Nomad-117: It is rather surprising just how good a motivator a bit of self-hatred can be. Recently checked on this story and when I saw just how long I neglected it (certainly didnt feel that long to me) I was very very disappointed and angry with myself. Unfortunately I still didn't exactly have time then, hence why didnt update anything in awhile. Lots of papers for my studies and after writing the whole day I didn't exactly fancy writing even more in the evening.

Only recently had the chance to start writing again. Hence this chapter, and well the latest Chapter of Semper Ad Meliora is almost done just a few edits here and there… but my co-writer is currently absent thus I hesitate to publish it without getting greenlight from him first.

Anyway, I'll endeavor to write more again now that I got a bit more free time than previously. That said, I truly hope you enjoy this chapter, and that you are able to forgive this dyslexic guy for the errors he has made.

Chapter 4: Sins Of The Past

Selene could say for certain that she had never met the Death Dealers that moved on below her. That of course didn't mean that they had no reason to harm her. It was entirely possible that while she never met them she could have easily killed one of their loved ones or friends. Such was the curse of an immortal life. Your past deeds would continue to haunt one, until either they or oneself was nothing but ashes and dust.

Still, that aside she knew for certain that it wasn't a mere social call, all of them were armed, their weapons concealed but visible to her trained eyes. Furthermore if this were official business she would have been notified. After the death of Alexander, Marcus and William Corvinus the immortal world was reeling from the loss of so many prominent figures on both sides.

If she had been alone she might have been content to leave it all behind but Michael, young, sweet and kind Michael couldn't let things go. He advocated spreading the truth about the war, about all that had happened to the immortal world. The war didn't stop overnight, but stop it eventually did, Lycans and Vampires at large often distrusted one another, but more and more slowly but surely became friends with one another over the long years, or at the very least acted cordial towards one another. The cleaners formerly unknown now became part of the immortal world as well, ensuring the continued secrecy of their existence. And it was through them that Selene knew that there was no other immortal for miles around, let alone three trained and armed Death Dealers.

A quick glance at her omnitool showed that Persephone had heeded her command and made her way towards the clinic and Michael, one less worry on her mind, she knew that the human could be extremely stubborn and that would have only put her in unnecessary danger. Though that didn't mean that she could relax, she had always been exceptionally skilled even amongst the other Death Dealers, and after drinking Alexander Corvinus blood her physical abilities had grown to the point where she could go toe to toe with a hybridized elder, but she wasn't invincible, she still could be killed and if she made a mistake her opponents wouldn't hesitate to capitalize on that.

First things first. She thought to herself and moved with unnatural speed and grace across the rooftops. Before even thinking of engaging them she would have to get them away from all the innocent mortals around them. The how of the matter was actually rather simple, she would show them a sign of their quarry.

She was careful to only expose herself for the briefest of moments as she graced them with signs of her presence. Enough to get them to follow but too little for them to draw their guns and start shooting if they were desperate enough to resort to such measures.

Their reactions were twofold, for one they did follow her just as intended, but they also recognized what she was doing and went into high alert. The more she watched them the more convinced she became that the intentions of these three individual were anything but benevolent. However seeing as they didn't try to herd her somewhere, instead being content to follow her wherever she chose lead her to the conclusion that they either didn't have any reinforcements, or that they could be deployed so rapidly that it didn't matter where she lead them, she chose to assume the second scenario as it was better to be prepared for all eventualities.

It took her longer than first expected to reach a somewhat secluded area, Los Angeles had become a megacity in this day and age, and along with its size its population had increased just as much if not more so, of course there were still areas where only few people lived but it was almost impossible to find a spot where no one would notice a firefight. However there were of course always some exceptions, such as being in close proximity to loud machinery such as those found in automated factories that never fell silent, in the middle of the night there was only a minimum of human oversight, so once she managed to reach such a factory it was actually rather easy to climb upon the roof, where she could still feel the vibrations caused by the machines beneath her. Of course being on the roof of a factory meant that there wasn't as much cover as she would have liked, still there was enough of it present for her to hide from sight and wait for her pursuers.

Any possible doubt about whether or not they wished to kill her was wiped out when they arrived. All of them had drawn their weapons in preparation, one of them had assembled a grenade launcher, another carried a shotgun that she knew usually could only be wielded by a Krogan, and the last one searched the roof for signs of her through the scope of her rifle. Not exactly what one would call courtesy call.

Not that Selene herself was unprepared, after all she held onto her own two pistols as she watched them. Of course over a century of advancements had ensured that she no longer wielded the same weaponry as she did when she first met Michael. No, these weapon possessed two barrels, on top was a smaller one that fired the sand grain sized mass effect propelled projectile that was had become so very common in this day and age to shatter the enemies barriers, while the larger one underneath would fire Ultraviolet or silver nitrate Ammunition with enough force to punch through even the best of modern armor and deploy their payload inside of the target's body.

Of course mundane ammunition could still kill both Vampires and Lycans, especially such things as explosives or flamethrowers or other weapons that ensured the utter annihilation of a target, but as a rule both species could take tremendous amounts of damage and keep going. So it was just so much easier to strike at their weak point with unrelenting force and make sure that they didn't get the chance to get back up, because unsurprisingly they could hold a grudge for a long time.

Mentally choosing the man with the grenade launcher as her first target and the gravest threat, she settled on the rifle wielding woman as the secondary target, afterwards she could simply keep her distance to keep her advantage over shotgun wielder. Still, she kept hidden for a few moments longer, she lacked any grenade to toss at them, and the few loose mundane objects scattered about the roof wouldn't even make for a decent distraction. And the way they covered one another made it hard for Selene to get the drop on them but not impossible. She waited for the moment where they moved around the corner of one of the rooftop accesses, in the moment where they had to adjust their formation she struck. Pushing herself towards them as fast as she could she seemingly seemed to appear right beside her primary target, she saw how his eyes widened in surprise and fear and his mouth began to open to shout a warning only for her to lift both of her pistols and pulled the triggers, the ever present sounds of machinery was joined by the sounds of her shots first shattering his barrier followed by the sounds of her bullets smashing through his armor and her opponent already beginning to burn up.

His two companions turned towards her at speeds that were far beyond human, or rather mortals, but it was not enough. Her flat hand smashed into the chest of the shotgun wielder sending him flying and pushing the air out of his lungs, simultaneously her right leg snapped up and pushed the rifle that had been risen up to aim at her face aside. Mass effect propelled projectiles missed her face by mere centimetres even as she delivered a second strike and the arm holding onto the rifle broke beneath the force.

Spinning around her opponent she grabbed her in a headlock and spun her round, forcing her to take the first blast from her surviving comrade. The single blow enough to shatter her living shields barriers, an instant later she had her own weapon placed against her hostages temple and pulled the trigger. Blood and brain matter mixed with bone shards sprayed to the side, but she paid them no mind as she aimed at the last opponent left standing and pinned him down.

She didn't want to kill him, at least not quite yet, first she wanted to get a few answers. The survivor proved to be rather uncooperative as he tried to pull of a fighting retreat, she wouldn't allow that to happen. Jumping high up into the air both to cover the distance between them and dodge the grenade that had been thrown. The blinding light of the explosion in her back ruined her enemies night vision for the barest of moments, but for her that was more than enough as she landed directly in front of him and tore the shotgun from his grasp before using his own weapon to blow out his left kneecap.

"How did you find me?" She demanded coldly, uncaring of the agony she caused him as she loomed over him. The man though merely stared back up at her in defiance. Her expression didn't even so much as twitch as she went to work, it was just fortunate that the machinery beneath them was so loud, very fortunate indeed. She hadn't had to interrogate enemies in a long time but that didn't mean that she had forgotten anything from her previous life.

He held out until shortly before sunrise before he told her everything she wanted to know. Afterwards she shot him in the head and watched his corpse burn up. Which saved her at least some time as she tried to clean up the aftermath of the night's engagement and the subsequent interrogation, they had enough trouble already without someone trying to arrest them for murder.

Especially as it was time for her and Michael to move again, soon. For it seems that a mortal information broker of all things had managed to locate her on the behest of her latest victims, and if they could do that others would be able as well. It would be best for them to warn Eve, their shared daughter was almost as much a target as they simply because of her parentage. Furthermore they would need to cover up their tracks once they left, but at least there was some silver lining. According to the information she extracted they were only aware of Michael and herself, but not of Shepard. Which meant if the two of them disappeared only to show up somewhere as a three head family it might be enough to throw of at least some pursuers or at the very least give them pause. One could at least hope, but at the same time she wasn't sure whether or not the pull the young human into their own troubles. With a frown she decided that she wouldn't be able to reach a decision on her own, nor should she without consulting Michael first.

Thus she began to make her way back home, hoping that Shepard had followed her command and informed Michael of the situation. She didn't think that the human would have foolishly tried to follow her and her pursuers but the girl had proven to be surprisingly stubborn before. If Persephone had ignored her she would get more than just a stern lecture from her as in that case Michael would probably tearing through the city in an effort to find her, however if he had been informed beforehand he would would manage to restrain his worry for a time before beginning his search for her. She deactivated her omni tool as she made her way past some commuters on their way to work, it would have been after all a major blunder to be detected due to someone calling her omni tool or if someone had managed to hack it in order to find out information about their current address and more.

Her way back seemed to take infinitely longer as she didn't dare to use supernatural speed in broad daylight, nor did she wish to take any sort of public transportation. So shortly after an attack she felt safer on her own two feet rather than in the seat of a skycar. So it came as no surprise that it was late morning when she walked through the doors of their current home, having spent most of the time to try and loose possible pursuers and taking detours. Michael was waiting for her, just as she had expected, the moment he heard the door open he came rushing towards her and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"You okay?"

"I am fine… you? No one came after you while I was gone, right?" She asked to make sure and felt his nod against her shoulder.

"Persephone told me about those three… I sent her downstairs and got myself a few weapons… but no one came… at least no one safe for new patients."

"Good, I was worried."

"You were worried? What do you think I felt?" He questioned her incredulously and looked at her with admonishing brown eyes. "You could have come back earlier."

"I didn't want them to find us… but we have a problem." She told him the barest hint of a grimace visible on her face. "They-"

"Selene? Is that you?" Shepard interrupted her as the girl came up the stairs, assault rifle slung over her shoulder, shotgun in hand and two SMGs strapped to her outer thighs, after double checking Selene was certain that there was even a grenade attached to her belt. "Michael was worried and didn't want to tell me anything so I-"

"Decided get enough firepower to wipe out an entire squad of Krogans… not bad." Selene finished for her, faint amusement audible in her voice even if the barest softening of her eyes told everyone paying attention that she was genuinely touched by the concern Shepard exhibited for her sake.

"Those three looked like trouble." Shepard defended herself nonetheless and cradled the shotgun in her hands. "Figured it be better to be safe than sorry."

"I told her not to take any grenades." Michael chimed in from the side, fueling Selene's amusement and distracting Shepard from the matter at hand for a moment longer.

"Good, I didn't train you just so you could blow yourself to bits." Selene told her dryly before her face became as serious as ever. "And you were right, they were trouble."

"Were?" The young human questioned her and blinked. "Wait… you mean you-"

"Killed them?" Selene finished for her, figuring that it a fitting opportunity to tell Shepard. "Yes, does that surprise you? After all, I taught you just last week how to kill a man with your bare hands."

"I-" Persephone frowned at that, hesitating for a moment before she continued. "I- I don't think I am surprised that you killed before, makes sense truth be told… just didn't expect you to be so nonchalant about killing them. Didn't expect you to tell me either."

"Why shouldn't I? I didn't exactly hide the fact that I did so in the past." Selene replied brown eyes searching the younger woman's face for a clue of her real thoughts on her matter. "Besides, you are smart enough to figure it out on your own."

"Yeah… still, thanks." Shepard told them, surprising the couple when she smiled at them. "For trusting me, I mean. I know you are not telling me everything… but that you told me that much at all means a lot you know so…." She trailed off and let out a frustrated huff. "I guess what I am trying to say is that I am okay with waiting for you to tell me the rest."

"Have you ever considered that we might be a couple of psychopaths?" Michael questioned, not mockingly, in a genuinely curious tone.

"You? A Psychopath?" Shepard laughed, amusement lighting up her eyes even as she tried to control her laughter that threatened to silence any attempt of coherent speech. "Right, you'd raise an orphaned pigeon if you came across one."

"A simple no would have sufficed." Michael grumbled good naturally even as he joined her laughter.

"As for Selene, she got this whole scary vibe going, but truth be told I think she is just herself. You know, nothing of that good or evil stuff, she just tries to do okay by her own values." Shepard finished even as some of the amusement bled out of her.

Selene managed a small smile in reply. Silently wondering how the young human would react to both her and Michaels true nature. As well as the countless atrocities she had committed in the name of vengeance during her crusade that lasted for six centuries. She had taken countless lives during these years, driven by her zealous need to exterminate every last Lycan.

Even if one was kind enough to only consider the things she did once she met with Michael it would still mean a most impressive kill count. The three vampires this night only marked her latests victims, considering what she did to them she had little doubt that there was no jury that would convict her.

Still, she would do it all again in a heartbeat to keep her family safe. That above all was her primary concern, and Shepard had joined the circle of people she considered family, for better or worse she had grown fond of the young woman.

"You know, Persephone." Selene said and ignored the way the human grimaced at the use of her first name. "I think you are far more observant than you think, provided you want to be." The vampiress actually graced Shepard with a smile that actually reached her eyes. "Come to think of it… you remind me of someone, from a long time ago."

"Really?" Shepards eyes lit up with pride at the compliment and the fact that she was favourably compared to someone from her mentors past. "Who?"

"My sister." Selene told her as she thought of Cecilia, like Shepard her sister had been wilful, stubborn even, tough, hardworking and yet kind to those who got to know her. Perhaps there had been a time where Selene was similar, but she could no longer say for sure, her memories had been murked by the stream of time, and were buried beneath centuries of bloodshed.

"You have a sister?"

"I had a sister." Selene corrected her, forcing her voice past the lump in her throat, even after all this time it never got any easier to talk about what happened. She doubted that it ever would. "I had a family once, my father and mother, my sister and my nieces, twins. But…" Here she paused and took a deep breath feeling a wetness in her eyes that she simply wasn't used to. Michael placed a hand on her shoulder and she held onto the physical contact like an anchor in this storm of emotions. "One night I woke up to the screams of my sister, only to find my family slaughtered like animals… I was the only one to survive. I-"

She stopped when a shotgun clattered to the ground and Shepard crossed the distance between them in a heartbeat and pulled her in an embrace. She flushed at the surprised looks on the couples faces and pushed her face into Selene's right shoulder. "You looked like you needed a hug."

Accepting the gesture of comfort with a nod, Selene carefully returned the embrace. "Thank you." She said quietly but when the two arms around her tightened their hold she knew that Shepard had heard her words of gratitude.

The comfortable silence came to a sudden halt when the doors to the clinic suddenly opened right behind them and the heavy footsteps that had followed the noise abruptly stopped. "Is this a bad time?"

Both Selene and Michael turned to look at the new arrival in both recognition and surprise while Shepard grumbled something under her breath and stared at the new comer in annoyance. "Who the hell is this guy?"

Michael felt his lips twitch in amusement at her attitude even as she pulled the man in uniform into a friendly embrace. "Lieutenant David Anderson, may I introduce you to our resident trouble maker? Persephone Shepard."

"Oh… fuck."

Author Notes:

Nomad-117: I know, not exactly my longest chapter but in the past week I rewrote this fight scene like a dozen times I think… and then came the rest of the chapter and I rewrote that as well a couple of times. I apologize if my description of combat isn't to your liking, I am afraid it isn't exactly my strong suit.

Nonetheless I wanted to use this chapter as a way for the three of them to share some things without the whole sucking blood thing being on the table just yet. Currently contemplating on how to reveal that one but I guess we'll see.

Hope you enjoyed this very very very very late chapter at least.