Shepard Stories

by Da Foaming Dragon

These stories are just fragments of Jonathan Shepard life through the first three games and his life afterwards. These stories will also be of his family. What lies ahead for him, his lover and his children? The stories are in chronological order, and one will explain another whether it's next or further down the line. Shepard Stories is currently being edited.

22. Blood Mountain

Shepard Stories II - Chapter 22: Blood Mountain

Main Characters: Liara, Shepard and their daughter Benezia

Omega – Aria T'Loak's Home

Bray was Aria T'Loak's loyal right hand merc, bodyguard, friend, and assistant. He was sitting in the living room flipping through channels then stopped on the news when his eyes caught something interesting. Great Onikuma and Blood Mountain. His eyes widened as he jumped up from the couch and ran for Aria's room.

"Aria! Wake up!" yelled Bray as he came barreling through the door.

Aria glanced over at the clock then grumbled "Damn it, Bray, you better have a good fucking reason for waking me up at 1000 hours. What the fuck is so damn important?"

He clicked the tv on "The news!"

She rolled her eyes as she mocked him "The news…" then grunted as she shifted in her bed to look at the tv. "What the hell is happening? The Great Onikuma?" She smirked, "That's just a story! Now get the fuck out of my room."

"No, apparently it's real. Shepard and several of his family members are trapped on the mountain with all these crazy beasts or something."

She shrugged as she pulled at the sheet to get comfortable then said, "What the fuck does this have to do—" She quickly turned to Bray as she spat out "Please tell me my girls are NOT with him."

Just as she said that she saw her eldest daughter on tv "FUCK!" she continued to watch the news "Great, so if he's dead, then my daughter is fucked!" She jumped out of bed and got dressed "I want to be on Armali as soon as possible! Let no one know I'm leaving. I just want a small loyal crew."

"Yes, ma'am. What about Omega?" replied Bray

"Fuck, Omega! My daughter is more important. You can stay here, but I'm leaving now!" she snarled.

"Aria, they say you can't enter the mountain because of some barrier keeping everyone out and them in. There won't be anything you can do." mentioned Bray.

She kicked over a small side table "DAMN IT!" she breathed heavily "I will… fucking kill every one of them if something happens to her! Aaarrrggghhh Fuuuuuccckkkk!" She clenched her fists as she screamed the last part of her words. Aria stood there for a moment before she moved. She lifted her arm and looked at her omni tool. Tears appeared in her eyes as she stared at her daughter's picture. She quietly breathed out, "Please…" Her omni tool dinged and she saw that it was her lover Tevos calling her. She quickly wiped her tears away and answered, "Hey, Yes I just saw. I want to but they say there's nothing that can be done. Yes, would you? Thank you. I'll be fine. Where's Lena? With you? Ok good. Yes, I'll feel better when you get there. Ok, call me when you touch down. Love you. Bye"

-/

Blood Mountain, Thessia

They all froze when they heard Shepard scream out in agony. Anna and Benezia started crying at the thought of their dad getting torn apart by a beast. They could all hear several sniper shots flooding the air then silence. Anna quickly wiped away her tears then finished cleaning her sister's wound and applied medi-gel. She hugged her, "It's going to be ok."

"Ladies, hurry and finish getting your gear on. We need to get back to your dad." said Kirre.

Alex and Kirre shoved everything they could in the backpacks. They quickly put on their armor and grabbed their larger weapons. "Alex, I'm going back for Shepard" said Kirre.

"Just wait for me… us…" said Alex.

"No…" said Kirre.

"LT, I heard him. Your priority are these girls not him." snipped Alex.

She turned her back then wiped tears from her eyes. "Twenty-eight years he's been my priority, and I just left him there! I stood there and listened to several sniper rounds go off. I heard his gun go off as we ran away. Did you not hear him scream out in pain because I did!" She sniffled then turned to face them with her fist clenched "I just left him there!" She took a deep breath as tears trickled down her face "She'll never forgive me if anything happens to him. She…she will kill me herself! I am a dead asari walking and you know it."

Alex placed a hand on her shoulder and spoke gently. "And what do you think she will do if her children suffer the same fate?"

She dropped her head, "Probably worse."

-/

Once they grabbed all their gear, they ran back to the area Shepard was. They saw the white pup sitting there letting out several heeeiiipppp noises then it would stand and fire biotic pulses in a few directions.

Benezia said, "What is she doing?"

Kirre picked up the pace as she ran "She's trying to protect your dad. The other animals smell the blood and are coming in to eat."

Alex yelled out for his brother, "Jon?" When they got to the tingra's he fired off a few rounds to scatter the smaller animals away. They looked around, "If she's protecting him, then where is he?"

Kirre's eyes flashed, "He's underneath!" Ladies let's do a stasis lift and remove them. Hurry!"

Mili and Benezia removed one tingra as Kirre and Anna removed the other one. Anna and Benezia looked down at their dad, saw deep gashes on his back and large amounts of crimson blood spilling out. They dropped to their knees next to their dad and started crying. "Oh my god… Dad— Dad…"

Alex clenched his fists at the sight of his brother then knelt down. "Jon?" When he didn't answer or move, he checked his pulse. He could feel a pulse in his neck. "Christ! LT get me some medi-gel! Ladies keep an eye out for predators." He swirled his finger in the air as he said, "I want all angles covered."

The girls nodded and stood in a triangle and watched for predators.

Kirre quickly dug in her bag for medi-gel then handed it to him. "Damn these look deep Alex!" she gently pushed the small white pup back "You did a great job but get back." The little pup huffed at her and growled. Kay looked at her "Hey, behave. We're not going to hurt him. We're helping him." She watched as the small pup whined then nudged his hand.

Alex cut away his brother's shirt then said "It is. I can see his fucking bone…" He poured some water on it before he applied large amounts of medi-gel. "LT, I'm going to need another one." She handed him another vial and he applied the rest of the medi-gel over his wounds then placed a protective seal over it. Help me turn him so we can get the front. "They must have killed the female before it finished it's attack because she didn't finish her bite. These cats have to be at least two to four hundred pounds each. I'm assuming the weight of the first one knocked him out." He pointed to the other one "This big fucker is the male. Look how many sniper bullets it took. Fuck! She must have been trying to leer Jon out or near him because we never saw him. Maybe she wanted his back to him. Clever fuckers. He must have been hungry because fuck this bitch. He took a big ass bite out of her already open wound. Look at that… Damn." He quickly stopped then looked up and into the surrounding area. "Male… and female…"

Kirre looked around "Yea... I caught that, cubs or young adults maybe?"

"Maybe… they could be out there or not." Said Alex

Mili ran her gloved hand down the back of the tingra "Wow it's… like scales of a reptile but hard. Underneath the body is skin and fur, the head has patches of hair too, so weird. "Dad, do you think it's skin changes colors to camouflage?"

Anna stood back and took several pictures. "They're biotic streaks are dissipating. How frickin weird."

"Possibly Mil." Replied Alex as he looked at the tingra and watched as the streaks faded "That is strange. I still want to know what that does."

Kirre lifted a thumb up into the air and held it there then looked up at the shuttle hovering nearby.

Alex looked over at Kirre then down at his brother, "Alright, LT, help me get him up. We need to get out of the open." He shook his head then mumbled "It's not even noon yet and only the first day of this shit."

—/

Alex looked over when he heard his brother groan. He smiled then said "You're finally awake. Welcome back to the living"

"How are you doing Dad?" Asked Anna

His face scrunched as he moved then replied "Ehh I've been better." He grunted as the pain radiated throughout his body, "nMmm damn. How bad is it?" He said then turned toward his youngest daughter, "What about you? Let me see."

"It's covered by the armor. Anna slapped some medi-gel on it. My wounds are nowhere near as bad as yours. I'll be fine." said Benezia.

"Bro, you have some pretty bad gouges on your back and some on your chest. Teeth holes. You know… nothing that can't be patched up." Alex said, then gave a small laugh.

"nMm LT can you stitch it up?" Shepard said as he looked toward Kirre.

Her eyes widened as she shook her head "Sir? Those are fairly large wounds. I…I… can't…"

He smiled, "Well, you're going to have to do it. I can't keep this medi gel in place for three days. Do one at a time. Ladies, I would suggest you turn and not look. What time do you think it is?"

Alex looked up, "I don't know, maybe 1800, the sun is setting."

"But… but I'll need to clean it before I stitch it. I… I…" Said Kirre hesitantly.

"Lt just do whatever it is you need to do." Replied Shepard

"Ok, umm, Sir I haven't done this in centuries."

"It doesn't have to be perfect, just close it up. Do the ones on the back first." He said as he slowly turned on his stomach.

She grabbed a numbing agent and injected several areas. She prepped a needle and threaded it then peeled a section of the medi-off.

She let out a slow breath then said, "Ok ok ready?" She splashed betadine antiseptic on the wound and began to stitch up his wound.

—/

Liara waited patiently as the time ticked by then heard multiple dings go off on her omni toolding ding ding ding ding ding.

(Jon?)

(Babe?)

(Are you ok? Goddess, I thought you got killed. Oh, my love, I'm a fucking wreck inside. This is driving me mad that I can't physically get to you all. How's my baby? Is she ok?)

(I could be better. LT is stitching up my back. Nez is ok, but I haven't seen it because she has armor on, Anna took care of her wound for her. I'm sorry, babe, but I told you I would do whatever it took to keep our children from harm's way.)

(I know, and I love you!)

(I love you. We need to get out of here, babe.)

(I don't know what to do. I've tried. I need you all to come home to me.)

(Why is there a break at these times? Check the barrier)

Liara quickly hit her com unit "Whoever is up in that shuttle check the barrier with your foot, now!"

(Checking)

(I'm assuming its strongest at the bottom and not at the top. Something to do with the day beginning and ending. I don't know.)

(Maybe… Baby, you sound distant, and I'm probably going to lose our link after tonight. I love you so much. Tell my babies I love them.)

(I know. I'll send you several messages tonight, so you'll get them in the morning. I love you, and I will.)

(If there is a break. Be ready by 0500.)

(No time here. I'll try.)

(Ugh, I hate this. I just want you all home) She waited for a response and didn't receive one. She looked down at her omni tool 1831. She looked at Miranda, "That was Jon."

"How is he? Bene?"

"Kay is stitching him up. Bene is ok. He said something about the barrier and the break in it at these certain times. Maybe a way out?"

"How? Nothing has come out of there!" said Miranda.

"Not from the bottom. He said to check the top. He thinks the bottom is the strongest, but the top is the weakest. The bottom keeps all the land animals in. I don't know."

"Hmmm…."

"Lady Liara. Tested the barrier foot went through but did not allow the aircraft." Said a pilot.

She clapped her hands together. "Yes! Ok at 0530 we try to get as many out as we can with the girls being first. Then whoever else at 1830. We have less than 60 seconds to do it. Let's get a meeting and see how we can do this."

-/

"I just spoke with Liara. She's having someone check the barrier. Something happens when the day starts and ends. It could be our way out; I'm not sure. We need to rise early and be ready to go the moment you see shuttles hovering. Girls, you all will be first then we'll go. Ok?"

"Ok, but why not all together?" said Anna.

"We may go all together, but I'm just saying."

"Dad! Take a look at your streaks; they changed colors and Bene." Said Anna.

Benezia took off her gloves, looked at her hands then looked at the little pups. "All four of us… I didn't even realize if they were different shades this morning. Did anyone else?"

Anna shook her head "No, he's always in that sling most of the day, and she's next to dad."

Alex shook his head slightly "I don't know Jon. There's a reason we have these markings. Maybe they can get through, but it doesn't mean we can leave. You are the only four that have received injuries from other animals, and I think that's why your streaks are different."

"True but we won't know until tomorrow. Are you sure they're different?" said Shepard?

Anna removed her gloves and held her hands up to her sisters. "Yes, ours are much darker, and yours are lighter.

-/

Shepard was drifting off to sleep when he felt the ground shake. He looked up and out in the distance. His eyebrows pinched as he saw a massive green glow within the trees. He stood up when he saw itfuuuuck.This Ru'rak was massive, had to have been two to three times the size of a regular one. Then he saw the spikes and the face mask.Holy hell… it's him!He opened his omni tool and started taking pictures then a video. It smelled the air then walked toward them. "Everyone up! Everyone up!"

Everyone startled awake, "What?"

"Holy Fuck!" exclaimed Alex

Everyone quickly moved to the opposite side of the dome and pressed themselves against it. Its face was right on the other side of the dome. It looked toward them as if it was peering directly into the dome. It took a deep breath then let out a loud grunting noise. It stood there for a moment and just looked directly at them then made another loud grunting noise.

Anna filmed the whole thing, then said, "I think it can smell us."

Alex spoke, "I think you're right, Anna. I think he can fucking see us, to be honest with you."

He whispered to his brother, "We have less than an hour before we need to switch out the dome. If it sticks around…we're fucked."

"I know!"

It stood up and then came down on top of the dome then dragged its claw across the top of it. It dropped down then walked to the side they were leaning against. They all quickly moved to the other side, and it took another breath then ran its tongue up the dome.

Shepard looked down at himself "It's me he smells. If he sticks around or breaks through this dome, I want you all to run as fast as you can from me."

"Dad?"

"You heard me. Don't worry about me, just do what I told you."

-/

Day 2

Liara looked over at the other five shuttles dropping the ropes down to the ground. She looked through her binoculars and watched as her family put on their harnesses and prepped the ropes. She scanned the area and saw her youngest with the sling around her chest then quickly looked for her husband and saw that he had a sling around his chest as well. She saw that he was hooked into the rope, but he also had his rifle out and scanning the area. Liara looked down at her omni tool 0515 then saw the rope slap against the shuttle. "Ok reel her up, I'll let you know when to stop." A smile swept across her face when her daughter looked up, and she saw her face as she got closer. When the mist appeared, she quickly said, "Slower!" she knew her daughter was still at least several feet down. "Ok, very slowly now." She let the rope slowly reel in then saw it jerk. "Stop stop!" She looked down at her omni tool 0527 then waited anxiously as the time slowly passed by. Liara clipped herself to the shuttle and laid down on the shuttle floor, preparing herself to help pull up her daughter. She looked down at the time 0530 and quickly looked over at the closest shuttle to see Mili getting helped through the barrier, and a wave of relief came over her.Thank the goddess.She looked down as she waited for her daughter to pass through, then her heart sank when she didn't. She looked down but saw a mist distort the view of her child then she quickly reached through and touched her. "Nezzie!" She began to shed tears when her daughter touched her; then her heart began to break at the sound of her frantic voice. "Mom!"

"I'm here, baby."

"Mom… I can't…"

Shandri placed a hand on her mouth as she closed her eyes and held back tears "Twenty seconds. You need to pull away."

Liara cried harder, "Nooo…" She felt her daughter grip on to her and plead for her "Mom, please don't leave me."

"Ten seconds. You need to pull away Lia."

Liara pulled away from her "I'm sorry baby. I'm so sorry. I love you!"

"Mom…"

"Liara, five seconds! Pull your arms through!" Liara pulled her hands back, grabbed her chest, then cried. She tapped at her omni tool as tears fell from her face, "Jon?...babe?" Liara looked over at Shay. Shay shook her head no at her. Liara clenched her fists, "Damn it!"

She took a deep breath and said, "Reel her back down."

-/

GNN

"Good morning, this is Kathy Ferrington with Galaxy Network News. It's day two of this tragic event that is going on with the T'Soni-Shepard's still trapped on Blood Mountain. We were all relieved when we found out that Commander Shepard was not killed but is still severely injured. Let's head over to Adrian that's on site. Adrian?"

"Good morning, Kathy, it's currently 0500, and the camp is already up and moving. Something big is happening today and from what I believe I heard it's going to be a rescue to get her family out. Kathy, I'm not sure how but we'll find out soon enough. There go six shuttles into the air now. Everyone is on pins and needles to see what's going to happen. Oh, look there's Liara's father Matriarch Aethyta let's see if she'll have a word with us. "Matriarch—"

Thyta shoved her hand in the camera's view and snarled "Get that out my face it's too fucking early for this shit!"

"Ok… Well, maybe we'll try again later. Let's shift over to Louis that's in the air. Louis?"

Hello Adrian, Kathy. "They have dropped ropes down to her family, and they are ready to reel them up. The time is 0527, and they have reeled them up just near the barrier. They seem to be waiting for something, but we're not sure what."

"Kathy, are you seeing this! They have made it out of the barrier. This is fantastic news! Let's have a look at Liara she must be thrilled." The camera shifts over to Liara "Something is wrong. It seems one of the young asari is unable to pass through. Oh, my goodness that's her daughter, and they're reaching for each other. How heartbreaking." The camera shifts around and finds Shepard "Kathy it seems Commander Shepard is unable to pass through either. Goodness, this is sad. I'll turn it back over to Adrian."

"Kathy, we are here watching the reunion of part of the T'Soni-Shepard family. This is beautiful; they're all embracing each other." After several moments he hears Liara yelling and the camera shifts over to her "Kathy something is happening. Liara seems to be yelling at one of her commandos. Let's see if we can get a closer view." Several commandos run over to the camera and block it "Excuse me… Hey… I have the right to report the news."

"Turn it off!"yelled a commando.

He had the camera go higher, "No."

They stasis the camera and destroyed it.

"Louis tell me you got that?" said Adrian.

"Adrian, Kathy her commandos have surrounded her. There seems to be a confrontation going on between Liara and a commando. Oh, my goodness Liara just lit up in a biotic blaze." Several shuttles flew in front of the camera. "I'm not sure what's happening as her shuttles are now blocking my view. Back to you, Kathy."

"Well… that was unexpected. This is Kathy Ferrington with Galaxy Network News, and we'll have more on the situation as we get it."

-/

They touch down back at camp. Liara hopped off the shuttle and ran toward her eldest daughter. When she got to her, she embraced her tightly "Oh my baby. Are you ok?"

"Yes!" said Anna as she held on to her mom. "Where's Bene and Dad?"

Liara sadly replied, "They didn't get out."

Anna pulled away, "We had a feeling, but we weren't for sure. They were the only ones that were injured by an animal. Mom, dad's in pretty bad shape."

Liara wiped tears from her face and let go of her eldest as she thought about what she just said. "Is he that bad?"

"He looked bad, but he never said how bad it was. I don't know, here take a look." Anna showed her pictures of when Kirre was stitching him up.

Liara winced "Uggghh. That looks very bad. Yea, that's your father. You'd never know for sure until he was in the med bay and the Doctor scanned—" She saw Kirre out of the corner of her eye. She looked toward her, then yelled, "What are you doing here?" Several people turned when they heard Liara yell.

Shay hit her com unit "Get that camera out of here now! I want shuttles in the air blocking that other camera, and I need a wall around Liara. Double time let's go!" Several commandos ran toward the cameraman, the others surrounded Liara and Kirre in a circle, and several shuttles took off into the air.

Kirre looked at her as tears filled her eyes "We didn't know—"

Liara stormed toward her as her words spewed from her mouth, "You had an idea, but yet, here you are!"

Kirre face scrunched "My Lady I would never…please…"

Miranda, Shandri, and Aethyta moved closer to Liara.

Liara's aura blazed around her when her hand gripped Kirre face in anger "My bondmate is badly injured, my daughter is injured, and yet you are unscathed, right? Why?"

Kirre began to cry, "Mistress it wasn't like that, I swear to you. I would give my life for them."

Liara let go of her face and stasis her then gripped her tightly "Kirre, what is your job?"

Kirre saw the rage in Liara eyes and started shaking. "To protect him at all costs."

Miranda quickly walked over to her friend and said, "Liara calm down, your children are here…the news...Don't do this!"

Liara ignored her, then squeezed slightly as she yelled: "Then why are you here!"

"I'm sorry! I wouldn't purposely leave them behind. I will gladly go back. Please… Liara… I swear I would never."

"If either one of them dies, then so will you!" she seethed then dropped her and turned her back. "Get her out of my face and off my crew!"

-/

Unable to pass through the barrier like everyone else. Shepard and Benezia were reeled back to the ground. Shepard hugged his daughter as she cried. "I know you're scared, but it's going to be ok." He released his embrace. "Look at me." He took a breath, "We can do this. We're Shepard's." He pointed to her, "You're a T'Soni-Shepard. You are ranked #2 in the junior Armax arena. You've trained with commandos. We've got this." He placed a hand on her shoulder "I don't want to sound like an asshole but knock that shit off. We don't have time for it, and we need to focus. So, dry those tears."

She wiped her eyes, then nodded.

"We have our armor; we have rifles, pistols, ammo, and whatever else we need. We have your mother watching our backs." He took a deep breath then gently pointed at her chest "You give this everything you have. Dig deep within you. Whatever happens, you give it everything you have and do not quit. You hear me?"

She nodded as she took a ragged breath.

"I've seen you in the arena, and there's a reason you're high ranking. Unlike the Armax arena, this is real. We need to work smart and efficient. Don't burn through all your biotics too fast. We work as a team until the end. I'm going to combo my biotics off yours, and you can do the same off yourself or me. I'll show you how. Don't doubt me, just do what I tell you to do. If it comes down to it and I tell you to run, then you do what I tell you. Ok?"

She hugged him tight, "Yes, sir."

He hugged her, then kissed her crest. "Ok, let's get go get our bags and get geared up."

-/

After several hours of walking toward the sun, Shepard said, "Nez which way are we going?"

She shrugged, "Ummm, I'm not sure."

He rolled his eyes then thumped her crest, "Use your head."

She flinched as she rubbed the side of her head, "Owww…" She glanced up toward the sun "Umm…West."

"Where's the largest peak of the mountain at? Replied Shepard

"Ummm left… So ummm south?"

"Ok, and where do we need to stay away from?" replied her father.

"We don't want to travel too far north or toward the edge of the mountain."

"Ok, so if we get separated and the peak is getting smaller then head back toward it but don't go too far south either. If it gets colder, then you're too far up the mountain. Which you shouldn't be, but you never know. We want to stay where we are now in this general vicinity. Now, what do you see?"

She looked around, "I'm not sure, what should I be looking at?"

He lifted his hand to thump her crest.

She quickly rose her hand as she flinched "Ok ok… I'm looking" This time she looked more carefully "I see several tracks."

"Yes, good. What kind?"

She knelt down to look closer. "Ummm…hooves. Deer like creature of some sort… and several paws…" She quickly looked up then around at her surrounding as she continued "…wolves."

Shepard nodded as he replied "Yes, keep your eyes open and stay alert. There's a large pack around here somewhere. We need to be on the lookout for things like this constantly. Tree scratches, broken tree limbs, etc. What do you have readily available to you?"

She stood as she began to touch each one of her weapons attached to her armor "My pistol, my rifle, my knife, my dome, and my cloak. Everything else is in the bag."

"Ok good. Have you eaten?"

"No."

"Go ahead and eat a protein bar and have some water."

She nodded then looked over at her dad, who quickly shook his head then leaned against a tree. "Hey, you ok?"

"I feel weird, and I just got dizzy." He let out a breath "Ugh. I'm tired."

"You should probably eat something too," said Benezia.

He made a face then replied "Yea… I'm not really hungry."

They heard rustling behind them, and they both turned their heads quickly. They looked into the woods and saw a multitude of eyes, "Nezzie, come toward me and back into the open."

—/

Shepard heard a sniper round ripple through the air but noticed no animal was hit. "Nezzie something is wrong. The round didn't make contact."

"Umm, so what's that mean?"

"Get ready for a fight."

Before her dad could say anything else, her aura blazed around her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She opened them and hurled out a singularity toward the wolves. The wolves were getting pulled in into the singularity when she threw out a lance and the moment it touched the singularity it detonated. She released a biotic pull then threw the wolf into another wolf. Then another singularity with lance and another then a pull and throw.

Shepard blinked slowly then turned and looked at his daughter. He saw her glowing a red color and moving with speed then noticed a glowing whip in her hand. She whipped it across her and struck several wolves. The wolves yelped in pain as the whip tore away a piece of their flesh with every strike. He shook his head at the sight then his aura blazed, and he joined her.

They were breathing heavy after the fight then he looked at his daughter "Damn Nez what moves are those? And what was that weapon?"

"I don't know… it just came out." she said.

"I didn't know you could do throw either. You had some power back there. That whip thing was… brutal! " He knelt on the ground.

She walked over to him, "Are you ok?"

He shook his head quickly and grunted: "I feel out of it."

—/

Day Three – late in the afternoon

"Dad, how are you doing?"

He grunted softly then replied "Not good Nez. Weak, tired, feverish. Getting delusional… seeing weird things."

She put her hand on his shoulder, "Look at me." She looked at her sick father, who was pale and sweating. He looked at her, and she saw faint black streaks on his neck and red streaks in his eyes. "The streaking on your neck and on your eyes have gotten worse."

They continued to walk slowly through the woods and her dad was leaning on her as they walked. He groaned, "Stop here." Shepard leaned on the closest tree and expelled his stomach then groaned.

Benezia removed her sling and set the young male pup on the ground to stretch his legs, then said, "How are you doing?" Her eyes widened when she felt the ground shaking, "Dad, what's that?"

Her father quickly turned to her and said, "I need you to run far from here. Don't look back, just keep running. I'll try to hold them off. Only stop to fight if you must. Now Go!"

"But—"

"What did I tell you? I said go!" he sternly said as he waved her away. He looked over at both pups, "You two get! Go on!"

Benezia looked at her father for a moment then turned and fled through the woods. Tears ran down her face as she ran, the warm air smothered her lungs with warmth. She heard biotics crashing, rifle fire and screams from her father in the distance but she didn't turn to look. The ground crunched beneath her but didn't know if anything was behind her, she just ran. She didn't know if the pups stayed with her father or if they were running with her and she didn't care to look. She continued to run as fast as she could until her lungs and muscles were burning. Then she saw a large open field through the trees. She wasn't sure if it was a good idea to go into the open or to stay within the trees. Then suddenly a biotic blast came crashing into the trees next to her. Her straight line of running now turned into a zig-zag pattern. She decided to run through the large open field instead of running left or right through the woods.

Benezia knew they were gaining on her and at any moment she was going to have to make a stand. She was a quarter way through the field when she felt a blast to her back. Her kinetic barrier stopped the damage but didn't stop the sheer force of it. The moment the biotic blast hit her, pure fear crept through her entire body, and she cried harder. She flew forward, came down on her chest, and slid across the ground. In a split second, she remembered what her father told her, and he echoed throughout her mindKnock that shit off. There's no time for it, now focus. Dig deep, and you give it everything you have and don't quit.She stood quickly, took a deep breath then turned to face her enemies. The instant she turned she felt the fear drain away, it was replaced with courage, strength, anger, and hate. She could feel it burning through her veins as she lit her aura of blue with hints of red. When Benezia turned, she saw several Ru'rak and a large one heading toward her. The sight didn't faze her; she just reacted with several singularities then several lances to detonate them.

Benezia quickly grabbed her rifle, switched it to incendiary, and pumped multiple shots into the group. With every contact blast she heard the Ru'rak bellowing out in pain, but she didn't stop. No thoughts came through her mind as she fought; her body just reacted. The Onikuma lashed back at her with large biotic pulses, and she biotically dashed through them and continued to fight back with biotic pulls and throws.

She could tell the Onikuma was growing angrier, she extended her hands, and when she clasps them together, a massive shockwave flew from her. The moment she released her shockwave, the Onikuma released a multitude of pulses at her. She couldn't dodge them all, and her body flew backward. Her breath was quickly taken from her, and pain radiated in her back when it hit the backpack, she was wearing that hit the ground. Benezia laid there and gasped for air. She didn't know how long she laid there, but knew it was probably a few seconds, maybe more then she heard her mother screamingGET UP!

She felt the ground rumbling beneath her, and she quickly sat up. The instant she sat up the Onikuma was right there with its jaws open, she lifted both her arms in defense and tried to react, but it came down on her too fast. Her body let out an unnerving sound she's never in her life made. The sound was a pure sound of pain as it bit into her left forearm and shattered it as if it was glass. The force of the bite was like a sledgehammer smashing her arm. Its razor-sharp claw ripped through her light armor as if she wore none at all. She felt its claws tear through each side of her armor and rip her flesh open as it bit down. Before the massive Ru'rak could rip her arm from her limb, her agony screams changed to just screams when her aura blazed a fiery red and a link formed between the two. The Onikuma let go of her arm and began to roar out in pain.

-/

GNN

"Kathy, please tell me you are all seeing this! This is absolutely amazing. Even though she was extremely injured, she continued to fight that giant beast. Simply an amazing sight to see her never give up. What on god's green earth did she do to that Ru'rak? Blood spots came out everywhere. Then Commander Shepard came out of nowhere and impaled it with a Sphere of some sort. Oh, my lord, my heart is racing. Even though they didn't defeat the Onikuma, they severely injured it. Oh lord, the wounds they both have are a nasty sight. Kathy, back to you."

"Thank you, Louis. I have to say that young asari is impressive! Myself, being in my fourth century, I am light years away from even remotely being close to those powers she displayed today. This is Kathy Ferrington with Galaxy Network News more to come on this breaking story tomorrow."

-/

Benezia leaned over her father that was laying on his back in the field. He had several claw marks throughout his medium armor but didn't pierce it. He had a severe claw mark that wrapped down the side of his head to the front of his face. She brought her right hand to her mouth, "Dad, Oh my god! You have to be in severe pain." She joined him on the ground to look at his wounds.

He smirked, "I've seen better days squirt." He looked over at her and sat up quickly, "Holy shit, Nezzie. What about you?"

"I can't tell are the wounds that bad? I know my arm is but not sure of my sides. My arm was completely shattered, and the wounds were gaping. I did something… I don't know what, but my arm doesn't feel completely obliterated anymore. I mean it's definitely still broken or messed up. I don't know… I don't know about the other wounds." She lifted her right arm and looked at one of her new wounds and gently touched it. "Ugggghh."

He dug through his bag for some medi gel and his medical kit. "Let's get you fixed up the best we can." He injected her with a bit of medi-gel to help with the pain. "I'm going to let that seep in then we'll remove your armor." He helped her out of her chest armor, and she winced in pain. "I'm sorry sweetie almost got it… there." He took a deep breath. "Now removing the armor from your arm is going to suck. Ready?" She turned her head and shook her head, "Just do it." She cringed in pain as he pulled it from her arm.

As he was patching her up, she looked around "Where's Blue and Gimpy?"

"I'm not sure. I thought they followed you?" He wiped the blood from his eye that was dripping down from his wound. "Shit…"

"Dad that wound is gaping and nasty hurry up so I can fix that. It's going to keep dripping into your eye."

"No… I think some got in your wound. I'm going to seal yours off then I'll come back to your side wounds and stitch them up."

"Ugh… dad…"

They heard grass rustling, and they quickly turned with their biotics flared. They couldn't see anything, just the grass parting. It got closer then the little pups emerged. Benezia and Shepard let out a breath then she said, "Dad, I'm so done with this place."

As he worked on her, he said, "Me too, kiddo. Hey, what's with those new moves?"

"I have no idea! They just keep coming to me. What about you?" she said

He shrugged, "I have no idea either. Like you said it just came to me."

"You told me to dig deep. I did, and my mind and body said to do this, and that's what came out."

He chuckled, "Damn Nez. I can honestly say you surpassed your older sister and even your mother. Hell, I'd say you passed several matriarchs with that power."

"You think so?"

"I don't think. I know. I'm sure it has something to do with this blood moon. Probably a temporary power but who knows. Your mother has told me once you know a power, then you know it. Whether or not you can pull it off is the question. The knowledge will always be within you… Ok, I think you're good for now."

She looked at his head wound that had severe gouges and gagged, "Damn dad. I think I can see your skull." She injected him with medi-gel. "Ok ok…" She let out a breath then gagged again. "Please don't make me stitch this up."

He chuckled softly, "No stitching. Can't there's too much hair in the way. Just slap the medi-gel on it the best you can then seal it off."

-/

Day Four

Benezia was holding on to her sick and injured father. The black streaks were throughout his face, and the whites of his eyes were almost all red. She looked up at the shuttles hovering then looked at him as he blinked slowly "Hang on, dad. Stay with me. They're going to come get us at any moment now."

He just grunted in response.

-/

GNN

"Kathy, this is the day the rest of them leave the mountain that has contained them for the last several days." The camera focused on Shepard and Benezia "Commander Shepard looks to be in horrible shape." The camera shifted over to Liara "Liara must be in agony as she waits for this barrier to dissipate." The camera followed all the shuttles zipping down to the ground "Look at her go she didn't even wait. Oh wow, this is a wonderful sight. Liara has to be relieved this is over." Several moments pass "Kathy something is happening several Matriarchs have exited a shuttle, and now a priestess and a justicar have exited a shuttle… and they're blocking my view again. Kathy back to you."

"Thank you, Louis. We will never know what happened between them, but we do know that they have all been reunited. This is Kathy Ferrington with Galaxy Network News."

-/

Liara kissed her bondmate's face then said "Zen, let's get him on the shuttle and back to the estate. On the double."

Zen nodded "Right away ma'am. I was notified yesterday evening on that Tingra vaccine. So, there should be no issue there."

Liara nodded as she glanced over at several Matriarch's exiting a shuttle "Shay, block those cameras! Get Shepard on a shuttle and I want a barrier around my daughter. Now!"

Shay snapped her fingers "You heard her. MOVE!"

Liara's commandos quickly formed a physical barrier around Benezia as did Miranda and the rest of her family. As the matriarchs got closer, she yelled "You're not taking my daughter. You have no right just because you're scared of her power. I'm sure it has a lot to do with the mountain and the blood moon."

Benezia looked up then over at her mother, "Mom, what's happening?"

"Liara, please back down. We don't want to hurt anyone. Hand her over, and we'll find out." Said a Matriarch

"You can have her if and only if I can go with her. She's badly injured and needs her arm and wounds looked at first. Plus, she has the tingra toxin in her that also needs attention." Replied Liara

The Matriarch looked over at the justicar "Justicar, if you would please."

The justicar looked at the T'Soni-Shepard's guarding the young asari then back at the matriarchs "Matriarch; this young one has not violated any rules. She fought and killed as a form of survival. She did what she needed to do. The strength of her power is unheard of for her age, but nothing that needs my interaction. My presence here is for the safety of the high priestess not for you all." Replied the justicar.

The matriarchs panicked, and one yelled, "She's an ardat-yakshi!"

The justicar looked at Benezia then Liara." Then I must take her!"

Liara rebutted instantly "She is not an ardat-yakshi. She's not a pureblood, none of my children are! They're lying!"

The justicar glared at the matriarchs "If she is not pureblood, then she's no ardat-yakshi!" She walked closer to Benezia, "We will clear this up, right now." She looked at the group surrounding Benezia, "Move or I will move all of you." The justicar waited then forcefully moved them all out of the way and walked toward Benezia.

Liara stood quickly, "Noo! You will not take her!"

Benezia looked around quickly, "Mom? What's this about?" She saw her mother aura blaze then heard her grandfather say, "Liara don't!"

Benezia aura blazed red as she formed a whip in her hand "I don't want to hurt either of you!"

Liara looked up at the moon that was no longer red then looked at her father. "I thought…"

Thyta shook her head "I don't know… but as you know. Once a power is learned, you know it. It's whether or not you can maintain it or perform it. Why she still has the red aura is beyond me."

Benezia waited for the justicar to act first as she knew that you don't act on a justicar first.

The justicar and the high priestess walked toward her. The high priestess held out a hand then said calmly, "Wait. I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to do a meld to clear up some confusion."

Benezia's aura diminished as they walked closer. The priestess placed her hands on her head and gently searched her mind. When the priestess exited, she gasped slightly then turned to the matriarchs "She is no ardat-yakshi!" She stood back in amazement as she looked Benezia over for a moment then said "She is something that is, more rare and divine. If we were at a time when the goddesses walked among us, then I would bow in her presence." She looked over at Liara then continued "I've read the archives, and I know of all the lineages that have come from the ancients, the originals and the ones that hold the sacred gene. The T'Soni's are one of those lineages." She stepped closer to Liara and spoke softly "My question now is, is Benezia the one the prophecy speaks of?" She glanced over at Benezia as she continued "Only time will reveal what lies ahead but she must stay on the right path. If she faulters from that path, then only destruction will remain."

Liara's eyes widened as she responded "What? What prophecy? What path?"

The high priestess took a breath "Come by the temple and read through the prophecy yourself. For the meaning can be different to you than me but we can go over it together. You must prepare for what could be." She said as she smiled then turned toward the matriarchs "Don't test these water ladies for you will lose and we will not help."