Adult-FanFiction.org : Games

Angel Falling	By : Marie_Fanwriter Category: +M through R > Mass Effect Views: 7081 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own Mass Effect, I wish I did but don't. This I make no money off this.

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
- 8
Chapter 7 – Memory
Annnd we’re back! Warnings this chapter are again lighter, mostly references to previous chapters and language. Would love to see some AFF reviews if you've got the time! I'll also take requests for ME smut submissions, just let me know.
Enjoy!

The Main Battery was slightly darker than usual; Shepard scanned the room and was surprised when she didn’t immediately see Garrus. To her left was just the usual workbench; on her right was a stack of crates. She grimaced when she noticed the blue smear across one wall, “Garrus?” Shepard took a few paces into the room and when she poked her head around the crates she found him.
He was sitting in the corner, head hung low, shoulders slumped, and a pistol hanging limply in between his knees. His armour was strewn about around him; a few pieces adorned his arms and legs. His back piece was on the floor near the railing as though he had thrown it there. “Close the door.” He said quietly.
Shepard did as he asked before moving to stand directly in front of her friend; she kept her hands out in front of her so she didn’t spook him. When she knelt down she caught the haunted look in his eyes. This was an entirely new expression on him. After the gunship he had been in anguish, both emotional and physical, but he had never looked terrified. Looking at him now broke her heart.
Reaching a hand towards him she tried to console him, “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have left you al…”
Garrus scrambled further into the corner, “Don’t touch me!” He held the pistol up in front of him in shaky hands. He grimaced when his back hit the wall hard.
Shepard, surprised by his sudden outburst, fell back on her ass. She was still in armour and her shields were up but a bullet point blank would still cause some damage. “Whoa! Calm down buddy. I’m not here to hurt you.” She moved back until she was leaning against the railing, echoing his position. He seemed to relax slightly at her distance, “You’ve got to put the gun down. I’m just here to talk.”
Garrus shook his head, “Stay away...” He was visibly shaking before her, his breath coming in rasping gasps. Even without a visor she could tell his heart rate was increasing as he began to panic.
Shepard kept herself back, “Just breathe Garrus. I won’t come any closer but you’ve got to talk to me. I’m here to help, breathe with me.” She took a few steadying breaths and noticed he tried to do the same. They sat like that for a few full minutes as she waited for him to come back. “Good, now just put the gun down and we’ll talk for a bit, ok?”
The turian looked from his gun to Shepard and back again before clicking the safety back on sliding it across the floor to her. He dropped his face into his hands, “I... I can’t believe I just did that. Shepard… I…” he trailed off, trying to keep his breathing in check.
“No harm done, I just want to make sure you’re ok. Can I look you over?” He shook his head, “How about we just talk for a bit then?”
He coughed slightly before nodding, “Yeah, ok.” Shepard reached into the medical kit and pulled out a water bottle, she rolled it across the floor. “Thanks.” When he raised the bottle up to have a drink she caught sight of the scarring on his neck and had to stifle a gasp.
In the silence she was able to get a better appraisal of his status. He was obviously in a great deal of pain; Chakwas had explained turian healing to her after the gunship incident. They were quick to heal from internal damage and broken bones mended easily for their species. But if their plates were cracked or cut it took a long time for them to heal. Turians also tended to scar from deep plate damage and burns, as was evidenced by Garrus’ slightly older facial scars. Most other species had skin which could be returned to its original state by a dermal regenerator; even the most horrific cases could be helped by one. Turian plating didn’t have that luxury.
Garrus had finished off half the bottle and his breathing was becoming semi-regular now. Shepard relaxed a bit at that. She slowly stood up, “I’m not leaving.” She said to reassure him, “EDI, inhibit entry to all others but leave the door unlocked.” Now they wouldn’t be interrupted but Garrus hopefully wouldn’t feel trapped.
“Understood Commander, logging you out.”
Crossing the room Shepard started to remove her own armour from her arms and torso. She placed it all on the workbench until she was down to her armoured pants and a tank top. She also left her weapons and Garrus’ pistol on the desk, better to have those out of reach. When she returned to Garrus she sat down leaning against the wall with one foot dangling off the ledge, it was going to be a while before either of them moved so she had may as well be comfortable. “I’m here to listen, take whatever time you need.”
Another few minutes passed between them before he broke the silence, “We don’t… I mean turians don’t… do that.” He didn’t need to explain what ‘that’ was. “We’re plated, someone doesn’t want it then they stay closed… fuck… I just don’t understand.” He shook his head and seemed to curl into himself more with each word. Shepard wanted nothing more than to go to him, but she stayed bolted to her seat. “I worked at C-Sec. I know its common enough for other species but… I just…” he gave a frustrated moan. “I tried to make them stop… but they just kept coming at me… why?”
He’d directed the question to her and she responded, “I don’t know.” The answer seemed so inadequate. Shepard had dealt with trauma victims before, but this was different. She’d been taught how to talk people down and put it in practice before but now everything just seemed like her answer, inadequate. Garrus was a friend, her best friend. The silence was starting to eat away at the pair and it was the human’s turn to break it, “I could ask you how you’re feeling… but somehow I don’t think that will help any.”
He scoffed, “No. Not really Shepard.” He looked up slightly and she caught the edge of a smile. “I’ve never been on this side of the equation. I don’t much like it.”
“I know what you mean,” she sighed and titled her head back against the wall. “Never thought much of therapy, you should’ve seen the time I gave Chambers when she tried to ‘shrink’ me.”
That got an actual chuckle out of him, “I’m sure you were the model patient.” He seemed to relax a little more and he took another sip of water. “I’ve never been helpless. Not even as a child.” He took a deep breath out, “After you left one of them came over to taunt me and I, in all my infinite wisdom, bit the bitch.”
Shepard smiled and shook her head, “Sounds like you.”
“Yeah well… Zaeed used the damn collar so I’d ‘behave’ and then before he knew it he was out cold on the floor.” He rubbed his neck tenderly, “I tried to run after that, if I had my hands free… maybe I… no. There were too many of them. Damn it. They used the collar until my head was pounding. Held me down and forced something vile down my throat, it burned worse than any alcohol I’ve ever had.”
Shepard remained silent and just let her friend continue his retelling of the events. No matter how uncomfortable it made her. She cringed when he told her how they used the electricity to make him comply, make him stop struggling. He didn’t go into detail about what the mercs had said, nor did he explain the flogging at length. But he was meticulous with his explanation as any cop, ex or not, would be.
“…before I knew what was happening the human they called Marcs was…” Garrus closed his eyes and looked away, a low keening noise emanating from his chest. “Was violating me. I feel so…”
Shepard waited a beat before posing her question, “Feel what, Garrus?”
“Dirty.” He said it as though he was ashamed of the word, ashamed of how he felt.
She bit down on the instinct to reach out, “When someone is violated like you’ve been, it makes them feel terrible about themselves. What they did to you wasn’t right.”
“Fuck Shepard. I know that!” Anger, that was new. “Don’t patronize me.” He was looking directly at her now, eyes narrowed in a glare, hands on his knees.
“That wasn’t my intention. I’ll shut up.”
He let out a deep breath, “Fine.” His speech was no longer slow and halting, he went through the events quickly. “Whatever drug they gave me kicked in enough to leave me unfocused, the details weren’t sticking anymore. I still tried to get away but after the first one finished the barefaced bastard let a Matriarch at me. I’ve seen Samara use the technique before, reave I think. Felt like I was being torn apart from the inside out.”
The impassive mask on Shepard was cracking. Reave was used to destroy a nervous system, it was a wonder he wasn’t killed on the spot. It was a technique that Samara had been teaching her for quite some time. That thought alone made her cringe. The thought that she could inflict the same kind of pain… that he’d felt it from an experienced user.
“If that wasn’t enough the bastard forced himself on me next. I barely had time to catch a breath before he was fucking me. Before I choked on him… felt him hit the back of my throat… cut off my air.” Garrus grew quieter with each word, “He turned on the god dammed collar to make my throat tighter…”
If the mask was cracking before this final admission then it had crumbled to dust now. Shepard didn’t move or say anything. Neither did Garrus. They just sat staring at each other, Garrus trying to catch his breath and Shepard trying to wrap her mind around the events.
“They’re dead,” she said finally.
“I know.”
“How?” confusion trumped her guilt.
“I didn’t completely pass out until Chakwas and Mordin showed up.” Shepard made an ‘oh’ noise. “I tried not to but when backup arrived I couldn’t fight it anymore.”
She looked back to him, searching his face for any signs of hated or hostility. “I’m so sor…”
He held up a hand, “I don’t want to hear it, Shepard. I agreed to the mission and it didn’t go over as planned...” the Commander scoffed at his understatement. “But, I agreed to it. It is my own fault, if I hadn’t been so weak… then maybe…”
It was her turn to cut him off, “You aren’t weak Garrus. You are the strongest person I know. Please believe me when I say that.” She smiled lightly and he returned it.
The room was silent for a few beats. Garrus moved to adjust his position and gasped in pain, his face contorting with it. Without thinking Shepard was at his side, she managed to stop herself mere inches from touching his shoulder. She waited for him to object and when he instead nodded to her she gently rested her hand on him. At this distance she could feel the heat radiating off him, hear just how ragged his breathing was.
“May I?” She asked gesturing to the few pieces of armour that adorned his arms. He nodded and closed his eyes, focusing on breathing. Slowly and carefully she began detaching the metal and ceramic plates. During her efforts she managed to take account of his injuries, mapping out each new mark and committing it to memory. When she was done she stood up and reached a hand down to him which he took. “Think you can walk?”
He shook his head, “Probably, but I don’t think I’m up for a stroll right now Shepard.”
“Might do you some good to shower, I hear the CO has a private one,” Smiling down she grasped his hand a little tighter and gave a very gentle tug. “EDI, is anyone on the crew deck?”
“Operative Taylor is in the men’s rest room and Operative Lawson is in the mess hall, Commander.” EDI replied, her blue orb appearing by the door.
“Already? What time is it?”
“It is currently 0500 hours Galactic Standard Time. The rest of the crew will be waking soon to take over for the day cycle.”
Garrus couldn’t help but smile when Shepard muttered an expletive under her breath. “I guess we’ll have to hurry up then. EDI, find a way to get rid of Miranda for me and lock all the doors onto the crew deck until we reach the elevator.”
“Understood Commander, I will inform you when the deck is empty.” Shepard helped Garrus to his feet and grabbed the few things Garrus requested they take up along with the medical kit. “Operative Lawson is on the CIC and the elevator is waiting for you.”
“Thanks, EDI.”
- 6
- 7
- 8
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Angel Falling