This is our grande finale folks! Took a while, but this is one loose end I really wanted to tie up. This is by far the most support I've ever had for any piece I've ever written and I cannot thank you enough for all the favorites, follows, and reviews.
I may revisit this particular Shepard's storyline in the future, but for right now, I'm focusing on my Elder Scrolls V piece.
If you love Mass Effect stories about devious kids, check out my fic "Just Another Night on the Citadel"!
Thank you all again.
~LT
"ITS CWISTMAAAAAASSSSSS!"
Shepard groaned, rolling over in her bed, feeling the acute stiffness in her back from the stress of the last few days, squeezing her eyes shut from the bright light pouring in from her window.
"CWISTMAAAAASSSSS! EBERYONE GET UP! CWISTMASSSS!"
One by one, sleepy quarians, turians, humans and more slunked their ways out of their guest rooms, other guests already napping on the couch around the main tree, having flown in from their hotels.
The largest tree was adorned with all matter of tinsel, glittering bulbs, twinkling lights, and fake snow. Underneath sat the largest pile of gifts anyone had ever seen, all wrapped in varying red and green paper. Before long a circle of guests formed around the tree, all leaning forward, fingers twitching, eyes scanning the pile for their names.
"Okay, okay!" Shepard shouted over the din of tittering guests, arms held above her head. "Fury gets to open one gift for the camera first, then you can tear the tree apart!"
Fury ran under the arms of Zaeed and Jack (who were standing pointedly close together) and dove into the pile and out of sight.
"Umm...kid?"
Out popped a tiny brown arm holding an equally tiny gift. Fury swam out of the mess of gifts and back into the sight of the guests and the camera her Grandfather was dutifully holding.
"Who's it from, sucre?"
"It's from Auntie Ara!"
The group laughed, entirely unsurprised that the child's first gift would come from her most favored Asari. She tore through the wrapping, revealing a rectangular velvet box.
"OOOOOOHH! Auntie Ara got me a pretty box!"
Garrus let out an ugly snort as Liara elbowed him in the ribs, concealing her own smile.
"No, no, sweetie, it's a necklace! Open it!"
Fury snapped open the box lid with a small, embarrassed "Oh." Her embarrassment quickly turned into glee at the glowing necklace in the shape of the Asari homeworld, complete with its own swirling atmosphere.
"Auntie Ara, I LOVE it!"
"There's something else, too."
Liara stepped forward, shooting Tali a meaningful look before clearing her throat and reciting:
"After time adrift among open stars, along tides of light and through shoals of dust, I will return to where I began."
The necklace shuddered in the box and a projection of Liara holding Fury as a baby appeared before the guests.
"This way, when you need me, I'll always be here for you."
Fury's eyes watered at the scene before her. She scrunched them shut and a look of great determination came over her face.
"That's an awful long mouthful for a kid to remember, Blue," Zaeed rumbled.
"Shh!"
Fury's face relaxed, and slowly she repeated:
"After time adrift among open stars... along... tides of light... and through... shoals... of dust... I will return to where I began!"
The imaged blinked out and the necklace lay dormant. Fury grinned, sticking her tongue out at Zaeed.
"Alright!" Archeas called, "I think it's time for the frenzy, no?"
"Gee Dad," Solana said, a smug look coming over her face, "you almost sound excited."
"Well... I do love a good brawl."
Shepard laughed, overcome with happiness at her father-in-law finally loosening up. She threw her arms around the turian, causing him to blush, and shouted, "GO FOR IT!"
It was nearly a massacre. Kasumi blinked out of sight almost instantly only to reappear on top of the mountain of gifts. Fury performed another olympic dive into the mess, disappearing yet again. Irenah patiently went through the pile, handing Joker his gifts while he stated far away from the heap of people. Miranda employed biotics to bring her presents to her while Kaidan flung gifts that weren't for him out of his way like a ten year old kid. James shuffled though the gifts, opening his own as he went. Mordin sat quietly in his wheelchair, humming softly to himself, eyes closed, listening to the rambunctious people before him.
By the time they were through, each person had nearly two dozen gifts. Garrus snickered in the corner with his gift from Jack- a shirt emblazoned with "Calibrate dat ass". Shepard held a piece of clothing that once belonged to the West African ruler Sundjata Keita, stolen from a museum by the group's resident theif. Jack who was gifted a full barber set and varying hair dyes from Miranda, twirled a jewel encrusted straight razor in her fingers. Kolyat was given one of his father's old jackets by Shepard, and Falere held a complete set of the Brontë sister's books gifted by Kaidan. James had an entire new wardrobe of clothes to workout in, and Wrex had an entire arsenal of weapons. Mordin had been given several state-of-the-art beakers, test tubes, burners, and test materials as well as several disks with broadway patter songs.
The living room was a mess of paper and bows by the time the guests moved to the dining room for Christmas brunch, each arguing over who received the best gifts.
As the plates were licked clean and burps were rated on a scale of 1-10 (Wrex earned an 8, his burp being beaten out by Jack's which not only was loud, but left a rather foul stench), a loud ringing quieted the group. Mordin had clinked his fork against his glass. He blinked slowly, leaning back in his holochair as he looked over the guests. He broke into a smile.
"Can't say how wonderful it's been to know all of you." He took a loud breath in through his nose. "Not enough time to say. But, have learned a great deal. Accepting others. No matter their background."
Mordin took another breath in, this one shakier than the last.
"Have never been good with gifts. Been good with science, however. Supposed, science, is best gift I could give. Made mistake with genophage. Righted wrong. (Another breath). Still, wanted to do more. So- to Liara and the Asari, I have this:"
Mordin handed over a holopad and a syringe filled with a silvery liquid. Samara and Liara looked over it, eyes widening.
"Mordin... this couldn't be... a cure for Ardat Yakshi-ism?"
Mordin smiled.
"Wish I could've finished before putting Morinth down. Was too much to do at time. Couldn't focus. But now, Falere can have better chance at proper future."
Falere snatched up the syringe without hesitation and lined up a shot into here thigh.
"Falere wait!"
She plunged the needle in, eyes flashing from black to white to normal to black and so on.
When she finally came down Samara was at her side.
"Well? Do you feel... different?"
"Only one way to find out."
Falere placed a hand on Liara's cheek and took a breath.
"Do you trust me?"
Liara nodded.
"...Embrace eternity."
There was a great commotion as everyone urged Falere not to do it, but it was too late. Her and Liara's eyes were already black. What felt like an eternity passed as they waited for Liara to crumple in pain... but the moment never came.
Their eyes returned to normal before flooding with tears. They held each other, sobbing openly as Samara let single tears trickle down her face.
"Mordin... thank you."
Mordin nodded in their direction before turning to Shepard and Garrus whom he passed another holopad.
"Here. Only thing I have left to give. Last time I will ever dabble in science."
Garrus looked over the holopad, breath hitching.
"Its... a plan for Fury. He's suggesting she get a Turian heart transplant..."
Shepard kept reading, looking over all the details before-
"80% chance of success. Could potentially allow for a full human lifespan... Mordin..."
Mordin sat back, smile on his face going slack as his eyes closed.
"Had to. Someone else might have gotten it wrong."
He took one last breath in through his nose before he went still. Fury walked over and nudged him.
He didn't respond.
Fury draped herself across him and his chair as she had done over a dozen times before.
"Bu...buh-bye Uncle Mordie..."
Fury dissolved into tears with the rest of the guests as Shepard called for a medical team. Mordin was gone, but he'd left with him the greatest gift he could give:
Life.
[\]
The rest of the day passed with a more somber mood. Everyone shared stories about Mordin and times past on the Normandy, everyone more poignantly happy to be surrounded by loved ones. As everyone stuffed themselves silly with pies and pastries, a tiny gasp sounded.
"I forgot!" Fury shouted.
Before Shepard could even ask where she was going, she'd already disappeared upstairs. When she returned, she brought with her a dozen haphazardly wrapped gifts, all spilling out of her arms.
"Fury, qu'est-ce que c'est?" Shepard asked as Garrus helped carry some of the gifts
"Les cadeaux!
Fury patiently passed out her 'gifts' to each guest, telling each not to open them until everyone had theirs.
"Ready? Ok NOW! OPEN OPEN!"
One by one, each and every guest found themselves with a painting that could've easily been made by one of the greats. Instead, each bore a tiny blue signature at the bottom:
The Vakarian clan markings.
"Fury..." Shepard breathed, taking in the portrait of herself as Atlas, holding not only the Earth on her back, but all the known homeworlds. "did you really paint these?"
"Mhmm!"
Tali and Kal were given a landscape painting based on pre-geth Rannoch. Oriana and Miranda had a portrait depicting the two of them as children with Miranda pushing her younger sister on a swing. Kolyat and Irenah had a portrait of Irikah in a ballgown, singing to a large audience where a halo-bearing Thane could be seen. Joker was given a wordsplash with the phrase "A strong body is nothing if it bears a weak heart." Solana, Mazia, Archeas and Garrus were given a painting of all of them sprawled out on a couch, laughing at something off frame.
But most breath taking of all was Kasumi's: a portrait of herself, close up, hand in front of her face in her signature 'thinking' pose, lips pulled into a smirk. At the top border of the painting, her hood faded smoothly into forest landscape. Kasumi's tears slid down her face and dripped onto the canvas.
"Make sure that one doesn't get stolen, 'kay?" Fury said, standing beside her and looking up into the dark of her hood.
"...of course. Never."
"Well... looks like we gave birth to Picasso...Next time if the reapers come, we'll just paint them"
The room dissolved into laughter as everyone broke off to pack up their gifts.
[\]
Shepard leaned against Garrus's shoulder as they watched the last of the guests trickle out from Hock's balcony.
"Hell of a party, hey Shepard?"
Shepard chucked.
"Yeah, I'd say so..."
Shepard sighed, looking out onto the darkness that seemed to swallow the council space planet. She smiled.
"All this time... all we've been through. Feels good that we could come together for a silly human custom instead of..."
"...saving the world for the millionth time?"
They both laughed.
"Yeah. It'd be nice if the would could save it's self for a while."
Shepard turned and wrapped her arms around her husband.
"Well... I know the holiday is technically over...", Garrus purred, "but I think this-" He pulled out a mistletoe and dangled it above Shepard's head, "is still fair game."
"Ohhhhhh no you don't! Not without catching me first!"
Garrus and Shepard passed the rest of the night chasing each other with the mistletoe, much to Fury's delight. While they ran about, Fury screamed one last doctored Christmas Carol:
"Have a very Vakarian Christmas!
It's the best time of the year!
I don't know if there'll be snow,
But have some Krogan beer!
Have a very Vakarian Christmas
And as you walk down the street!
Watch out for Archangel's gun
And kiss Aluna's feet!
Oh-ho, the Krogan go
Tearing up the street!
Zaeed will track you down,
And kill you in your sleep!
Have a very Vakarian Christmas!
And in case you didn't hear:
Oh by golly,
Have a very
Vakarian
Christmas!
This year!"
