I'm Nobody

by free man writer

He didn't have anything when he was born. Just a name and number. But over time, what he had grew. He, with his friends began to understand that there was more to their existence then just their name and number. They will prove that they were meant to be real. To exist. To become something more than just a Nobody. Co-written and created with Jebest4781. Fem Shepard. Now on Ao3.

5. Getting to Know your Crew

Alright, still going strong with this one. I appreciate those who are willing to give this unusual story a try. Means a lot.

Don't forget to vote on the polls because that'll be taken down soon and replaced with another soon after that one. Then again, with what I'm looking at, it's quite obvious the projected winner is going to be.

Other than that, not much to say for the moment.

Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.

I'm Nobody Chapter 5: Get to know your crew

Far above a dark city, a castle of multiple sections and towers that moved about on its own while remaining stationary in the air.

One could say it was the perfect mesh between a medieval and technological marvel with how grandiose it appeared. Almost hovering above the world's very surface as it rests at its center.

The castles occupants were currently in the middle of a meeting with only several members unaccounted for.

Inside of the Round Room or The Room Where Nothing Gathers, the majority of the thirteen throne-like chairs were occupied with the cloaked members of the Organization. The only means of reaching this place was through a Corridor of Darkness, nothing else. It would have to be a miracle to get here otherwise.

The marble-made chairs were all occupied for the most part save for the seats of Numbers VI, VIII and XIII.

Placed at the highest seat was Xemnas, Number I and leader of the Organization.

He was calm and collected as he usually conveyed himself to be.

Opening his eyes, they trailed over numbers XI and XII who were clearly aggravated in being here.

They were still rather upset so to speak when Xemnas called for them personally, stating that he was indeed aware of their intentions to overthrow his leadership. Being quickly put in their place, their plans of a coup were put out.

For now.

Right now, however, they were gathered for an extremely serious matter.

The matter of a missing member.

Roxas.

"This is too soon. His departure is far too soon from the timetable." Xemnas announced.

"We have barely begun the formation of Kingdom Hearts, barely the framework of it by a small margin. Without No. XIII we would have to rely on the Keybearer to take up the slack." Saix stated.

"What of No. XIV? Has her Keyblade manifested more?" Xaldin inquired.

"Barely, just barely. Can't hold out no longer than a handful of minutes at a time." Vexen reported. "Been trying to figure out how to increase it until she can summon it properly. Without Roxas' presence, I don't know what to do."

"Maybe we should just take the Keybearer brat and make the squirt absorb the power from the source directly." Larxene suggested. "Problem solved."

"As much as it's a good idea, we don't want to play our hand too soon and reveal ourselves."

"But the brat is not strong enough to take us on." The Savage Nymph pointed a finger at their esteemed leader. "If I heard correctly, you popped up at Hollow Bastion and fought the twerp and got beat. And I'm putting it lightly."

"Indeed. I held back a lot of my power, only to gauge his capabilities." Drawled out No. I. "He's got a long way to go before he can be a proper threat."

Xigbar merely snorted. "And yet he killed that Heartless counterpart of yours, who was so full of darkness and at his esteemed peak."

"Where is the child anyway?" Luxord inquired.

"The Nobodies we sent out are still searching every World as we speak, tirelessly in finding a clue to his location."

"So we got two Keybearers that we have completely lost track of with one that's barely functional." Marluxia remarked with a small smirk.

Xemnas looked down at the Graceful Assassin. He shared a look with him and the rose-haired Nobody backed down.

"If he doesn't return, you know what we must do." Xaldin said aloud. "He has had every opportunity to return on his own accord by using a Corridor. And yet…"

"I truly hope he's enjoying his little adventure, wherever he is." No. X spoke up, holding up a number of his Nobody themed cards in his hand. He played a few tricks as he continued. "Maybe he'd like a hand to determine his fate."

Demyx merely shrugged. "Hey, as long as it works in our favor. I say we let him do what he wants for now then we all jump ship if needed."

"Those are bold words coming from you. Are you saying you'll volunteer to take care of it if things go wrong? Huh?" Xigbar teased.

Demyx practically flailed in his seat. "What!? Me? No, you have the wrong guy. I'm not comfortable with doing all that work."

The Freeshooter chuckled. "Well if the kid is anything like his Somebody, he might surprise you. He could be out there and working in clearing out the Heartless one way or another. And all those hearts will naturally come to us, with the framework already formed."

"And yet you forget we need Xion to have her own Keyblade to speed up the process. Without that, it'll take far longer than it should for our Kingdom Hearts to fully form." Saix said from his throne. "Then she will be worthless to us."

"Oh give the Poppet a chance, Saix. She has the potential to manifest it, despite her being a True Nobody." No. II smirked. "After all, she's based on a number of individuals. It'll be a waste to start from scratch now."

"You act as though you think she has a conscience." Said Xaldin. "When was the last time any one of us felt anything?"

"Do any of us really?" Vexen muttered. "We are Nobody's after all. The memories our shells have do have the lingering feelings when we were once whole. They could manifest and take a life of their own. Making us actually experiencing them."

"Truer words were never spoken." Luxord said in agreement. "For now we just have to wait and see what will come next."

"Enough of this drivel." Saix spoke up. "There is the matter of Roxas to be found and Castle Oblivion. We had to leave Zexion and Axel behind."

Xemnas nodded, turning to No. V.

"Lexaeus."

"Yes, Lord Xemnas?"

"Inform Axel and Zexion of our recent meeting while still giving out the order to not return otherwise."

The Taciturn Stalwart said nothing, only nodding before a Corridor encompassed his form before departing from the chamber.

"The rest of you must conduct searches in the times in between your missions." Xemnas instructed. "Either Roxas has lost his way or abandoned us all together. Regardless, we shall bring him back. For now, I'll let our wayward Keybearer embark on his adventure. He might still fill his purpose… elsewhere. We'll find him, eventually."

Every member present in the Round Room soon disappeared from the vicinity in order to return working on their already present tasks.

Elsewhere, in another realm of existence, a large castle situated at the end of a road, located at the Realm Between Realms.

From the road leading up to the castle is a beautiful landscape of large grassy plains and hills. Yet the environment surrounding the large castle in fact a facade, a cover to hide the true emptiness the surrounding land has. When breaching past the barrier, one can see the rough stalagmites sprouting from the barren ground.

The castle's architecture is very remarkable, with its tower tops resembling interesting isosceles triangles and noticeable monster horns at the castle's center. Two smaller parts of the castle, lying on floating islands, are joined to the main structure via chains.

When breaching past the large doorway, the interior is surprisingly white, stark white to be exact, an opposite of the dreary colors on the exterior. Yet white can be dreary as well.

Within the Castle walls, a lone man in the Organization's black coat was "patrolling" the castle halls with one companion.

"Geez, can this castle be any more dull?" Axel groaned aloud, walking around one of the many corridors with a young girl around the age of Roxas and Xion. "I mean they could have at least told us how blaringly empty this whole damn place is."

From what they were told prior to coming here, the castle's layout is truly unknown to any visiting the place. When going through floor to floor, there is an… unusual happenstance occurring to someone traversing through it. For their memories manifest and take shape into an environment, distracting them for an unknown period of time.

This occurred for Axel when he blindly went into the first floor and suddenly found himself in a scarily recreated version of Twilight Town, with practically everything exact to the very last stretch of land.

And another floor, it was of a place he hasn't stepped foot on since he became a Nobody. A place where both he and Saix lived and worked under a Wise old man and befriending an amnesiac girl.

One would realize that it was the intention of the 'designer' of this grand piece of architecture. Confusing any and all intruders not welcomed to this place, throwing them off from finding any and all secrets this castle hides within its walls.

In order to safely get to the other floors without traversing through the Halls of Memories, as some of the Organization members dubbed them, they would need to use a Corridor to jump to each in between floor and the central meeting rooms in both the upper and basement floors.

"Namine, how the heck do you navigate this place?" Axel asked, looking down at the platinum blond haired girl, clear blue eyes and a white dress that stopped down at her thighs.

She let out a small giggle, giving him a sympathetic look.

"I try not to think about it." She said kindly, looking up at him with a smile.

When Namine thought on her situation, she thanked the stars above that the Organization recalled their members back leaving her with Axel.

Before, she had the Graceful Assassin hovering over her shoulder nearly every waking moment, a feeling of complete and utter fear held over her.

Until by a miracle, he was called back.

Something happened with the Organization where he along with his partner in crime, the Savage Nymph, had to be sent back.

Replacing him was a much more easy going and infinitely friendlier individual known to her now as Axel.

The red head didn't seem all that interested in her powers as a matter of fact, he didn't even care for it.

All he really cared for was alleviating his boredom to pass the time.

So he had opted to have Namine keep him company for the most part.

For the most part, Axel was the lord of the castle on the top thirteen floors whilst one other member watched over the bottom twelve. And from what he could tell, it was probably Zexion.

There was honestly not much to do while watching over her… like at all. He either had to take her out on walks or watch her crudely draw all over the place. Occasionally, he joined in though they were hilariously atrocious, something she teased him over repeatedly with him messing up her hair in retaliation.

It was rather… nice to have a friend.

However, it appears that she wasn't his only friend.

The redhead said in passing to the young blonde that he would rather be back eating ice-cream with his "pals" instead of doing this.

Namine found it strange when hearing it and wondered why, given their status as Nobodies.

Unbeknownst to the "witch", Axel has his reasons.

Axel had always yearned to fill the void within himself with what he'd been all so longing for. Even prior to becoming a Nobody. The fires of friendship were kindling with what he formed with both Roxas and Xion. He thought he could've had it when both he and Saix became Nobodies, using their old ties when they were once Somebodies.

Yet that didn't seem to be the case as The Luna Diviner became more of a lapdog than what the Flurry of Dancing Flames could stomach, severing nearly all ties with Axel in the process.

He was originally sent here by Saix to dispose of the traitors and anyone else that would get in the way of their "plan".

But now since nearly everyone was called back, what was the point of him being here? His one order served no purpose now. The plan was moot for the most part as of right now.

With a disgruntled sigh, Axel pulled out two Sea-salt ice cream bars and held one out for Namine to take. She accepted it happily and began munching on it with Axel digging into his.

"I'd rather go to Twilight Town for this but gotta stay here." Axel said peevishly.

"Why not just inform the other member down that you wanna step out?" Namine asked.

"Pretty sure Zexion would get annoyed at me going out every single day." Axel remarked, taking another bite of his bar. "Don't wanna leave him alone in this dreary castle."

"Axel." Namine said knowingly. "He's basically all by himself in the lower levels."

No. VIII just shrugged. "Meh, whatever."

The duo were now on the first floor, both taking a seat on the steps.

"This is just too boring." Axel drawled. "Can anything exciting happen at least?"

Ask and you shall receive.

The front door to the Castle opened, alerting both Axel and Namine as the former shot up to his feet.

Once the door was open, in walked…

"Xion?" Axel said in bewilderment and pleasant surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Wanted to find you." Xion said with a worried face.

Axel frowned at his friend's expression. "What for?"

"...Who's she?"

Axel soon realized his young friend was looking at the blonde girl beside him.

"Uh… Namine, this is Xion. Xion this is Namine." Axel quickly introduced them.

"Hi." Namine said softly with Xion muttering it back as they both gazed at one another intensely.

Looking back and forth between them, Axel realized a startling revelation. Both girls looked rather a lot alike.

Like shockingly similar faces, eyes, everything accept the hair and their clothing. One could even mistake them for sisters.

Clearing his throat, Axel gained both their attention.

"Xion, what are ya doing here?" Axel asked again. "How'd you even find the place?"

"I said I wanted to find you."

"Okay, and?"

"Well…" She looked down at the floor with a troubled look. "Axel… Roxas is missing."

It took a moment for those three words to hit the taller Nobody with him doing a double take a moment later.

"Wha-what?" Axel stammered. "What do you mean he's missing? What are you talking about?"

"That's just it, he's missing." Xion reiterated with a concerned face. "He and I were finishing a mission in Twilight Town when Heartless attacked us when we least expected it. They then dragged him into a Dark Corridor and I couldn't save him."

The dejected look that befell No. XIV made Axel frown, subconsciously reaching up to place his hand on her head in a comforting manner.

"Hey, it's alright Xion." Axel said. "Just start from the beginning. What happened?"

Xion complied, recounting on what happened on that day, beat by beat. By the end of it…

"That explains the recall." Axel murmured, rubbing his chin. "So nearly the entire Organization is looking for Roxas?"

Xion nodded emphatically. "We've been looking for him for a few days now."

"Then what the hell am I still doing here?" Axel asked in frustration. "Zexion too. There's no point in us being here."

"Roxas…" Namine repeated. "Isn't he one of your friends?"

Axel and Xion blinked at Namine with her looking at them both.

"The friend with the Keyblade?"

"Yeah, that's him." Axel confirmed before releasing a sigh. "Oh man, this is gonna be a real pain to deal with."

"I've been trying to find him but I just don't know where to look." Xion said with a defeated look.

"Hey, don't sweat it, Xion. You've done your best just like the rest."

"What are you gonna do?"

No. VIII adopted a thinking pose and thought for a few moments. Getting out of it, he spoke.

"How about you two go to the top floor and get to know each other?" He said to them.

"And what of you?"

"Need to talk to Zexion downstairs."

Soon enough, a Dark Corridor appeared and swallowed Axel up before disbursing.

With the two female Nobodies left alone on the first floor, they looked at each other.

"So…"

"So…"

Xion then saw the Ice cream in Namine's hand, her expression brightening a moment later.

"You like Sea Salt?" Xion asked with a smile.

Namine blinked and looked down before mirroring Xion's face to hers. "Yes, it's really tasty."

Down below a few levels, Zexion was minding his own business and sitting in a lounge chair.

Taking a sip of tea, he was about to turn the page of the one book he was presently reading when a Dark Corridor appeared not far away from him.

"Yo, Zexion."

"Axel." The Cloaked Schemer greeted calmly. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"You know what's going on back at HQ?" Axel asked with No. VI looking to the fire wielding Nobody.

"Not in particular. Though it did appear to cause a big fuss."

Axel nodded. "Yeah, about that. Xion just came by and told me why. Roxas has gone missing. The entire Organization save for the two of us are looking for him."

Zexion paused in his turning of the next page in his book, looking over to Axel.

"Truly?"

Axel shrugged, a troubled glint in his eyes that Zexion missed.

"Yeah. Whole team is in an uproar apparently." Axel said. "Reason why it's just the two of us."

"Hmm… I see." Zexion turned back to his book. "You mentioned Xion. She is here in the Castle?"

Axel nodded. "Came to personally tell me the news."

"Fascinating."

The Flurry of Dancing Flames observed Zexion's reaction, finding the choice of wording a bit unusual.

Why was it "fascinating" that Xion came here?

Another Dark Corridor appeared nearby. When it disbursed, Lexaeus was revealed to them.

"Ah, good, you two are here. Saves me the trouble in reaching the top." Said The Taciturn Stalwart.

"Lexaeus." Zexion greeted.

"Hey." Axel said simply. "News from the head honcho?"

No. V nodded before relaying the news from their recent meeting.

"Are you serious?" Axel hissed. "Xemnas wants the two of us," pointing to both himself and Zexion, "to stay here and do nothing!"

"That is Lord Xemnas' orders."

"Why?" Axel asked in confusion. "What's the point to this Castle anyway?"

"That is none of your concern Axel." Lexaeus said stoically.

"The hell it is. With Marluxia gone, I'm considered the boss of this base and I need to know what's going on!"

"You will do no better than either of us, Axel." Zexion coolly replied. "I am stuck here with you."

"And what's changed for you?" Axel dryly asked. "Cause last I checked, you read your books back at HQ as well."

"All I can do now is still do my original purpose in being here."

"Oh yeah, and what's that?"

"Researching memories."

Receiving a flat look from No. VIII, the red-head tilted his head and held a hand up to his ear.

"Run that by me again?"

"You heard what I said."

"And why is that so important?"

"Do you find it strange that the floors reflect one's memories?"

Quirking a brow, Axel looked to No. V who remained silent as he usually is.

"Is this some kind of test?"

"This is the original purpose as to why some of us were sent here, to research the Memories of the Heart." Zexion elaborated. "Memories hold a key piece within those who have Hearts. I am surprised Marluxia failed to inform you of such matters."

"Yeah, well he was too busy trying to think of a reason to overthrow the Organization." Axel wryly reminded before remembering something recently spoken. "You said 'original'. Was there something else?"

"If I remember correctly, you were acting bored while being here."

"Get to the point, Zexion." Axel snipped.

"Very well." The Cloaked Schemer faced the redhead. "As per Xemnas' other orders, we're here searching for a Chamber."

"...A Chamber?"

"That is what I said."

"And what's so special about it?"

"It's not exactly the room itself, but what's apparently inside."

-Scene Cut-

Day 39

The Alliance ship of the Normandy SR1 was currently flying towards the Mass Relay that would take them back to the Citadel.

Therum had been a relative success so to speak with the crew recruiting a new member who is both a Prothean expert and competent Biotic herself.

Liara T'soni was adjusting herself to her new environment and her new purpose. One that Commander Shepard hoped wouldn't weigh down on her mind more than it already did.

It was easy for Jane to pick up on the conflict of emotions on Liara's mind and heart. The Asari has been trying to figure out just what was it that caused her mother to ally with a Rogue Spectre?

She would get around to her eventually.

Right now, she just needed a bit of space due to her being aboard a new ship with an entirely new crew.

Presently, her living quarters were from the back room in the med bay. An odd choice by some, but for Liara it suited just fine.

She had been resting up since Therum, rubbing the spots where she was injured during their mission down on the planet.

In particular, she was trailing over the locations where the Heartless had managed to strike her with the memory of the lingering pain that came with those strikes returning in full. It disturbed her because those injuries felt so unlike anything she had ever felt before.

And of course, to add to the bizarreness, it was Roxas who came in to alleviate the injuries by utilizing his magic to "cure" her of these wounds. They vanished in an instant and he told her after a good rest they would be gone entirely.

He repeated the action for Tali, Garrus and Wrex with her crew back up to fighting speed after Therum.

Which was good cause no less than a day went by when Shepard was contacted by Admiral Steven Hackett of the Fifth Fleet.

There were a number of issues he informed the Commander that needed to be resolved when possible. And of course, she complied and put them on first priority as their search for Saren was presently going nowhere.

So, off they went to the Plutus system first in order to deal with a supposed treaty at an Element Zero mining facility.

Liara, Kaidan and Roxas joined Shepard on the proceedings in case things didn't go so well, due to Darius' records showing he had a "short fuse" personality as it were.

Negotiations were going well for the most part which was astonishing considering how gigantic of an asshole the man they were bartering with turned out to be.

But it quickly went south when the Heartless appeared. Panicked, Darius quickly thought the Normandy crew was backstabbing him and his group, causing him to order his underlings to attack the ground team while dealing with the newly arrived threat.

This was Liara and Kaidan first time properly encountering the Heartless with the two following Roxas' instructions on how to properly deal with them.

Luckily, with three Biotics in tow and an expert in fighting Heartless, it thankfully was not as hectic as it was on Therum.

After the Heartless were dealt with, Darius was rather frightened into signing the treaty since he saw the creatures just pop up out of nowhere and the effective means Roxas displayed in taking them out.

So… at least that worked out in the end.

There was another mission that took place shortly after, as per Hackett's request.

An old Alliance espionage probe had turned up in the Voyager Cluster, which contained a nuclear payload leftover from the First Contact War. The Alliance feared that if the Citadel Council discovered this, it would embarrass them considerably, among other factors. So they needed to find, disable and recover the probe.

There were no Heartless that opposed them this time but a lot of annoyingly well armored pirates.

Their leader had an apparent grudge against Shepard, a personal vendetta that he wished to accomplish.

From what Liara learned afterwards, their target was moved into the mine as a means of trapping Shepard and her team before killing them by setting off the payload. The culprit behind this was the mastermind behind the Skyllian Blitz, Elanos Haliat.

Thankfully, they were able to disable the bomb with some time to spare before going after the man behind this whole thing.

It's a good thing Wrex, Ash and Garrus were with her for this one. The four of them fought off the Pirates in tandem with one another, taking out Elanos in the end.

Frankly, after that last one, Shepard figured her crew was up for some R&R which is why they were currently returning to the Citadel.

Unfortunately, that had to be put on hold for now as Shepard was presently out with Kaidan and Ashley on a mission as they were in the Fariana System. But the commander promised that once that was taken care of, they'll head straight back to the Citadel.

Liara was brought out of her musings when the door to her quarters opened up. Looking over, she saw Roxas stepping through the door.

"Roxas?"

"Hey Liara." He greeted her.

She turned away from her console in order to put her attention towards her. "Are you here to check up on me?"

"Yeah." He said truthfully. "You looked shaken up from Therum."

"Dr. Chakwas assured me I am going to be fine. Just have to recuperate a bit more, especially after going out on missions."

"Like with the one with that Darius situation."

Liara nodded. "You know, I haven't properly thanked you from both instances. If you hadn't-"

"You don't have to thank me, Liara. It was mostly Shepard who did most of the work."

"Yet you helped out more with the Heartless." Liara countered. "I believe that makes you just as responsible for my safety as was Shepard and the rest of the crew.

Roxas nodded, not sure knowing how to go on from there. Ever since coming here, for the most part, whenever anybody wanted to speak to him, mostly Shepard, they would come looking for him directly. The only other person that Roxas sought out personally was usually Tali as he was the most familiar with her.

Ever since coming to this bizarre World… or Worlds rather, Roxas had been learning a great deal on so much information that he was having a bit of a hard time keeping up with it all. Most of the time, his thoughts were preoccupied with him being here, outside the Organization and their rules and regulations.

He had gotten here by something completely out of his control.

Upon arriving here, there was a reflex for him to return to the World That Never Was.

Yet, all that changed when he took a moment to gauge as to where he was. A place unlike anything he could ever imagine.

His need and want to know and learn more about this place completely overrode his drilled in instructions of always returning home. Something within stirred him on to stay.

Stay and learn.

And after his most recent talk with Shepard, the Commander encouraged him to keep going after this innate desire. When asking how, she simply responded with…

"Just do what I do."

"Walk around and ask?"

"Sure. Seems to work with me all the time."

Thus leading to him meeting up with Liara here.

"So how are you being on the Normandy?"

Liara gave a bemused expression, finding this question slightly familiar. Shepard had asked her the same thing not too long ago. It seemed Roxas shared the sentiment of making sure people were comfortable here. How kind of him.

"It's been alright, though I have seen the way the crew has looked at me."

"Really? How come?"

"They don't seem to trust me."

Rather than asking why, Roxas appeared contemplative.

"Huh… I wonder if that's the case with me."

Liara looked at the young man before her with a curious expression.

It was strange. For some time, she thought only she was receiving those looks. But in fact, Roxas has been getting them as well.

"Perhaps it's because of your age." Liara said to him. "You are a bit too young for a standard person taking these kinds of risks."

Roxas' lip twitched upwards. "Didn't you just say being a 106 is young for your people?"

Liara gaped before chuckling lightly.

"Perhaps. But that is different."

"True."

"But in all honesty, they can be right. A human of your age should be going to school and dealing with normal everyday problems. Not… this."

"If only I were normal. Never been exactly normal, to everyone else's point of view, for as long as I can remember." He muttered aloud, earning a sympathized look from Liara. Feeling a little uncomfortable on the topic, he changed to something else. "So about your mother…"

"Don't worry, Roxas, I am not like Benezia. I swear I will do whatever I can to help stop Saren."

The Nobody shook his head. "It's not about that, I just… Well, your… mother seems like she's really important. Are you ok about all this? Shepard told me it's hard what you're doing and doesn't blame anything on you."

Though if Roxas were being honest with himself he didn't fully understand this whole parent deal. He was a Nobody born out of the nothingness that comes from the darkness. He had no parents, no siblings, nothing.

He had been taking his time in researching these concepts and they honestly left him with more questions than answers most of the time. He wished that he could know more. That he was able to understand more.

A soft smile graced her lips as she heard the same kind of promise coming from the commander. But hearing it from more than just Shepard was reassuring.

"It means a lot hearing that, Roxas. Thank you."

"So been meaning to ask, if you don't mind, but can you tell me about yourself?"

"Me? I'm afraid I'm not very interesting, Roxas. I spend most of my time on remote digs, unearthing mundane items buried in long-forgotten Prothean ruins."

"Yet it proved beneficial in the long run, right?" A smile was earned from this. "But have you been doing it with others or…"

"Mostly been by me." She said.

"That must be lonely, not being with others."

"I admit it has its pros and cons. Solitude has its merits as I sometimes need to get away from everyone else. But then I would occasionally run across some indigenous life-forms, or stumble across a small band of mercenaries or privateers."

"Sounds dangerous. I hope you were being careful, Liara."

"I have had to take a lot of precautions when doing so. Until the Geth showed up on Therum, I never found myself in any situation my biotics couldn't handle."

He nodded before asking an inquiry. "So I'm just asking this, but don't you like being around others? I think it's better to be with other people." Roxas began scratching the back of his head. "Well, some who you can be fine with."

"I know, Roxas, but I suppose it comes from being a Matriarch's daughter." She explained the reason. "People expected me to follow in Benezia's footsteps. They wanted me to become a leader of my people."

"Seeing as you're an… archaeologist, that's not really the case." He noted. "Is there any particular reason why?"

"Matriarchs guide their followers into the future; they seek the truth of what is yet to come. Maybe that's why I became so interested in the secrets of the past." Admitted the Asari. "It sounds so foolish when I say it out loud, me becoming an archaeologist simply to spite her."

"Could be or you just want to go on your own path and become someone else rather than her."

Liara chuckled. "You almost said the same thing as Shepard, even Benezia when I told her of my decision." She exhaled a sigh. "But there was more to it than that. I felt drawn to the past. The Protheans were these wondrous, mysterious figures. I wanted to know everything I can about them."

'Might explain why she seemed to enjoy talking to Shepard a lot.' He thought to himself. 'She did get hit with that Prothean Beacon.'

"And what of you, Roxas?"

"Huh?"

"How have you been faring?" She asked. "You don't seem all that bothered being thrust into something like this."

Roxas rubbed the back of his head. It is true, he never really batted an eye at the thought of joining up to chase down the rogue Spectre Saren. When he really thought about it, he wasn't here for Saren.

He was here for himself.

To learn.

"I guess I haven't really thought about it." Roxas said simply.

Liara was unsure of what to make of that answer.

He just jumped on board this ship without a second thought. What in the Goddess for?

Before she could ask another question, she found herself bewildered when Roxas pulled out a bar of sea-salt ice cream from seemingly nowhere.

"Where did you-?"

"Hmmm?" Roxas looked at her waiting for her to ask whatever it is she wanted to know while taking a bite of his ice cream.

Just another quirk to add to the enigma that is Roxas. Him and his strange obsession with this ice cream.

That she couldn't deny, she was rather craving right now.

It had only been two times by this point but she had gotten hooked on the flavor rather quickly. A sentiment shared by Tali'Zorah.

"Do you perhaps…"

"Oh, right."

Reaching behind his back, he seemingly pulled out another ice-cream from out of nowhere and gave it to the Asari before him.

"Thanks."

The two enjoyed their treats in relative, companionable silence.

"Roxas."

"Yeah?"

"Where do you get these?" Liara asked, holding up her ice cream.

"Some from the Zakara Wards on the Citadel, some from Twilight Town."

"Yes, I recall you mentioning something about that place once." Liara said. "But where is it? I have looked it up on human colonies and thus far have found no settlement matching that name."

The Nobody wasn't quite sure how to answer that.

"It's… It requires a special means of finding." Roxas vaguely said. "Something that I'm not sure you guys are ready to go through."

What was that supposed to mean?

Liara wasn't well versed with human interaction… or most interactions really, for the most part due to her nature in studying the ancient history of the galaxy in comparison to socializing with others. But right now, she figured that there wasn't much in regard to answers that Roxas may have.

After all, he had amnesia from what Shepard and the others have told her.

So that means she had to change the subject.

"Roxas, I've been meaning to ask." She gazed at her Sea-salt bar for a brief moment. "But who introduced you to these? Did you find them on your own?"

"Oh, that was actually Axel." Roxas said with a small smile. "When he found me, he introduced me to these."

"And is Axel a friend of yours?" Liara asked.

Roxas paused for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, he is."

That tone was a mix of fondness and somberness. Did something happen between this Axel and Roxas? Or did it have to do with something else?

Soon after No. XIII left from the back of the lab and storage room,

Walking out into the main quarters of the ship, Roxas spotted Kaidan at the control panel in front of the sleeper pods.

"Hey Kaidan."

"Hmmm? Oh, hey Roxas." Alenko greeted him with a small smile. "How's it going?"

"Fine." Roxas shrugged. "How'd the mission go, Kaidan?"

The lieutenant turned around and leaned against the control panel with a satisfied expression. "Better than I would've expected."

During these past few days, Kaidan thought it was still strange to see a civilian being on this ship. After seeing all of the dead ones back on Eden Prime, he was worried Roxas would meet the same fate. Yet he proved that wasn't the case a couple of times now with taking care of the Geth and Heartless on his own.

To Kaidan, the kid was quite the enigma.

Suddenly Kaidan groaned a little, holding his head slightly.

"Hey, you alright?" Roxas asked.

"It's fine Roxas." He reassured him as the pain slipped away quickly. "I usually have these quick headache flares every so often."

"What do you mean? Is it bad?"

"Not entirely. But there are some instances that if left unchecked, it can be."

"Why does it happen?"

"It's the L2 implant I have in my head." Kaidan then went down on the details. "Most Biotics these days have implants to help out on their control or even enhance it. And for a lot of people these days, they have the L3."

"Any reason why? And what's so different with an L3?"

"Improvements for simplicity sakes, learning from the problems the L2 had and working through them."

"And what problems would those be?"

"Mental disabilities, insanity, crippling physical pain; list goes on. I'm just one of the lucky ones by only suffering from headaches."

Roxas winced. "I'm sorry to hear that, Kaidan. I didn't know."

Kaidan smiled at the kids' earnesty. He could see why Shepard had found him so endearing in such a short amount of time.

"Don't worry about it." The marine waved him off.

"How'd you get these implants?" Roxas asked curiously.

"Got this thing in my head when I first signed on in Brain Camp."

"Brain Camp?" Roxas had a hand go up to his head.

"Er, sorry." Kaidan soon corrected himself. "Biotic Acclimation and Temperance Training, BAaT for short."

Roxas scrunched his face a little. "That seems to be a mouthful."

Kaidan laughed. "It was, reason why a number of us usually called it Brain Camp instead when we were hauled in."

"Hauled in?"

"Sorry, 'hauled in' is unkind." Kaidan apologized before speaking in a way that he was quoting something. "We were encouraged to commit to an evaluation of our abilities, so an understanding of biotics could be compiled."

"That… doesn't make much sense."

"You and every other kid your age practically had the same idea. At the first sign of using biotics at a young age, you would be sent off in order to help control and work with your abilities so you wouldn't be a problem with everyone else."

"And how'd that happen?"

"I was accidentally exposed to Element Zero while I was still in the womb. My folks didn't know at the time, but years later the signs showed. Soon enough, I was shipped off to Jump Zero and got the implant to help control my abilities."

"What about this 'Jump Zero'? Is it this Brain Camp you mentioned?"

Kaidan nodded. "It's just a nickname for Gagarin Station, which sat at the edge of human controlled space. It's the biggest and farthest facility we had for decades. Originally it was where they did all the 'goose chase' FTL research, right before we caught on to using mass effect fields."

"And how was that like? Were you with anyone else?"

"Had a little circle of friends that got together every night before lights-out. Did what we could to entertain ourselves since it was just a research platform then."

"What did you do to entertain yourselves?"

"Usually sit around and bull every night after dinner. Play cards or network games."

"That sounds like fun."

"It was. Our little reward for the end of a stressful day."

"The icing on the cake." Roxas quoted.

Kaidan chuckled. "You can say that. I bet you have something similar."

Roxas nodded. "Axel, Xion and I usually ate Sea-Salt Ice Cream at the end of each day and watch the sunset together."

The Marine hummed, remembering the little detail he heard in passing these past few days as to who this Axel and Xion people were. The only friends Roxas had prior to ending up on the Citadel. And where was it that he watched this "sunset"? Was it back on Earth? Or another location?

Another question for another day.

"Sounds like a pleasant sight. Was there anything else you three did to finish the day?"

"Um… we went on missions together."

"Missions?" Kaidan said in confusion. "Missions for what?"

"To take out the Heartless."

Now that was a bit of an eye opener. So Roxas has been tasked before to take out the Heartless. Then… was he here to do just that? Frankly, all these questions were starting to make his head hurt again.

Kaidan hummed with a brief nod. "To each their own, I suppose."

Roxas returned the gesture before asking something. "Don't mind me asking, but what was the mission you recently went out on anyway?"

The lieutenant saw no harm and informed the Nobody. "Hostage situation dealing with biotic extremists holding Chairman Burns of the System's Alliance Parliamentary Subcommittee captive."

"...Okay… Any reason why?"

"They were protesting his vote against reparations towards L2's."

Roxas blinked quickly responding. "Was it about those problems you mentioned earlier?"

Kaidan exhaled a sigh. "Right on the dot. The extremists were angry at how bad the L2's were suffering and they were getting desperate when hearing there was a repeal on helping them out. So they hijacked the MSV Ontario and were holding Burns at gunpoint."

"And did…"

"Burns made it out alive with everything ending peacefully."

"How?"

"Shepard was able to talk the leader down and reasoned with him that they'll still need Burns' alive for his political connections. And the Commander is planning to see the chairman sees it through on his vote. But if he had died, then the repeal will happen and everything will be done for naught."

"And what about you? You're an L2. Did you help out in the negotiation?"

"I did. Was able to help push the leader down the right path in letting the chairman go." Kaidan ran his fingers through his hair and scratched it. "Though I don't know what might happen, even with the reparation discussions opening back up again in the L2's favor."

"What do you mean by that, Kaidan?"

"Now some people might think L2's are terrorists and will be weary of us because of the extremists' stunt."

Roxas winced a little. "I'm sorry that had to happen."

"It's fine. Just have to prove myself harder, I suppose. Something I couldn't handle before." Kaidan humbly admitted.

Their conversation came to an abrupt end when hearing a small bang on the cafeteria table. Looking over, the two saw the source coming from Tali of all people. And no one was around her at all.

"Wonder what that's all about?" Roxas muttered.

"Huh, looks like something's bugging her." Kaidan noted. "Maybe you should check it out. You know her better than most of us here."

Kaidan patted Roxas on the shoulder before walking away with Roxas turning to the Quarian who had her head hung low.

"Keelah." Tali grumbled under her breath, once again failing on her current task.

She was currently in the cafeteria, tray of Dextro food next to her having been all but forgotten by this point.

In front of her on the table was a blue rectangular block that was blue in color with dark stars patterning it.

Ever since taking it from Therum after the fight with the Heartless, Tali has been studying this strange block in her off time aboard the Normandy whenever she was able to.

And she had no clue as to what it was that she had been studying.

What was this supposed to be?

"Tali?"

The Quarian looked up at the familiar pair of blue eyes that belonged to her friend.

"Oh, hey Roxas." Tali greeted.

"What's wrong?" Roxas asked, making Tali blink.

"What?"

"I saw you bang your hand against the table." He pointed out.

"Oh…" Tali shifted about, slightly embarrassed. "Sorry about that. Just, something that's been bothering me."

"What is it?" Roxas asked, seating himself in front of her.

Tali wasn't really sure how to speak of what was troubling her to Roxas. Well, troubling wasn't it. It was more like it was frustrating.

But then, Tali remembered something important. The person seated before her was the one member in the crew that had an expertise in fighting the Heartless.

So maybe it was safe to assume he could have an idea on what has been giving her so many headaches.

"Well there's something that I've been trying to figure out the past few days." Tali explained, Roxas leaning forward. "Asides from doing my normal tasks in Engineering, I've been looking into… this."

The Quarian held up the blue block in her hand with Roxas studying it.

Eyes squinting momentarily, there was a weird familiarity to this object.

"What is it?" He asked.

"That's just it." Tali said in annoyance, dropping the block on the table. "I have no idea."

Roxas picked it up, holding it up to get a closer look at the block. "Where'd you get it?"

"I've been analyzing this thing ever since Therum. As for how I got it, you told us Heartless dropped… things for us, right?"

"That's the gist of it, yes. Why, what's that have to do with-"

"Because I found this odd block when that armored Heartless was defeated. Call me curious but I wanted to check what it was and so far I've been having migraines. Been having some progress in learning what this is, but I'm still missing something… Some information that will let me fully understand what it is."

"What have you managed to learn?"

Tali glanced at him before looking back. "It's made of some unknown element. And I briefly thought it was just that… until I found something deeper." Picking up the block, her eyes bore into it. "I thought it was just my exhaustion messing with my mind, but I definitely found something."

"Which is?"

"Schematics." Tali revealed.

"What?"

Tali pulled up her Omni-tool and pulled up a file. "Take a look."

Roxas gazed at the display before him, noting how, true to her words, there were blueprints to ships of some kind. Ships that Roxas swore he had seen before… somehow.

Tali couldn't really gauge his face though there was a hint of recognition. Though he remained silent for the most part.

Sighing, Tali put the schematics away with a shake of her head.

"This is just silly, right? I mean, this little thing is like some sort of hard drive or something all wrapped up into something so… squishy."

"Squishy?"

Tali emphasized the point by having the block placed in between her fingers and started pressing down with it with ease. No sign of break or resistance at all. When letting go, it went back to its original shape.

"It's surprisingly rubber like and elastic. Something I briefly compared it to was an assortment of candy. More specifically what you humans eat with those… what were they called again? Gummi-bears?"

Roxas had a faraway look appear.

"Gummi…"

He then jolted, startling his friend before him.

From his point of view, the world around him shifted into one of endless expanse.

With him were the other two individuals from before when he had that static-like vision on Therum.

They were both beside him like before, fighting the Heartless and now travelling with him through the stars.

His perspective then shifted again, with the orange ship he had seen before, multiple arms moving about other blocks and pieces of other ship parts to rearrange and strengthen the Highwind.

Highwind?

Where'd that name come from?

"Roxas?"

And like that, he snapped back to where he was a second ago.

The blond looked up to see the glowing eyes of Tali gazing upon him with concern.

"Huh?"

"Are you alright there, Roxas?" Tali asked, propping her arms up and leaned forward.

"I… I don't know." He admitted, hand over his eyes. "I just…"

His eyes trailed down to the black-starred blue block between them with Roxas wordlessly lifted up the unusual item.

"Gummi blocks." Roxas stated, squeezing the block lightly. "These are what help build the ships that help traverse from World to World."

Tali tilted her head, looking at the block and the teen in confusion. "I don't follow Roxas. We're standing within a ship right now, which takes us to planet to planet."

Roxas smiled slightly. "Not in the way that you know."

What in the galaxy was that supposed to mean?

She knew her friend was a weird one when she had first gotten to know him. And as time went on, that strangeness had only grown with a growing litany of questions.

The Heartless, the Keyblade, his strange abilities, his amnesia and now this?

Before she had a chance to ask about this "Gummi Block", Roxas went on.

"The ship's schematics you got are designed to help safely traverse through the Lanes In-Between. When there's enough gathered, they can be applied to a normal ship and help them safely travel through the Lanes. Or make a whole new ship entirely called Gummi Ships." Roxas spoke as if he were reading from a text.

"But what are these Gummi-blocks made of?"

"Remnants of the protective barriers of Worlds." Roxas said almost robotically. "With the Heartless present, the barriers are breaking down, letting more and more come through."

"Keelah Roxas, you're not really helping here." Tali said, half-amused and half-exasperated. "None of what you just said makes any sense."

"Sorry." Roxas said, smiling apologetically.

Tali, without realizing it, reached forward and grasped Roxas' wrist in a silent message of "apology accepted".

She thanked her enviro suit right about now cause the blush she had under her helmet would have had many aboard the Normandy mercilessly tease her.

Clearing her throat once she retracted her hand, she returned her attention to the Gummi-Block.

"So these… "Gummi-blocks" are used to build ships?" Tali asked with Roxas nodding. "How can we find more? There's only one Gummi-block."

"At this point, only through certain Heartless." Roxas surmised. "That Guard Armor was lucky."

"Right, lucky." Tali said in a rhetoric manner. "I still don't get the whole dropping credi- I mean Munny. Why can't we just call them Credits? They convert to Credits immediately when we pick them up."

"That's just how it always has been." Roxas said plainly with a shrug. "Munny from Heartless change and adapts to the currency of the… civilization."

Another unusual answer.

For now, she knew that that was all she was gonna get. She'd have to be patient with her young friend as his memory was gone to the point that simple gestures seemed alien to him. However, she had begun noticing these faraway and intense looks that he had on occasion like he had just now with the Gummi.

And after every one of these long gazes, there were these moments where he spoke as though he were recounting a memory or something he knew of. Something perhaps from his lost memories.

"So what can these Gummi's do then?" Tali asked, holding up the one she had been studying for days.

"Normal basic ones are good for structure, but not for navigation and weaponry. Those are the special ones that need to be acquired." Roxas answered.

"Is there a way to get Gummi's without fighting Heartless?"

Roxas frowned in thought.

He briefly thought of the unusual station he saw in his vision and two smaller furry creatures that assisted him.

"I… I'm not really sure." Roxas admitted. "I've never really seen them that much."

He wasn't sure if that was the truth or a lie. It felt kinda like both.

"What happens if we get more?"

"I guess… we'll just have to figure something out eventually." Roxas answered. "I think we'll get something eventually."

"I would have believed that to be a stretch a week ago." Tali said jokingly. "But you're probably right. We'll just have to wait and see what else we'll get as time goes on."

-Scene Cut-

After flying back to the Citadel for a little over half a day, a number of people departed from the Normandy in order to enjoy their bit of shore leave. While a number of people of the standard crew departed already, the rest had to stay in order to get everything ready for their next departure.

Presently, most of the ground team were ready to head out immediately while Wrex and Liara were heading out later. Their reasons were their own and no one wanted to bother.

"So where to first?" Kaidan inquired.

"Me, I wanna hit Flux. Need to unwind with what we went through so far." Shepard informed them. "Before that, I probably need to find out what can be taken care of while we're here. Even try to see if there are any leads on Saren and Benezia before we leave."

"I need to go shopping for a few things." Said their Turian teammate.

"Like what?" Roxas inquired.

"Armor and weapons. Need to see if anything is good lately or hold off for later."

"Speaking of, I think Roxas needs to go shopping as well." Ashley said suddenly, causing the Nobody to halt in his step.

"I do?"

"I agree with Ashley on this one. Can't have you wear that all the time." Said the commander, gesturing to his Organization attire.

Roxas looked down before looking back at the redhead. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"Nothing, if I'm being honest. It surprisingly works well in the field. But you need something for your down time."

"You don't see us wearing our armor all the time, Roxas." Said the lieutenant.

"Yes, but what about Garrus and Wrex?"

"They're different."

"But-"

"No buts." Shepard turned and then pointed a finger at the blonde teen before her. "As a member of my crew, I need you to fill the requirements to stay aboard the Normandy. And as of right now, you are required to wear something other than that outfit of yours." She then turned to Ashley and Tali. "If you two would be so kind…"

Chief Williams had to hold back a laugh, but she didn't stop her growing smile. "Say no more, Commander."

"Wait, why do I need to help?" Asked the Quarian.

"Because the kid would feel more comfortable shopping with you than just Ashley." Garrus said as if it was the most obvious thing in the galaxy. "No offense, Williams."

"None taken, Vakarian."

As they eventually stepped onto the gangway, Roxas saw a man dressed in a blue uniform approaching the group. He was quick to notice it was similar to Captain Anderson's Alliance uniform, but upon a second glance there were a few more additions to it.

"Hey, guys." He called out, pointing to the man coming towards them.

Shepard looked towards the source of Roxas' attention and noticed what rank the man was. Giving a quick salute, along with Kaidan and Ashely out of formality, she spoke. "What can I do for you, Admiral?"

"Commander Shepard." The Admiral said sternly. "Your reputation precedes you. I'm Rear Admiral Mikhailovich of the 5th Fleet and I command the 63rd Scout Flotilla."

The Commander, Lieutenant and Gunnery Chief ended the salute before being at ease. "We weren't told to expect you, sir." Said Jane. "I would have prepared a formal greeting."

"Spare me the pleasantries." Said Mikhailovich. "You and the Normandy were slated for my unit after shakedown. Then the Council got their paws… claws… tentacles whatever. They got them on our ship. And you."

Hearing this made Roxas frown along with Shepard and the others.

Still wanting to be formal, the commander spoke. "I still serve the Alliance, sir. As a Spectre, I can advance our interests to the Council."

Mikhailovich huffed in response. "You still know what color your blood is, Shepard?" This earned some deeper frowns. "I don't begrudge the politicians' decision to throw you to the Council. It's an… opportunity. I do begrudge this overdesigned piece of tin, though."

"The Normandy is a fine ship, sir. She's served us well so far."

"It's a gimmick, Commander. Useless in a stand-up fight."

Roxas raised a brow at this as he wondered what Joker's input on this would be like.

The rear admiral slammed a fist onto his open palm. "This experiment diverted billions from our appropriations bills. For the same price, we could've had a heavy cruiser. But no, we had to make nice to the Turians. Throw money at a co-developed boondoggle."

Now Roxas looked over and saw Garrus took some offence to that.

"Is there a reason why you're here, Mikhailovich?" Jane formally asked.

The admiral nodded. "I'm here to make an inspection, Commander. Normandy is an Alliance warship. I intend to see she's up to snuff."

Shepard nodded out and formally spoke. "We'd be honored to show her to you, Admiral."

Mikhailovich nodded. "I bet." He soon walked into the ship. "Wait here. I won't be long."

When the rear admiral disappeared into the Normandy, Roxas turned to Shepard. "I don't like him." He said quickly.

"Same here." Garrus growled out.

Shepard exhaled a sigh while Kaidan snorted. "Gotta agree with you there, Roxas." He said, slapping the teens back. "Be glad he didn't hear you say that."

"But is he allowed to do surprise inspections?" Roxas inquired.

"He can, unfortunately." Said the Gunnery Chief.

"There have been a number of times I wish it didn't happen." Shepard muttered out.

After a few brief minutes, Mikhailovich returned with a displeased look on his face. "I'm not happy."

Shepard stood up straight as she formally spoke to him. "Sorry to hear that, sir. What seems to be the problem?"

The Rear Admiral gave off the first problem in his inspection. "Who designed that CIC? Putting the commander aft of everyone else is inefficient. What if he needs to discuss with the operators toward the bow?"

Shepard was quick to answer. "There are no amateurs on this crew, Admiral. They know to keep idle chatter minimized during combat. And I can bellow with the best DIs."

"A fair point. I suppose the design has no chance of becoming standard. No need to worry about a generation of recruits learning bass-ackwards."

Roxas leaned over and whispered to Kaidan. "Is bass-ackwards even a thing?"

The lieutenant merely shrugged as he didn't have a proper response.

"Was there anything else?"

"Yes, that drive core of yours. 120 billion credits of element zero to make it able to move without giving itself away. You realize we could make drive cores for 12,000 fighters with that money? What good is it to hide for a few hours, anyway? Useless, I say!"

"We can loiter an enemy system and monitor traffic or drop infiltration teams on enemy worlds. The Normandy can be more effective than the Salarian STG."

"Maybe, but that's not the job of a proper warship. We're supposed to find and kill the enemy fleet, not count how many times their garrison goes to the bathroom."

Roxas scrunched up his face and turned to his side and he swore Tali probably had the same expression underneath the glass panel of her helmet. And he didn't need to look back to see the controlled looks Kaidan and Ashely wore. Garrus, though, chuckled under his breath.

"And we need to talk about your crew, Commander. It's intolerable."

"Excuse me?" Shepard asked with her hands on her hips while the rest of the ground team present paid a bit more attention now.

"The aliens. Why are they here?" Mikhailovich demanded. "I just saw an Asari hanging around the medical bay. There's a Krogan coming out of the ship right now. And I see a Quarian standing behind you with a Turian and a civilian teenager, no less. What are you up to Shepard?"

"Diplomacy?" Shepard responded sheepishly.

She was prepared on what to say for the ship schematics and her own spin of it, but the crew portion quickly threw her off her game.

"But this is a human ship and what are they doing here? You can't allow them free access to Alliance equipment!" Said Mikhailovich. "I must say that I'm not impressed. This is definitely going in my report and hopefully I'll take rightful possession of the Normandy."

Hearing this man talk in such a degrading manner towards Tali and the rest of the crew was starting to rile up the blue-eyed blond.

Roxas wanted to yell out that it was unfair on what the Rear Admiral was about to do. But before he even had the chance, Shepard spoke up in a stern voice.

"Are you suggesting a mutiny, Admiral?"

Mikhailovich was taken back in surprise. "Excuse me?"

"It sounds to me you want all of the humans aboard this Alliance vessel to take back control of this ship from the 'dirty aliens'."

Some of the ground team present heard the last bit and could tell there was no harshness when Shepard said 'dirty aliens'. It was just to prove a point, returning fire as to what the rear admiral was saying.

Mikhailovich stuttered, trying to form a counter argument. "What? I don't-"

Yet Shepard was quick to act. "I mean you have the means and the motivation, don't you? You use your rank to make an inspection so then you order all the Alliance personnel to throw my team off this ship and then take the Normandy for yourself before having it placed under your command in the 5th Fleet."

"But I would never-"

Shepard leaned forward and she could practically see the sweat forming on the man's brow. "Your motivation is that you do not like aliens at all and you do not like the Council, so you attempted to orchestrate a mutiny, huh?"

The rear admiral of the 5th Fleet decided to fight back with anger in his voice. "Now listen here, Shepard! I-"

"Yet you forget, not only am I still a part of the Alliance, I'm also a Council Spectre with me now catching onto this plot of yours." She stepped in closer, causing the man to step back. "I can even call it in before you even have the chance to do so."

"You have no proof!" Mikhailovich protested.

"Do eyewitnesses count?" Roxas asked as the other present ground team members nodded.

"Asides from Shepard, there's six present here." Tali said aloud.

"It's practically a crime to interfere with a Spectre's investigation." Said Detective Vakarian

Lieutenant Alenko spoke next. "Especially with what mission they are on right now."

Ashely added her piece into the conversation. "Don't know about you, but isn't stealing a Spectre's ship while that's happening a capital offence?"

Wrex soon contributed into the conversation, his grin feral. "And since Spectres are often above the law, Shepard here could take your life here and now without consequence if she suspects you of endangering a whole lot of people."

"And if you took the Normandy away, you can be considered an accessory to whatever Saren's planning." Said the Commander, nailing the final bolt into this conversation.

The Rear Admiral was in a small state of shock. Realizing he couldn't win this argument, he conceded in defeat. "Alright, Shepard, you win. But this will not be forgotten. I will have to make a report of all this."

"Then I hope that asides from your crass intentions, the inspection flew with flying colors."

Mikhailovich was about to object to Shepard's words, but quickly changed his mind when he saw Wrex stepping closer as his hand was inching towards his gun.

The rear admiral soon complied in a nervous manner. "Yes, you passed."

"Thank you. Glad to see the ship for the first human Spectre is up to snuff." She then made a shooing motion with her hand. "Now would you kindly please clear the gangway?"

As Mikhailovich vacated the area, Liara soon came out of the Normandy with a questioning look on her face. "Was there something I missed? You all seem pleased for some reason."

"We can tell you the details on the elevator ride down." Shepard said as the rest of the ground team walked through the gangway.

"It does take a while, sadly." Ashley lamented.

"You know, for all this time with technological advancements, why do the elevators have to be so slow?" Roxas asked aloud.

"Good question, Roxas." Garrus said approvingly, rounding on the others for answers. "Any takers?"

"Safety measures?" Kaidan said unsurely.

Wrex snorted. "Yeah, right."

-Scene Cut-

Upon entering the Citadel proper, Shepard made a silent gesture towards Roxas which turned into him being taken by Tali and Ashley to be dragged away from the others. Utterly bewildered, Roxas barely struggled with him only looking to Shepard as to why this was happening with her only waving goodbye at him.

Garrus and Kaidan were chuckling with Liara and Wrex clearly amused by his predicament.

Ash and Tali soon dragged Roxas towards their destination.

A clothing store.

"Why are we here?" Roxas asked, looking around at the many clothes hung on the racks.

"Isn't it obvious?" Ashley said, lightly pushing him by his shoulder deeper into the store. "We gotta get you some new duds. You can't always just walk around in that black cloak all day."

Roxas took a look at his own clothing. "What's wrong with what I have?"

Tali crossed her arms. "That's just it Roxas, that's all you have. You can't just walk around with just that all the time."

"But what about everyone else?" Roxas pointed out. "Don't Wrex and Garrus wear the same armor the entire time?"

"They're different and have their own reasons in case you forgot." Tali said before holding her hand up. "And in case you forgot, I can't exactly change out of this suit of mine often for obvious reasons."

Ashley gave the Quarian a sympathetic look, learning about how difficult it is for a Quarian to change out of their vacuumed tight suits beforehand. "Sorry on that, Tali. Wonder if there's a store out there that can sell Quarian clothing."

"Highly doubt it." Tali remarked.

"But why do I need clothing?"

"Oh for God's sake." Ash groaned. "Just go pick some things you like and come back here. You're getting some new clothes and you'll like it."

Not wanting to incur her wrath, Roxas went off and did as she ordered.

Tali laughed a bit at Roxas's plight watching him wander around aimlessly as he looked at the multiple choices in clothing that there was to choose from. The Quarian snorted a moment later upon hearing the frustrated but also amused groan from the marine chief beside her.

"I don't if I should feel annoyed or sorry for his cluelessness." Ash stated in a dry tone.

"He does have amnesia." Tali reminded her.

"What sort of amnesia makes some forget about, literally, everything?" Williams questioned. "He barely has any sort of common sense and everything he looks at reads about, it looks like it's the first time he's ever seen anything like that."

"Um…"

"I mean, come on. He had to get used to handshakes." Ashley stressed out. "Handshakes. My baby sister learned how to do that in nine mo- Roxas! You go to the dressing room to change, not out here!"

The young teen followed her instructions, locating the dressing rooms and quickly shuffling in.

"You seem to be taking all of Roxas' hiccups in stride." Tali noted

The Marine Chief held a withered look. "Take it from me having experience with a couple of sisters. I know what I'm doing."

"What about brothers?"

Ashley muttered out a response. "Sometimes I wish I had at least one."

The Gunnery Chief soon heard a distinctive ping coming from her Omni-tool. Pulling it up, she saw there was a notification that recently came up in her email. Reading through it, she smiled before typing away and sending the response.

"You seem rather cheerful." Tali pointed out.

"You can say that."

"If you don't mind me asking, but what was it about?"

"Just got an invite for a funeral viewing."

Tali became rather confused, wondering why Ashley was happy for such a thing.

"I don't understand."

"It's for one of my 212 squadmates from Eden Prime. Their family sent it out to me in hopes I can attend."

Tali felt a bit awkward in asking this. "Do you think you'll be able to take some time out to make it?"

Ashley kept her gaze upon the floor, chewing the inside of her cheek.

"Don't know that I can, but I wanted to at least know she's finally being put to rest back home. It took too long for Nirali to return to her family."

"Did something happen?"

"Yeah." Ashley exhaled a sigh as she leaned against the nearby wall. "Like a number of people on Eden Prime, Serviceman Nirali Bhatia was killed in the line of duty against the Geth. Instead of her body sent back with her family, the military kept it for study."

Tali was astonished. "What? What for?"

"Research." Spat the Gunnery Chief. "They wanted to study the wounds Nirali received from the Geth in hopes of combating them better in the future." Ashley rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I'll save you the pleasantries and cut right to the end. Once Shepard heard of what happened, she worked tooth and nail for her body to be released back to her family."

Tali smiled. "That is really great to hear. I'm glad Shepard was able to resolve that problem."

"Same here." Ashley looked up towards the ceiling. "She was a good friend of mine, all of them were. We trained together once our squads formed up. We hung out. We laughed. We cried. All of it together. After so long together, we were family."

The Gunnery Chief started tightening her hands as she could still remember how each of her friends died in Eden Prime. It still gave her nightmares, even days later.

"Outside of my sisters, I considered Dog Squad, and by extension the 212, my family as well." Ashley said somberly. "I… really failed them. I don't deserve to be there."

Ashley choked slightly, tears threatening to spill at the thought of her deceased friends when she felt a three fingered hand on her shoulder.

She turned to Tali to see the Quarians understanding and sympathetic hand on her shoulder.

"It's ok, Ashley." Tali said kindly. "I know what it's like to lose friends in front of you, being able to do nothing. But I know they want me to keep moving forward so I can hopefully live for them. And I believe your squad will want you to do the same. Let the bonds you shared with them help make you stronger to fight for another tomorrow."

The Gunnery Chief paused in her thoughts, thinking back to prior thoughts on the matter of having non-human personnel aboard the Normandy. How she was distrustful of them and believed that humanity needed to do this on her own.

But here was Tali, a Quarian, offering her sympathies and knowing what she had gone through as well. Really makes her realize how rather narrow minded she was.

Giving her a wide smile, Ashley reached up and patted Tali's hand with her own with an appreciative expression.

"Thanks Tali." Ash said softly with Tali simply putting her arm around Ashley entirely for a side hug.

The Alliance Marine was a bit surprised by the action but leaned into it a moment later. This was a rather pleasant moment. She actually doesn't remember the last time she had been hugged.

And it was done with someone who wasn't human no less.

Guess she really does need to take Shepards words of cooperation into consideration.

Now if only the Council weren't such self-aggrandizing assholes.

"Oh my!"

Tali and Ash looked over with the former having steam coming out from under her hood to Ashley choking on her breath.

There, they saw Roxas shirtless and basically being groped and feeled up by two Asari who worked in the store. Their hands were traveling all over his shoulders, arms, pecks, abs and back with both women giggling profusely.

"I have seen many of you humans pass by through here." the Asari on his left commented. "They were in shape but you're simply fit."

"Ah… thanks?"

"Mmm, and these rippling muscles." The Asari on his right was practically pressing herself against the boy who was beginning to lose a grasp as to how to react to this situation. "Tell me, how old are you?"

"Uh… 15?"

"Ah, still a young one." The left Asari said in false defeat before reaching under his chin to tilt his face up to hers. She gave him a sensuous look which appeared ineffective yet that didn't deter her.

"Tell me, how often do ladies such as ourselves in their early 200's throw themselves at you?" she asked in a sultry whisper.

Before Roxas had a chance to respond, Ashley was right behind him with an enraged expression directed at both of the Asari.

"Okay you hussies, back!" Ashley could practically hiss. "Don't you see he's uncomfortable right now?"

The duo balked at such a look of fury, backing away which allowed for Roxas to look in between them both with a complete and utter loss as to what was happening right now.

A second later, the Asari to the right of Roxas managed to regain her nerve and step forward challengingly.

"Excuse me, lady, but in case you weren't aware of personal boundaries."

"Personal boundaries?" Ash parroted mockingly. "You wouldn't know the meaning of that word if a billboard of it struck you dead on."

The right Asari became enraged by such words with the left one stepping forward now.

"We just found someone that interests us." The left Asari said angrily. "What's it to you?"

Ashley grasped Roxas' shoulders from behind and pulled her to him.

"Kindly leave my little brother alone." Ashley gritted her teeth out with a burning anger in her eyes.

The teen in her hands glanced up at her in confusion. "But I'm-"

Roxas was silenced when Ashley covered his mouth and practically shoved him into Tali's arms.

"Just play along." Whispered the Gunnery Chief.

Roxas didn't say anything as he was completely unsure on how to "play along".

He looked up at Tali who was apparently not interested in looking at him.

Said Quarian was steaming up a storm. If one could properly look at her glass panel of her helmet, they could see it completely fogged up.

With Roxas being shirtless and being right next to her, she realized the appeal that the two Asari saw in the boy.

He may have been younger than her by 3 or 4 years but he was literally muscular in the lean manner with most of his form being accentuated at every curve.

It was a bit much for Tali.

"...nd piss off!"

The Quarian and Nobody turned back to Ashley in time to see that she had finished properly scathing and scolding the two Asari in a manner that left both appearing to look quite guilt ridden and defeated.

"Let's go." Ashley sighed out. "Grab your coat and let's move."

"What about the clothing I was supposed to buy?"

"We'll tell Shepard it was a bust."

If Shepard had a hissy fit about it, she'll be damn sure to tell her what happened personally.

As they were departing from the clothing store, Roxas heard a random conversation that for a brief instance held his attention.

"...ure what it was. Just that it was small and wore all black."

"What are you talking about?"

"You missed it. It was really small with a red nose of some kind and it was floating around like a balloon. I swear, it even spoke! Something about scoping out the competition."

"Are you on that red dust crap?"

"What? No you… ah forget it. You wouldn't have believed me anyway."

Roxas didn't dwell on the conversation, realizing he had been eavesdropping. He caught up to Tali and Ashley, leaving the discussion behind.

Right now, they needed to meet back up with Shepard, wherever she was and inform her of their failed attempt at finding him some new clothes.

'Wonder where Shepard is right now?' Roxas mused internally, following after the two girls he was with.

Elsewhere on the Citadel…

Entering the diplomat's lounge in the Presidium, Shepard was looking around for this person who wanted to talk to her. And judging by the name, the commander would be expecting to talk to an Asari.

Moving throughout the space, her green eyes wandered all over. It was a bit packed at this time with all sorts of rabble going about. Jane had spotted a few Asari present here and there, but a number of them were together for some luncheon business meeting.

After spending a few minutes combing through the lounge, Shepard might've found the Asari she was looking for as she sat at the far off edge of the area.

Coming up to the Asari, the Commander spoke the obvious question. " Are you Nassana Dantias?"

The Asari broke away from her computer and looked at the commander. "Ah, Commander Shepard. I see you got my message."

"I did. Is there something wrong?"

Nassana waved her hand at the empty seat from across the table. "Please sit." Shepard complied, not wanting to be rude. "Would you like something to eat?"

"I'm good. Thanks for asking."

The Asari took no offense as she soon spoke. "Now the reason for this meeting involves my sister, Dahlia." Shepard nodded, ushering her to continue. "She is a crewman on a cargo vessel operating beyond the fringes of the Traverse. Her ship was attacked by privateers with there being no reported survivors."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Nassana. So do you want me to hunt down the people who killed her and return her body back to you?"

The Asari before her released a sigh. "This is where it gets complicated. Last week, I received a message with her voice on it. Dahlia is alive!"

"Well that's great news."

"I know, but there's something you should know. While the rest of the crew was killed, she's been taken prisoner. The privateers demanded a huge ransom from me in exchange for returning her unharmed."

Shepard nodded as she voiced an inquiry. "Why didn't they kill Dahlia along with everyone else?"

"My sister probably told them who she was." Nassana then explained. "My family is very wealthy, Shepard. They must have realized she was worth more to them alive."

"Then do you want me to deliver the ransom personally?"

The Asari merely shook her head. "I've already transferred the funds to the account they specified. Only, they never released her. They haven't contacted me since."

"These pirates could be scamming you of your money after sending the audio file, ma'am." Shepard suggested, knowing it wouldn't be the first time this happened.

"You don't think I wouldn't know that." Nassana snapped before quieting down and composing herself. "Sorry. Just in a lot of stress lately."

"Hey, it's no problem. I understand, mistakes can be made."

"I know as I've made one, Shepard. I'm a diplomatic emissary! By law, I am required to report any attempted extortion to C-Sec immediately." The Asari brought her hand up to her face to rub her eyes. "But I was afraid for Dahlia, so I just paid the ransom. Now she is still missing, and if anyone finds out what I did I could end up in jail!"

"I get it." Shepard said, trying to calm down Nassana. "You want me to find her and bring her back, hopefully in one piece."

"That's all I ask for, Commander Shepard." She then pulled up her Omni-tool. "But you don't need to worry about finding her location as I already found it for you."

"How?"

"I tracked the ransom payment through several accounts. Eventually, it led to a small mercenary band operating out of the Artemis Tau cluster." Said the Asari, already sending the data pack to the commander.

Shepard soon heard her Omni-tool ping as she received the information she needed. "So you just need me to go to the merc base, take them out and bring your sister back. Got it." She was about to leave but asked a couple of questions. "Anything else I should know about?"

"Pretty much what you'd expect: rough, dangerous and well-armed. Nothing a Spectre like yourself can't handle."

"Then why me instead of someone else?"

"You operate outside official channels. My superiors cannot find out I never reported the ransom in the first place."

"And how were you able to track them down, if you don't mind me asking."

"I have resources. Contacts and credits can go a long way, especially if you are willing to bend the rules. I already broke the law when I paid the ransom. This couldn't make things any worse."

"Good to know." Shepard stood up from the table and faced the Asari one last time. "I'll bring your sister back, I promise."

Nassana smiled. "Thank you, commander. I knew you were the right person for the job. Please come see me when the job is done."

Shepard simply nodded in turn, exiting from the diplomat's lounge.

This was going to be something she'll be getting used to for now on. Doing these sudden assignments left and right for anyone who catches her attention. She has the option of declining them, but it wasn't in her nature to refuse helping someone else.

Besides, some of these assignments could be beneficial in the long run.

Jane brought up her Omni-Tool, seeing that there were a few new messages.

Ash had apparently gone back to the Normandy to drop off a few things and had informed her that Wrex was already, Liara was back as well, in the medic and science wing with where she usually resided.

There and that Roxas' clothes shopping was a bust.

She arched her brow up at the wording of the last message, unsure of what that meant. She'll no doubt question about this later.

Kaidan had gotten some medication for his L2 implants and had met up with Garrus and the two were now in Flux with Tali and Roxas.

She wondered as to why Roxas was at a bar since he was underage but there was a note from Kaidan that told her they were gonna just get him something to nibble on.

It was bizarre how she felt so alleviated after reading that little nugget of information.

There was much that she had yet to know or understand about Roxas. How he had no memory whatsoever to the way he acted around just about everybody. He was perceptive and had an intelligence to him but he was also astonishingly naive when it came to most encounters and scenarios with other people.

Every interaction with people, she always noticed just how observant Roxas was on just about everything that was said and done. She didn't understand it but she didn't want to press him on it just yet. Right now, Shepard knows to take her time, one step at a time with him before she was able to learn more about him.

Exiting the presidium proper, Shepard figured she'd finally make her way down to Flux and meet up with her squadmates before going back to the Normandy.

Maybe catch a drink with them before doing so. That'd be nice.

And speaking of which…

Roxas had entered the club known as Flux, eyes wandering all over the place as he got a lay of the land here.

With him were Tali, Kaidan and Garrus, having met up with the latter of the two on the way here. They were the ones that had suggested to stop by here before heading back to the Normandy.

Right now, the four of them were walking towards the main bar.

The bass of the club assaulted their ears as they drew closer. The sound made his chest vibrate as soon as they entered the vicinity. He could barely hear anything else going on in the club. And he could wager that no one could be able to possibly hear him, even if he tried.

Roxas didn't know which one was better: Chora's Den or Flux.

He was still new to music but there was a lot to choose from and after some consideration, he figured Flux had the better beat.

Though the music was loud, it was not loud enough to drown out the conversation beside them.

Garrus was sitting on the left with him being right near a woman speaking to the Volus bar keeper on the other side.

"Are you… concerned again… Rita?" The Volus Bartender asked with his species usual raspy pauses.

"C-Sec isn't helping at all." The woman, Rita, bemoaned as she slumped against the bar. "I don't know what to do Doran."

"I wish… I could offer… some assistance… my friend…"

Rita shook her head, though she held an appreciative expression towards the Volus.

"Thanks Doran."

Before Rita was able to return to whatever it was she was supposed to do, Garrus cleared his throat aloud, gaining her attention.

Rita regarded Garrus with a raised brow.

"Ahem, I uh, sorry, I didn't mean to," Garrus began apologetically. "But I couldn't help but overhear you have some issues with C-sec."

"Excuse me?" Rita was defensive. "You do know it's rude to eavesdrop, yes?"

"I didn't mean to." Garrus held up his hands in a placating manner. "I just heard you mentioned C-Sec and well… that's my jurisdiction."

"Wh-what?"

"Garrus Vakarian." The Turian introduced himself, showing her his badge. "C-Sec Detective at your service ma'am."

Upon hearing that about Garrus, Rita's mood immediately shifted. By this point, Kaidan, Roxas and Tali had seen Garrus shift his attention toward the human with them also listening in now.

"I thought he didn't work at C-Sec anymore." Tali whispered to Kaidan who only shrugged

Well he still technically works for C-Sec, just not at this time. With him recruited by Commander Shepard to hunt down Saren, his status is revoked to a certain degree until Shepard let's him go. This didn't mean his connections with C-Sec aren't hampered.

"What were you discussing with the Volus?" Asked Vakarian, gesturing to the barkeeper.

"Who, Doran? I was just asking him about my sister. She worked for Doran before she left to…" The woman quickly waved them off. "Sorry, I don't know if I should be talking to you about this."

"Hey, it's okay. I'm fine with hearing you out." Garrus said. "I did tell you I'm C-sec, right? Rita, correct?"

"I am. And are you sure?"

"Positive. Wouldn't have spoken up otherwise."

Rita appeared to hesitate for a moment before she conceded. "Well… okay. My sister Jenna left here to work at Chora's Den."

"I don't see that much of a problem." Garrus remarked. "Last I checked, it's supposed to be under new management."

"I know, but that's not the problem."

"Then what's bothering you?"

"She began working as an informant for C-Sec." Rita then rambled on. "You know, eavesdropping on people there."

"Ah… that type of work." Garrus dryly said..

"Yeah." Rita said with a worried look.

Being an informant is never as easy as it's cracked up to be. It's usually unpleasant, given what has to be done most of the time making one have to make difficult choices more often than not compared to other officers.

"So is there a particular problem happening over there, Miss Rita?" Garrus asked, putting his badge away soon after.

"I'm just worried for her officer."

"Detective." He corrected her.

"Right, sorry, detective. I just… I just worry if she's found out, they'll kill her."

"It's very understandable, ma'am. Being an informant is a dangerous job, more so if they aren't properly prepared."

"That's what I've been telling her." Rita then released a groan from her lips. "I don't know why she's doing this. I think it's just because she wants to do it just to spite me."

"Could you tell me who her contact at C-Sec is? I probably should know them." Requested the Turian.

"No, I'm sorry detective. It's all very secret. Last time I asked an officer there, he told me to stay out of it- 'for Jenna's safety'." Rita said bitterly.

"That's usually true." Garrus said, being all too familiar with these types of responses. "Most informants try to keep their connections secret in order to not hamper an investigation."

"Hey Garrus." Kaidan spoke up, making him and Rita turn to her.

"Um… and you are?" Rita asked.

"We're friends with Garrus." Kaidan said. "We heard your problem and I have a suggestion. Maybe we can help her understand how dangerous Chora's Den is."

Rita brightened up considerably. "Would you?" She asked and saw the collective nods. "Thank you! Oh and just don't tell her I sent you."

"No problem. Just keep doing what you were doing beforehand and we'll take care of this before you know it." Garrus assured.

"I can't thank you enough for this, Detective." Rita said appreciatively, leaving the four to their new objective.

"You know, I thought we'd have left by now." Tali asked, head resting against her hand.

Garrus had the decency to look a bit sheepish upon realizing what they had gotten them into.

"Er… sorry guys."

"Don't worry about it." Tali waved off. "Roxas did it a few times himself."

Soon after, the four departed from Flux and eventually made their way towards Chora's Den, entering the familiar bar with its patrons, Asari dancers and guards.

It was a weird feeling for Roxas to be back here. He had stayed close to this place at one point, looking over to the spot where he first met General Septimus Oraka.

"I think it wouldn't be too hard to convince Jenna that being here is a dangerous place." Garrus said in a matter of fact tone.

"After all, this place was shot up when we were here last." Said the lieutenant.

"Really?" Roxas voiced the same question he had with Tali.

"Oh yeah, it was something." Kaidan soon reminisces a little on the events. "The firefight was crazy with Fist's men already waiting for our arrival. Holed up at the entrance and began shooting at us once we came in sight."

"Of course, I showed up and was able to help take care of a number of them from afar with my trusty sniper rifle." Garrus said in a self-aggrandizing tone.

"I believe one of those shots almost hit Wrex when he tried entering through the doors." Kaidan deadpanned.

"It wouldn't have happened if he didn't rush on ahead." The Turian countered naturally.

Kaidan shrugged before looking around the place. "You know, now that there's not a shootout happening, I can finally see why this place is so popular."

"And what would that be?" Tali said with a stern challenging tone.

The lieutenant hesitated on answering the truth towards Tali, more so with Roxas around. "It's got quite the… uh… view."

"View?" Roxas questioned as Garrus started growing a smirk from his mandibles.

"Yes, view!"

"Right." Muttered the detective. "Whatever you say, Alenko."

Rounding about the central bar, they saw the only female barkeeper presently there. Drawing close, she soon took notice of them.

"May I help you folks?" She asked kindly.

"Your name wouldn't be Jenna, would it?" Came Garrus' response.

"Um, yes?" The identified woman supplied hesitantly, hoping she hadn't done something wrong.

"We just need to talk to you about your work with C-Sec."

Jenna started blabbering a little. "I-I don't know what you're talking about." She tried and failed to compose herself. "Now, if you don't mind I need to get back to my customers."

"Look, Jenna. This isn't a game. The people here are dangerous."

The barkeeper simply scoffed. "Now you sound like my sister." She practically threw her arms into the air. "Why is everyone so concerned about me? I can take care of myself."

Roxas wanted to speak up, hoping to contribute helping on this issue when Jenna spoke again. "I need to go. I'm not a stripper. I don't get paid to stand around and look pretty."

With that said, she left the central bar and headed towards the back.

"Well that went nowhere." Kaidan muttered out.

"At least she puts on a brave face." Tali added in.

"What do we do now?" Asked Roxas.

"Probably would be best to head over to C-Sec." Garrus said, hand over his mouth with a finger tapping on his cheek. "I should probably be able to find out what exactly is going on here. Let me call up a few friends from C-sec."

His companions complied as they made their way out of the club.

When nearing the entrance, a "drunken" Turian staggered up to them. When he got close, he bumped into Garrus.

Vakarian grunted in aggravation. "Hey, watch where you're- Chellick?"

The "drunkard" leaned closer to Garrus and almost whispered into his ear. "Head over to C-Sec, Vakarian. I'll tell you what I know about Jenna."

"What are you doing?" Roxas asked, wondering if something was wrong.

The "drunkard" soon snapped at the Nobody. "Push off, brat! I never did nothing to you." He rudely said before he shoved himself past Tali and Roxas before maneuvering around Kaidan. "Damn newcomers. Think they can run the place."

Seeing the "drunk" Turian stagger off, Kaidan soon voiced the same question popping up in Roxas' and Tali's head. "What was that about?"

"A lead." Garrus said suddenly, drawing their attention. "C'mon, let's head over to C-Sec."

"But who was that?"

"Detective Chellick." Said their Turian teammate as they walked out of the club.

'Chellick?' Tali thought with a frown. 'He doesn't mean him, does he?'

"Tali, come on."

"Oh, right, sorry."

As soon as they arrived by the C-Sec Station, Garrus was practically pulling his companions through the door into the offices. As soon as they entered, their Turian teammate was scanning all over to see where his fellow detective was at. And soon enough, he was there.

'How did he get here so fast?' Garrus questioned himself before shaking his head. "Chellick." He addressed the "drunkard".

"Vakarian." Chellick greeted before taking a quick glance at his entourage. "Come into my office, I'd like for us to talk in private."

"No can do. They're with me."

Chellick appeared unconvinced. "Okay, and?"

"And they are a part of Shepard's crew."

Chellick released a sigh. "Fine." Upon entering Kellick's office, he had the door behind them closed. "No offence, Garrus, but what the hell were you thinking? You could've blown Jenna's cover."

"I know and wasn't trying to." Garrus then jabbed a thumb to his companions. "My friends and I were there trying to help her get out."

"I gathered that. It might seem gold letting her take all the risk, but we're keeping a close eye on her."

"What for, Chellick?" Garrus demanded. "She doesn't look like a person actually prepared for these sorts of things. Her life is at risk and for what?"

"Hey, I'm not enjoying this just as much as you are, Vakarian. I need all the help I can get." Chellick scratched his head a little. "But since you're so concerned with her safety, maybe there's a way we can sort this all out."

Garrus snorted. "Nice to see you're still working all the angles, Chellick. But in all honesty, do you really need an innocent civilian helping you out on this job of yours?"

Chellick was silent for a few moments before exhaling a sigh. "Maybe you're right, Garrus. She's not cut on this anyways."

"If we do this job of yours, then you better cut her loose, get her out of Chora's Den with no strings attached."

"Done."

"Then mind telling us what's going on?" Garrus asked.

Chellick took a moment to look over the motley group of individuals that had accompanied his old C-sec friend. He glanced over at Roxas, who had Tali scooching a little closer to him. Not paying any more attention to them, he focused on telling Garrus and his teammates the details. "I'm trying to track down an illegal arms producer. I just need some of their products. And thanks to Jenna's intel, I've learned there's a seller here on the Citadel."

"And who is it we'll be seeing?"

"You'll be meeting a Krogan named Jax, Garrus. Just pick up the mods and bring them back here. That'll give me everything I need to shut this case." Chellick said as the detective was typing away on his computer.

"Where can we find this Jax?"

"Jax is down in the lower level of the markets. I'll send word through our channels that you're the buyer."

"You sure about that Chellick?"

Chellick halted his keystrokes and looked at his fellow detective with a quizzical look. "There something wrong?"

"I'm just wondering if it should be me doing it." Garrus then explained his reason. "I don't know about you, but when I was digging up information for my case against Saren, I ended up getting a bit too much attention through my… methods." Garrus saw his fellow detective exhale a frustrated sigh, clearly knowing what he meant exactly. "So I figured there could be someone else that could fill the role."

"Then who else should I have posed as the 'buyer' if not you?" Chellick pointed towards the Nobody first. "I doubt Jax would be convinced that a freaking kid would be 'buyer' material unless he's a 'loose-end' middleman." He then aimed his attention towards the Quarian. "And do you even see any Quarians that can be taken seriously these days? One look outta her, Jax will just leave and make my case ever more difficult."

Tali took offense to what Chellick said of his opinion towards her. Roxas, however, didn't really understand what the detective meant to him as not being "buyer" material.

"Don't worry, I wasn't planning for either of these two being the 'buyer'." Garrus then eyed the only other human present in the office. "Kaidan here, on the other hand."

Chellick eyed Alenko with a raised brow. "Him?"

"Me?"

Garrus patted his teammate's shoulder with a smile. "Yes, Kaidan, you. You would fit well."

"And why, Garrus, does it have to be me?"

"Asides from our two young friends here being crossed out for obvious reasons, you're the least suspicious-looking person I've ever met. You can practically pass off as anyone."

Kaidan gave the Turian the driest look he could ever muster. "Don't I feel special."

Chellick then spoke up. "I'm fine with the human. Just as long as this matter is settled." Reaching into a drawer, he pulled out some credit chits and handed them to Kaidan. "Hand those to Jax specifically. And please be sure to hand over the product to me once you're done."

Walking out of Chellick's office, Roxas voiced an inquiry. "Don't mind me asking this, Garrus, but why was Chellick concerned about the 'product'?"

"C-Sec's got connections with the most sophisticated armaments there is. It's given us our edge against the underbelly of the galaxy, Roxas. But what do you think would happen if we lost that edge?"

Tali was the one to answer in Roxas' place. "The criminals would basically have an advantage in firepower and C-Sec would have a harder time to take them down."

"Essentially."

Upon arriving at the marketplace, the foursome hanged back and took a peak of where Jax was located. It didn't take long to spot the Krogan as he was situated in the back area with a number of men beside him. No doubt some muscle in case things go badly.

Looking back at Kaidan, Garrus gave him the lowdown. "Alright, you remember the plan?"

Kaidan gave a brief nod. "Yes, I do. Go in, hand over the marked credits, grab the product and head out."

"Great." Garrus then gestured towards himself, Tali and Roxas. "We'll be here in case of anything."

Before the marine left, he gave Garrus one last look. "I swear if this goes south, I'll be haunting your ass until you die."

"Oh don't be like that, Alenko. You'll do fine."

"If you say so. Any advice?"

"Keep calm, collected and be yourself. Oh and don't follow the cheesy cop film and show tropes. Most of them end up trying to arrest the dealer and it goes badly from there."

"...I'll keep that in mind."

Venturing deeper into the marketplace, Kaidan kept a steady pace and did his best in not getting nervous. Wasn't long before he reached his destination.

"Hold it." Spoke the Krogan. "That's close enough."

Kaidan crossed his arms and stared down at the blue crested Krogan. "You Jax?"

"Maybe. You got my payment?"

The marine snorted. "I didn't come here to look."

Jax motioned the Turian beside him to open up a large case. Inside were at least a dozen weapon mods all tucked in neatly for display.

After some moments of inspecting the product, Kaidan leaned back up and looked at the Krogan dead in the eye. "Looks good."

"Damn straight it is!" Snapped the Krogan. "These mods are the best on the market. Now hand over my credits."

Kaidan nodded and handed over the marked credits. "Here you go."

Once receiving the payment, Jax had his Turian hand over the mods. "And here you go. Enjoy it."

"I will."

After that, Jax and his men vacated the marketplace.

Once they were out of sight, Kaidan released a breath of air he didn't know he kept in his chest.

"Glad that's done and over with."

"That was rather easy." Roxas said from their hiding spot.

"It was, wasn't it?" Said Tali.

"I mean the last time we were down here, we had to help Dr. Michel out."

This piqued Garrus' interest. "Dr. Michel? What happened?"

"She was dealing with a blackmailer. We helped take care of it through the middleman." Answered the Quarian before she turned her attention more towards the Turian. "Wait, it sounds like you know her."

"Cause I do, sort of."

Before either Tali or Roxas could ask, Kaidan arrived back to them. "Alright, got the product here. Let's head back."

"Good. And along the way, Garrus can tell us about something." Said the Quarian.

Kaidan quickly adopted a curious expression. "That being…?"

"How he knows Dr. Michel."

"Oh, you mean the same doctor held at gunpoint by one of Saren's men?"

Both Tali and Roxas then turned their attention towards Garrus, who soon found the ceiling all so interesting.

"...And we're hearing about this now because…"

Garrus scratched the back of his head as he released a nervous chuckle. "It never came up until now."

It seemed to take longer to return to C-Sec, more so when Tali was grilling Garrus on what went on with the doctor who helped save her life. And making their return couldn't have come faster enough as they returned to Chellick's office.

"Here you go, Chellick." Said Garrus, handing over the large case of weapon's mods.

Opening up the case, Chellick looked pleased. "Excellent. This is everything I need." He then hummed as he took a better look. "Maybe more than I need."

"Something wrong?"

"No, everything's fine, Garrus." He then reached into the case and picked up a few of the mods. "Take these." He said, handing said mods to Garrus. "I won't need all of this and you earned some payment on this job."

"You know I can't accept this."

"Maybe you can't, but maybe your Spectre buddy and your fellow teammates."

Garrus ends up complying in taking the unique payment.

"And what of Jenna?"

"Don't worry, I didn't forget her. I'll make sure she's out of Chora's Den immediately." Chellick closed up the cases and made his way out of his office. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to file these mods into evidence. Thanks again, Vakarian."

Leaving the office once more, the group made their way out of C-Sec in order to properly enjoy the rest of their shore leave.

"When we get back to the Normandy, we can see who'll want what weapon's mod." Garrus stated.

"That's kind of you, Garrus." Said the marine.

"Just don't want to hog all of them. Makes me look bad if I did."

Both Kaidan and Roxas nodded upon hearing the Turian's reason.

Tali on the other hand...

"At least he didn't recognize me."

"Who?"

"Chellick."

"What? Why?"

"Because he was the one who detained me and Kennah when we first came to the Citadel."

Overhearing this, Garrus pondered for a few moments. "I had heard Chellick apprehending some Quarians…" He then snapped his head towards Tali's direction. "Oh, Tali, I'm so sorry about that."

"It's no problem. I'm just glad he didn't make a fuss about it now with me being here."

"Why would you say that?" Roxas asked.

"Because I believe Chellick is the kind of man who doesn't tell one Quarian over the other."

Roxas and Kaidan frowned when hearing this while Garrus gave her a sympathetic look.

The somber mood surrounding them eventually faded away as they were making their return to the Normandy.

The four of them were walking together silently for the most part, a silent comfortable air around them now after they had done much today.

As they walked further, Roxas' stride began to slow slightly though not noticeable enough for the others to notice.

*thisshig rrrerrk*

Everything within Roxas' vision started to change, and so did his hearing. He twitched, blinking his eyes and holding one hand up to his ear as he winced at the ringing inside.

*thisshig rrrerrk*

Instead of a technological environment, Roxas suddenly appeared within a dark cave. Crude drawings littered the walls and at its farthest end lay a door with a very large keyhole plastered at its center.

"This World has been connected."

"Wh-Who's there?"

Whirling around, Roxas saw a hooded man standing within the cave. Even if his features were hidden, he could feel the man's stare directly at him.

"Tied to the darkness…"

*thisshig rrrerrk*

He was laying on the beach…

Sitting up, Roxas saw the endless expanse of the sea and let out a yawn. Going back down to lay on the sand, a girl with auburn-red hair and blue eyes peek into his line of sight.

"WHOA." He shot up with the girl laughing.

"Give me a break, Kairi."

The next thing he knew, he was racing/running right alongside someone who felt extremely familiar to him.

"Giving up already."

*thisshig rrrerrk*

"The Door has opened." Spoke a young silver-haired teen, holding out his hand invitingly.

"What?"

*thisshin rrrerrk*

"If there are other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one?"

"Sora? Don't ever change."

Sora? Who's Sora? And… that girl. And that boy. Why were they so familiar to him?

*thisshig rrrerrk*

From his place at a wrecked up shore, Roxas saw a Darkside rising from out of the darkness.

"You understand nothing."

*thisshig rrrerrk*

He was standing in that familiar town again, surrounded by the Heartless.

"What happened to my home? Riku? Kairi?"

Roxas was then confronted by a man with brown hair.

"They'll keep coming after you."

"Who are you?"

"They will come out of you out of nowhere. As long as you continue to wield the Keyblade."

*thisshig rrrerrk*

Standing within the middle of a plaza, Roxas looked around as he continued wondering what was going on.

Suddenly, he heard an explosion coming from some direction. When he quickly searched for the source, he saw an anthropomorphic duck and dog falling down from the sky before crashing on top of him.

Roxas was in a complete daze as a result.

"The Key!"

*thisshig rrrerrk*

"Hey, why don't you come with us?" Asked the anthropomorphic dog. "We can go to other worlds on our vessel."

"Sora, go with them." The man in the black vest and brown hair stated. "Especially if you wanna find your friends."

"Donald Duck."

"Name's Goofy."

"I'm Sora." he clapped his hand down over the two hands of Goofy and Donald. "I'll go with you guys."

*thisshig rrrerrk*

*thisshig rrrerrk*

*thisshig rrrerrk*

*thisshig rrrerrk*

Roxas halted in his tracks, the feeling of a cold sweat going down his forehead.

He was now breathing heavily.

"What… What was that?" He asked himself in utter bewilderment.

The greater Nobody soon realized something and began looking around desperately. Where did his squad go?

His… his…

"Friends." Roxas murmured, gazing at his hand, the phantom feeling of placing it over that of Donald and Goofy's. "Who… are they?" He said, referencing the anthropomorphic duo. "And what's this feel-"

"WHAT IS THAT?!"

Roxas whipped his head at the yell with other people soon beginning to stir and then, more screaming came.

And from in between the civilians, Roxas spotted a familiar shadowy figure that was joined by several more.

Widening his eyes in alarm, Roxas whipped his hand out with his Keyblade appearing while running full speed towards the commotion.

The commotion that started due to the arrival of the Heartless.

Without waiting for the people to clear out, Roxas instantly vaulted over them and came down with his Keyblade destroying a Soldier.

Looking up, he saw Shadows, Soldiers, Air Soldiers and Neo Shadows all running about with a few managing to get two people down to the ground. The clear intention being the acquisition of their hearts.

His own "heart" freezing over momentarily, Roxas subconsciously infused his Keyblade with light and flung it in a manner similar to Strike Raid. Only this time, rather than aiming at the Heartless, he aimed at the space in between the cluster of them around the terrified civilians.

As soon as it reached the spot he had aimed for the Keyblade halted in the air and out from the blade were thirteen pillars of light that burst forth and struck the Heartless.

The pillars of light striking multiple Heartless, eliminating a few while the rest flinched back violently and moved away from the two civilians.

Roxas was rather tactless in how he blurred in between them both to grab and get them out of danger.

When he was in a safer area, he saw a human female with a Salarian male, both appearing in a daze.

"Get yourselves out of here." Roxas said seriously, disregarding their current state as other Heartless would no doubt threaten the other people on the Citadel.

Facing the Heartless again, Roxas ran forward, jumping up and slicing an Air Soldier down. Landing down on the ground, Roxas immediately spun in a circle and bashed his Keyblade into two Soldiers at once.

Eyes shifting about rapidly, Roxas spotted a large group of Heartless converging upon an Asari that was desperately trying to escape. She didn't get far as a Neo Shadow used its ability to sink into the floor and move with complete freedom, came out from below and hooked her leg.

The Asari tripped over and fell to the ground. She scrambled into a seated position, looking back at the Heartless with terror in her eyes as several Neo Shadows surrounded her. She was breathing heavily, fear overriding her senses. All she could do was throw her hands up in a vain attempt to defend herself as the Heartless leapt at her.

"THUNDARA!"

Suddenly, a downfall of large thunderbolts reigned down from above, hitting all the Neo Shadows around the Asari.

The Heartless were destroyed a moment later with the Asari shivering and too frightened to lower her hands until…

"Hey are you alright?"

The Asari looked up to see a young human teenager with blond hair, blue eyes and wearing a black coat standing over her. In his hand was an unusual key shaped weapon.

Gazing up at him, the Asari's eyes widened with recognition.

She knows this human!

"I-It's you!" The Asari stammered out in slight disbelief.

Roxas' head angled itself to show his confusion until he got a good look at the Asari. There was something strangely familiar about her. Had he met her somewhere before.

Where?

"Roxas, correct?"

Well, looks like she remembered him.

"Come on." Moved to get her to her feet, instinctively slashing through an Air Soldier from behind that tried to dive bomb him.

He ran alongside the Asari until she was out of the vicinity of the main cluster of Heartless. She looked back at Roxas who simply nodded at her before he turned back and ran toward the Heartless that were running about.

Nelyna could only stare as the teen who had caught the interest of the Consort jumped forward to cut through several more of those dark creatures.

Who was this boy?

She suddenly jolted at the sound of gunfire.

Glancing over to the side, she spotted a familiar human and Quarian charging forward backed by two other humans, an Asari and a Turian with them moving towards the boy.

Upon reaching him, he quickly spoke and pointed to various spots around the area where these strange dark creatures were being seen.

They all simply nodded and dispersed into small groups, the Quarian and human male staying with the teen, the Turian, the red-head, pink armored and Asari going off in another direction.

With Roxas, Tali stayed close to him, firing her Geth shotgun at any Heartless that came close by.

Kaidan was utilizing his Biotics to constantly capture the Heartless with him either sending hurtling away, throwing them towards Roxas or just having them stay in place for Roxas to deliver the killing blow.

With Shepard, she and Liara launched a wave of Biotics that had ensnared multiple Heartless. Having Ashley and Garrus with them, the four worked rapidly in gunning down Heartless as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Primarily pinning down the Heartless and riddling the head with holes.

This was the overall method that they had conducted, though the blasted Soldier and their aerial counterparts were aggravating as all hell with how they were the most mobile that they were dealing with.

Back with Roxas, Tali and Kaidan, they were clearing up the Heartless in their area having taken care of the Shadows with only a few Soldiers and Air Soldiers.

Roxas had fired a Blizzard spell, freezing a Soldier entirely.

Before he was able to destroy it, the Soldier abruptly burst into thousands of smaller pieces courtesy of a shotgun.

The trio that were fighting together looked over to see Wrex sauntering over with an annoyed expression.

"So~ while I sit my ass in the Normandy waiting for all of you to come back, you're all out here kicking ass without inviting me?" Wrex asked in a faux-insulted tone.

"Uh…" Kaidan, Tali and Roxas exchanged looks with each other, the Krogan Battle Master huffing.

"Well next time, don't forget." Wrex was almost petulant right there.

"Sure." Roxas said with Wrex now grinning.

"The rest are mine." Wrex declared.

Eventually, the pandemonium of the Heartless attacking came to an end. The Normandy crew had eliminated them all, going over to check for any who had been hurt or if they had seen anything… unusually gruesome.

They had reported that they hadn't seen anything yet one human was rambling about the fact that his Salarian coworker was missing. He couldn't find him.

C-Sec soon arrived, cutting the place off from the public as they began taking statements and investigating what had happened.

There were many questions being thrown around but the main constant was just who and specifically where in the hell were the instigators.

All they heard was that the First human Spectre, Jane Shepard and her crew, were involved and had saved several lives.

C-Sec operatives questioned them all, with the last being Roxas as several had surrounded him specifically.

His description was the one that had popped up on nearly all the statements and eyewitness reports they had received.

He didn't know how to answer these people, with the Normandy Squad having instructed him to be vague to a degree.

When he asked why, they simply said that Shepard's warning of the Reapers were ignored so the Heartless may be disregarded as well.

Of course, that idea had been shot down to a degree with Roxas asking if the Citadel lacked security footage.

"Well… least it ain't visions."

"Screw you, Vakarian."

Shepard had soon taken care of the officers that were hounding Roxas, telling them that he's her subordinate meaning his jurisdictions fell under her. Course, she was respectful to them but the underlying defensive tone was there.

The officers appeared to miss it for the most part but several members from the squad picked up on it, having small grins appear in the way Jane was acting.

Then of course, the Asari Acolyte Nelyna of the Consort Sha'ira had made sure to thank Roxas personally.

What was her show of gratitude?

A simple kiss upon his cheek which made the boy jolt. She chuckled softly at his reaction, simply stating she was in her debt and hoped to see him again. The Squad teased him mercilessly with him not really knowing how to respond to this.

Tali was certainly glad for a helmet now more than ever. She had nearly let out a small squawk from the Asari's actions though her mood turned into amusement upon seeing Roxas at a loss at what to do.

The rest simply made the same statement and joked about him understanding when he becomes older.

Once that was all well and handled, another situation just had to spring up on them.

This one however, came directly from the Normandy via Joker.

Something about an invader inside the ship causing pandemonium.

Without waiting for another incentive, the squad sprinted back at full speed back towards the Normandy.

Upon reaching the Normandy, the ground crew saw a dozen or so of the non-combatant personnel of the ship standing outside.

"Shepard!" One of the crewmen saw her arrival.

"What's going on in there?" Shepard asked in a sharp tone.

"There's an intruder of some kind on the ship." Someone else explained. "And it was a small creature, all in black and was floating around and just causing a commotion."

"Is anyone hurt?" Kaidan asked in a serious tone.

"Well… no." A marine admitted. "It's just, you guys have been fighting those weird Heart-thingies recently and frankly, the crew didn't want to take any chances."

That was understandable enough.

She looked to her squad, lingering last on Roxas before she pulled out her weapon and the rest followed suit.

Keyblade in hand with his teammates by his side, Roxas noted how empty the Normandy felt with the crew members missing.

"Alright, split up." Shepard ordered. "Kaidan, Liara, you two check this floor. Garrus, Ashley, with me. Tali, go with Wrex and Roxas and go below deck and make sure there's nothing wrong with the engine core room.

With their destinations in mind, the crew split themselves into their designated teams and went off.

Jane, Garrus and Ashley check in the upper levels of the ship, making sure to peak around every corner and any potential blind spots.

"Looks clear from our end up here." Garrus reported with Shepard nodding in agreement.

"Kaidan, status?" Shepard asked through the comms.

With the Lieutenant and Asari, both were one opposite end of their respective floor on the Normandy.

"All clear here, Commander." Alenko stated.

"We have found nothing out of the… wait." Liara walked over to an open case of medi-gel and found the contents of it missing.

Last she checked, when she had passed through her to go on to the Citadel, this case was supposed to be full.

"There's a missing box of Medi-Gel." Liara informed the rest.

"A missing box of Medi-Gel?" Ashley reiterated in confusion, turning to Shepard and Garrus for answers.

Frowning, Jane spoke into the comms again. "Anything else missing?"

Kaidan was now near the armory with him holding up his weapon. It looked like it was raided though only slightly at best.

"Got a few weapons missing." Kaidan said. "Some armor pieces as well."

"So we have a thief on our hands." Wrex rumbled in annoyance. Thieves were always a pain in the ass.

Roxas was next to him, Keyblade raised in case of any surprise attacks.

"Tali, what's the situation on your end?" Shepard asked the expert engineer.

She was in the core room of the ship, looking over the controls.

"Nothing seems out of the ordinary." Tali said tentatively. "The engines are still operational and no signs of it being tampered with."

She tilted her head at the sound of tromping footsteps, recognizing it to be Wrex.

The Quarian was ready to leave when she heard an unusual bouncy sound from behind.

"Ah, this looks nice. Hmmm… no materials for synthesis though. Oh well."

Quickly whirling around to the source, Tali saw…

…..

…..

…..

"Hello, Kupo!"

"AAHH~~~"

From his placement in the hangar, Roxas bolted from his spot, running towards the source of the commotion.

They heard the tell-tale signs of gunfire going off in use with several biotic blasts flinging several metal crates all over the area.

"WHOA! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE SHOOTING, KUPO!"

"Kupo?" Roxas muttered out.

Soon arriving, Roxas had his Keyblade drawn out when-

"KUPO!"

He found his face being covered by a small little creature before he pried it off of him. Taking a moment to regain his bearings, Roxas looked at what he held in his hands with his eyes widening in surprise a moment later.

"Y-You?!" Gaped No. XIII.

"Oh! It's so good to see you again, Kupo! I see you're doing well!" the small creature said ecstatically, hugging his face once more.

"Roxas!"

The little creature yelped, quickly hiding behind Roxas as the Nobody faced the rest of the ground team.

"Roxas, you better start explaining just what the hell that thing is supposed to be?" Wrex asked aggressively, glaring at the small white creature with a red nose and an antenna with small pink bat-like gothic-styled wings on its back… while oddly wearing a smaller size of the black cloak that Roxas wore.

"It sure doesn't look like a Heartless." Kaidan pointed out.

"Hey, relax guys." Roxas raised his hands in a placating manner. "This here is a Moogle."

…..

…..

…..

"And… What the hell is a Moogle supposed to be?" Ashley asked, glaring at the tiny floating creature that was using Roxas for cover.

"Moogle?" Tali perked up, now approaching the strange little creature. "Is this a Moogle?"

This earned more bewildered looks from the rest as they could hear the little bit of familiarity picked up in Tali's voice.

"You know what this is?" Ashley questioned.

"How would you know a Moogle, Tali?" Shepard demanded.

"Roxas told me he got his one credit chit pouch from a Moogle." She then glanced at Roxas. "Sadly, he didn't tell me beyond that."

Roxas seemed to become rather sheepish all of a sudden as a result.

The Quarian soon leaned down a bit to reach the Moogle's level. "Hello there. Sorry if we gave you a fright."

"That's fine, Kupo." Said the Moogle, hovering out from behind Roxas. "I should've entered the ship through normal means instead of my usual methods."

"And what methods would they be?" Shepard questioned as her hands were still on her weapon.

Roxas ended up answering the inquiry instead of the Moogle. "They just have their own way of getting around."

"And how would you know?" Kaidan inquired.

"I just… do…"

"That isn't all that helpful."

"Okay so first contact here…" Garrus muttered out. "Will need to dust off the old regs on this one."

"Maybe." Shepard said before glancing back at Roxas. "Alright, Roxas, you seem to know what this little guy is." She remarked. "What exactly is a Moogle?"

"Well I'm glad you asked, Kupo!" The Moogle in question declared cheerfully, hovering before the rest of the Normandy's ground team.

Pulling back the hood, the Moogle revealed more of its features. It appeared to be of a small mammal-like species with smooth white fur. And for its eyes, they seemed squinted at first before the creature opened them up more to show very innocent little peepers.

As much as the women present wanted to squee upon seeing this, they had to fight back the urge.

"Whenever you need a potion, trinket, rings or armbands, synthesizing, selling and trading items is the way of our brands." Said the Moogle, like a salesman would when selling a product.

…..

"Er~ What?" Was the collective response from Garrus, Wrex and Kaidan.

"He's someone we can buy, sell and trade items within a simplified version." Roxas clarified.

"Like the requisition officer?" Kaidan asked in bewilderment.

"And what does he mean by 'Synthesizing'?"

"Wonderful, more questions about my trade!" The Moogle declared. "It's the creation of newer stronger metals, weapons, objects and such with the use of the proper materials needed."

"Items? Like what?" Liara inquired.

"A lot to choose from." Roxas murmured.

"It doesn't matter what you guys get for me Kupos!" The Moogle said cheerfully. "Whatever materials you are able to bring me, I can probably synthesize them into new useful items.

"...Why am I getting this odd feeling there's a large sense of a fantasy genre going on here?" Said Kaidan.

"Seems like it." Ashley grumbled, eyeing the floating puffball distrustfully.

"Roxas." Shepard hesitated a moment. "Can we trust this thi-Moogle?"

Roxas nodded in an instant. "All he cares about is helping… at a certain fee. But these guys are really useful."

"And why is it that you didn't mention this before?" Liara asked an inquisitive fashion.

"You never asked."

The group, save for Tali, nearly face faltered forward at the simplicity in the answer.

"So… What items do you have for sale?"

Upon hearing the question, an ethereal panel was formed before the Moogle where he soon displayed many of his wares. The floating creature spun it around and presented it towards the ground team.

Shepard was the first to approach. She gave the panel a quizzical look as she didn't see an Omni-tool activating to have this come up.

Shoving the question aside, she swiped through the selections that were shown in the Moogle Store.

"Why am I seeing a whole number of weapons and armors from all sorts of companies in the galaxy?"

"Oh, sorry about that." The Moogle said honestly. "I did not mean to steal without repaying you in a proper manner."

"And how did you pay?"

"Normally, it would be in munny or trade." The Moogle said. "But for now, I believe these will do."

Suddenly, a flash of light appeared before Shepard with a bag filled with items inside. The Spectre barely managed to grab it out of the air.

"What's this?"

"A small compensation and gift for the beginning of a wonderful partnership, Kupo." The Moogle said happily, form bobbing about in the air.

"If your companions want a look," the Moogle formed more panels around him and had them drift towards the ground team, "here you go."

Taking the gander, the others started browsing as well.

The team seemed to quickly get interested upon seeing the selections. There were some exclusive brands that peaked their interests while the rest were somewhat ignored; either due to not fitting their style or the like.

"Honestly, have no idea what half of this stuff is." Wrex muttered out before coming across what appeared to be a war-hammer of some kind. Taking a glance at the specs, he whistled. "Is this stuff legit?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Then how were you able to come by this stuff? Some of what you got is clearly not on the market, let alone designed." Wrex stated. "Hell, I don't even think some of these things exist."

"Us Moogles have our trade secrets." The Moogle said happily. "Some from searching, some from trading and creating. We are multi-talented."

"How come we never heard of your kind before?" Liara inquired. "Surely we would've-"

"You just don't know where to look."

"...That's a lame-ass excuse as I've ever heard of one." Ashley blandly said.

"They kinda just appear whenever." Roxas admitted with a shrug. "They appear when they're needed you could say."

"So what, they're a bunch of Gandalf's?" Garrus inquired in his baritone voice making the humans look at him. "What? I saw the films a while back. They're amazing. Don't judge me, it was your species' movies."

Amused by the Turian's defensive response, they looked to the Moogle and the teen standing beside it.

Releasing a sigh, Jane gave Roxas an expectant look.

"Alright Roxas, we're trusting you on this one." Shepard said. "Since you vouch for the little guy, he… she… uh, what are you?"

"Boy." The Moogle said.

"Right." Jane nodded. "You vouched for him, so he can stay."

Roxas' expression brightened a moment later with the Moogle twirling in the air.

"I am happy to be of service now to new customers and old."

"So you know Roxas then?" Tali inquired.

The Moogle nodded. "He's a great customer and Kupo, Kupo." He then seemed to pout, quickly causing the present women to recoil of the cuteness. "Then again, he is probably the only customer who bothered to buy from me, asides from his two friends at the Organization."

The group were all greatly confused as to what the Moogle was talking about.

They were about to ask for further clarity when the voice of Joker chimed in through the comms.

"Uh Commander? Not for nothing but you guys have been in there for a bit and ya haven't said anything." the Normandy pilot said. "Is everything alright?"

"Oh, Sorry Joker. Problems resolved."

"You sure?"

"Definitely."

"...Are you really? Cause I don't want to deal with-"

"Oh for the love of- Yes!"

"Just come inside already." Kaidan said. "We need to get this ship moving."

"Ok, ok, geez, sorry being cautious." Joker said. "But, I gotta ask. What exactly did you find in the Normandy?"

Nobody responded at first, slowly turning to Roxas who was still next to the floating Moogle.

"It's best you just come here and see it for yourself." Was all Shepard said.

"If you don't mind me hobbling down wherever the hell you guys are. It'll take a while."

"By all means." Shepard encouraged. "Gives us time to process it ourselves."

AN

And that's one more for the story. Feels damn good to churn this one out so rapidly and in such large quantities with every growing chapter.

Not always gonna happen mind you but hey, J and I give our best.

So the polls for Roxas' pairing are gonna close after Chapter 6 so if you haven't had a chance to, go on my profile for a vote.

Jebest4781: After Chapter 6, we will get onto the next pairing vote pertaining to our loveable redhead, chakram wielding Nobody.

FMW: Everyone deserves love. Especially since we're talking about Mass Effect. Half the game is about romancing people. And I got some interesting choices lined up for the Flurry of Dancing Flames. Wanna see what people choose. That one will go on for probably five to seven chapters at most cause I want this story to grow for a bit before closing down the next poll for this one.

Pretty sure by this point, we already know what you guys have chosen but still, you have a bit of time left.

Other than that, as usual.

Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.