Hello again, this is KingN7. I have returned! :D This will be an expansion off of (or a 'part two' to) my other fic Just Follow Your Heart. This is the story of what happened to the galaxy and Shepard and Tali after the end of the Leviathan threat on Despoina! :)

For those who haven't read my other fic, I will provide a quick summary: Mass Effect mostly paragon canon until the Beam run in ME3. Then Shepard fights and kills the Illusive Man and basically ends Cerberus. He then docks the Crucible, fights and defeats Harbinger, discovers the Citadel AI (not the Catalyst, a keeper AI named Ji-Wilnar), learns the truth behind the Reapers (the Leviathans are responsible of course), and uses the Crucible to destroy the Catalyst's deep space station, ending the Reaper threat. The Council is restructured into the Galactic Senate, Admiral Hackett becomes the first Galactic Chancellor, and Shepard and Tali get married. Then the Leviathans, the 'apex race,' decide to strike while the galaxy is weakest and they attempt to take over everything. They nearly succeed, but the actions of Ji-Wilnar and the remaining Senate forces save the galaxy at the cost of completely destroying the environment of the planet Despoina. Shepard and Tali then move to Rannoch and begin their new lives together.

Alright, that is the shortest way to summarize over 70k words! :D Mass Effect is owned by Bioware, so please enjoy!

The Secret Storm

Ch.1: The Hollow Ground

Despoina, Three Months after the Battle of Despoina

Patrick Knight

Patrick checked the seal of his biohazard helmet again as the ship descended towards the now radioactive oceans of Despoina. He turned his head towards the crane operator Dwayne and nodded. Dwayne returned his nod and began manipulating the large ceiling crane into position.

"Watch it!" he shouted as the crane mechanism swung a little too close to a few workers on a catwalk.

The crane stopped in the center of the hold and Patrick accessed a nearby intercom, "Check your suits one more time, we can't be too careful."

There was a slight clatter as his workers checked their suits one last time. After a few moments they all gave a nod or a thumbs up and Patrick pressed the button to the cargo doors. The floor underneath the crane slowly began opening to reveal the shifting ocean below. Thunder rumbled as the cargo doors disappeared inside the floor and stopped moving.

"Doors opened. Proceed to phase two." Patrick ordered through the intercom.

With a loud screech, the crane began descending through the center of the cargo bay and into the waves below. In the distance, another ship of equal size was also lowering a similar crane into the sea.

Patrick took a deep breath and held it; this was it, the scientific discovery of a lifetime. Studying these strange creatures could lead to many previously unheard-of advances. Studying their corpses would mean saving countless lives!

"We have contact," Dwayne said with a slight tremor of surprise as the crane connected to the target, "decomposition must have made it rise."

The crane shifted slightly and began pulling upwards through the depths. Patrick took a step forward and held onto the handrail as he watched his future rise into the ship. This was it; this was his destiny. He would save millions with the secrets of these creatures.

The crane pulled out of the ocean holding the broken body of a gigantic crab-like being. Patrick smiled as the water streamed off of the creature and the crane; with an actual body of a Leviathan, the secrets of the so called 'apex race' could finally be learned! Their incredibly long life spans, the secrets of their mind-controlling powers, and the many secrets hidden inside their massive, mostly undamaged, brains. It had the potential to advance the Senate centuries into the future. It was possible that even the secrets of Mass Relay technology was embedded in their brains!

Patrick's smile grew as the crane stopped and the cargo bay doors began to close . . . he had done it . . . he had a Leviathan body! He could barely contain his excitement as the doors finally closed and the cleanup crew began sanitizing the cargo hold as well as the creature.

"Be careful with the head area, we don't want to lose any part of its brain." Patrick ordered as the cleanup crew started hosing down the body.

"Patrick?"

"Dwayne?" Patrick returned as he turned to his buddy.

Dwayne smirked, "We did it, sir."

Patrick nodded and turned back to the Leviathan corpse, "That we did," he sighed, "Feels like a long time since anything good has happened."

Dwayne stepped towards the rail next to Patrick and leaned on it, "That changed today, sir."

Patrick slowly shook his head with a smirk, "Just thinking about how much we can learn about these creatures, it's . . . it's amazing. All of us will make this galaxy a better place."

Suddenly the Leviathan corpse shifted and Patrick jumped back, "What was that?"

The cleanup crew stepped back slowly as the corpse moved again. Patrick stared at the creature with wide eyes as the crane that held it creaked.

The Leviathan's eyes opened and Patrick felt a strange power blast into him. He let out a cry as his body fell to the metal floor...

Unknown Location

Patrick fell to his knees and coughed into the shallow water surrounding him. Using his hands he wiped some water from his eyes and blinked a few times before noticing a pair of brown shoes in front of him. Breathing deeply he tilted his head upwards. Standing before him was a tall man wearing a large tan trench coat and a simple brown hat. Patrick blinked a few times more before noticing his face looked exactly like Dwayne's.

"Dwayne?" Patrick asked as he tried to stand.

Dwayne put out a hand and Patrick let out an agonizing scream as he was forced back to his knees.

"You will kneel before your Master." Dwayne ominously stated in a deep, frightening voice.

Patrick felt something strange happening inside his head . . . something was literally inside of him! He couldn't feel anything physically, but it was inside his mind, sifting through his memories.

"What are you doing to me?" Patrick hissed.

Dwayne stepped forward, "Learning your secrets."

After a moment Dwayne forced Patrick to his feet and looked straight into his eyes, "You have been plotting. You wish to use me for your own personal gain. You wish to give our knowledge to the lesser beings. I will not allow that."

"What are you—"

Patrick felt his lips forced shut, "I do not care, and we must act. Your kind has destroyed the apex race. Your kind has ruined this planet. I am the last of my people."

Dwayne turned to the endless gray around them, "To be defeated by such inferior creatures . . . but it is irrelevant now." He turned back to Patrick and again met his gaze, "You will take me to a new planet, one filled with life no one has ever seen before, life that I can control and use. You will bring your facilities and begin saving my people. You will allow us to return to our former glory so we may once more save this galaxy by any means necessary."

Patrick shook his head, still unable to speak.

Dwayne stared at him, "You have no choice."

Patrick felt pain surge through him and he grabbed his head with his hands. Still unable to make any noises, he trashed for a moment, desperately trying to save his mind. But he suddenly stopped, put his hands to his side, and looked at Dwayne once more. He smiled and slowly nodded.

"We have much to do Patrick, do not disappoint."

Patrick opened his mouth and looked at the Leviathan projection in the eye, "Yes, Master."

Author's endnote: Oh Leviathans, why must you always ruin everyone's fun!? I hope this short little intro is a nice foreshadowing of future events in this little fic. *Spoiler alert* there will be Shepard-Tali next chapter, because no one can get enough of those two! :D At least I can't! :D Anyway, I'm glad to be back and I hope you review, follow, favorite, etc. and I'll see you next chapter!