Heyo! I bet you thought that it was just a fluke when I promised you to that I was back. Well shame on you for your doubts! SHAMMMME! Just kidding. Anyways, here is the next chapter in my Forever Family series and, upon looking at my story, I realized my count for Tali was off. She is in fact, in the very next chapter. Read, Enjoy, Review.
It had been almost an entire day before they had a chance to make it to the hospital, which was still busy and overrun with patients still. But they weren't interested in the C-Sec that was injured or the civilians, rushing to the back and getting to the door they were looking for as quickly as they could. When John and Johanna entered the room, they were aware of two others that were already in there. One was a face that they had already guessed would be here, Thane's son Kolyat, wearing a similar clothing to his father. However, the second, while expected, still surprised the Shepards, as they did not expect her to be in the room. Katori regarded them with a simple nod. Kolyat noticed her greeting and turned to face the two.
"Shepard, my father mentioned that you were no longer incarcerated. Greetings to you as well Johanna. I don't know if you two remember me, I'm Kolyat Krios. I came to donate blood and…." He paused and looked back at his father, who was hooked to multiple machines that just barely kept him alive. "….well, he asked me to take off his oxygen mask so that he could….comfortable. I don't think it will be very long now."
"Your father helped us save a lot of lives. We'd like to be here." John more stated than asked. He knew that Kolyat would not refuse his father someone who wanted to say their last good-byes.
"Of course." Kolyat nodded with acceptance. John nodded his thanks and approached Thane's bed with Johanna following behind.
"Shepard, Johanna…." He took a deep breath that was straggled and barely drawing in air, sounding almost painful for the drell. Katori flinched as she heard the straggled gasp but did nothing, remaining silent. "I'm afraid…I won't be joining….you again." Thane apologized to them between his gasps for air.
"That's alright. You've done more than enough Thane." John assured him.
"That assassin should be embarrassed….a terminally ill drell managed to stop him from reaching his target." Thane mentioned.
"I'll make sure to pass the word along." Johanna promised in a slight joking manner. John regarded his sister, who kept swallowing down her tears to the ignorance of the others. He never thought his sister would have gotten so close to the drell before them but he understood it. John had always found some wisdom in their talks, a sort of peace that he always thought had escaped him. Thane looked at them for a moment with a look of contentment before suddenly widening his eyes.
"There is something that I must do before it gets worse. I must…." He started out excitedly, speaking more quickly than they had seen before. This, of course, had its consequences as Thane soon erupted into a bout of hoarse and wheezy coughs, with gasps of breath in between. Kolyat took a deep breath and lowered his head, folding his hands in front of him in a praying motion that they had seen Thane do so many times before a mission.
"Kalahira, Mistress of Inscrutable depths, I ask forgiveness. Kalahira, who's waves wear down stone and sand…" Thane began a prayer but stopped as a bout of coughing caused him to lean over the side of his bed. John clenched his fist as his complete uselessness to help his friend right now.
"Kalahira, wash the sins from this one and set him on the distant shore where the eternal spirit rests." Kolyat finished the prayer for his father. When his father finished coughing, he greeted his son with a smile, and eyes full of pride.
"Kolyat…." He managed to gasp out. "You speak as the priests do….You have been spending time with them." Kolyat didn't answer verbally, but the small nod was all Thane needed for his response. He lifted his head and walked over to where the Shepard twins stood, pulling a small book from behind him. It wasn't a datapad or some other electronic, but an old fashioned drell book. Bound by a leather like plant and string and small enough to fit easily between Kolyat's hands.
"I brought a prayer book. Would you care to join me?" He asked the two twins. John and Johanna exchanged a look between themselves before nodding to Kolyat. He accepted this silent agreement, opening the book to the proper page. The room went silent, no one saying anything as they sat there, waiting for Kolyat to begin.
"Kalahira, this ones heart is pure but beset by wickedness and contention." Kolyat began before handing the book Johanna. She took a deep breath and continued.
"Guide this one to where the traveller never tires, the lover never leaves, and the hungry never starve." Johanna finished, passing the book to John a bit too quickly to maintain the stoic expression she had.
"Guide these two Kalahira, and they will be a companion to you as they were to me." John finished, closing the book as the prayer ended. Thane was silent, his gasps for air and coughing gone as he stared at the ceiling. Then without a word, he turned towards the window and he took his final breath. Katori wiped her eyes, reaching over as their friend passed away, closing the Drell's eyes to make it seem as though he was sleeping.
John clenched his fist as he thought about that. Thane did not deserve this death, he did not deserve to die like this. He deserved to die old, and in his home while at peace. Not at the hands of the assassin. Was this going to be the end for all of them? Falling at the hands of something or someone more superior to them? Were none of them destined for a happy ending, none of them worthy of living a long life? "Kolyat, there's something I don't understand." Johanna's voice snapped John out of his thoughts, bringing his attention back to the living in the room. His sister's voice was barely level and her emotions of heartbreak and sadness leaked into every word. There was also a fear in her eyes, a fear that was beyond anything John had seen. "Why did the last line say they?"
"The prayer was not for him. He has already asked forgiveness for the lives he had taken. His wish was for you." Kolyat turned and faced the two Shepards who were staring at him, watching as the news took its toll on them both. John took a deep breath, and looked at the late assassin.
"Good-bye Thane. You won't be alone long." John told him, though he knew his words were for no one besides himself.
John stepped out of the room, followed by his sister and Katori, leaving Kolyat behind to mourn in peace at the passing of his father. Johanna hardly said a word of good-bye before walking off down the hospital, not even stopping when John called to her. He sighed and prepared to go after her, stopping only when Katori stepped in the way. "Commander, there is something I need to know."
"What is it?" John asked, watching his sister leave the hospital. There was no point in trying to get past Katori now, he would have to try and catch her another time.
"Are you going after Cerberus and that Kai Leng bastard?" She asked, her voice laced with venom at the very idea of mentioning the man responsible for the death of the man behind them.
"My priorities are the Reapers." John told her.
"But reports say you are constantly clashing with Cerberus forces as well. I've had access to mission reports while I was in the hospital. You've already taken on their forces multiple times. On Mars, at Grissom Academy, On Tuchanka. Can you safely say you don't anticipate another confrontation with Kai Leng?" Katori demanded to know. John thought about this and realized she was right. So long as he and Cerberus were at opposite sides during this war, he was bound to meet Kai Leng at some point.
"No, chances are we will run into him again and we'll have to kill him." John honestly told her.
"Good. Then I want to go with you. And when we do meet that bastard again, I want to be the one to shove this sword through his black heart." Katori said, raising her katana as she said so. John looked at her, her cybernetic eyes almost glowing red as they responded to the amount of hate she was showing in her face.
"We won't meet him right away. Chances are we will be dealing with the Reapers before we deal with more of Cerberus." John tried to dissuade. Katori calmed a little, nodding her understanding.
"Of course Commander, I guessed as much. And I am willing to do my part to help with the war. Reapers are easy to deal with, I fought my way off of Earth after all. But that man who just died was a good man and friend. A man who deserved to die on his own accord and not the end of a blade of an honourless akumabito. And I will make sure Thane is avenged." Katori told him.
"There's an old saying my father always told me. An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." John told her.
"I'm already blind Commander." She responded, her eyes whirring as if to make a point. John rubbed the back of his head as he realized his point was lost on her. Still, as much as he disproved of the woman's misinterpretation of his point, he needed the help. According to Bailey, she managed to hold her own against the Cerberus assassin for some time, while John and his team were almost useless against Kai Leng.
"Alright Katori, the Normandy's in the Docking bay." John told her with a sigh. He would discuss this more when they were aboard the ship and safe from wandering ears. Katori nodded and bowed her head at this.
"Arigato, Shepard-San." She told him before turning around and leaving. John watched her leave before tapping his omni-tool to see what was wrong with his translator.
"So, how did you find me?" Johanna asked the Turian as he sat down in the chair right beside her. They were in Chora's Den, an old bar down on Zakera Ward that her brother had once shot up. It had evolved since then, no longer a gentlemen's club but a well-meaning bar since the new owner had taken over, Wrex having killed the last one. There was less naked Asari and less pervy customers, but it was still a bar in the low end of the Wards, maintaining its looks. It had been almost untouched by Cerberus, like most of the lower wards as they seemed almost entirely focused on the Presidium. It made sense, Cerberus definitely didn't have the manpower to siege the entire station at once.
"Put out some feelers. Your brother said you disappeared after Thane died, so I probed old friends to see if they spotted a certain red-head storming about." Garrus responded, waving the bartender down and ordering a drink. "So, what's wrong?"
"Nothing. Came her for some blue-skinned action and found my hopes dashed. I was about to go somewhere else a little more fun, but then you showed up." Johanna shrugged, acting as though she was serious. Garrus had seen it before. It was what she always did when she got scared. She hid, hiding her insecurity and vulnerability from everyone.
"Uh huh. So what's the real reason then?" Garrus said as he got his drink from a human bar maid and turned to face Johanna. She sighed, and drained what appeared to be her sixth glass of brandy, before shakily putting the cup down. Then she rested her head on the palm of her hand and groaned.
"How many drinks must I have before I am so drunk I forget my own name?" She complained, ignoring the question posed to her. She looked up to see Garrus still staring at her expectantly, awaiting the answer to his question. She sighed and waved for the bartender to get her yet another round of brandy. Nothing was said until the bartender returned with yet another glass of alcohol for the Shepard twin, setting it down in front of her. Johanna didn't grab it right away, choosing instead to stare intently at it as if it held some sort of answer in it's brown liquid. "I'm scared, okay? Not of dying because of the Reapers, not because Cerberus is kicking our asses, but because I don't want to end up like Thane."
"So, you're just scared of dying in general?" Garrus guessed, his voice calm and comforting. Johanna barked out a laugh before grabbing the glass in front of her and drinking it in a manner of three seconds. She waved her hand to order another and turned to Garrus.
"If only it was that simple. No, Gare Bear, I'm not afraid of death. As Jack once put it, its just a fucking on/off switch." She paused as another glass of brandy was laid down in front of her. "No, I fear becoming like Thane. I don't want to become the person that has take deep breaths just to get some air, or the person who's every sentence is interrupted by a bout of horrible coughing. I don't want to become so frail that a single wound would end my entire life no matter the medical expertise I give." She didn't chug this brandy, choosing instead to sip it slowly as she spilled out her secrets. Garrus wondered if it was because she was reasonably drunk at this point, or because they had finally reached a point in their relationship where she trusted him with her biggest worry.
"Please, as if your disease could stop you. You are a Shepard remember?" Garrus told her with a reassuring laugh. She cocked a single eyebrow at him, wondering what that had to do with anything. "Your brother was killed and all it did was piss him off. I doubt something as small as deteriorating lungs would stop the Great Johanna. You could be on the brink of death and still managed to whoop the ass of everyone on the Normandy." Garrus paused, glancing around as if looking for someone in particular before leaning close and whispering "And that includes your brother."
Johanna smiled before finishing off the rest of her drink with a hefty gulp. "Damn right!" She called at the top of her lungs and she leapt to her feet. "And I'll be damned if anyone forgets it!" Her face began to flush red and she stumbled holding onto the bar. "Oh crap, someone please stop the bar from spinning."
"Uh, maybe that's enough to drink." Garrus told her as he raised a single hand to keep her steady. She drunkenly smiled at Garrus and a glint of mischievousness came to her eyes, making Garrus grow cautious.
"Oh no way. My boyfriend is going to take me on a bar crawl throughout the citadel. Any bar that is open, we are going to drink dry!" She announced, before grabbing the hand that had been steadying her and firmly pulling the owner to the exit. Garrus sighed in defeat before allowing himself to be dragged easily along by the drunken Shepard, the turian's drink remaining at the bar, untouched.
Heyo! This was a side to Katori that was never seen in David and Goliath. She was supposed to seem abnormally calm in most situations but found herself with a real penchant for vengeance. Also, I happened to notice the Citadel gets back really quickly after the Citadel attack, so I made my own guess as to why this is. And I can finally get to the missions I have wanted to redo for a long time, so less rehashing! YAY! anyways, I'll be back soon with the Tali reintroduction!