"Susan! Hold that lever down." The Doctor ordered, the ridiculous robes billowing behind him as he dashed around the console "Without the Helmic working properly, that's the next best thing we have." The TARDIS set into motion, shaking as the Doctor frantically tried to control it. "So, why don't you all fill me in really quick, eh?" He glanced over at me.

I sighed, preparing the cliff notes version. "Well, after you, River, and Susan went on your own little vacation, I got a message on my private terminal in my apartment."

The Doctor's eyebrows furrowed. "You own an apartment?"

"Anderson gave it to me." I shrugged. I still wasn't happy, the insurance costs of the place alone were gonna be through the roof. "Anyway, the message was from Joker, or I thought it was, at least. So I go to the sushi place that was mentioned in the message, and Joker tells me that I invited him, not the other way around. So then Brooks runs up, tells me someone's trying to kill me, and then we all get ambushed by mercs. Long story short, we made it back to safety, and get a lead to a casino owner who can trace the gun. The owner was dead, but we managed to figure out that we needed to go to the archives. Then, we met the clone, she filled us in, and we fought our way through only to be trapped in a vault at the end of it."

The Doctor sighed. "Why can't anything ever be-" A blinking light on the console caught his attention. He looked at one of the console monitors, and frowned "Uh oh. It looks like the fake Shepard's already sent out the departure request."

I turned to Joker. "Can you try to get Citadel Control to deny it?" I suggested. It might not have been too late, if we could get the request denied, then if she tried to take off, the clamps would keep the Normandy held in place long enough for us to get inside and take her down.

"Tried." Joker shook his head. "All the comm lines in the area are jammed... probably to make it easier for them to steal my ship!"

Well, it was my ship, but never mind that. "We'll stop them." I resolved.

"Shepard!" EDI began, sounding alarmed, and the Doctor looked over to her like he wasn't expecting it to be her. Which was especially weird, given that he was there when we got the new body. "Your clone has entered the ship and is attempting to-" Her body began beeping and whirring wildly, and the holographic visor around her eye shut down, as EDI slumped over, seemingly sleeping.

"EDI?" Liara looked the gynoid shell over.

"Is she supposed to do that?" Wrex asked.

"Well... this is awkward." Tali stepped back from EDI's shell body.

EDI's eyes snapped open, and she looked back up, standing upright. "I'm okay!" She proclaimed, even as her eyes were looking around in different directions. She straightened her eyes out and smiled.

"Really?" Joker deadpanned.

"The clone has disabled my control of the Normandy, as well as all sensory input." EDI reported. "I cannot lock her out or counteract her commands."

"Are you still in fighting shape?" I asked.

"I am experiencing a significant feedback loop in my head, and an increased desire to kill your clone."

That made two of us. "Get in line."

"Right, here we are!" The Doctor said. "The Norm-"

The TARDIS seemed to collide against something, and the console sparked as the console room violently shook, while the engines struggled to maintain flight. We all grabbed onto the railing on the platform to steady ourselves, and the Doctor pulled the emergency-stop lever, calming the TARDIS down. "What the hell was that!?" The Doctor yelled, as he righted himself.

"Oh... that's probably the anti-TARDIS shield." Garrus admitted. "The Clone must have turned it on."

"Anti-TARDIS!? Why would you have an- you know what, never mind. I'm sure I'll find it out eventually."

Oh… He was from the past. Okay, so, quick list of rules to myself. Don't mention the Usher, don't talk about how the War's going, and don't mention anything else too spoilery.

Which was easy enough, given the fact we were in the middle of a fight for our lives.

"Come on, you guys!" I ordered, throwing the TARDIS door open. I stepped out first, into the Normandy's airlock. "Well, at least we're on the Normandy."

"Wait, what!?" Traynor was on her way out, turning around to face me. "You were just on the Normandy. You... you fired me! Dishonorable discharge for conduct unbecoming! You kicked me off the ship with barely enough time to grab my toothbrush." She held the toothbrush up.

Really, she gets kicked off a ship by her commanding officer, and out of all the items she could grab, it was that?"

"Traynor," I sighed, "I can't just fire you. I need to give a disciplinary hearing first. And really, the first thing you grabbed was your toothbrush?"

"It's a-"

"Ciscion ProMark 4." I cut her off. We didn't have time for this. "It uses tiny mass effect fields." I parroted what she had told me during one of our first conversations. Thank god for Gallifreyan memory recall. "I know that because I'm the real Shepard."

"Wait... If that wasn't you, then-"

"Evil Clone, sort of a long story." Garrus interrupted, he and Liara working on getting the inner airlock door opened. The door control flashed an angry red, and then vanished. "Damn. Locked tight."

Oh, the clone had even found the deadlock seal. Beautiful.

I turned to Traynor. Out of everyone on the Normandy, aside from EDI and the engineers, she was probably the one who knew the ship the best. "Is there anyone still on board that can help us?"

"No." Traynor shook her head. "I was only here because I was part of the retrofits back on Earth. Everyone else is on shore leave."

"Then you're the only one who knows of a way inside the ship." I assumed. "Can you get me inside?"

Traynor pursed her lips in thought, and nodded, before she walked over to the middle of the airlock and started looking for something on the floor. "There's an emergency exit hatch for evacuations. It should be right... here!" Traynor pulled up one of the floor grates, revealing a metal trapdoor set into the floor.

I crouched down in front of the hatch, ready to initiate a bypass program. My omni-tool bleeped at me and I had to resist the urge to start smashing things. "Manual lock, and it's only meant to be opened from the other side. Any ideas?"

"Oh, I've got it!" The Doctor said, reaching into his robes. His face fell once he realized he was still wearing them. "Oh. I must've left it in my other jacket. I knew it was a bad idea to wear this thing."

"Yeah, I wasn't going to comment on it." I snarked. Those robes may have been comfortable, but they were not good with pockets. "But any day now."

"Susan." The Doctor turned to our granddaughter. "You're up." He pointed to the hatch.

Susan nodded, crouched down to get closer to the hatch, and pulled out her own sonic screwdriver. She pressed down the activator, it buzzed, and she ran it along the line where the two small doors met. The hatch's locking mechanisms clicked, and the hatch opened up.

"Good job!" The Doctor patted Susan on the back, and I allowed myself a proud little smile.

"Okay, Traynor, you're probably going to want to go ahead and get out of here." I suggested.

"Right, good idea." Traynor nodded. "Oh, and good luck." She wished, before running from the airlock.

"Alright, everyone in, one at a time." I directed, before jumping down into the small tunnel. "Doctor, you and Susan stay at the back."

The Doctor nodded, and he and Susan stayed back while the others hopped down first. Once they were sure to be the last ones, they hopped down, and the hatch sealed behind them.

I wasn't going to lie, being in a small space like this made me feel like I was giving the ship a colonoscopy. Just when I was about to voice that, someone behind me sneezed.

"Vega!" I berated with a whisper-shout.

"Sorry." The marine whispered back. "It's dusty as shit in here."

"You'd never find this much dust on a Quarian ship." Tali remarked.

"Shh!" I stressed, as I came to the end of the tunnel. The hatch was the steps that led up into the bridge, and there was a small green button on the wall, just aching to be pressed. But before I did so, I took note of the voices on the other side.

"...Hey, what'd she mean 'slow her down?' We're allowed to kill Shepard if we have to, right?" One of the mercs said, conversing with his partner.

"She said 'slow her down' because she thinks we're cannon fodder." The other merc responded.

"Oh. Well... shit."

While the mercs were distracted, I immediately slammed my fist down on the button the open the hatch. The stairs flipped up, and we all charged out, opening fire.

"Watch it!" I instructed. "I don't want to be fixing the bullet holes when we're done!"

"Fuck it, the maintenance crews will have to do it anyway!" Vega shouted.

"Good point, fuck it!"

"Oh yeah, one of my favorite places to fight!" Garrus shouted in earnest, as he put a bulled right through a small hole in the large shield a merc was using, and through the merc's head.

"The CIC of a warship?" Tali asked in response, setting loose her combat drone on the mercs.

"Right there above the gardens, and below the electronics shops!"

"And antique shops, as I recall!" I butted in. The mission on Tuchanka to find Maelon. Good times.

"But only if they're classy!" Garrus responded.

Hey, Cortez and Javik were being awfully quiet, weren't they?

Ah, well, if they didn't want to speak it was their prerogative.

The last merc in the CIC fell and everything calmed, though there were still bodies and thermal clips laying around that would have to be cleaned up later.

"Right, that's the last of them." Kaidan stated, after doing one last sweep of the room.

I simply nodded my acknowledgement. "Then let's go finish this. Kaidan, James, you two stay behind and take care of the pilot." I ordered, stepping into the elevator. I looked at the controls and pressed the button to take us all down to the shuttle bay. The elevator shuddered, and it set into motion, proceeding down the small shaft that it occupied.

The elevator hit the bottom of the shaft and stopped. The doors opened, opening up into the shuttle bay. Various crates were haphazardly stacked on top of each other, and tools from the repairs were left scattered in various places.

We all stepped out of the elevator, and spread out, looking left and right for any sign of the Clone. They didn't need to look for long, though.

The Clone stepped out from behind a stack of crates, and…

Oh, hell no.

"Well, that's creepy." That was an understatement if I'd ever made one. She was wearing an identical set of my armor, only it was silver and blue instead of black and red

The Clone immediately started firing and ducked into cover. I returned it and copied her moves.

"You want to stop shooting up my ship?" The Clone yelled.

"It's not your ship!" I yelled back. What did Brooks feed this lady, to make her think that she was entitled to my life?

The Clone laughed, which was really, really weird given that it was using my own voice. "It will be. I've taken your name, your Spectre rank, even your fingerprints!"

"And what're those going to get you when you're dead, huh? It's seven against one, here! Face it; you've lost!" I pointed out. I was right, of course. Even if she managed to kill me in a way that prevented me from regenerating, the rest of the crew would come down on her like the hammer of God.

The Clone just laughed again. "You're underestimating my strength. You see, I've got something you don't."

"And what is that?"

"This." The Clone popped out of cover, and glowed blue with biotic energy. The energy surrounded her like a ball, and she charged forward like a gunshot.

She was a Vanguard!? That was cheating! I didn't have biotics!

With as much force as she hit me with, I might as well have been hit by a moving truck. And boy, did it smart.

"Commander, we got problems up here!" Kaidan reported, radioing in.

"What now!?" I yelled, pushing myself back up to my feet. Biotics or not, this bitch was going to die.

"We tried making it into the cockpit, but the pilot sealed himself inside."

"Look, I don't care if you have to blow that door open! Just get inside and stop him!" I yelled, dodging some gunfire that came my way, responding with some of my own.

"Commander, this is Cortez."

Cortez? Shit, he and Javik weren't being quiet, we left them behind! Damn mindfish, it was really messing with me now. "Shit, I knew we were forgetting someone back at the archives."

"Don't sweat it, ma'am. Listen, I'm going to try and keep the Normandy from going into FTL. I'll do what I can, but I don't think I'll be able to do it forever."

"So, finish what I'm doing down here, fast. Got it." I responded. All of a sudden, I was thrown back and forth as the Normandy began to sway.

"What the hell's going on up there!?" The Clone barked into her comm. "Get us into the nebula and into FTL!"

"We can't, a skycar keeps blocking our path!" The merc pilot responded.

"Then shoot it!" The Clone ordered.

The sound of the Normandy's main cannon firing filled the shuttle bay, as the shots caused the ship to shake ever-so-slightly. What the hell was that guy doing!? If those shots hit anybody, I was going to be the one blamed for it!

"Damn it!" The Clone cursed. Huh, looks like Cortez was being a bit of a nuisance. Worked for me. "Launch the shuttle, and blow that thing out of the sky!"

In response, the door of the shuttle bay opened up, and the shuttle shot out, chasing after Cortez's skycar.

But that did nothing to stop the fighting in the shuttle bay. The gunfire continued to ring out, and bullets scattered, as biotic blasts flew through the air.

"Susan, I think that it may have been a good idea for us to just stay in the TARDIS." I could hear the Doctor say to Susan, even as the Clone and I fought.

"You think!?"

I shot her with my shotgun, but I noticed the concerned look on her face as the medi-gel dispensers in her armor click. "She's out of medi-gel!" I pointed out, recognizing the sound

The Clone still had the layers of armor protecting her, but it meant now that when I knocked her down to the ground, she probably wouldn't get back up. I shot the gun out of her hands, and she responded by using her biotics to snatch mine out of my hands.

It was down to fisticuffs now. I called on my inner Krogan and charged at the Clone, tackling her over the safety railing at the edge of the shuttlebay, and we began to roll down the cargo ramp. The two of us stopped, and I came out on top, treating the Clone to a first-class, grade A, Shepard-brand beating.

The Clone though channeled the last bit of strength that she had. I was pushed off, barely managing to hold my balance at the edge of the ramp. The Clone then began to right herself, but the Normandy swayed again, and both of us slipped. I wasn't ashamed to admit that I had yelped, but in the end, the both of us greabbed on, trying to pull ourselves up against metal that was too smooth.

"Look at you." The Clone grunted, as she tried to pull herself up. But there was nothing to grab onto, only the smooth metal of the ramp. "What makes you so damned special? Why you, and not me?"

"Shepard!" Tali yelled, running down the ramp. She dove forward, grabbing onto my hand as Wrex kept hold by her legs

"We've got you!" Wrex said, as he helped Tali pull me up.

"Thanks." I said. I turned back to the clone, ready to kick her off, but then…

I saw her face, the look in her eyes, and my God, she was just so… young. She looked into the shuttle bay, at the receding form of Brooks with the most heartbreaking look of betrayal.

And then I realized. Brooks had helped this clone, taught her everything, gave her a purpose. In many ways, Brooks was kind of like the Clone's mother.

And she had just turned away.

I sighed. "Grab my hand." I gently ordered, holding out my hand.

"And then?" The Clone questioned despondently.

"And then you'll live!" I stressed.

"Why?" The Clone shrugged. She closed her eyes, and let go.

Only for someone else to grab her arm.

"I don't think so." The Doctor said, keeping hold of the Clone's arms with both of his hands. It was impressive, I had to admit, him running down the ramp to catch her just in the nick of time. "Now, can one of you help me over here? I think my foothold's going."

I grabbed onto the Clone's other arm, and pulled her up, helping to pull her into the shuttle bay even as she tried to struggle against our grip. The ramp closed behind us, and everything seemed to calm down.

Calm enough to where I wasn't able to react fast enough to what happened next.

The Clone grabbed my pistol out of its holster, pressed it on the right side of her chest, and pulled the trigger. The shot rang throughout the shuttle bay like thunder, and the Clone gasped.

"No!" The Doctor shouted, grabbing the Clone as she fell to the floor. The Doctor cradled her gently, shaking his head as he gently set her down on the floor.

**DW**

"Fortunately, they weren't here long enough to do much real damage." Cortez reported, finishing up his report on the sweep of the ship. In the middle of the room, my Clone lay dead on the floor, with a small tarp covering her body, and the Doctor and Susan were off to her side, like they were… anticipating something. "Although I may need some help from James cleaning up the mess they made down here."

"Plus they overloaded the head diffusion system firing at him." Joker grinned, referring to Cortez. "Not sure if you noticed, but shuttle guy over here did some crazy flying to keep himself in one piece."

Not like I was in a position to notice, given the fight at the time, but I trusted in Cortez's abilities.

"It's nice to fly something a bit more maneuverable than the Kodiak." Cortez responded, going back to his station.

"What about EDI?" I wondered. "Is she back online?" The last thing I needed was charging back into the fray without our trusty AI by my side.

"I am once again in control of the Normandy." EDI smiled. "Thank you for asking."

"What about the mercs?" I finished. "Any survivors?"

"Just one crappy-ass pilot and her." Joker pointed to Brooks, who walked into view, in handcuffs. "Alliance is taking her to a high-security facility. Maybe she can give 'em dirt on Cerberus."

"I'll be more than happy to cooperate with the authorities." Brooks snidely smiled.

"Maya," I shook my head, "I know that voice."

"Do you really?" Brooks responded.

"You're getting a chance to redeem yourself." I crossed her arms. "Don't waste it."

"So serious. Admit it. Part of you liked having me around, looking up to the legend." She taunted. I turned away, not even giving her the satisfaction of a response. "We had some laughs. And who knows? Maybe we'll have more someday."

"No, we won't." I spat, poking her in her sternum. "Because you are going to stay in your cell and do your time."

"Afraid I'll escape?" Brooks taunted further. "Come back for revenge? Is the great Commander Shepard pleading for her life?"

"I'm pleading for yours." I growled.

"So thoughtful." Brooks sighed. "Well then, I suppose I'm off to lockup... You know,she wouldn't have let me live."

I looked back over to the tarp. "You can't clone everything." I sighed, as Brooks was moved out of the shuttle bay.

"What about the body?" Garrus asked, looking over at the dead clone.

I stared over at her as well. Only six months of life, so much potential… all of it wasted by a woman who say the Clone as nothing but a means to an end. "...We'll give her a proper burial. She may have been a total bitch, but everybody deserves one." She deserved that much dignity. If not in life, then at least in death.

The Doctor suddenly gasped and his eyes widened, as he stared at the clone's dead form. "You know... I think that might not be necessary..."

"What do you mean?" I frowned in confusion. But I could sense at whatever it was he was getting at. The air seemed… electrified, energized, like something monumental was going down.

The Doctor, however, just smiled. "Pull the sheet off her." The Time Lord ordered.

I thought about it, for a moment. It'd probably be removed anyway, if she was going to be buried. But I wanted to know what he was babbling on about. "Doctor, what are you-" I recoiled back as my hands hit heat, the tarp feeling like it had been left out in the sun for too long. And I gasped, taking in the state of my clone. "What the hell!?"

She was literally glowing, a brilliant orange-gold like the skies of Gallifrey, as her face and fingers twitched.

"She's regenerating." The Doctor smiled, looking down. He took a step back, pulling me back as well. "I'd stand back, if I were you."

Then, she exploded. Like the inside of a star, the entire bay glowed white, and the clone began to change. Her body stretched out slightly, growing taller, and the features of her face morphed and contorted as the hair on her head went from a neat, military-length cut, to a thick mass of curls. The light died down, and the shimmering noise faded.

All of us inhaled, upon seeing the new face.

"River!?" The Doctor and I boomed.

"Oh great, is she stealing other people's faces now?" Tali snarked.

"Shepard," The Doctor turned to me with a desperately inquisitive look on his face, "I need you to tell me what happened when you met River the second time."

The second time? Oh, right, after Horizon. I found it a bit odd, the way he just came out of nowhere and introduced her to me, but I indulged.

"Well, you brought her back to the Normandy after a trip in the TARDIS, told me she was freshly regenerated, and- ...oh."

The Clone hadn't stolen River's face at all… She was River.

"Yeah... 'oh.'"

"So this is the River that I know, just..."

"At the very beginning." The Doctor elaborated. "This is... awkward."

"Considering what was going on just a few minutes ago, yeah." All this time, during the whole mess where she'd tried to kill me and steal my life… she'd been part of my crew all along. "So... what are you going to do with her?"

I had an idea, of course. She couldn't stay right here, not after she'd joined up during the Collector Base mission.

"I'm going to do what time says I do." The Doctor answered. "Besides, she deserves a second chance. The chance to be her own person, not just a clone of Commander Shepard. And this is the perfect way to give it to her." The Doctor crouched down, picked up the sleeping Clone/River, and began carrying her bridal-style. "Come along, Susan." The Doctor directed Susan, as the two vanished into the elevator.

I would say I was worried… but no. Her life was in good hands.

**DW**

The Normandy shuddered as the docking clamps locked into place, and the shuttle bay ramp lowered, allowing us out directly onto the concourse.

There would be questions, of course. C-Sec was already swarming the docks. But I didn't much care. No, my eyes focused on Traynor, and the three standing behind her, in front of a big blue box that had no place on the Citadel.

I marched down the ramp first, marching up to River.

"Shepard," She began fearfully, "I-"

"Save it." I interrupted, locking her in a bear hug. "You should've told me."

River swallowed. "You know I couldn't."

I sighed sadly. "I know. Still, I'm glad."

"For what?" She confusedly questioned.

"For taking me up on my offer to work together. Even if it was before I made it." And as I released her, I smiled. "So… was there a reason you picked that sushi place in particular, or...?"

"Your mother is Chinese." River shrugged sheepishly.

"For the last time, sushi is Japanese!" I roared, startling everyone.

"Is shore leave… always like this?" EDI asked.

"Ha!" The Doctor patted her encouragingly on the back. "One can only hope."

I sighed happily, and looked to every one of my teammates gathered around. "Come on. Maybe we can take some actual time off. No explosions or anything. Just us."

Susan snorted, as we all began to file into the TARDIS. "Knock on wood."

I paused for a second, and rapped my knuckles three times on the outside of the TARDIS, before stepping inside myself.