I heard muffled sounds. Struggles. Then silence. I began to get used to the silence. Then, I felt something at my leg. Warm, wet. A ripping sound killed the silence. The warmness was washed away with coldness. Then, something wrapped around my leg. I didn't know what. My eyes were closed. At least, I think they were closed. Then, rough hands gently lifted my body to what I believe was a sitting position. A thumb, I realized, caressed my cheek. That is what made me open my eyes. Sky blue eyes looked into mine with what looked like relief and worry.

"Hmm...Joh-Wha-..." I couldn't find the strength speak. A pain began to settle in my leg.

"It's alright, Sel. You're safe. I patched you up a bit, but there's nothing I can do to stop the pain." he said as remorse filled his eyes. I began to snap out of my entranced state, remembering that we were running, then cornered, then...

"What happened?! The guards?!"

"I..." He faltered and instead glanced to his left, where the two guards laid on the ground, a puddle of blood underneath them.

Oh my god, John... What have you done...?

As if on cue, he started, "When the bastard shot you, I just...lost it. Omni-tools have a blade mechanism. I...I had to. They weren't going leave us alone until they or we died. I'm sorry. I had no other-"

"John. It's fine. You did the right thing. They would've killed us otherwise. Besides, we did the world a favor." I realized that whatever lied ahead would be what would change John into Commander Shepard. And I couldn't intervene in whatever shaped him.

"What did you call them? Cerberus? What is that?"

Well, shit... I totally forgot that...

"I...Let's get out of here first. I'll explain somewhere else."

His face was the spitting image of doubt if there ever was one, but nevertheless he nodded in approval.

"What do we do with the...the bodies? Do we just...leave them here?" He asked. I could tell this was the first kill for him. He was trying to hide it but he was failing poorly. I have to make him strong if he'll live up to the expectations. How I would do that is beyond me.

"Leave them here. Let's get out of here." I started to get up, only to feel pain course through my whole left leg.

"AARGH! Shit, wait." I sat back down again then got up again, this time leaning on the wall and putting my weight on my right leg. Great. Fresh off the boat and already injured. Where's Dr. Chakwas or Dr. Michel when you need them? At last, I stood more or less upright and we began walking away from the alley, John carrying both his and my bag. We walked (well, I limped) a few blocks and found a park. We sat on a bench, away from the lights and bustle of the large city that was New York. We sat in silence for a while, thinking about what would lie ahead. John probably didn't have a clue, but I did.

Earthborn Shepard...Hard life...Gangs...Join military at eighteen...How the hell was he going to manage that with me...? More than likely, he was alone in the game...And Cerberus...Cerberus was involved since the beginning...They obviously didn't know what he would do...Even they don't have technology to see the future...And how am I going to explain that I knew Cerberus to John...? Sigh...Wait...My parents, of course! They were scientists...It's a lie I'll have to say...

"John...about those guards. I called them Cerberus. My parents were scientists, researching genetics. They came across Cerberus operatives during their research. I don't know much about them, other than their methods to find breakthroughs can be...harsh. They went to extreme measures to...to..." I drifted. Part of the lie was true. My parents had mentioned Cerberus once or twice during conversations. Then, they were making a big breakthrough in their project. And they died the next day.

Oh god...

"Sel, what's wrong?"

It couldn't be... Maybe they didn't... Just a coincidence...
A big fucking coincidence...It's obvious... Cerberus killed mom and dad...
No...

"Selena!" John shook me from my thoughts. My dreadful thoughts.

"Cerberus killed my parents..." I managed. "Those bastards killed mom and dad. It can't be a coincidence. Damn..."

You can't think of this...You have to keep going...
Cerberus killed my parents! I can't just forget them!
If it's revenge that you want, you can get it...As soon as John becomes Commander Shepard...Otherwise, the whole galaxy is screwed...

"Are you sure? I-I'm sorry." He pulled me in an embrace but I quickly pulled away. I don't need sympathy. I need to kill every damn Cerberus asshole out there. There's only one way to do that.

"I don't need coddling." I said, sternly. "We need to find a way to live here."

"Well, there's always stealing." He suggested calmly. I seriously didn't expect that from him. But it won't be enough.

"Yeah, but it's just a short-term solution. We can't just sleep in park benches or under bridges the rest of our lives. We need a stable source of income. And there's only one thing that I can think of."

"Which is?"

"We have to join a gang."

"A gang?! You can't be serious. I knew you were something else, but... A gang?!" I should have expected this, to be honest.

"Do you have another idea? I would gladly take it into account." I said, probably a tad too sternly than I wanted. We were silent for a while until John finally spoke.

"I guess you're right. You probably have more insight about the city than I. What gang would we join? Can we even do that? Just walk up to them and ask 'Hey, can we join you? Really?! Great, thanks. So, who's our first kill?'"

Ouch...
What do you expect? He's not Shepard. Not yet.

"The neighborhood I used to live in was controlled by the Templar Knights. I don't know where their hideout is but it's a start." Again, silence consumed us. Then broken yet again.

"Alright, then. I'm pretty much useless trying to figure out where we go. We should probably get some rest here; tomorrow, we check out the place. Alright?"

"Alright."

We made ourselves as comfortable as possible in the bench and fell asleep, using the stars as our blanket.

AN: Whew. Writers block can be a b**th sometimes. Thank you all for your reviews, fave's, and follows. And thanks to user James Fortune for all your help. Stay tuned for Chapter 5.