Layla-

The room was small, but I wasn't expecting something extremely magnificent. This wasn't Illium or the Citadel, my expectations were low anyway- yet… this wasn't very ideal living space. Oh well, at least we have a roof and solitude away from all those… thugs.

I let out an embarrassing shriek when a weird glowing bug skittered out of a crack in the wall and ran across to the ceiling. I found myself flinching away and pressing my back tightly to the door. I wrapped my arms around my chest, shuddering in disgust at the sight of it, knowing that I won't be able to sleep in here as long as there were spiders.

"Urgh," another shiver raked down my spine, I avoided thinking about what my uncle said about spiders and drew myself away from the wall. At least 8 spiders in your lifetime will crawl into your mouth when you're asleep. I didn't know if it was false or not, but the thought creeped me out. "Perfect."

Max sat down on the uncomfortable looking chair by the crappy, broken T.V that was mounted on the wall. "So, this place is a bit of a fixer-upper right?" Max stated as his gaze wandered about the room.

"No, not at all." The sarcasm dripped from me. "This place is a palace for queens and kings, I have no idea what you're talking about." I jabbed a thumb to the cracked wall. "That's an art piece and obviously the spiders here are our gracious servants."

"Is there actually spiders here? Or are we just talking equivalents?"

"It looked like a spider. Except it was glowing." My nose scrunched in revolution. "Any bug, I'm not a fan… except dragonflies, but that's dragonflies."

"Would be interesting if it was actually a type of spider. Makes you wonder how it even got here." Max said, looking actually interested.

"Go ahead, poke at them if you want. Get them out of here, that would be better." I shuffled over to the kitchen, which didn't have the best maintenance either. "I won't be able to sleep until they're gone."

I wasn't exaggerating either. I had my fair share of experiences with spiders, and if they ended up in the corner of my room, I could never sleep in the same room for like two nights even if they were removed.

"Then I doubt you will be getting much sleep. I imagine they are sort of everywhere." He stopped when he no doubt saw my skin pale even more and shrugged. "That's a guess, but I don't think it will be that easy to get rid of them."

"Fantastic!" I gave a wry smile, slapping my hand against the kitchen isle. I'm not even getting a wink now. "Thanks for that, thanks a lot."

"Well, I don't know exactly what you think would get rid if them. I don't think just picking them up and taking them outside will do the trick." Max said while eyeing the cracks around the room. "Besides, I think we got more important things to think about right now, wouldn't you agree?"

I bit my bottom lip, then reluctantly nodded. "Alright, I know- I know, I just… I really hate spiders."

"Right. I will keep that in mind. I'm sure we could look into doing something tomorrow if it bothers you that much." Max explained, before wiping a talon in front of his face. "Anyway. More important conversation first."

"Like what we're going to do now?" I lifted a hand off the counter, cringing at the slimy grime that had stuck to my palm. I wiped it down on my leg, feeling gross. "If we're going to keep staying here, we're going to need credits and to get credits…"

Max stared at his arm, seemingly entranced by it. "Yeah, we will need a job. Going to be honest here, don't have that many ideas at the moment. I think we are just going to have to test the waters tomorrow."

My lips pressed together and I paced slightly. "We were left here with real ID's and credits and an omni-tool. We were left with a starter kit." I glanced over to him. "That doesn't seem too convenient to you? I mean, I know this whole situation is weird- god, immensely so- but doesn't that just scream… odd to you?"

Max swept his arms over his form. "Trust me, I am very aware of this." One of his talons went to hold up his chin, pondering about something, before adding on, "I have some theories, actually."

"Well?" I pointedly stared at him, "are you going to elaborate?"

"Right. Right. I know this sounds stupid, but I think… I think who we are… they were people before we got here, if you understand." His flanged tones very evident in his voice.

It was silent after he uttered those words, my brain slowly processing what he had just said. Before I exploded on him for being crazy I stopped to think about it. It… slightly made sense. That we had omni-tools that didn't belong to us, legal (as far as we were aware) ID's already on our person- if we swapped lives with two innocent people in this universe, then that would explain why Max was suddenly a turian- in a weird way.

Still…

There had to be a better theory to explain this. Something more logical.

"That's crazy."

This whole thing is crazy.

"Just think about it, I mean, you have been calling me Max, but that's not actually the name of this…" He stopped to gesture at himself "person." Max looked like he was straining to think. "It's the first thing I could think of, it explains the change in name, body, the fact I can actually walk around without going flat on my face, the whole lot."

"So…" I felt awkward asking this, not wanting to sadden him. "Why am I still human? Why are you a turian?"

He just shrugged, seemingly taking it pretty well. "Short straw perhaps? I couldn't say for sure. But that does lead to another question I was going to ask you."

"Yeah?"

He leaned forward from his seated position, looking far more serious than usual. "Are you sure that you are still… you?"

I paused, never having thought of that. My eyes travelled down to my hands, then my legs, my chest, everything in view. Everything was the same. I didn't feel different, but I had to guess, neither did Max. Still, nothing had changed except my clothing. "I… don't feel any different."

"If you want, I think there is a mirror in the bathroom." He said as he pointed over at it. "You can go check, if you want. I don't mind waiting."

I did as he said, striding by him and heading to the bathroom. I made sure it was locked before stripping my clothes and checking almost every inch of my body. Nothing was different. Everything was the same. Everything was nor-

Wait.

Something caught my eye.

There was a darker splodge on the back of my shoulder, a corner of the stain peaking out from underneath the brown tresses. Among my ivory skin it seemed to stand out. I moved my hair out of the way and stared at the mark.

Due to my startled silence, Max seemed to become worried and knocked on the door. "You alright in there?"

It took me a moment to answer. "Uh- yeah- I just… I found something."

"Do you feel like cluing me in? Or…" He trailed off.

"Right, sorry." I dropped my hair, allowing it to sway down and cover the unnerving evidence that I wasn't entirely… myself. "Just a birthmark. But… I don't have a birthmark."

"Ah." A short silence came between us, before Max broke it. "I imagine that must be… hard to realize."

I nearly laughed, yet my hands were shaking. "Please. It isn't as dire as realising you're an alien."

A muffled snicker came from the other side of the door. "I suppose so, but at least that's more obvious. At least I knew from the offset that not everything about myself was the same."

"I don't deserve to freak out as much as you do." I quickly pulled on my shirt.

"I think whether or not anyone 'deserves' to freak out is besides the point. I have decided not to do that, as nothing good will come of it. I don't know what you do to deal with stuff like this, but I recommend you do it."

I inhaled a deep breath before exhaling. I also closed my eyes and repeated this process for a few minutes before nodding to myself. I put my leg into the tracksuit bottoms. The bathroom door hissed open, I raked my hand through my hair. Max stood there, leaning against the doorframe. "I'm okay."

"That's good to know. I remembered that we never checked how much was on your credit chit, by the way. You may want to do that."

I walked passed him, throwing my tracksuit jumper over to the worn out couch before going into my omni-tool, loading up the program like he had shown me before scanning the credit chit. My foot tapped against the floor before the result had revealed itself. "200 credits."

"That's good. I see you didn't need my help that time either." It was hard to tell with his alien features, but he appeared to look quite smug and amused.

"Lose the smug grin, I'm a fast learner." I swatted him dismissively. "Nothing to do with you."

"Sure, sure. But still, that gives us a bit more time. It will help us live a bit longer without a job, which is a start. Possibly won't even have to wait that long to get away from here."

"We have to be careful," I put the omni-tool away. "Money drains incredibly fast. Especially between two people."

"I know, even more so with us two." He pulled out what looked like a snack bar. "This reminded me, we can't eat the same things. Your food will be practically poison to me, and vice-versa."

"I wonder if your food cheap or expensive. Do you think humans food will be less common?" I mused to myself. "Seeing as humans aren't exactly… incredibly welcome by some species."

"I'm not sure, because it's only turians and quarians that have the different food thing, while everyone else works at least relatively the same." He shrugged "It could go either way."

"I'm sure they probably have one credit pizza's in local stores, I hope they also have instant noodles." I semi joked. "Save us some money."

"I just hope my food doesn't taste weird. I mean, I'm not the pickiest eater, but you know…"

"Your… turian tastebuds might not notice a difference." I shrugged. "At least you're not a salarian, you might have to eat bugs."

He chuckled at that. "Who knows. Salarian food might end up being really cheap. You might be eating bugs."

I glared at him, dreading the idea. "Don't even joke about that. I survived on instant noodles for a month, I'll do it again."

The human-turned-turian raised his talons defensively. "Right, fine, I won't joke about that. But I would still be ready to… broaden your horizons, so to speak, when it comes to food."

My mouth thinned to a line. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

"Well, that's more your problem than mine, but yeah. Here's hoping, right?"

I offered him a shrug before stretching out my arms, releasing a loud and slow yawn. "I'm gonna go to sleep."

I wandered over to the other bed, rubbing my eyes before jumping into the bed. Reaching over, I pulled the pillow to me, shoving my face into it and also wrapping myself in the duvet. At least the bed is comfortable.

Max's flanged voice broke me out of my thoughts. "Right. I'm going to go figure out how to remove my clothing, then I'm going to bed. Guess I will see you in the morning."

I half expected my dog to be licking my face when I opened my eyes. His eager little cute face staring at me, tail wagging as he waited impatiently for me to get out of bed so we could go for our morning walk.

But he wasn't there.

My heart sank as I remembered my dire situation and I let out a sad, slow sigh. Pulling the duvet closer to me, I hugged it to my body, trying to ignore the lump building in my throat and the harsh sting in my eyes.

Don't cry. It's okay. You'll figure this out. I told myself, then clenched my fingers around the cover before ripping it off, throwing the duvet to the side and swinging my legs off the edge of the bed. It wasn't time to sob and wail in the corner whilst hoping that someone would rescue me, it was time to do something.

We both needed a job, what- I didn't know. But we had to have access to ongoing funds rather than the 450 we knew would drain very quickly. If my mother could spend 42 grand in a few months, we would probably spend our credits in a day if we weren't careful.

The door hissed open when I approached it, I assumed it was on an auto mode and swatted it aside, not quite used to having doors just open for me in my own apartment. In the shopping centre, sure, but people didn't generally have automatic doors in their room and call it normal.

Rich people, maybe.

But me? I wasn't entirely poor, but I wasn't rich either. My family just had some left over. A decent amount.

Max, or Maxius, was currently sitting down on a ramshackle looking chair in the middle of the room, munching on what appeared to be the snack bar he found on his person before, pulling a face.

"Not like chocolate, I'm guessing?" I chuckled at the sight, finding the stretching mandibles and scrunching eyes a mildly amusing image.

He blinked at me. "It's not, no. I still can't decide if I dislike it though. Just… different."

I offered him a shrug, groggily shuffling toward the small kitchen we had, opening the cabinet to look for something decent for breakfast. Only a few things were in there, courtesy of the hotel, I was guessing. Some bland looking cereal, along with bread and a few other things I didn't recognize.

I opted for the cereal, opening the fridge and taking out the milk to pour it into the bowl after I added the bland bits of grain. The spoon clattered against the bowl when I dipped it in and I wandered over to the sofa, sitting with my legs folded underneath me.

After one spoonful, my lips pressed against each other and I stared down at the bowl with distaste. It was so… bland. Hardly any taste. I couldn't complain, though, I had tasted worse and food was food.

"First thing we do when we get a paycheck from a job?" I crunched on the cereal, chewing through it. "Buy a nice steak, or have BBQ ribs." I pointed the spoon at him. "We'll call it Celebration day- since it's our first pay check."

"Well, if you are trying to kill me, sure." Max deadpanned.

"Oh, right." I sheepishly bowed my head. I forgot about the whole…. Human food is now poison to him. Damn, that must fucking suck. "How about the equivalent then? Or alcohol? Pretty sure we could both use a drink."

"Yeah… that'll work. I woke up about an hour before you, so I've been doing a little research using my Omni-tool. Mostly food related things."

"Oh?" I gulped down a huge amount of the cereal, swallowing before asking, "what did you find?"

"Mostly how to recognize what I can actually eat, and what would happen if I ate something I couldn't." He shuddered slightly, seemingly remembering something. "It's uh… not pretty."

"I bet." I couldn't imagine that such a bland box of cereal would just kill him, it was dull to eat sure but killing that poor guy. It was hard to picture. I couldn't imagine how difficult it would be, to go from eating all your favorite things to suddenly finding out the next day, you can never eat anything you were used to again.

"You sleep well?" Max asked. "I was alright, but finding an actually comfortable position to sleep in was surprisingly difficult."

"A little challenging at first but once I found that special place of comfort, I slept like a baby."

"That's good." Max nodded, pleased. "Are you ready for today?"

"Not at all." Different attitude. If you're going to survive, that's what you'll need. I took a deep breath then grinned. "But fuck it, right?"

"Pretty much, yeah." He chuckled. "Tell you what, how about you look into work for now, while I get food, and we will meet back here at…" Max paused to turn on his Omni-tool. "Around 2:00pm, about five hours from now. Think you're up for that?"

I nodded, ignoring the slight squeeze in the bottom of my gut. "Sure."

"Right. Best of luck then. You have anything you want me to keep an eye out for? Particular food?"

"Anything?" I stopped for a moment to think. "Well… there's always pizza."

"Got it, if I find some, and it's somewhat affordable, I will get you some."

"Thanks man." I smiled at him before putting the bowl into the sink, washing it before drying my hands. Then I walked over to the door, throwing him a satirical salute. "See you later, then."

"See you." Max said, waving me off.

With my new task in mind, I took a determined stroll, holding my head high and my mouth quirking up into a confident smile.

That completely wiped off my face by the ninth time I was rejected. I eventually had a hunching figure, puffy, wide eyes and an exhausted paleness to my skin. My only clothing was smeared with grime and dirt. I felt like a zombie- I probably looked like one.

I had searched the area high and low for one single job and every single time I had got an almost immediate rejection. They all declined me, some without even me having to open my mouth. One of them purely looked down at me in disgust and gestured for security to literally pick me up by my neck and throw me out onto the streets. They had told me that I should go back home.

My lack of direction had me zipping round for an extra hour, which made me late back- and when I was about to sit on the ground in defeat, another human had appeared.

Only, not in the way I wanted.

The barrel stared me down, it's gaze was burning into my skull. I almost didn't move in response. The man with green eyes, almost as tired looking as I felt. His hands shook whilst holding the gun. He shouted something at me, but I couldn't remember what it was.

"Hey!" He snapped, saliva flicking onto my face. I flinched, wiping the droplets off my face with an expression of revulsion. His upper lip curled and I slowly looked up at him, my hope had deteriorated when I saw the gun dangerously nearing my nose.

"What- what do you want?" I stammered, holding up my hands. Fear rushed through my veins like a firework trail, my heart beating out of my chest.

"Credit chit. Now." He demanded. I would have gladly handed it over to make him leave me alone- but I didn't even have it. I left it with Maxius, seeing as he was buying food. Fuck.

"I don't have one on me." I defended. His eyes darted around, mouth thinning into a line. I took notice of his hands, which held a slight tremor. It lead to theories in my head, that maybe he hadn't ever shot anyone before.

He spat. "Bullshit. Hand it over. This gun's real, you know." I swallowed the lump in my throat, lifting my weak feeling arms a little higher. But slowly. He took a small step forward, pressing the cold gun against my temple. "Don't move."

"Okay-okay!" I gritted my teeth, squishing down the sense of panic building up to an overwhelming burst in my chest. "Search me if you want- I don't have one, I'm telling the truth. I'm piss poor."

I glanced at the torn trousers, taking note of the horrendous smell and gaunt face.

By the looks of it, so are you.

But I didn't say that to the guy with the gun, for fear he'd squeeze that trigger.

I had wondered, briefly, if I died here- would I be resurrected in my old life….?

I shuddered at the thought I was wrong, not wanting to risk or test that idea.

He actually did as I said, keeping one shaky hand on the gun, whilst the other moved to my side, then to my leg. A bitter taste entered my mouth when his hand brushed up along the side of my breast, knowing full well he didn't have to check that area. But I took this distraction to my full advantage, getting a little closer to him so he could see down my vest top a little better. He paused, I assumed he had spotted the movement, then I went to snatch the gun out of the fucker's hands.

However, the motion caught him off guard, causing him to recoil and squeeze the trigger.

What sounded like a booming crash of thunder emitted from the weapon, and we both fell back onto the floor. A high pitched shrieking exploded in my ear and I gripped it with a panic, feeling a throbbing pain stretch across my skull.

There was muffled speaking, and I looked over to see him crawling to the gun he had dropped in the struggle.

Ignoring the screaming in my ear, I rolled over and climbed onto his back, threading my fingers through his hair to lift up his head, before plummeting it down onto the hard metal flooring.

There was a crack along with the thud, and a cry of pain.

Guilt ate at me, and I hesitated- but regretted not smashing his face even more into the ground when he flipped me over, pushing my back onto the floor. I gasped and he got on top of me, quickly coiling his calloused fingers around my throat.

Fuck.

Fuck!

He clasped tighter and tighter until spots started to fizz in my vision, all whilst my hand slammed on the ground, my other digging my nails into his skin. Blood dripped from him, but he didn't care and kept strangling me.

I grew dizzy and wheezed, struggling for air. A harsh, pure sense of panic built up inside of me, scratching at my lungs and making me thrash desperately against the stranger. I tried to scream but it came out a strained, whispering groan. He bared his teeth in a snarl and said something I couldn't hear.

Blackness started to fill my gaze, like a curtain.

My finger touched something mechanical, cold.

A few wiggles later- and I grasped it in my hand.

Then, with the rest of my remaining strength I slapped it across his head. He grunted, flinching back and falling to the side. I went into a coughing fit, wheezing for breath and gasping. He laid on the ground, but reached up to the bead of blood that dripped down his head before cursing.

I aimed the gun.

"No, wait-!" His eyes grew wide, he held out a hand toward me.

Without thinking, I pulled the trigger.

He lifelessly fell to the floor, hole in the middle of his forehead. I watched his frozen, terrified eyes stare up at me. Blood slowly pooled around his head.

I merely looked at him for a long while, as if my own eyes couldn't believe the image in front of me. I hadn't let go of the gun, it was tightly held in my hand, whilst the other hung uselessly by my other side.

"Fuck." I shakily whispered, hunching over and trying to keep the bile down my throat, trying to ignore that the blood splattered onto my clothing.

I need to get out of here.

Author's Notes

Seems like Layla is not having a good time, does it? Omega isn't exactly the nicest of places, as she has now been reminded. Max on the other hand seems to be taking everything a whole lot better, but what will he think about what happened? I guess you will have to wait to find out.

You may of noticed the updates for this has actually kept to a schedule! And we will attempt to keep it this way for as long as we can, though we cannot promise anything. Anyway, onto responding to any reviews.

Toothless is best- Cool, hopefully you will like where the story is going too.

tomce795- I know right? I'm surprised how little stories actually decide to change the species of the OCI/SI, and then, there are even less which are actually good. Good to know you like the characters, and their interactions. Can't be much worse than having main characters that people don't like.

FOODninja-321 - You will be getting a perspective flip more or less every chapter, outside of in-story events. And I might check out that webcomic, no promises though.

a guest- Seems like people like the perspective flips, which is nice. Thanks for the complements!

And a reminder yet again, this is co-written with LeShyWolf. Check out her stuff if you like this story, as well as my other fic!