Ellis awoke to the sound of a young woman, requesting that someone take over something for her. He groaned aloud, his head throbbing. His painkillers had just fired a half hour ago, and he still had another thirty minutes before they triggered again. There was a pounding sound in his ears. 

[i]Wakey wakey, eggs and bacey.

Shut up. Dear God, please, shut up.

C'mon, you've felt worse. Get up like you know you should.

Please, I'm begging you, just stop.

And what will you do if I don't.[/i]

Ellis didn't have a ready answer. He lay on his back, suspended by the two prongs of a forklift. A familiar forklift. Its yellow paint was peeling, and there was rust on the tines of the lift. The suspension creaked as he adjusted his position, rolling onto his front with great difficulty. "NERO, vitals check."

"[i]All hardware at peak efficiency. Wetware experiencing increased blood pressure, low white cell count. Unable to connect to Cerberus Information Server.[/i]"

"I gotta get you fixed."

"[i]Scheduling repair. Unable to schedule repair. Unable to connect to Cerberus Information Server.[/i]"

"You're the worst, NERO." Ellis fought back the urge to vomit. "Ugh. Hit me with the delasetron." His anti-nausea medication triggered immediately. Suddenly, his mouth was unpleasantly dry, albeit preferable to sickness.

"[i]Administering.[/i]"

Ellis coughed up a sigh, and rolled off the forklift, landing heavily on the grass, leaving behind a circle of ravaged lawn that would last for days afterward. He struggled to his feet, swaying slightly, licking his lipless mouth with a sandpaper tongue, cursing his desire to experiment with alcohol. The next few seconds, Ellis stood still, swaying slightly, a silent struggle weighing on his soul.

[i]We did have fun, though.

You admit this?

Absolutely. That alien scum really knows how to party.

Don't say that.

Why not? They threw a great shindig.

No, the other thing. She's no scum. She's just...

Ditzy?

She's kind to me. That's all I can ask.

How many Asari have you killed? More than one, we know that for sure.

That was war. Those were enemies.

And what changed? You explain that. 

Do you even remember how we were betrayed? Do you have any idea? They fed the beast! They fed the demons everything they wanted! The experiments! The cloning! The augmentation! THE INDOCTRINATION! HOW COULD YOU FORGET?

THEY GAVE YOU THE GREATEST GIFT A CRIPPLE COULD RECEIVE, AND YOU SPAT IN THEIR FACES!

FOR THE FIRST TIME, I DEFIED EVIL. 

You are evil.

Not for long. Soon I'll be a hero. I'll throw away my past. And I'll throw away you with it.

You couldn't exist without us. You won't survive. YOU WON'T SURVIVE!

I HAVE NEW FRIENDS NOW. I- I DON'T NEED YOU ANYMORE![/i]

"I don't need you anymore." Ellis whispered, and stumbled to the steps, to seek his destiny. As he did so, he felt justified. Not the way he'd felt under the Illusive Man's heel, but a different feeling. A fresh feeling. He felt like Gaius Marius, handing Rome back to the people. He felt like Alvin York, leading a platoon of captured Germans back to camp. He felt like Neil Armstrong, preparing to jettison into space on the first manned shuttle. He felt like one of the good guys.