Mass Effect: The Illusive Soul (Azecreth x DuxT)

[DuxT]

It was over, after all this time, it was finally over. The Reapers were done, Cerberus had been pacified and the galaxy as a whole would be at peace. Commander Jane Shepard, could finally rest, her war was over, she, humanity, the citadel races, they all won. She'd lost many friends along the way and millions still died across the conflict, but the victory was worth it in the end, the cycle of genocide was over.

The Normandy, a ship many considered to be a legend for its part in the war, was sitting in dry dock on earth, getting repairs for damage from the battle of earth. In fact, Earth had become the temporary hub of galactic space, the Citadel also in orbit, getting repaired itself from what it suffered, at the hands of the reapers and the Illusive Man... Fuck, she was glad that bastard was dead, one of the biggest thorns in her side since she died.

While most of the crew were off the ship, out enjoying a well deserved break, Shepard didn't leave. She still felt an obligation to make sure the ship got the treatment she deserved, Normandy had lived and died with Shepard, the ship may as well have been an extension of the Commander's body.

So she stayed, sleeping in her bunk as normal. In fact, that was where she was heading, Shepard going to relax in her room before she turned in for the night. She'd fully let her guard down by now, it'd been month since the end, what else was there for her to worry about?

 

[Azecreth]

The Illusive Man was no fool.

Even after he had been corrupted, Indoctrinated by the Reapers, he had still been a cunning son of a bitch. Plans within plans and layers within layers. You didn't get to be the head of THE human supremacist organization in the Human Sphere of influence without being competent. Of course, luck helped as well, but a large part of it was skill. Admittedly it had all come crashing down in the end, but it was not for a lack of effort.

But as had been said, the Illusive Man was a very cunning sort. And when it came to his assets, he was not about to take any risks. Something that had, inevitably, been proven right when Shepard and Miranda betrayed him to go do their own thing, before eventually killing him. Yet with his death, several contingency plans had come into effect. These plans would prove very unpleasant for Shepard, and in the immediate future.

There would be no immediate sign of when it happened, but when Shepard entered her quarters she would find a familiar face waiting for her. Specifically a man in a suit, with black hair, glowing eyes, and holding a cigar, sitting in one of her chairs. "Ah, welcome back Commander Shepard," he said with that tone he had, the slight rasp in it that she was sure to recognize.

Yep, definitely a cunning man after all.

 

[DuxT]

Shepard froze in place, stopping dead in her tracks. The Illusive Man, the most dangerous human in the galaxy, responsible for her resection, thousands if not millions of dead in experiments and the reason the Citadel even fell to the Reapers in the first place. He was sitting there, right in her chair, a disturbing sight when the last time she saw him, she shot his indoctrinated brain across the Citadel!

Not one to take a chance, Shepard dashed to her desk, pulling from the drawer a pistol. Wasting no time she aimed the gun and fired a half dozen quick shots, right into the man's head and chest. Only for them to go right through him, only succeeding and putting bullet holes in her chair and the wall.

Of course he wouldn't be here, if he was alive he'd use a hologram... somehow, her projectors in her room weren't there, nor did they make true colour copies like that. Still, logic was put on hold for rage and confusion. "Bastard, you died, I killed you!" Storming over, she kept the gun in hand. "Where the hell are you, are you on earth, I am not playing your games anymore!"

 

[Azecreth]

The Illusive Man was nonchalant, taking a puff from his cigar even as Shepard produced a pistol from her drawer in rage. He had expected that she would be less than amused to see him, and she did not disappoint as she fired. But the bullets went straight through him like he wasn't even there, hitting the chair and the wall behind him and giving both several new bullet holes. Well, that wad furniture that would need to be fixed.

"Good to see you too," he replied calmly, looking at his cigar for a moment even as Shepard stomped over and threatened him, as if that would do anything. "I suppose I should point out that you aren't exactly in the position to be making demands," he noted aloud, which was true enough since she had no idea where he was. And the truth would be harder to believe than even she could expect.

A slight shrug then as he considered what she had asked. "Death is overrated. Fortunately, you won't be getting rid of me as easily this time." He certainly seemed to be taking the situation well, that was for sure.

 

[DuxT]

The calm tone and actions he took, the confidence, the sheer fact he didn't even flinch! It all pissed Shepard off more, generally regarded as a paragon of good by many, she couldn't tolerate this man. Not after all he did, after Anderson even, this man didn't deserve to live scot free, he needed to pay.

She did her best to relax however, screaming at the hologram, or whatever he was using wouldn't help. Man she wished her Bionic power were like the force, maybe she could choke him from here. Stopping, she relaxed, narrowing her eyes to him. "So you had a second Lazarus Project for yourself or something? So, fucking, what." She turned away, falling to her couch before regarding him across the room.

"News flash, you lost, utterly, dead or not. The Reapers have been wiped out, Cerberus has been decimated, Humanity and Aliens are working happily together. Even if you started recruiting again, everyone knows about what you did, to your own people even!" She leaned forward, hands against the glass coffee table. "Cerberus is dead, so why are you even here!?"

 

[Azecreth]

The Illusive Man smirked slightly as Shepard at last forced herself to calm down, sitting down across from him. well, she was barking up the completely wrong tree, if she assumed that the Lazarus Project was involved in bringing him back. It was a much simpler, and insidious explanation that was the truth.

"Nothing quite so dramatic," he replied as he took another puff from his cigar. "You forget, it took two years for the Lazarus Project to bring you back from the dead. I don't get to be quite that fortunate." Reaper indoctrination would probably do that to a guy, at the end of the day. But if it confused her then all the better, at least from his perspective. He could only gain from her confusion.

He glanced around then, even as Shepard ranted about he had lost. "I suppose i did, for now. Organizations can always be rebuilt, recruits found You're naive if you think that this peace will last. Eventually they'll forget what happened here, and Humanity will be back on the bottom of the totem pole again." Presumably that was enough of an answer as to why he was here anyway.

 

[DuxT]

Shepard rubbed her temples in annoyance, closing her eyes with a sigh. She would have to figure out how he was alive later, right now she had another problem. Why was he here speaking to her? "Whatever, maybe you're right, but chances are you are wrong." Opening her emerald eyes to look at him, brushing a red lock out of her face.

"But why talk to me about it? You know I want you dead, the moment everyone is ready I plan on hunting you down so...why?" She reclined forward again, head bowed thinking. "Trap? You know those fail on me. Rub it in my face? Well you do have an ego on you. Plead for help? Doubt it, you know I don't trust you. She talked through various possibilities, eyes looking up too see if he reacted to any.

 

[Azecreth]

The Illusive Man wasn't wiling to argue whether he was right or wrong, since he knew that in the end he would be proven right. And Shepard would be the one to help him do it. it was just a matter of bringing her around to his point of view, however long that took. He certainly had the time to do it.

As she mused aloud, she would suddenly find The Illusive Man sitting next to her, this time sipping from a glass, of what looked to be wine. She wouldn't be able to smell it though, so whatever it was probably didn't matter. "Because you were my greatest opponent," he pointed out in turn. "And because you're the only person who can see me right now, it somewhat limits the number of people I can show up to." Well that was an understatement, to be sure.

 

[DuxT]

Shepard was a little surprised to see him, figuring he would be stuck in the one location. Whatever the hell he was doing, it was unlike anything she.... A thought occurred, a theory, one that the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. The fact it was only her she could see just about confirmed it, that sly bastard.

"You're in my head aren't you?" She wasn't sure quite how, but she was sure that he had somehow got inside. Maybe some advanced Bionic power, or some technology a side effect from her revival, this fucker was in there!

 

[Azecreth]

The Illusive Man nodded, taking a sip from his wine before leaning back, swirling the liquid in the glass. It caught in the light, shifting and casting reflections in the air, just as if it were really there. "Not bad Shepard. You figured it out pretty quick." Just what he had expected from the Great Commander. But knowledge would not make her situation any better.

Well, with that there was no point in holding back. "Project Lazarus had some special additions I didn't bother telling Ms. Lawson about, just in case. It seems it was a contingency well placed. Oh, and even if you do find out where it is, the implant is designed to release a neurotoxin that will kill you if you try to remove it. II just figured you should know."

 

[DuxT]

Shepard listened, her frown deepening, a chip that Maranda didn't even know about. Great and it was doubtful she could even tamper with the blasted thing, at best maybe she could try letting it be hit by an emp, see if that fries it safely... But then again a large electrical pulse like that wouldn't be healthy for her brain so...

Shaking her head she reclined back on the sofa, leaning away from him. "So I get the joy of seeing you until this chip gives out in who knows how many years. Great, you got revenge on me after all." She rolled her eyes, not seeing the threat he posed. "Anything else, or shall I start thinking about alien porn till you sod off?" Getting a hunch that he might be able to read her mind to some degree.

 

[Azecreth]

It seemed that Shepard didn't entirely appreciate the gravity of her new situation, which was reasonable. She must be in denial or something like that. Well, he would educate her to it soon enough. It wasn't as if he had much else to do right now, simply a figment inside her brain.

"Yes, something like that Shepard," he concurred. "But in actuality, I can do a bit more than that. I am in your mind after all." As if inspired by her mention of alien porn, which he ignored, she would begin to feel something. It would feel like someone was rubbing her crotch and manhandling her breasts, soft and slow with the occasional spike of force. And in spite of herself she would feel herself being turned on by it, even though she had no reason to. Yet the Illusive Man was still sitting where he had been, some invisible force acting upon her. This was going to be quite interesting indeed.

 

[DuxT]

The sudden sensation got a surprised gasp from Shepard, her arms quickly coming to cover her breasts and crotch. Her eyes snapped to him, anger flashing across her face. "How dare you, stop this illusionary crap!"

She wasn't sure how he managed it, but she was putting it to mind tricks. There was no way he could actually be messing with her physically... unless he could use her bionics against her.... panic set in a little there...

 

[Azecreth]

"But I can't," the Illusive Man replied nonchalantly, not concerned with the fierce way in which Shepard responded to what he had done. "It is in my name after all." Okay, he knew that that wasn't actually what the name meant, but he was willing to ignore that in the pursuit of further manipulating Shepard.

But even if she covered herself, she would still feel it happening without end or remorse, even intensifying a bit. "Besides, I'm not the one who was thinking about alien porn," the Illusive Man noted, even as he sipped from his wine once more like he didn't have a care in the world.

 

[DuxT]

"To get rid of you, you xenophobic bastard..." Shepard snarled, closing her eyes as she tried to ignore the sensation. But she couldn't it felt too real, but it couldn't be, could it?

Getting to her feet, she began to pace, hoping the walking eases it up. "You know what? I'm not dealing with this. I'm going for a walk and a drink, forget about you some more..." She went to walk out her room and off the ship, hoping to get away from him somehow.

 

[Azecreth]

The sensation would not lessen up, no matter how much Shepard walked or tried to ignore it. After all, it was all in her head, and she couldn't exactly escape from that so easily, now could she? So she could try as much as she wanted, but the Illusive Man already knew that it was a foregone conclusion as to how this would end.

Indeed, no matter how far she walked, she would find the Illusive Man waiting for her, though he was at least standing up this time. "Keep trying all you want Commander Shepard, but you can't walk away from me," he pointed out in turn. "Not unless I want to go away myself." That would continue to manifest itself no mater where she went, how fast she went, or what she did once she got there, and slowly but surely it would wear away at her nerves. Just as planned.

 

[DuxT]

Shepard eventually sighed, coming to a stop. She'd tried walking, even running, going through bars, moving through alien and human sections alike. Nothing, he stayed with her, not relenting for an instant. She rested against the wall, trying to ignore the feelings of pleasure that built within her, focusing on the anger and frustration instead, it worked for a time anyway.

Slowly, Shepard turned to wherever the Illusive Man currently stood. "Fine then, what do I have to do to get rid of you? I can't imagine your plan is to just torment me for the rest of my life?" She was to the point, could never tolerate his games to start with, let alone now.

 

[Azecreth]

While Shepard might have been tired out from her running and efforts to try and ditch the Illusive Man along the way, he was as impeccable as ever. Indeed, at this point he was just standing and watching her nonchalantly. It further affirmed what he had said, since she had done quite a bit to get rid of him, and indeed it seemed like he had always gotten there ahead of her.

"Permanently? You can't," he said in return, as calmly confident as ever. "But for now, I suppose you might as well finish the show you made me start." The pleasure she felt would spike, as if to emphasize what he wanted her to do. He was a fragment inside her head, so what did he care about how awkward she might feel about it?

 

[DuxT]

Shepard grunted, glaring at him. She knew he wasn't real, but still she didn't have to like it. "Fine, fine, let me get back to the room you pervert." Grunting she grit through the spike and returned the Normandy.

Upon reaching her room she stripped down, throwing her outfit and underwear off. She was really damn horny after all this, plus she really wanted to get rid of him! Falling back onto the bed, she sighed, reaching down with one hand to start teasing her wet slit, the other her breasts, closing her eyes to not see the Illusive Man.

 

[Azecreth]

The Illusive Man continued to tag along as Shepard gave in and headed back to her room, the former head of Cerberus allowing it since he wasn't ready to try and flex full control over the Commander. Lord knew such a thing would most likely be difficult, even with his current advantages. That was just the sort of mind that she had, and he would not underestimate it.

Soon enough they arrived back, the Illusive Man standing nearby as Shepard disrobed and then hopped onto her modest bunk, revealing a nude body he had seen before, even if she had been dead at the time. To be honest, he preferred this view. He folded his arms across his chest, allowing her to pretend that she didn't see him as she got herself off. It was good enough for now he supposed.

 

[DuxT]

Shepard had gotten pretty worked up with the constant stimulation and now she had an outlet. So she dived head first into it, two fingers rapidly starting to slide in before pumping away, pinching her nipple, arching her back. For more pleasure she began to think back, thinking to some of her past relationships. "Thane..." She mumbled, remembering the night before they hit the Collectors.

It didn't take her long to hit her peak, crying out loudly as juices covered her hand, body shuddering in her climax. Panting, the commander lay there, enjoying the bliss of a good orgasm before her thoughts returned to the elephant in the room. Sighing, she spoke up, eyes still closed. "When I open my eyes, you better not be there...." Slowly, she opened them, hoping the Illusive Man had left her alone.

 

[Azecreth]

The Illusive Man grinned as Shepard put on her show, aware of what she was thinking of even as she pretended that she was with Thane rather than in this particular situation Of course he had known at some point, but to see it play out was even better, even if he had to die in the process to get to this point. But he had a feeling that Shepard wouldn't appreciate it.

Once she opened her eyes, she would find the Illusive Man still there, eyeing her with a contemplative look. "Ah yes, I forgot you lean towards relations with aliens. We'll have to do something about that. We'll talk later." And with that, he was gone in the blink of an eye.

 

[DuxT]

Shepard more or less growled at him. "Just for that, I'm giving Liara and Garrus a visit, dick!" She shouted to a now empty room, but she knew he would hear her. Bastard was in her brain after all, needed to figure a way to deal with him, had to be something.

In the end, she elected to go see EDI in the morning, figuring the AI had enough Cerberus know how to think of something. For now though, she settled down into bed, more or less collapsing to sleep where she lay.

 

[Azecreth]

Whether she visited Liara and Garrus was something that was no concern of the Illusive Man, given that he could tune that sort of thing out if he wanted. Certainly the dead man had no reason to be offended or worried by whatever she might come up with given the advantages that he had. So for now he kept his peace.

Still, even her dreams would not be safe, haunted once more by events of the past and the things that had occurred during the war. It seemed that the Illusive Man had influence even here, to whatever end goal he was pursuing.

 

[DuxT]

In her dreams, Shepard was on the Citadel again, at the end. This time however it didn't go nearly as well. Anderson was dead, shot before she even got there. She wasn't far behind either, taking a bullet to the shoulder and collapsing before her tormentor.

Looking up, she saw the face of the Illusive Man again, alive and in a position over her. Her nightmares were true after all, even in real life, she couldn't kill him, couldn't avenge her friends.