Author's notes: It is with great excitement that I present to you chapter 6. More action this time and big happenings await you in this chapter!
Just want to say one thing to you all before you start reading. Last weekend I finalized the plotline for the rest of the story, and man is it going to be awesome! Can't wait to write it for you guys! :D
I really hope that you guys are enjoying this story so far, I know that I am having a ton of fun writing it!
Now time to address some reviews: OptimumCamski said:
As someone who has never been able to go full renegade in any of my 10 playthroughs (the "I'm such a terrible person" instinct kicks in about halfway through each time), it is physically discomforting to watch/read this transformation of Shepard. The high quality of the writing only adds to that discomfort (if that makes sense)
Mad props for being ballsy enough to explore the transition, and congrats on writing it so well that Shepard's actions make me slightly sick to my stomach. That's what good writing about terrible people ought to do.
First of all, thanks! I have never really been able to go fully renegade as well, and I'll be honest, sometimes I am disgusted with what I write... but I keep it anyway. As you can see in this chapter, Shepard does some pretty bad stuff. xD lol But thanks a lot again!
anon said:
I love this story now...
All I have to say is: Good you better. O.o haha just kidding, glad you like it!
Finally, I realize that I forgot to answer reviews in the previous chapter. Sorry but I've just been so busy writing! Please forgive me! lol
Bioware owns everything except the story.
And now, Chapter 6!
Shepard looked on in horror as he realized who he had bumped into. Former squad mate and Spectre Ashley Williams was getting up right in front of him.
"Shepard? Shepard is that you?" She asked, not believing her eyes.
Shepard avoided her gaze and laughed. Deny! Just deny you can get out of this just like you did with the turian roommates. He thought. "I get that a lot." He bs'ed. He tried to abort the conversation and get away; it didn't matter where just as long as he got away. But Ashley wouldn't let him go that easily. She grabbed him by the shoulder.
"Whoa there buddy. Then let me see some ID so we can get you punched into the census."
Shepard fumbled around in his pockets to buy time. He had his own identification, however he couldn't use that. Ashley had forced his hand.
"I don't have any ID on me." He replied, trying to sound innocent.
"Then take me to where your ID is so we can sort this all out and you won't have to worry about us again." She said with a smirk.
Shepard nodded and began walking back to his apartment. Trying to catch me in my bluff eh Ashley? He would have to lose her, and fast. He quickly thought up of a plan. His apartment was two floors below the roof, if he could climb up and jump across to another nearby rooftop he could escape easily.
They got to his apartment floor, took a step out of the elevator and Shepard showed the way to his apartment. At the door he stopped.
"Now I have this roommate that doesn't like unexpected visitors, if you could wait just a second I want to tell him that we have someone here."
Ashley nodded and let Shepard go into his apartment alone. He quickly ran to the batarian.
"Datarn! I am in deep trouble; I need you to stall this person outside while I climb to the roof."
The batarian nodded. "Boy is Aria going to be mad." He made his way to the door.
One of the windows in the apartment was broken from the battle. Shepard quickly slipped through the hole onto the window sill and looked up. Just a floor of climbing was between him and the roof. He shuffled back as far out as he could on the window sill and jumped. His hand made contact with the windowsill of the next floor and pulled himself up. He looked into the top floor apartment seeing a female human was combing her hair. As he shuffled around to jump up to the roof, she looked over and screamed when she saw Shepard.
"I'm sorry, don't mind me!" He yelled to her as he continued climbing. Shit Ash definitely heard that.
Meanwhile downstairs Ashley heard the scream. She interrupted the batarian's rant about general relativity. "What's going on there? Where is your roommate?"
"He's inside."
Ashley pushed her way into the apartment. The apartment itself was just a single room, and there was no Shepard to be found.
"Boy did I call your bluff." She muttered as she proceeded to run out the room, first taking a quick stop to knock out the batarian who was attempting to block her way. She sprinted up the stairs. Probably going for the roof... But why? She opened the door just in time to see Shepard sprint and jump off the ledge. Ashley gasped and ran to the ledge. Shepard landed with a roll onto the next rooftop and ran into the stairwell. You're not losing me that easily. She sprinted down the stairs of her building and ran in the direction of the building that Shepard landed on. She spotted him down the street and kept up the sprint to catch up to him.
She began to see that Shepard didn't know where he was going and began to catch up to him. He had stopped, with his head turning this way and that as he debated which way to go. She was getting closer when Shepard decided what way to go. As he ran, Ashley glimpsed a predator pistol concealed in his left hand. What is he doing? The nearby street was populated with bystanders. He aimed the pistol and shot a nearby container. The container itself had biohazard warnings all over it, and a dark colored gas hissed out the hole that the bullet punctured. That can't be good. She looked nearby at all the people around there. That can't be good at all. She turned her focus to stopping the problem, letting Shepard get away. He had to play the innocent bystander card... bastard. She desperately resorted to plugging the hole and getting a biohazard team on the scene to solve the problem. By that time, Shepard was long gone.
Ashley walked into the Normandy mess hall agitated and defeated.
"What's the matter Ash? Collecting IDs tire you out?" Garrus teased at the dinner table.
Ugh. "Damn Shepard." She grunted.
Garrus laughed. "Yes Shepard is the reason we are still here, but don't blame everything on him."
Ashley grunted and turned. "No, Shepard was the problem."
"You saw Shepard?" The flang in Garrus' voice sounded excited.
"Yeah Shepard." Ashley opened the refrigerator and poured herself a drink. "I ran into him, tried to pretend he was someone else, gave me a chase, and ended up playing the innocent bystander in danger card to evade me." She took a drink and shook her head. "You know what, where's the alcohol?"
"You know the cabinet Sis." Vega laughed. Ash didn't see him when she had walked in. She looked over to the table to see if anyone else was at the table. What she saw were Vega and Garrus sitting at the table with a poker set up. Goodness, he's teaching Garrus poker.
"Sis? You've got to be kidding me." She gave him a look that matched her comment. Vega laughed again in response.
"Did someone mention Shepard?"
Liara had appeared out of nowhere. The asari had large bags under her eyes, a result of spending countless hours searching for Shepard. By the look of the rest of her face, Ashley could tell that the search wasn't going well. Now there's someone who could use a drink more than I do.
"I ran into Shepard in London but he gave me the slip."
Liara's face exploded in excitement. She edged closer to Ashley, desperate to hear more. "You saw Shepard? In London? Is he ok? What did he say?" With each question Liara's face edged closer and closer. The desperation to hear about her lover was immense.
"Whoa hold your horses." Ashley responded, desperate herself to fix the breach in her personal bubble. "When I asked if he was Shepard, he tried to pass himself off as someone else who looked like him."
"Then what?"
"He tried to give me the slip by roof jumping. But I followed him. I almost had him but then he shot some biohazard tank and I was forced to stop it or some people would be put in danger." She sighed. Liara looked away depressed.
"Still up to his renegade antics I see."
"I could see the scars on his face hadn't healed at all."
Liara sighed and but looked optimistic. A newly kindled fire alit in her eyes. "We can still save him. I'll get my agents to search all of London for him." She ran out of the room and into the elevator to her lair. Ashley sighed as well. She turned to the two playing poker.
"Mind if I join?"
"Of course you can, and you can pay me my winnings up front right now." Vega teased.
Liara appeared back into the kitchen an hour later. She was curiously dressed in armor.
"I'm going to London to do some searching for myself. Would any of you like to come with me?"
Garrus was losing pretty badly at poker. He was the first to volunteer. Ashley had also joined and was losing badly as well. She was the second to volunteer. Both left the table quickly. Vega patted his sizeable stack of credits and laughed.
"Pleasure doing business with you two!"
Both Ashley and Garrus got into their armors and headed out to the shuttle bay with Liara. There they grabbed their choices of weapons and got into the nearest shuttle.
"Liara, you wouldn't go down there unless you knew where to look. What did you find?" Garrus asked.
"Aria T'loak is in London. I'd give anything to say that this renegade Shepard would be attracted to her. Power hungry personalities are attracted to each other; I've found that out in my line of work. She's our best bet." She hopped into the pilot seat and pulled the shuttle away.
Garrus leaned over to Ash. "I bet he's attracted to her in more ways than one."
Ashley smirked and shook her head in disapproval. Garrus chuckled at the reaction.
Sometime later the shuttle landed with a thud and all three made their way off the shuttle. Garrus and Ash followed Liara as they navigated through the city of tents and shelters of the refugee camp. In the center of the city was a damaged building. Inside that building Aria resided as a queen.
The made their way to the building and Liara shoved her way past the guards into Aria's chamber. There were several guns aimed at the three as they entered.
"What are you doing here?" Aria demanded.
"Where's my Shepard?" Liara demanded back.
Aria smiled. She signaled to her guards to put their weapons away and beckoned Liara to take a seat. Liara did not take the invitation. "I might know where he is. But what's it to you?"
Liara tried desperately to control her rage. After a moment she gained control and was able to speak. "He is my bond mate." She took a deep breath. "I know that you've had dealings with him."
"I've had lots of dealings with him. On the citadel, and on omega."
"How about right here?"
Aria laughed. "He's not here."
Liara eyed her suspiciously. Without warning, she knocked one of the couches in her chamber over with a biotic push. "WHERE IS HE?" She cried. Again, the guards raised their weapons.
Aria again motioned to her guards to put their weapons away. She leaned forward to word was uttered with defiance into Liara's face. "I. Don't. know." She motioned to one of the guards. "And now if you'll excuse me, my guard will show you out. I've got business to attend to."
The guard led Liara Garrus and Ashley out at gunpoint.
"She was hiding something, I could feel it." Garrus uttered once they were outside and the guard had left.
"I felt it too." Liara agreed. "We should stake out the building for any signs of Shepard."
"Sounds like a plan." Ashley agreed.
"Let's find a spot." Garrus began to walk off.
The three of them found a suitable place to watch Aria's building. Ashley took up the first watch. In the meantime Liara pulled out a vial of clear liquid. She poured the liquid into a dart, capping it off once she was finished. She handed the dart and an interesting crossbow contraption to Garrus.
"You're our best long range shot Garrus. If we see Shepard I need you to hit him with this sedative. It's a barbiturate, its fast acting, he'll go down for sure. But I don't know how long it will keep him under with his upped metabolism. So we have to sneak the body out of here fast and bring it to the Normandy."
"Wow you came prepared." Ash marveled.
"I couldn't risk losing a chance to get him. This might be the only chance we get."
Then they sat quietly and watched the building for signs of Shepard.
It was getting to be nightfall and Shepard was heading to Aria's rather quickly. He had stayed the whole day hiding in the tent city, and now he needed to tell Aria of the day's happenings. Things might have been seriously jeopardized with all that has happened.
He made his way up the path to the building when he felt something hit his leg. He brought his hand down to the spot and his fingers touched an object. Looking down he saw what he had felt; a dart, a thin long cylinder had just injected a mysterious clear liquid into his body. He felt dizzy and he tore the dart out of his leg. He tried to step forward but his leg did not respond. He stumbled down to his knee. Things are more than jeopardized. Then everything went black.
Liara watched as Shepard's body slumped to the ground, all the while struggling to fight it. It was a sad sight, but Liara had to give an incredibly high dosage to take down Commander Shepard. Even with the high dosage she gave, she was unsure how long it would keep him under.
It troubled her that her assumption of a connection with Aria was correct. What could they have been planning? She thought.
"Liara, let's go!" Ashley tugged at her arm and brought her back to reality. They headed over to the now motionless body. Ashley slung him over her shoulder. Liara stood and played with his unresponsive hand for a moment. Don't worry, I've got you now. You're safe.
"Let's get out of here." She said after playing with the hand a little bit.
Shepard was heavy, so it was slow moving for Ash. No sooner had they started walking back to the shuttle than trouble started.
"They have Shepard!"
Spots of ground shot up all around the trio from sniper fire. All three took cover. They could hear foot soldiers running up to engage them. The trio began to move from cover to cover as they fled the gunfire and headed towards the shuttle. Garrus took out his sniper rifle, while Liara took out her submachine gun. They went to work covering Ashley who had the duty of carrying the body.
"We can't let them get Shepard!"
With every shot Garrus took out a merc, but then another one took his place. They had made slow progress to the shuttle, having to have to dart in between rubble and shelters to provide covering fire for Ash. Liara fired a singularity into the group to give them a moment's reprieve.
Liara was starting to get nervous. "I don't know how long the sedative will hold Shepard. We need to get away now!" She yelled to her comrades. She checked her omni tool. "It's been 30 minutes already!"
"So I got a ticking time bomb slung over my shoulder that we don't know when it will go off... great." Ashley replied.
They got to the shuttle and Ashley threw the body in. Rockets began to fire, one landing right outside the shuttle. Liara and Garrus had to dive out of the way, while Ashley took cover inside the shuttle. The gunfire got so intense that they were unable to make their way back to the shuttle just yet. Liara looked over to see how Ash was doing. To her horror, she saw that someone else was waking up.
"Ash! Look out, he's waking up!"
Ashley looked over to the body that was now slowly getting up. "Where am I?" He muttered/
"Shit shit shit shit shit! That wasn't long at all!" Ashley stood over him, not knowing what to do. Angrily he stood up, grabbing her and throwing her into Garrus who was just running up to the shuttle. He then ran out of the shuttle and back onto Earth.
Garrus and Ash scrambled to their feet. They looked desperately at Liara who was running up. Each pair of eyes conveyed the same message: retreat.
And retreat they did.
Shepard waltzed into Aria's chamber. All the guards were away patching up the wounded, or being those very wounded. Aria looked furious.
"Next time you compromise yourself. Give me some warning."
"No, we're done, the deal's off." Shepard answered. "You almost lost me. I'll take my chances by myself, thank you very much."
"You can't just go back on our deal. Not when I've done so much." Aria replied, furious. "You can't do shit without me."
"I can do this."
Shepard pulled out a pistol and shot Aria in the chest. She looked up at him in surprise, but regained herself. She lunged at Shepard, but the wound was already starting to affect her; her body was sluggish, and her mind could not focus. Polonium rounds. She thought.
Shepard had more than enough time to counter the lunge. He grabbed her and flung her down onto the floor. Aria felt her body make contact with the ground, and immediately felt a force coming down upon her. Shepard had straddled her body on the floor and began to pretend like he was riding a horse. He began to laugh, and Aria saw that Shepard's face displayed a twisted sense of fun and malice. He's enjoying this. It was almost like this is all a joke to him. He slapped her on the face and threw her back onto the couch. There he beat her on the couch, not caring for the spilled blood.
At this point, Aria was gasping for air due to her wound. Shepard noticed and took out his omni tool, and applied some medigel. Both of them knew it; Shepard had won, and no amount of struggling will change that.
"Don't worry I won't let you die." He whispered into her ear. "I have uses for you yet." His hand reached down her shirt. "Many uses."
Aria began to shake in fear. No one had ever stood her up or done anything like this. Aria was the one that was supposed to do that to Shepard should he become rebellious. Nothing like this. She was queen and yet she was just defeated in her own home. She let him do whatever he wanted to her. She was too scared to move; her mind to numb to act.
"You're a madman." She finally managed to blurt out before Shepard had gotten started with her.
Shepard laughed. "You're just jealous that I did it first." He brought his finger to his chest. "I'm in control now."
He stopped what he was doing and began to pace the room. "I realized as I walked back from that failed attempt to capture me that why am I running? Running was never my forte." He stopped walking and stood in front of the fallen queen. "Killing is my forte." Aria just looked up at him with wide eyes as Shepard began to laugh again. "And now that I am in control, we are going to have a change in priorities."
Aria tried to shift away from Shepard on the couch. But Shepard noticed.
"Nuh uh uh. You're staying with me."
Aria kept moving. "Get away from me!"
Shepard grabbed her and threw her back to her initial spot. "I wasn't finished talking." He grabbed her head and brought his lips real close so she can hear every last word. "I'm going to bring myself to the top, and make everyone else that opposes me the ones that have to run." He laughed. "And I'm going to start by taking out the council, something that you pathetic weakling could never do. Then as de facto ruler, I will chase out or kill everyone else that doesn't like me." He looked down at her and smiled. "There will be one rule: Don't fuck with Shepard." He smiled as he let the irony of those words sink in.