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Blue: Iris: Two

Far below, snaking along the valley floor, the water flowed around corners, gnawing implacably at the heavy stone walls around it as it had done for countless millennia, carving its own path. Rocks thrust up from the river bed, black fangs jutting toward the skies only to be ignored by the river's white water that smashed anything foolish enough to ride that treacherous current against those ebon teeth.

Higher up the cliff faces the first traces of life began; pale lichen clung to the rock walls; in the day these hardy plants absorbed the sun's warmth while leeching away the rich minerals from the stone. Still higher were the trailing ends of mighty vines that anchored themselves to the rock face. As they climbed, their trunks grew thick and heavy with age; smaller tendrils sported great leaves that would follow the sun as it arced across the sky day after day. At the top of the cliffs huge trees towered above all. Spreading massive canopies the covered everything below in shadow save for small spots of sunlight that would bob and wave across the dry leaves on the ground, the wind sending their boughs swaying. The trees towered into the heavens, even the smallest would have dwarfed the great redwoods of California both in height and girth; Shepard estimated that it would take at least a dozen people holding hands to circle one of the smaller trunks.

She turned to face her asari who was seated on the forest floor, the leaves crunching under her legs as she shifted her weight.

"Whaddya think Liara?" Shepard asked, she spun in a slow circle taking in the scenery. "Isn't this the perfect place for a picnic?"

Liara eased herself back, supporting her weight on her hands; she turned her face upwards; mottled sunlight, filtered through the leaves, created shifting patterns of dark and light on her features. Taking a deep breath she let it out slowly, savoring the taste of the wind. The almost music of rustling branches, somehow audible and a stirring counterpoint to distant roar of the white water far below in the valley. She smiled.

"How did you find this place Shepard? It's magnificent."

The commander was lounging against one of the tree trunks; the sharp edges of the bark biting comfortably into her shoulder blades, hands thrust into her pockets. Despite all the beauty around her she couldn't quite relax enough to be unaware of exactly how long it would take her to draw the heavy pistol she had holstered at the small of her back. Earlier Shepard had been temped to pick up a blade of the grass like plants peeking between the fallen leaves but had decided against it. There was no way of knowing what effect the local biology might have had on her body. She returned her asari's smile.

"I had EDI show me the local area she had scanned on our approach. After that she compared the topography with earth based artwork of picnics, cross indexed that with asari art on file and suggested this place," Shepard shrugged one shoulder in slight embarrassment. "That last bit was her idea."

Shepard placed one hand over her stomach.

It burned.

Her asari reached into the now identified 'picnic basket' and pulled out a grey blanket that had the N7 Logo and one red strip running up the right side. With a flick of her wrists she spread it out on the forest floor.

She wasn't hungry.

"In all honesty, Shepard," she said. "I must admit that I am still having trouble with the idea of you on a picnic."

She was afraid.

'Hey," Shepard protested. "I'm more than just a soldier. I've done things that didn't involve shooting stuff."

The fear gathered, cold in her belly.

Liara, pretending to push back a smile, made herself tease gently, "Name three."

"Cured the genophage."

"You shot Reapers."

"Saved Eve- sorry, Bakara."

"By shooting Cerberus."

"I stopped The Collectors."

"I believe shots where fired during that."

"How? You weren't even there."

"Well it must be that or Joker talked them into mass suicide."

Shepard, herself appearing to be fighting back a grin, strolled slowly around her seated companion; with her hands behind her back she took exaggerated steps, humming to herself, "I negotiated with politicians to form the largest alliance of galactic races so as to fight a threat to all advanced life, millions of years old!"

Her hands were trembling.

"And you wanted to shoot half of them," Liara retorted.

"Wrong," Shepard sank to her knees in front of her asari, "I wanted to shoot all of them, but I didn't."

They had promised no more secrets.

Liara, in the middle of setting out the plates, paused to consider, "Alright," she said with a nod. "That's one."

Shepard stared at her asari; while she watched her lover pulled out sandwiches; these she set in the exact middle of each plate. Next Liara retrieved a bowl of fruit; the apples still crunchy and cold; the bananas glowing a fierce yellow in the spotted sun, all thanks to the state of the art stasis field. The bowl went exactly between the two plates with pinpoint accuracy. Each of them began to feel the uncomfortable flutterings in their stomachs of silence that has gone on too long.

Liara glanced askance at Shepard while rummaging through the basket, Shepard herself was hugging her knees, still watching Liara.

"That's one," Liara repeated.

"You're waiting for the other shoe to drop, aren't you," Shepard replied.

Liara froze, "Shoe?"

Shepard shook her head slightly, "You understand the metaphor. That's why you're not doing cartwheels and whooping for joy; you haven't said one word about it in fact."

Not meeting Shepard's gaze Liara focused her attention on the picnic basket. Reaching in with both hands she pulled out two bright red vegetables and held them to her chest, her hands cupping them suggestively.

"Oh look Shepard," she said. "Tomatoes!"

Crouching down, Shepard lay a finger across her asari's lips, "Please, Liara," she said, "don't change the subject."

Liara dropped the vegetables; she opened her mouth but no words came out. After a moment she ducked her head, "I-" then looked away.

Shepard forced Liara to look at her, gently nudging her asari with a finger beneath her blue chin. "It's been your worst fear for a long time," Shepard said, "Not The Reapers, not Cerberus; even now with the real possibility of being hunted by pretty much the entire civilized galaxy," Shepard broke off and grimaced slightly, "definitely the uncivilized part, even then, your worst fear is being left alone after I die. Isn't it."

Liara swallowed slightly, using the moment to hammer down feelings of embarrassment she thought she'd left behind long ago, "How- how did you know?"

Shepard shrugged, stood up and turned and began pacing around the blanket's edge, "While not having slept with you as much as I'd like-"

"Shepard!"

"Liara, you have bad dreams."

The asari's mouth dropped open.

"And you talk in your sleep," Shepard finished.

The hue of Liara's skin flushed a deeper blue; she opened the basket once again and began to rummage through it, careful to not look at Shepard.

"And now," Shepard pressed on, "I find out that I'm apparently not going to die- ever. The answer to your every fear. I was expecting, hoping really, you'd do cartwheels."

Her asari paused, the resumed her task. Shepard pretended not to notice that Liara had put the plates back into the basket and was once again setting them out.

"Instead you haven't said two words about Miranda's ...update. What's wrong? Why aren't you talking to me? What is it?"

Liara mumbled something.

Shepard stopped pacing and leaned against a tree once more. "Say again?"

"I said," Liara replied putting the thermos back and taking it out again. "What are you not telling me then?"

Shepard fell silent, but she did not stop staring at her asari.

"You pass out right after...after we..." Liara growled slightly, gritted her teeth for a moment, "After-"

"You're that good," Shepard joked.

Liara whirled on her, "You pass out, then in your sleep create a program that a living AI could not even begin to conceive of in the nearly half the time it takes to say so. You mention 'they' but refuse to tell us anything-"

"I asked for time," Shepard interrupted.

Liara shook her head, brushing off the objection as dust.

"What are you afraid of?" they both said at the exact same time.

A moment of silence ensued, each taking a moment to process the words of the other- to ask themselves the answer to the question. Shepard looked at Liara, watched beads of sweat trickle across her temple, a dark tongue sweep moisture off her upper lip. Liara stared back at Shepard. Saw her commander set her shoulders in a familiar gesture that spoke volumes, saw her human looking down at her, her eyes soft, worried but her jaw firm and unyielding.

And then Shepard broke the stalemate.

"There are Reapers in my head, Liara."

Liara's eyes widened.

"That's the secret, that's what happened when Miranda told us about..." Shepard waved her hand in the air, "You know."

"Tha-," Liara fought to swallow burning in her throat, "That is impossible, Shepard! A Reaper is...are...were... the collected essence of entire species somehow incorporated into some sort of artificial sentience."

Shepard shrugged again, "And what if it's not?" her tone was even, nonchalant and relaxed which underscored her next words with terrifying significance, "What if they're indoctrinating me from the inside?"

Without warning Liara launched herself at her human, grabbed the woman by the shoulders and slammed her into a tree trunk, her eyes blazed with the darkness between stars and she hissed, "That is not going to happen!"

Liara's presence roared across Shepard's senses; there was an inevitability to her asari, what she could feel inside- shouldering aside obstacles, defying any hand raised against her purpose; and yet...and yet... despite all that, despite feeling her own self, inside herself, being buffeted and tossed in the winds of Liara's furious goal, Shepard knew, there was still the element of choice. She could block herself off from this melding, she could reject her asari. She could do as she usually did as a soldier, alone without assistance she could soldier on.

The choice was an easy one.

She welcomed the storm.

Without conscious thought, word or deed Shepard acquiesced. Later, when looking back on it Shepard would decide that it had felt like going deep sea diving by grabbing on to anchor- rapid transit down into the depths.

The maelstrom of Liara's will spiraled both of them down into Shepard's mind.

The first thing Shepard recognized were the trees. The black and twisted branches, gnarled, stretching into an ashen sky like souls of the damned beseeching an uncaring god. The second thing she recognized was The Reaper. The God itself; its metal body, glistening, pearly pinpricks of light oozing across its carapace. The massive legs straddled the woods, extended nearly to either end of the horizon. Four great eyes, blazing a hateful red lanced down into the clearing.

The third thing Shepard recognized was herself.

Standing in the middle of the blood red pool of light Shepard saw herself.

She looked...Destroyed.

Ragged strips of cloth hung from a wasted frame. Mere fragments of battle armor, their fractures edges cutting into pale flesh lined her arms and legs; burns scarred her, running across her skin. Some still glowed with fading heat and the smell of cooked meat drifted across the field like a miasma. She held one hand to her side, from underneath her arm blood trickled across her thigh in a rich torrent.

Yet still this other Shepard stood tall.

Her lips were pulled back in a fierce snarl, she stared unblinkingly into the red lights of the two kilometers of nightmare towering over head and her good hand was raised in defiance...

Shepard blinked.

The other Shepard was giving The Reaper the finger.

And there the three of them stood in the deadwoods of Shepard's mind. Shepard, herself and The Reaper. No one moved. It was a frozen moment and it took another for Shepard to actually realize that is exactly what it was: A snapshot. A fragment of her memories.

And in the middle of this tableau she heard, from behind her, "Shepard?"

She turned around.

"Omigod..."

Liara hung a few feet off the ground, the tips of her bare toes just brushing blackened grass. A glowing nimbus of blue light blazed from behind her- soft hues that moved slowly from the icy clear color to the warm aquamarine that promised warmth and life; the light rippled across grey trunks and twisted branches pushing back the shadows. She was dressed...if that was the word... in...water. Rippling from her shoulders waves cascaded down her arms, enclosing her skin all the way to her fingertips until crystal clear drops fell from her finger tips and where they struck the ground the tortured earth became green. From her waist the waves surged outward like the frilled ends of the finest of gowns only as roaring surf that would fold over on itself to disappear under the dress' edges until, as eternal as the tides themselves, the process would begin again with the surf edging out over her shoulders.

Shepard stood there, her mouth hanging open at her asari, as the other woman held up one hand before her, one brow raised in curiosity, "Shepard," she said again, "would you mind explaining what exactly I'm wearing?"

The commander swallowed, found her voice and said, "Uh...a lake?"

Blue lips quirked upwards in a slight smile, Liara raised a hand in front of her, turning it slowly first one way, then the other examining the fingerless glove of clear water that covered her palm. "Is this how you see me?" Liara asked.

"I...uh I don't know," Shepard replied, with a shrug.

"It's beautiful," Liara said continuing to observe herself, "But a bit chilly and I'm not quite sure how to move," she gestured down where her feet were still floating a good six inches off the ground.

Without warning the hovering asari lurched sideways as if becoming consciously aware that she was flying somehow caused a loss of control. With a cry of alarm she began to fall over when Shepard firmly caught her by the upper arms. At Shepard's touch Liara's feet settled firmly onto the earth- there was a quiet pop, like a giant soap bubble had burst, and the asari was then dressed in her armor.

"How did that-?" Shepard began.

"This is your mind," Liara interjected. "Perhaps my original...ahem...appearance was somehow subconscious? Idealized?"

Shepard released her saying,"You're suggesting that the whole water motif was some sort of symbolism for..." her voice drifted off.

Her asari shrugged, "Perhaps."

"Liara," and a note of frustration crept into Shepard's tone, "what the hell is all this?"

Stepping away from her human, the asari looked all around herself; she took in the sooty sky, the dead earth and twisted trees. Without comment she walked around the other Shepard, her tortured appearance, still frozen in protest. Finally she turned her attention back to her human and said, "I do not know."

Shepard practically exploded, "You don't know?!"

Liara held up both her hands, palm out, "Please calm down, Shepard. I...I reacted to your fear, that the implants might...be..."

Shepard ducked her head, shame causing her cheeks to redden for a moment, "I'm...I'm sorry. So...what's this meld thing? I don't remember any of the others being like this. A frozen," she struggled to find the right words, "snapshot of some sort."

Liara moved closer to Shepard, resting both her hands on the commander's waist, "I cannot be sure; I remind you that, despite everything I have experienced in my time I am still very young."

Shepard snorted slightly.

"Stop it," Liara admonished gently. "It's true. The Matriarchs have spent thousands of years trying to establish exactly what is and is not possible during a melding. I have read and studied a few articles, learned the basics but, even with asari to asari, the limits seem without end. Add different minds to equation, coupled with the fact that humanity has been part of the galactic community for so short a time, who can say what is possible?"

She gestured with one hand, indicating the entire surroundings. "Perhaps this is an amalgamation of memories and experiences. Or your mind is somehow trying express a problem in terms I can comprehend; fear, despair, weariness. I cannot say," with one hand she cupped Shepard's cheek, "but you can. You can tell me."

Slowly, almost reluctantly, Shepard stepped back, out of the embrace; Liara let her hands fall to her sides. Shepard moved to one of the twisted, black trees and ran her fingers over the scorched bark, "I...I know this place."

Liara remained silent, she did not move.

Closing her eyes Shepard rested her forehead against the dead wood. "I...during the war...I had bad dreams." Her words came slowly, as if they were being dredged up out of some depths where, down below, foul things lay hidden. "I told you about the boy I saw die?"

"Yes."

"I'd dream of him, I would hear him crying. I'd want to help him, save him but he kept running from me, from that thing," she waved in the general direction of the Reaper towering over the both of them. "And I'd run through these woods; all around me were shadows, they'd cry out- voices of the dead; people and friends who I-" Shepard broke off, closed her eyes and exhaled slowly before resuming, "friends who died."

"Shepard-" Liara began.

Like the falling edge of the executioner's axe Shepard's out thrust hand, palm out, cut her asari words off.

"Don't. Just don't, Liara."

Shepard didn't hear her asari move, didn't sense her closing the distance between them; but when her lover's arms encircled her from behind, when she felt the warmth pressing up against her, against her will, something inside relaxed. Weakened. Broke.

The words came out in a rush.

"Kaiden, Thane, Legion, so many others. They'd call to me; nothing definite. I don't really remember exactly. I was so focused on getting to the boy; they were dead, the boy was too, I knew that but I couldn't stop myself from trying to save him, but no matter how hard I pushed myself I could never- could never reach him. Not until we got to the center of the woods...then he'd stop."

Liara held her closer. It was almost over.

"And just before I could reach him..." Liara held her breath as Shepard forced out the last words, her voice tight. "He'd burn."

Turning her human around Liara touched her forehead to Shepard's, "And you didn't want to share this because you thought you had to appear strong; we were all leaning on you to bring us through the fire, so you couldn't allow yourself to show weakness or burden us with your own troubles while we just kept on piling onto you."

Shepard chuckled quietly, "That actually makes a lot of sense; never quite thought of it like that. Didn't think it was anyone else' business really."

"No more secrets," Liara whispered, repeated their promise to each other.

"No, no more secrets."

Sighing Liara opened her eyes; with both hands she took one of Shepard's and placed it in the valley between her breasts, "This gesture has great significance to your people, so I hope doing so now, despite the actual differences in anatomy, convinces you of what I'm going to tell you."

"I like your anatomy," Shepard said quietly.

The corners of one lip rose in a half smile, but the intensity of Liara's stare did not waver, "You're right, I have had bad dreams. Dreams..." her voice drifted off as her eyes went out of focus, "where I'm in an empty room- and it is less empty than me."

She shuddered, putting pressure on where Shepard's palm lay upon her, "And here comes Miranda. Her claim...Goddess... I wanted to cry, laugh, I felt like I could- and it all...it all was at that same instant and before I could you fell..."

Liara's gaze snapped back and her intensity was penetrating, "It all came back. How' I had lost you twice over and instead of finally...Finally...being all over- It is as you said yourself: When will it stop? So I have not been able to hope, Shepard. That's all. Just...I am not hoping."

She released her grip on Shepard's hand but her human did not pull away, instead, raising her other hand Shepard cupped Liara's chin, gently but firmly so she could not turn away. "I had hope before Ilus, after the Shadow Broker and before we finished Cerberus. You gave it to me again, when I was preparing myself for that final charge in London, you made it possible for me to have hope."

Shepard ducked her head, "I've always thought of as hope as something blinding; that resorting to it was a cop-out instead of taking direct action; but now, the idea of being together with you- Yeah. I'm going to hope, Liara. I'm going to hope that we can get through this together and I'm going to hope that anyone who get's in my way has God's personal phone number," and Shepard's grin was something usually found on the other side of several nightmares, "Because they're going to need all the fucking help they can get!"

Liara's breath caught in her throat, a rising feeling of hard, warm light filled her; "Yes," she breathed. Shepard, her Shepard- that inviolable force of nature that had captivated a young asari archeologist so long ago- had returned.

"Goddess, yes!" Liara repeated. "Shepard-"

The kiss was searing; a bruising rough thing pain twining around pleasure and gratitude and it was sweet.

When they broke apart Liara gasped out, "I think it would be wise to continue this another time-"

"Why?" Shepard's growled.

The second kiss was like the first, only more so; Liara could feel Shepard's hands now, sliding along her sides, over her waist, curving around her back to-

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "Shepard! We're still in your mind-"

"You are not welcome!"

The Reaper's foot slammed down sending out a shock wave that ripped the earth asunder; the tsunami of ravaged stone and splintered wood blasted the lovers apart and sent Liara tumbling, rolling across the ground. Instinctively she tucked, curling her arms around her head; moments later she came to a halt, rolling up against a fallen tree. Blinking the dust out of her eyes she raised her head- and froze.

The great red eye of The Reaper's primary weapon hovered bear meters above the ground; the titanic metal body was hunched low, it's insect like limbs alternatively curled beneath it or spread wide so as to allow it to sink lower. Liara's fear soaked mind chose that moment to recall a bit of a human fairy tale she had read out of one of Shepard's books long ago.

"Grandmother," she whispered aloud, "what big eyes you have."

She had to bite the inside of her cheek to choke off the nervous giggle that she knew would allow hysteria to take over what little remained of her composure. The air began to hum, a deep vibration that caused the dust around her to swirl madly and small stones to leap up off the ground.

"Shepard," she whispered loudly. "Shepard!"

The great rumbling voice, nearly took off the top of her skull and she pressed her hands against the sides of her head, "Primary Focus cannot hear you, asari. Instrumental data gleaned from biological processes corroborated with analysis of neurotransmitters stimulated through false signals in similarity to those that are used when Primary Focus focuses on your existence allows us to state with full confidence that you are the mental avatar of Liara T'Soni, mate of Commander Shepard."

Using the log to support herself Liara pulled herself up right and stared into the great eye over head. "Wh-what are you?"

And it answered her, "This construct has been chosen as means of exercising maximum potentiality from Primary Focus based off of fear/aggression response for the purpose of facilitating acquisition of total cohesion efficiency."

"I- I don't understand!" she stalled, her instincts had her glancing around, seeking out some form of cover while at the same time her rationale mind, in a state of gibbering hilarity, was reminding her that the main weapon of The Reapers was conventionally used to blow city-block sized holes in...well...everything.

"Your presence in this construct may prove detrimental in the acquisition of primary goals. However the opportunity for greater fear/aggression response from Primary Focus has now presented itself. Asari designate: Liara T'Soni will be expunged from the construct. There is a ninety-five percent chance that doing so will create biotic feedback that will cause widespread neurological cascade failure in the mind of asari designate: Liara T'Soni. Subsequent Fear/Despair/Anger response from Primary Focus will facilitate acquisition of total cohesion efficiency.

The hum began to build; crimson lighting began to dance around the edges of The Reaper's primary weapon. Her animal mind screamed from within to turn and run, the dry rationale part informed her that the diameter of the weapon was far too large to escape from at this range and a final part of her mind came to the opinion that this was the worst case of overkill she had ever heard of.

"You will now be expunged."

Then a familiar voice roared from out of the darkness of the black sky, "That is NOT going to happen!"

And Shepard came charging out of the mists.

She was bigger than The Reaper.

The ground shook with every step so much that Liara again lost her footing; she fell backwards onto the fallen log, staring up with her jaw hanging open as Shepard pounded forward and body checked The Reaper! Her shoulder smash crashed into the side of the behemoth; a sound like every mirror in creation breaking at the same time as the blow smashed against the behemoth. With a scream that that hurt so much that she had to shriek along with it, Liara watched, through eyes nearly shut, as the ancient machine toppled slowly over. When it hit the ground the impact knocked her off the log.

Shepard straddled the broken Reaper, raised a fist the size of a battleship and hammered it right between the four unblinking eyes of the machine. The blow shattered the the eyes and their great, piercing light died.

"You!" another hammer blow, this one cracking the crimson disc, extinguishing the ribbons of scarlet energy.

"Will!" the third punch created an impact crater that would have made fair sized lake in what passed for the Reaper's face.

"Not!" her fist smashed through armor and into the Reaper's body itself while the machine screamed- the sound torn from the aborted child of a cheese grater and a broken mirror.

"Touch!" Fingers the length of a city block tightened around a handful of everything on the other side of that 'face'.

"Her!" and pulled.

Metal tubes weeping puss colored nutrients, components of bio-machinery, themselves literally convulsing in agony, clenched between her fingers. Shepard dragged out meters of cybernetic hatred mated with a giant snarl of wires, half of them torn apart hissing and spitting dark liquids that smoked angrily where they spilled upon the ground. Ignoring the pools of ichor that burrowed away at her massive armored gauntlets Shepard heaved the mass from the dead Reaper behind her into the black mists; when it hit the ground it rolled, tumbling, carving a furrow in the forest floor hundreds of meters in length; smashing hundreds of yards of the deadwoods.

"This is my mind," Shepard panted heavily, "You fucking machines, my mind. I call the shots and you will never, ever touch my Liara! Not in out there, not in here, not anywhere."

"Agreed," said a quiet voice. It was the polar opposite of The Reaper's tone. Polite and soft spoken; it sounded somewhat cultured and Shepard idly noticed she thought she could hear the faintest edge of a British accent. "The stress levels based off Primary Focus', now designated Commander Shepard, fear/anger response have successfully brought both conscious and subconscious into alignment. This unit has now been actualized by all aspects of Commander Shepard's self. Beginning phase two integration. Please standby."

Shepard stood besides Liara, returned to her normal size. They were still in the woods, but they had been transformed. Where before the trees had been horrid, wretched things with bare branches now they stood tall, strong with lush canopies under a bright clear blue sky. Shepard shuddered slightly, "No sun," she said aloud.

"I noticed," Liara replied. "Just ...light. I also noticed that you were somewhat larger than I recall and had appeared to put on a little weight. Now it's gone. You must tell me your secret."

Shepard's eyebrows shot up, "Ow, that hurt. Been taking lessons from Garrus?"

A moment of quiet settled between them; it was comfortable but fleeting.

"How-" she began.

"How is all..." Shepard waved her hand around vaguely, encompassing their surroundings.

"How is it possible?" Liara finished.

Shepard nodded, "I remember every meld we've shared, Liara. They were..." again words failed her, "memorable; but nothing like this. Never... we were... one, I guess. I mean but this? This is from my nightmares. And The Reaper? And me? Getting real big and-" she smacked a fist into her palm.

Liara bent down and brushed her fingers through the blades of grass. They drifted and bent under the influence of a light breeze that had sprung up from nowhere. Standing back up, Liara said, "I don't know. I've never heard of anything like this. Though I remind you-"

"I am young for an asari" she and Shepard said at the same time.

Liara grinned at the timing, "Though I have been living in interesting times. However, as I said a moment ago, for the most part the ones who knew the most about asari melding were our matriarchs. Of course all asari receive basic instruction. Including 'the talk' when we come of age."

"The talk?" Shepard cocked an eyebrow. "You mean like the birds and the bees?"

"This is one of your odd idioms isn't it," Liara sighed. "If the context is correct then I will assume it is an expression for explaining the fundamentals of procreation and state that 'the talk' for my people is akin to your...birds and bees. But that aside I have never read of anything like this. I melded with you and yet there you are, here I am and this is supposed to be your mind."

"My nightmares," Shepard corrected. "But ripping that Reaper apart with my bare hands was a nice alternative."

"I can imagine," Liara agreed. "But still, all this here from just one meld; inside your mind-"

"Hardly, Dr. T'Soni."

He stepped out from behind a tree at the edge of the clearing; absent mindedly flicking the cigarette hanging loosely from between two fingers careful not to let the wind blow any of the ashes onto his impeccable black jacket. The smoke from the burning tip curled lazily about, rising slowly in the suddenly still air. The eddies and whorls diffused higher into the clear blue sky overhead. He brought the cigarette to his lips and inhaled and stared at the two women through the smoke from two unblinking, blue synthetic eyes.

Then he slowly exhaled twin plumes of smoke out his nostrils, took a moment to roll the tip against the trunk of the nearest tree, evening out the ash on sides.

"Hello Shepard," said The Illusive Man.

END: Blue- Iris02

Notes: Originally this chapter was planned at twice as long but I have been very busy and it has been a while since the last update. I cannot promise things will get any faster but consider this posting a reaffirmation that Blue will continue.

Just not as fast as any of us would like

Oh, and in case you're wondering, Liara's 'Oh look, Shepard! Tomatoes!" is in reference to the short story 'Trigger'. Yeah, I totally went there.