Chapter 8

Tali woke up slowly, her head feeling heavy but thankfully no pain. She groaned and rolled over, using her hand to search for Shepard. When she didn't find him after a few moments, she rolled over, and confirmed he wasn't there. She sat up, confused. She and Shepard have slept in the same room the entire time they were at the Citadel so far, and he had always waited for her to wake up. She never knew why, but she had liked it, hearing him say "Good morning beautiful" and kissing her. This routine had gone on every day.

But he didn't today. That wasn't right, and she tried to remember last night. Her memories were as fuzzy as her head felt. She remembered dancing against Shepard, and blushed a little bit. Then she shook her head, trying to concentrate. She remembered all of them sitting down and drinking. That is where her memory started getting blurry, but she vaguely remembered making it home with everybody and falling on the bed, passing out.

She got up, taking off Shepard's shirt and putting on her burrowed clothes, wishing she had her own. It was nice of Ashley to lend her clothes to wear, but the shorts were way too tight, and even though she enjoyed teasing Shepard, they irritated her hips after wearing them for awhile, her skin still being sensitive.

She walked out of their room, seeing everyone awake already. She must have slept in. They turned when she walked in, and she noticed that they looked worried. That didn't calm her down at all. "What is it?

No one spoke up, making her worried as well. Davin was the one who spoke up. "Commander Shepard is missing. He never made it back last night. No one had seen or heard from him since last night."

Tali shook her head. "How can that be? Shepard wouldn't just disappear on us like that. No one has seen him?" They all shook their heads. They sat there in silence for a minute then Tali took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "Well, something is wrong, that's pretty obvious. Standing here isn't going to help anything. We need to go look for him."

Again, they just stood there looking worried. Tali started getting upset. "What the hell is wrong with you guys?"

"Tali, It's almost 3 p.m. While you were sleeping, we already went out and searched for him. We have for hours now and have come up with nothing. It's as if he vanished…" Whenever someone mentioned vanishing, the first person they think of is Ultimate.

Tali slammed her fist against a table, making them jump. "I don't care, I'm going to go out and keep look-"

She was cut off by a loud alarm going off. They all jumped up, surprised. "What does that alarm mean?"

"If I remember correctly, that means unidentified spacecraft in the vicinity…" Garrus said, and then his eyes grew wide.

"Oh shit, Ultimate's decided to attack!"

They all started moving, scrambling to get their guns and gear. Tali didn't have any battle armor made for her yet, so she only was able to get her shotgun, but that was all she needed. If Ultimate did anything to John, her shotgun would speak for her.

They went outside, just in time to see their fears proven as the large pods started landing. Tali noticed there was a lot more than the first time. A lot more pods. They ducked behind the set up barriers just as the first pods landed, shaking the ground. They opened, making the familiar hissing sound. The enemy soldiers started pouring out as all of the Citadel forces opened fire, Tali and the rest joining them. She hit 1 dead in the face, seeing his purple eyes disappear as his face disintegrated into blood and bits of flesh. She got 1 more in the chest, sending him flying. These soldiers were different than the last ones. They moved a lot faster, and half of them had huge shields. The enemies with the shields quickly formed a circle around the other soldiers, basically bringing their own cover with them.

"Dammit, these soldiers are completely different than before." Garrus yelled as the enemy soldiers took turns popping out of cover and firing in turns. "This shield technique is old school, but very effective if done right. This is going to be a hard battle."

"Like hell it is." Tali said, popping up and firing, catching a soldier off guard and dropping him. She ducked back. "We need to break their line. James, throw a grenade. It would be better if it went behind the shields, but either way works. When the grenade goes off, Liara, use your biotic powers to get at least two shields out of the way. How you do it, I will leave up to you. I will fire a few shots to soften them up, then Davin, you run in before they can close formation and do what you do best. Any questions?"

They stayed silent for a moment, staring at her. Then Garrus said "I was totally just thinking that." James yelled "Hell ya!" and threw a grenade. It landed perfectly behind the shields, but a soldier noticed it. He went to pick it up just as it exploded, killing him almost instantly. A few soldiers died, and the formation loosened. Liara stood up and swung her hand, pulling three of the soldiers with shields towards her. Tali popped up, firing her shotgun in quick succession, killing the floating soldiers and a few more. The instant she dropped, Davin rushed into the gap, swinging his katana at the nearest soldier, cutting his head off. Blood spewed out of his neck as the head landed with a thump. The formation completely broke, and everyone opened fire, mowing them down like grass. Everyone cheered as the last soldier fell.

It did not last, as they heard 4 quick shots, and 4 of the Citadel forces fell dead. Tali turned towards the sound and her heart stopped at what she saw.

Commander Shepard stood there, the muzzle of his gun smoking, his now purple eyes fixed on them, showing no emotion. She completely froze as he noticed her and aimed his rifle. "GET DOWN!" James yelled, tackling her to the ground just as Shepard opened fire. James was just in time, and the bullets flew harmlessly over their heads. Tali hit the ground hard, knocking her head against the ground, and she almost blacked out. She forced herself to stay conscious though, and forced herself to sit up, groaning as her head pounded. James put his hand on her soldier. "Are you alright Tali?"

She nodded weakly. He squeezed her shoulder. "Alright, now listen to me. It seems Commander Shepard has been taken control of by the enemy. I need you to be very careful; I know you love him and don't want to hurt him. But he isn't in control of himself right now, and might shoot to kill. We are going to try our best to take him down without killing him and try to break Ultimate's control. If you don't think you can handle it, stay down. If you are not ready to go at him full force, you will die."

She nodded, completely understanding. James roared and jumped up, charging at Shepard. Tali peeked around the end of the cover to watch.

Shepard swung his rifle around to shoot, but a bullet hit it out of his hands, the bullet coming from Garrus. James tried to ram him, but Shepard reacted quickly, ducking low and throwing James over his shoulder. She heard James hit the ground hard, But Shepard didn't have time to do anything else, as Davin leapt at Shepard, throwing a roundhouse kick and catching Shepard in the chest. Shepard fell back, but quickly rolled back into his feet. Davin charged again, but this time Shepard was ready, ducking underneath Davin's kick. They then fought for a bit, Davin swinging fast but Shepard caught every punch. One punch connected with Shepards face, and Shepard caught his hand, hitting Davin in the chest with his free hand. The punch would normally do little danger, but Tali saw Davin jolt and fell back, seeing electricity sparking from Shepards gloves. He had shock gloves.

This time Edi and Garrus ran at him. Edi jumped up to kick at his head while garrus slid down, going for his legs. Shepard reacted almost perfectly, ducking underneath Edi and catching Garrus leg, pulling him closer and delivering a mean elbow to Garrus' face, stunning him, Edi rolled and got back up, but Shepard foresaw this, picking Garrus up and slamming him into Edi, knocking her into the ground. Liara got up and used her biotic powers, throwing Shepard. He landed and rolled back to his feet again, instantly running at her, closing the gap fast. Just as she was about to wave her hand again he got to her, hitting her with his shock gloves, making her crumple to the ground.

Tali jumped out of cover and saw Ashley do the same. They both rushed Shepard, hoping that he was getting tired, but it didn't seem so, as he turned around and met them face on. Ashley threw a fast right hook, but Shepard caught her arm, kneeing her in the stomach and throwing hr aside. Tali swung a left straight, trying to catch him off guard. She nearly did, but he moved his head at the very last second, grabbing her arm and hip tossing her. She hit the ground with a hard thud, feeling the air rush out of her lungs. As she struggled to regain her breath, Shepard picked up his rifle. He walked next to her and put the muzzle to her skull. She closed her eyes, hoping it would be quick.

When nothing happened, she opened her eyes. He was still there, his purple eyes cold and unmoving, but the gun was shaking. She held her breath. He must be fighting Ultimate for control.

"Why do you hesitate?" A familiar slow voice said. Tali turned her head to see Ultimate standing there, arms behind his back, glaring at Shepard. It was the first time she saw him show emotion, and it was good to see him angry; that means something isn't going his way. Shepard's whole arm started shaking, as if it was at war with itself, and Shepard said something, but she didn't catch it.

"What was that?" Ultimate said, walking until he was a foot away from Shepard. Shepard closed his eyes. She saw the rest of the team up, training their guns on Shepard and Ultimate. "Shepard, you are the best commander anyone could ask for and my closest friend, but if you kill Tali I will end you. Fight it!" Garrus said. Everyone was silent, holding their breath and waiting. Tali looked straight at Shepard and said "John, look at me."

Shepard opened his eyes, and she smiled, seeing them their familiar sky blue. Shepard removed his gun from her head and turned towards Ultimate. "I said no." He said.

Ultimate looked pissed. Seems no one else has been able to overturn his control. "How dare you!" Ultimate snapped, stepping into Shepards face. "You can't defy me!"

Shepard stared straight back, his blue eyes looking like they were alive. "I can, and I will defy you with my dying breath!" With that he swung at Ultimate. Ultimate instantly put his barrier up, but when Shepard's gloves hit it, the electricity coursed through the barrier, and to everyone's amazement the barrier flashed and then disappeared. Shepard reacted, raising his gun and firing, but Ultimate reacted just as quickly, vanishing completely. Shepard sprayed the gun left, then right, trying to catch him. They saw blood on the ground, and Tali was surprised to see his blood was actually red. She expected it to be purple like everything else about him. But there was no sign of him,

Shepard dropped the rifle, the gun clattering against the ground as Shepard fell to his knees. Everyone slowly gathered around him with solemn faces. She got to her feet and walked over to him, falling on her knees behind him and wrapping her arms around him. To her surprise he was crying. She squeezed him tightly and held him while he cried, his friends surrounding him.

"Shepard, are you sure you're ok? If you need to rest, we will understand." Ashley said as they all grouped around him in the hotel room. Shepard did feel like shit, but he didn't have time to rest or wait. He wouldn't be able to sleep anyway, the faces of the Citadel soldiers he killed fresh on his mind. He shook his head. "No, I need to talk now. Everyone listen, ok?"

They all nodded, and Tali took his hand, squeezing it. He took a deep breath and spoke. "Ultimate's men ambushed me in the bathroom at the Purgatory. I woke up tied to a chair, and Ultimate took control of me. It wasn't like when the illusive man did it. He looked into my eyes for a few seconds, and then I could not control my body. My body got up when he untied me, but I had no control. All I could do is sway his actions, like when I went onto the battlefield. My body was going to shoot you guys, but I used all my power to sway it, making my body…shoot the other soldiers instead." Shepard looked down when he mentioned that, and Tali squeezed his hand again. It was going to bother him for a long time, but he had to get over it for now. "But there is one good thing that came out of it. I remember everything that happened. I remember where he was hiding out, I remember the faces of people who were there, and most importantly, I remember what his next move is."

Their eyes grew wide. "You remember everything? That's amazing!" Liara said. Everyone nodded in agreement. "Where is he going next?" James asked.

Shepard didn't respond right away, which erased everyone's smiles. James wasn't going to like the answer. He said one word. "Earth."

Everyone was silent except for James. "That son of a bitch! We need to get him and take him down before that happens commander."

Shepard nodded. "I agree. First we need to check the secret base he has. I don't know how he did it, but he gained control of a dreadnought, and is doing all activity from it. It isn't far from here, because when he sent us out in those pods it didn't take long to get here. I remember the general area he said it was in, but not the exact location. I will need to inform General Hackett and have him send a scouting party to find it. Secondly, I need to call in some of our old friends. They are going to want this action, because there is plenty of it."

They nodded. Shepard smiled slightly, glad that he didn't seriously hurt any of his friends. He opened his omni-tool and went over the details with everyone.

"Well I'll be damned. I've never seen a dreadnought like that." James said as they approached the dreadnought Ultimate was hiding in. They were back in the front of the Normandy, which was using its stealth to approach the ship unnoticed. Shepard noticed the dreadnought had no windows and smiled. "Tal, mind telling everyone what kind of dreadnought that is?"

She looked surprised that he asked her, then looked at the ship carefully, coming up with the same conclusion he did. "It's had some modifications…but it's definitely a Geth dreadnought. How he got his hands on one after we destroyed the Geth is beyond me."

Shepard nodded. "And, to our advantage, Geth don't use windows. So he shouldn't be able to sense our approach at all."

"But he will definitely be able to sense when the Alliance Navy gets here." Davin said bluntly, making Shepard look at him. Davin shrugged. "Just saying."

"A little nervous Davin?" Garrus said teasingly, placing a hand on his shoulder. Davin shook his head, but something was definitely different about him; the humor in his eyes was gone, replaced by a cold, soldiers stare. The only time Shepard saw him like this was when they fought the first time they met.

"He's getting serious about this." Shepard said, surprising the others. Davin said nothing; he only nodded. Shepard would have to talk with him about it later, but for now he needed it; they were going to try and end a very powerful enemy with a small army of fearless soldiers who felt no pain. They all needed to be serious about this.

"Commander, the Alliance fleet is hitting the mass relay and will be here very soon. I suggest we board before they get here, so we don't get caught in any cross fire. I still think we should just blow the ship to hell." Joker announced, pressing a few hologram buttons and swiping stuff aside. Shepard nodded. "I know joker, but I need to confirm Ultimate's death. If we just destroy the ship and he escapes, we will be caught completely by surprise next time he attacks."

Joker grunted his agreement and sped the ship up, getting as close as he could. The rest of them suited up, getting everything ready. Ashley was wearing her new Specter armor, so she gave her old armor to Tali, who put on everything that would fit. When everyone was ready, they got into the shuttle and left the Normandy, heading towards the docks of the dreadnought. They didn't see any enemies so far, so they landed.

The instant the hatch opened for them to get out, Shepard looked up and saw the Alliance fleet appear, enough ships to completely destroy the dreadnought if they wanted to. He heard Admiral Hackett buzz into his ear piece.

"Commander Shepard, we are here. I admit, I did not think I would find a dreadnought here. As usual, it's pointless to doubt you; you always pull through. We will make sure it goes nowhere, you have back up, and air support whenever you need it. Just kill that son of a bitch for me, Commander."

"Yes sir. Shepard out." Shepard replied, and they all started to move, forming a circle. They were to wait there until their first round of back up arrived, then storm the ship, find Ultimate, and kill him. It sounded easy, but they all knew it wouldn't be.

As they were waiting, the dreadnought opened fire. The sound of the main cannons firing was immense and the whole ship vibrated, but they kept there circle there. Shepard watched as a small ship broke off from the Alliance fleet and started towards them, narrowly avoiding getting hit by then dreadnought. It finally made it to the dock and sent down a shuttle. It opened, and Shepard smiled as he saw his old friend and comrades step out one by one; Grunt, wielding his shotgun; Jack, smiling when she saw them, holding 2 smgs; Jacob, an assault rifle slung over his shoulder; Miranda, wearing combat armor he had never seen before; Samara, looking exactly the same as the last time he saw her, and a few Alliance soldiers.

They all approached and greetings passed from both groups as fast as they could. "I'm glad you all got my message." Shepard said, smiling. "I was a little worried Grunt wouldn't get it."

Grunt roared with laughter, hitting Shepard's shoulders hard. "But I did! It is good to fight beside you again Shepard. I have heard that this foe is a worthy challenge; let us give them the death they want!"

Shepard laughed, turning to see Miranda and Samara looking Tali over. "My, you're beautiful Tali. I don't know how you aren't wearing your, but you look amazing." Miranda said, and then she turned towards Shepard. "And someone owes me an explanation as to why I wasn't informed of this sooner; this is amazing. Who is responsible?"

Shepard pointed at Davin, who forced himself to smile. "I did, and if you want, I can show you exactly how after this is all over."

Miranda nodded. "I would like that." Shepard looked at everyone, old friends, new friends, the love of his life, and smiled. "You guys ready to kick this guys purple ass?"

They all yelled out, "Yes Commander!" and they marched into the unknown