Shepard awoke with a wonderful feeling. True happiness he hadn't felt in a long time. Shepard couldn't place his finger on when, but he knew it had been long. Too long, in fact. Shepard opened his eyes, and saw a man with warm blue eyes, a smile, stubble, and a shaved head.

'What a handsome man. He should grow his hair out.' Shepard thought. The man wore all white, and had an IV in his arm. He looked to be a large man, barely fitting the bed he was in.

"Hi." Shepard waved, feeling as if he was on a cloud. Then he snapped back to reality when the man waved exactly when he did. Shepard realized where he was and smashed the glass, punching his reflection directly in the face. The glass, though it wouldn't fall and cut him, busted his knuckles open. Shepard ripped the IV from his arm, and got out of the bed, frowning.

"The mental institution." Shepard said, the blood dripping from his knuckles onto the white carpet. He looked out of the window, seeing green fields. "A different building, but the same company."

The door opened, and an asari walked in. As soon as she saw Shepard her eyes shot open in surprise. The asari had purple skin and dark blue eyes, and wore a white nurse dress.

"You weren't supposed to be awake yet." The asari said.

Shepard nodded, deciding to let the nurse figure it out herself.

"But you are."

Shepard nodded once more.

"And you're angry, aren't you?"

"Very." Shepard said.

The asari turned and ran. Shepard walked through the door, noticing that, on his side of the door there was no knob. In Shepard's day and age, doorknobs were unheard of, but the clinics prided themselves on being like 'old-timey homes for the mentally unstable or addicted.'

A giant man stood in front of Shepard, the same size.

"Mr. Mason, I would advise you go back into your room and let a nurse reattach your IV." The man said.

'Do I truly sound so patronizing? And I'm Mr. Mason now? Hm.' Shepard thought, then shoved his extended index and middle finger into the man's stomach, causing him to double over in pain, gasping for breath. Shepard pushed him aside and kept walking.

"No alarms." Shepard noted. "And I'm on a colony I've never visited."

Shepard read the sign. It said: 'Healing Clinic, Shepard Colony.' 'Healing' was in asari, though Shepard knew it's meaning, having learned to read many languages, both human and alien.

"The colony Mr. Lawson talked about on the day of his death." Shepard remembered. Why wouldn't he? That day was etched in his mind.

Two men wearing the same scrubs as the larger man walked into the room, holding syringes. Shepard, realizing that he had nowhere to go even if he left the clinic, put his palms toward the men.

"No more drugs." Shepard said, then turned just in time to see his nurse plunge a needle into his neck. Shepard, feeling a final explosion of rage, put his fist through a wall, then fell over.

Shepard awoke once more, looking at a mirror. Other than his knuckles being bandaged and having bags under his eyes, he was the same as the first time he awoke.

"That wasn't nice. You tried hitting me!" The asari nurse said, handing Shepard a bottle of water.

"My chart probably reads dangerous patient," Shepard said. "It probably doesn't say, however, high-drug tolerance."

The asari shrugged. "Lynn."

Shepard nodded. "Mr. Mason, apparently."

"John Mason, actually. Two of your buddies dropped you off here, telling us to give you this letter." Lynn said, handing Shepard a datapad. It scanned Shepard's face, and Shepard quickly read the text.

'This is for your own good. Miranda wasn't harmed, though she killed one of my men. Get well soon, John Mason. -The Illusive Man.'

Shepard smashed the datapad in his hands.

"You've got some serious problems," Lynn said, watching Shepard empty the bottle.

"That's why I'm here, right?" Shepard asked. "When do I get out?"

"When you're better."

"I'm going to die here." Shepard sighed.

"Don't be so depressed." Lynn patted Shepard's knee. "I have faith in you, even though you tried to kill me."

"I wasn't trying to hit you. I just needed to hit something." Shepard said.

"Wouldn't a pillow have worked?"

"The guards were intently trying to put me under. And so were you."

"Sorry about that."