A/N: ...You know, dealing with the court system is like pulling fucking teeth. The lawyer hired to represent me and my friend in our case says that we're pretty much fighting a battle we've already one. But the asshole's lawyer keeps trying to low ball us in terms of settlements. So we gave those two an ultimatum.
Cover our medical payments, damages to the car, and lost wages since I'm out of work for the next couple months along with emotional damages...or he'll be living in a cardboard box before the start of the school year. Needless to say the chances of them caving and giving us what we're asking for is a damn safe bet.
Thought I'd keep you guys updated on what's been happening on my end. As for the chapter, it took a little bit of extensive planning but it was worth it. There will be action, comedy, and a whole lotta fluff happening, but it's all needed for the sake of the story. Because for christ sake the end of Horizon was almost as bad to watch as the ending to the series...
...okay, maybe not that bad. But still.
(I own nothing)
A million thoughts and emotions passed through the minds of Alex Drake and Jane Shepard. Seeing each other after everything that had happened to them was both amazing...and terrifying.
Their last moment together was in the cold darkness of space when the Collectors attacked. The trauma from that incident alone had left a bad scar on each of them. But it was so much more than that.
Where one only felt that it had only been a few weeks since they were last together. It was two years for the other. Alex carried on the burden of her death ever since, using his rage and depression as a weapon against his enemies and paving a path that would help them fight the Reapers.
For Jane, the shock of waking up and finding that two years had passed still had yet to wear off. She'd missed so much, everyone she was close to was scattered to the four corners of the traverse. The man she had fallen for black listed and forced into the Terminus all the while keeping the threat of the Reapers alive the best he could.
The moment she woke up, the nano soldier was on her mind. Everything they shared together when they were going after Saren. He was the only that got through to her on a level that not many have ever been able to do.
She loved this man with everything she was. It terrified her at first, but accepted it as much as they had accepted each other. But now that fear was back in force.
Seeing him decimate Collector forces showed her he was just as effective in combat as ever. Though that wasn't what she was interested in at the moment.
The Commander took a few slow steps forward, he team watching her carefully as she approached the Post-Human. Miranda went to intercept, but a clawed talon grabbed her arm and kept her where she was. "Don't." Garrus hissed in her ear. A clear warning of what would happen if she didn't heed it.
Now standing two feet away from one another, Jane looked up into the crimson visor. Her heart hammering inside her chest as she searched for what to say. What could you say to someone after so much time has passed.
"Alex, I...it's good to see you're okay. When I heard about what happened I-" she stopped when a gloved hand gently touched the side of her face. Cupping her cheek with a thumb carefully rubbing over a small healing scar from her resurrection.
Alex was silent. His mind a maelstrom of emotions as he looked at her. Removing his hand, he reached up and pulled his helmet off, not caring that the people in her group could see his face. He was beyond caring as long as he could look at her with his own eyes unhindered.
Jane looked up into the eyes she had missed ever since waking up. Their liquid metal color which filled her every dream since they had met looked as good as ever. But she could see more, a hidden pain that made her heart twinge in agony.
She could tell that her death hit him the hardest. Everyone had told her as such, but seeing it filled her with so much guilt she had a little trouble breathing.
Seeing the inner struggle within the woman before him. Alex reached up and cupped her face with both hands, mentally cursing the fact that he couldn't feel her skin with his own. He leaned down and pressed his forehead to hers. An intimate moment for the two of them that even a blind man could have noticed.
Everything around them faded out. The sounds of the GARDIAN turrets firing on the Collector Criuser nothing more than background noise to the couple that had finally found each other again.
"I prayed..." the nano soldier whispered as tears gathered in his eyes. "For two years...I nearly lost hope. But when I heard the rumors that you were back..." a smile stretched across his face. "Jane...I-"
The heartfelt scene was interrupted by a loud, mechanical shriek echoed through the spaceport. Everyone had their weapons ready in moments, "What the bloody hell was that?" asked Zaeed.
Alex spun around, his once gentle eyes now hardened to a steel-grey as he searched for whatever made the noise. "We got company coming." he said pulling his helmet back on and drawing his assault rifle.
Another shriek bellowed out as a large form came up over the wall on the West side of the spaceport. The creature looked like a large metal crab made of cybernetics, energy crackling around its body as its mouth opened revealing the heads of dozens of Husks within.
Everyone gathered spread out as the creature screeched as its long legs folded inward allowing it to hover above the ground and head right for them.
Jane and Alex's rifles registered, followed quickly by everyone else as they peppered the large synthetics armored hide. But the Praetorian just kept hovering, completely oblivious to the attacks hitting it.
Dumping a thermal clip and slamming in a fresh one, Alex looked up at the creature as its eyes began to glow. He tackled Jane to the ground as the Praetorian fired two powerful particle beams from its eyes. Burning the ground where the two of them had stood and turning it black with glowing embers.
Pulling his bow out and unfolding it, the Post-Human pulled the last arrow in the clip back and fired. The bolt delivering a direct hit on one of the Praetorian's eyes and shattering it, causing the synthetic to let out a loud shriek as white fluid leaked from its damaged socket.
Jane swapped her assault rifle for the grenade launcher in the center of her back and fired several explosives at the creature. Each blast damaged its hardened armor, the rest of the team continued shooting, those with biotics throwing various attacks to try and cause maximum damage.
The Praetorian shuttered from the continued assault, its form drifting higher into the air as power began to gather around it's form
"Get Down!" Alex shouted grabbing Jane's shoulder and leaping into cover as the large synthetic glowed with energy coursing over it before dropping to the ground sending out shockwaves that sent several crates hurdling in all directions.
The team kept their heads down as the debris flew over them, slamming into buildings and other crates around them. Grunt hadn't managed to get to cover in time and was thrown to the side, dropping his Evicerator shotgun in the process. The Praetorian's body became charged from the energy output and erected a barrier around itself as it leapt back into the air.
Everyone resumed firing on the synthetic, rounds and biotics slamming against the newly formed barrier as its eyes began to glow again before firing its particle beams. Crates and machinery around the space port were blown apart on contact while the ten fighters all scattered out of the way from the attack.
Seeing that things would degrade quickly, Alex pulled out a new arrow clip and slammed it into his bow. The arrow quickly dispensed into place as he pulled it back and took aim. Waiting for the right moment before he would fire.
Jane watched him out of the corner of her eye and knew what he had planned. Putting a new bandolier of grenades into her launcher, she joined the others in attacking the Praetorian's barrier. Under the continued barrage it quickly fell leaving the large synthetic vulnerable once more as its armor was hammered on from the various attacks thrown at it.
With the opportunity open, the nano soldier let the arrow fly. Burying itself into one of the Husk skulls in the creature's mouth. A second arrow soon followed attaching itself to the top of the Praetorian's head. The last one went into the already damaged eye socket next to the regular arrow that had struck it before.
All three arrows in place, Alex pressed the detonator on the handle of his bow. All three HE-arrows exploded with tremendous force. The Praetorian had large holes blown into its frame, it shrieked as it fell to the ground hard. It's already crippled form crunching inward on impact as the lights in its remaining eye and cybernetics flickered.
The Post-Human lowered his bow, folding it up and putting it on his back as he approached the downed creature. Scooping up Grunt's dropped shotgun and pressing it to the still active eye.
Two thunderous blasts echoed and were swallowed by the sound of the GARDIAN turrets that continued their attack on the Collector ship. "That's for spoiling our moment."he growled lowering the still smoking barrel as the cybernetics within the Praetorian finally died.
X
In the distance, the Collector Cruisers hull began to rotate and shift on itself. Engines kicking on as the thrusters fired at full power as it began to take off from Horizon's surface.
Dirt and dust kicked up from the sudden burst causing everyone that was outside to over themselves. "They're pulling out!" Jane shouted over the small storm as she covered her eyes with her arm.
Alex watched as the large ship rose from the ground and went higher and higher, unaffected by the small dust storm from being inside the nano suit. His eyes locked on the slightly damaged hull as the Cruiser became nothing more than a speck in the sky. "Next time." he thought clenching the fist that wasn't holding the shotgun.
"How many colonists do you think they took?" asked Kasumi as they all stood together.
"Only a few." everyone turned to see Ashley approach them, five Alliance Marines behind her as they entered the spaceport seeing the coast was clear.
The Gunnery Chief's gaze turned to Jane as a small smile appeared on her face. She stepped forward and held out her hand. "I thought you were dead, Commander. We all did." she said as Jane shook the offered hand.
"It's good to see you, Ash. You don't sound too happy." said the Commander hearing the slight tone in her voice.
Ashley looked from Jane to Alex. The nano soldier looked back at her through his visor. She had read all of the data that he had given to her regarding Shepard and what had happened to her. He wasn't bullshitting when he said that Cerberus had brought her back from the afterlife.
It put her thoughts at rest somewhat, but it was the message that he left her at the end of the data that really laid it out for her.
Flashback
Ashley took in a shuttered breath after everything she had just read. Hands clasped together as she prayed.
It wasn't right...what Cerberus had done went against the laws of nature. Shepard deserved to be at rest after everything she had done for the galaxy. Everyone missed her, that was obvious, but taking her remains and reanimating her? She couldn't even believe that such a thing was possible.
Raising her head and looking at her omni-tool again, she saw a file attached to the data packet. Curious, she pressed it as Alex's helmeted head appeared on the screen.
"Ash, I know that after everything you've read your minds probably trying to understand it all. I can't blame you for that. But there is so much more that you need to know right now." he said in his filtered voice.
"Cerberus may have brought her back to us, they may have given her a new ship, resources, and intel to take on the Collectors. But she has NOT turned her back on the Alliance and what we fought for two years ago."
"If you know her as well as I do, she'd never trust these bastards no matter what they've done for her. And they WILL betray her and those she's gathering for her side when they are no longer useful. She needs people that she can trust on her side, and from what I could gather through mine and Liara's new information network she has Joker, Dr. Chakwas...and Garrus with her."
The mentioning of the Turian she had started a relationship back then startled her. They had been sending messages back and forth since she went back on active duty, he told her that he had quit C-Sec and was out in the Traverse doing god only knew what. He had been very vague in what he was doing exactly, but managed to vid-chat with her at least twice a week.
Though that all came to an abrupt stop almost two weeks ago and she had been worried since. Now she knew why he hasn't been talking to her.
"Believe me Ash. Jane and Garrus both would have spoken to you right off the bat. But The Illusive Man has bugs all over the ship they are on, and their incoming and outgoing messages are also being monitored. It wouldn't have been safe for them to try and contact anyone from the old crew with that much heat on them." said Alex.
"I know you're angry. You have every right to be. But Jane...she may be up and about fighting the Collectors, but she's in a fragile state. It's been two years for us, but to her it's only been a few weeks. I'm asking you, Ashley, as a friend. Please...Please don't let your hatred of Cerberus effect you when you see her. Like I said, she needs us now to help her through this."
"I'm leaving you this so that you know the truth about what's happened. And to tell you that I will be joining her against the Collectors and I intend to tear Cerberus apart from the inside out. What you do with this data is up to you, I've already sent something similar to Kaidan not too long ago so that everyone is in the loop."
He was silent a second before continuing, "It's been a long two years, Ash. For all of us. But for me, knowing that she's alive again gives me a hope that died when the Normandy went down. Everyone on the crew knew how close the two of us were, and I intend on making sure that she survives no matter the cost."
"I hope this helps you and ease your mind, even just a little." the message ended leaving a blank screen.
The Gunnery Chief stared at the holo-screen for a few moments before shutting down her omni-tool and resting her head against the wall as she started thinking about what course of action to take.
Flashback End
"I hope to god you're right about this, Alex." Ashley thought. The nano soldier nodded his head as if being able to read her thoughts as she turned back to the Commander. "It's...been a very long time, Skipper. We all believed that you were dead." she said a little uneasy.
Jane closed her eyes and sighed, "I know, Ash. I was in some kind of coma all this time. Cerberus has spent the last couple years rebuilding me after the Normandy was destroyed." she admitted.
"We know, Jane." said Alex tossing the shotgun he was holding back to Grunt who caught it effortlessly as he walked up to her and rested a hand gently on her shoulder. "There have been rumors spreading across the galaxy that you're with Cerberus now."
Shocked green eyes looked up at him, "I not with them. We just want the same thing; to save colonies and end the Collectors." she said defending herself.
"We know." Alex said. "I've spent my time in the Terminus tracking the Collectors and keeping tabs on Cerberus activity. And honestly, the idea of you joining these terrorist assholes is as likely as the Reapers being just cockroaches."
"How are you tracking us?" asked Miranda cutting in.
The Post-Human turned his head slowly in her direction and the woman felt her insides freeze a little remembering what had happened the last time she was in this man's presence. "Let's just say that I have my connections. By the way, Ms. Lawson, how many of your operatives did I kill in the last two years? I lost count around 60."
Seeing Miranda pale and Jacob shift uneasily from foot to foot, Jane looked at her lover with a raised eyebrow. "Why have you been killing off Cerberus?"
"I got long list of intel that directed me to several facilities that were apart of illegal experimentation. Some where on aliens, others were on fellow Humans. I freed the ones being held and made sure that the people responsible never saw the light of day again." Alex looked down at the Commander and was lost in her gaze a moment before continuing. "I only took out the ones that were guilty, there were several that didn't know what was going on and I let them go with the ones I freed."
Jane smiled, glad to see that his compassionate nature was still there even after all this time. Remembering the matter at hand, she turned back to Ashley. "How many people were taken?"
The Gunnery Chief sighed, "It's hard to tell. A couple dozen are reported missing but we still need to take account who is still here before making the list of those that were taken. If Alex here hadn't arrived and warned us...things could have been a lot worse."
"Agreed." said Garrus stepping forward. Ashley looked up at the Turian and gave him a dirty look. The ex-cop twitched his mandibles with unease, "Uh...hay Ash. Sorry about not calling I-" He was cut off when the tan-skinned woman stepped in front of him and looked him over.
"What happened to you?" she asked gently stroking the bandaged side of his face.
Garrus fought down a purr feeling her fingers touching his almost healed mandible. "It was...let's just say I was caught off guard." he said trying to be as calm as possible.
"He means he had his bloody face blown apart by a rocket fighting mercs on Omega." said Zaeed taking out a cigarette and lighting it.
Ashley's eyes shot open wide and stopped moving, "W-What? What the hell is he talking about Garrus?" she asked. The Turian didn't answer and the woman felt her face burn with anger, "THAT'S WHERE YOU'VE BEEN ALL THIS TIME! ON OMEGA FIGHTING MERCS!"
"Ash it's not-" Garrus couldn't finish as the Marine grabbed the front of his armor and began dragging him off. "SHUT UP! YOU AND I ARE GONNA HAVE A LONG FUCKING TALK VAKARIAN!" she roared pulling him toward the spaceport entrance.
"Shepard! Alex! A little help here!" Garrus called back as the smaller Human woman continued to drag him around.
"You're on your own Garrus!" Alex called back before turning his attention back to Jane who was looking back at him with a serious expression. Reaching out and placing a hand on her armorer hip, he pulled her closer until he wrapped both arms around her. "I've missed you." he said un-filtering his voice and holding her tightly.
Tears fell from the Commanders eyes as she clung to the nano soldier, "I've missed you too." They stepped back from each other, but remained within arms reach. "Do you have time to talk?" she asked.
Alex smiled behind his visor, "I've waited two years Jane. No time is more valuable than what I can spend with you right now."
Jane felt as though her heart just got a jump start. Her smile was so wide and bright that it was almost infectious. "We can head up to my cabin on the new Normandy. I...think we have a lot of catching up to do."
"Shepard, I don't think we have the time to-" Miranda was cut off from the cold leer Jane was sending her way.
"I'll take your thoughts under advisement, Lawson." she said stiffly. "But you forget who is in charge. So I suggest you remember that."
The team had never seen her like this before, it was a little shocking to see her go from being that happy to deadly in seconds.
"Bout time the Cheerleader was put in her place." said Jack crossing her arms over her chest.
Grunt observed what was happening, "Do all Humans react like this to their mates?" he asked trying to understand.
Kasumi patted the Krogan's shoulder, "Only when they haven't seen each other in so long big guy.". She recognized love when she saw it, and couldn't help but want to know every detail about what was going on between the two.
X
Alexander 'Maverick' Drake
Normandy SR-2 - Captain's Cabin
October 4, 2185 - 18:19 hours
Being aboard the new Normandy brought back a lot of memories of the original. The differences being the overall size being much larger inside and out and the nearly all Cerberus crew.
But Alex took it all in stride, seeing Joker again had lifted the pilot's spirits seeing a familiar face. Or in the helmsmen's words, 'a familiar walking death machine'.
The two exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes before the nano soldier was given a tour of the vessel. Seeing all the new upgrades that made the old Normandy look like second rate. Jane showed him everything, even taking him down to see Dr. Chakwas who was just as happy to see him as Joker was.
Of course the older woman asked him how he had taken care of himself all these years. Alex just laughed, something he had rarely done lately, as he told her that he was in good health and had been taking care of himself.
After almost an hour, the tour ended at Jane's cabin which was just as grand as he expected it to be. The large glowing fish tank that made up the left wall held several schools of fish swimming peacefully around giving the bedroom on the lower half of the cabin a calming aura.
The glass wall that separated the office area and the living space already had a few models put together that were on display. Alex recognized the old Normandy and the new one above it with a Turian Cruiser right next to them.
"A hobby I picked up recently." said Jane going down the steps into the living space. "Been having trouble sleeping since I 'woke up', had to take my mind off everything somehow." she admitted.
"I know the feeling." said the nano soldier remembering all the nights sleep that eluded him since the attack.
The Commander activated her omni-tool and pressed a few keys as a light blue field shot from the device and encompassed the room in seconds.
"EMP Pulse Detected." said Prophet as Alex heard the sounds of multiple electric devices shorting out all around the cabin. Reaching up he pulled his helmet off as he looked around. "Wiping out listening devices?" he asked raising a knowing eyebrow at her.
"I learned from someone special." said Jane crossing her arms and cocking her hip to the side. "Last thing I want are these Cerberus assholes watching me sleep."
The Post-Human felt a sliver of rage go through him that he crushed down fast. "The place is really nice." he said stepping toward the couch and setting his helmet down on the coffee table. "Good to see Cerberus is flipping the bill for this mission." he turned around and saw his lover standing right there.
Green eyes looking up into his as the air around them seemed to shift.
"Alex...I...I don't even know where to start." she said before looking away and sitting down on the couch. "When they told me that I'd been dead for two years...I thought it was some kind of sick joke. But...when I saw how much things have changed there was just no more avoiding it."
Her voice was even, but Alex could pick up the subtle cracks every now and again. He sat down next to her and held her hand in his own. The gesture alone brought the Commander comfort that she had also missed.
"The others filled me in. Joker, Karin, Garrus and Anderson I mean." she went on. "They told me about what happened after the Normandy was destroyed." her gaze met his again, "Alex, why? Why did you destroy your good name as Maverick?"
The nano soldier gathered his thoughts a moment. "They were using your death to hide the Reaper's existence. I wasn't going to take that sitting down after everything we fought for. I had a feeling the Council would have tried something like that eventually, so I created a contingency plan that would ensure that the threat of the Reapers stayed alive."
"I gave up my Spectre status before initiating it. Every member on the Council save for Anderson was implicated in the coverup and they were impeached. Now a new Council is running the show and every race in the galaxy knows about what the Reapers are capable of."
Jane's eyes shined with several emotions, Alex smiled as he held her face. "If giving up my good name is worth making sure that we have a fighting chance when hell comes knocking at our door...then it's a price worth paying. Even as a wanted man, I'll keep doing what is right."
He felt her hand grip his. "What...have you been doing since then?" she asked hesitantly.
It was a loaded question. They both knew that, so the nano soldier picked gently around it. "Been doing my part here in the Terminus. Taking out slavers and other rogue factions that have been causing problems out here. As well as a few odd jobs for the Alliance since I'm still on good terms with Hackett and Anderson."
Jane nodded, but her eyes were downcast. "I'm sorry." she said before a hand on her chin made her look up into steel-colored orbs. "Dont. You. Dare. Jane, none of this is your fault. The only ones to blame for everything is the Collectors. They threw the first punch, now it's time to curb stomp them for what they've done." Alex said sternly.
Startled at first, the Commander smiled as she stroked his face. The five o'clock shadow he had allow to grow in giving him a more rugged look compared to the last time she saw him. He looked good.
It was then she remembered something and the smile slipped from her face. The sudden change made the nano soldier tilt his head. "Jane?"
Getting up from the couch, the Commander walked over the the fish tank and faced it, her arms crossed over her midsection as she looked sightless into the glass. "It's been two years, Alex. So much has changed...everyone has moved on since I...died."
Alex knew where this was going and was on his feet. "Jane-"
"No, let me finish." said the Commander biting her lip to avoid her emotions from getting out of control. "I...I can understand how long it's been. I can't blame you for...for moving on."
A large pair of arms wrapped around her from behind and pulled her into warm body. Alex rested his chin on top of her head as she settled into his warmth. "I didn't." he whispered.
Jane spun around and look up at him shocked. "W-What?"
"I said I didn't move on." the Post-Human said calmly. He reached into his suit and pulled off a familiar set of dog tags, bringing up her hand and placing them into it. The Commander looked at the tags and could make out her name still visible on the scratched and dented metal.
"I just couldn't." Alex said not taking his eyes off her. "After everything we've been through together, everything we've shared and endured. I just couldn't let you go, it would have felt like a betrayal."
Looking up from the tags, Jane felt tears gathering in her eyes. "...Alex..."
"I don't want anyone else...I never wanted anyone else." said the Post-Human as he felt the emotional barriers he had built over the last couple of years start to crumble. He gave a watery smile, "They say that distance makes the heart grow fonder, and mine has never stopped beating for you. And it's still yours..."
The dog tags slipped from Jane's hand as she grabbed Alex's face and crushed their lips together. The nano soldier quickly matching her fierceness as he picked her up off the floor, long legs going around his waist as he pressed her against the fish tank.
The kiss was desperate, but it was the ultimate wake up call for both of them. For Jane it reminded her that she was truly alive again and she was with the one that truly brought out who she was. For Alex, it proved that she was still the same Shepard.
Prophet had scanned her body when he saw her at the spaceport down on Horizon. She was just like him now. A combination of cybernetics and flesh that made her stronger and more durable.
But even though her body had been upgraded, his Jane was still there. Her courage, her charisma, and her heart were all still the same. This alone had him thanking every deity in existence that Cerberus didn't take that away from her when they brought her back.
They separated after almost two minutes, breath panting as they rested their foreheads together. "You know...you sounded like a cheesy romance novel just now." Jane said with a wide grin.
"I'll let you know when I start to care, darlin." Alex said with his southern drawl coming out making her blush. "I just hope you're ready, cuz we got two years to make up for." he whispered kissing up the side of her pale neck.
Jane grinned again as she pulled the top of her Cerberus uniform off and gripped his face again. "Then you better drop and give me 20, soldier." she said seductively.
He pulled her away from the fish tank and walked toward the bed, "Yes, ma'am." he said laying them both down and pressing his lips to hers. For the first time in a long time, feeling like he could finally breath again.
A/N: FINALLY! Alex and Shepard are together again. But with Cerberus personnel all around him and The Illusive Man trying to keep the Commander on a leash, how will out nano soldier break them all free from the terrorist cell's grasp.
This is Alex Drake we're talking about, so we know he's got something up his sleeve!
Update coming soon, so keep your eyes open guys.