Hey guys!

Because of popular demand, I have decided to write another little chapter for this. I have a bit of a story idea up my sleeve, and I will be coming back to this at a later time, but if you would like to see more of Shepard and the Warden together, feel free to leave your reviews or send me a PM. I have hopes to use these characters again.

Thank you all for your interest in this, I wasn't expecting the feedback that I did get from it. It means alot guys.

Elizabeth sighed, listening to the complaints of her companions behind her. It wasn't her choice to hike up this snowy mountain. It wasn't her idea to go looking for the ridiculous myth of the ashes of Andraste. She rolled her eyes at herself for about the fifteenth time in the past five minutes, all of her body begging to get somewhere warm. The man they followed, Brother Genitivi, seemed very unfit to be leading them to the Urn after the torture he'd been subjected to but Elizabeth knew it was the man's lifelong dream to find it and she wouldn't be the one to tell him no.

He coughed up ahead of her, making her watch him for a moment as they continued to hike. She let out another sigh before feeling a nudge on her arm.

"I've stood by you through all of the crazy things you've accomplished to prepare for this Blight, but I'm not so sure about this one."

She gave her elven friend a small smile.

"I'm pretty skeptical myself, but it's worth a shot. Arl Eamon isn't going to be healed any other way. We have to try."
"I admire your dedication to the job, my Warden. I just hope it's not for nothing."

Elizabeth was grateful for the companionship she'd found in Zevran. The rest of the camp found it odd that they had what they had, but it didn't stop them. There was a Blight going on; they'd take their pleasures where they could.

"I just wish the Commander was still here. I'm sure she'd have something useful to add to all of this."
"I wish she was too. Lovely thing, she is."

Elizabeth shot a glare at him as he let out a small laugh. She shook her head, hating how he could trigger the jealousy in her so easily.

"I found it! I found the door!" Genitivi yelled from up ahead.

Elizabeth was grateful they would get to warm themselves up for a short time. She was sure there would be fighting of some sort in the temple. There was always a fight waiting for her. Sure enough, after delving into the temple and working through the tunnels, they had to take out an entire cult. There was never a dull moment for them.

Upon entering the temple where the ashes were said to be, Elizabeth found a guardian blocking the door. He spoke of them proving themselves worthy of visiting the ashes and taking a pinch for the Arl, then spoke of each of her companions' past, including her own. She was starting to regret not bringing her entire team in the temple, as they were all made aware they'd be put through tests of faith to get to the urn. Still, she knew the people behind her would prove to be enough. They always did.

"What do you think we'll find in here?" Zevran asked as they walked through the first set of doors.

Elizabeth shrugged as they walked through the first set of doors to see eight ghostly figures standing in the room. Elizabeth raised an eyebrow and looked over at him.

"You just had to ask."

He smiled at her before they started their journey. Elizabeth was glad it was a game of riddles. She'd always been good at them. She idly wondered what would happen if she answered a riddle incorrectly, but she was grateful that she didn't have to find out. They were able to pass through the room without great trouble, though they were unsure what to do once they got to the next room. Elizabeth stared at the thing in front of them. It was something she'd never seen before. The shape was something she couldn't describe, though it wasn't what had her attention. What caught her eye the most was the spinning pieces in the center. A small light glowed there, drawing her in as her curiosity got the best of her.

"No, don't." Zevran said, grabbing for her arm as she stepped closer.
"This has to be a part of the test." she replied, looking back at them. "Wynne do you know anything of this?"
"It's a form of magic I have never seen."
"Shale?"

The golem that was with them had been silent through the journey, but she scoffed now.

"Am I supposed to know something about it?"

Elizabeth let out a sigh, turning back toward it. She felt herself being pulled, though her feet remained on the ground.

"It is strange." Wynne said.
"Do you feel that?"

Elizabeth looked to Zevran as he got closer.

"I do." she said, watching him.

Wynne moved with him. Elizabeth knit her eyebrows as they both reached out, brushing their hands across the object. The thing made a loud noise before they were gone, without a trace that they were ever there. Elizabeth's heart started to race as she looked back to Shale, then ran towards it. Shale followed her lead, both of them being transported through the contraption.

"Warden! It would be wise for it to get up!"

Elizabeth opened her eyes at the sound of Shale's voice urging her to wake. She looked around, catching her breath at the sight of her companions being attacked. Shale ran towards them for aid, not waiting for Elizabeth to get to her feet. It didn't take her long to rush to them, swinging her large sword at the man who stepped forward to point his weapon at Wynne.

"Back off!" Elizabeth yelled as her group formed into a circle, ready to fight the obviously more advanced team. She knit her eyebrows at the man who opposed her, then shook her head slightly. "I know you."
"What?"
"Your kind, I know you."

The alien in front of her glanced at his partners, then shook his head.

"You're on turian military ground. Give me an excuse not to shoot."
"Allow me to speak with your commander, I will get this worked out."
"Commander?"
"Commander Shepard."

The alien laughed, his partners doing the same.

"You must have hit your head harder than I thought. Shepard isn't around here. This is Palaven."
"Please, she knows me."
"I'm sure she does."
"If you just let me speak with her-"

The turian groaned as he opened his Omni tool, contacting his own commander.

"Gonna need to take these guys in. Their squad leader insists on talking with Commander Shepard."

Elizabeth stood down, putting her sword away as her companions followed suit. They went willingly with the men, but she was surprised to be put in a holding cell.

"We had an agreemen-"
"We'll get you the Commander, and we'll get answers as to why you're on our base without authorization. We'll let the human deal with you."

Elizabeth let out a sigh as he walked away. She looked around at her team.

"Everyone alright?"
"Nothing but a few scrapes from the landing." Wynne replied.
"Same." Zevran said.
"Fleshy things." Shale scoffed.

Elizabeth smiled at them, thankful that they were alright.

It'd been a long day for Shepard. First she had to deal with the council and now she was on an emergency trip to Palaven? She didn't know who it was demanding her attention, and she didn't quite care up until the point of the turians telling her said person had generated a force field to keep the turians away from them. It wouldn't have been odd to Shepard if the force field hadn't shut down all forms of technology around it. She remembered very clearly remembered her technology shutting down when her team had gone through a dormant mass relay. The turians described the force field to be something they'd never before seen. Shepard knew exactly what it was.

So now she was docking on Palaven, her crew in tow for back up. She hoped whatever type of magic that had been conjured here from Ferelden wasn't going to be harmful. Or that the person behind it wasn't a threat. It was quite possible they were putting up a shield out of fear. It was also possible the mass relays had been activated and people were finding their way through to other systems from Thedas. Shepard let out a sigh, knowing she couldn't really fight against magic with bullets. Bitotics were similar to mages, and though they were strong, they still were no match for magic.

She prepared herself for what she'd see once directed to the corridor where the mage was holding itself. The turian primarch in front of her seemed quite anxious for her to sort it out. Victus had been somewhat of a partner to her during the Reaper war, but he'd since turned back to his business on his home planet while Shepard did what she had to do for the council. It was nice to see an old face.

"The woman seems quite old, but she's holding up her barrier without a problem."
"Do you have a name?"
"They broke out of their cell within minutes of us locking them up. They don't seem to know much about our technology but that man still picked through that lock quicker than I've seen in my life."
"There are two of them?"
"Four including the biotic."

Shepard let out a sigh, looking back to her team.

"It's people from Thedas, isn't it?" Garrus said.
"It seems strange that they would be here." EDI noted. "They didn't know what a Mass Relay was when we were there."

Shepard shrugged, looking back to Victus.

"We'll scope it out."
"You have my support in what you choose to do with them. If you can catch them, that is."

Shepard gave him a nod before turning down the corridor. She drew her gun, looking back at her team mates to ensure they were ready before she turned around the corner. The barrier was quite large, reaching up to the ceiling to protect the four people on the other side. Shepard let her gun drop to her side once she saw their faces, giving the familiar-looking Warden in front of her a smile.

"What're you doing here?"

Elizabeth smiled in return as Wynne dropped her barrier.

"I was hoping you'd help me figure that out."

They shook hands for a moment before Shepard let her smile fade from her face.

"How did you get here?"
"We were looking at a strange object before we were transported here. We do not have an explanation."
"Did it look like this?" Shepard asked, pulling up her Omni tool to show the Warden a hologram of a mass relay.
"Yes, that's it."
"You guys found a relay in your world."
"How do we get back?"
"We need to find where yours is on our grids and then send you back through one of ours."
"Sounds easy enough."
"Except everything there is inactive, Shepard." Garrus noted. "You can't send them back."
"If they were sent through it, it's active."
"I hope we don't need to make a trip to the Fade again…" Wynne said, rubbing her head. "We don't have enough mages. Or Lyrium."
"No Fade." Shepard agreed.
"Right. So pinpointing the relay should be a trick." Garrus said.
"I will start scanning immediately, Shepard." EDI announced.
"Let's head back to the Normandy so the Primarch can get the military base back in order."

"Have you stopped your Blight yet?"

Elizabeth looked up at the Commander as she approached her in the mess hall. The Warden shook her head.

"No."
"You need me to come help?"

Elizabeth smiled at her, looking up from the hot drink she'd been given.

"We have impossible tasks in front of us. One small sliver of chance, and we don't even know if it will work."
"I know the feeling."
"Do you?"
"It was hard winning the war a few years back. It seemed impossible at the time but… We did it."
"I cannot wait to be able to say that it is over."
"It's a weight off the shoulders, believe me."
"Few things keep our team positive these days." the Warden said, looking around at the few people in the mess hall.

Shepard smirked as she followed her line of sight.

"I'm guessing your friend is one of those few things."

Elizabeth looked back to her, shaking her head with a smile.

"Zev and I are friends."
"Spare me that little act."
"How is Garrus these days?"
"Oh he's fine."

The two women exchanged smiles, a small recognition for the other's personal life. Silence hung between them for a few moments before Elizabeth looked up at her with a serious tone.

"Do you think we'll make it back to Thedas?"
"I know you will." Shepard replied, giving her a soft nod. "EDI will find the right relay."

Elizabeth seemed reassured by this, but Shepard knew it could end up being a while before they found anything, if they found it at all.

"What if we don't make it back?"
"Why wouldn't we?"
"This is a world we don't know anything about. We know the Commander and her friends, but…"

Elizabeth rolled over to her side to look up at Zevran.

"But what?"
"There is still a Blight going on. None of our companions know we are gone."
"How about you just let me worry about getting us back. You worry about keeping me company." Zevran gave her a smile as he tightened his arm around her. " Besides, it was simple enough for them to get back from Thedas. It should be just as simple getting us back to where we belong."
"I will stop worrying, my dear."
"Thank you."

They were silent for a few moments, both of them enjoying the quiet of the room they'd been given for the night. Just as Elizabeth closed her eyes, Zevran let out a sigh. She sighed in return, glancing up at him.

"Zev, quit."
"I'm sorry."
"I worry too. I know it's our home but there's nothing we can do… Just trust me and let Shepard do her job."
"Fine."

Elizabeth smiled faintly as sleep claimed her and she closed her eyes to welcome it.

"I have detected the relay that we passed through before, Commander." EDI announced, drawing Shepard and Elizabeth to the large galaxy map in the CIC.
"Set a course, EDI. Good work."
"Will we be able to pass through it?" Elizabeth asked. "Your air boats lost power last time."
"We're going to send you in pods. If there is a relay in Ferelden, you'll come out of it."
"Is it safe?" Zevran asked.
"It's as safe as I can give you."
"Commander, if we're making a drop we should do it now." Joker voice said in the overcom.

The Normandy's lights dimmed slightly as they neared the relay, causing concern to run through the Commander's mind.

"Joker, what was that?"
"Something's going on in the Sol System. Something big."
"Patch me through to Admiral Hacket."
"Yes m'am."

Elizabeth followed the Commander to the com room where she was connected to a holo image of her Admiral.

"Something you need Commander?"
"What's going on in the Sol System?"
"Everything's fine here, Shepard."

She knit her eyebrows as she looked over at Elizabeth, who simply shrugged her shoulders.

"Are you sure? Joker's readings say something big just happened. It interfered with the Normandy's systems as we passed the relay."

Hacket's image turned away for a moment before he faced her again. He shrugged.

"I don't have any readings on my end."
"Keep an eye out sir."
"Will do, Commander, thanks for the heads up."

Shepard found it difficult to pry her mind from the concern for her home planet as she and Elizabeth made it to the escape pods she'd be taking back to Thedas.

"It was nice seeing you again." Elizabeth told her.
"I feel we have good chances of running into each other again."
"Your way of life is so strange to me, but I wouldn't mind seeing more of it."
"I wouldn't mind more of yours either."

Shepard offered her hand to the Warden, but Elizabeth hugged her instead. They exchanged smiles before she got into the pod.

"Ready to be home?" Zevran asked as the Warden sat down and buckled in next to him.
"Ready." she replied, letting out a small sigh.

Within a few moments, the pod shook and released them from the Normandy. Again it shook as they were flung through the relay to feel the thing jumble to a stop on the other side.

"Commander, urgent message from Admiral Hacket."

Shepard let out a groan as she sat up in bed. The turian next to her simply rolled over to continue sleeping as she got to her feet.

"Patch me through." She put a jacket on over the tank top she'd already been wearing and threw on some pants. She made her way down to the com room as quickly as she could just to find a man she'd never seen before in her life. She knit her eyebrows and folded her arms. "How did you get this channel? Where is the Admiral?"
"I have limited time to talk, so listen carefully. We need you down here on Earth, and we need you now."
"I don't take orders from you."
"This is bigger than rank in the military."
"This about that anomaly we warned Hacket about earlier?"
"It was a wormhole. Leads to other dimensions."
"I'm guessing you want me to go through it?"
"I want you to come speak with me."
"Where?"
"Come home, Juliet. We'll be waiting."

Shepard stared at the holo image as it disconnected. She knew what he meant by home. Her parts of Earth hadn't been rebuilt since the Reaper war. It was too small of a town. The Alliance was focused on rebuilding the major cities first. She understood, and so did most others, but she didn't understand why the man was asking her to go there. Who would be waiting? What did he want to discuss? She was a council spectre, he couldn't possibly be offering a job. Maybe he needed help.

A wormhole in space? Shepard had heard of myths from several of the other species humanity had come to know, and she knew little to nothing about humanity's own, but she knew most mythology came from other dimensions. Old stories to tell to kids at night. She shook her head at herself. The loophole would most likely lead to Thedas. Perhaps Elizabeth had created some tear in space.

Then it struck her. He knew her name. Around the galaxy, most didn't. She'd been called Commander or Shepard since she became known around the galaxy. Few really knew her first name, save for the ones close to her. Most of her crew simply called her Shepard because it didn't matter what her first name was. She was the Commander. But this man knew. She let out a sigh, knowing Joker was waiting for orders as she stood there in silence.

"Plot a course to Earth."
"Yes m'am."