One legend against another. That was the first thing that crossed my mind when I shook the hand of the commander, but I felt that I still did not deserve to be called that, much less a hero.

Now we just had to wait for Tali to wake up, which happened when a shotgun shot hit my left arm, but I was so close to Dr. Michel that I tried to save her life before my own.

Tali had woken up confused, with her head in the battle of the alleys. Quickly, the commander acted, positioning herself behind Tali to remove her weapon and restrict her movement.

"Calm down, you're okay... you're safe from them."

Since she wasn't getting a confrontation, Tali came back to herself, slowly dropping onto the bed. "Is it true...? You, who are you?"

"I am Commander Shepard of the Alliance, accompanied by Garrus, Wrex, and Mijael."

I was obviously the most excited because it was Tali in the flesh. I couldn't get her image out of my head: slim, small waist, big thighs.

"I should have stopped looking at fanart..."

As Shepard filled Tali in on the situation and why we needed her help, I put on a shirt Dr. Michell gave me; it had a nice print with the Alliance logo on it. "Is it a size S? Only those fit me," I said as I stretched the clothes to see if they fit well.

Wrex for a while now was watching me out of curiosity, or maybe it was because of what I said, "You are very thin, but with marked muscles, what kind of training did you have?"

"Well, a lot of everything. Running to get away, training with swords, axes, and telekinesis, there were many occasions where I fought orcs without weapons or magic."

"Orcs? What's that?" asked Wrex.

I forgot; they don't have much of a clue about the games or human myths.

"It's like an enhanced human, but green... 2 meters tall, natural musculature, prefer fists to words. Kind of like the Krogan."

A challenge or a threat, I didn't want to sound pretentious and look like I wanted to fight Wrex, but the idea for some reason fascinated me.

Garrus joined in "Wait a minute, you think you can take on the Krogan?"

I shrugged. "I've always been of the mindset that everyone can beat me, but I can beat them too. No one is invincible, no one."

With the matter of my past almost cleared up, the commander called us to retreat to the embassies and give her the incriminating audio against Saren.

And so, saying goodbye to the doctor and wishing her the best, we all left the infirmary. Or so I wish it would have happened.

I was the last one to almost leave, but just at the threshold of the door, a girl in a dress pushed me inside; she was bleeding from the shoulder. But we shouldn't waste any more time.

"Commander, you go with Udina; I'll be fine."

With Dr. Michell's help, we carried the girl to the first stretcher, getting ready to attend to her.

At first glance, her wound was obvious—the classic gunshot wound—but there was something strange about her, something very familiar. It was only until her hair was out of the way that I could deduce who she was.

~"Miranda! What is she doing here?"~

I was filled with many ideas or theories as to why she would be here, but as I was helping her with her wounds, a large shadow obscured the exit.

Wielding a Bound sword in hand, I turned around to destroy the projectile that was about to hit us.

~"What a great meeting we have. Kai Leng"~

Had Miranda turned her back on Cerberus? Or was there something else behind this scene?

"Is there something you wish for here?". I was trying to channel my magic into the sword to make it last longer.

"The Shadow Broker wants the girl's head and yours."

News about me had spread faster than expected, something that made my blood boil. If they knew who I was, they knew what I was capable of.

"Being targeted by half the galaxy...having a bounty on my head. Fuck that I love that; that fascinates me; in me grow fucking murderous intentions!"

I could see it; Kai Leng was acting cautiously; he wouldn't move until I did.

"Show me what you're made of," he said firmly, wielding a katana with his right and a Carnifex in the other.

"For someone I don't know, of course."

The unmatched with the sword vs the best assassin in Cerberus.

At the start of the fight, I jumped high to reach Kai Leng from above. Seeing him coming, he kept his sword down, bringing it up only when he dodged my attack.

He saw the edge so close, so dangerous. Summoning a Bound Dagger, I stopped him by repelling his attack to the side. "As I expected, but this is a warm-up," Leng said proudly, maintaining minimal strength in parrying my dagger.

I remembered an ancient technique, a dance between swordsmen. "If it wasn't, I wouldn't be satisfied."

In Skyrim, Ciceron taught me something fun with the sword, something he inherited for me to dance on the battlefield.

Transforming my dagger into a sword, I guided Leng's sword where I wanted it to go by force alone. "Will you be able to keep up with me?!"

A dance, controlling Leng in this clash of swords, moving around the small room as if it were a dance. In a moment, having Kai against the wall, I move closer to put an end to it, finally managing to cut the spachin.

After that, I didn't allow him to move a hand. Leng tasted for the first time the quick defeat.

But something was wrong; he was not defending himself; he did nothing but cover himself. Was he waiting for reinforcements? Or had he already surrendered? And what was that about being hired by the Shadow Broker? It was obviously a lie.

Confused... I decided to end this, but something stopped me in my last thrust.

Still conscious, I saw how my body was surrounded by a blue mass that kept me immobile. It was quick to deduce that it was Miranda's biotics.

"It's about time, Miranda; I was starting to get tired," Leng said, sheathing his sword.

"You really had trouble with him?" After knocking Dr. Michell unconscious, Miranda had finally shown her true intentions. "Collect some of his blood and let's get out of here."

Kai Leng pulled out a small metal tube with 4 needles embedded in it, ready to hit me in the body, but before that happens, an orange aura crushes the small tube.

"What the hell?! Aargghh!"

I once again used my telekinesis to pull out Kai Leng's sword, fighting him from a distance.

Miranda tried to hit me with a biotic-filled punch; I countered with a kick to his face, destabilizing the paralysis to finally be free.

I charged Miranda, leaving him no option to use his biotics against me. We exchanged hard, accurate blows, strong enough to break concrete.

I felt confident and empowered to do what I wanted, and I proved it to these two as I doubted my former self.

"Did I really lose to a mercenary? Biotics is easy to counter if only I had more magic..."

Taking advantage of her missing a hit, I grabbed her arm for a throw with the help of my back, slamming her to the ground to immediately strike her face with an ice-covered fist, knocking her out.

"Designed to be perfect, my balls!"

A sharp orange flash came from the side, so I dodged it to take cover behind the small wall.

"Balance!"

Damaging my internal organs, I retrieved the magic I lacked and reused it so I could use restoration magic to heal myself. I devoured myself in exchange for power.

With a weapon in hand, Kai Leng walked cautiously to my position but was surprised by a large Bound sword that nearly pierced his chest.

I slowly stood up, also carrying a Bound shield. "Alright, round 2!". Even if my mouth tasted like blood, all I cared about was winning.

"So if you're him." Kai Leng was hesitant to wield his weapon, but seconds later he snapped out of it. "I have a job to do."

"So do I, Kai… either you retreat or I kill you and save myself the future."

There were no more options, and I didn't want to kill him now; I just wanted him to feel defeated longer, to feel the anguish of having failed.

Even with the omniblade activated, Kai Leng dragged Miranda out of the hospital, climbing into a car that just appeared to take them away.

My first encounter with Kai Leng, ending in a technical victory, left me worried as I didn't know what exactly they were looking for in my blood.

"Maybe they think that's where my magic comes from."

Now, being as good as new, I approached an unconscious Dr. Michell, whom I lifted to the bed with the help of my telekinesis. She had suffered a blow to the head; blood was still gushing, so I used restoration magic on her.

Slowly her body was adapting to the magic, regenerating blood and wounds. It was something I discovered here and in Skyrim. Rapid healing affects the body so suddenly that the cells fail to regroup properly, causing healed wounds to reopen.

The School of Restoration was something I dropped when Lydia accompanied me on adventures. Warrior Girl x Young Mage.

Finishing the treatment for the doctor, I left her on bed rest, casting a spell on the door to the medical room, and linking it to the Michell. The plan was that the custody spell would guard the door until she awoke, 100% assured.

Leaving her behind, I set out to walk the path to the citadel tower with clothes in hand.

So peaceful, so calm, as if what happened seconds before was from another world where no one cared. Was it or did Cerberus manage to disable the cameras? I might never know. Now all I cared about was getting back to Jane and the others.

Slowly pacing until the unanimous sound going out on all the newsreels and Avinas boomed:

"For the first time in history, a human will be decorated with the rank of Spectre."

World, planetary, solar system, and galactic news. I hurried to the Citadel Tower, getting caught up in a crowd of reporters who also wanted the scoop.

I pushed and shoved my way through, ignoring the RapidTrans as they were crowded. Never before had I seen such a flow of people in one place.

"Like Gamarra, except with zero street vendors."

I was thinking nonsense when the thought of resorting to one of my transformations was what encompassed my mind. I was feeling well rested to do so, and the news of Shepard would keep the public eye off me.

Pushing further and further, I came to a dark corner perfect for me. I began to deform my body, getting thinner than I was, leaving me with poor visibility but great hearing and wings as dark as night.

I took off from the small corner, flying over dozens of reporters. I had transformed into a WereBat.

Since I hadn't made much progress, I backtracked to near the hospital to get out for the panoramic view of that place. Bad idea because the flow outside was chaos. Just as I wanted to aim my flight toward the Citadel Tower, I was almost hit by a rapidtrans.

"Damn, I must be careful here. Feim Zii Gron!"

Climbing up and up until I reached the outer walls of the tower, I propelled myself now with my normal corporeal form, but already sighted, I caught my attention. Keeping my wings moving, I saw all that the Citadel had to offer, at least in one of its arms. Lights, carriages, movement... I tried to guess where everything was:

"Armax Arsenal Arena over here, the souvenir store over here. There's too much to see and too little time..."

Like looking at a painting, I felt nostalgia and concern for the people who lived here.

What will become of their lives once I close my eyes? Can I help them all? Will I be able to not become Spectre? Or maybe use biotics?

Higher, farther, and faster, I took a while to reach my destination, now only being separated by a large glass. And although I couldn't see well, I could hear the bustle of a large number of people.

They were reporters, other people on foot, and other aliens who were against this, accumulated on the stairs and a short distance from the dock that separated the Council from Shepard.

"Aren't they bored of the same Specters? Asari, Turian, Salarian...?"

There was something wrong; the tensions of the First Contact War were still as vivid as if it had happened yesterday. The final straw for me was when I heard the activation of a weapon.

Maybe they could stop it, but among so many people, would they catch the culprit? Or will they stop him in time? I didn't want to risk it.

The power of the wind enveloped me as I uttered the words... "Wuld Nah Kest!" A sonic blast shattered the glass just before I went through it, and with great speed I came like a meteorite into the empty area of people, creating a sort of calm and dust.

The vast majority could not believe what they had seen, and as some described it between screams, "A black flash!"

I wanted them to be quiet, to let everything go normally, but it was impossible; they did not even let the Council speak. What would it be to me? That was different; the Council and I were equal in power, but different in what kind of power?

The floor was destroyed on impact, throwing pieces through the air with the intention of hitting people, but they ended up floating in the air thanks to my telekinesis.

Again in my human form, I stood as the wall separating Shepard's meeting from the people. And with a Bound axe in hand, I was prepared for any confrontation. It was obvious that the C-Sec were going to point their guns at me, yet I didn't care what they said or commanded.

My attention was diverted only when the commander called out to me from behind. She didn't seem angry; she was very calm despite the shouting.

"Commander, I won't miss your appointment to Spectre." Somehow I was happy, combined with a few ounces of envy.

"What are you doing here? You were with that injured girl, and-"

"It was a trap; Cerberus agents wanted my blood; they already know who I am."

"So you know them?"

I was silent for a few seconds, thinking that if I told him who they were, I would have to explain more about that subject. But all was now revealed.

"Miranda Lawson and Kai Leng. The girl isn't bad, the other one is... still, I didn't kill them; I want to know how much this can change."

Shepard didn't look very agreeable with my decision. "You want to play with our destiny?"

"Only with mine. If I die tomorrow, almost nothing will change... and as I've always said, 'Today is a great day to die' even though fear devours me. Besides, I haven't been acting like the Dragonborn should."

"You're too young to die, and we're in this together. Don't fight alone if that's what you mean."

I thought about it for a moment, remembering that I was almost never alone, except for the times where Lydia was badly wounded or at the beginning of my adventure.

"I know, thank you very much, commander. Now it's your turn to move on to history," I said, looking at where the Council and the rest were. "I'm envious..."

Laughing a little, the commander put her hand on my shoulder. "I don't think you're in a position to say that."

She withdrew to continue the event, appeasing the council, who were upset by my presence and actions.

On the other hand, I walked from right to left, guarding the place as if it were my last will, but my ears were focused elsewhere.

"Specters are an ideal, a symbol. The embodiment of courage, determination, and self-reliance. They are the right hand of the council. Instruments of our will"

"Spectres bear a great burden. They are protectors of galactic peace...

"Wait... I can understand it without help?" I was so distracted that I had realized that just now. "An involuntary spell? A gift from...?"

I remembered the last thing Circe had said to me before I left, something about a gift. And if that was so, then it was garbage. "Aaauuhh... I wanted to have it, but I don't know what implanted in my brain or ear."

I would have wished a thousand times to have my backpack back or my daedric weapons. Being born of a pact, I had the will to have them come to me like Thor's hammer and other weapons I liked I had put that spell on.

I came up with a crazy idea.

Undoing my Bound Axe, I raised my hand as if to summon the weapon I wanted at that moment.

"D aw nbre aker."

Nothing happened; I heard nothing, but I felt like a small piece of my soul was pulled by something far away. Was there a chance I could bring my weapons? At least one.

All I had for now was my magic and weapons I could steal from corpses.

Putting the thought of weapons aside, I waited and waited without a problem, keeping an eye on my surroundings until Anderson's voice called out to me. I was another one who had an audience with the Council.

Being replaced by a handful more C-Sec, I hurried quickly to the meeting, meeting Nihlus, Garrus, Shepard, and the others. "I'm here; what's the problem?"

"You could say that you are," said Garrus.

I feigned a sigh, laughing at my own luck as the Council began to speak.

"I think it's become clear what we're dealing with here," began Valern, referring to me.

But She made a disclaimer "That Cerberus started an attack just because of you is not for us to take as responsibility. Neither the Alliance System nor we have any evidence of your existence."

Valern, not at all subtle and very curious "But you are obviously a weapon. What is your story?"

I didn't hesitate in my answer; I didn't even have to look at the commanders to make up a lie.

"You don't believe in the Reapers; what makes me think You would believe me?"

"Your abilities have been seen by every person in Citadel space. They categorize it as magic, some as protean power, and others as a variation of biotics."

I approached the commander for her advice, lowering my voice. "Do you think I should tell everything or... do I leave out the part where to me you are... games in my universe?"

"Sooner or later you'll figure it out, but by the time that happens you'll be on your own."

I looked back; the large crowd of people had descended since Shepard officially became Specter, though from here I saw familiar faces: Emily Wong, Samesh Bathia, and Khalisa.

"Just don't spoil it."

I stepped forward, ready to tell my origin.

From my birth in a normal universe, through a magical one, and arriving here only a few days ago. I evidenced the existence of gods beyond our understanding, recounting the events that transpired: First Contact War, Genophagy. But I lied about one thing: my knowledge of what was to come.

I almost let slip the secret of the Asari and their technological breakthrough, but I gave Tevos a hint with one sentence.

"And that's my story; sooner or later you would know. No matter how well I hide the secrets, they will come out. Will I be prepared for the consequences?"

I shrugged, asking each one if I would be prepared, but with Tevos it was different.

"Will you be prepared when your world and culture goes to hell?"

I continued in a calm manner, making it clear that I won't be a threat to anyone, and all I want to do is help. And maybe I let it slip between my words that being Specter was my dream, but another day it will be... maybe.

Some issues were left unexplained by the time that was running out for us. There was simply one condition on my freedom: The commander would be held responsible for my mistakes.

With the Council now retired, I apologized to the commander for the little mess she got herself into because of me. I felt a great relief to see how Jane took this as something unimportant, even annoyed that the Council gave so much importance instead of the real danger: The Reapers.

We all decided to leave, even Nihlus, being him another Specter assigned to the mission of stopping Saren.

Hours later, in search of T'soni. In these hours all I did was familiarize myself with the ship, explore every secret of the great Normandy, and find out if I could go to the bathroom or if there was a hidden bathroom.

~ "We've got a Krogan on board, no shit."~

Compared to how I saw it through a screen, this felt very good; there was a lot of movement. Traffic when it was time to eat.

Normally Tali preferred to eat in the decontaminating room, Wrex ate when he wanted, and Garrus fed on calibrations.

Nihlus, on the other hand, had a strict mealtime, as did Ashley and Kaidan; they were always at the table at the same time. And Shepard... she kept training and researching in the captain's cabin about Saren and the different planets we would be visiting.

Letting everyone go about their lives, I was focused on finding the reason why Cerberus wanted my blood and what other place more peaceful than the lab was mine for now before Liara arrived.

Something was slipping through my fingers—an important detail but one that I had forgotten for all my adventures.

~"My blood is not magic; it is blood."~

"And the Illusive Man wouldn't immediately experiment with something he thinks he can't control, I think..."

I had to think harder than I remembered, but something as specific as blood encompassed every one of my memories.

"Escape from Helgen, Dragonstone, and Hibernalia. I did so much I have no idea." I had made no progress in my research, not a tiny clue as to what they were looking for.

Looking around, there was nothing else to do as I had just eaten, and, according to Joker, it was only 30 minutes to Therum.

I could train, but the space is too small. Going out was also an option, but I didn't want to meet anyone at this time. To my misery, they found me.

A few knocks, and a woman's question was not long in coming. "May I come in?"

"It's your ship, commander. But... thank you, you can."

Finishing adjusting her N7 armor, Jane Shepard revealed herself to salute, taking a seat next to me.

"You heard Joker, didn't you? I came to see if you could help me."

With my extensive knowledge of future events, I waited for the moment when I would be strategically useful.

"Yes, I can, but I'm afraid of something: that my intervention will cause a greater evil... I've decided to act in punctual moments."

"You fear what that goddess said?" unable to believe she would say that sentence someday, Jane paused to think.

I nodded. "We rely on our skills more than knowledge. It's not a no, but I'll do what I can."

I shrugged, sighing resigned to the situation. The commander noticed this.

"There's something wrong with you, or your magic."

"Nothing wrong, I think so... Some spells are blocked?"

Using Conjuration magic, I tried to summon an Atronach of the Flames, but nothing happened. The commander didn't understand, so I explained that since there was no plane of Oblivion or Remembrance of Souls here, summonings were denied since nothing could be brought in.

"But as I tried to bring one of my weapons, I felt a tug from the opposite side. That was because my soul was bound. If I try hard enough, will I make it?"

"But you already have weapons; you called them Bound weapons, right?"

"Yes, but they are very low level daedric souls. The Atronach are powerful... Wait... wait a minute..."

A shiver ran through my body as I realized what I had said.

~"Weapons are very weak daedric souls... and I can summon them even if there is no plane of Oblivion here... I'm an idiot..."~

I summoned a Bound Sword in my right hand, and being careful not to cut anything, I trained in the center of the lab.

Switching between sword, shield, dagger, and axe, I didn't feel the expenditure of magic one bit, unlike the first day I was here.

Jane was intrigued by what I was doing; she was also impressed by my ability to adapt to different melee weapons.

"You've had a lot of training to accomplish what you promised yourself. What are you looking for now?"

"My limit, commander. A moment ago I said I couldn't summon atronachs, but I think I was wrong."

I explained her about Oblivion and the different planes there were. Also about how the Bound weapons are daedric souls molded to our thinking.

"If there is no plane of Oblivion, this would be impossible, but I can do it."

"Maybe you have a link to that other universe. Did you bring something back from there?"

"It's possible; I don't remember it well. No... of course, you could say I sold my soul to certain daedric princes."

With a look that clearly accused me of being stupid, Jane rolled her eyes. "You must be joking, right?"

"I didn't feel strong enough; I needed those weapons." I regretted it from the bottom of my being, but it was also like I didn't care; it was done. "Now... I think I'm a ticket to Oblivion, in a way. And the Overlords, eeehhh..."

Thinking about it very calmly, there was the possibility of everyone contacting me and making this universe their new amusement park. "Commander, I want to try something" I said in a frightened voice, waiting for the commander's permission to leave the lab.

"You want to bring them? Them?!" Jane's concern was very justified "We don't need any deal to stop Saren.".

"I know perfectly well, but we'll need their weapons and atronach help to continue; just that... not the princes; I'm not that much of an idiot."

The commander didn't even think about it; her answer was a very direct NO.

I wanted to continue, to disobey her and try to be me again, but it was not my decision as long as I was on the Normandy.

"Okay, I won't..."

Before I could speak on another topic, Joker alerted us over the loudspeaker that we had arrived on the surface of Therum, advising to go to the Mako as soon as possible.

~"If this were the game, we'd have a long way to go to get there."~

"It'll be a road full of Geths; I'll go ahead" I said, leaving the lab bound for the Zone. The commander stood beside me on the route "You know what we're in for."

I nodded. "But not the quantity. I was thinking of all of us going straight in, but that will make them come at us from all flanks. God only knows what will happen."

When the commander pressed the elevator button to go down, I couldn't help but slyly glance at her.

~"Yes, of course. That would already be... very weird."~

With the elevator doors open, I watched as Garrus and Tali prepared the Mako for the mission, waving to Shepard as soon as they saw her. Also gathered were Nihlus, Ashley, and Kaidan preparing weapons. Wrex had barely moved from the lockers.

Calling everyone together, Shepard made an announcement "As all know, Benezia's daughter should be here. The Geth know we're coming, so a small group will be the best choice. Any volunteers?"

I took a step back while the others took a step forward.

Garrus insisted on going for the belief that Saren would be there; Nihlus, for the same reason, wanted to go.

Tali suddenly took a step back, though she didn't say much, "Sorry."

Wrex wanted to have fun killing something; Ashley and Kaidan were doing it because they were soldiers.

Without hesitation, Shepard chose Nihlus and Ashley, who immediately grabbed their weapons and entered the Mako. The others just dispersed to their usual chores.

But there was another important mission, and that would be to find Benezia.

This being real time, it could be that Benezia had already arrived in Noveria, spoiling Peak 15 and attempting to indoctrinate Queen Rachni, or not having arrived at all.

"Commander, in Noveria something big will happen, or is happening. It has to do with Benezia."

As the commander prepared for departure, I took into account what I said, but she said a "It will take us days to get there as well as them, the distance between systems is immense. For now I need you on the ground."

"M-me? But you already picked the team—Nihlus and Ashley." I was nervous and intrigued by what Shepard had in mind "I could lead them, but..."

"I need you to tell Joker where exactly this Liara would need to be. If the Geth consider her a priority, she must be in danger."

Before even asking another question, Joker spoke up, warning of Geth ships coming against them.

"Very well! Get the Mako ready because we're going down NOW!"

I backed away to safety, watching as the Mako propelled outward with great force.

"Joker, follow the path through the air. If we fail, Liara will be lost."

"Understood DragonBorn. I'll drop them."

I sighed, showing embarrassment at being called that name even though I was supposed to have gotten used to it by now.

With light steps and caution, I approached Wrex to ask if he wanted to join me. "Are you busy? It's just... I need help."

The large figure of the Krogan was intimidating, standing firmly before me.

"Well, I'll accompany you."

"Thanks, really" I said, giving a thumbs up with a smirk from ear to ear. "We only have one more to go."

At that, a hooded shadow called out to me from behind. "Excuse me, can I go? Mijael" It was Tali, who was readying her shotgun, already predicting my response.

"Great, we're already full. I hope you guys aren't afraid of heights."

I headed for the still-open hatch, stepping through the large blue barrier alongside Tali and Wrex. You could see at impressive speed that Joker had been circling the place, avoiding the Geth ships.

"Fall as you will. Nothing will happen." Placing my hands on each one's shoulder, I conjured the Enduring Dragon Skin spell on them and myself. "It weakens according to the blow they take. Be careful."

Just as I saw the entrance to the mine nearby, I jumped out of the ship as if I were a meteorite myself, slashing with my blades at whatever came my way.

Just as I hit the ground, two more booms sounded behind me, followed by gunshots.

Quickly getting up, I inspected the place to corroborate that it was the right one while receiving shots from various angles, although I only felt small uncomfortable stings.

"The entrance, the mountains, everything is fine. The Geth Colossus?" Taking the full impact of the shot, it knocked me back a few steps. "That really hurt bad."

Another blue flash, this time faster than the previous one, was headed for me. But it was repelled by my Bound shield.

Running in the direction of the Colossus, I kept dodging each shot. Until I heard the scream of a Krogan, it was Wrex who had launched himself at the Colossus' head. Gripping the head tightly, it was as if he had tamed an animal, firing his shotgun mercilessly.

"He's tougher than we thought. Shields down!" exclaimed Tali, monitoring from some crates with her Omni-Tool.

Me standing a few inches away, I filled the floor with Electricity Rune as I cut one by one of their legs.

"Very good. Wrex, RKO!"

After two hits, Wrex put all his weight to fall to the ground, taking the Colossus' head with him.

On the other side, the body landed on the runes, exploding in a burst of electricity that chained on every Geth in the area, killing them.

"The Geth can't stop us now."

"We have to be sure, Tali. Chain lightning" Ejecting flashes from my hands, the electricity scattered across the ground towards the Geths, frying their circuits until it left only a sticky mass of wires.

But I felt the electricity go beyond my sight. "Reinforcements are coming, and not a few of them."

"Frying them is a good option," Wrex said, waiting for me to finish the job. Before I put power to my spell, the shot and tear in my shoulder came through. To my surprise, it wasn't from the front, it was from behind.

The voice of a Krogan was heard from the entrance of the Protean Ruins. "Saren was right; you are still human. Now to the head."

Another shot, but he was pulled aside by Wrex. "Move it, boy, we're surrounded" he said, throwing me into the crates where Tali was.

And from that little trench, the battle began.

Using a quick healing spell, my shoulder was almost as good as new, allowing me to throw ice spikes at the approaching Geth.

A moment later, I received the call from Commander Shepard, advising that the Geth were retreating to a distant point and sending me the coordinates.

"We're there, Commander." Rising up, I created a cloud of fire from which fireballs fell randomly. But still, they kept coming.

"If they're trying so fervently, it means Liara is still there. We're on our way." The fight went on, everyone giving the best they had, but I was saving my best for the worst-case scenario, as next.

The clash of metal against earth warned us of the coming Geth Colossus. "Okay, here we go again. Shared Dragon Skin"

Sharing my spell with Wrex and Tali, we jumped into battle. But I went for a different target, the entrance to the mine.

Crushing with ice stakes the Geth that accompanied the Krogan, it was one more step and a restrained fist that I prepared as I stood before the Mercenary.

I wanted the impossible to be possible, to take hold of me in a bare-knuckle fight against the Krogan.

~"This is a greatest show."~

But he didn't think so, and with every intention to kill, he fired a large charge of Carnage into my stomach.

My fist went on to grab a Bound Shield, hitting the shot and the Krogan in seconds. Pushing the shield aside with his strong arms, he sought to shoot me in the side, but I already had a counterattack.

"Fus Ro Dah!"

With enough power to shatter a human, it only shattered the mercenary's armor, and the natural plates on his head had cracked. But he didn't look stunned.

"Really? Fus- Mhh!"

The mercenary quickly covered my mouth, readying his weapon to kill me. "You're such a little nuisance."

At the exact moment of the shot, I blocked him with a Bound sword, causing a large metallic screech. Immediately I slashed at his weapon, reaching for the arm that had me mute.

He took a step back to propel himself against me with his fist in the air. I could only smile as I saw that what I longed for was on its way.

The Krogan's great blow easily surpassed that of a Snow Troll; receiving it from the right gale, I felt everything about me fade away. And as I lost the strength in my legs, I slowly fell sideways, but it still wasn't enough.

"Stop the buzzing, Krogan." From below, my fist gained momentum to strike the Krogan's jaw, and while it wasn't enough to knock him out, it did hurt from his expression.

And so began an exchange without the guard up; there was nothing else for us but to knock the opponent down with punches.

I thought of nothing else; I wanted to prove something out of this. Having already fallen for a simple Turian, I wanted to achieve more than that.

~"To be labeled as the most dangerous thing in the universe? Or its savior."~

The mercenary charged at me, so in one swift motion I grabbed his hands, pushing in the opposite direction.

~"What would Shepard do in this situation?!"~

"Right!". I slammed my head against his, feeling the breakage of both parts. Taking advantage of this small moment of imbalance, I put all my weight on the mercenary to carry him to the entrance of the mine, where I thrust my blades into him, piercing his hands to his heart.

He didn't even want to surrender, taking his strength to the beyond, spitting blood in his attempt to free himself. The mercenary took advantage of the fact that we had more hands intertwined to squeeze my hand and break it, managing to do so.

Even so, I did not yield in my thrust, even with my hands shattered. We both screamed in a last desperate movement. He managed to disable my right hand; I embedded the sword deeper.

I brought the blade up to his brain, bursting flesh, bone, and armor with its edge. And so, with an undone hand ringing from an Omni-Tool call, I undid the Bound blades to attend.

"Y-Yes?"

It was the commander reporting what happened. "We've encountered Wrex and Tali fighting dozens of Geth, where are you?"

"I...? At the mine entrance, do you wish me to continue?"

"Negative, 1 minute, and I'll find you-"

"Did you have trouble?" I interrupted her, wanting to know her status. "Is anyone hurt?"

"Everyone is fine, Tali explained what you did to them."

"I'm glad. That's good." I took a deep breath so I could relax. "Don't hurry, I'm fine... I'll go in. If this Krogan was here, it means Liara was here too."

"...Okay, but at the first sight of enemies, you stop."

Cutting off the call, I watched my hand regenerate bit by bit due to a deeper restoration spell. Also at the bruises on my body.

"No promises, Shepard."

Lifting the Krogan like an undead, I walked into the mine with a mission to go all in and get off this planet, using the dead man as a punching bag fighting for me.

Different spells between thunder, ice, telekinesis, and runes made a mess on my way. And as I reached the elevator, I heard multiple running footsteps coming towards me. I could estimate 3 people.

"They sure took their time" I said, stepping into the elevator as I pointed to the big blue barrier that separated us from the other side. "She's supposed to be down there, but I don't hear anything."

"Already, how many days was she trapped?" asked Nihlus, also wondering if she was an ally of Benezia and thus Saren.

"She's not, at least not that I know of."

"Let's go" Shepard gave the order to enter, activating the elevator with a bang. Looking around me and the path we left behind, I asked if Wrex and Tali had returned to the ship. Receiving confirmation from Ashley.

"That's...great. I wouldn't want Wrex to see this."

With the elevator doors opening, gunshots and the smell of burning flesh wafted in; it was coming from a single being.

The corpse was fighting off into the distance against the few remaining Geth. With every step he took, a chunk of flesh fell off.

He was missing so much flesh that his large bones were exposed, but he was still useful to me, so I would not let him rest in peace.

Ashley was disgusted by my methods even though I used it on a Krogan, and Nihlus just looked surprised; he even gave a warning shot to see if it was real.

"Is that necessary?"asked Shepard as we walked down to where Liara was.

"I did it because I was a little tired of battling. I didn't want to get my hands dirty."

She didn't seem to agree with my excuse, but let it go.

Now, the 4 of us were in front of a large blue barrier that showed us an unconscious and thin Liara. She had spent days trapped here. Jane knocked on the barrier in order to wake her up, but there was no response. "The shield is too tough even for conventional weapons; we need another method."

I pointed to the large mining laser below, giving the Krogan the order to activate it.

What happened after that? Nothing... The mine was able to hold long enough to rescue Liara.

She was still not awake, scanning her and sending the data to the doctor. On the way to the Normandy, she told us that she had been there for no more than 4 days without food or drink.

And now, outside the mine, through the big red sky, the Normandy was approaching, almost unhurriedly.

"The Geth has given up; they decided to abandon the planet! Mission accomplished, commander!"

The victory cheer could be heard from inside the ship. Everyone was aware of how important our victory in these missions was.

With no more time to waste, we climbed aboard where the Mako left off, already on a fixed course for Noveria.

~"Next mission: Benezia"~