Chapter 38: Nightmares

Rah couldn't contain his pacing. Ever since he and the Death Angels returned to the Forward Unto Dawn, he'd been furious. It took him only minutes after leaving the planet to get in contact with Fox. The AI told him what he feared most.

Earth was facing the vanguard of the Reaper forces and Palaven was being hit just as hard. The Reapers seemed to be focusing their forces on the humans and Turians, as the two races were the only ones that had any real hope of stopping them. The Batarians had been rushed over like a pebble in a tsunami. It would be a miracle if they wouldn't been an endangered species after the Reapers had been kicked in the teeth. It seemed that for now, the colonies of Earth had seen little or no Reaper activity as of yet, the same could not be said for the Turian colonies. The main military planet of the Turian Hierarchy had been completely destroyed, only a husk of a rock was left.

To make matters worse, Arcturus station, the hub of Alliance military and government officials, was destroyed. The last act of the Prime Minister of humanity, was to enact martial law until future notice. The leadership of the entire human race, now fell onto the shoulders of Admiral Hackett and Rah, neither of whom wanted the responsibility of every human life in the galaxy. Hackett was currently out of contact of Rah, but the marine knew the older man had to have known.

Rah's original plan was to go to Earth and deploy himself and his Angels to kick the Reapers in the teeth, give those still there the chance of living to the end. When it was revealed to him by Fox that every ship in the system had been completely destroyed, he dashed the plan.

Now they were heading back to Elysium, for now, they would need to wait until they were needed elsewhere.

"I've got good news for you." Fox's voice broke into his furious thoughts and caused him to stop his pacing. Rah looked behind him to see that Fox had projected her form into the chair at his small desk.

"Please tell me that all the Reapers spontaneously self-destructed." Rah spoke to the AI.

"I wish I could." Fox replied with a huff. "But no, this is something that will help us with the war."

"What is it?" Rah asked, eager to know every dirty trick that they could use.

"Garrus sent you a message." Fox smirked at him. "He was asked to invite you to a war summit that the Turian Primarch is going to hold. However, the Primarch is currently stuck on one of the moons around Palaven. Garrus needs someone to evac them."

"The Dawn's got the same cloaking tech as the Normandy." Rah spoke, thinking aloud. "Might as well shit on some Reapers and get the Primarch."

"I knew you'd say that." Fox smirked. "I've sent your pilot the coordinates already."

Rah called up the Dawn's pilot on his omni-tool. "Lieutenant, my VI sent you a set of coordinates recently."

"Yes sir." The pilot acknowledged.

"Get us there, and I want to be there yesterday." Rah ordered.

"Right away General." The pilot replied, Rah could hear her deft hands flying over her console. "Mind if I ask where we're going?"

"To haul the Turians out of the fire and into our laps." Rah replied with a grin and cut off the communication.

"Thanks Fox." Rah smiled to the AI. "Has there been any activity near Elysium?"

"No." Fox shook her head. "But the colony has been put on alert and Sanders has moved most of the students planetside. Only a few are still on the station, and those are working on tech for fighting the Reapers."

"Jack?" Rah asked.

"She's on Grissom still." Fox nodded. "She and her students are there in case of an attack to defend the others."

"Good." Rah sighed. "Get in touch with Robo or Loco. Have them return to Grissom with their squads. I want them there to keep the students safe."

"Sure." Fox drawled rolling her eyes. "That's all it is."

"Jack could tear apart a Reaper on her own." Rah chuckled. "But she's still only human."

"If you say so." Fox smirked at him before her form disappeared. Rah felt a little click in his mind, his signal that the AI had disconnected herself from him.


"Why the fuck is Cerberus here?" Shepard snarled, while walking through the mangled remains of a squad of Cerberus soldiers. "What in God's name is on this rock that they want?"

"You mean you don't know?" Kaidan asked, his tone borderline accusatory. Shepard threw a glare at the man, feeling sicked at how he was actively avoiding stepping in the growing pools of Cerberus blood that soaked the sands of Mars.

"The hell is that supposed to mean Alenko?" Shepard growled. Shepard reigned in her anger with the man at seeing that even Vega shrunk away from her. "You got something to say to me, then say it."

Shepard began walking towards the entrance into the Mars Archives, expecting both men to follow her. Kaidan followed right on her heels and Vega hung back a little.

"What do you think it means Shepard? Two years gone and you show up with Cerberus. What am I supposed to think?" Kaidan replied, acting as if his thoughts were the most normal thing in the world.

"What are you-" Shepard stammered, stepping into the lift that would bring them inside the facility. Shepard sealed the door and then ripped of her helmet.

"WHAT ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO THINK?!" Shepard roared at the man. "Ask Garrus, Tali, Joker, Chakwas, Liara, Wrex. Ask any of them and they'll say the exact same fucking thing!"

Shepard stepped into Kaidan's personal space, her face inches from his faceplate. "I died Kaidan. The first thing I did when I was brought back, was try and track down my friends, the people I called family. Seeing you on Horizon was like finding a little brother who was lost in a mall. Then you go and spit in my face."

Shepard could see the fear in Kaidan's dark eyes. With her fury, had she let it go, she'd have ripped Kaidan's spine out. Kaidan knew this and was almost shaking.

"If you are really going to let your hatred of Cerberus, one that is pale compared to my own, cloud your mind then you are useless to me. I will not stand for you questioning me and my every move." Shepard snarled to the man and hit the button for the lift to ascend to the facility.

"I'm sorry Shepard." Kaidan muttered.

"Damn right you are." Shepard replied, giving the man some space. "You're a sorry excuse for an officer, and even worse of a friend."

The lift stopped and let them out into what looked like an area for bringing in supplies and equipment. Shepard heard a series of light thumps, followed closely by several rapid heavy ones. Shepard looked up to the source of the noise when a vent grate above them crashed to the floor. A lithe blue body in white leather dropped to the floor in front of them.

Shepard let a grin come to her face at seeing Liara again, the grin however faded when two Cerberus troops dropped to the ground right behind her. Liara turned on them and threw out a singularity. The troopers dropped their weapons while the biotic field lifted them into the air. Shepard took the chance and charged into the two of them. The field detonated and killed the two Cerberus troops instantly.

"Shepard!" Liara's excited voice cried out to Shepard when she had righted herself on her feet.

Shepard found herself in a tight embrace by the Asari, returning it with a chuckle. "Good to see you too Liara."

"Not that I'm not glad to see you," Liara smiled, pulling away from Shepard and completely ignoring Kaidan and Vega. "But what are you doing here?"

"We hoped you could tell us." Kaidan spoke, getting the Asari's attention.

"Major." Liara nodded to the soldier coolly.

"I think I've found something in the Archives." Liara returned her attention to Shepard. "Something to stop the Reapers."

"Hallelujah, some answers." Vega muttered and Shepard couldn't help but smirk at the marine.

"What did you find?" Shepard asked. Liara lead her over to a nearby window, one that looked to the rest of the facility.

"A blueprint for a device. It's massive, but from what I can understand, it's meant to destroy the Reapers." Liara told them, but her attention was grabbed by something at the far end of the facility.

"No." Liara gasped. "Cerberus has made it into the Archives!"

"Let's go kick some teeth in then." Vega grinned and hefted his Claymore shotgun.

"Not today Vega." Shepard spoke to the marine. "I need you to go back to the shuttle."

"What?!" Vega exclaimed, shock and anger on his face.

"We need a way off this rock Lieutenant." Shepard told him in her CO voice. "I know that you can hold it where Major Paranoia here can't."

Kaidan looked as if he would lash out at her barb, but he stayed silent. Vega still didn't like the idea, but the marine stood a little straighter with her confidence in him. Vega went back to the lift and hit the button to go back down, putting his helmet back on while he waited.

"Let's go spill some Cerberus blood." Shepard grinned evilly before using her biotics to launch herself up to the next level of the room.


Together, the three biotics made their way through the facility. Every step they took was fought for and paid for in Cerberus blood. Together, they were near unstoppable. Kaidan and Liara would prime targets for her to charge into while picking off troops from cover. Shepard however, paid no mind to any harm that could come to her. She recklessly charged into squads and detonated her barriers. Any that didn't fall in the first onslaught, were quickly taken out by either her shotgun, or Kaidan and Liara's fire.

The entire trip from the loading bay of the facility to the tram station to get to the Archives, Shepard felt the shocked and even jealous glances that were thrown at her. She knew that when her biotics were active, her ink glowed. With how much Shepard used her biotics, she knew that the ink was always showing while in combat.

When they reached the tram station and finally had a chance to breathe, neither Liara nor Kaidan said anything about the tattoo on her face. Instead, Liara went to one of the control terminals and Kaidan began looking for a way to find out what they would be walking into.

"Quite a difference since we last saw the major, isn't it?" Liara asked, her hands flying over the terminal.

"Not much more so." Shepard shrugged. "He's let his rank go to his head. I almost feel bad for him."

"How so?" Liara asked, sending her a curious look.

"He's never had a real command. I had a friend of mine get me Kaidan's file after we were done with the Collector base. He's only useful to the Alliance in an R and D lab or not at all." Shepard told her friend, a sad look in her eyes.

"You don't think we could use him? Even with the Reapers?" Liara asked.

"No." Shepard replied with a sad shake of her head. "He's too guided by a rulebook. There is no rulebook for the Reapers."

"Shepard!" Kaidan shouted from outside the control room of the tram station. "I've got something!"

Shepard left the Asari to find out what it was that Kaidan discovered. She found him crouched over a dead Cerberus body, his hands feeling around the man's helmet.

"He's got a receiver in his helmet." Kaidan spoke in frustration. "If I can just-"

Kaidan fell back on his ass when the helmet opened. Inside, the man had been twisted by Reaper tech. His eyes were now solid white and even glowing. The skin around them had been filled with tech so that his skin was now glowing purple.

"What the fuck?" Shepard breathed out, crouching down to get a better look. "And the Illusive Man calls himself a paragon of humanity."

"You mean you didn't know he was doing this?" Kaidan asked, not taking his eyes off the dead face before him.

"If I had known Kaidan, you and I wouldn't be having this discussion." Shepard snarled to the man. "Is this what you thought I was?"

"For all I knew, you were just like this guy, just with Shepard's memories." Kaidan replied.

"Kaidan, what the hell will it take for you to get that I'm not a puppet and that I'm actually me?" Shepard sighed, getting straight to the point.

"Time." Kaidan replied.

Any further conversation was cut off when the radio in the corpse's helmet began transmitting a voice. Shepard looked to Kaidan, who picked it up and responded. It took only a few moments before he had the troops on the other side of the tram line sending over both more men, and a way from them to get across.


When Shepard finally had the chance to make it to the QEC in the Normandy's war room, she was exhausted, both physically and mentally.

"Shepard." Hackett greeted her with a nod when his form appeared in the device. "What happened on Mars?"

"We got the info." Shepard told the admiral. "But the Illusive Man was waiting for us. We managed to get most of it before he could however."

"Anything? Doctor T'Soni said there was something that could help us." Hackett asked, his eyes boring into her soul.

"I've found the blueprints for a device Admiral." Liara's voice spoke behind Shepard. "I've sent them to you."

"You know what it does?" Hackett asked the Asari.

"Not exactly." Liara replied. "I haven't had the chance to dig through all the information just yet."

"Keep me posted Doctor." Hackett nodded to the Asari.

"Sir." Shepard sighed. "Major Alenko, he's in critical condition."

"What happened?" Hackett asked, a brief flicker of shock on his face.

"Cerberus had a synthetic groundside. It managed to incapacitate the Major. We're enroute to the Citadel now to get him treatment." Shepard told him.

"Understood Commander." Hackett replied with a nod. "If you can, try and get the Council to support the development of T'Soni's device."

"Understood sir." Shepard replied with a nod.

"And I have a message for you Shepard." Hackett told her a little grudgingly. "General Carmine says 'you need to hurry up and get here'."

"Here?" Shepard asked, raising an eyebrow. "Where's here?"

"He didn't say, all I know, he's not on Earth or any of the colonies." Hackett replied and looked at something in his office. "I need to go Sheard, I'll be in touch."

Shepard saluted before the admiral cut the connection.

"You thinking what I am?" Liara asked, giving her a knowing look.

"Palaven?" Shepard guessed and Liara nodded.

"So when did that happen?" Liara asked, pointing at Shepard's face.

"It's not official." Shepard smiled to her friend when she saw that their was nothing but happiness in her eyes. "It's just a promise between Garrus and I."

"I hope for your sake, that you get to uphold that." Liara smiled to her. "The two of you deserve some happiness after this war."

"No harsh feelings?" Shepard asked, a smile on her lips. "I'm glad."

"I figured out that you and I couldn't have worked." Liara told her. "We're both much too dominate now for it to have lasted for long."

"Thanks Liara." Shepard told her friend and pulled her into a hug. "That means a lot."

"You should get some sleep." Liara told her softly. "You'll need your strength when we get to the Citadel."

"Yeah, yeah alright." Shepard sighed.


Rah felt a surge of exhaustion wash over him. It had been nearly a day and a half since he'd been able to sleep at all. Now, sitting on a crate in the warzone of Menae, he had the chance to get a few minutes of rest. The last two days had not been good to any sense of the word. It would only be a matter of time before even more shit hit the fan than had already done so.

Before Rah was even aware of it, he was no longer on the moon, but now in a dark forest. Rah growled and pulled the hammer off of his back. Sure enough, he was in his Terminator armor as usual with a full kit.

As with every night for the last two months, Rah caught the glimpse of a small boy running through the trees. As usual, the kid was laughing. The laugh was taunting, and it had been pulling at his sanity for the last two months.

Rah had enough of it. Instead of following the kid through his winding path, Rah smashed his way through. The normally silent forest was full of the crashes of trees being felled by his hammer or being plowed through by his shoulder.

Rah felt something following him and his trail of destruction, but he didn't care. Rah chased after the brat, his hate for the kid carrying him farther than his legs should have allowed. At one point, the kid looked over his shoulder, his eyes widened in fear at seeing Rah gaining on him.

Rah grabbed the kid by the front of his hoodie and lifted him into the air. He growled into the kid's face.

"What the fuck do you want with me!" Rah growled at the kid.

"We want to save you." The kid replied, his voice shaking.

Behind him, Rah felt a pair of eyes on him. Rah turned to see Shepard behind him, staring at him in wide eyed fear and confusion.

"Rah?" "Shepard?" The both spoke at once.

Before either could do anything, the kid snapped his fingers.

Rah jolted awake. He was still on the same rock as before, only now it was four hours later. Rah groaned, but the tiny amount of sleep would need to be enough. He'd have time to get more, and wonder about what was going on in his mind, later.


A/N: There we are folks! As you all can see, I'm definitely going to be changing things from the way they are in the game. Some things I just don't like, others could be done better. Hopefully, you guys and girls will like what changes I make, if not please let me know.

Anyways, Hope you all enjoyed! Please let me know what you thought!

Until next time!