"She's you!" The girl pointed to her mother, her head turning comically back and forth between her mother and the figure. "Or you're her! You're each other! Who is she?!"
The Shepard clone watched Cass ramble, the slight smirk playing on her lips made her amusement clear, until turned to the commander with narrowed eyes. "weren't the only Shepard Cerberus brought back to life, but at least now one of us will actually do something with it."
"Where did you come from?" Shepard stepped in front of her daughter, blocking the younger girl with her shoulder.
"The same DNA as you." The clone pointed briefly to her progenitor.
"You have a clone!" Cass grabbed her mother's arm from behind and shook. "A freaking clone! This is so syfy!"
"Cerberus spared no expense resurrecting you. With me." The doppelganger spoke, ignoring the teen's outbursts. "I was created for spare parts, if you needed a leg, a heart, a lung perhaps."
"Where have you been this whole time?" The real Shepard questioned.
"In a coma." The clone began to pace, eyes falling back to the teen every few seconds. "I woke up six months ago, when you were in a jail cell on Earth, I was learning to be human. It's amazing what a person can do with enough neural implants."
"I don't care who you claim to be." Shepard glared at the double. "The role of Commander Shepard is already filled."
"By the wrong woman." The clone retaliated. "It's time the understudy had her way."
"Did the Illusive man send you?" Shepard stepped forward.
"No." The clone, move closed. "He abandoned me when he had what a wanted. You."
"Then why are you trying to kill us?" Liara growled.
"Because I don't have her memories, I'd never fool my supposed friends." The clone turned on her heel and faced away from the Normandy crew. "The ones who abandoned their duty to join the cult of Shepard." The clone whipped back around, eyes meeting Liara's, coldly. "Like you Dr. T'soni. You're nothing more than a college cheerleader, pretending to be soldier."
"And you're just a pale imitation of the real thing." Liara reacted.
"I'm the real thing!" The clone thundered. "Perfected. I'm you without the ware and tear. Without the doubts and failures." The clone's eyes flashed once more to the teen. "I'm the lone wolf you were always meant to be…" The fake Shepard paused to stare at Cass. "…Without the emotional baggage to hold me back."
"No one will ever believe you're Shepard." Cass growled, hands curling into fists, moving to lunge, but her mother's arm in front of her kept her back.
"They will when I'm flying her ship-" The clone taunted.
Shepard's hands flew to her ear, initiating commands. "This is Shepard! Initiate Normandy lockdown, Transmitting command codes now-"
"Good idea." The clone sneered. "Too bad the signal was blocked." The clone's omni-tool flashed on. "Traynor, this is Shepard, prep the Normandy for emergency departure. We're leaving. I'm sending the command codes now."
"Acknowledged, we'll get under way." Trainor's voice resounded from the clone's device.
"Never thought I'd say, but I'm looking forward to killing myself." Shepard stated.
"I guess ominous threats of violence run in our DNA." The fake Shepard spoke darkly. "But mine is more than a threat."
"Execute them." The clone paused shortly. "but take the girl."
"Oh hell no!" Cass grunted as she was pulled backward, Shepard fired multiple shots into the air, causing the glass, citadel sculpture to fall, shattering at their feet. The distraction gave the Normandy crew enough time to escape their situation and let the actual fighting happen.
"You could've warned me." Cass murmured, switching in and out of cover, firing against the fake Shepard's mercenaries.
"I wasn't going to let her take you." Shepard huffed, firing a shot straight into one of the commando's skull.
"Well Uncle Urdnot it back in town and he brought the boom!" Wrex thundered, firing multiple rounds whilst charging on an unsuspecting mercenary.
"Don't tell me that's a catchphrase." Cass remarked, deadpan.
"Thought I'd try it out." Wrex replied. "See what you think?"
"Try again!" Tali commented.
As the firing subsided, Cass exited cover and hopped over to her mother and Liara.
"We're clear." Liara said. "Where did the other you go?"
"She's pushing into the archives." Shepard spoke, waving their small team forward. "Stay in your groups! Team Mako! You're on point."
"Right." Brooks responded. "Wait. What's a mako?"
"Something we could use right about now." Liara responded breathlessly.
"Team Hammerhead, cover the flank!" Shepard commanded.
"Got it." Cortez's voice came in. "And the Mako's got nothing on the hammerhead."
Cass shook her head as she ran alongside her mother and Liara, as they wound through corridors of files and data, they took a sharp turn around a dark corner, revealing the true scale of the archives. Airtight pods lined the walls as far as they could see.
"Huh, big place." Wrex shrugged.
"Shepard." Tali came in. "What do you think your clone is looking for in here?"
"At this point," Shepard frowned, "Anything's possible."
"You mean like strolling along and bumping into your clone?" Ashley grinned, glancing at the commander.
"I don't want to talk about it." Shepard deadpanned.
"Of course." Liara added. "At least not until we've all had a drink."
"Like we're going to find any in this place." Cass huffed, ignoring "the look" from her mother.
"Glyph." Shepard spoke. Cass grimaced as the little drone flashily appeared, she hated the thing; it was so annoying. "Track the target. Give me updates on their location."
"What is the nature of the target?" The drone bobbed along as they continued to move.
"She looks like me." Shepard replied.
"Then I have found the target." Glyph replied, almost cheerfully, despite his robotic character.
"No Glyph." Shepard resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "It's another me. Now get going."
"At once, Commander." Glyph disappeared quickly.
"At least it stopped using shadow and broker in the same sentence." Cass spoke quietly, eyeing Liara mischievously.
Liara glared in response.
"So fighting your own clone." Wrex spoke. "Who would've thought."
"But useful." Javik spoke through the com. "If there is a task you don't wish to do, let them handle it."
"Like a personal butler?" Brooks added.
"Well, I don't think it works like that when the clone is homicidal." Cass countered.
"I don't want to talk about." Shepard practically sing-songed.
Cass laughed as they continued to move, until they ran into more of the other Shepard's mercenaries.
"They've got us pinned down!" Tali's voice came in. Cass could make out gunfire ahead of them on the other side of the archive tubes.
"We're on our way." Shepard answered back.
Cass followed her mother, rolling across the tubes and winding until they made it to the platform. Shepard jumped down first and began flanking the unsuspecting mercenaries. Liara and Cass began shooting as well, taking out most of the black clad men keeping Tali's team from advancing. As the moved forward, a second wave of the enemy was in pursuit.
"Go!" Shepard commanded. "I'll cover you!"
Cass nodded and ran toward the ladder that Tali, Garrus and Wrex had already scaled. The girl winced as she felt bullets fly past her.
"That's cheating!" Liara called out, a wrung or two behind the teen. "We're on a ladder."
Cass had to stop from laughing at the Asari's exclamation, and allowed herself to be pulled up by a pair of hands. Cass turned and pulled out her gun as she made it to her feet.
"This is Shepard, we need-" The commander thundered, but her voice was cut off by the barrage of shooting above her; the entire Normandy crew firing. The men behind the commander staggered back and fell to the floor. "Backup." The commander finshed and shook her head, climbing the ladder herself.
"This is why I love hanging out with you guys." Wrex stated. "Why shoot something once when you can shoot it 46 more times."
Cass snorted with laughter as the Commander rolled her eyes before speaking. "The- er other me can't be far. Keep up the pressure and we'll surround her."
The teams nodded and dispersed in different directions. Shepard, Liara and Cass turned down their selected path into a hallway of holograms.
"This place is freaking huge." Cass groaned, keeping pace with her mother.
"This history of this place must stretch back thousands of years." Liara offered.
"I wonder what the other you wants in here." Cass stated.
"I guess we'll find out." Shepard shrugged.
"Team Mako? Status?" Shepard called into the com.
"We- clone- going in-" Tali's voice cut in and out, static coming through the com.
"Commander! Do you copy?" Brook's voice came in, fuzzy.
"Brooks? What's your status?"
"The other you is jamming our radios. Hammerhead and Mako are trying to get ahead and cut her off, but I've been hit and need help, please hurry!"
Cass rolled her eyes. "Of course she got shot." The girl deadpanned.
"Cassandra." Shepard warned breathlessly, moving at a near sprint.
Cass ignored her and kept moving, a few steps ahead of her parent. As they ran, the doors glided open, and the teen could make out the staff analyst on the ground across the room, an empty pod between them and the injured woman.
Cass ran toward the Alliance analyst and crossed the pod, the blue barriers of the pod appearing in a flash, sealing Liara and the Commander inside, while Cass was on the other side. The teen whipped around.
"That can't be good." Cass swallowed.
"Brooks!" Shepard called. "The vault sealed Liara and I in."
"There's got to be an override or something." Liara stated with a grimace.
"I don't see one." Cass's brow furrowed as she began to scour the outside of the pod.
Shepard frowned. "Brooks? Cortez? Do you read me? Is anyone on this frequency?"
"The short answer is no, they're not." The clone stepped out from the elevator, only some yards from Cass. "The long answer is that your friends are all stuck in iridium vaults and forgotten…well forever."
"Oh fuck." Cass stated, the girl held her pistol up, aiming for the clone's head.
"You're not going to shoot your own mother, are you?" The clone smirked.
"You're not my moth-" Cass was cut off, the brunt of Brook's pistol connecting with the back of her head, knocking the teen unconscious.
"Get away from my daughter!" Shepard thundered, firing rounds into the barrier, regardless of having no effect. The mother sighed and ceased fire, glaring at the clone with a fury. "You won't get away with this! Cass knows and others know. The Alliance will stop you!"
"What do you think, Staff Analyst Brooks? Will the Alliance stop us?" The clone simpered.
Brooks was kneeling over the unconscious teen; she then stood and sauntered over. "I wouldn't know. It's not like I actually work for them." The woman place and elbow on the clone's shoulder, leaning into her.
"Clearly." Shepard growled, eyes shifting back and forth between her unconscious daughter, who's hands were now being bound by a single mercenary, and the duo. "So who the hell are you? And you really don't think I'll track you down?"
Brooks shrugged almost playfully. "My name doesn't matter." She smirked. "I never keep the same one for more than a few days. And if the illusive man hasn't found me yet, then I doubt you ever will."
"You're Cerberus?" Shepard growled.
"Was." Brooks began to pace. "Mr. Illusive and I didn't see eye to eye. He's indoctrinated, whereas I prefer the whispers in my head to be my own."
"Then why not come to me?" Shepard questioned. "We could have worked together."
"In a way we did." Brooks pursed her lips. "I was the one who put together all those dossiers for your suicide mission."
"The Collector Base?"
"There was the Salarian doctor, the Asari Justicar, the drell." Brooks listed. "They were all mistakes. We were a pro-human group who started looking to aliens for help." The paused, folding her arms. "So I bided my time, and when I found another you who agreed. I woke her up."
"What was the point of it all?" Shepard bellowed.
"All we really wanted was your spectre code." Brooks stated simply.
"But you survived the hit and insisted on bringing your damned Asari into it." Brooks explained. "So I had to tie up loose ends."
"The arms dealer." Shepard stated, realization kicking in.
"And then your sex bot had to go and uncover the data, so here we are… forced to contain the situation."
"And my daughter?" Shepard swallowed.
"You mean my daughter." The clone spoke, sneering. "Commander Shepard has a daughter, and I am Commander Shepard."
"What of the emotional baggage then?" Shepard's hands curled into fists.
"It would be suspicious if my own child disappeared."
"She's not your child!" Shepard thundered. "And my entire crew, how're you going to explain their disappearance?"
"Biologically, we're the same. So she is." The clone shrugged. "As for your crew, well- none of that matters now."
"The minute- the second I get out of here, I'm going to mount your head on the Normandy's CIC deck." Shepard barked. "The I'm going to mount her head next to yours."
"I'll help." Liara growled.
"That sounds dramatic." Brooks leered. "And if someone like, say, Commander Shepard was making that threat, I'd be worried. But you're not Shepard, not anymore."
"You had Miranda." The clone spoke, gesturing to her companion. "and I have her, mine has more bite."
Brooks stepped close to the barrier and smiled slyly. "It was fun while it lasted."
"What are you doing?" Shepard walked the length of the pod, to where the clone was standing above a control panel.
"Setting things right." The clone said. "The one thing they can't duplicate is a handprint. Life gives it shape, not DNA... Which is a problem." The clone held eye contact with the commander. "Computer, update council records, subject Shepard; human spectre."
"Accessing record, please input new data." The clone placed a hand onto the computer's panel. "Biometric identifier updated, Good day, Commander Shepard."
"So now if you'll excuse me." The clone began to saunter away, but looked back over her shoulder with narrowed eyes. "The Normandy needs it's captain, so I'd better go."
"Farewell, Commander." Brooks spoke with equanimity. "I guess this is where legends go to die."
"Grab the girl." The clone spoke. "We're taking her with us."
Shepard watched as as her daughter was slung over one of the merc's shoulders, until their pod shifted and jerked, sending them into the depths of the archives, they're feet finally steadied as the pod stopped moving, their faces illuminated by the dull glow of Liara's omnitool.
"Refresh my memory." Liara frowned. "Didn't we use to win these things back in the day?"
"She said, "I should go." Do I sound like that?" Shepard frowned heavily.
"As long as I've known you. Yeah." Liara answered. "But maybe we should be worrying about the impregnable vault we've been sealed inside forever…"
"I'm more confident than she is. More in control, right?" Shepard tapped a thoughtful finger against her chin. "With me it's more like, "that's all for now." Right?"
Liara ignored the commander's rambling. "There's probably much air in here, maybe an hour at most."
"Or sometime, "I'll talk to you later," Because you know what? I never do, I leave them wanting more."
"Shepard." Liara huffed. "Why aren't you more worried about this? They have Cass and we're locked in."
"Hm. Oh. Glyph!" Shepard called. "Glyph you still out there?"
"Yes, Commander."
Liara sighed in relief upon hearing the drone.
"Unlock this damn thing and go find the others! No one takes my kid! Not even me!"