The Clone Effect
Chapter one: A start to the End
"Cerberus has bypassed Citadel Security, I repeat, we've breached their systems!"
Shepard's heart buzzed and his breathing hurried as firearms wailed around him. He instinctively activated his barrier. Shepherd had one objective, to locate and secure the Council. He threw several singularity fields followed by a thrust of warp, sending Cerberus troopers flying explosively. He stepped over the spread-out and disfigured bodies as he trekked further into the depths of the Presidium.
Eventually, after several more gun blowouts, dancing phantoms and biotic explosions, he crept to the Embassies.
Standing outside the Asari Embassy, he found all doors to be jammed shut and powered down. His jaw clenched at the task of disarming the door's locking mechanism, his eyes narrowed towards the door. Without power, he could not hack the device, not that he had been a skilled hacker to begin with, however, from his understanding, most powered mechanisms had a manual override. "Never on the side you need it", he huffed. Letting out a small groan he thought, "biotics might do the trick, maybe?" he rubbed the bottom of his chin, before glancing down at the panel. He stepped back slightly, crossing his arms loosely against his chest. He tried to recall his training on the standard lock mechanisms. A small mumble left his lips, he nodded to himself. "Guess I don't have much choice".
He rubbed his hands together as his eyes narrowed towards the panel, his nose scrunched and lips formed a thin line in concentration.
"Show time", he spoke to himself. His body hummed rhythmically as a dark blue aura engulfed him. He used his finely tuned biotics to manipulate the powered down device. The task alone had him feeling exhausted within minutes from the large amount of concentration required to control his biotics to unhinge the manual override switch of the lock. Eventually, his extended biotic fingers found the sweet spot, the lock hissed and the door cracked apart slightly. The opening created had been just enough for Shepard to squeeze his body between the crevice. His body again glowed, the hairs on the back of his neck standing from the hum of his flared biotics. On three, he squeezed his muscles, they flexed and contracted beneath his casual clothing. Jointly, utilising both his raw power and biotics, followed by a large release of air and noise from his lungs, he successfully pushed the door apart, it screeched open at the combined forces.
His body huffed and heaved. He briefly leant against the half-opened door, regaining both his breath and strength. He reached into his side pocket, grabbing a carb bar, and he was quick to scoff it down. Within a minute or so, he started to regain his senses, his surroundings had previously started to blur and become a haze, and as soon as the added sugar hit his system, the fuzziness began to clear up.
His nostrils were instantly hit with an overwhelming metallic scent and scorched flesh. It was enough to make his stomach drop. Scanning his surroundings he identified the cause of the stench. Charcoal bodies sat slumped on top of one another scattered across the room. Both red and violet blood painted the walls and floors. A true image of a massacre presented before Shepard. The burnt bodies almost too far gone to identify.
He crossed the room, stepping over and around the strewn and mangled corpses. As he walked he noticed soft sobs coming from the adjacent and locked room.
"Goddess please no", faint whimpers repeated.
He approached the door. Power remained connected, however, the door locked.
"Goddess why?"
He needed to find a solution around the lock. If the whimpers were coming from an alive Councillor, he needed to breach that door.
He approached what he assumed to be the receptionist's desk and attempted to access the teal holographic terminal.
"Locked. Should have guessed. Shit!"
He looked around, biting his lip he looked for a solution. "Mmm what's the chances", he told himself. From all the charred corpses, one remained with its organics mostly intact, well enough for him to salvage an optical sample. However, the odds it would match were slim.
Finding himself with little choice he knelt beside the disfigured Asari corpse. His stomach twisted and turned as he scooped out the jelly orb of the Asari eye. He was almost certain his skin was turning a shade of pale green in the act as he felt his stomach contents begin to rise at the wet, slimy and goopy sensations coating his fingers. He physically gagged at the audible snap as the tendon broke, he pulled the eye from its socket.
"Ok. Let's see if this will work." He held the eye towards the monitor, and to his surprise, which caused an unconscious grin to cross his features, it worked. He gained full access to the terminal. He discarded the eye to his side, wiping the gory mess on his hands with a rub against his jeans.
Within seconds the door hissed open.
Stepping forward, he cringed internally at the popping and squishing feeling under his foot. "I didn't just?" he shook his head in a feeble attempt to shake the sensation from his mind. It failed, "I stepped on the eye". It oozed goo under his foot. His shoulders shuddered inward.
Stepping towards the adjacent room, he listened to the survivor, "goddess they found me".
He stepped around the large centre desk. His head cocked at the sight before him. He crossed loosely his arms against his chest as he gazed downwards. He pitied the pathetic sight before him. The Asari sat both slumped and huddled under the desk. Her knees raised to her chest, he noticed her body trembling. "Meek", he thought, "typical Asari, Cowering!" he recognised this one instantly by her particular white facial markings. She was trapped in her trauma as she rocked back and forth muttering to herself.
He lifted his dried, purple-bloodied fingers to his ear. "Councillor Tevos has been located, extraction will continue as planned".
He knelt before the visually broken Asari. "Councillor?" he started, but he received no response.
He sighed heavily, letting out a puff of air from his nose. His eyes darted around the room before returning to the Councillor.
"Tevos!" he said firmly as he reached for her shoulder. He gripped firmly the red dress she wore. He couldn't help but notice the silky soft texture under his rough hands.
Pulling lightly at her shoulders, and repeating her name once again, "Tevos!" he managed to recover her from her trance-like state.
For a split instant, it appeared as if the Councillor's eyes were spinning around her head before her hazel orbs landed squarely onto his own.
"Shep… Shepard?" she squeezed out.
He nodded, "something like that".
She blinked once, then twice, and her lips parted, "the citadel…"
"Is under Cerberus's control"
"I never thought…" she gulped as she diverted her gaze from his. "The others sacrificed themselves. They locked me in here… For safety…" her voice raspy, as if dried from all moisture.
"You're alive. At current that's all that matters, Councillor".
"It's not fair!" she spat, before her now intense hazel eyes returned to his own.
His brows narrowed and his lips formed a thin line. He witnessed the fire from the councillor he initially believed she didn't have, "use that anger to survive. For now, we need to locate the other councillors and get you all to safety!"
"I…" she diverted her gaze again, her tone soft, she said, "Valern was following a report up with Citadel security", she paused, swallowing she moved a hand to her forehead before continuing, "Sparatus and Udina had a meeting scheduled with the Primach in the human Councillor's office".
He nodded as he computed his next steps of action. He scrunched his nose and narrowed his brows while his lips created a thin line. "Hmmm", he mumbled, he looked towards the wall, "C-sec headquarters are too far out for Valern. Udina and Sparatus on the other hand". He stood from his kneeling position, the asari looked up towards him with wide eyes. He extended his hand offering it to the councillor.
He vibrated internally at the sensation of her soft porcelain skin meeting his rough exterior. He also couldn't help but note the Asari Councillors' lightweight and petite build as he pulled her up to her feet.
"Word of warning", he stated, "try not paying any attention to the next room. Its appearance is quite…well", no more words were needed to get the description across.
"Goddess!" spilled from her mouth, she looked away as she covered her parted lips with her hand.
It had been a truly horrifying sight, even for himself. His body tensed as he suddenly found the Councillor hooked around him. Her hands grabbing a fist full of material from his chest and head resting lightly in between.
"I'm sorry," she apologised, "I just need.."
his hands unconsciously moved to the small of her back before rising up between the blades of her shoulders. He applied subtle pressure. He despised the unwelcome feeling worming it's way throughout his body, yet, at the same time he revelled in it. He gently rested his chin against the Councillors crest.
After what seemed like an eternity, one he'd gladly step back into, the Councillor released her hold on him. He looked down towards her. His heart suddenly pounding into his ears. He managed a stiff, "stay close and behind me Councillor", he coughed.
She nodded, keeping her body close, he could feel both the cold and warmth of her breath hitting the base of his neck as they embarked forward.
With his ears tuned into his surrounding, Shepard looked for footfall that didn't resemble his or the Councillors. Suddenly, he held his arm out, covering the councillor.
"Quick! Get down!" he ordered. Abruptly an onslaught of Cerberus troopers broke through the glass windows sending shattered pieces flying. He erected a biotic sphere, bubbling himself and the Councillor from the debris and fire.
The Councillor pressed her hands to the side of her face as she huddled her body inwards at the ear-piercing sound of blazing gunfire and explosive glass. His chest panted heavily as he threw out biotic detonations and fired his pistol. Building up a sweat, and a need for a snack, he finished off the last of the troopers.
However, just when he had thought he had finished with the Cerberus assault, he noticed a flashing red counter. Too exhausted to form a barrier with his biotics, as he needed to cool down, he threw his body over the Councillor.
His broad chest covered the Councillors' head as he wrapped his arms and hands over his head and the councillor to form a human body shield. He could feel the smaller Asari's frame rising and falling rapidly below him.
A sharp strike penetrated his side. He yelped in agony, however, didn't remove himself from the Councillor until the dust began to settle around them.
"You're… You're injured!" came from the Asari below him. He felt her hands snake up to the debris embedded deeply into his side. His muscle contracted and twitched under her gentle touch.
Using his arms he propped himself up slightly, he gazed down towards the councillor, a look of concern washed across her features, he gave a pained smile, "I'll be fine!" his mind felt conflicted 'does the Councillor have genuine concern for my wellbeing?' He had harboured no love for the Council, the Citadel and everything they represented. Yet something about the concerned tone mixed in with the councillor's voice, made him feel very uneasy and unsettled. A strange sense of warmth flooded his system. Shaking his head, he mirrored her response. "Are you ok, Tevos?"
With a gentle upturn of her lips and a lightening shade of her hazel eyes, she responded, "I'm… I'm ok Commander. I believe you took the brunt of the damage".
Pushing himself off of the Councillor, but instantly missing the contact, he kicked himself internally at the feeling, he inspected his wound. Ugly had been the nicest way to describe it. Without hesitating, he pulled the impaled piece of debris from his side before slapping some omni-gel over it. He noticed the Asari cringing at the sight. "Don't worry," he stated, "nothing omni-gel can't fix".
Again he assisted the Councillor to her feet. He found himself savouring the touch.
His eyes then landed on the Asari, he noticed violet-blood dripping from her nostril, "Councillor, you're…"
She wiped the purple mess away with the back of her hand, before interjecting, "it's ok, nothing omni-gel can't fix, right?", She gave him a crooked smile.
Something deep within him made him grin like a child as he felt the return of the sudden flash of unsettling warmth engulfing his body.
He hobbled forward, every few metres wincing in pain. He didn't miss the councillor's glance of concern. However, was it a concern for him, or herself, as he was her only chance at survival? This, he questioned himself, slightly distracting him from his main objective.
The fighting eventually died off with the Cerberus troopers distracted elsewhere. With ease, he managed to secure the human and turian Councillors, the salarian was a planned loss.
They all headed to the nearest turbo lift.
As the lift accelerated upward, something jumped above. "Get a down!" he ordered as he fired covering shots above. The lift came to its destination and he ushered the council out.
The waiting shuttle had gone up in flames.
Then the lift-jumping insiders made their presence known, locking the lifts behind.
An audible gasp left everyones lips as two Shepards stood before them.
'How?" the asari councillor spoke.
"Can't you see? They're both with Cerberus!" interjected Udina.
The Commander, accompanied by both Garrus and Dr T'Soni, raised their weapons towards him.
Thinking quickly, he raised his hands in a gesture of peace. "I can explain", he started, as he slowly lowered his pistol to the ground. "I'm a Cerberus creation but I'm not working for them. I can tell you all about it ater when we aren't in immediate danger", he offered.
"Lies!" Udina spat, "you're both traitors. Can't you see they will lead us to our demise!' Udina pointed towards the Commander and his crew before pointing back towards the replicated Shepard. "you're blocking our way to safety and you! You found us all too easily!"
His cloned self huffed, "easily! I was attacked by Cerberus the entire time! If I was working with them, don't you think I would have been given a free pass to collect the Council?" he winced as he felt again the sudden strike of pain in his side causing him to slump forward. Tevos stepped towards him, bracing her hands over his wound. "You're bleeding, again," she stated, before addressing the others. "I witnessed Cerberus's assault towards this… Shepard. He gained this wound protecting me!". She looked towards the commander and crew and the other Councillors. " I don't know who he is, but he saved me. So has the real Shepard. We have mistrusted him before and it did not help us!".
"Please", the Commander pleaded. "Behind that door are more Cerberus troops. You've all been fooled. Udina is behind this attack! The Salarian Councillor confirmed it!"
"I'm done debating this! We're dead if we stay out here. I'm overriding the lock", Udina stated as he hurried towards the terminal located at the end of the bridge.
Holding his wounded side, Shepard tilted his body to face Udina.
"Udina please!" Tevos pleaded as she approached the human Councillor. He pushed the Asari back, thrusting her to the the ground before pulling his pistol against her.
Shepherd felt anger and rage bubbling inside him. Without a second thought, he conjured a biotic push, colliding with the human Councillor and sending him flying off of the ledge to his demise below.
However, he was already weak from his injury. He began to feel himself succumbing to it. The world became a haze as his knees weakened and buckled beneath him. As if in slow motion he crashed into the ground. Voices muffled around him. His last sight was of the violet temptress hovering above him.
Authors notes:
A change in the tale of the cloned Shepard. In this story I will not Name the Commander, only refer to him as Commander or Commader Shepard, as I personally find it jarring to see a name that isn't my Shepards. I will name the clone however. Also I will try not to describe the appearance of the Commander either. So you can picture him being as much or as little alike as your Shepard as possible. The one thing that is set in stone though, is that he's an adept class marine.
anyway, I hope you all enjoy it. I have this tale planned out from beginning to end. Feedback is alway welcomed.