"Guy's a genius. Certifiable, but..."
A thousand different thoughts and conclusions raced through Garrus' mind at once. None of them were particularly helpful or, for that matter, comprehensible, but they seemed to agree on one overriding thought: This is not happening.
He refused to register reality when the hand closed over his face. He believed he was living in some kind of dream while he went flying across the room. Even the shouts and weapons fire were all just part of the nightmare.
He could vaguely hear one voice rise more clearly over the others, like it was closer, feel a brush of movement against his shoulder. Not that it mattered. In a moment, he would wake up, like he always did. Renar would alert him to whatever he needed to know about the Victorious' situation. Maybe they had some LADAR fluctuations. Maybe they needed a cannon calibrated. He was good at that. Wasn't he?
He found himself confusedly staring at the ceiling suddenly. Some random Quarian had turned him over…she looked vaguely familiar. So did the human behind her, though he couldn't get a good look. Ah, there. He watched with only a modicum of interest when the Quarian went sailing into a wall. There she was.
Shepard.
So it was this part already, was it? He could never remember this part. But if he could remember it now, wouldn't he remember it then? He felt himself grunt, but didn't actually hear anything. Dreams were confusing. Especially the finer details...some things changed. Surroundings, outfits, activities. But…that was odd. If there was one constant, it was always her. But she didn't seem right somehow. Maybe it was the eyes. Those…were they supposed to be red?
An alarm flashed in his mind. One voice rang out above the others. It wasn't his, but he knew it. Roughly translated from various feelings amongst the adrenaline, it told him: 'This is real. Move your ass or you are going to die'.
His head appreciated the advice more than his ass, since that was where the biotic punch nearly hit. He moved his whole upper torso to the side, and the blue death missile made a deep hole in the ground where his face used to be. He retaliated with a closed fist, but nearly broke his hand on the barrier surrounding he-…it. Whatever this thing was, it was most definitely not Shepard. At the very least, that explanation would keep him sane.
He had maybe half a second to check his surroundings, but that was enough to realize things were going badly. Both AI's were spinning around a singularity nearby with some rubble and the two skeletons, and apparently their machinery wasn't good enough to acclimatize to the situation and open fire. Tali was slouched against the wall she'd been tossed at. She was moving, but slowly. He could see the outline of some blue armor behind cover and knew that Kaidan was safe for the moment. And Davisson…
Davisson was being an idiot.
The marine was just outside range of the singularity, behind the not-Shepard. Instead of doing something like, say, shoot at it, he charged like a drunk krogan and bowled it over. It gave Garrus an opportunity to get to his feet, but he had a feeling Davisson was going to pay for it.
When he turned around, not-Shepard was priming what looked like a biotic nuke, and then fell over backwards. Davisson, from his position on his back, wrapped a leg behind its knee and pulled, causing it to lose its balance. He then rolled to a standing position and drew his shotgun. Garrus saw that a concussive round was already primed.
By all rights, it should have worked. Unfortunately, not-Shepard had lightning reflexes and power to spare. Rather than fire the shot, Davisson had to hit the deck to avoid being pummeled by two orbs of whirling energy. The place in Garrus' mind that held all his snappy comebacks commented that two of those things was just ridiculous. Fortunately, it would end decisively, if he had his way.
Garrus had his Vindicator out in a flash and loaded his own concussive round, aiming it at its grinning…grinning? That could not be good. His eyes flicked to the side and only barely saw the two biotic orbs come back around straight at him. He ducked, and both of them hit the singularity, which promptly exploded and threw a rather large flailing geth at him, and a slightly smaller flailing AI at Davisson. Both of them were knocked to the ground, though Garrus thought that the Colonel had the better end of the deal.
Kaidan picked that moment to stand from cover and open fire with his Carnifex, which he suddenly didn't have. Not-Shepard stood as well, and casually grabbed the pistol from midair, releasing the anti-gravity biotic pulling effect it had generated. Kaidan put up a barrier, but not-Shepard blew it away with a warp field with a mere hand movement and took aim. Kaidan ducked behind cover and closed the distance by way of roundabout diving through various obstacles. He leaped over one, knocked the pistol from not-Shepard's grip, and struck out with a fist.
His blow was countered, but his other hand focused a biotic molecular disintegration effect aimed at its barrier. In a series of blazing fast hand movements, the Spectre bought time for it to go down completely. But it wasn't enough.
Not-Shepard gained the upper hand with a quick feint and grab, and put Kaidan in a headlock. Garrus grabbed at the Carnifex near him, but it pushed the weapon away, readying to snap a human vertebrae.
But then it started jerking and spasming erratically like it was being electrocuted. Which it was. Tali stood behind it, holding her Arc Pistol and firing repeatedly.
"Get up and go!" She shouted. "Hurry!"
Kaidan elbowed not-Shepard in the face and broke free, grabbing his sidearm and running down the hallway they came from. Davisson and EDI followed, and Jeddah helped Garrus to his feet. Tali was the last one out, and far outpaced everyone else in moments, like she was running from disaster. Garrus quickened his step, not knowing what to expect. He saw Tali stop, spin around, and slam a button on her omni-tool. The sound of a massive explosion from behind them gave him a second wind as the collapse brought down tons of debris, blocking the path back…and to them.
Davisson and Garrus both slid to a stop, but the others kept running.
"Keep going!" Kaidan shouted. "That's not going to stop her for long!"
By the time they all got back to the keeper complex, they could hear the sounds of explosions and biotic force slamming around behind them. Garrus groaned in despair. It was bad enough that thing looked like Shepard; it had to be as unstoppable, too? Worse yet, it looked like the keepers had sealed the other doorways out in their absence. They were trapped.
"Spectre Alenko to mining team! We need an exit now! Bring power drills, anything! Sending coordinates…" Kaidan sounded nearly as desperate as Garrus felt.
"Acknowledged. Step away from the collapsed exit." Well. He didn't expect that. But it didn't sound like the volus. In fact, it sounded more like someone using a program to mask their voice. Nevertheless, they each picked a section of wall that was nowhere near the pile of rubble that was their way out, and waited.
The sounds of their imminent death were coming closer.
Closer…closer…
Not-Shepard turned the corner at a run and slowed down to a walking pace, like a predator stalking wounded prey…and enjoying it. It raised its hand, likely to do something incredibly destructive, when a very large rock sent it flying back.
Smaller debris cascaded forward from the tunnel, and when the dust cleared they saw a woman in full body armor stepping forward. She had a pistol. One singular pistol. A Predator, no less. Garrus might have broken down at their 'rescue' right then, but the woman coated herself in a shimmering blue field just in time to absorb two of those biotic orbs which, based on their velocity and impact spread, looked like they hit with roughly the same force as a hovercar. At top speed.
The woman tossed the boulder between her and not-Shepard out of the way with ease, and created a singularity behind her opponent. Not-Shepard turned to destroy it, but was knocked off-balance and on to the lower level by a warp field. It only barely had time to block the follow-up pull field, and not nearly enough to deflect the stasis. Not-Shepard was encased in what looked like bright translucent armor, immobilized.
Unsatisfied, the woman ricocheted a similar biotic orb as those used before off the ground, and it sent not-Shepard flying into the air. The woman grabbed it in midair and slammed it back into the ground, making a sizeable dent in the metal floor.
She turned back to look at the rest of them, who were generally speechless.
"That's…that's just not fair." Davisson muttered.
"I see all of us are still experts at getting into trouble." She unhooked her helmet and motioned back at the motionless figure of not-Shepard. Garrus sunk lower in relief.
"Liara!" Kaidan said. "I never thought I could be this glad to see you."
"I never thought it would be necessary." She nodded her head back towards the other side of the room. "What was that thing?"
"Appearance and biotic capacity match Commander Shepard." EDI replied. Neither of the AI's looked as shaken as the rest of them, but EDI in particular looked about ready to start shouting 'does not compute'.
"What?" Liara's eyes widened with shock. "That's not possible!"
"We…we never knew what happened…it's possible she…" Tali sounded numb, but the fact that she was speaking at all was a good sign.
"No, not that!" Liara cut her off with a shake of the head. "I have never been close to Shepard's equal in biotic combat. She should have disposed of me easily."
"I don't know, you handled those rocks pretty well." Davisson motioned to the empty passage out.
A small smile played across the asari's face. "Actually, that was an explosive charge. Perhaps all this time has simply dulled her skill."
"It might not even be her." Kaidan's comment was met with silence for a time.
"We aren't going to learn anything standing here either way. Let's get that thing to a medical bay." Liara said. "I have some questions."
"How did this happen?" Liara asked them, looking concerned. The seven of them (eight, including Joker) were gathered around a table in the Normandy's medical bay. None of them could take their eyes off of the figure that occupied it.
"I don't know." Kaidan said. "This shouldn't even be possible. Five years? Including a massive detonation from the Crucible and all the other injuries?" He motioned at the medical charts, though no one looked at them. The sight of the numerous broken and shattered bones, horrific burns and skin lacerations alone would have made anyone queasy, but the armor fused to her skin and completely alien brain activity caused by Reaper infection made it unbearable.
"Ever read her records?" Davisson didn't look as physically ill as Garrus or Tali, but he looked as haunted as all of them. "Half the stuff in there makes this look like a black eye. I'm more worried about the Reaper…we're sure about that part, right?"
"Yes." EDI spoke for the first time since boarding the Normandy. "She has all the symptoms of being controlled."
"We don't have any idea how, though." Joker added.
"It may rely on indoctrination." Liara proposed. "Any suitably weakened mind, perhaps."
"Are we seriously saying Shepard's indoctrinated?" Joker asked her incredulously. "That's crazy!"
"We do not know for certain what occurred aboard the Citadel after Shepard went through the transport beacon." EDI said. "In those terms, nearly anything could have happened."
"Prothean beacons might've had something to do with it. I know I'd be less able to fight indoctrination with visions floating around everywhere." Davisson glanced up and saw that they were all staring at him. "…What? I did my homework."
"Wait, you knew this was going to involve Shepard?" Tali looked between Garrus and Davisson angrily.
Joker and Kaidan looked uncomfortable, Davisson raised an eyebrow and glanced at the Spectre, and Garrus continued looking blankly down at the medical table.
"The information was class-" Kaidan began hesitantly.
"Bullshit!" Tali pointed a finger at him, her voice rising to a shout. "You told Joker, EDI, Garrus, and even Davisson! After all we went through with her?! The only thing I can't figure out is why you or the Council thought it would be a remotely good idea to leave me out like this!"
"Because we didn't need to!" Kaidan's voice rose above hers, cutting her off. He paused for a moment, then continued. "You were the only one in this group that I knew would come along just because I asked. The others needed the push. I didn't tell you because I trusted that you would trust me."
"And great work you did on my trust and confidence now, Spectre." She said coldly. "Come on, Jeddah."
She and the Geth stormed out of the medical bay, leaving silence in their wake.
"Yeah…" Davisson sighed. "That went well."
"This situation is in direct opposition to the definition of 'well'." EDI corrected.
"Well hey, no one got shot. That's great for us." Joker clapped a hand on Kaidan's back and hobbled out, motioning EDI to follow. "We'll be flying the ship."
"And I'll ah…ah screw it, I'm just out." Davisson threw up his arms and followed the exiting crowd.
Kaidan closed his eyes. "You didn't tell her?" Liara asked softly.
"Information at a premium, Liara. We know that better than anyone."
"There is a point at which that excuse simply doesn't work." He heard the resentful admonishment in her voice, and then her footsteps faded out the door.
Well. Theory confirmed.
"Dare I ask what's going on in here?" Dr. Chakwas looked around the now emptier room curiously.
"Just a…" Kaidan found that he couldn't admit to her an accurate description. "Nothing. Do you have the brain scans?"
Chakwas looked at him severely. "They aren't 'brain scans', Major. But yes." She held up two readings of brain function. The one on the right was lit up like an explosive charge, while the one on the left looked fairly normal.
"So, the one on the right is Shepard, and the one on the left is…?"
"Also Shepard." At his look of surprise, she indicated both scans. "My latest and second-latest readings of her brain functions, respectively. This one…" She shook the right. "Is absolutely nothing like her at all. In fact, it looks more like an entirely different entity is controlling all of her functions."
"Indoctrination?" Kaidan asked, feeling Liara's fears had been confirmed.
"No." Chakwas shook her head. "I've seen indoctrination. That looks much different, like a shutdown, not an enhancement. But without a point of comparison I honestly have no idea what's going on. So far I've used my best judgment, and that may not be the accurate judgment. Thus the sedatives."
"About those…" Kaidan began.
"Don't worry." Chakwas waved a hand. "She has enough in her to shut down a raging krogan. I'm not about to take any risks."
"I know." They both turned in surprise. Garrus had his head turned to look at them, but his voice was toneless, numb. "I know what's happening."
"And you recorded this in the Collector base?" Kaidan asked, watching the glowing collector throw concussive balls and flaming detonators around the battlefield.
"No." Garrus shook his head. "This was on Horizon. There were just more occurrences on the Collector base." He altered the volume control to set for vocals only and rewound the recording.
"ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL."
Those words, even from so long ago, chilled the blood of everyone present. Garrus shut off the recording and looked at Kaidan. "Sound familiar?"
"Reaper possession?" Kaidan asked, shocked. "How?"
"The beacon, the Cipher, too much time near them, whatever happened on the Citadel, who knows. Maybe all of them, maybe none."
"I noticed some discrepancies…" Chakwas said slowly. "For one, from what you described, Shepard used neither of those Collector attacks during the battle, and I'm fairly certain she isn't glowing like a magma pool."
"If Garrus is right, that means one of two things." Kaidain looked back at the medical table. "Either all of that is Collector specific…"
"Or Shepard's resisting." Garrus pointed in the direction of the body. "She's still in there, fighting whatever this is, and if we-"
"Garrus." Chakwas shook her head. "We don't even know if your theory is correct. There's no reason to get our hopes up unless we're absolutely sure."
"Fine." Garrus replied coolly. "You two can believe what you'd like. I need to go…anywhere."
Kaidan could only watch sadly as the entrance to the medical bay closed once more.
"You realize of course that, objectively, this is patently ridiculous."
Kaidan held back a sigh. Leave it to the Turian council member to try and reject the situation out of hand. Of the three of them present, he considered him the least 'objective'. And that was behind Wrex.
Davisson continued checking whatever data file he was engrossed in at the back corner, leaving just Kaidan and Liara at a small desk in the council's private meeting room. All five councilors had received the debriefing, but only asari, turian, and krogan had decided to hear it from the source. So far, it was going fairly well. No arguments. Yet.
The turian councilor held up a hand. "However, no good has come from my dismissing the concerns of your team out of hand. Particularly seeing as how this involves Shepard. However, I wonder what exactly you think we can do to assist you."
"Respectfully, councilor, we haven't the slightest idea what we are dealing with. Whatever is afflicting Shepard is completely unprecedented, and I at least am leery of doing anything with her until we have more information." Diplomacy, T'Soni-style. "If there are any scientists, contacts, even think tanks you could provide us with…"
"And your own resources are insufficient for this task, Dr. T'Soni?" The asari councilor said 'Doctor' with a hint of irony.
A small flush of violet crept up Liara's cheeks, but she kept her composure. "My resources are…suited to different kinds of tasks, councilor. More importantly, I believe those in direct contact with the council are more trustworthy in general."
Wrex chuckled. "Am I the only one who remembers the Dalatrass, or Saren? No, don't answer that. I might know someone like what you're asking for. A salarian researcher on Tuchanka."
"Recommending a salarian for something as important as this? Did I hear you incorrectly, Councilor Wrex?" The turian councilor stared at the unshaken krogan.
"He's proven himself to us." Wrex shrugged, but left the rest of his thoughts hanging thick in the air. From his tone, who in the room hadn't proven themselves was unmistakable.
Liara cleared her throat softly. "What does this salarian research?"
"Krogan genetics. Approved, this time." Wrex glanced at the other councilors, who bristled. "If we get into a population crisis, I want to make sure the Rebellions don't happen again."
"How exactly do you intend to go about that?" Kaidan normally wouldn't have asked, but he was curious.
"We're still in the planning phases." Wrex waved him off. "But he suggested taking a link out of the quarian's omni-tool."
"What makes you think he would be able to help us?" Liara interrupted. "This doesn't exactly fall within normal genetic research."
"Let's just say he has experience with this kind of thing. You might have heard of his uncle." Wrex smirked.
Davisson piped up immediately. "You're sending us to talk to Kerrin Solus?"
Red.
It tinged the edge of its vision. Outlines of the eyes blocked by crimson. It could only see forward.
It tried to raise its head but could not. Merely keeping eyes open was difficult. Thoughts became harder, and it could not think. Could not move. Only look directly ahead.
Its ears worked only barely. It could hear faint shouts, commotion. A human woman passed in front of it, arms reaching overhead to do something. It could not turn to see. This was frustrating.
A turian head blocked its vision. He was shouting something. Its right arm was being moved. It could feel the motion, but not feel the grip. The sensation, and lack thereof, was annoying.
Darkness embraced it…