DON'T FUCK WITH ARIA: A DEATH NOTE/MASS EFFECT STORY

Author's Note: You might have noticed I'm a big fan of Aria T'Loak. She has a lot of hidden depths to her character that people sometimes miss on their first playthroughs, and I will enjoy exploring them here.

1 - A Black Book On Omega

"What the fuck is that thing?"

"Not sure, boss. Want me to take a look at it?"

"Please."

Aria T'Loak reclined on her couch and stared at the black book suspiciously. She had melded with a human once, so she knew it was labeled "DEATH NOTE". And she recognized the cross on it from that human religion Christianity. But why had it appeared out of nowhere, in her club? Whoever did this clearly did not know who they were dealing with.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

Her batarian guard immediately dropped the book and pulled out his weapon, pointing it at what appeared to be empty space.

"You better not be on fucking red sand…" she growled.

"THERE'S A FUCKING DEMON RIGHT HERE! RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!"

Aria's eyes narrowed. Hallucinations were not a side effect of red sand.

"It…it says to pick up the book…pick it up and you'll see it."

She did so, and her life changed forever.

-dfwa-

"So, I can kill anyone I want with this thing, huh?"

"Correct," the demon known as Rem replied. "Not me, however. Attempt to do so, and I will show you what my Death Note can do."

"Noted," she said, glaring at Rem. "Let's see if what you're saying is true after all."

Taking out the primitive writing utensil that Rem had given her, she quickly wrote the following into the Death Note:

Andrew Duran

"Who is that?"

"Someone who tried to fuck with Aria. Nobody fucks with Aria."

Two days later she received word of Andrew Duran's sudden and unexpected heart attack, and she got to work remaking the galaxy to her liking.

2 - Cleaning House

MERCENARY ORGANIZATIONS DEVASTATED BY MYSTERIOUS MASSACRES!

Citadel News Network - The criminal underworld has been left shocked and terrified by a series of sudden assassinations at the highest levels of the Blue Suns, Blood Pack, and Eclipse. All leaders of the organization stationed on Omega died of sudden and inexplicable brain aneurysms, a heretofore unknown method of murder…

-dfwa-

"Well done," Rem complimented.

"Thanks," Aria replied. "I'm not done yet, though."

"Oh?"

Aria laughed, got up from her couch, and stretched her hands over Afterlife with the grandiosity of a royal.

"Omega will be the seat of my Kingdom!"

-dfwa-

ARIA T'LOAK: So. You've taken over the Talons.

NYREEN KANDROS: Indeed I have. And you have apparently been blessed by the spirits.

ARIA T'LOAK: As the humans say, a magician never reveals her secrets.

[pause.]

NYREEN KANDROS: So, why did you call me here? And why in this secure room and not your den of debauchery?

ARIA T'LOAK: You know goddamn well why. And you know it was me that killed the other three merc groups and gave you a monopoly.

NYREEN: And I know you well enough to infer that you didn't do that out of the kindness of your heart. You want something from the Talons.

ARIA: I do. I'm going to kill the three heads that have been opposing you, and I expect you to be ready to take over.

NYREEN: I'll do it, on one condition.

ARIA: Nyreen, you know I can kill you anytime I want, right?

NYREEN: Don't bluff, Aria. We both know it won't work.

ARIA: Fine. What do you need?

NYREEN: When I take over the Talons, we will transform ourselves into the Omega Police Force. And I envision you as President of the Republic of Omega.

ARIA: President, huh? I like the sound of that. And knowing how seriously you turians take duty, I'd never want anyone else as chief of security. Alright, you've got a deal. Let's clean this place up and make it a castle worthy of a Queen!

-dfwa-

7 months later…

Teyi T'Sera was starting to enjoy Omega.

Her mother had chastised her for going here, guaranteeing she would regret going to such an awful place. And at first, she had. She'd needed to learn how to steal and kill to survive. But she was always tougher than mother gave her credit for, and certainly tougher than most maidens.

Lately, though, that hadn't seemed to matter as much. As she walked up to afterlife to get her Omega Citizenship Card, she marveled at the security and cleanliness of the place. It wasn't just a strippers' club anymore; it was a seat of government. And rumor had it that the 'Republic of Omega' was going to be proclaimed soon.

"Name?" The bored-looking government official asked her.

"Teyi T'Sera," she replied.

-dfwa-

A/N: Credit to And The Meek Shall Inherit The Galaxy for the idea of making Omega a neutral regional power.

3 - Council Compliance

"COUNCILOR?!"

The aide to Councilor Tevos stared at her now-lifeless body in shock. What had happened?! One minute Tevos had been talking to her about what needed to be done today, and the next she had slumped over, dead.

She immediately knew she would be a suspect, but she had no choice but to raise the omni-tool alarm. As soon as C-Sec and the other Council members had crowded into the office, a message started playing.

"Hello, Council." It was distorted. "Tevos was a nuisance, so I've taken care of her. I don't care who you appoint in her place, but you WILL leave the Terminus Systems alone. Your next asari council better not say anything about annexing Virmire."

The Council, C-Sec, and the aide stared as the communication device self-destructed.

-dfwa-

REM: Why did you kill her?

ARIA: First, I don't need her anymore. And second, I've got plans for Virmire. We're expanding the Republic.

REM: Interesting. Why do you wish to do this?

ARIA: Because I can.

4 - Vote For Aria!

"You sure you don't want to rig the election, boss?"

"Positive."

"May I ask why?"

"For one, nobody's going to vote for that jackass Puret H'gloth. Well, some of the batarians will, but otherwise I've got this thing on lockdown. The projections are saying I get something like 75% of the vote. I got 70 in the first round!"

"Why even take the risk?"

"Because Nyreen would never forgive me if I rigged it."

"I don't get why she's so loyal to the idea of democracy. The Hierarchy isn't one."

"Nyreen has her quirks. It's why I've always liked her."

-dfwa-

"CITIZENS OF OMEGA!

I'm not going to sit up here and lecture you on why you need to vote for me. All you need to do is look the fuck around! Does my esteemed opponent have the achievement of turning Omega into a functioning Republic to boast of! HE DOES NOT! Has he made Omega into a secure home for all its inhabitants? HE HAS NOT! So on Election Day, vote for proven leadership!

VOTE FOR FUCKING ARIA!"

-dfwa-

FINAL RESULTS OF THE SECOND ROUND

ARIA T'LOAK - 4,603,404 (80.6%)

PURET H'GLOTH - 1,143,995 (19.4%)

5 - Shepard

"This is Commander Shepard of the Normandy, requesting permission to dock."

"Commander. We've been expecting you. Proceed to Dock 42A."

-dfwa-

Shepard wasn't quite sure what to expect when visiting Omega, but it was clear Miranda had expectations and they had been subverted.

"What the bloody hell happened to this place?" She asked out loud, making no attempt to hide her shock. "I can't believe Aria actually cleaned Omega up."

"She's probably the one behind the Councilor dying. And all the mercs," Jacob chimed in.

"Sounds like she knows how to execute a plan," Shepard added. "Either way, we'd better go meet her."

-dfwa-

"So, you want to steal away my deputy head of security Garrus Vakarian?" Aria didn't sound outraged, merely curious.

"That's correct, Madame President." Shepard still couldn't believe that title needed to be used. "What do you want in return?"

"A lot of things. If you were asking for Nyreen, I'd have you do them for me. But for Garrus? I'll just need you to send a message to the rest of the galaxy."

"And what might that be?"

"Omega stands on its own, and we will not be fucked with."

"I like it, easy to remember."

"You won't forget it here."

6 - Reapers

"NYREEN! ON YOUR RIGHT!" Aria wasted no time, charging up her biotics and blasting the adjutant to pieces. Nyreen looked over at her with relief.

"ARIA! Thank the spirits I've found you! I've got the Commander's name. It's Oleg Petrovsky!"

Taking out her pen, Aria quickly wrote the following into the Death Note:

Oleg Petrovsky

And thus the leader of the assault died.

-dfwa-

Shepard chose Destroy, which initially did not seem to affect Omega as much.

Until, of course, everyone realized that the Relay had been destroyed.

Epilogue: Isolation

7 years later…

ARIA: Nyreen. Good to see you. Any progress on the Relay?

NYREEN: We estimate it will still take another five years to mine enough Element Zero to safely use it. But our agricultural programs should take care of us until then.

[pause.]

ARIA: There's someone I'd like you to meet, Nyreen.

NYREEN: Oh? And who might that be?

[shock.]

NYREEN: What is that?!

REM: I am a 'she', and am called Rem.

ARIA: She was the one who gave me the ability to kill others. She's the one who made this possible. Figured you'd earned the right to finally meet her. I had to execute the guard that did.

NYREEN: You executed them?

ARIA: It was in the old days, before Omega had law.

REM: And now those days are gone forever. I must say, this has been an interesting experience. It reminds me of Leia's usage of the Death Note in another reality, so very long ago.

ARIA: Well that sounds interesting. Can you tell us the story?

REM: Certainly.

And thus the realities were connected.