A/N: Finally, it's finished! You have no idea how I struggled with this chapter, it was an exercise in perseverance, that's for sure. Anyway, I do hope you enjoy this chapter, even if it did take a while. Nearing the end, now!
"Lola, Joker," came James' voice from overhead, breaking their embrace for a moment. "You two need to get down to the CIC. Now."
James' words echoed in the cabin, his tone deadpan and grim, chilling Elissa and Joker to the bone as they scrambled to get to their feet and out the door. Neither spoke as they entered the elevator, Elissa pressing the button for the CIC, her hands shaking as numerous scenarios went through her mind as to what could have been happening if it worried James that much. She looked at Joker and found him already looking at her, the fear in her eyes mirrored back at her in his, they both knew this was not going to be good. Finally the elevator opened at the CIC and waiting for them was most of the crew, somber and angry looks on their faces.
"I think it's a mutiny," said Elissa as she looked at her friends.
"There's been a development at the Citadel," said James, stepping forward, tears barely held back in his eyes as he handed her a data pad. "And you're really not going to like it."
Without another word she opened it and found herself staring at a mangled version of her face, angry red cybernetics barely holding together the flesh and engulfing the once green eyes. Elissa's heart almost stopped as she looked into the soulless red eyes of her clone, she had not expected to see her again so soon but then again she should hardly surprised after all she had been through lately. With a shaking hand she pressed the button and braced herself.
"Greetings from the Citadel," said the clone, her voice not quite Elissa's anymore. "I know what you're thinking and no, your precious Commander Shepard has not been harmed, yet. I am her clone, the one that the Alliance and Council didn't want you to know about, created by Cerberus in case she needed extra parts during her reconstruction." The clone seemed to enjoy that fact, given her eerie smile. "Not too long ago, I attempted to assassinate Shepard so I could take her place but that obviously didn't happen; it's thanks to her that I look like this now."
"You're the one who let go," mumbled Elissa.
"I've decided to try again," said the clone, sounding very cheery despite the message she was delivering. "This time I'm going for a different approach: during our last encounter, I noticed that Shepard is nothing without her friends, so I've decided to turn them against her. I've taken the entire Citadel hostage and if that's not incentive enough, I have your crew's families here as well as yours, Shepard." The camera then panned to the Presidium where her mother was tied to one of the statues. "Admiral Hackett is here someplace too, I found him when I went and captured everyone else. Everyone you and your crew hold near and dear to their hearts is scattered throughout the Presidium, waiting for you to either save them or sacrifice yourself for. Here is how this works, you have twenty-four hours to get here and if you don't, I kill everyone. If you do make it here there are two ways this can go. The first is you fight against my crew and me in order to save your families. The second, my personal favorite, is one of your crew brings you to me and shoots you dead in front of a camera." The clone smiled wickedly. "I expect to see you soon, Shepard, one way or another. The choice is yours."
Elissa felt hollow as the message ended, she looked up to see everyone looking at her, she felt the tiniest bit of relief that Hilary and Kolyat were on the ship and not on the Citadel but that was just a fleeting feeling. All of the families that had gone into hiding, all of the people they had been trying to save from the Council, they had just done the dirty work for Cerberus. They had made it easier for them to go in and snatch them away, just so they could pull off this stunt. 'I played right into their hands,' she thought miserably. 'I'm such a fucking fool.'
"So what do we do, Lola?" asked James, looking determined enough that his fear was well hidden.
"What do you mean?" she asked, at a loss. "You actually think we'll have a chance against her and whoever she's with?" She gestured to her belly. "I can't fight and she has your families hostage as well as everyone on the Citadel. There's only one logical route."
James shook his head. "Fuck that idea, Elissa, there's no way any of us is going to betray you. Not now not ever."
Miya stepped forward, a frown etched on her small face. "You must be smoking something good to think for a second that we would kill you for that bitch, we fought her once and won. We'll do the same this time but we'll just have to watch out for more civilians."
"Shepard, we've been for you through worse," said Garrus, his arm around Tali's shoulders. "We aren't about to turn on you now, I'm pretty sure our families would think much less of us if we did and I don't think I could raise your kids with the knowledge that I was the one who killed their mother."
"What makes you think you'd get the kids if she died?" demanded Miya. "I'd be the most logical choice, after all."
Garrus scoffed. "By the time those kids are five, they'd be taller than you and able to take you down. No, Tali and I would raise them should Shepard die."
Joker raised an eyebrow. "And where am I in this scenario?"
"You shot yourself out of grief," replied Garrus and Joker laughed. "And I was the one who made the heartbreaking decision to shoot Shepard to save our families because there is no Shepard without Vakarian and I had to do our friendship justice once she got down on her knees and begged."
Elissa laughed loudly. "Garrus, I don't even want to know why you have this all planned out." She knew why, actually, it was to ease the heavy tension that was settled over the ship and it was working so far.
"I'm her sister, I would be the one to shoot her!" cried Miya, strangely outraged at the thought of Garrus doing the deed.
"You can't shoot a pistol worth a damn," retorted Zaeed. "Besides, you're too small, you'd miss an easy kill. Logically I'd be the one to do it, after all I have more kills than the rest of you combined."
"Zaeed, you would manage to kill everyone but Shepard," said Tali, making Garrus double over with laughter. "I've seen the vids, they aren't very flattering to your merc image."
"Screw you, helmet head," said Zaeed with a sneer. "You think you could do better with that pink orb of yours? What was its name again? Chai tea, chin strap . . ."
"Chiktikka, you old bosh'tet," snapped Tali.
Liara rolled her eyes. "You must admit that chai tea is a simpler way of putting it."
"Oh shut up, Liara," huffed Tali. "You think you're so hot with your biotics, but as I recall you needed my Chiktikka during the war to back you up."
"That I did," said Liara thoughtfully. "And Zaeed needed Miya to spot him while she sniped some pretty massive targets from impossibly small spaces."
Miya beamed. "And Scarface needed Soldier Boy and Canadian Bacon to cover his scaly ass when things got too hot during that firefight on Thessia."
"Wait, who the hell is Canadian Bacon?" asked Kaidan and everyone who knew laughed.
"I think it's been decided then," said Elissa with a small smile as she looked at her crew, old and new. "We're going to fight to get our families back."
"Hell yeah!" came the uproarious cry from the crew.
Elissa crossed her arms against her chest and smiled, a plan forming in her mind.
"Coming up on the Citadel," said Joker as he watched the massive station come into view. "Ground teams standing by in the shuttle bay, Ellie are you ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," said Elissa. "Do you see any oncoming resistance from the clone's team?"
"Negative," replied Joker as he punched a few commands in the computer. Something suddenly popped up on his screen. "Ellie, we're being hailed. EDI's systems recognize it as the Destiny Ascension. Shit, this could be really, really bad."
Elissa groaned. "Send out the Spectre FOE signal, it's the only way we'll know for sure if it's the Council or the clone."
"Can't I just attack?" asked Joker, a slight whine to his voice as he readied the program.
"No, it's not like we can just cut her in half or something," replied Elissa sternly.
Joker said nothing as he waited for the hail to come back, he could feel himself sweating bullets as more time passed and just when he was about to arm the guns, the right signal came back. There was no way the clone would know what it was so he gave a return hail that signaled they should be prepared to be boarded and minutes later, the two ships were alongside each other.
"Ellie, the Council's here," said Joker with a slightly shaky voice as he read a message. "And it looks like they really want to meet with you."
"I'll be up in a moment," sighed Elissa.
Joker deployed the tube so it would connect with the Destiny Ascension, allowing the passengers of both to go between ships. Within minutes there was someone at the airlock door and he opened it, stunned to see Udina, Tevos, and Valern standing there just as Elissa arrived down the CIC.
"Councilors," he said, bowing his head a little. "Udina."
"Hello Joker," said Tevos stiffly. "Thank you for responding to our hail."
Joker shrugged. "Figured it was easier than blowing you out of the sky."
"Councilors, what can I do for you?" asked Elissa as she approached, already in her armor. "As I'm sure you're aware I'm very busy and don't have much time for pleasantries or bullshit."
"Then we'll cut to the chase," said Udina, stepping forward. "We want to award you full Spectre status again."
That caught Elissa off guard. "What are you talking about? At my "trial" you stripped that from me and my command, technically I'm breaking the law even being here. Why do you want to reward me?"
"Recent developments have forced us—" started Tevos but Udina interrupted.
"Just cut the bullshit, Tevos," snapped Udina, already Elissa and Joker liked him more than the previous one. "Sparatus was working with Cerberus, he was the one who gave the locations of the families to your clone. He wasn't doing it of his own free will, however, after your clone shot him we saw a glowing bulb on the back of his neck that matched the description both you and Bryson gave of the Leviathan thrall fragment. Considering he was likely under Cerberus' control during the time your trial was called, we've overruled your punishment; you're no longer a wanted fugitive and you are a Spectre once again."
Elissa crossed her arms. "And I'm just supposed to swallow this? How the hell were you even able to escape the Citadel in the first place when my clone has complete control?"
"We all have fighting experience, Shepard," replied Valern. "I was a former STG agent, Tevos was a commando and Udina did serve for a few years as an Alliance Marine."
"Hand to hand combat was my specialty, as was the shotgun," replied Udina with a smirk. "Besides, we aren't exactly in a forgiving mood at the moment, so we didn't have any qualms over killing your clone's mercenaries."
Joker laughed. "Damn, I like you, Udina. Can we keep him, Ellie?"
"Stand down, Joker," said Elissa with a small grin. "So what? You just managed to fight your way through what I assume is an army of highly trained mercenaries and my clone didn't even try to shoot you down when she saw you leaving?"
"We had some help," said Tevos lightly. "Spectre agents and Asari commandos were there to assist and it is because of them that we managed to escape."
"Now that I can believe," said Elissa, relaxing her stance just a little. "And Sparatus is dead thanks to my clone, like you said?"
Valern nodded. "Yes, he was shot the moment she stepped onto the Citadel, it would seem his usefulness had run out. It would seem she's had many people doing her dirty work, killing people who stood in her way."
"Could that mean Aria T'Loak?" asked Elissa, remembering the strange assassination on Omega.
"Aria's dead?" asked Tevos, clearly concerned. "That's . . . that's not possible, she wouldn't be killed . . . can't be killed . . . are you quite sure?"
Elissa nodded sadly. "Yes, Councilor, I'm afraid she is. I was there when it happened, someone put a bullet in her brain when she tried to attack my friend Garrus."
Tevos closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them, they were not the eyes of a benevolent councilor but those of a murderous demon. "Shepard, you have my express permission to destroy every single hostile on the Citadel. I have no interest in prisoners and neither should you, what they have done to both of us is unforgivable and their existence should be wiped from the very galaxy."
"Shit," whispered Joker as quietly as he could.
"She was your daughter, wasn't she?" asked Elissa calmly.
"Yes," replied Tevos as tears swam in her eyes. "My only child really, I lost her sisters to war and gang violence. She was my youngest and wanted to conquer Omega to make the people who killed her sisters pay for what they did. Aria succeeded beyond my expectations I was never prouder . . . and now she's gone . . . forever . . ." Her biotics flared for a moment before she regained control. "May the goddess guide her to paradise."
"And the priestess keep her soul," said Elissa, to the surprise of everyone. "I became a bit more spiritual during the war."
"Thank you, Shepard," said Tevos as she put a hand on her shoulder, she then caught sight of Elissa's belly. "You are expecting children yourself?"
Elissa smiled fondly. "Yes, a boy and a girl."
Tevos seemed surprised. "And yet you plan on confronting this clone of yours when her intent is to kill you as well as anyone who resists?"
"I do have a plan, Councilor," replied Elissa, a defensive edge to her voice. "What will the three of you do now that you've lost the Citadel?"
"Look for anyway we can assist you," replied Udina sincerely. "The Council should not just sit idly by while some terrorist group tries to usurp us, and we cannot be so powerless that we send in only one Spectre to defeat it, no matter how talented the Spectre is." He smiled kindly at her and she had a feeling he was the real Udina after all. "If there is anything you can think of that would help, let us know now."
Elissa smiled broadly. "I have a few ideas, Councilor."
The Normandy touched down at the docks, the shuttles having already deployed towards the Presidium, their job right now was to make sure that no one could leave the docks. Joker groaned as he stood up and looked at the few people he had been allowed to keep; Ken, Gabby, and Miya everyone else had either been relegated to assist Elissa or was trying to ensure the Normandy could not be attacked.
"So where are we headed to, Joker?" asked Ken as they all took some kind of weapon from Miya's supply, her Black Widow already on her back.
"Main control tower," replied Joker as he double-checked the goo armor under his uniform. "Shepard wants this whole place locked down and we can only do that from there. She figures we won't encounter much resistance once she engages with her clone and the clone army."
"And Miya's here why?" asked Gabby, eyeing the infiltrator cautiously.
"To protect you three," replied Miya, her grey eyes shining with determination. "Lizzie ordered me to make sure the three of you lived to see tomorrow and that's what I'm going to do."
"Ready?" asked Joker as he opened the main air lock door. The three others nodded. "Then let's go."
Elissa swallowed hard as the shuttle landed in the middle of the Presidium, she saw no one waiting around and that terrified her. She had expected maybe a waiting party or something from her clone like last time, but it seemed she was trying not to repeat their last confrontation so she was opting for a more subtle approach.
"Do we have any idea where our families are being held?" asked Jacob, his biotic tendrils already visible.
"None," replied Elissa sounding sad and desperate. "We only know that my mother is being held at one of the statues here in the Presidium. I can only hope that she knows where the others are."
"Let's go," said Garrus and she nodded, opening the shuttle door. She raised her Lancer as they all crept along, waiting for some sign of resistance.
Suddenly the Avina AI station flickered and so did a few of the advertisement screens, Elissa knew that something was about to happen. Just then her clone's ragged image appeared all around them, her red-orange eyes staring down at them as if she could actually see where they were.
"I see you made it, Shepard, well done," said the clone with slight grin. "And it seems that your crew is more loyal than I thought, I was sure that at least one of them would have tried to kill you by now. No matter, there's always a chance." The clone smiled evilly. "I'm sure you're all wondering where your precious loved ones are, and I being so generous, will be more than happy to tell you. The vast majority of them are being held in the Council chambers, at the Tower, but a select few are sightseeing around the Presidium so pay attention. Shepard's mother for example is hanging around the statues. Garrus' father and sister are playing chicken with a C-Sec officer. Jacob's wife and son are climbing up the side of a building. Liara's beloved father is dancing up a storm with Samara. That's all you get for now . . . oh, I forgot to mention that you have an hour to find them all."
"Where are you?!" demanded Elissa, taking a step forward. "Come out and show yourself, coward!"
"My name is Lisa now," replied Lisa grinning down at Elissa. "And I guess I have you to thank for that name, Shepard. I heard Liara and a few others calling you that, and I thought it sounded better on me than you. And you'd better hurry up, you only have fifty-nine minutes left."
Lisa's image was replaced with a countdown, showing that they did indeed have less than an hour now.
"Garrus, you and Tali look for your family," said Elissa immediately, not wanting to waste time. "Kasumi, you and Jacob go look for Brynn and Nick. Liara, take Kolyat, Kal, and Ash and go find your father and Samara. Jack, Zaeed, James, and Miranda you need to go look for the others in the Council Chambers. I'll be taking Kaidan with me as we look for my mother."
No one objected to her orders and immediately they dispersed, headed in different directions.
Jacob and Kasumi ran hard towards the highest building in the area, both panting as they neared it, their eyes directed skyward as they looked for any sign of Brynn or Nick. They could not see anything or anyone climbing up the side of the building, just the elevators stuck at their current positions.
"What the hell did that crazy bitch mean?" snarled Jacob as his biotics flared a bright blue.
Kasumi was wondering the same thing, her eyes scanning carefully everything that she could, she then slipped on a pair of her best spy goggles and zoomed in on windows and such to get a clearer picture of the situation. She slowly roamed over the elevator nearest the top of the building and almost screamed when she saw Brynn banging on the glass.
"They're in that elevator!" shouted Kasumi, pointing directly up.
"Damn it," muttered Jacob as he wondered how they were supposed to get up there. "Do you think I could use my biotics to pull it down?"
"I'm not sure," replied Kasumi. "If it were that easy, Brynn would have already gotten herself down by now. I think there's something more going on up there, I mean, she looks terrified."
Jacob wanted to bring the building down, but he knew that would only end up hurting his family in the process. "So what do we do? Use the stairs?"
Kasumi scoffed. "Oh please, stairs are for people that aren't professional thieves." She then pressed something on her suit and the areas that covered her hands, knees, and feet started to glow white. "I'll go up this way and assess the situation, you go up the way you want to and meet me there. Keep in radio contact."
Then with that, Kasumi sprinted over to the building and began effortlessly scaling it, Jacob looked up at her with an amused and awestruck expression. Shaking his head he headed inside the building, wondering what Kasumi was thinking.
Kasumi easily scaled up the massive building, wondering briefly why no one had tried to stop her yet though she knew better than to say something like that out loud in case she trigger a flag. When she neared the elevator she saw Brynn's tearstained face looking down at her, this spurred Kasumi on more, she was about to jump onto the elevator when Brynn waved her hands and mouthed 'no' repeatedly. Kasumi nodded then climbed upwards, coming to the top of the elevator and stretched her legs so she was doing the splits, her special tool allowing her feet to stay in place as she inched herself towards the hatch on the top. Taking a deep breath she pulled it open and prepared herself for something terrible to happen.
"Brynn, are you okay?" asked Kasumi as she craned her neck to look down.
"I'm fine," said Brynn, her voice trembling. "Nick is too. Where's Jacob?"
"Using the stairs," replied Kasumi, her legs burning as she tried to stay in that position. "So, what's the deal with the elevator?"
"It's been rigged to crash if the current weight lessens," said Brynn and Kasumi could tell she was trying not to cry. "More weight can been added but it can't be reduced. I've tried to get out through the door but it can only be opened from the outside and it's likely between two floors."
Kasumi thought for a moment then dropped her tool, landing on the elevator then slipping in through the hatch, making Brynn jump. "Don't worry, we'll get you out of this." She saw Nick in Brynn's arms, looking at her with a smile.
"Sumi!" shouted Nick, indicating that he wanted her to hold him.
"Hey sweetie," said Kasumi lovingly. "Don't worry, Daddy's on his way now."
"You shouldn't have done this," said Brynn, indicating the fact Kasumi was standing in the elevator, "but regardless, I'm glad you did. It's comforting to have someone else here."
Kasumi nodded. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else right now, Brynn, you're a good friend and I don't want you to be alone."
Brynn smiled sweetly then looked around when she heard something coming from the door, suddenly it opened and there was Jacob looking down at them both relieved and terrified.
"What took you?" asked Kasumi with a wry grin.
"Some mercs were standing guard just a few feet away," replied Jacob, about to step in but they stopped him. "What?"
"The elevator will plummet if the weight lessens," said Brynn, looking tempted to jump into Jacob's waiting arms. "The clone was very happy to let me know that."
Kasumi looked around the small room, her eyes resting on the control panel, she saw there was what looked like a small countdown that was getting dangerously close to zero. She knew that they would die if they stayed, the weight idea was just a distraction. At this point, she had to make sure that Brynn and Nick got out. "Brynn," said Kasumi trying to stay calm. "The elevator isn't going to crash if you step out, it was just a bluff. Take Nick and get out."
Brynn looked at her son and looked a little skeptically at Kasumi. "Are you sure, Kasumi? Why aren't you trying to get out?"
"You and Nick are the priority," replied Kasumi, panic creeping into her voice. "Please, just trust me on this."
"Alright," said Brynn warily. "How should we do this?"
"Jacob, can you put a biotic field around them?" asked Kasumi, her eyes on the countdown. "Could you use it to pull them out?"
Jacob looked at her suspiciously. "I guess I could try. But what about you?"
"Don't worry about me," said Kasumi dismissively. "You need to get Brynn and Nick out of here, now!"
Jacob nodded then focused his energy on encompassing Brynn and Nick in a biotic field, slowly bringing them up towards his position. Kasumi watched from her position, ready to push them through the opening if necessary, she knew by the time they got out there would be no time to save herself even if she jumped through the top hatch. She watched the countdown, closing her eyes when it hit five seconds.
"Come on, Kasumi," said Jacob, now that Brynn was safely with him.
"Goodbye," said Kasumi sadly and then the elevator went plummeting.
"Kasumi!" shouted Jacob, watching helplessly as it went down towards the ground, moments later there was nothing but debris. "No!"
Brynn was crying now. "She . . . she sacrificed herself. Why?"
"There must have been something going on we didn't know about," said Jacob solemnly as he closed his eyes, anger overwhelming him. "She probably thought it was the only way to save you two, if she made sure she made the necessary sacrifice. That bitch clone of Shepard's will pay for this."
"I know," said Brynn, putting a hand on Jacob's shoulder. He looked at her and Nick then embraced them tightly, his body shaking. "It's alright, Jacob, we're still here."
"I love you," said Jacob, his voice muffled against her shoulder. "I'm never letting you out of my sight again."
Brynn smiled as she put her hand on Jacob's neck and held him close. "Good."
The music was deafeningly loud as Liara, Ashley, Kal, and Kolyat made their way to the club Purgatory, their weapons drawn as they waited for some kind of attack. They saw the doors guarded not too far up ahead and they broke off into groups of two to cover the entrance.
"I don't remember this place," said Ashley quietly as she and Liara took point at the front of the pack.
"It opened sometime after you died," replied Liara calmly though Ashley noticed an edge to her voice. "I find it ironic that Lisa—I mean Elissa's clone would hide my father here, she spent her maiden years as a dancer."
Ashley smirked. "The more I hear about your father, the more I understand how you became the Shadow Broker, Liara. I mean, between her and your mother, you were almost guaranteed to be a badass."
"I only hope Talissa will benefit as well," said Liara as she powered up her biotics, Kolyat doing the same as Ashley and Kal aimed their respective weapons at the two mercs guarding the door.
Liara easily Lifted one of the guards, Kolyat Pulling the other as Ashley and Kal fired a couple of rounds into each merc, only when they were dead were the allowed to fall to the floor. Without another word, the four of them crossed the open area to the door, Ashley and Kal taking a spot on either side while Kolyat and Liara crouched low to stay out of the way of potential gunfire. Ashley used her omni-tool to hack open the door and when it opened she and Kal slipped inside, eyes scanning potential hiding places for snipers and possible ambushes. They saw from their position several mercs up on the dance floor and they quickly ran for cover.
"How many?" asked Liara as she looked up and saw her father and Samara both tied to poles in the dancer's area. Her biotics flared at the sight and she almost broke cover but restrained herself, knowing that rash acts never led to winning situations.
"I would say a half dozen, maybe eight, could be more," replied Kal, looking through the scope of his assault rifle. "This would be a hell of a lot easier if Miya were here, she could pick those bastards off quicker than we could from this position."
Ashley hummed thoughtfully. "That's true, but we have an advantage, by some miracle they didn't see us come in so that gives us some time to plan." She thought back on what she knew and could recall from previous encounters such as this with Elissa and the others. "Do you remember when we had to clear that base full of Geth? There wasn't much cover and they had the advantage of being above us enabling them to track our movements. We managed it, Liara, Skipper, and I by ourselves."
Realization dawned on Liara. "Yes! We used my biotics to pull a few down to our level and you killed them while Shepard provided cover fire. I think you're right, Ash, that would certainly work in this situation!"
"So should I Pull a merc down?" asked Kolyat, his biotics already active. "That way one of you could shoot him while the others give cover fire."
"No," said Ashley sternly. "We can use that staircase as a means of funneling the mercs, we grab one as a distraction, two people fire into their little base so they don't try and jump over the sides and the last person will pick them off as they run down the stairs."
"I'll Pull one then," said Liara as she activated her biotics. "Kolyat, your skill with a gun is far more impressive than my own, I hope you don't take this as an insult."
Kolyat smiled kindly. "Hardly, Liara."
Liara nodded then focused her energy on Pulling a merc from his perch towards their location, while Ashley and Kolyat started firing wildly into the bar where the others were, both being mindful not to aim anywhere near Aethyta and Samara's location. There was some return fire but it did not last long; Ashley's plan seemed to be working, the other mercs were forced to use the stairs as their only means of escaping the gunfire and Kal picked them off easily. That is until one stayed behind a wall for cover and then came into view too late for Kal to see, the merc fired and he was hit in the shoulder.
"Kal!" shouted Ashley as she continued to lay down suppressing fire. "Kal, are you alright?"
Kal groaned as he held a hand against his injured shoulder. "I'll live, saera, don't worry about me."
Ashley seemed torn between continuing her job and throwing down her rifle to assist Kal, and he seemed to know that because he immediately put a patch from his med-kit on the injury and injected an antibiotic. This left little room for her to argue keeping up the fight.
"Focus, Ash, focus!" called Liara when she saw Ashley's weapon lowering.
"Got it," said Ashley sternly as she aimed her gun, her jaw set with determination. "Liara, take over for Kal, your pistol should do the trick. Kolyat, start focusing on those at the top."
The two aliens nodded and did as they were told, Liara managing to pick off some of the mercs trying to climb over their companions' dead bodies while Kolyat focused on the ones just now making it to the staircase. Soon the gunfire ceased and all that was left was a pile of dead bodies.
"Damn, our plans never go that well," laughed Ashley, Kal's arm around her shoulders, as they raced from behind cover and up the stairs. "Maybe it's a sign we're doing something right."
"Could be," said Kolyat keeping an eye out for any hidden dangers. "Liara, will you need help rescuing your father and Samara?"
"I would be grateful for your assistance, Kolyat," replied Liara as she vaulted over the small wall that separated the dancer's area from the bar, though the formerly respectable and modern bar now looked more like a seedy bar on Omega with the number of bullet holes and debris scattered around. Ashley put Kal down against the nearest wall then moved to inspect his injury, lifting up the hastily placed patch.
"It needs medi-gel," she said sternly, reaching into her own med-kit to extract one. "You're lucky it's just your shoulder."
Kal laughed though it pained him to do so. "I guess it could have been worse, like my torso or head."
Ashley glared at him as she removed the patch and tried not to wince as blood poured out of it, she took a deep breath and pressed the medi-gel dispenser against the nearest uninjured skin, pressing the plunger. Kal winced sharply and had to will himself to stay still as the medi-gel was dispensed into his system. Moments later the injured area ceased to bleed as new skin started to weave over the bullet wound, Ashley smiled slightly as she readjusted the patch over his suit, making sure it would hold.
"You're a great nurse," said Kal, reaching up to brush some hair out of her face.
"You aren't a terrible patient," replied Ashley as she inspected her work. "God, Kal, I was so scared something worse happened."
Kal cupped her cheek, stroking it lightly. "Don't worry, saera, I'm not leaving your side. Not even if you decide to go back to Earth."
Ashley leaned into his touch. "I love you, Kal'Reegar."
"I love you too, Ashley Williams," said Kal, his voice soft.
"As touching as this moment is, I think we should get the hell out of here," said Aethyta as she approached, supported by Liara.
"Father, that wasn't necessary," chided Liara politely.
Aethyta rolled her eyes. "I know you're a hopeless romantic Liara, but there's a time and place for crap like that and this isn't either."
There was a slight lull in the music, not much but it was enough that they heard what sounded like the door opening. They raced for some kind of cover rather quickly, Kolyat headed for the edge to see what the situation was and had to keep from swearing when he saw the number of mercs down below.
"We are seriously outnumbered," he reported as he readied his weapon of choice. "I don't think we'll have a chance of getting out of here alive."
The Traffic Control Tower was completely devoid of any resistance, concerning Garrus greatly as he and Tali raced up to the top, barely stopping to catch their breath as they burst through the door. They found no trace of anyone ever being there, only heightening their worry as they slowly made their way through the room looking for anything out of the ordinary.
"I see you figured out my clue," said Lisa, her image popping up all over the room on the various screens.
Garrus' mandibles snapped furiously as he pointed his sniper rifle at her. "What do you want?"
Lisa smiled wickedly. "I'm only here to help, Garrus, just like Shepard—"
"You're nothing like Shepard," barked Garrus, his harmonic voice sounding so low it was almost a growl rather than a voice. "Now tell me where my father and Solana are now!"
"You only had to ask," said Lisa as she gestured at a window.
Tali, being the nearest, crept slowly forward craning her neck to look out of the window. "I see two shapes, one is bigger than the other, and they appear to be hanging from the bridge just beneath us."
"Good eyes, Tali," said Lisa, sounding like Elissa for a moment. "Yes, one of those shapes is the combined presence of Garrus' father and sister, the other is Commander Bailey of C-Sec."
"You bitch!" snarled Garrus, already having an idea of what was to come. "You're going to make me choose, aren't you?"
Lisa laughed. "You're way too smart for this kind of work, Vakarian. Why don't you ditch Shepard and come to the winning side?"
"What makes you think you'll win?" asked Tali, her tone just as dark as Garrus'.
"Let's call it an ace in the hole," replied Lisa with a wink. "Now, since Garrus has so quickly worked out my little game, I'll tell you how this works. On that console is a key and two slots," she pointed over at a console behind Garrus, "the one on the right will drop Bailey while the one on the left will drop Garrus' family into the water below. My sniper will shoot the one that isn't dropped. If you don't choose, they'll all be shot and no one wins. Also, if you try to interfere in anyway, such as cutting them down or shooting them down, they'll be killed before they hit the ground. You have five minutes to decide." Her image then faded from the screens only to be replaced with a timer.
Immediately Garrus went over to the console and looked at the key and two slots where it could fit, guilt and anger washing over him like a cold wave. "Tali, I need you to go back downstairs and wait by the water, whoever I pick is going to need help getting out regardless."
"Are you sure?" asked Tali somewhat timidly, taking a step towards Garrus. "Garrus, I think I should—"
"Just do it, Tali!" snapped Garrus, instantly regretting his tone. "I'm sorry, mellis, but I need you to do this for me."
Tali nodded and without another word, ran out of the room and back down the stairs.
Garrus sighed heavily once she left, his gaze still locked on the key and slots, knowing that he held the fate of three lives in his hand. He glanced at the timer, almost three minutes to go and he had to choose. Logically he knew he should choose his father and sister, that was why he came running up those stairs in the first place, but he could not help but wonder about the consequences of killing Bailey. Surely there would be repercussions, right? Bailey was the Commander of C-Sec, hell most of the time he was C-Sec, killing him would be cutting off the head of a powerful organization in favor of two Turians; two Turians who were his only family. While he was sure Elissa would understand his predicament, he was not sure that the Council and the rest of the galaxy would.
"Spirits damn me for what I'm about to do," he said as he put the key into the right slot and turned. "I'm sorry."
Lisa's image appeared on screen again, not looking very pleased. "How did you know?"
Garrus turned around triumphantly and smirked. "You mean, how did I know that you were lying about which switch went to which hostage?"
"Yes," snapped Lisa.
"Tali told me," replied Garrus as he gestured at the window. "She mentioned the large shape first and your eyes always go to what is furthest away from you. If this were Shepard's little game, she probably would have come up with something a little more nerve wracking than this. If you want my opinion, I think you're being a little overly dramatic, just like you were when we first fought you; it's mistakes like that that will cost you everything."
Lisa said nothing and her image faded away.
Garrus let out a shaky breath and allowed himself to recover for a moment before dashing out of the room, relieved that his hunch had been right but devastated at the loss. When he arrived outside of the tower, he saw Tali helping his father and sister out of the water though she was struggling to maintain her hold. He rushed over, tossing aside his weapon as he bent down to help her lift, together they managed to pull Solana and Sicarius back onto dry land.
"Garrus!" cried out Solana as her brother and Tali worked to untie them. "Garrus, I'm so glad you're alive."
"Speak for yourself, Sol," teased Garrus half-heartedly as he tugged on the bindings. "Are you two hurt? Did that clone of Shepard's injure you at all?"
Both Turians shook their heads.
"No, we were just knocked out with gas," replied Sicarius. "Everyone where we were on New Canton was, that's how the clone was able to round us up so easily."
"Do you know how she was able to subdue the Citadel so quickly?" asked Garrus as he tried to focus on the task at hand but was struggling as questions escaped his mouth before he could stop them.
Sicarius shook his head. "I'm not sure, but it probably has something to do with how she was able to capture Commander Bailey."
At the mention of Bailey's name, Garrus ceased his work and tried not the pound the pavement with his fists, his anger boiling up. As if sensing his distress, Tali reached out and put a hand on his talon, making him look up at her.
"It's alright, Garrus," said Tali gently. "I'm sure no one will blame you."
Garrus said nothing in response then pulled sharply on the bindings once again, this time with his omni-blade breaking them easily and freeing his family. Solana fell against Tali sobbing and the two women embraced while Sicarius rose up with his son and the two Turian men looked up at Bailey's body hanging above the bridge.
Hannah was tied to the Conduit statue, her arms high above her head as she lay there limply, no sign of life from what Elissa could tell as she and Kaidan neared it. She had been expecting heavy resistance but so far they had encountered none, likely the mercs were still trying to keep the citizens of the Citadel at bay while her clone played her little games.
"How do you want to do this, Shepard?" asked Kaidan as he looked up at Hannah.
"Could you use your biotics to bring her down?" asked Elissa as she surveyed the area, then she saw something glinting in the light and grabbing Kaidan's armor, pulled him to the nearest cover just as a round pierced the ground they had been standing on. "Sniper."
Kaidan looked around from over their cover, seeing the lens of several scopes catching the light and he cursed inwardly. "Make that snipers, Shepard." He looked over again, this time glancing at Hannah. "How are we supposed to reach her from here?"
Elissa thought for a moment. "Do you think they're only after me?"
"What?" asked Kaidan.
"Do you think the snipers were instructed to only hit me?" asked Elissa, irritation in her voice.
Kaidan thought for a moment. "That seems logical, since your clone wants you dead."
"Exactly," said Elissa as she prepared her assault rifle. "So, I'm going to run out and distract them while you work on saving my mother."
"Wait, what?" asked Kaidan as Elissa nearly leapt out from behind their cover, only for him to grab her hand and stop her at the last second. "Shepard, I know you want to save your mother, but needlessly risking your life and the babies lives just seems stupid. Why don't you wait here while I go get your mother?"
Elissa shook her head. "Then they'll shoot you the first chance they get, if I'm out there to distract them then we stand a chance, please trust me on this. If I wasn't sure I wouldn't do this, you know that."
Kaidan looked at her carefully, her words sinking in and he reluctantly let go of her hand, watching as she dashed out in front of the snipers. He shook his head to clear away any doubts about this, she was Commander Shepard, she knew what she was doing and how to handle it. With new resolve he activated his biotics and headed out to the Conduit.
"There's too many of them!" shouted Miranda over the loud gunfire that seemed to never end.
James looked over at her from his spot in cover, wondering why they had not come up with a better plan before bursting through the doors. They had been pinned down for the better part of twenty minutes and could barely muster a chance to return fire, their opponents were so ceaseless in their assault. He glanced over at Jack who was breathing heavily, she had tried to use her biotics a number of times but had to keep ducking down and deactivating them before she had a proper chance to use them and that had caused some problems for her.
"Fuck, we're going to die in here unless we do something soon!" shouted Jack as she blindly sent a Shockwave in a random direction. She smirked when she heard a couple of screams though at this point it was almost hopeless.
"What's the plan?" asked Miranda as she tried to keep Zaeed from jumping into the fray.
"I guess the only thing we can do is try and blow as many of them away as we can," called back James though he was unsure of how he could do any of that, especially when they had no idea where the families were being held. 'I'll take the consequences later!' he thought as he pulled a number of grenades from his belt and looked at Jack. "Do you think you could contain these in a biotic field long enough to throw them someplace?"
Jack thought for a moment, his plan coming to her plain as day. "Yeah, I could. You should have Lawson do the same with Zaeed, that way we stand a better chance at hitting something."
"I like your thinking, Jack," said James with a tight smile as he waved over at Miranda. "Take some of Zaeed's grenades and throw them using your biotics!"
Miranda nodded then she and Zaeed set about doing just that at the same moment as James and Jack.
"I hope this works, Muscle Boy," said Jack as James handed her a grenade. She encased it in a field of blue energy then looked over their cover for a split second. "Alright, I have a place in mind, just give me a quick second to make peace with my maker."
James looked at her with a raised eyebrow and she burst out laughing.
"I'm kidding, jeez," laughed Jack before rising out from behind their cover about the same time as Miranda, both hurling their respective grenade in opposite directions then ducking back down just as quickly.
James and Zaeed then pressed a button on their omni-tools, moments later there were two explosions and some of the gunfire ceased. The four shared a wicked grin then scrambled to set off more grenades, if they got rid of enough mercs they might have a chance at finally finding their families. Jack and Miranda eagerly threw the grenades in several directions, Zaeed and James setting them off only when they were sure they had enough laid out to make a decent dent in the opposition. When the grenades went off, there was a dramatic decrease in the number of bullets flying at them and they took advantage, advancing as quickly as they could towards the nearest cover.
"What should we do now?" asked Zaeed as he fired some shots up above, smirking when a merc came tumbling down from a balcony.
"That seems to be working fine," said James as he let loose a spray of bullets at a balcony, watching with twisted delight as three mercs fell.
Jack saw some mercs coming up from the Councilors' pedestal and sent a strong Shockwave in their direction, cackling when they went tumbling down and stayed down. "Well, we're in a good position right now, and we've taken out a number of mercs already so I say we hunker down here and enjoy ourselves."
"I would agree with Jack if we weren't on a deadline," said Miranda as she Slammed two mercs in her line of fire before ducking back down. "We need to find a way to end this quickly."
"Cease fire!" shouted a familiar yet unfamiliar voice. The gunfire stopped instantly.
The four peeked above their cover and saw Elissa's clone standing on the same platform where Elissa had killed Saren, and she was not alone, she had Admiral Hackett in a headlock with a pistol pointed at his head. They could see that he was trying to struggle but she had too firm a grip on him for him to make any headway. James ground his teeth as he watched the admiral struggle against the grip of his daughter's clone.
"Will Shepard's stooges please come out from hiding?" asked Lisa, her pistol still firmly pressed against Hackett's temple.
"Who are you calling a stooge, you freak?" taunted Zaeed.
"The one with the gun against an admiral's head!" shouted Lisa, emphasizing the point much to Hackett's discomfort. "Now the four of you will show yourselves or we're going to see what Hackett's brilliant brain looks like on the floor."
James nodded silently and together they stood up though they did not drop their weapons or deactivate their biotics.
"Now that's better," said Lisa, her glowing eyes resting on each of them in turn. "I'm impressed with your improvisation, you took out a number of mercs in very short order though it took you a while to come up with it. Nonetheless, I'm impressed."
"We weren't doing this to impress you," snapped Miranda. "We did it to save our families. So tell us where they are before Zaeed's twitchy trigger finger goes through your head and Jack's massive biotic build up removes what's left of your skin."
Lisa fire the pistol in the air then pressed the burning tip against Hackett's temple, the pain making him cry out though he kept it muffled behind closed lips.
"I think you're forgetting who you're dealing with," said Lisa darkly. "I'm not your precious commander, I will kill him if provoked."
"All flash and no substance," sneered Zaeed. "You've put us through this elaborate game of yours instead of shooting Shepard when you had the chance, you want to toy with her but what you've done is given her the chance to win."
"I told you to shut up!" shouted Lisa, though she was starting to sound desperate.
"And who are you to order my crew around?" called Elissa from the main entrance. "Because the last time I checked, I was me and you were just a pale imitation."
Lisa's lips twisted in a snarl as she watched Elissa approach. "It seems you freed your pathetic mother."
"My mother isn't pathetic, and yes I did free her," snapped Elissa. "Now, why don't you let go of the admiral and surrender yourself? This will go a lot more smoothly if you just cooperate."
"I don't have to cooperate with you," said Lisa with a smirk. "I've got Hackett, and unless you want him dead I would suggest putting your gun on the floor."
Elissa looked down at her weapon. "No thanks, but how about you answer something for me, how were you able to subdue the Citadel? This station is huge and can hardly be taken by a small team of mercs, no matter their level of skill."
"Sparatus took care of that for me," replied Lisa, sounding triumphant. "He locked down the Citadel when he got the orders from the Illusive Man."
"What about the Spectres who helped the Council escape?" asked Elissa, her eyes focused on Lisa. "And the commandos?"
"Took care of them before I placed your crew's families in the Presidium," said Lisa, her eyes dancing with wicked glee. "Honestly, once Sparatus gave me control of the station, I had no trouble exercising my command. Cerberus might not have been able to fix me up like before but they gave me some new resources and I damn well took advantage."
Elissa started to laugh. "You know Lazarus Station was still operational up until I destroyed it recently, right? It's not that Cerberus couldn't fix you up it was that the wouldn't and I don't blame them."
Lisa looked a little startled. "What are you talking about? That place was destroyed years ago."
"Nope," said Elissa, shaking her head. "It was fully active and doing some interesting experiments, interesting being a mild term. Anyway, I can see why Cerberus wouldn't want to waste their resources on fixing you up, they probably knew you'd fail to kill me, like you had before."
"I haven't failed yet," snarled Lisa though her grip on Hackett had slackened a bit.
"You also haven't succeeded," pointed out Elissa as she watched the clone carefully. "Look Lisa, this doesn't have to end with your death, just surrender now and we can get you the help you need."
"Where, in an Alliance prison cell?" asked Lisa, her tone sharp. "I won't go to prison, Shepard, I won't go."
Elissa took a step forward and she took a step back. "Lisa, you're sick and you need help. Whatever Cerberus told you, whatever they did to you has obviously made you unstable. Your cybernetics shouldn't be exposed like that and you shouldn't be forced to live with it either."
Lisa's confidence faltered just a little. "I don't want your pity, Shepard, I want your blood."
"Why? I haven't done anything to you except try to save you," replied Elissa warily. "You've spent how many years coming up with this revenge plot? And now it's failed. My friends are here, they didn't betray me like you hoped, they stuck by me like I knew they would. You need to let whatever you're thinking go, Lisa, before it consumes you."
For a fraction of a second, Lisa looked as if she was going to give in to Elissa's words but then she raised her weapon, pointing it at Elissa then there was a shot fired. Only the shot did not hit Elissa, in fact it was nowhere near her, the shot actually had hit Lisa. The clone looked down at her chest then she looked behind her to see someone in the shadows before collapsing to the ground, pulling Hackett with her. The mercs above began to scatter the moment Lisa's body hit the ground and Miranda, James, Jack, and Zaeed began firing at them hitting as many as they could as they retreated ensuring their friend's safety. Elissa went running up to the platform.
"Dad, Dad, are you alright?" asked Elissa as she helped Hackett to his feet. She saw the burn to his temple. "That looks nasty."
Hackett brushed off her concern. "I'll put some medi-gel on it and it'll be fine." Then he heard footsteps and he turned around to see . . . Elissa.
"Dios, is there another clone?" asked James when he saw the two Elissas standing at the platform.
The Elissa nearest him shook her head. "No there is only one Elissa," she said before her face and hair changed to that of EDI. "Just as there is only one EDI."
"Well done, EDI," said Elissa happily. "You almost had me convinced you were me."
EDI grinned. "I just did what I thought you would have done, Elissa."
"So, was EDI here the whole time?" asked Miranda, disappointed in herself for falling for this trick again.
Elissa nodded. "Yes, she was the one who came down on the shuttle with the rest of the crew, I followed behind a little while later. EDI was the one who went with Kaidan to save my mother, we had devised this little plan beforehand, since I wouldn't put my babies in danger again."
"I think we executed it perfectly," said EDI happily then she frowned at Lisa's body. "Did you kill her?"
"No, just shot her in the chest," said Elissa as she walked over to her clone, hearing her ragged breathing. "I couldn't risk a headshot, it could have injured Dad."
"I appreciate the thought," said Hackett with a chuckle.
Elissa looked down at her clone, who was now looking at her with anger smoldering in her eyes. "I can save you," she said calmly. "You can lead a peaceful life someplace far away from here."
Lisa shook her head as blood trickled out of her mouth. "I'd rather die free than be imprisoned by you, Shepard." She coughed as more blood came out, her breathing became increasingly irregular and she did not have long to live. "You'll never get us all."
"What are you talking about?" asked Elissa, concerned by her words. "Do you mean there are more clones of me? Lisa, answer me?"
With a smirk Lisa exhaled for the last time, her glowing cybernetics went dark, and she was dead.
