Chapter Twenty: The Enemy Within
Shepard awoke in a dark space. He couldn't call it a room as that would imply there were walls, a ceiling, a floor! He saw none of that. Only the empty void of blackness that surrounded him.
"How empty. Why am I not surprised?" A voice said behind him and Shepard turned. He brought his hands up as if he had a weapon but quickly realized he had nothing. The being laughed at him and the laughter echoed off of invisible walls.
"Who are you?" Shepard asked and the laughter seized. The being became stern and in a flash and a puff of misty ice, it appeared before Shepard.
"I am Vitkin." It said. The glowing icy blue eyes shined at him so brightly they were like stars in this place.
"I thought you were a Reaper?" Shepard asked and Vitkin chuckled.
"That is my other form…my immortal form. This is my previous form. The form stolen from me! Stolen from my people!" Vitkin shouted and a rumbling could be felt. Vitkin still sounded like a Reaper with a booming mechanical voice.
"Where am I?" Shepard asked looking around the space.
"Your pathetic excuse for a mind. I am quite disappointed in it actually." It said but then it scratched the invisible ground. "Though that being said, I will say there is something here. A potential not many possess." Vitkin said.
"Why am I here?" Shepard asked and Vitkin chuckled again.
"Harbinger sees you as an Avatar. I want to know why. Why are you so special? Why put millions to the sword but leave you intact?"
"Maybe it is because I killed Sovereign?" Shepard asked and this time Vitkin laughed loudly.
"Nazara you mean? No, you did not kill it. It killed itself. It got too greedy and it let its guard down. It relied too much on its control of its puppet. And when that control failed it, did it know it was doomed. Its last attempts at victory were mere last words in its last moments. But I can admit you did fight well against the puppet." Vitkin said. Shepard couldn't read his… "It…I am no longer a male I lost that privilege long ago."
"You can read my thoughts?" Shepard asked and Vitkin nodded. Shepard returned to trying to read its face but the helmet covered everything other than its eyes which shined brightly.
"You have questions yes? That is what Zane has witnessed many times. You like to talk and ask things. So, get to it." Shepard felt ordered by Vitkin but he couldn't disagree with the being.
"What do you want with Zane?" He asked and Vitkin laughed again.
"That answer is not for you. Not yet. Next question."
"Who were you? You said that you lost that form so what were you with that form?" He could see its eyes narrow at the question but it nodded.
"A fair question. I was an Emperor of the entirety of the galaxy. My reign was infinite and my word was law. My people spanned every planet, every asteroid, every star. The void of space was ours and we were on the cusp of having it all."
"And then the Reapers came?" Shepard asked and Vitkin nodded. Its fists clenched and the mist seemed to come from it even faster.
"The Dark Ones we called them. They swarmed us fast but we held strong for a long time. My people have had to deal with devils and demons in our ancient history and this was no different. The power of my people held the Dark Ones at bay for a time. And then we were betrayed. The Weak Ones or as you call them 'Indoctrinated' attacked us. And with them in their pockets, the Dark Ones knew our ways, our weaknesses, and our strengths. Not even our power could stop them at that point. We fought for years and centuries and still, we were bested." Vitkin finished its voice holding a malice Shepard had never heard before.
"What was your power?" Shepard asked.
"Time. The earlier in time you go the thicker the veil known as time is. In our time, it was at the perfect thickness. Thick enough for some to manipulate it but thin enough that not everyone can even see it. My people could manipulate it in ways you couldn't imagine. We could halt time around us, use it to see the future, use it to see the past and even use it to bring someone from our history to fight with us for a time. It is a hard practice and very few had the ability but we had it." Vitkin said in a saddened tone. But its fists were tight and they shook in hate and rage.
"Do you still retain those abilities?" Shepard asked.
"To an extent. We cannot bring an ancestor any longer nor can we stop time itself. But we can see the past and see possible futures like we could before. My people learned that while we were subjective to time other species were not. So, we had to make ways to make another lesser-race subjective to it. And we mastered it." Vitkin now sounded proud.
"Why do you not fight the Reapers directly?" Shepard asked and Vitkin laughed loudly and it was almost insulting to Shepard.
"You fool! Because I am one Reaper and they are millions. Even a Dragon will fall to a thousand peasants. That is why I remain here and plot my revenge. However, this is my last chance. If I fail this time then I am done for."
"You could just hide again." Shepard suggested.
"It wouldn't work I have done too much this cycle. Harbinger itself will try to bring me down and hunt me until the cycle comes again. I am beginning to see why you are a potential Avatar. You are naturally curious, like the rest of your species. And courageous and brave. They are common -if foolish- traits Harbinger seems to prefer."
"What do you mean by Avatar?"
"Each new Reaper needs the mind of an Avatar, a leader, to keep all the rabble in line. When you are the embodiment of an entire species then each mind, each memory, each being will fight for control. There needs to be one that outshines the others. One that makes the others stay quiet or else mistakes may be made."
"Can anyone be an Avatar?"
"An Avatar is naturally picked from the already processed habitants of a species. However, an Avatar picked by Harbinger undergoes a special process. This Avatar maintains most, if not all, of its original personality. However, it is made to serve the Reapers. Its personality turns dominant in the Reaper and it will usually maintain the name it once had. Before then the Avatar doesn't know who, it was and will call itself the species name. It is a pathetic existence really it is little more than a child at that point. But a potent and deadly child."
"Why didn't Sovereign go into its other form?"
"To go into this form, takes a lot of concentration and with what Nazara was doing, it didn't have the time to exist in the other form. Taking control of its puppet's Husk was more effective and not as energy consuming."
"How can you break the Reaper's hold?" Shepard asked and raised a brow.
"My people were always a rebellious type and we can see the past. As a result, we saw what we were and we wanted it again. And I wanted my Empire once more. And so, as a collective, we revolted against them and now here we are. We shall see if you are the Avatar if you will revolt as well." Vitkin said and he paced around the space.
"Why are the Collectors taking my people?" Shepard asked and Vitkin gave him a knowing look.
"The process has already begun. They are beginning to become a Reaper. Even now, those that have been taken are probably fighting for control to be the Avatar. I wonder who will win." Vitkin said as if it were to be entertaining. Another sport in a long line of things to watch.
"How can you be so callous to us? When we are going through what you have also gone through?!" Shepard question.
"Because I don't care about your people, I don't care about your friends, I don't even care about Zane. I only care about what use you have for me. All I want is vengeance and all I want is my Empire back!"
"But that will never happen and you know that."
"Do not be too sure Shepard." Vitkin said with a smile.
"So why are we here? Are we just here for your amusement?" Shepard asked and once again Vitkin.
"Partially. Zane was supposed to come alone but he forced my hand. Actually, when you first came here I used a signal to strike fear into you. I was surprised you fought through it, to be honest. But I digress, I wanted to see why it is you people follow him into certain doom. This is my way of payback. Even as I put him through torment."
"What are you doing to him?!"
"I have tests to run, and there are truths to be told. Demons he must face. And challenges and paths I must see him take."
"Do you hate Zane?" Shepard asked and it was a fair question. The way Vitkin spoke it held a certain disdain for Zane in every word it spat.
"Can you hate your weapon?"
"No?" Shepard said unsure what the point was.
"Then how can I hate my tool? My weapon?" Vitkin said in a rhetorical question.
"He is my friend Vitkin!" Shepard said but wasn't finished and Vitkin visibly rolled its eyes before Shepard could continue.
"Yes, yes, yes. He is your friend, your friend's friend, he is the lover of one of your friends and so the pattern goes on and on. It has been a fun game to witness. A fun story to see written but now the hard truths must be made. They must be seen. I have had enough of this pointless conversation. We will meet again."
…
Shepard awoke when someone started shaking him harshly.
"Shepard!" He heard his name called and he awoke groggily.
"Huh?"
"Shepard, you okay?" Shepard turned his gaze and saw Garrus crouched over him. Garrus had his weapon by his side and his eyes were shifting around looking for any targets.
"Err...How long was I out?"
"I don't know. I found you here after I woke up a little while ago." He explained.
"How did you get out of that room?" Shepard asked and didn't remember seeing a way out of the room Garrus was in.
"There was another door and it was opened when I got up. I admit I do not like this. It feels like we are animals in a lab." Garrus said as he helped Shepard up.
"We are. Vitkin is looking for answers and we are the questions."
"Why?"
Shepard shrugged. "Zane is nothing more than a tool to Vitkin meant to serve a singular purpose and nothing more."
"Any idea what that purpose is?"
"If I heard right…to bring Vitkin's people back from the dead." Shepard said and Garrus was shocked into silence. Shepard took the time to look around the room and noticed they were in an armory of some kind. Although it didn't look like any armory he had seen.
It was better to label the room as a lab for guns. There were gun models littering the floor and tables all of them in a state of disrepair. Muzzles were blown off, holes were burned into sides of the weapons, some muzzles were melted off. And some magazines had been halfway melted off.
All the weapons looked like something out of the twenty-first century and many of them looked like Zane's own rifle. What was its purpose for? Why was the weapon here? Is this where it was created and if so, how did Zane get ahold of it?
"Let's get out of here." Garrus said and Shepard nodded in agreement and grabbed his own rifle that was lying beside him. They soon found a door in the room they were in and it opened with ease. Before them were the icy blue lights that led the way and since it was the only option they had no choice but to follow them again.
They soon found themselves on a catwalk in a large crevice and to their right was a window. The room the window peered in was pitch black and they could not see what was inside.
"Wonder what…" Garrus began and the lights came on. Inside were hundreds of thousands of…things.
They looked like Husks but they were not human or at least they were not like the normal Husks Shepard had seen. He saw a large being that had upside down fangs that went from its lower jaw to the tip of its nose and it had piercing red eyes.
Another was taller than the already large being and had talons for nails and its "hair" were more like spikes that went down to the middle of its back. A blue and black energy kept it afloat and off the ground. The same energy swirled around its hands and its eyes were like that of sunset. A fiery orange that made Shepard still in fear.
There was a lizard-like people that had scales as black as midnight and the scales looked more like plates of armor. Its maw was lined with razor sharp teeth and its talons were longer than an inch and they gleamed in the light.
And then there was another. This one was large and muscularly built. Their eyes were a gleaming icy blue and they wore icy armor that gave off the mist of sublimation. The gantlets of this armor had a foot-long blade that also seemed to be made of an icy-looking substance as well. Their faces could not be seen by the helmet they wore and unlike Vitkin's helmet, theirs didn't have horns atop them.
"He has an army." Garrus said.
"Yep and if we aren't careful they will come after us. Let's keep moving." Shepard said and they continued down the catwalk. The Reaper made them feel uneasy and Shepard hated it. He was being toyed with and it was getting tiresome quickly.
They approached another door and prepared to enter it together. With a press of the button, the door opened and they entered another room. Its purpose couldn't even be guessed at. There were many vats and terminals, tables and tools to be used. But on the floor was Team Two.
"Oh, shit?!" Garrus cursed and ran to the unconscious team. They began to shake each member awake and in time they all began to wake up.
"Uh…what happened? How did we get here?" Miranda asked.
"What happened to you guys?" Shepard asked.
"We were taken one by one. Separated by doors and walls that appeared out of nowhere. And then, at least in my case, a sharp pain overcame my mind and I was knocked out shortly after."
"Same here." Kasumi said.
"Same." Zaeed commented.
"My runtimes were momentarily delayed." Legion said.
"I experienced that too." Samara said with a pained tone.
"Yea it happened to us too." Shepard said nodding to Garrus.
"I am noticing a pattern." Mordin said and began to scan the vats and terminals and try to understand their contents but to no avail. The team caught their bearings and began to leave.
"Garrus did you see Tali or Zane at all?" Shepard asked and Garrus shook his head. "I hope they are okay."
"I found Zane…he doesn't look good." Kasumi said and was pointing at a window. The whole team approached the window and saw a lone figure in a lone room. The room was large and its intended purpose was unknowable.
The figure was no doubt, Zane. The hoodie and gun were tell-tail signs of him. He held his gun at his side like he had before and was steadying himself by holding onto a table.
"What's going on?" Shepard asked and Garrus pulled out his sniper rifle and zoomed in as best he could.
"He seems to be in a lot of pain." Garrus said and handed Shepard the rifle.
Zane dropped his rifle and then held his head in his hands. His glowing blue eyes showed that he was in pain. He clutched at his head and face seemingly trying to claw the pain away.
"AHHH!" His scream echoed off the walls and even reached the team. The scream was that of pure pain and hurt. There was the sound of crying in it that also echoed off the walls. Shepard had never heard someone scream like that…ever. It was a scream of someone begging.
The Reaper's hull rumbled and Shepard got the feeling Vitkin was not happy by that outburst. And then soon Zane returned to a quiet state and he grabbed his rifle and began to walk away.
"Zane!" Shepard yelled hoping to get his attention. He doubted Zane could hear him through the window but there may be a chance. And Shepard knew that Zane was in that body…somewhere.
Zane halted in his steps and looked back towards them. Glowing blue eyes stared at them and a tense moment befell them. In a second, Zane grabbed his rifle and fired at them. The first shot cracked the window and before Shepard could duck a second shot rang out and destroyed the window.
The glass showered him and the bullet barely missed his neck. His face got cut up and bleeding soon ensued.
"Get down!" Garrus yelled and grabbed his rifle and aimed down towards the room but no more shots rang out. "He is gone."
"Shepard, are you okay?" Miranda asked and he nodded.
"We need to break Zane free from Vitkin's control and now." Shepard said and the team nodded. "And make sure he doesn't get to Tali." Shepard ordered. He didn't want to know what Vitkin would have Zane do to Tali…and what that would do to Zane as a result.
"Stop it!" Another scream echoed off the walls. And this one was more pained than the last. And behind the feeling of pain was the sound of guilt.
Vitkin rumbled again and it sounded like a growl and another scream echoed off the walls. Vitkin responded by rumbling louder.
The team ran down the corridors and they could hear Zane scream every now and then and the rumbling would follow shortly after. Once they saw Zane down a hall and he saw them. He began to fire his weapon from his hip and then he ran away. A scream followed and then the rumbling was as loud and as violent it had ever been. It was like an earthquake and it knocked the team off their feet.
When they rounded the corner, they had two doors they could go through. Since the last time Shepard opted to split up it didn't work well for him he decided they would all take the left door and they ran through it. The doors and walls opened and closed as they passed them. Seemingly leading them to where they had to go.
Screams could be heard and then rumbling would return. Zane was fighting harder and harder to regain control of his mind and Shepard wasn't sure if he was winning or not.
They entered yet another room and it seemed to be a viewing platform with a window covering an entire wall.
"Look down there!" Garrus said and pointed down a window. Before a closed door was Zane with his rifle at his side again.
"Damn it, we took the wrong route. We need to get down there." Shepard said and went to turn and the door they had entered from closed shut.
"Oh, crap." Garrus said and they looked back towards Zane and saw the door he was in front of open. A blue light shined brightly and he walked through the door that soon closed behind him.
"Time to see how strong the connection is." Vitkin could be heard saying in an amused tone. And a part of Shepard new Zane was getting closer to Tali.
"We better hurry." Shepard thought.