Chapter 6: One Of The Haunted

Disclaimer: Mass Effect is owned by the people of Bioware. Lucky bastards.

Anyway, if you started reading this story before July 29 2010, you should go back, and reread the story. I mad heavy revisions, and the rest of the story will not make much sense if you don't.

MEMEMEME

It had taken four days, but Shepard could finally stand up without seeing black spots dance in front of his eyes. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, Shepard managed to keep himself up by leaning into the wall.

Finally Shepard managed to pull on some new clothes, and headed down the stairs. Sarona was still there, sipping some coffee with his dad in the kitchen. Smiling weakly, he gratefully accepted the offered cup of coffee Sarona handed him.

Sarona gave Shepard a few minutes to get his bearings before she got to business "Your biotics seem to be manifesting faster than we anticipated, and in a different way than we anticipated. Normally I'd intensify your training, but it's your choice this time. You could become a... powerful biotic, or you can just ask me to teach you how to hide your biotics. You might still be able to salvage you old life." The Man would have her head if he knew she offered this to her, but she needed to get his trusts, and honestly, she had to have him want to become a powerful biotic, and she couldn't force him to do that.

Shepard nodded his head slowley. Everything was so unfocused, and he had trouble concentrating. But if he had heard her right, Sarona was giving him an out. Obviously he could never convince Sam that he wasn't a biotic, she had seen him use his biotics, but there were no other witnesses, and if Sarona taught him to hide his biotics, he could blend into society like nothing had ever happened. So, his options came down to dedicating his life to biotics, or trying to get back his old life. He wasn't sure what he wanted. He could kill someone just by thinking about it, and that kind of power amazed him, but also frightened him. He wasn't sure he wanted that much responsibility. On the other hand, he had always been living a lie, and ignorance is bliss...

Sam's ghost kept returning to torture his thoughts."Stay away from me you freak." Shit, I love her. How could she do this to me? She's probably told everyone I'm a biotic too. Dammit.

Sarona noticed how tense Shepard was and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder "Come on" her voice was surprisingly tender. "Let's meditate. It will help you center yourself."

Shepard was surprised to find the concern in her voice, and let himself assume the lotus position in the living room, and dove into the meditation, the now familiar wisps of bark blue energy surrounded mentor and pupil. He had sat on the metal floor until Sarona had finally left to do some errands.

John was worried for his son. He was glad when Kyler finally stood up, and began to look human again, but his words were a cold reminder.

Kyler looked at the ground '' hey dad, I'm going to go for a walk. Be back late.''

That was hours ago, and it was now getting dark. John decided to go out and look for his son. Something bad might have happened to him.

It only took about ten seconds to find him. Kyler was sitting on the stone wall around their house. A cocoon of biotic energy was wrapped around him. John was both relieved and worried at the same time. That position can't be comfortable. Shepard was sitting up rigidly, legs in full lotus, and one of his fists was planted in is palm in front of him. Even though he wasn't trained in biotics, John could tell that something was different about his son's aura from other biotics. The usually dark blue wisps around him flared occasionally with what looked like black and white electricity.

"What are you doing up there?"

"Meditating." Shepard breathed. He didn't stop his regulated breath, or even open his eyes to acknowledge his father. He was still far too deep in his meditations. He had found his answer, but was still enjoying the peace meditating brought him.

A short period of silence passed between the two with neither of them moving "how long have you been there?"

Shepard finally opened his eyes to look at his omni-tool. It was 0852. "'Bout five hours." Shepard closed his eyes and returned to his meditation.

John shook his head, and turned to go inside. He was really getting worried now. Kyler had woken up at around 1000. He had been meditating for nearly eleven hours without eating, and he knew biotics ate a lot more than regular people. Especially ones that had been using their biotics nonstop to meditate like his son had been doing. And as far as he knew, he had only moved once to go outside and meditate on the wall.

John began to microwave a large dinner for two people for Kyler. He would be famished if he didn't die out there. He left the food on the counter, and went upstairs to bed.

He finally smiled when he finally heard his son enter the house, and rip into the packaging on the food; allowing himself to finally fall asleep.

MEMEMEME

Sarona felt weird spying on him like this, but she needed to make sure Shepard would be OK. She was beginning to feel sorry for her pupil. He was being forced into making a decision because of the circumstances that she had created. She had thought she was above such emotions, but she was starting to feel guilt. She had heard of asari justicars who would meditate for days on end, but never a human, and definitely not one so young. Most humans were too stupid and reckless to slow down. Then again, he had been pretty reckless when fighting that gang, so maybe he wasn't too different from most humans. Still she worried about him, because for all his meditating, Shepard hadn't eaten anything all day, and very little in the days prior because he had been bedridden.

She almost hoped to believe Shepard would try to get his old life back, but there really was very little chance of that happening. Shepard would fight with every ounce of his being, and he wouldn't turn his back on anything. And she was pretty sure he would feel like giving up on his biotics would be turning his back on them.

Maybe once this was all over, she could apologise for what she had done to him. And even if he didn't accept her apology, at least she would have a clear conscious.

She gave a sigh of relief as Shepard finally followed his father into their house. His father really cared about Kyler's well-being, and he was a good man; she really wished she hadn't begun to mess up their life. But if anyone can get Kyler to finally eat something it would be him. It's not good for him to use a biotic meditation without eating.

She knew her meddling in Shepards life would have consequences, but she hoped it wouldn't be too bad. After all, how badly could humans treat one of their own?

MEMEMEME

If he saw one more person glare at him...

He couldn't believe it. Shepard had half hoped that Sam would not tell anyone that he was a biotic, but the stares he received as he walked down main street confirmed his suspicions.

As he was buying more seeds for his fathers fields, he heard sirens but didn't pay much attention. As he turned to leave however, one of the Alliance soldiers stopped him. Mindoir was too small a colony for a real Alliance garrison, so this soldier was really just a cop with fancy armor. "This him ma'am?"

A woman in her thirties rushed up to him "Yes, yes that's him, he forced my Toby to do it!"

Shepard was surprised at her reaction. He didn't even recognise this woman. Then he saw Toby, who was known for vandalizing things, cowering behind his mother.

"My Toby would never break a window in his right mind. He must have controlled him. He's a biotic you know."

The soldier looked at Shepard with something close to fear, and sighed. "As much as I would like to arrest this witch-born scum, the evidence is circumstantial at best." He glared at Shepard and added "But if you do anything against the law, or force another to do so, you will be in lock-down before you can even try to summon your voodoo magics." And just like that, they left him to his thoughts.

So Sam has undoubtedly told everyone. He expected he would have felt rage at her for ruining his life, but he didn't. He felt like one door in his life had slammed shut, and he was at a crossroad. Still he would have to confront her eventually, and he was sure he would feel something then. She had a lot to explain.

Shepard headed back home, but even on the country road he could still feel the stares of the farmers.

"Hey witch-born" Shepard turned to face a group of about ten kids roughly fourteen years old or so. "stay away from our town. Your not welcome here." The obvious leader sneered.

A slight feeling of sadness passed over Shepard. These boys lived in such sheltered lives. They really didn't know anything beyond the mundane confines of Mindoir. But there was an entire galaxy full of different types of people, and Shepard felt proud to be different from the average human.

Still these boys were not likely to just push off, no matter what he told them. Shepard smiled at the look of horror on the kids faces as he began to glow. For emphasis, Shepard lifted his arms and created a small singularity, twirling a small storm of rock and dirt around him. Most of the boys fled a soon as he had begun glowing, and by the time the rocks settled down, Shepard was the only one left on the road. He laughed: at the boys who were afraid of him, of his new life, and at his own fear of fully embracing the unknown. It felt good to laugh. Something he hadn't done since Sam had...

Shepard's arms grew tired as they always did whenever he had to carry the seeds home. His father was too poor to buy extra fuel for the tractor, so Shepard was constantly running between home and the market with seeds. Finally, Shepard just began to levitate the bag with his biotics. It wasn't like his secret was that secret anymore. The entire fucking colony knew he was a biotic, so he might as well use the perks that came along with it.

Shepard finally reached the barn, and told his dad he needed to take care of some things. Sarona had told him to come by her house when he was ready to resume his biotics training, whether he wanted to learn to hide his biotics, or if he wanted to continue honing his abilities. But first, he had some things to take care of at Sam's house. He knew he wouldn't be able to talk to her if she rot inside, but if he could intercept her on her way home, he could talk to her, and give her a chance to explain her actions. Then he'd decide what to do.

MEMEMEME

She couldn't believe it. She had loved Kyler, and she thought he had to, but it had all been lies. Lies and probably a lot of lies on his part.

Despite her initial reaction to finding out he was a biotic, she was grateful to Shepard for having saved her, and had sworn to herself that she would keep his secret. That is, until she looked up human biotics on the extranet. They were able to control and manipulate their victims. She had just been a puppet, and those gang members that had been about to...rape... her had probably been part of Shepards plan to make her fall for him, and 'do it' with him.

But she had been too clever, and had outwitted the trickster. Now the entire colony knew he was a biotic, and he wouldn't dare touch her. She smiled at her own inteligence and abilities for having escaped the clutches of that bastard.

Shepard saw Sam coming towards him. He couldn't believe he had killed four men, and now he was cowering behind a boulder, afraid of talking to his ex. Now or neverhe tought grimly. He stepped out from behind his cover to confront her.

Sam had been too shocked to scream. Shepard had just ambushed her. He would kill her, or worse control her. She had looked on in horror as he approached, but his words were not the voice of an evil manipulator interested only in sex. His voice cracked as he looked at her and simply asked "Why?"

She was confused for a minute. She had expected her to come at her with flashes of blue biotics and restrain her. Instead of an all powerful being, she simply saw a broken man, who wanted to know why his love had betrayed him. She finally found her voice, but was too afraid to think diplomatically, so she said the first thing that came to mind. "You-you were controling me. Manipulating me into doing what you wanted." She finally found her courage. His somber exterior must really hide his evil ambitions. I'll show him. "And now you come to me to try your hand again. I saw what you biotics really are on the extranet. I never really loved you, you just controlled me to!"

A dangerous spark flashed in his eyes "You think I controlled you!" He bellowed. He had never yelled at her before, and she had to admit, she was truely terrified. Unlike other men she had met and gone out with, Shepard didn't lose control when he was mad, and it was intimidating to see it. "You think it was all just mindless lust for me!" His voice cracked again, and his eyes began to fill up with water. "I loved you. I loved you." His anger began to subside, and was replace with sadness.

Sam reached out to touch his face, but he finally snapped. He glared at her and swatted her hand away "You call me a manipulator? At yet you sit here toying with my emotions. No more!" He finally turned his back on her, and began walking towards the woods.

Sam stood there until it finally hit her. He wasn't trying to manipulate her, even if he could, he hadn't. Surely he would have done more if he was capable of complete manipulation though. He didn't lay a hand on me. Panic siezed her as she realized she had just ruined the life of the man she loved, he was starting to get smaller and smaller as he headed towards the line of nikata trees. She managed to use her omni-tool to amplify her voice load enough that he would be able to hear her. "Where are you going?"

Shepard only stopped for a moment when he heard her voice. He looked over his shoulder at her for a second before walking away. "Home" he muttered. He was going 'home' in a way: he was embracing who he was.

He entered the woods, and went to Sarona's 'hut'. He had never actually been there, but he knew that he could only find peace in the challenges of mastering biotics. He was tired of all this emotional crap, and wanted to feel whole again. Wanted to feel the strain of exerting himself until he was tapped out, then pushing himself until he truly did have nothing left. It was the only thing that could quench his pain. He knew he would have to talk to Sarona about it, but she was more of a 'woman' of action then anything else. He hoped she wouldn't ask to many questions, and they could just spar. He had never looked forward to training, let alone a sparring match before, but now he couldn't wait. He wasn't enthusiastic, but he was definatly motivated.

He finally saw her hut through the nikata trees that once brought him peace. It looked unlike any building he had ever seen. Granted, he had only ever seen the colonial architecture, but it didn't make the sight any less appealing. If he wasn't so focused on training, he would have looked at it for much longer than he did. Instead he kept stride and knocked on the door.

The door opened, and Sarona took one look at him. "Yes."

He didn't quite understand "What?"

"You want to spar, right? And I said yes. I've seen the look that's in your eyes in some of my best pupils. You carry great pain, and find comfort and release in biotics. Most trainers will tell you to control your emotions, and it is important to keep them in check, but to be a truly powerful biotic, you must know when to use your emotions. I already assumed that you aren't going back to your old life. The mats are already in the next clearing."

MEMEMEME

Sarona looked down into her cold cup of tea. It had been hours since Shepard had left, but she couldn't had already sent her mission report to The Man, but she might still be able to call off part 2 of her plan. If it came to that, then Shepard would truly be alone. No, she had to tell The Man that it was unnecessary to do that, and a pointless loss of human lives. She owed at least that much to Shepard, and if she did die, he would find her datapad; in which she had written her appology and reasons for betraying him. She hoped to deliver them in person, but if the worst came to pass, then that may be impossible.

Dtill knowing what she had done to Shepard pagued her. She had been the cause of that haunted look in his eyes. It was because of her that Shepard was in pain.

Unfortunately, Sarona had found her conscious a little too late. The damage had already been done. Shepard would become a powerful biotic, but he would most likely lead an empty life. All her other pupils had turned out to turned out to be powerful biotics, but they had all been haunted by their loss. Her legacy was that of torment, and Shepard was her star pupil. All of her haunted had died alone on some deserted battlefield, many by their own hands. This was the life Sarona had cursed Shepard with, and it was the gift she had given him.

She wished she had never joined with that damned human black ops. Shepard would still have been manipulated, but at least it wouldn't have been by her hand, and if somebody else did it, Shepard may have had a chance to find happiness. Sarona was just to good at what she did: killing, and haunting those close to her. She was a good Ardat Yakshi, as she herself was haunted by the demons of her past, and passed her suffering on to others, but she refused to let that heal her as most of her kind would. It was what gave her strength. She just hoped her final pupil would eventually be able to find a diffrent source of strength. It was a mixed blessing with a heavy price.

Sarona finally managed to fall asleep, promising that she would do all she could to heal Shepard. She would do as much as she could to undo the damage she had done.

MEMEMEME

I feel pretty good about this chapter. It feels nice and long, and I feel that I depicted their emotions pretty well. If you disagree, make sure to leave a review, and I'll try to incorporate your ideas. Thanks for reading.