Chapter Text
Mercy
Stretching my arms up over my head, I let out a sigh. I’d definitely spent too much time here today, considering the sun had gone down. And I’d gotten here at ten this morning.
“I’ll be back soon.” I said to the pole and pommel horse. Oh, and the balance beam. Never forget that one.
After taking a quick shower, I grabbed my bag and left the gym.
The path home was a straight shot, so I always just chose to walk. It only took an hour, anyway, and the city always had beautiful sights to keep me entertained.
About halfway home, I realized I was being followed. Two people. If I had to guess by height, I’d say both were men. If it wasn’t so dark, and they weren’t so far back, I’d be able to see them better.
Staying a few feet from me, it was crystal clear, by the classic signs, that they were following me. Pausing when I did. Looking away and focusing on each other when I looked in their direction. Crossing the street when I did. Always keeping me in their sights.
The police station was clear on the other side of the city. No help there.
If they saw me pull out my phone, they might rush me. No calling for help. No texting anyone my situation.
And it was Christmas Eve. All of the shops I was passing were closed. Which wouldn’t be an issue, if the apartment buildings along this road weren’t buzz-in only.
I could only hope that I made it home, before they grabbed me. Or whatever it was they wanted.
My apartment building came into view, and my heart sped up. I was so close, now. If only my building was buzz-in. I hadn’t been that lucky, when apartment hunting.
I kept my calm up as I made my way inside and to the stairs. The elevator would’ve been my first choice, but it had broken down two days ago.
Unlucky me, right?
I heard their footsteps coming up behind me, making me suck in a sharp breath.
Whoever they were, they weren’t afraid of cameras catching them. That didn’t bode well for me.
Keys already in hand, I approached my door. Got it open and carefully shut it, locking the door, the deadbolt, and doing the chain.
My breathing came easier as I put my back to the door and leaned against it.
Until the footsteps stopped on the other side, and there was a knock.
I froze. What the hell?
“What do you want?” My voice came out stronger than I felt.
There was a soft trilling sound, some language I didn’t understand. Another voice, this one deep, echo-y. It reverberated through my body. Again, I couldn’t understand whatever he was saying.
As if I hadn’t been raised on crime shows, I swallowed hard and began undoing the locks. Slowly, I opened the door for them.
“No funny business.” I warned, closing the door behind them.
Fingers brushed my ear, making me jump, fitting an ear piece into it.
“We want to talk to you.” The man’s voice sounded... strange. It was as if there was a musical undercurrent to it.
When I didn’t say anything, the other one spoke up. “Please. We just wish to speak with you.”
I’m sorry? How could I suddenly understand them? My hand went to my ear. A... translator? I hadn’t realized they existed yet.
I hadn’t yet turned on a light, so I still couldn’t see them worth a damn. They followed me into the living room, where I flipped the switch and saw-
“Cosplayers?” I asked, blinking at their appearances.
One... looked like a humanoid dinosaur? Also, two fingers and a thumb on both hands. Hands that looked bigger than my head. The other was covered in green scales, eyes reminding me of a chameleon.
And both had the prettiest eyes I’ve ever seen.
“What’s a cosplayer?” The first one, musical one, tilted his head.
“Someone who dresses up as a fictional character.” A gesture toward them. “I don’t recognize the fandom you’re from, but your costumes look good.”
They exchanged glances.
“We’re not dressed up as anything. We-”
“Please.” I rolled my eyes. “No human just looks like you two do.”
“We’re not human. We-”
I barked a laugh, shaking my head. “I wasn’t born yesterday.”
The dino-looking one opened his mouth to continue arguing, clearly getting frustrated, but his companion spoke first.
“No. You were born March nineteenth.”
I froze, staring at him with wide eyes.
What the hell?
“Please, may we speak with you?”
“I...” Giving myself a shake, I pointed to the couch. “Uh. Drinks?”
My southern manners were coming back to me.
“Water, please.”
“A water.”
“Coming right up.” I said, dashing into the kitchen.
Why was I entertaining these guys? Strangers- who knew my birthday! What the hell was wrong with me? I’d seen countless shows, where the unsub learned personal details about the victim to get them to lower their guard around them so they could strike.
And here I was, serving myself up on a silver platter!
I quickly grabbed two water bottles and a bottle of sweet tea from the fridge, before making my way back into the room.
“Here.” I set their drinks on the coffee table in front of them.
Sitting on the armchair, I looked at them.
“So. You wanted to talk.” I tilted my head.
Not gonna lie, I was curious. And that was the whole reason I was giving this a go, right? Because I wanted to know why they’d picked me to bother.
Not because I had a death wish. Nope.
...Did I?
I pushed that away for later inspection. Focus on the situation at hand. Think about that later.
They exchanged glances again. Looked like they were trying to figure out who wanted to start the conversation.
The green one leaned forward, staring into my eyes. “We believe that you are a relative of a friend of ours.”
That instantly had my attention.
“What?” I breathed, also leaning forward. My eyes were saucers, I’m sure.
“A twin, actually.” The other man added. “To John Shepard.”
“I...” Wait. “How do you know it’s me?”
“If you would allow me to scan you, we would know for sure.” The first one said.
“Scan?” I asked warily.
He nodded, getting to his feet and coming toward me. He tapped an orange bracelet on his left wrist, the action bringing up a hologram of an interface.
Whoa. Okay.
My eyes only getting wider, I watched as he stopped in front of me, a... well, something that could only be described as a scan sweeping over me.
A few seconds later, there came a beep, and he focused on the screen.
A firm nod. “You are a perfect match to Jane Shepard’s biological profile.”
“Don’t ever call me that.” I hissed without thinking.
They both blinked at me, taken aback by my reaction.
Swallowing hard, I looked away from them, rubbing my arm. Trying to comfort myself. “Sorry. That’s... That’s my mom’s name. I don’t... Please don’t call me that.”
“Your mom not a nice person?” Dino asked as the green guy took his seat again.
I snorted. “Oh, she’s perfect- when she’s around others. When it’s just us, I’m the worst person in the history of the world to exist.” A shake of my head. “But nevermind that. I have a brother... A twin. That’s... so wild.”
“Your parents are still alive.” He added quietly. “He speaks of them fondly, too. So I don’t think they’re bad people.”
My eyes watered, and I looked down at my lap. At my hands, fidgeting my fingers.
It took me several minutes to find my voice again, and they gave me that. Sitting in silence, waiting for me to gather myself.
“Why did they give me up?” My voice was so small. So soft. I wasn’t sure if they could hear me.
“They didn’t.”
My head whipped up. What?
“You were kidnapped.” The other man explained.
My eyes widened again. What?
No. That happened to other people, not me. That couldn’t have... but I had a twin out there. Someone my parents hadn’t given up. Either they hated me- which, according to them, they were good people- or...
It made sense, actually.
Why I never saw my birth certificate. Why I didn’t know who my birth parents were. Why, during the earliest years I could remember, I wasn’t allowed outside.
Did my adoptive parents know?
Had they actually adopted me?
“I’ve gotta admit.” I gave a weak smile. “Not how I imagined my evening going.”
“Luna-”
“Mercy.” I corrected reflexively.
That earned confused looks.
“I choose to go by Mercy. My mother gave me the name Luna, and I want nothing to do with her. So, I chose a name that I like.”
A slow nod from dino. “Mercy, then.”
It occurred to me, then. “I’m sorry, but... Who are you? You haven’t introduced yourselves.”
“I’m Garrus.” He said. “Garrus Vakarian.”
“Thane Krios.” The other supplied.
“Where... Where is my brother? My...” I swallowed hard. “family?”
Another glance at each other, this one wary. Like they weren’t sure how I’d react to the information.
I frowned, tilting my head. “Look. You’ve shown up, looking like... this,” I motioned between the two of them. “and you’ve told me I have a family out there. There’s not much else you could say that would shock me, at this point.”
“What year is it?” Thane asked quietly.
“Uh. It’s twenty twenty-one.” I was bewildered by the question.
“We come from twenty-one eighty-five.”
I just stared at him, head empty. No thoughts.
After several minutes, Garrus turned to his companion. “I think you broke her.”
“Time travel.” I nodded slowly, chewing my thumbnail. The wheels starting to turn again. “Okay. That’s not... unbelievable. I’ve read studies that say it’s possible and could be a thing starting in the near future. I just never expected...” A shake of my head. Slowly, I looked up at them, unable to believe the thought that was circling in my head now. “You’re... aliens.”
They nodded just as slowly, watching me with concern.
“Real, honest to god aliens.” I breathed. “This is...” I jumped up, racing over to my spare bedroom. The one I’d turned into a library. Coming back with a book. “Show me.”
I set it on the table between us. A book about space around our little system.
“Here.” Thane pointed to a spot after flipping a few pages.
I held my breath, watching with fascination.
The other guy turned a couple pages, pointing at another location. “Here.”
“That’s... incredible. We haven’t even discovered those systems yet.” My voice came out breathless. “This is... so wild. What... I’m sorry if I’m being rude, but what are you? What’s your race?”
“I am a drell.”
“I’m turian.”
I got up, circling the couch. Circling them. Getting a better look at the two of them.
Incredible.
I wanted to reach out and touch them, feel Thane’s skin. Garrus’s plating. But I resisted. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.
Going back to the armchair, I sat again, shaking my head.
“This is... Wow.”
“We would like you to come with us, if it’s possible.” Thane said, leaning forward.
Now, both were staring intently.
“Go with you? What, to twenty-one eighty-five?”
“Yes.” They both said, nodding.
I looked around, thinking.
Then, I pulled out my cellphone and called my mother.
“Hello?” She answered.
“Hey.”
“What are you doing, calling so late at night? I thought I raised you better than this, to respect other people’s time.”
“This won’t be a long call, I promise.”’
“It better not be.” She grumbled. “What do you want?”
“I wanted to let you know that I love you, and that I won’t be seeing you ever again. I hope that your life goes well, and you find happiness wherever you can.”
“What?” She sounded a little fearful, now. “Luna, what is this ab-”
“I’m fine, mom. Everything’s fine. We just won’t be seeing each other again. And I just wanted to tell you I love you one final time.”
“Luna!”
I hung up on her, turning the phone off. Looking at the both of them, I gave a small smile.
“I just need to pack a few things.”
“Of course.”
Getting up, I went to my room, grabbing some clothing and putting it all in a suitcase. Tucked my stuffed wolf inside with them. Grabbed my bag full of quarters and tucked them in there, too. Went to my little library and picked out a few books. Stowed them in a backpack. Switched my shoes to my flat, knee-high brown boots. Picked up my discarded black flats and put them in the suitcase, as well.
“I’m all done.” I murmured as I came out with my two bags.
“That’s it?” Garrus asked, eyes widening at the sight of me.
Thane tilted his head.
“Yeah.” A shrug. “I’m used to leaving everything behind in the middle of the night.”
Neither of them liked that, if I had to guess. Their expressions immediately soured.
Thane held out a hand, and I took it. Part of me happy to feel him, the texture of his scales and skin.
Garrus typed something into the interface his bracelet had called up, and the world around me started to warp. I stumbled, unable to stand upright with everything shifting, and an arm wrapped around my waist to keep me on my feet.