.

A Dream Within a Dream

Part 1

Chapter 5

The Normandy

"How is she doing?" Anderson asked as Liara quietly closed the barracks door. She looked up at them and sighed as she shook her head. Garrus' stomach sank as he crossed his arms and looked away.

"She's really shaken. That was a lot to throw at someone all at once," Liara murmured as the three of them turned the corner back into the mess hall. "She's sleeping now, so hopefully she'll begin to process everything and will be feeling better in the morning."

Anderson sighed as he ran a hand over his face. "We knew it would be a risk. We almost never unplug minds that old. She's nearly twenty-nine, it's not surprising she's struggling to accept the truth. Maybe we shouldn't have risked it."

"She can handle it," Garrus asserted, his voice more confident than he felt as guilt gnawed at his insides. He knew feeling that way was irrational, particularly because Saren had already been targeting her. But he felt responsible for her. He'd been the one to identify her, he'd been the one to bring her to Anderson's attention, and he'd been the one who'd insisted they take the chance on her.

The experts on the Fleet could usually help those who struggled after being unplugged, but some were left nothing more than a shell of their former selves, regardless. The possibility left him feeling oddly shaken. There had been something about Shepard when they'd first met within the Citadel. Something he couldn't put his finger on. There was a depth behind her emerald eyes that drew him in, and it left his chest feeling oddly tight.

Garrus set his shoulders. "She'll pull through."

"Hmm." Anderson nodded slowly as he considered. "We'll see. We may need to consider plotting a course for the Fleet, though, just in case."

Liara moved back to her workstation and sat down, spinning her seat around to face the wall of monitors. "I did get some additional scans done while you both were in there, though," She pointed out as her fingers began tapping commands into the keyboard. She glanced up at Garrus. "You were right. She shows incredible promise. I wouldn't say her readings were 'off the charts', exactly, but they were close."

Anderson perked up as he moved to stand just behind her chair, peering over her shoulder as Liara pulled up the readings.

"Well, now, that's interesting." He stroked his chin as his eyes flicked across the screen. Garrus joined them, his brow plates climbing upwards as he took in the charts. "It's rare to see someone with these kinds of numbers."

"Exactly. Do you think the Council will allow us to keep her as part of our crew? I think she'd be a good addition," Liara mused as she sat back and picked up a pen, twirling in between her slim fingers.

"I'll contact Hackett and call in some old favors. In the meanwhile, we can start planning a training regimen for her for when she's recovered enough. We can't let potential like this go to waste."

"Agreed," Liara stated as she leaned forward again and began typing.

"Vega already has his hands full with training Jenkins, but I can talk to Jacob. He's-"

"I'll train her," Garrus cut in, and both Anderson and Liara turned to look at him in surprise. He hadn't even realized he'd opened his mouth before the words had tumbled out. His mind raced with jumbled thoughts as it scrambled for explanations, but they slipped through his fingers like oiled fish.

"New recruits are usually trained by someone of their own species, if possible," Anderson began with a level voice, and Garrus could hear the probing question beneath the words, even though the other man lacked subvocals. He crossed his arms and squared his shoulders as he met the captain's searching gaze.

"I'm the most qualified to train her, certainly more qualified than Jacob. I'm the top combat specialist on this ship. Like you said, we can't let potential like Shepard's go to waste." Anderson watched him with piercing eyes, and Garrus did his best not to shift uncomfortably under the scrutiny.

"Point made. Fine, I'll allow it. You and Liara can begin drawing up a training plan for Shepard. I want the proposal on my desk by the end of the day tomorrow." Anderson nodded curtly before turning to Liara. "Send me a copy of those numbers. I'm going to forward them on to Hackett. He needs to see this."

Liara murmured her acknowledgment, and Anderson turned to leave with a nod. He didn't have far to go, as his office was just adjacent to Liara's desk, and the door opened and shut before Garrus dared to move. Liara turned to him with a small half smile, but Garrus spun away as she opened her mouth to speak.

"I don't want to hear it," He grunted as he took the steps up onto the catwalk.

"I wasn't going to say anything!" Liara called after him, amusement lingering behind her words.

"Yes, you were!" Garrus called back as he reached the door to the main battery. "And I don't want to hear it!" The door swung open, and he stepped through before slamming it behind him.

Shepard woke up in a bed she didn't recognize. Rolling away from the wall, she took in her surroundings, lead settling into her stomach as she recognized it as belonging to the Normandy.

Right. Reality, true reality, sank in.

She tried to sit up, but the bunk above hers was low enough to make it impossible. Pulling herself out from under the rough blankets, she turned to sit on the edge of the bed and shivered as she registered the cold air. It was a wonder a ship this ragged and worn down could keep any heat in, honestly. She grabbed one of her blankets and wrapped it around herself. Leaning forward, she pressed the heels of her palms into her eyes and forced herself to breathe.

She could do this. She didn't have a choice.

With a sigh, she let her hands fall to her knees as she looked up. The barracks, for that's what the room had to be, were low, dark, and cramped, much like the rest of the ship. But it had something like the feel of a home about it, regardless. Each bunk was festooned with personal effects, and though she didn't know enough about the crew yet to be able to guess whose was whose, they all looked comfortable and intimate. Something bittersweet twisted in her gut, a longing she didn't know what to do with.

She looked down at her feet and noticed the small hole in one of her socks. Socks that weren't even hers. It was a stinging reminder that she'd been ripped from her reality and plopped down in a world where she had and was nothing. It was so utterly unlike her previous life that she was still struggling to comprehend it. She'd never felt so alone, even after a life of paranoid solitude. At least that had felt like a choice, to some extent.

But now she was utterly alone. Alone on a ship full of people she didn't know or trust. In a world she couldn't even hope to understand.

Her head throbbed, and her stomach screamed in protest. Clenching her eyes shut, Shepard breathed as she dropped the blanket and brought her hands up to massage her temples. At the very least, she could handle the bare essentials. She needed food.

She found her boots by the side of her bunk and slid her feet into them before grabbing up the laces. Her fingers fumbled with the strings, rusty at a skill she hadn't used since childhood. Shoes on the Citadel didn't-

Shepard's hands slowed as she caught herself. IN the Citadel. Not ON the Citadel. The Citadel was a computer program, not a space station. She had been within it, not on it.

Shit, this was going to take work to wrap her head around.

She shook herself and resumed her clumsy work on the laces. Finally, she had them tied, for the most part, and she stood up before making for the door. She stepped out into the hall and got her bearings as she glanced about the space. Somewhere far off, machinery groaned and shifted, and a light flickered.

She stepped into the mess hall and most of the crew looked up at her from their seats at the table. Her feet froze, suddenly feeling like a deer in headlights as all eyes landed on her.

"Lola! About time you woke up. Come and pop a squat!" Vega called out as he leaned forward to kick the empty chair across from him out for her. Shepard narrowed her eyes and didn't move.

"Who the hell is Lola?" She asked as she fought the urge to return to her bunk. Vega shrugged as he leaned back lazily in his chair and put his hands behind his head as he stretched. Shepard got the distinct impression the movement was intended to show off his biceps.

"I dunno. You just look like a Lola."

"Don't mind Vega," she turned to see Garrus as he stepped toward her, a bowl extended in his hand, "he's just an idiot." She could hear Vega snort and a number of snickers from around the table. Garrus' mandibles flared in what she thought was a smile as she took the proffered bowl.

"Thanks," she murmured as her eyes flicked away from his face and down to the food in the bowl. At least, she assumed it was food. "What is this?"

"Sadly, it's the best you're gonna get," Vega grunted as he leaned forward again, spoon in hand as he stirred his own mush with a disgusted curl of his lips. "It's something akin to oatmeal, if you squint your eyes and screw up your face enough." Shepard looked back down at the slop in her bowl and sighed.

"Stop complaining," Miranda snapped from a few chairs down as she put her spoon down. "Our rations are perfectly formulated to be a complete and balanced meal. Everything our bodies need."

"It's not everything our bodies need…" Vega grumbled as he rolled his eyes, but he dropped the argument. After a moment, Jenkins snickered into his water cup.

"At least your food doesn't come in a tube," Tali said bitterly with the sound of a sneer as she hefted her half finished meal.

"True. Fair enough." Vega tossed his head as he looked over at the quarian. "But damn if I couldn't go for some of Abuela's huevos rancheros right about now." He sighed as he moved some of his food around his bowl aimlessly, a far off look in his eyes. Jacob nodded in mute agreement as he looked down at his own bowl wistfully.

Shepard sat down in the open seat as she placed her bowl on the table. She took a tentative bite and was proud when she kept the wince off her face. Jacob smirked at her.

"Delicious, isn't it?" He chuckled, and Shepard shrugged.

"I've had worse. I think." She took another bite and forced herself to swallow. The hunger devouring her from the inside spurred her on as she took another bite, then another. Conversation picked up along the table, but she kept her head down as she ate and listened.

The crew seemed close, something like a family. They tossed friendly barbs and playful jabs in much the same way she imagined a family would around a dinner table. It sent a twinge through her chest, and she couldn't imagine ever feeling a part of something tight knit like this.

When she'd scraped the bottom of her bowl, she put her spoon down and shivered, pulling her sweater around her tighter as she crossed her arms.

"How do you guys get used to the cold?" She asked after a minute, noticing that no one else seemed bothered by it.

"Ah, you adapt eventually," Jacob mused as he stood and gathered up his dishes.

"No, you don't," Garrus grunted as he frowned, causing Jacob to chuckle as he passed by to deposit his dishes in a nearby bin. "You just put on more layers." He plucked at his own layers with mild frustration.

"Garrus is always complaining about the cold." Tali leaned over with a stage whisper. "He's a bit of a wuss about it."

"Thanks, Tali." He turned a glare on her that lacked any real heat.

"Oh!" Jenkins stood up abruptly, his eyes wide. "Hold on!" With that, he turned and ran toward the barracks as all eyes followed him out. There was a moment of confused silence before the door banged open again and he came running out, clutching something. "Here, take this!"

Jenkins held it out to Shepard, and she saw that he was holding a small, tattered knit hat.

"My, uh, hair has grown pretty long at this point, so I don't really need it as much anymore." His other hand came up to run through his shaggy hair as he looked away. "Yours is still pretty short. They say you can lose up to forty-five percent of your body heat through your head, so this should help you feel warmer."

Shepard's eyebrows rose as she slowly reached up to take the hat from Jenkins. She looked at it, noting the quality of the knitting, despite its obvious age. She wondered how many times it had been passed down like this.

There was a sudden tightness in her throat. "Thank you," she managed, her voice hoarse as she forced down the upswell of emotions. "I really appreciate it." She wanted to say more, but didn't trust herself. Jenkins beamed at her as she silently put the hat on.

"I know how you're feeling right now. We've all been there," He said with feeling, and Shepard turned to see just about everyone nodding in agreement. There was an inkling of warmth somewhere in her chest, but before she could respond, there was a loud screech as Sidonis pushed back from the table unceremoniously and stood. He grumbled something under his breath as he deposited his dishes in the bin and left the room. Shepard watched him go, the warmth draining from her like a pricked balloon.

"What's gotten under his plates?" Tali asked in confusion as she looked over at Garrus, who shrugged.

"Don't worry about him. He's always been a little weird whenever we unplug someone new." Garrus took a bite of his rations before continuing. "I think it probably just brings back bad memories." More than one person around the table nodded in understanding. Shepard looked down into her empty bowl, her stomach still craving more, even if her taste buds weren't.

"Am I allowed to have seconds?" Shepard asked after a moment, and Vega laughed as he screwed up his face.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure why you'd want 'em."

By the time Shepard finished her second bowl, it was only her and Garrus left at the table. He'd finished some time ago, but he sat sipping his cup of water as he watched her from the spot he'd taken across the table.

"So," he broke the silence as she put her spoon down, "I'd ask how you're doing, but I think I already know the answer." Shepard forced herself to meet his eyes, unwilling to be thought weak regardless of how she actually felt. She said nothing, and Garrus cleared his throat as he looked away. "Once you've settled in a little, I'm going to be the one in charge of your training."

The statement caught her off guard. "My… training?"

"Yes. Assuming you're cleared by the Council to remain a part of our crew, then I'll train you in the use of the simulator and various combat methods."

"Combat?" Shepard sat up, suddenly alarmed. The image of Saren swam through her memory and she stiffened as fear bubbled up from the depths. "You expect me to fight? Who? Saren?" Garrus shook his head as he smiled wanly.

"No, not Saren. We never fight Spectres. That's nothing more than a death sentence." He paused, then after a moment of consideration, he spread his hands out on the table between them. "The Normandy is one of the Fleet's combat and upload frigates. Our job primarily is to free minds from the Citadel, but we are also the front lines of defense, both within the Citadel and without. The Spectres are not the only tools in the Reaper's metaphorical tool belt."

"I see," Shepard murmured as she sat back in her chair and crossed her arms, the words more a lie than anything. "Tell me more about this Fleet."

"Right, yes. The Migrant Fleet." Garrus agreed as he seemed to settle further into his chair. "It's the only bastion of freedom outside of Reaper control. It's made up of around four hundred ships and about three hundred thousand people, consisting of asari, salarians, turians, quarians, krogan, humans, and a few drell."

The cold hard numbers felt like a slap in the face. "That's it? Those are the only people living outside of those horrible farms?" She asked in shocked disbelief, and Garrus nodded, his eyes downcast. "No colonies? No hold outs on the homeworlds?" Garrus shook his head, and Shepard brought her hands up to scrub at her face as she let out a long, low breath. Her whole life she'd heard about the hundreds of settlements strewn out across the galaxy. Could it truly be possible that none of them actually existed?

"The Reapers wipe out any settlements as soon as they find them. Now, the only populations on the home worlds are the various farms. Earth is where humans are kept, Thessia is where asari are kept… You see where I'm going with this."

"But wait, what about the other species? Like the hanar and the volus?" Shepard asked as she frowned, but Garrus shook his head again.

"We've never been able to successfully unplug any of the other races. I don't know why. But they always die soon after. We have people looking into it, but apparently we've been trying for centuries with no success. We also have trouble unplugging drell, though we do manage it sometimes."

Shepard looked down at her hands as she experienced a stab of sadness. To be trapped without hope of salvation, even if that rescue was into a reality as desolate and doomed as this one… She shook the thoughts from her head. She had enough to worry about with her own situation.

"And you said there was a Council here, too? Is it like the Citadel's Council?"

"Sort of." Garrus leaned back as he explained. "Each species has a representative which is chosen through popular vote, except for the drell, as their numbers are so small. The Council oversees all matters regarding the Migrant Fleet, from resource gathering and management to defense, and everything in between."

"I see…" Shepard tried to organize all the new information in her brain before returning to the beginning. "You said I was going to be trained for combat. Is that what happens to everyone when they're unplugged?"

"No, not everyone. Some people just aren't cut out for it, and a place is found for them within the Fleet. But life here isn't like in the Citadel. Our numbers are few and our lives are hard, so generally people are put to work where they are needed, in places they are well suited to. Those who are unplugged and deemed to have potential are assigned to a combat and upload frigate like the Normandy. Anderson thinks you have potential, and it will be my job to determine if he's correct."

"So there are more ships like the Normandy?" Shepard asked with curiosity, and Garrus nodded.

"Yeah, there's eight altogether at the moment. The Normandy, The Taetrus, the Serrice, the Nepheron, the Tempest, the Urdnot, the Parintha, and the Qwib-Qwib." Shepard snorted at the last name as she raised an eyebrow.

"The Qwib-Qwib? Seriously?" Garrus chuckled at her reaction.

"Yeah, but don't make fun of it where any quarians can hear you. Apparently it has some 'long standing cultural significance'," He brought his hands up to make quotes in the air, "or at least that's what they say. As if any of our species have much individual culture left to speak of."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you humans have been farmed by the Reapers for the last two hundred some-odd years, making you the most recent addition to the Fleet. But some of our species have been farmed for far longer than that. The asari were the first, from what we understand, but the history and timeline is a little shaky."

"Why is that?" Shepard frowned again, and Garrus smiled at her as he chuckled.

"You're full of questions, aren't you? Well, that's good I suppose." He sighed before tipping his head back and continuing. "For those of us that were born and raised within the Citadel, all we know of our own people, of our culture and history, is what the Reapers have taught us. Every bit of information we encountered could have been fabricated, and it's impossible to pick apart the fact and the fiction."

Shepard stared at him as his words sank in. Could all she knew about humanity, about Earth, about everything, be nothing more than a lie? A fabrication? She felt the familiar sense of overwhelming horror building in her chest as the taste of bile crept up her throat. She instantly found herself envisioning her flame in the void as she sought calm. But it was different now, lacking the warm comfort she was so used to, and the calm she craved slipped through her fingers.

Her mind began searching for holes, inconsistencies she could pick at. "But couldn't we just visit the home worlds and find some old, abandoned history books or something?"

"Sure, but it's not quite that easy. The Fleet's primary goal has always been its own survival. Occasionally, we chance artifact gathering missions to home worlds to see what we can find, but it's a dangerous risk for not much reward. The Reapers destroyed most settlements in their initial attacks, leaving not much to scavenge. What we do know is from what little we've gathered on those types of missions."

Garrus shrugged as he took another sip of his water. "But in some cases, like that of the asari, we've recovered quite little, and it's so unrelated to life as we know it now that it feels pretty… I don't know." He looked up as he considered, "Detached? Abstract? It's hard to identify with any of it when it has so little to do with the type of lives we live now."

"I guess that makes sense," Shepard mused as she looked away, her shoulders slumping as she sighed. "Sorry for all the questions. I just hate feeling this stupid, like I know nothing, like some sort of child."

"It's okay. It's normal to feel this way after everything you've been through," Garrus said with a smile and a flick of his mandibles, and she felt an odd comfort in his kindness, even if it was just in the form of gentle patience.

There was something about Garrus that made her want to trust him. Even after everything that happened during the process of her unplugging, she found herself still desperately wanting to trust him. She supposed it was probably the fact that he'd been the first to validate everything she'd been suffering through while within the Citadel. But there was also an openness about him, an earnestness that she couldn't help but appreciate.

"Look, you should get some more rest." Garrus pushed back from the table as he grabbed his cup. He reached for her dishes and picked them up before she could protest. "Take a little time and get to know the ship and the crew, and I'll let you know when we're going to start training. Sound good?"

Shepard stood and watched as he deposited the dishes in the bin. "Thank you for taking the time to explain all of this." He turned back to her, his eyes sharp as he took her in, almost as though he were searching for something. Finally, he looked away as his hand came up to rub the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Don't worry about it," He murmured before turning to leave.

"Wait, I have one more question." Garrus looked back at her with a slight tilt to his head. "When do I get my own omni-tool?" She felt her bare wrist. It seemed oddly naked without the small device. He stared at her as his mandibles quivered. Finally, he shook his head as he smiled again.

"I don't know why that question always surprises me. I even remember asking it myself when I was first unplugged." He turned toward her and pulled back his sleeve to reveal his empty wrist, one of his own arm plugs just visible. "There's no such thing as an omni-tool. That technology isn't real. It only exists within the Citadel."

Shepard's eyes popped as her mouth opened in surprise. "It doesn't exist? But we have artificial gravity, so I assumed we had mass effect technology and-" Garrus shook his head as he gestured to Liara's empty workstation nearby and its old style glass fronted monitors.

"Yeah, maybe we could create something like that using mass effect fields, but who knows? It's hardly been the Migrant Fleet's focus while we struggle just to feed ourselves. As it is now, all the holo-technology and whatnot, it's all a fantasy created by the Reapers within the Citadel."

Suddenly, the Normandy's strange lack of modern technology made sense. Just one more thing she would need to wrap her head around.

"I see," she muttered as she brought a hand up to rub her temple. She could feel a headache coming on. Garrus must have noticed because once again he urged her to rest, but the idea of returning to her bunk and laying there as all the new information swirled around her brain made her feel nauseous.

Shepard eyed the simulator pods lined up in neat rows. "I know you said we would begin training later on, but can we just get on with it right now?"

Garrus turned back to face her again with evident surprise on his face. "You're still weak from having been unplugged. There's no need to push yourself, there's no rush. Give yourself time to recuperate." Shepard shook her head more vehemently than she'd intended.

"I don't want to just sit around and stew in all of..." She gestured to her head as she huffed a frustrated sigh. "I want to do something." He stared at her, once again searching for something in her face, something she couldn't even begin to guess at.

"Uh… well, fine by me, I guess. We'll get started, then. If you're sure."

"I am."

She wasn't, if she were being honest. The events of her first trip into the simulator were still fresh and raw in her mind. But if she was quaking in her boots, he didn't need to know that.

Garrus turned and made for Liara's desk. He pressed in a button, which clicked before emitting a low hum.

"Liara, can you come down to the crew deck?" He asked before releasing the button. After a moment, there was a small click.

"Sure. I'll be right down." The intercom went quiet again, and Garrus stepped back to look at Shepard.

"Does Liara need to help us with using the simulators?"

"No, not necessarily, but it's generally a good idea to have an operator present. She can assist with running the programs and monitor everything in case anything goes wrong. However, it's absolutely essential to have an operator when we hack into the Citadel. But we'll get into that another time."

Shepard examined the various monitors, most of which were blank at the moment, except for three, across which strange lines of code continuously scrolled.

"What's up with those?" She pointed to them, and Garrus' face hardened as his eyes fell on them.

"That's the Citadel, if you know how to read it. It's impossible for our programs to decode it in a way that can be viewed normally, like a camera or something. But after a while, you begin to understand what it is that you're looking at. Liara is as fluent as they come."

Shepard looked back at the monitors, absolutely baffled as to how someone could derive meaning from the gibberish she was looking at.

"Sorry about the wait. How can I be of service?" Liara hurried into the room as she looked between the two of them, her face open and friendly.

"Shepard, here, would like to begin her training." Garrus gestured to Shepard with an amused flick of his mandibles. "Now."

"Now?" Liara drew back in surprise as her eyes flicked to Shepard.

"Now," Garrus confirmed with a shrug, and Liara bobbed her head in consideration.

"Well, okay then. No time like the present, I guess."

Garrus stepped up onto the catwalk to begin preparing two pods as Liara fell back into her seat and spun to face the monitors. Shepard watched in interest as she began booting up the systems, flicking switches, and typing in a number of commands.

Liara paused after a moment and looked around in confusion. "Have you seen my headset?"

"Oh, er," Shepard spun to search around aimlessly, but Liara noticed it first atop a filing cabinet nearby.

"Ah, there it is." Shepard moved to grab it, but froze as Liara suddenly began to glow blue. Fear tore through her as she watched the asari extend her hand out toward the headset. It, too, began to glow before lifting into the air and drifting toward Liara. She plucked it from the air and hummed happily as she quickly snapped it onto her head as the blue glow receded. In that moment, all Shepard could see was Saren's glowing blue fist, the explosion of Eden Prime's glass window reverberating in her ears.

Liara returned to her work, but then paused as she looked up and saw Shepard staring at her with wide eyes. Shepard opened her mouth to ask, but nothing came out as confused horror gripped her tongue.

"I'm going to assume no one has explained biotics to you?" Liara mused sheepishly, and Shepard gathered her wits as she shook her head.

"Garrus said, uh-" She coughed as she glanced up to see the turian tap a command into the second pod, its door sliding open. "He said only Spectres can use biotics. But I don't really know anything beyond that. I don't exactly understand what Spectres are, for that matter."

"Well," Liara turned back to continue her work, "he's not wrong, if you're speaking of the Citadel. The only people within the Citadel who can use biotics are the Spectres, but I'll leave that to Garrus to elaborate on. In the real world, there are many people who are able to manipulate mass effect fields with biotic abilities."

Shepard watched in fascination as Liara began to glow again, this time gesturing to a stray cup nearby. It rose up into the air and began to rotate slowly as Liara wiggled her fingers precisely. The glow began to fade again, and the cup returned to its original location.

"That's… amazing," Shepard breathed as she turned back to look at Liara in awe. "So, can anybody do it? Could I?" Liara chuckled softly before turning back to look at her.

"No, I'm sorry, Shepard. People born within the farms aren't biotics, the Reapers make sure of that. Only those of us who are free born have the chance." Liara's hand rose to brush up the back of her neck, and for the first time, Shepard noticed that the asari lacked a plug.

"So, you're like Joker. You were born in the Migrant Fleet."

"Yes, exactly."

"Okay, ready?" Shepard looked up as Garrus called out to her, and she nodded, grappling with a sudden wave of trepidation.

"Ready as I'll ever be," she muttered as she took the steps up onto the catwalk.

"Good luck, Shepard." She saw Liara wave at her from her seat. "I'll be watching, just in case you need anything." Shepard wasn't sure if that was a comfort or not. She waved off Garrus' offer of assistance and carefully lowered herself into the pod.

"Remember. Try to relax," Garrus said as the door began shutting. She settled herself just as she remembered doing before, and soon the count down displayed.

Shutting her eyes, she envisioned her flame in the void. She forced herself to breathe, to feel the calm surrounding her as she floated in emptiness as she-

Everything went white as stars burst before her eyes, and she was gone.

(AN: Happy New Year everyone! Sorry for the delayed update, travel took a lot more out of me than expected. I hope you're all enjoying the story so far, I really appreciate your kind comments.)