Chapter 1: Welcome to Hell

Two Months Later

She had been the first thing he had seen upon waking up from death, and she was the first thing he saw upon waking up now.

Shepard smiled as he saw Miranda's face, her close proximity to him highlighting her already considerable beauty. Her long dark brown hair, normally kept fairly neat save for a loose lock or two, was now a good deal messier on the account of her extended sleep and also their...other activities the night before.

Extending a hand, Shepard caressed Miranda's face, and trailed his fingers down to her chin. Feeling him, Miranda moaned softly which made Shepard's heart race. She was so intoxicating to him sometimes, and now that they had fully admitted their feelings to one another, his attraction to her had exploded into an incredibly passionate love. He never, ever wanted to let her go.

Miranda opened her eyes slowly but surely. She smiled upon seeing Shepard. "Mmm..good morning, Virgil."

"Good morning, Miranda. Sleep well?"

"Considering it's the first time I've slept more than seven hours in a good long while, I'd say that I did." Miranda replied, her smile widening. "I must say, Commander, for someone who had just survived a suicide mission you were a remarkable partner in bed. Perhaps the stress is good for something after all."

"I don't think it's that, Miranda." Shepard replied with a naughty smile. "I think it's just that I enjoy being on top of you."

Miranda chuckled. "If I remember, Virgil I was dominant for most of our last session."

"You think that, Miri, if it gives you comfort."

"Arse."

"Temptress." As Shepard said this he ran his fingers down the magnificent curves of her body before unexpectedly pulling her closer to him and pressing his lips up against hers. Miranda moaned deeply as he did, which only served to make him even more aroused than he already was.

When their lips parted, Miranda took in a deep breath before saying: "Shepard, I think we both know that we could spend the whole day in bed together, but unfortunately, we do also have work to do, especially since we just came back from the Collector Base…"

Shepard nodded. "Yeah. Lots of work to be done. Too bad. I was enjoying our quality time."

Miranda smiled and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Mmm...I really did do damn good work when I brought you back."

"Right…" Shepard neglected to tell Miranda that she had not, in fact been the one resurrect him. A literal Deal with the Devil had done that. But she had reconstructed his body from the ground-up, so he supposed she wasn't completely off either.

Nevertheless, remembering the deal he had made caused Shepard to do what he almost always did when his mind wasn't fixated on something else: worry over that very same deal that had brought him back to life. Shepard wasn't a fool. He knew full well that The Devil would come to collect at some point or another, even if Shepard continued to cheat death on the many battlefields he fought on across the galaxy. Even if he had never read any of the Bible Stories growing up, Shepard usually knew a dishonest and treacherous person when he saw one, and Lucifer was definitely it. He tried to tell himself that he was safe, that Lucifer could per the contract only take his soul if he actually died in battle. But somehow, Shepard was rarely able to convince himself of it. He just felt it in his gut; Lucifer would come for him, sooner or later. Suffice to say that thinking about that only made Shepard become consumed with a sense of melancholy. He might have just condemned himself, and he could only hope that he would at least spare the galaxy from being dragged down with him. At least he might have that consolation should the worst happen.

The worst part, was the thought that Shepard would never see his friends, family, or the woman he loved ever again. He would spend an eternity separated from them. Except for maybe Zaeed.

Shepard allowed himself a smile at his own dark sense of humor as he thought this, all the while getting dressed along with Miranda. The two shared another kiss before exiting his quarters and taking the elevator down to the main level. Once the doors opened and they stepped out, the pair decided that the first order of business was to call together a meeting with the rest of the team, to get a status report on how everything was going. So it was that Shepard gave the order for the whole team to meet him and Miranda in the briefing room, and one by one they all filed in.

"Alright people, I know we've all been through a lot lately, and I just wanted to personally congratulate all of you on the tremendous job you did at the Collector Base. You all pulled through and I appreciate that a lot. More than I can express, actually. Just know that I'm glad I had you all watching my back."

"Yeah, yeah." Jack said with a snort. "I'm getting the warm fuzzies, really. Please tell me this isn't just you giving us all a pat on the back, because if it is then I'm leaving."

"I second that." Zaeed said.

"No, it's not. I want to know how everything's doing. I know that mission was hard for us all and I want to make sure everyone's holding up well."

"I am in as good of a condition as I have ever been." Samara said in her usual serene tone of voice. "The battle was very taxing, but I am now fully rested and recovered."

"How can that be?" Jack asked in disbelief. "All you did was spend all night meditating or something."

"And that was enough." Samara replied simply. "I would suggest you attempt it yourself, Jack. It could help ease your pain, both physical and emotional."

"No offense but that 'space-buddha' stuff ain't for me. I think I'll stick to what I'm best at."

Samara said nothing in response, merely shaking her head and looking rather disappointed. If it had been over a month ago when Jack had first been recruited her response would have been far worse, so everyone present just took it as a sign that Jack was getting "better", even if she did a poor job of showing it.

"I am also fully recovered and operating at peak efficiency" Miranda said, even though Shepard already knew this to be true. Had to keep up appearances, though. Most of the others were still ignorant to Shepard and Miranda's relationship, and certainly to the fact that they were sleeping with one another.

"Unfortunately not doing as well." Mordin confessed. "Leg and back injuries from fight against Human Reaper Larvae not yet fully healed. Also admit to spending more time healing other's injuries than tending to my own." Mordin made a sheepish grin as he said this. "Knew Chakwas was weak, could not do it all by herself. Needed to help."

"Well that was considerate of you, Mordin but you should still make sure to take care of yourself too. You're no good to anyone dead or gravely injured."

Mordin nodded but also brushed it off. "Of course, of course. Don't worry. Commander. Still able to fight and perform research and medical duties. Always here if you need me."

"I'm not quite at my best right now either." Garrus admitted. "Caught a lot of shots during the fight, I think my armor's almost toast by now. Probably time to let the old girl go."

"I can set you up with a new suit." Jacob said, who for his part still bore a black eye from where a Collector had struck him. "As for me, I've been better but I've been worse. And the good news is I've been taking stock of our loadout since the battle. Still as good as before in that we've still got all our weapons working and filled with ammo, though we obviously don't have as many thermal clips now that the Suicide Mission's done. Let's try and avoid any more excitement until we restock. And if we do get into more trouble, which, knowing us, we probably will, try to conserve ammo."

Jack smiled at this. "Fine by me. I prefer using biotics to blow dumb fuckers up anyway."

Jacob shook his head at the convict's bloodlust and vulgarity but said nothing. Legion was next to speak: "This unit is operating at peak efficiency. All 1,183 platforms are operational."

"I'm good." Grunt said bluntly before making a wicked grin as his eyes lit up with an unsettling flash of brutality: "That fight at the bug base was god-damned glorious. You should have seen us hold the line, Shepard."

"I can speak to that." Zaeed said. "Crazy Krogan was a bloody monster on that field. Me, I feel sore and beat, but then I always feel like that, so I'm good if we gotta fight again."

"Doing great, Shep" Kasumi said with a thumbs up and a weak smile. "I never want to do anything like that Suicide Mission again, but I'm feeling swell as is."

"I don't think any of us want to go through that again." Tali pointed out. "My suit looks to have held up during the battle, Shepard. No significant damage to it that I can see, so I think I'm good too."

That just left Thane. "As you all know, my illness continues to ravage my body. But I also know my body's strength. My sickness has not robbed me of my ability to fight. Not yet. However I have been left fairly exhausted from our most recent battles. I would prefer to have some peace and quiet, if only for a while."

"Understood." Shepard said with a nod. "With any luck, we'll all be able to get some much deserved R&R. Dismissed."

As Shepard said this, everyone else filed out of the room, and afterwards Shepard went out onto the main deck to check on the crew there. No sooner was he there though, did Kelly Chambers call him over. "Commander, you have a new message at your private terminal."

"Thanks, Kelly" Shepard said, walking over to check. Sure enough, there was a message from Admiral Steven Hackett asking him to go to Arathot for something important. Knowing that as it was the first time Hackett had contacted him since his resurrection it must be important, Shepard had the Normandy set course for that area of space.

Only when they went through the nearby Mass Relay, they got far more than they bargained for.

As the Normandy surged through the bluish tunnel that represented faster-than-light travel through space, the ship began to shake violently, prompting Shepard to go up to the cockpit and ask Joker about it.

"I don't know , Cmmander the ship's just going crazy! Like it was shot or something. But everything's working fine…"

Then, as the Normandy continued to shake violently, the blue tunnel turned a bright fiery orange before the crew's eyes, transforming it into a tunnel of flame.

"Joker, what's happening?" Shepard demanded.

"I don't know, Commander, I've never seen anything like this before! No one has!"

As Joker continued to frantically look over the controls and the rest of his cockpit to make sure everything was working, and also trying desperately to figure out what was happening, a deep, bellowing chuckle could be heard by all before every single person on the Normandy cried out in pain and sank to their knees, as if daggers had been punched through their skulls. Even Legion's hardware and programs felt pain.

As Shepard and everyone else looked on, they could see the fiery-orange tunnel begin to turn brilliant red as the fires lining the sides of the tunnel grew brighter and more intense. Fames rose up to surround the entire ship, and all on board could feel themselves sweating inside and out despite the Normandy's heat-shielding. It was as if they had rocketed into a sun. Indeed, many on board the Normandy feared that that was exactly what was happening; that by some stroke of misfortune the Mass Relay's coordinates had failed them and sent them into a sun by mistake.

Only the reality of it was much worse.

When the Normandy at last came out of the burning tunnel it was confronted with a massive, dark cavern that featured a never-ending lake of dark colored water with the land surrounding it being lined with torches burning brightly. As the Normandy struggled to maintain it's flight, the ship's crew could see bodies wreathed in fire falling incessantly like burning rain before landing into the waters and then swimming to shore where they gathered in a massive throng.

"Where the hell are we?" Joker asked. Shepard however, already knew the answer.

"He's come to collect…"

The same deep, echoing chuckle as before could be heard, only this time words followed it: "Hell indeed, mortal. For Hell is precisely where you all are now." Then, in a bright flash of light, Lucifer appeared, now with large bat wings coming out of his back and flapping in mid-air in front of the Normandy.

"What the shit?" Joker exclaimed, reeling back in his seat at the bizarre sight all on the bridge could see, and everyone else could plainly hear, no matter where on the ship they were.

"Hello again, Commander Shepard. It's been a while since our last meeting. I do so hope you had a good time after our deal, because now as you can probably surmise, I'm here to collect my prize...or prizes as it were."

"I didn't die in battle." Shepard shot back. "You can't take my soul."

"Ah, but you have not died in battle yet. You still could. I decided that perhaps the problem was that the adversaries you were facing were inadequate. So I decided to correct that little problem, by pitting you against what I have to offer, and what monsters I command. Can't normally do this, you know. Drag the living into Hell, I mean. But your choosing to make a deal with me, any deal, made you somewhat vulnerable to my influence. As did the fact that you died."

"Is this for real?" Joker asked, turning to Shepard. "I mean, I never really bought much into God, Heaven, Hell, and stuff like that. But are we really in Hell right now?"

"Well actually, you're floating above the river Acheron." Lucifer corrected. "It's the entrance into hell proper. Normally, you have to take the Ferry, but since you already have a vessel I figured, 'why micromanage?'"

"We're not going anywhere." Shepard growled. Lucifer chuckled. "You presume you have a choice, Commander."

And then, before anyone realized what was happening, the Normandy was struck by a powerful force that slammed into the ship's bottom as hard as it could, sending it spiraling forward and then crashing into the water below. As the Normandy landed and sent up a tidal wave of dark colored liquid flying in all directions, a ferocious ear-splitting roar could be heard, followed by the sound of it's source diving back under the waves.

"Ah, Leviathan. Always there when you need him." Lucifer chuckled. "In case you were wondering, he just took out your ship's ability to fly, which means you'll be sailing down the river and into my home very soon. Enjoy the trip." Lucifer cackled wickedly before vanishing in black smoke, leaving the Normandy crew to grapple with the magnitude of what had just transpired.

"Alright, I need a status report of the ship and crew. Miranda, see how everyone's doing, and get any wounded to Mordin and Chakwas."

"Yes, Commander" Miranda said with a salute before heading off to assess the situation. As she did, Joker turned to Shepard: "Uh, Commander, I'm pretty sure over half the crew is dealing with some serious life-altering stuff right now. You might want to talk to them. You know, try to something encouraging like you always do."

"Agreed." Shepard said with dismay.

"...I mean, we all just learned that Hell actually exists...and that apparently we're all damned. Go figure."

"No, that's not it. This is just one of Lucifer's games. We have no choice but to play it right now, but I'm not letting any of us stay here. We'll find a way out."

"What does he even want with you, anyway?" Joker asked. "And with us?"

"It's...a long story. And honestly one I should tell to everyone at once."

Leviathan's ramming into the Normandy and causing it to crash into Archeon had killed five members of the crew and left twice that number in various states of injury, including Kelly Chambers, Sarah Patel, Vadim Rolston, and others. Kasumi, Jacob, and Tali were also recuperating, and Chakwas and Mordin were pressed almost past the breaking point having to bounce between so many different people. Even worse, the sick-bay's medical resources were now stretched thin following both this and the Suicide Mission just the day before, and Chakwas and Mordin both feared that if more injuries were to follow, they might not have enough medical supplies to deal with all of them.

All other members of the Normandy Crew, including those of Shepard's squad who weren't now in the sick-bay as well, were assembled on the main deck where Shepard decided to put all his cards on the table.

"Alright, I know we've all just been through events that I think I can say none of us ever thought would happen, and as such I'm not sure what I can tell you that would make things better. So I think I'll just go with a confession: I made a Deal with the Devil."

"You what?" Miranda asked incredulous. "Shepard, what are you talking about?"

"As you all know, I died two years ago. When I did, I was approached by the Devil. He offered to resurrect me if I signed a contract with him. The contract said that if I were to die in battle, he could get my soul. Apparently he got tired of waiting for it to happen on it's own, so he brought me down here to try and force it."

"But that doesn't make any sense!" Miranda protested. "The Lazarus Project…"

"Wouldn't have worked." Shepard said sadly. "I saw it beyond the veil. You could reconstruct my body, but you weren't able to make me alive again. Even if you could have, I don't think you would have been able to put my soul back into my body. And without me, the Reapers would have invaded our galaxy and the Collectors would have won before that. I decided I had no choice but to make the deal."

"And now we're all in Hell suffering for it!" One crewman said accusingly, followed swiftly by several more angry cries and shouts of condemnation before an annoyed Grunt fired his shotgun into the air, which caught everyone's attention.

"All of you shut up." The Krogan growled. "Shepard brought us all together and saved your hides. You owe him every last drop of blood in your bodies."

"Look, I'm sorry I got all of you into this. I had no idea Lucifer would do something like this. Now that he has, I promise you we will get out of here. All of us. I'm not letting anyone on this ship stay in Hell."

"That's a lovely sentiment, Commander." Zaeed said sarcastically. "But just how do you plan on getting us out of here, when our ship can't fly and we've got to deal with the Devil himself? Somehow, I don't think your standard bullets are going to do the job against something like that."

"I killed a Reaper and wiped out their elite footsoldiers. I took you all on a Suicide Mission and brought every last one of you back alive. If I can do all of that, I know I can find a way to get us out of here, especially if you all stay at my side."

"Why should we?" Jack demanded angrily. "It was you making that fucking stupid deal that's gotten us all in here!"

"And it was also Shepard who brought us all together and led us to victory against monsters that were kidnapping and killing thousands of people." Garrus pointed out. "Grunt's right. We've followed Shepard into some pretty bad places before, and when we trusted him, we all got out in one piece. I don't see any reason why that should change now."

"Then you're an idiot." Jack shot back before turning back to Shepard: "I don't see why I should trust you again. What makes you worth trusting anymore?"

"Look at it this way, Jack, and everyone else right now who wants to hand me over to Lucifer on a silver platter: if we don't work together, than we're all stuck here in Hell forever. But if we work together the way we did on the Collector Base, then we have a chance. Isn't a chance better than none, no matter how small it is?"

"You are ever the optimist." Thane Krios noted, but adding: "...but the actions you have revealed to us are troubling. My people too have a being like this Lucifer in our religions. And we know better than to make bargains with him. You too should have known better."

"I had no choice, Thane. I couldn't risk all sentient life in the galaxy being wiped out by the Reapers!"

"You should have trusted me and the others at Lazarus to revive you!" Miranda snapped, blinking back tears as she glared angrily at Shepard. "You should have trusted us to succeed! I put two years of my life into bringing you back, Shepard! Apparently I was wasting my time!"

"That's not true, Miranda."

"Isn't it? Obviously you didn't need me to bring you back, or anyone else for that matter. You just needed the Devil!" No sooner had she finished her sentence did Miranda turn around and storm off, leaving Shepard feeling worse than he ever had before since coming back. As the others watched Miranda leave for her office, Jack couldn't help but remark: "I think that's the most angry I've ever seen the cheerleader." Jack smiled. "I should be taking notes for the next time I want to push her buttons."

"This is serious, Jack" Shepard said. "Miranda just needs some time to cool off. I think we all do. But I stand by what I've said: I am getting us all through this. This is my fault, and I'm going to make up for it. I promise."

"I would like to keep faith with you, Shepard" Thane said. "But I'm afraid that your actions and their consequences have challenged that faith. I will not condemn you just yet, but I am not certain I am ready to forgive you in full, either."

"I suppose that's better than the alternative." Shepard conceded before turning to everyone else. "And the rest of you? Will you follow me now? Because I need you all at my side now just as much as I did against the Collectors."

"I'm with you." Grunt said with a nod. "As I said on Tuchanka, you have no match. Let this 'Devil' throw his worst at us. I'll piss on their bones and his."

"Good to know. What about you, Samara?"

"As you know, Shepard my Justicar code mandates that I see things in black and white. You made a bargain with the personification of evil itself, and though I understand your reasons for doing so, I would still normally be required to visit justice upon you. But as I am still bound by my oath of loyalty to you, you can expect no grievance with me. Not even in this place."

"Alright then. I already know what Jack thinks. Zaeed?"

"Well, the way I see it, I was probably going to be heading here anyway with everything I've done, so honestly I barely give a shit. If you can buy me some extra time before I get sent here anyway then whoopde-doo. But otherwise, I'm just getting to pay some of my old associates a visit sooner rather than later."

"I suppose that's not the worst response I've could have gotten." Shepard conceded. His gaze turned to Legion, the Geth sniper being the only other member of the crew present. Shepard figured the others would all no doubt have their own choice words for him later on.

"We are well aware of the Christian concept of Hell as described in both the New Testament Bible and epic poem Inferno written by Dante Aligheiri. Prior to unexpected arrival, we did not have sufficient data to confirm or deny the existence of this location in reality. Now that we do, we predict a high probability of this Hell being similar if not identical to the one described in human works. If so, this unit does not predict high odds of successful escape or survival."

"You heard the Geth!" Another crewman shouted. "We're doomed to burn forever in here! And it's all your f-" the man was cut off by Grunt grabbing him and picking him up one-handed. "Why don't you stop right there before I take your tongue out?" Grunt threatened. When the man said nothing, Grunt set him down.

"I'm getting us all out of here." Shepard repeated. "Just know though that the more of you who choose to stand against me, the harder it will be for us to get out of here. So I need as many of you backing me up as I can get."

"Well I'm with you, Shepard' Garrus said. "And from the looks of it, so are Grunt, Samara, and Zaeed."

"I will assist you as well." Thane Krios added. "Forgiveness I may be withholding for now, but not my skills as a fighter."

"Good to know. I'll talk to the others once they're out of the med-bay. In the meantime, I'm going to go check on Miranda."

-X-

Shepard knocked on Miranda's door and to his pleasant surprise, it opened. Behind it was Miranda in her usual place, busily working behind her desk but also with her head buried in her work even more than it usually was, and especially more than it had been recently.

"It's really weird to see Miranda smiling while she's working." Kasumi Goto had noted, who was currently the only person other than Shepard and Miranda who knew about their romance. "...and it's all because of you! Be gentle with her, Shepard."

Remembering these words only made Shepard feel more guilty than he already was. He had hated seeing Miranda upset with him and her being hurt by his actions and the perceived lack of trust behind them.

"Miranda." Shepard said, catching her attention. "May I come in?"

Miranda nodded wordlessly and Shepard breathed a sigh of relief. Walking inside Miranda's room in full, and shutting the door behind him he sat down in the seat he always took when in her office.

"How are you holding up?"

"You can't seriously be asking me that in light of all that has just happened." Miranda said with a frown.

"I suppose not. Miranda, I'm sorry. Maybe I should have told you the truth, but I didn't think you would believe me if I did."

"Probably not." Miranda admitted. "I never was a devoutly religious type."

"What about now?"

"I'm always skeptical, Shepard. But I'm no more of a militant secularist than I am a nun, and I can't refute unambiguous evidence when it's in front of me. We are in Hell. There's no other way to see it."

"I never wanted this to happen."

"And yet, here we are."

"I had to do it, Miranda. I've already said why, and I know you don't believe me, but…"

Miranda raised her hand as a sign for Shepard to stop and said: "No, I'm sorry. That outburst of mine was not fair of me. You didn't know anything about me yet when you were seeing what you saw, and as I said I was no devout believer in things like Hell and the Devil. I had no reason to suspect you could just get yourself resurrected, and I certainly would never have believed you if you'd told me."

Shepard smiled. "So am I forgiven?"

Miranda sighed deeply. "Shepard, we're all in Hell right now. We could be trapped in here forever because of the deal you made with Lucifer. That's a hard thing to forgive."

"I know, but I stand by the promise I've made. I won't let us be Lucifer's playthings. And I'm never letting him hurt you."

Miranda smiled at him. "You're so bloody noble. I used to get on Jacob's case for acting like a knight in shining armor. But the more time I've spent with you, Shepard the more I realize just how deeply I admire you and Jacob for being who you are, even if I don't always show it." Miranda got up, walked over to Shepard, and looked him dead in the eye. "I don't know what's in store for us down here in Hell, but I do know that I love you, and I'm not letting that love be ruined so easily. I'm with you, Shepard." She made the faintest of smiles as she allowed Shepard to take her in his arms. "It's funny. I had mentioned once that you had a fire that would make someone willing to follow you into Hell itself. Looks like I was more right than I thought."

-X-

It was a few hours later when Joker reported seeing an end to the lake coming up, and with it a full view of what the Normandy's crew would be in for. Suffice to say, it was not a pleasant sight, being a neverending field of fire, brimstone, crevices, and flaming bodies still falling into various parts of it like burning rain. And all the while screams of agony could be heard.

"Oh, Kheelah…" Tali breathed as she saw the nightmarish scene that was in front of them all. As she did a deep chuckle could be heard that echoed throughout the cavernous depths of the underworld before Lucifer's voice could be heard once more: "Ah, yes. The Quarians' name for my father. I'm afraid he cannot help you here. He cannot help any of you here."

Author's Note: Regarding the Leviathan, I am obviously not referring to the Leviathan from the Mass Effect 3 DLC, but rather the biblical creature who is said to be one of the Seven Princes of Hell (personifying Envy) and being Hell's Gate-Keeper. So with all that in mind I figured it made sense to include him in the story, especially since there's a nice big river that he can swim in.