Exiled
is a Mass Effect/Worm crossover fanfic. Edited and cleaned up chapters can be found on FF.net for the first 3 arcs
After it is all over, Taylor Anne Hebert tells her story, but one that is different from canon. One where a young man by the name of Sebastian Shepard features prominently. A young man with strange powers, stranger mindset and the most fantastical stories of aliens and a world beyond Earth.
This is a composite, post-Mass Effect 3 Renegade MShep that, unconstrained by game mechanics, has both full biotic and tech abilities rather than the Sentinel's mash.
Now complete with a sequel, titled Gatecrash.
Take note: As the very first chapter is an altered take of Worm's very last, beware spoilers for canon.
Exiled contains examples of the following: (Gatecrash goes in its own section below)
- An Arm and a Leg:
- A mass accelerator rifle does this to a mook, to Taylor's surprise.
- Taylor loses her right arm to Bakuda.
- Artificial Limbs: Taylor gets an artificial replacement for her lost arm.
- Big Damn Heroes: In 5.1 Taylor gets in the way of Coil's attempt to abduct Dinah.
- Call-Back: In 5.4 a new piece of tech Taylor uses helps counter a problem she met with much earlier on.
- Call a Rabbit a "Smeerp": Early on, the most obvious sign that Sebastian's Not From Around Here is his usage of MEverse terminology.
- Car Fu: In 5.11 Sebastian drives a semi into an ABB base.
- Chekhov's Armory: Pay attention to the first chapter. Every detail that is different there from how it played out in canon is something to look out for.
- Crazy-Prepared: Taylor's artificial arm has a kinetic barrier and a weapon built into it.
- Didn't See That Coming: In 5.13 we learn that, to Sebastian's surprise, Chatika has developed into an AI.
- Dynamic Entry: In 1.5 Sebastian Charges into Lung. Although to be fair, Biotic Charge is basically "This Trope: The Superpower."
- Even Evil Has Standards: In 5.12 L33t says that no matter their need he would not have robbed a hospital to get medicine.
- Framing Device: Taylor is telling the story of How We Got Here.
- Honor Before Reason: In 8.7 Taylor stubbornly refuses to let Panacea heal her.
- Identical Stranger: In the Epilogue Taylor runs into someone who looks inexplicably like Sebastian and may or may not have been Mark Vanderloo, Shepard's likeness model. It ended... poorly.
- In Spite of a Nail:
- The villains still end up gathering in Somer's Rock to discuss matters regarding to the ABB. That said, they're discussing how Sebastian and co. took them out.
- Armsmaster still uses an EMP in the Leviathan fight, violating the Truce.
- Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: In 5.10 Sebastian uses Reave on an ABB mook in order to get him to tell Bakuda's location.
- Left Hanging: A few things remain unresolved by the first story's end. For example -
- What the deal with Ayres's employers really is.
- Whether Sebastian is the real Shepard, only de-aged, or a clone.
- Mood Whiplash: In 7.1 Taylor recounts how she had been going on a date with Sebastian when a sniper shot her in the face.
- Mythology Gag: In 5.5 there's a "Project: Sir Isaac Newton" that is described as "the deadliest son of a bitch in space".
- In 4.5 Sebastian has a fake ID created for Taylor with the name Allison Gunn, the same name used by fem!Shep in Kasumi's Loyalty mission in ME2.
- Oh, Crap!:
- In 1.6 Taylor goes "Oh. Well. Shit." when Sebastian gives her the extremely abbreviated version of his origins.
- In 5.11 Bakuda finally experiences fear when she realizes what Sebastian is about to do.
- Ontological Mystery: Sebastian doesn't know how he got to Earth Bet or deaged.
- Power Nullifier: Sebastian seems to be creating some kind of disruptive effect on precogs.
- Required Secondary Powers: Taylor's costume is Immune to Bullets but doesn't completely stop kinetic energy transfer, meaning it still hurts to get shot.
- Shout-Out:
- In 5.5 part of Sebastian's talk with Uber and Leet is adapted from Ocean's Eleven.
- In 5.11 Sebastian tells Bakuda that "You’d be absolutely astounded what we, as a species, can live through."
- 6.2: “I’m sweet enough.”
- 7.5:
“What do you thinks waiting for us down there?”“Death.”“In minutes or hours?”“Lets go find out!”- Paige's new song in 7.7 is none other than Look Up! from Robotech.
- Ayres leads a mercenary team that includes a member named Lo Wang (confirmed by the author).
- Tomato in the Mirror: As of 6.7 Sebastian is starting to wonder if he's not the real Shepard but merely a Cauldron-made clone. Taylor is quick to reassure him that it doesn't matter.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Lo Wang. He barely got any screen time at all before Taylor stabs him through the chest with an Omniblade for trying to make off with Sebastian's body.
- Wham Episode:
- 5.6. Taylor falls out with Danny and leaves her home. And if the foreshadowing from the framing device is any indication, they never get to make up. (In fact according to WoG Danny dies during Leviathan's attack while searching for Taylor
- 7.1. A PRT-contracted mercenary tries to assassinate Taylor in public while she's going around unmasked.
- 8.6. Sebastian dies from his wounds, having tried to stall Leviathan in the previous chapter.
- 5.6. Taylor falls out with Danny and leaves her home. And if the foreshadowing from the framing device is any indication, they never get to make up. (In fact according to WoG
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Ayres's team had three members. He and Lo Wang are dead by story end, but nothing is known about the fate of the third. Gatecrash reveals Bellatrix is part of the conspiracy behind Sebastian's appearance on Earth Bet and is still alive.
- You Will Not Evade Me: Sebastian uses his Pull to do this.
Gatecrash contains examples of the following (Due to unavoidable Late Arrival Spoilers, nothing regarding Exiled will be spoiler-marked!):
- And I Must Scream: Taylor killed Heartbreaker by having her insects eat him from the outside in. It's not stated how long it took, but he was alive and struggling for at least fifteen minutes of it.
- Brainwash Residue: Taylor was captured and brainwashed by Heartbreaker between the two stories but managed to kill him and escape. Years later she's still torn by the love he implanted in her and her knowledge that it's fake. The Rachni help clear it away.
- Fake Memories: Sebastian's memories on Earth Bet are revealed to have been edited, including substituting Tali as the love interest rather than Taylor.
- Set Right What Once Went Wrong: Sebastian's arrival in Taylor's dimension is revealed to be part of a plan by an alternate Sebastian and Taylor trying to reach a "golden ending". They've repeated this series of events multiple times and only stop because the current Taylor finds out and demands they do so.
- Woman Scorned: After being brainwashed by Heartbreaker, Taylor was desperately in love with him. However his only interest in Taylor was getting to Dinah and he had no intention of ever consummating their "relationship". After learning her love would never be returned and that going through with his plan would destroy her friendships, Taylor decided to destroy everything she cared about personally, starting with him.
