a/n: I'm off tomorrow. Do you know what that means? Double chapters of course. All I can say is Muahahahahahaha

-brittsis

Rae was proficient at her weapon by midday. They had found and killed several raiding parties, releasing the captives. She searched none stop but no one they encountered was medical. With each passing hour Raegan was becoming more and more desperate, her attacks getting more suicidal. When she charged into one group without pause Bodie stepped in. He pulled her into a house and got her to drink some water from the tap.

"Rae maybe we should just go to the hospital. Bring back some medi-gel and hope he lasts until help gets here." Bodie sat down beside her and poured water over his head, trying to cool off. Raegan agreed and left without another word.

When they got there it was apparent why no doctors could be found. Bodies lay everywhere, everyone having been killed. The Batarians had hit the facility hard and raided its supplies. With each empty cabinet, Rae felt like screaming. She slammed the draws and doors and she looked for anything. "Everything.. The bastards took everything!"

They spent several hours, searching for even one pack of medi-gel. When nothing could be found, Rae fell to her knees and screamed at the top of her lungs. Her biotics raced over her skin as she lost brief control of her emotions. Bodie knelt beside her and wrapped her tight in a hug. "It's going to be okay. We'll figure something out."

She leaned against him and shook in frustration. They stayed like that for several minutes as her temper cooled. She regained her emotions and sighed against his shoulder. "Thank you."

Bodie smiled and kissed her cheek. "Let's get back."

The sun had set when they were halfway back. They moved quickly, darting from alleyway to alleyway. Turning the corner, Rae halted and tried to duck back before she was noticed. There was a large group of Batarians in the middle of the street. They had circled around a girl and were playing with her. One had a knife and was slashing at them. Every time one got close, she'd swing her blade and curse at them. It was a game to the bastards as all they had to do was pull out their guns.

"We can't save her," Bodie whispered into her ear, seeing the gleam in her eyes. "There's twenty of them and only two of us."

"Three," Rae whispered back and peeked around the corner again. This time she got a better glance at the woman and smirked. "It's Sydney Bodie, she only needs a distraction."

Before he could react, Rae stepped out of cover and whistled loudly. "Hey ugly!"

That caught their attention, several turned toward her and that was all Sydney needed. The girl lashed out and had two killed before they could lift their weapons. The other's shouted as Rae lifted her own gun and began to take them out. She could hear Bodie yelling at her to take cover as he added his own gun fire to the mix. When it was all said and done, Rae was grinning ear to ear as she approached the girl. "You okay Sydney?"

The girl was covered in blood but that didn't stop her from hugging Raegan. "Oh my god Rae. I can't believe it's you! I can't believe you called them ugly and they actually responded."

"Okay okay… calm down Syd." Rae laughed and hugged the girl back. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to survive. Who knew out games from childhood would work so well in the real world?"

"Who knew," Bodie grumbled from behind them. "But this isn't a game."

"I know that Bodie, but it's still fun." Sydney put her knife through her belt and began to search the bodies. "So where you guys holing up?"

"City hall," Rae answered, letting her guard down. "But we came out looking for medical help. Ayden's hurt bad."

"Then you need to hit their base. I watched the fuckers take our medical supplies from the hospital." Sydney looked up and smiled at her. "It'll be like old times. The three of us taking an enemy base."

"It's idiotic Rae!" Bodie argued in a hushed whisper, steeling a glance at Sydney as she cleaned herself off in a fountain. "She's off her rocker. Always was a little weird."

"We need crazy right now Bodie." Rae argued back, pacing back and forth. "Ayden needs medicine and there's no telling how many other people are hurt. We've been sending people that way all day."

"More reason to get back. That many people had to have attracted attention."

"But we need those supplies. Look, it'll be a quick hit. Grab a couple packs of gel then we'll get out of there. I swear!" Rae promised him and stopped. "You can come or you can go Bodie. There's nothing keeping you here."

Bodie growled at that and grabbed the back of her neck. His lips collided with hers, full of hunger and anger. Rae's eyes fluttered closed as she opened up to him, lips parting for his tongue. He released her and looked right into her eyes. "Would you stop giving me that choice and trust me? I'm not your family Rae."

Raegan nodded, placing her hand against his cheek. "I trust you Bodie, I just don't want you getting hurt."

"And I don't want you wasting your life." He replied before breaking away. Hefting his rifle up, Bodie heading for the enemy camp.

Rae ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. She'd let it drop for now, but sooner or later they were going to have to talk. She seemed to have hurt him more than he let on during her absence.

The three of them crouched low behind the prefab building and waited for the patrol to pass. They could hear screams, pleas for mercy, and sobs coming from the middle of the camp. The Batarians were doing something to the colonist and it didn't sound pretty. Rae gritted her teeth and edged through the shadows. They were heading for the building that Sydney had spotted the Batarians storing their goods. Silently, Rae waved at her companions and motioned for them to wait for her. She could see the defiance in Bodie's face but she choose to ignore it.

Rae turned the knob slowly and eased the door open. She slid inside and surveyed the room. There was no guards inside but the room was filled with supplies. She spotted a large metal case with a red plus on the side and went right for it. Only pausing long enough to check it's contents, Rae snuck out and back to the others. She held it up triumphal when something caught the corner of her eyes. She turned just in time to watch her mother and brothers get dragged by with metal collars around their necks. Her rifle was up and finger on the trigger before anyone could react. The two Batarians escorting them dropped and Rae rushed to her families side. Their eyes were milky and didn't focused on her. "You killed the master," Galvin yelled and launched at her.

Rae ducked from him only to be caught by Tyron. She fought against him as alarms sounded and her mother stalked closer. "We must avenge the master," Abigail growled, her fingers curled into claws.

Rae stopped fighting and closed her eyes. She waited for the attack that never happened and fell to the ground as Tyron released her. "Get up," Bodie hauled her to her feet and pulled her to the exit. It was too late though, they were surrounded.

Raising their weapons, the two of them started firing and raced through the camp. They ducked the shots being fired at them and launched to the top of the fence. Bodie landed on the other side while Rae eased herself over the barbed wire. Sydney slid under the fence, medical kit in hand and took off running. Just as she went to let go fire laced her shoulder. Screaming in pain, she released the fence and landed on her back. The air vacated her lungs and she gulped for air, lungs and throat starting to burn. Bodie hauled her up and threw her over his shoulder, running for safety. From his shoulder she gasped for breath. Her vision began to darken as she caught sight of her family. The Batarians had begun to kick and beat them senseless when one pulled out a pistol and delivered three bullets.

Rae woke screaming, her biotics coming alive. Bodie was there quickly, telling her everything was okay and that she was safe. It took a couple of minutes before she became fully away and got her biotics back under control. Raegan grunted as she tried to move her shoulder. "What… what happened?"

"You were shot," Bodie sighed and gently helped her into a sitting position. "We did what we could, but the bullets still in there."

Rae groan and put her hand against her throbbing pain. "Ayden?" When Bodie looked away she knew her answer. They had been to late. She was the last Shepard alive. "How long was I out?"

"About twenty-four hours. The Alliance is here, you can hear fighting and just make out the battle from the roof."

She nodded, "And the Batarians?"

"They're holding the line, keeping help from reaching up. A couple came a tested the door a few hours ago, but nothing since. Wait, what are you doing?" He protested as she began to stand. She was unsteady and almost fell to the ground once. She grabbed onto him and got to her feet, fighting back the dizziness.

"They need help Bodie. Other wise the Batarians are going to get through and slaughter everyone here." She let go of him and headed for the stairs. She stopped by one of the guards and traded her rifle for a pistol. Her shoulder wouldn't allow her to handle the two handed weapon.

"You're injured Rae. You can't go out there!"

"I have to go Bodie. Those men and women are fighting for us. I have to help them and protect the others." Rae growled at him and motioned for the guys to clear the door.

Sydney appeared beside her, sporting a pistol as well as her knife, a wild grin on her face. "What's your plan boss?"

"I seen grenades and land mines in the supply building. We're going to blow their lines apart." Rae exited the hall and started for the Batarian camp once again.

"You're both insane!" Bodie yelled, tagging alone despite it.

The Alliance attacking the front lines provided the perfect distraction. The camp was mostly deserted. They only had to fight a few stragglers and it was easy enough. They reached the supplies and loaded up all the explosives they could find. They didn't hit any real resistance until they got closer to the battle. Some Batarians had spotted them and pinned them down behind some cover. Rae peeked around only to have to quickly duck back again. They didn't even need to go past them. But as soon as the group would stand the Batarians would have easy shots. Rae threw another warp over the barrier and groaned as pain lanced her body. It had been days since she ate and with each biotic use she got weaker and weaker. Bodie was huddled beside her, once in a while returning fire. Sydney was on the other side of the hall, watching them.

"Looks like we're trapped boss," She called out over the gun fire and took her pack off. She threw it across to them and grinned. "You two finish the plan. Run!" She shouted and rolled out of cover, her pistol firing. She got to her feet and ran at the Batarians, knives flashing.

Rae knew she didn't have any other choice. Grabbing Sydney's bag and Bodie, she ran down the alleyway toward their goal. Bodie followed behind her, cursing the entire time. He fired his rifle behind them and pulled a mine from his bag. Arming it, he dropped it behind them just as they turned a corner. They were a few feet away when it went off, rocking the buildings and ground. Rae whispered a thanks to their friend.

The two of them had snuck up to a bunker the Batarians had built. The bastards were huddled inside, automatic turrets protecting their position from Alliance advancement. They lined the bunker with the explosive and threw a couple like grenades inside for good measure. They avoided the blast but couldn't out run the blast wave. It knocked the two of them to the ground and unconscious. The next time Rae opened her eyes she was strapped to a pole with a Batarian slicing her skin with a knife. She gritted her teeth and refused to reward them with a scream.

The Batarian stopped as another walked into view. The monster examined her and lifted her chin to look into her eyes. "Is this the one that blew our bunker, causing us to loose ground?" It growled out.

"Her and the boy besides her." The torturer answered.

"She's but a child!" The guy roared and turned toward his fellows, "Who could you let a child best you?"

He had released her chin, allowing Rae to look around her. She spotted Bodie tied to a pole a few feet, groaning in pain. He was bleeding all over the place and was missing an ear. She struggled against her bonds only to draw her captor's attention. "She's a fighter. What is she fighting for?"

"The boy maybe sir. Study says the humans fight to protect their mates fiercely." Her torturer responded.

"Then break her already. Kill the boy."

"NO!" Raegan shouted and struggled harder. The Batarians all laughed at her effort.

"Oh this is sweet." The Batarian grabbed her chin and turned her head towards Bodie. The boy lifted his head and looked right at her, trying to smile. He coughed instead and spat out blood.

"Rae…" Bodie shook his head at her. "Help is on the way. Survive for me. I love yo…" The torturing shoved the dagger through Bodie's heart, silencing him.

Raegan screamed then. She fought against her bonds as the Batarians laughed once more. She glared at them, biotics glowing. She screamed again, emerald eyes glowing blue. Her biotics flared hot, engulfing the area. The Batarians screamed as well as their skin melted off. Raegan fainted as the last one died, biotics eating the last of her energy.