing Kasumi was about to open her mouth without even looking over at her, he decided to head her off.

"Leave it, Kasumi. It's their business not ours and they need to sleep anyway."

"You're no fun, Shep," the thief replied, shaking her head sadly. "They're holding out on us. It's obvious."

"It doesn't matter," he muttered, turning his attention back to the couple, frowning at the shadows beneath Rassen's eyes and Shaela's posture. The quarian had started to lean against the Jedi's side, eyes drifting shut as she struggled to stay awake. Internally Shepard felt a small amount of guilt. They had spent hours talking, and while he and Kasumi had at least had some sleep before that, the pair in front of him hadn't exactly been wide-awake when they had begun.

"The two of you should get some sleep," he said. "Kasumi and I will keep an eye out for any sign of the Mandalorians and batarians. Once you've had some rest, then we can talk about making a plan about what to do next."

He looked over at the thief as she stretched out languidly like a cat, meaning it took a conscious effort to keep his eyes staring into her own. "How long do you think we have until they find us?" he asked.

Kasumi's expression was serious as she replied. "I honestly don't know, Shep. A few days maybe? It will take them time to sweep each planet and moon, so it really depends on where they start and how thorough they're going to be. We might have longer than that, but it really depends on how good our luck is."

"We'll have to assume the worst case scenario then." He turned back to the room's other two occupants. "Thank you for telling me everything," he said honestly. "If Kasumi believes you, then I do too. As much as you probably knew that, it still couldn't have been easy."

Rassen nodded tiredly. Shaela didn't reply aside from letting out a quiet noise of acknowledgment. Feeling a little stronger than he had when he had awoken, Shepard slowly rose from the bed, ensuring he could stand before so much as thinking about walking.

Making sure to take each step carefully, well aware of Kasumi's eyes on him as she watched for any sign he might fall, he began to head in the direction of the door the couple had presumably entered from, deciding to give the two of them some space as Rassen began to help Shaela towards one of the room's unclaimed beds.

He motioned for Kasumi to follow him, the thief only doing so after staring at the couple for a few moments, a small grin on her face which hinted she hadn't given up on trying to find out what had happened between them.

Good to see she hasn't changed in the slightest.