Mass Effect Darkest of Days

Darkest of Days

Kasumi Goto allowed a slow, gentle breath waft past her lips. Kasumi ignored the rhythmic screams of gunfire rattling against the shipping crate beside her, the throbbing pounding of her heart in her chest, the sting of the cool sweat cascading down her brow. Kasumi allowed her mind to run clear, stifling her raging thoughts and the adrenaline surging through her system. Even in this raging inferno of combat Kasumi could feel herself becoming completely and utterly at peace with the rest of her surroundings.

Kasumi's eyes snapped open- her vision instantly attuned to her surroundings. She felt her device engage of its own accord, her entire form becoming enveloped in its cool embrace. The Element Zero covered her suit, curving and manipulating the light around her body, making her appear as a phantom in the deep shadows. Kasumi charged from her cover, the Black Dragon mercenaries continuing to fire blindly at the crate they assumed she was still crouched behind.

Kasumi broke into a run, leaping up onto the crate beside her she charged along the row of the crates. She leapt gracefully from the vantage point down onto the cargo bay floor, charging forward across the wide open space separating the two lines of containers. Kasumi stormed along the crates the mercenaries were crouching behind. The closest mercenary rose up from cover, his assault rifle ablaze, firing at her previous position. Kasumi had a short time to admire the Raptor IV rifle held tight against the soldiers chest, the piercing white emblem of a Dragon engraved on the shoulder guard of his jet black armour, the contours of the striking, avian features on his Turian mandibles.

Kasumi had only a second to savour it all in before she drew her combat blade from her belt, sinking the blades sharp edge into the exposed lip of the creatures neck. Kasumi seemed to dance around the mercenary with grace and elegance. With Kasumi still clutching the hilt of the blade still planted firmly in the creature's reptilian skin she utilized her momentum to carry herself and the Turian forward, the Turian's heavy shoulder slamming down into the face of his human comrade beside him. The heavy armour fractured the soldiers jaw, dropping him to the ground in a shower of blood and bone fragments. The Turian merc continued to turn with Kasumi's movements, his assault rifle spraying bullets across the fractured remnants of his squad. Many of them fell before they could turn to face him, their shields unable to withstand the lethal barrage of gunfire.

By now Kasumi's Turian companion had lost a significant quantity of blood and quickly became dead weight at the end of her arm. Kasumi wretched the blade out of his hardened reptilian skin, allowing the corpse to collapse to the floor in a bloody heap. Kasumi stood over her fallen enemies. She took the unexpected moment of silence to enjoy her masterwork, the bodies of the fallen laying in the pose they had taken before their death. Kasumi thought of herself as an artist- her blade was her brush, the battlefield her canvas, and her enemies the guided medium.

Kasumi suddenly felt a sharp pain rip through her abdomen; her delicately crafted thoughts were shattered in an instant. Kasumi felt the cooling embrace of the Element Zero around her suit receding, the strike of the warm air against her exposed cheeks was devastating. Kasumi struck the ground hard. Kasumi barely had time to recover her thoughts before she felt a demonic death grip tightening around her neck, sharply pulling her to her knees. As soon as her eyes adjusted she was greeted by the barrel of a pistol pressed into her forehead. "You know, the way the men were blathering on about spirits, Reapers and Collectors, I was actually starting to believe it myself" The Turian spoke with the coarse voice of a hardened veteran. She felt his harsh, alien breath flow past her ear. "Wait until I tell them it was just some little girl with some tech. They won't like being made fools of"

Something suddenly struck the mercenary from behind, his grip on Kasumi's throat loosening. Kasumi utilized the momentary lapse to bring her elbow alongside her side, hard, striking the Turian in the celiac plexus. The Turian's hold weakened even further, allowing Kasumi to pull her right hand free and draw another blade from her belt. She spun around, her eyes locking onto the lip of his armour between the armour plating and his neck covered by the thin rubber of his suit. Kasumi stabbed the thin piece of metal into his neck, digging into soft flesh and tough muscle beneath it. The creature let out a primal roar of mixed rage and pain. The Turian threw his arms outwards, knocking Kasumi to the ground in one powerful movement.

Kasumi hit the ground hard, only rolling to a painful stop when she impacted a solid steel shipping crate. She could see through her dazed vision that the Turian was still alive, even with the blade lodged deeply into the base of his neck. Despite the wound weeping blood at a lethal rate the creatures' eyes continued to burn with red fury. In the throes of death the Turian Captain raised his gun, eager for a final kill. She braced herself for the impact.

But the cold touch of death never came as her secret saviour suddenly emerged behind her aggressor once again, their face concealed behind dark shadows. The mysterious phantom's left hand clasped across the Turian's quivering mandibles, stifling his gasp of surprise and quickly snapping his head to the side, allowing easier access for their right hand to tightly grip the handle of the hilt of the knife lodged in the Turian's throat, pulling the blade sharply back across the side of his neck with all the ferocity they could muster. The serrated edge cut cleanly through tough muscle and soft flesh indiscriminately, severing the carotid artery in a flurry of dark blue blood. The assassin wrenched the blade free of the Turian's neck with one final yank, the open wound now gushing blood.

The Turian's expression never faltered, he remained standing frozen in place as the life blood drained from his body. His knees suddenly gave under his own weight, the shadow of his former glory collapsing. Her saviour suddenly appeared from behind the lifeless corpse, one hand guiding the Turian's descent by clasping onto the rim of his armour, the other hand still clutching the bloodied dagger in their hand. They released their hold on the corpse, the lifeless body slamming heavily onto the floor with a heavy clunk, barely missing Kasumi still lying on the floor beneath him.

Her saviour knelt over his defeated opponent, the blade still held ready lest the corpse choose to enact its revenge. The young man looked up from his kill, as if only now taking notice of the girl he had saved. "Getting sloppy Kasumi?" His chocolate brown features curled into a smile.

He held out his hand to help Kasumi up, she stumbled onto her feet. In an instant Kasumi utilized the momentum to swing herself underneath his armpit, reaching out with her left hand to steal the knife from his left hand. She turned sharply, wrenching his right arm hard against his back, the knife pressed against his throat. "Seems I can still get the drop on you, Keiji"

Kasumi held the pose for a second, as if contemplating her next action. She lowered the blade from his throat, returning it to its sheath at her belt. Kasumi released her grip on his arm, allowing it to fall back into its natural place. Kasumi turned to continue towards the objective she had neglected until now. "Wait a minute" Keiji's words rang in her ears. He grabbed her hand, pulling her in with such swift forcefulness that she lost her graceful balance, falling into his waiting arms. "Where is my 'Thank you for saving me' kiss?"

Kasumi's eyes rolled back in her head. She leant forward into the embrace, her lips grazing against his. His skin was cold and hard to the touch, and his kiss was passionless. This was not Keiji.

Kasumi always dreaded this moment. Her vision was sudddenly consumed by surging white light, her eyes unable to comprehend the surge of colour bombarding her senses. The waves eventually ceased, her vision draped in uniform white. The veil eventually cleared, and Kasumi was returned to the harsh reality of the material world. The holographic glasses over her eyes gave the world a tranquil blue tint. She blinked twice, the glasses retracted to either side of her temples. Her senses cascaded back to her- the touch of the cool air against her bare skin, the plain air tinted with a subtle, delectably sweet scent. The sudden barrage quickly overwhelmed her senses within seconds of returning to the physical world. She pulled herself up from lying on the couch, her back pressed against the arm of the chair and her knees brought up to her chest. She massaged her gloved fingers against her forehead, calming her raging mind like a tamer would settle their rampant beast.

Some unknown force suddenly snapped her jumbled and wayward thoughts back into place. The rhythmic electronic beeping as the door locks disengaged bringing her back into the real world. The fractured plates of metal broke apart, revealing the brightly lit corridor beyond. A figure stood in the opening, obscuring the full brunt of the light of the outside world which insisted on disturbing the tranquil serenity Kasumi had worked so hard to create within her quarters.

Commander Jane Shepard stepped into the port observation room, the sharp contrast in décor between this room and the remainder of the ship was staggering. She stepped over the threshold, the solid metal door silently sliding closed behind her, ending any hope of retreat. She was now within Kasumi Goto's domain. "Kasumi?" Her voice rang hollow in the confined space. Kasumi sat silently, making no move to acknowledge or address her commander, her eyes firmly placed on her knees. "Kasumi?" Shepard repeated. She took a few tentative steps forward, barely able to make out Kasumi's outline against the dark material of the couch and the cool blackness of space past the observation window. "You okay?"

Kasumi finally raised her head, looking up into Shepards glowing blue eyes. "I am fine" she spoke plainly.

"Ok. It is just that nobody has seen you for a while; I just wanted to check on you. Make sure you were alright" That was something very few people knew about Commander Shepard- she treated all of her crew members like family. Whether they served on the original Normandy or Normandy SR-2, Cerberus or Alliance, Asari Justicar or 'paroled' convict you would always be family in Shepard's eyes.

"I was just sifting through some of Keiji's memories from the greybox" Kasumi looked up, her hand raised in front of her trailing a thin horizontal line in the air. A few bright glowing squares emerged from the tip of her fingers, trailing in the wake of her movement. Each one depicted Keiji, Kasumi or the both of them in some form or another in varying outfits and times. The images swirled and curved around Kasumi's head into a sphere that encapsulated her in its warming embrace. "It is strange. Being able to relive all the time we spent together, to capture our best moments through his eyes"

"He must have meant a lot to you" Shepard said.

Kasumi raised her hand, passing it swiftly in front of her dissolved all of the images, submerging the room into darkness once more. "He did" She leant back on the armrest, her arms sliding smoothly from her shins. She let her head fall back, her deep eyes staring blindly up into the ceiling. "I miss him"

Shepards gaze wafted across the room, taking in her alien surroundings. Her gaze eventually fell upon the small, blood red rose which sat on the desk beside her. "What's with the rose?"

Kasumi glanced up to see what she was referring too. "That once used to be my symbol. Whenever I stole something I left that in its place, it was kind of my calling card to the mark saying '_Thanks for the priceless historical artefact. Love Kasumi Goto, Master Thief_'". She allowed a smile to creep onto her lips.

Shepard picked up the delicate item with care, as if applying any force would cause the flower to disintegrate. Shepard admired its perfect form and the elegant, gentle rise of the petals- a perfect flower in every way. She turned the rose over in her hand, each face offering a new insight into the radiant beauty of the simple item. "It's quite a symbol" Shepard whispered under her breath.

"A rose was always my favourite flower. It just felt, right. When I met Keiji he helped me realize I was just being sentimental. Now I just keep that one as a reminder" Kasumi smiled sweetly as the memories flooded back to her.

Shepard returned the rose to it's resting place, glancing up to notice the painting hanging just above the desk. "Nice painting, it sort of reminds me of the Prothean archives on Illos"

"I never knew what it was- it wasn't my place to evaluate it. I was just hired to steal it. I broke in, disabled the security, but when I finally got in it was gone! I look outside and see another thief running off with it. I charge outside, tackle him and took the painting. That's when I first met Keiji- we never did take the painting back to our employers"

Shepard smiled "Sounds like love at first sight"

"I guess if you call it that after I tackled him, kicked him the ribs and stole a priceless work of art off of him and forced him to play me in a game of chase for it. I will say one thing about him- he can run as fast as he steals". Kasumi pointed a long finger over at the far side of the desk. "But my favourite steal was that statue over there". Shepard followed her finger- the statue was a human bust, far older than Shepard could even remember. "We were visiting an art gallery on Ilium. They were hosting an exhibition of old human works, very valuable, very high security. We saw that in one of the rooms and Keiji dared me to steal it. I came back that night- slipped inside, knocked out a couple of the guards and replaced the real bust with a worthless fake. They still haven't found out" The smile on Kasumi's lips continued to grow as the pleasant memories flooded back to her. She closed her eyes to allow her to feel the warm embrace at its full intensity.

But the inevitable touch of reality eventually struck, hard, and Kasumi's smile began to falter. Kasumi pondered whether it really was the right choice for her to continue searching through these memories. She knew the consequences when she chose to defy Keiji's wishes and kept the greybox intact. She thought it would give her some kind of closure to keep a single memento of all the time they had spent together. But now she realized it only served as a constant reminder that those days were behind her- and they could never be reclaimed.

Kasumi could feel herself being dragged deeper and deeper into a dark pit of despair. The shadows she had concealed herself in and found solitude in for so many years of thievery suddenly became all consuming. The lairs of the monsters and demons she had once masqueraded as in order to strike fear into the hearts of her prey became real. But now the tables had turned. The creatures whose faces she had so eagerly adopted were now emerging as flesh and blood incarnations bent on punishing the one who had dared to insult them. Her home, her world that had offered her the safety and security she craved was now collapsing all around her, threatening to consume her entirely.

But like a beam of light descending from the heavens something halted the darkness's unstoppable advance. She could feel a sudden warmth taking hold of her, keeping the demons at bay and keeping her safe from taint. Kasumi embraced her new found saviour, for the first time in her life finding the strength and security in the light which until now only the shadows could offer her.

Kasumi opened her eyes, freeing her consciousness from the raging torrent of her own mind and returning her to the physical world. She found herself being consumed by Shepard's form, the tender embrace calming her raging heart. She hadn't even realized that any time had passed since she closed her eyes, let alone that Shepard had managed to travel the gap between them and wrap her long, slender arms around her. As a master thief she was kicking herself for that.

But despite her anger for her failings she could not help but return the embrace, the warmth surrounding her was calming and soothing. She simply allowed herself to be swept up in Shepards hug, completely at ease floating in the void of space.


End file.

Mass Effect, Sci-Fi