124 – Samael vs Samael (3)

WITH SAMAEL

Samael was back on the Normandy. He could do nothing but watch as his body moved around the ship while he attempted, without success, to reclaim his mind from the machine.

The problem was that he was weak in that regard, as the machine had prepared thoroughly for countless years, while he had no preparations for this. All his mental barriers were for nothing.

He was in a losing fight, and he knew it. All he could do was try not to watch the massacre that was about to begin. But even that was impossible, as he could not even close his eyes.

Based on what he was seeing in this memory, they were reunited in the Normandy right after the Reaper attack on Rannoch. Many of the crew members were injured as a result.

He still had no control over his body, and that made him fear what was coming next. He tried desperately to somehow regain control - something he had failed to do for many times now - but to no avail.

Samael hoped things would just stay like that but-

It didn't take long for things to take a dark turn, as Samael suddenly saw his body grab a gun from the Normandy Arsenal and started making his way to the ship.

'' Stop...!'' Trought gritted teeth, Samael tried to communicate with his past self, '' Don't do it.''

But to no avail. Samael had to watch hopelessly as his body started to kill the crew in the Normandy. As this was their ship, their resting place, they didn't have their armor on, nor weapons to fight. And even if they had, the best they could do was put up a fight, as it was he who was going against them.

It was a massacre.

The first person Samael killed was Joker. He entered the cockpit and the pilot tried to joke around but when he noticed the situation was somewhat weird, it was too late.

BANG

Brain matter scattered across the cockpit and then it was EDI's turn. In this 'nightmare', the AI core was in the cockpit, beside her lover. But, as her body wasn't there, it was an easy target.

BANG

After Samael killed the AI by destroying her core, he made his way to other parts of the ship. Of course, the sound of gunshots alerted everyone, but it was already too late.

By this point in the myriad of cycles, Samael was a veteran, and the crew was no match for him.

Before leaving the cockpit, he put it on autopilot and flew straight into a nearby planet at full speed, so people, even him, had difficulty moving around.

But, despite that, Samael continued ahead. His next stop was the infirmary, where a confused Dr. Chawkas thought Samael came to protect her and the patients, only to be met with a pistol to her face.

BANG

After killing Karin, Samael went around and systematically killed all the people there. Ash, who was injured, Garrus, James Vega, and even Wrex. The Krogan tried to fight back but he was already injured before that so it was easy to kill him.

Before dying, he said to Samael, '' Traitor!''

BANG

After making sure everyone in the infirmary was dead, Samael started to make his way to the personal quarters of a particular Asari. 

Seeing that, Samael tried his best, desperately trying to stop his body from doing that. He really didn't want to see what he was about to see, as he had already experienced that before.

His mind was already on the verge of breaking, and this... was too much, even for him.

'' STOP! PLEASE STOP!''

But, no one heard him. And if they did, they decided to ignore him, as the memory continued.

Entering the place, Liara immediately launched a biotic attack, as she knew he was evil, thanks to the cameras across the ship. Regardless, it wasn't enough, as she didn't attack to kill, only incapacitate.

After all, they were lovers in this cycle too.

It was a mistake on her part, as Samael was sent flying out of the room, but he managed to send a grenade inside the room before that. He watched Liara's face morph into despair before the room exploded, killing her. Even her biotic barrier wasn't enough to protect her.

'' FUCK YOU!'' Samael screamed at the top of his lungs, at the machine or even at him who did those acts. He was indoctrinated, yes, but even then, this was too much.

To his horror, the massacre continued and Samael made his way toward Tali.

Not waiting to see this, Samael even tried to gouge his eyes, but as this was a mental realm, it meant nothing. He really didn't want to watch the scene in front of him.

As the machine was part of Samael, it knew his feelings, so it knew Tali was the one he loved the most. So, it seemed it somehow made the scene move slower, but that also could be just Samael's imagination.

After Samael entered Tali's room, the quarian was ready to fight. But, to no avail.

A struggle later, Samael was strangling his love, and watched as her life went out of her body.

Safe to say, Samael's mind was on the verge of another breakdown.At this point, he just looked ahead with empty eyes.

After killing Tali, Samael went after Shepard.

''....''

After entering Shepard's quarters, he did the same treatment as Liara. This time, with 4 grenades.

BOOMMMM

Part of the ship was damaged, and Shepard died.

'' DONE!'' The body then finally said something and went to the cockpit once more. Everyone in the crew was dead at this point, only Samael remaining.

So, he simply went to the cockpit and waited for his death. The Normandy continued its path straight into the nearby planet.

BOOOM

And that was the end of another cycle. Once more, darkness overcame Samael's vision and he went on to watch another cycle.

But he was deeply affected by the last cycle he watched, and a thought struck him: "This should be the after the 15th cycle, meaning there's still a lot more for me to see, and even more that I don't remember."

Samael initially kept track of which cycle he was in, but over time, he lost count. To be honest, he wasn't even sure if it was following a chronological order.

"What if there's some cycles where I did something worse than this?"

Samael wasn't a saint, but watching himself kill his loved ones suffer but was too much.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much he could do to change it, as he was powerless to escape the situation.

Still, a fire started to burn within Samael. He would make sure to stop the machine, no matter the cost.

"If there isn't a way to win against it, I just need to make sure we lose together."

With that, he watched another cycle. Again, he had lost count of which one he was observing, but one thing was certain: he was learning.

It might be small things here and there, but accumulating knowledge over many cycles turned those small things into big insights.

Just like watching himself live with the Asari in a cycle he didn't remember. There, he learned things he hadn't during the cycles he recalled, allowing him to grow stronger.

It came with a price—some cycles didn't end well— and he had to watch his past self commit many sins, but he still persevered.

It seems that his past self might have sensed something was wrong, or perhaps his subconscious played a role because after repeating some of his actions in certain cycles, he chose a completely different direction in others, which allowed him to learn and grow more with each experience.

As the cycles continued, his memories became complete. Now, after watching god knows how many cycles, he was confident that if he ever escaped this place, he could face multiple RR and win.

Still, even after all that, the memories didn't stop. Samael thought he was in the 80th cycle, but he had no idea.

Then, a cycle passed, then another, then another, then another, then another, then another....

AN UNKNOWN PERIOD OF TIME LATER

Samael emerged from a portal back to the hidden realm within his mind—a place he had long forgotten, as it had been a long time since he was last there. Immediately, he knelt down, panting, his eyes unfocused. Whatever happened to him caused some damage.

If anyone saw him like this, they would know the situation was dire.

For the first time in a long while, Samael's machine counterpart appeared. He was honestly surprised. "What did you do?"

Just as Samael suspected, what happened to him wasn't part of the machine's plan. It had gone into a frenzy trying to locate Samael, but to no avail. After all, while the machine had powers, it did not control Samael's mind fully.

After some time, the machine discovered what had happened and decided to do nothing, merely observing. After all, Samael was suffering a lot watching the memories and his plan wasn't exactly off track.

To take over Samael's body, the machine needed his permission. Its plan was to make Samael relive a fabricated memory it created - a bad one, where he would have to watch himself kill his friend over and over again for a long time - , then take over after he lost his mind, but everything went awry from the beginning.

Even so, seeing Samael in this state, despite the plan not unfolding as expected, pleased the machine. Now, it just needed a little push to take over.

Still, the machine had to admit: Samael was incredible. Not many would have endured what he had.

But everything must come to an end, and it was time to finish its plans. The machine knew Samael was at his weakest, and now it was time to act and seize control of his body.

"You're one of a kind, but unfortunately, it's time for me to take over. I'll be sad, really, as watching you was fun. But now, it's my time, let me take over."

The machine believed it had won since Samael seemed to be out of touch with reality. However, it was suddenly startled by a small laugh coming from the human. Samael looked at the machine with a smile.

The machine was taken aback and halted in its tracks. It didn't make any sense. Samael should have lost his sense of self after having his mind broken and the takeover should've been smooth.

Even though he was in pain, Samael appeared relaxed. With a voice filled with resignation, he said slowly, "Do you know why you lost?"

The machine became alert, as this outcome wasn't supposed to happen. Samael's mind was broken, so forming a coherent phrase should have been too much for him. This filled the machine with paranoia, and it tried to retreat, but it was a step too late.

The machine tried to open a portal to escape, but for some reason, it could not. Its powers weren't working. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!

Still kneeling, Samael continued, "You didn't take into account the indomitable human spirit—the very things that make us feared across the galaxy, even though we are considered newcomers."

Slowly, almost stumbling, he got to his feet. "Throughout all those memories of those cycles, I learned a lot from other species, especially the Asari and the Leviathans. I then realized something. This is my mind. You might have control over it, but it's still MINE."

"Responding to your question, I simply took control, or better, I revoked your access to my mind. It was tricky, seeing as you were deeply rooted within me, but I managed to do it. Unfortunately, at least for now, I don't have any idea how to get rid of you completely. You will always be part of me, and that is something I can't allow in the galaxy.''

Samael moved closer. "You see, through all those countless memories you put me through, I suffered, but I learned one or two things."

"One of those things was to close my mind for good, not allowing you to leave this place. One last-ditch effort."

Samael stood face-to-face with his machine counterpart. "If I leave this place, you might try to take over my mind again, and I don't know if I would be able to endure this once more.''

It was true. He only managed to endure all that because his mind was strong and he had motivation.

'' You would cause great havoc, possibly winning the war or causing another. But if I trap you here, in my mind, you will be useless."

The machine realized what Samael was about to do. "ARE YOU CRAZY? IF YOU DO THAT, YOU CAN'T ESCAPE! YOU WILL BE FOREVER TRAPPED HERE! YOUR BODY WILL BE WITHOUT A MIND! YOU WILL BE A VEGETABLE!"

Samael smiled, fully aware of the consequences. This was his answer: "I know, but it's that or risk losing all my loved ones."

The machine couldn't respond as it watched Samael grip its hand. "They will be fine without me. I prepared them well enough. Now, it's time for us to go."

Samael had mentioned several things to Miranda, in preparation for the scenario where he might not return in time, particularly the possibility that RR might have been compromised, which ultimately turned out to be true, among many other things. The galaxy would be safe without him, as they had Shepard and the rest of his crew on their side.

The machine realized it was over. If Samael trapped them in his mind, it would be game over. It struggled, but Samael's grip was too strong. "STOP!"

Samael closed his eyes for the last time, countless memories of countless cycles flashing through his mind. Some of them were good, some bad, but he lived long enough. Truth be told, he was tired of all that, all he wanted now was to rest.

He smiled, satisfied with what he had accomplished. It was sad he didn't get his happy ending, but it was what it was.

"Goodbye."

He said this to his loved ones, even though they could not hear him.

With that, Samael sealed his mind and his machine counterpart in this hidden realm for good, effectively ending the threat. He paid the ultimate price, but he stopped the greatest danger the galaxy would face: himself.

??????

GROAN

Samael groaned and slowly opened his eyes, bewildered by what had just happened. "What...?"

He looked around, realizing he was in his 'coffin' inside the lair of the Leviathans, which meant he had succeeded in getting rid of the machine counterpart in his mind. The problem was, that wasn't what had happened.

"I trapped myself inside my mind, together with the machine, so what is this?"

As Samael was taken aback by the situation, he noticed some movement outside the coffin. He stopped worrying about his circumstances and looked outside.

Some Leviathans were approaching him at high speed.

Samael was about to ask what was going on when one of them spoke up. "Human, we won thanks to you!"

Samael paused, thinking he must have heard wrong. "What did you say?"

"The device we saw in your memory—we replicated it and used it on the Reapers. It worked!"

"...How long was I out?"

"Two years."

"And the galaxy won?"

"Yes."

Hearing the Leviathan's happy voice, Samael could only respond with disbelief, "What the fuck...?"