Excerpt 2 - ME2 TIMELINE

Lattesh,

Pheonix Massing, Chomos System,

Year 2185, 31st JAN.

The shuttle whirred and shook as they landed, for the winds were harsh and unforgiving when they finally reached one of the unknown anomalies EDI picked up: an abandoned Cerberus laboratory in Lattesh, the facility expanding widely across the planet's cold deserted land; its white coated titanium walls dull with frost, Cerberus's insignia buried under the grey mush of volcanic ash and snow.

Garrus looked at the abandoned site with unease, his mandibles clicking with worry as his claws toyed with his sniper rifle; a nervous tick he could never tamper down. "I don't like this one bit Sheppard, the signal… EDI said it was outdated and way off, like it's been signaled a long time and no one's ever bother to go check. We're going on blind here." He spoke quietly to the commander, who nodded in agreement; the place was far too quiet for anyone to be at ease.

"EDI, status report; and I want a brief scan of this facility," Kale stated through the comm.-link, the AI chirping as it received the order. "This will take a while, Commander. My scans seem to be blocked, the core of this Cerberus facility has not been shut down, and firewalls seem to be intact. The sudden drop of temperature is also tampering with my comm.-signals." EDI's modulated voice sounded apologetic.

"It's okay EDI, just try to breach those firewalls ASAP. I want to know what Cerberus did here." The AI chirruped once more, and the commander turned off the link. Grunt sniffed the air and growled, even the krogan seemed disturbed. It was not a good sign.

"Alright, the facility is huge and we don't even know what's in store for us down there; the team will be split in to groups of three: Tali, Kaylin and Samara will be on the first level we see; Tali can hack through the networking frames as well as those firewalls;

Garrus, Kasumi and Thane will be scouting ahead, see those beams? You go upfront and tell me anything you see up there, Kasumi may be able to gather some tech information; Grunt and Miranda, on me. We'll take the lower levels."

The group nodded and dispersed at the wave of their commander's hand.

The facility's temperature was no better than the harsh winter storm raging outside, bitingly cold and Kale's teeth were starting to chatter even with Mordin's specially made heat-energy packs. "Bloody hell, 'almost-habitable' climate my arse," Kale muttered as the group of three moved on in the frost-laden halls of the facility, uncovering a few disturbing work logs on the way. The commander replayed the last work log, which showed a screaming man being injected with unknown serums and such, skin melting and steaming as they showed skin and bone. The scientists that surround the man seemed unfazed by the horrifying results.

Miranda looked away from that one, cursing with utmost fervor.

"This… The Illusive Man would never have allowed experiments like this! Even if he would, there's bound to be an explanation…" She trailed of uncertainly at the blood curdling scream emitted from the work log, face pale from the cold as well as . The commander merely shook his head in resignation, "There's nothing we can do and nothing we can deduct here. It's not the time to point fingers at who's right and wrong, let's move on." He said gruffly, nodding towards the metal door, which was stuck and wouldn't budge despite Tali's efforts on moving the gears through her Omni-Tool's console.

"Bah! This sci'oc'shca of a firewall won't work! I'm sorry Sheppard; you have to open the door manually this time." Kale chuckled at the pure venom laced in the word 'manual', the Quarian really didn't like it when machinery didn't see her way. He signaled at Grunt, whose grin showed rows and rows of sharp, needle like teeth as he crashed through the doorway, happy to finally vent his bored frustration.

EDI finally chirruped to signal she found something and the commander was far from pleased when the AI brought… Interesting information from the data Kasumi and Tali compiled towards his Omni-Tool.

"Miranda, has Cerberus ever approved on mutation related experiments?" The officer instantly looked surprised, "No, commander. Even if scientists were interested and filed numerous amounts of applications, the Illusive Man never approved of it. Why?" she asked, observing the grim face of her commander with wariness.

"Well," the door went down with a loud crash, "we're about to find out, officer. Get ready." Kale ordered, dread and fear of what they would find chilling him even further as he straightened his spine.

The stench of rotten blood and crystallized sweat was disgusting, Kale decided as he dodged another swipe, sharp claws narrowly missing his nose by inches as the animal growled.

"Comm—and-! Commander! What the fuck are these things? Shi-" Garrus's static filled voice filled the comm.-link. The commander grimaced as he shot a few more rounds, shouting towards his Omni-tool, "Well, fuck if I know that! EDI! Have you got that scan ready?"

"Sheppard, I have found some Cerberus files indicating that during the assault of the Collectors on your galaxy's Earth (No. 3271), Cerberus scientists from this particular branch kidnapped specimens of your human kind;

Mixing them with hybrid genes most likely distilled or extracted from any forms of wildlife; plant and animal form are most likely tested on subjects as well. The objective was to test the differences of your kind apart from the human race in this part of the galaxy. More accurately, what you would call... Rather famous human beings that are well known in your planet."

Kale swore colorfully and kicked the animal-like hybrid away, feeling sorry for the whimpering animal as it banged on the wall. Shit.

Miranda paled even more as she heard this, "They've gone rogue. These… Dammit, Sheppard! This facility needs to be wiped from existence!" She hissed out whilst the krogan finished off a few more stragglers, looking angry and disgruntled. "These things, they scream, not out of pain. But anger. They cry for the voices in their heads. This facility smells of not only their blood, but the stench of chemicals and failed experiments. Sick." Grunt growled angrily, fist clenching his shotgun tightly.

The commander was silent as he bent down, the silver flash of a name plaque catching his eye. The animal hybrid had a name. "Christ," he breathed, he knows- knew this thing, when she once human and beautiful…

The fucking thing was named 'Angelina Jolie'.

"What?"

Kaylin's alarmed voice screeched through the comm.-link, causing Kale to wince in sympathy, he knew the medic always loved those actors and actresses from Hollywood. Well, their Hollywood in a different timeline.

"Kaylin, focus. What do the scans and previous medical files I sent tell you?"

The medic was obviously shaken, her voice trembled as she spoke, "Names that we both know… Famous people… Lots of them, most of the experiments failed and the scientists abandoned the idea and the facility because… Dammit. That file is locked tight, Tali's working on it right now,"

"How long will it take?"

"Five minutes tops', commander."

"What else?"

"There's one more building ahead of you, Garrus's report says they're clear above and their group is standing by on the beams above the bridge that links your level to the other building.

And… There's something else, something big, commander. Files don't show it but it caused a huge massacre through the numbers of subjects and scientists alike, but it's currently in a lock-down in the building ahead…Tha-That's all I have."

"Alright, send me the files when you're done. Sheppard, out."

Kale gestured towards the other two to follow, the trio treading silently across the hallway; the thick smell of death and rot clogging their sinuses as they passed strewn bodies that littered everywhere, some looking gruesome and half eaten.

"Oh god, what happened here?" The officer looked sick as they passed by another blackened body, its owner's facial features contorted hideously. The building was a wreck: wires sparked with charges of electricity where they were ripped and shredded, recorded work logs replaying eerily with screens splattered with blood.

Suddenly, a bone-chilling howl suddenly sounded from no where, causing Kale to stop and scan the room carefully. Grunt cocked his shotgun with a loud click, "It's here. I can smell it." The tension in the room spiked sky-high.

The commander caught a flash of black fur, and dived towards the ground when a massive body sailed across the room, green eyes flashing in the darkness. His head was inches from being bitten off cleanly.

"Fuck!"

A wolf-hybrid in the size of a car was growling fiercely in front of them, green eyes filled with hatred and anger as its black fur blended into the shadows of the room. Grunt roared and shot at the wolf, grunting painfully when it leaped and kicked him away with its powerful hind legs, his body denting the metal wall as the krogan crashed into it.

The Cerberus officer thankfully didn't back down despite of what happened, the strong current of mass effect energy gathered in her hand as she slammed it on the wolf, instantly crushing one of its forearms. It howled in pain, charging blindly but deadly fast towards Miranda; after that display of biotics, she wouldn't have enough time to dodge the blow.

But Kale did being a Vanguard.

He slammed himself on to the wolf's body, his own wrapped in a brilliant flash of violet; both man and animal flew across the room in a flurry of fur and armor. But the wolf suddenly braced itself against the impact, violently shaking off the human as he was flung towards the wall with a sickening crack. Kale's eyes hazed with pain when he felt so much as heard his arm fracture, and he scrambled to get upright; his eyes snapping open with sudden revelation when he felt the cool metal of a name plaque under his scraped fingers. Well, call him crazy, but he was willing to take his chances.

And when the wolf snarled and pounced, the world slowing in to a stop when the human gazed at it calmly, his mouth wording the syllables in a faint whisper that was only meant for the wolf's keen ears.

"Tom."

Kale's eyes were fastened shut, his heart thudding heavily in his chest as he felt the damp breath of the wolf huffing in his face. Why wasn't he dog food yet? He wondered as he opened his eyes, only to stare straight at the animal's face. It seemed… Strangely docile, its eyes bright and seemed intelligent as it nudged Kale's face with a cold, wet nose.

The commander wrinkled his nose and tried to squirm away from the contact, being as uncomfortable as one would be when faced with a huge wolf with lots of very pointy teeth.

"Commander…" Miranda's voice was steady, but a faint tremor of shock still colored her voice. He flapped his hand weakly in her direction; no shooting. "I… I think I can handle this one." He rasped out, his throat dry and itching as fear clawed it, not daring to break eye contact with the beast as it nudged his throat.

"Your name's Tom Hiddleston, right?" Please don't maul him, Kale thought desperately. The Thresher Maw back at Tuchanka was enough experience, thank you very much.

The wolf thankfully didn't maul him, instead giving a curt human-like nod and a slight growl that sounded very much like a 'yes' to Kale. The commander didn't know which was even worse: the part where he nearly gets mauled by huge wolf or the part where he seemed to be talking with said wolf.

"This beast is strong... It would be a waste to kill it." Grunt muttered as he dusted himself of from the floor, he looked at the animal with weary respect as it growled menacingly at his direction. "What? Commander, you're not thinking-" He glared at the Cerberus officer, who took the hint and shut her mouth with a tense click, her jaw set angrily. "We can debate about this later when I'm feeling better." Kale snapped at her, his mood souring every agonizing moment he tried to move his arm.

The commander tapped his bracer with his good arm, and linked with Garrus. "Status?" The turian didn't sound happy as he growled through the comm.-link, "I'm freezing my ass off. And that's fucking saying something Sheppard," a rumbling note sounded, "Krios here, me and Kasumi found something on the building you're at, we can't tell, but it is alive," the Drell was silent for a moment. "And apparently it is awakening as we speak."

The black wolf gave a scared whimper and scratched the floor with its ears flattened, its pupils dilated with fear as it looked at Kale. "What's awakeni-?" A sudden loud roar came from the depths of the dark building, the vibrations shaking the walls as they all stared at the locked door.

"That." Thane stated quietly.

The commander swore and pushed himself up, his face solemn as he looked at the other two. "Tali, Kaylin and Samara will standby near the shuttle, Kasumi will accompany them as well, should anything happen we need you to get that ship up and running;

Garrus and Thane, see if you can find a way to that room, we'll meet you there."

"Sheppard, the door is unlocked. The firewalls have successfully been breached." EDI said as the doors slid open with an ominous hiss, causing the wolf to whimper softly.

"Well, big guy," Kale smiled ruefully, "as the saying goes, 'take me to your leader'."

The Thresher Maw in Tuchanka seemed like nothing, Kale thought as he stared at the monster in horror, compared to this big mass of oozing tentacle ugly. It was even bigger, nearly five stories high and looked even worse than the Thresher Maw; the head of the monster was half human, a woman's torso stuck to a fat, worm like body that convulsed and twisted whenever it got shot. The woman's face looked eerily familiar.

"Sheppard, duck!" The slimy tentacle swung towards the commander, hitting him with full force as he was slammed on to the reinforced glass wall. The M-300 Claymore clattered on the ground as it dropped. Kale gritted his teeth against the pain as he heard his armor crack.

The turian immediately seized his commander by the back of his armor plating and dragged him to safety, shooting a few more rounds at the tentacled being. "Bullets won't work on that fucking thing! It keeps regenerating itself!" He shouted over the noise of gun shots and the constant shrieks of the monster, pointing towards the bleeding wounds that were beginning to seal themselves quickly despite the teams efforts to shoot it down. It only made it angrier though, its shrieks louder and attacks more vicious as it tried to grab hold of one of the team.

Their attacks were starting to falter though for the whole team was exhausted and their thermal clips were depleting in an alarming rate.

There had to be some way to get rid of this abomination, Kale thought desperately, scanning the room quickly as his mind formed a plan. The wires surrounding them were obviously torn from the monster's constant movement, and the despite being having fast regeneration... "I've got an idea Garrus; you and Thane have to get your asses moving as fast as you can though or this will all go downhill," the turian nodded, "good. Get Thane and start shooting at the monster's head, get him to use Pull; Miranda and me will attack on the front line."

Garrus nodded and moved quickly, him and the drell moving to hide themselves from the monster, they'd know where to shoot. Now it was just the matter of timing it right.

"Tom!" The snarling wolf immediately jumped towards his side, looking at him warily. "Think you can carry a human?"

The commander grabbed a hold of the animal's dark fur, trying his best to hold on as Tom leaped wall to wall, dodging the tentacles and globs of acid (why the fuck did they think it was fun to make a octopus-thresher maw hybrid he did not know), "Miranda!" The Cerberus officer's voice sounded through the speaker of his Omni-Tool, "What the bloody hell are you doing Sheppard?"

"Remember the biotic training Samara gave us? The new techniques about mixin- Shit, Tom!" The wolf nearly fell when the monster's tentacles nearly crushed them both, causing Kale to lurch forward when the animal took a sharp dive.

"Yes, I remember."

"Okay, when I give you the signal, do it." Miranda gave a slow nod.

"You know what to do," The commander whispered in Tom's ear. The animal simply grunted in reply as he landed, letting Kale slide off before running off to bite the tubes that were connected to the monster's body; fluids that had kept the thing alive for so long destroyed as he tore them off. But the monster didn't pay any attention to him, its focus was disrupted by the krogan's constant shooting and the other two hidden elsewhere; their bullets trained on the human half of the creature. It gave an ear shattering roar as the pain grew.

"Let's just hope this works," Kale muttered to himself as he hefted the heavy weapon from his back, Mordin and Kaylin's latest research: the M-920 Cain, they called it. "It's a nuke launcher. That's all you have to know." Zaeed looked green with envy when he spotted the gun.

The commander breathed and concentrated on the mass effect energy that surrounded him, his body glowing bright as the energy wrapped around him. He charged towards the krogan, who simply grabbed him by the body and hauled him upwards; a crater created beneath his feet as his commander used the borrowed strength to jump even higher along with his charging technique. He was finally at level height with the monster as the human face split to reveal sharp teeth and a gaping hole for a mouth.

(Samara smiled at the panting human, "You did well. Remember, if you control that energy with a stable mind, you are able to use it longer before tiring; and if you or one of any biotics did successful biotic powers at the same time...")

"NOW!" Both drell and human biotic unleashed their attacks; Miranda using her warp while Thane using his pull field. Adding Kale's charge and the 'nova'...

("...'Biotic explosion', caused by two different sources of biotic energy: one to provide as a source for the other to detonate.")

And the upper half of the monster's body exploded with a loud 'pop', a rain of acrid smelling ooze and blood drenched the whole team; their commander getting the worst of it as he climbed out of the smoking half of the wilted body, rolling away quickly as it fell.

"... I think that went... Rather stylishly, right Sheppard?" Garrus smothered a laugh when the commander's face looked greener than the slime that was covered on his body.

Kale threw the deflated insides on the turian's face.

A/N : It's honestly just a muse I'm tinkering here and there, this was just a scene in my head and it plagued me for days; I needed to write it out. Oh and please do read the notes before this chapter if you hadn't a clue what you're reading, okay?

No Angelina Jolies and Tom Hiddlestons were harmed in the making of this story.

But, I'm sure you must be wondering: Why the hell did you put those people (AJ, TH) in there? Simple: They are important to the story, they add the essential part to where Sheppard's romance is concerned. I will elaborate more on that on the next chapter.

Constructive criticism and reviews are always well appreciated as they improve my writing. TQ.