An Eye for an Eye (Act 3)

The bright blank page stared up at him, mocking him, laughing at him. It should have been easy, a simple letter to the Council. As he stared at the open document on his omni-tool, he could find no such ease. He needed to be honest, tell a simple but painfully obvious truth: he had failed.

There were worries that needed to be addressed. He had failed as a specter, yes, but also as a turian. What would his family – his father – say about his failure? What would Saren say to him now, knowing that he had screwed up another mission?

The realization was astounding; Saren would smile and tell him it wasn't his fault. Deep pains of longing surged through the turian's rigid fibres. He missed Saren. The echoes of his mentor's kind words in his mind, Specter Nihlus pulled a deep breath into his body. A letter, that's all that he had to write, a simple letter.

July 22nd, 2183

My Dear Councillor Tevos,

No doubt you are wondering about my mission and the success I have had in recapturing the fabled device from the clutches of the Zodiac Gang on Illium. I regret to inform that I do not have the object of your desire, however I do have something that could be said to have equal value.

A story.

12th of January, Galactic Date: 2186

A box.

To anyone passing by, there was nothing extraordinary about the scene, just a small nook tucked away from the peering streetlights. The stone path curving and twisting in the shadows between buildings. A secret murmur, possibly between lovers or thieves, dangling in the starry night. The cover of darkness fell over these intimate halls. Inside lay a confidential commodity.

A box.

Picking up the box with his hands, the young boy peered around. Brown, an easy colour to miss in the obscurity of these streets. A sharp shake. A soft rattle. Inside, the object was not large, not by any stretch of the imagination. Yet the cognition of the boy before it went wild.

Could it be? he thought with joyous prosperity. Could it be the fabled Libra Code? The code to set him free, for him to see the sights of Illium and carve out a future for himself. Sure his background could be seen as unsavoury and his mother classified as the scum on the ground, but he had hope and that was all he needed to get by.

Underneath his arm the package slid, hope bundled in a papery case. Redemption surging through his being as he started his gait out of those clinging shadows. Today, maybe today, he could finally be free.

Every moment had been another that led to this new reality. The rise of the newest leader meant a revitalization of the old policies. Raids were constructed differently, hits on other opposing factions became more lax. In an instant the great empire that was the Zodiac Gang had collapsed into obscurity. Not something that this young boy cared about, but rather found fascinating. So much had changed and the boy knew the exact cause of all this:

Tony Malone.

It was almost three years ago that he had taken power. He was the first human to have had power in the gang, Tony took his responsibility with bravado. Shockingly so, he did not hide the fact that he had orchestrated the coup that had ended in the demise of Syrnen. Instead he relished that fact that the gang was now his and freedom, true freedom, was present for all those who were with him.

They bought it. At first, raids were done with ease and the Zodiac continued to prosper like there had been no change. Leo was still Leo, he just had a different face. However, that all changed when Tony started inciting new regulations. It started small: those below the age of twelve would not do the raids or any of the runs. Instead they would be accompanied on small pickups or drop offs, they were always to be supervised.

No one argued this. It seemed rational that the young would not fight on the streets in the same manner that the eldest did. But Tony's regulations did not end with age; they began to work their way into how the gang functioned. First it was no prostitutes should serve more than one man at a time, then it was one raid a week, then it was that alcohol would be served after missions, not before. Pretty soon, all the royalties that the gang had lavished upon in its younger years had disappeared, replaced by strict rules that could not be breached. Dissension in the ranks was inevitable, yet the young boy did not particularly care for the inner politics. He wanted to do a good job, get paid, and dreamed of a life beyond the gutters of Illium. He wondered what his mother would say to that.

She'd probably laugh.

He did not know his mother, her looks, her prejudices, or her 'style'. He had lived off of precious idealism, the drive to imagine his mother as a saint. No one told him otherwise. No one dared, for they would have Tony on their heads if they destroyed one single particle of the boy's concocted portrait.

A few more steps and the boy was at the old warehouse. It had been spruced up, by Tony's orders, to give the place a certain mystical quality. "Nos Astra is reforming its underground," Tony said in front of the gang when convincing them of the idea. "We need to conform to this industrialization or parish." His words rang truth, for indeed the gutters were now being cleaned more reverently than they had been before. If they were to keep this hideout a secret, they would need to keep it up to date with the new cleaning manifesto.

He opened the hatch with ease, slipping his long, thin fingers into the small hole to be read by the DNA imprinter. Everyone had to give up something to gain something else. 'Tis the law of the life.

Hoisting the box under his shoulder, the boy stepped back as the doors of the base snapped from their locks. A few seconds later and the boy entered through the doors to the interior of the base. Drinks were being served amongst men, and woman were serving in a very different way. It seemed as though a mission had been completed successfully. The boy smiled at the waving hands that beckoned him over. He would not indulge, instead he would finish the mission he had been required to do. The boy was not one to disappoint the second in command of the Zodiac.

Slipping around the corner and down stairs to the lower floor of the base, he spied the turian he sought by the pool table, knocking the balls in with grace and finesse. Often the boy would find the turian down there, challenging opponents when he did not have work to do. Stepping closer, the boy saw the holographic balls quake as the power fluctuated through the system. The krogan cursed at his luck, for he missed the ball completely when this occurred. Looking angrily as if it was the boy's fault, the krogan spluttered, "You little pyjak! You lost me the damn game!"

Cowering under the massive krogan form, the boy tried to escape the looming shadow over him. Uttering softly, "I'm sorry," was his best recompense of the 'crime' he had committed.

A sharp cough from the turian at the other end of the table, signalled the krogan to stand down. Which he did, albeit begrudgingly. "You're lucky your Leo's bitch, otherwise I'd strangle you." Throwing the pool stick to the ground, the krogan stomped on it, snapping the wood into two pieces. "And this game isn't finished yet, Kane! You just got damn lucky!"

The turian chuckled. "When you find a new stick, we'll play again."

Muttering and cursing, the krogan removed himself from the room. His footsteps on the stairs could be heard long after he had left. "Listen, I didn't mean to make any—"

Kane shook his head while lifting his hand. "You don't need to say anything," he said around the cigarette in his mouth. "You did nothing wrong, Jacob."

The boy grimaced. "Yeah, I suppose."

An uneasy silence fell between the two members. The package under Jacob's arms started to feel as if it was ten times heavier, like the small object inside now held much more to it than just weight. Looking down to the ground with a blank stare, Jacob had nothing to say to the turian before him. Most of his runs were orchestrated by Kane now, not Tony. It bothered the boy.

Weight hit his shoulder as Jacob found Kane's hand by his neck. "You have it, I see," the turian rumbled with his harmonics. There was something darker in that statement, yet Jacob did not indulge to find out.

"Yeah, it's right here." He shrugged, the package moving up in the gesture.

"Can I see it?" the turian probed, lifting Jacob's chin up with a single talon.

The boy looked into the turian's eye; he had not realize they were blue before. It was probably something he never noticed before. The boy was not one for observation. "Sure." The box transferred from human hands to turian, and Jacob felt eased now that it was away. While with the box, he realized that it would not be the fabled Libra Code. No, that seemed to be a mythic as the beginning of this gang. It didn't exist, it couldn't exist. It was a single flame of hope in a world filled with liars and thieves. Jacob felt ashamed that he had fallen for another ruse.

But his curiosity did peak when he spied a long cylindrical object being brought out of the box. Kane smirked at the find, licking his lips in delight. "Perfect," he said. "This is exactly what we need right now." Turning it, Jacob spied a name on the side of the container. It read, Sagittarius.

"What do you need the drug for?" Kane did not recognize Jacob's question, he was too enamoured with the pale liquid in the bottle. So Jacob spoke again. "Kane!" The turian turned at the outburst, his eyes twinkling. "What's the drug for?" Jacob said in a deeper voice , making himself appear more masculine in front of the turian as if to show that he could handle any 'mature' discussion.

Kane chuckled at the gesture. "It's to boost the morale of the gang. Spirit knows how long we have needed a good pick-me-up." The turian laid the bottle back into the box before returning to Jacob. "I have another assignment for you, if you are up to the task."

Jacob straightened his back and saluted the turian. "I'm at your disposal, sir!"

Kane smirked. "I want you to talk to Tony for me. Ask him when the next raid is going to be. Can you do that?"

The boy's hand lowered at the request. Not because of the subject matter, but mainly due to the formality of the statement. "Don't you mean 'Leo', not Tony?"

The turian seemed to wince at the assertion, nevertheless he did not let it faze his response. "You see, Tony and I have been friends for a very long time. He doesn't mind it when I call him by his first name. You understand, don't you?"

Though he still found the remark questionable, Jacob believed every word. "Of course, sir. Sorry, sir." Walking away from the turian, a soft remark touched the ears of the boy, causing him to turn around. "Yes, what is it, sir?" The boy asked.

"Stop calling me 'sir', it's bad taste." Kane took the cigarette from his mouth, blew a cloud of smoke, and then threw it to the ground to bury it with his heel. "You can simply call me 'Kane'. Okay?"

Jacob nodded. "Yes Kane, I understand." Jacob left without another word, much to the amusement of the turian.

The room, filled with the deep scent of lavender, was different than before. Jacob could chiefly remark on this change. The large bookcases now flanking the centre, filled with books of every subject. Biology, philosophy, art, food. Numerous specialities that seemed to gravitate towards perfectionism: to achieve ethereal bliss.

Jacob did not care for such idealism. He would rather just live and be free in his existence; no need to study and observe the world when you can experience it instead. It seemed Tony had a different idea, for he was reading out of his computer when the boy entered. The screen illuminated the human's face while his hands worked on the keys. Occasionally he would stop, observe, then start again. His eyes darted back and forth like a rabbit.

Jacob cleared his throat. "Ummm, sir?" Silence. "Leo?" Still his existence was not acknowledged. "Tony?"

The human's hands slammed on the table in anger. "What do you want?" he growled, vicious.

Jacob wavered, his form buckling under the magnitude of Tony's glare. "Just..." He paused, unsure of what to say. Tony had not spoken to him like he used to since he took power, almost as if he was repulsed by the boy's existence. "Kane wants to know when the next raid's going to be."

"The next raid?" Tony repeated, full of spite.

"Yes," asserted Jacob, his gaze lowering. "I just need a simple reply, nothing fancy to bring him—"

"You will get nothing but a word," stated Tony as he lifted himself from his work. Bands of sweat slithered down the man's cheek. His eyes were beat red. He smelled like he hadn't showered in days. "No."

"No?"

Tony cocked his head slightly, questioning the response. "Are you mocking me, boy?"

Jacob squirmed underneath his forbearing stare. "No, Leo!" shouted Jacob, bowing to the greater authority. "I would not dream of such an action, sir!"

A grimace worked its way onto Tony's face. "You... slimy, insignificant worm!" His hand flew up, but it did not come down. Jacob lifted himself, looking at Tony's outstretched hand quiver and quake under strain. His muscles bulged out of his neck as he pressed his eyes tight together. "Just go," he uttered softly. "Leave me alone."

Jacob protested, "But sir—!"

He did not get a chance to finish his sentiment. "Go, damn you! Just go!"

The boy nodded and saluted his leader before rushing out the door. He never had a good relationship with his boss to begin with, but that exchange was exceptionally brutal. He did not expect Tony to be so angry, so frivolous with his comments. Jacob lamented, wondered whether he did something wrong to cause such a display of emotions. Worry clutched his throat. Was he useful? Did Tony need him anymore? Would he be killed like the others who questioned his reign? These worries mounted onto his back and the boy begged for them to stop. Luckily, salvation was near.

"It's not your fault." Jacob looked up and saw Kane before him, the dim light accenting the wavering vapour from his lips. The turian's mandibles flickered. "No, something's up with Tony, he's never like this." Kane turned to face the boy now, extending his hand in camaraderie. "You don't need to hide your emotions, Jacob."

The boy swallowed, catching the weakness in his throat before it overwhelmed his form. He had cried only once in the last three years. He would not cry again. "I'm fine. Just pissed that we don't get to do a raid." The lie was transparent, that much Jacob could affirm. Kane's affectionate stare told him just that.

Crossing his arms in front of him, Jacob kicked at the floor. "He's so damn stubborn, stuck in that room for days. It's like he doesn't want to be a leader!"

"You think so?" The sly comment caught Jacob off guard. He turned to face the turian, observing the wide grin on his face. "You are not the only one who believes so. Many have seen this organization crumbled before our eyes, watched as all the hard work of leaders past went to waste. Tony is not a leader, never was and never will be. I regret ever helping him to his position." Kane sighed and removed the cigarette, worry creasing his brow. "Listen, I don't want you tangled up in this. You're just a kid after all—"

"I can handle myself." The look in Jacob's eyes was fierce and daunting, like a man willing to prove himself to the world. Kane liked that.

"You sure, kid? There is no going back once I tell you."

Pursing his lips, Jacob shook his head. "I made up my mind long ago, Tony isn't right for command."

Kane smiled mischievously as he threw his cigarette to the ground. "How about a drink then?" He stomped the dying embers out with a swift kick to the ground.

"I can barely breathe in here."

"I'm guessing you're not a people person, Jacob?"

"No, it's just that I find large crowds deceptive, obsolete, and pathetic; a secret waiting to get out."

"There are not many words that better describe it."

Jacob observed Kane take a wine glass to his lips and savour the crimson liquid slid does his throat. It had been a few minutes since they entered the bar and while they had been part of a select few to dwell in the bar, others had joined. Now the bar was reaching capacity and it seemed there was no end in sight to the crowds.

"I remember when this place was just a little shack by the road," Jacob said with disdain. "Tony used to take me here." The last statement was distant, distraught with memories of joviality. But the world changes. It never stays the same for long. "I miss it," he stated again as he took a sip of his water.

Kane chuckled, lowering the glass once he was finished. "I prefer the crowds," the turian mused as he leaned back in his chair. "Crime is more attainable in a place no one expects. No one looks, no one listens. People only pay heed to what matters to them. Their senses are dulled." The turian smirked. "That is the secret. That is why we are here."

Jacob didn't agree to this sentiment. Then again, he never cared much for the philosophy of crime. The world was his prison, iron bars kept around him so that he could no escape. Circumstance his captor, futility his state, and discipline his key. However, there was no one who could teach him such traits.

"What's the plan to remove Tony?" questioned Jacob, exasperated at the scene. He just wanted to get the mission over with, to be done with all the hate and lies. He wanted to return to a simpler time; he and his mother hand and hand, walking down the upper streets of Nos Atra. Ilium became more beautiful the closer you got to its sun.

Kane looked around, observed the scene with an aesthetic eye. Then he spoke. "I want to remove him quickly and efficiently. Too long have we been subjugated to the whims of a pacifist and liar. When he spoke about taking out Syrnen, he told me he wanted to remove the dogma and pride. I got caught up in his words, tainted by his lies. He did not want to remove Syrnen's pride, he wanted to remove the Zodiac's pride. That is something I cannot allow."

The glass hit the table with a soft click. "We will be dosing the company with the Sagittarius drug."

Jacob lifted himself from the table, infuriated at the notion. "You bastard! You can't possibly believe drugging our gang will result in his removal?!" The loud cry from the human had caused a few to turn around in interest. This only made Kane more furious with the outburst.

"Sit down, damn you! I can't have you screaming your head off, alerting the entire place about the plan!"

Jacob grimaced as he lowered his form. "I thought you said crowds were apt for this."

Kane sneered, signalling the boy to shut up. Jacob complied, having received the reaction he wanted out of the turian. "By drugging the gang," Kane continued to explain, his arms crossed, "we gain their minds."

"By treachery," growled Jacob incredulously. "And besides, how the hell would you even get the drug into their systems? Sagittarius is a liquid, right? You gonna slip that into everyone's drink? Someone's gonna notice."

Kane chuckled with mirth in his eyes. "That's exactly it, we don't put it in their drinks – we put it in the air."

Jacob's eyes opened wide. "Wait . . . in the air? But . . . how . . . isn't that . . .?" His mind was racing, realizing the extent of Kane's madness. "How will we be unaffected? Certainly we will be as useless as they will be, so how does this solve anything?"

The turian shook his head, amused. "You're quick to question, slow to learn it seems," the turian explained, taking his last precious sips of wine. "We have a patch, call it immunity if you're being dramatic. This little pill that we've obtained will neglect the presence of the drug in the air. However, we can't take it before or after the drug has been released into the air, but simultaneously."

Jacob frowned. "That sounds hard."

"It really isn't," asserted Kane. "You drop the pill in your mouth, swallow, and you're good. After that, it'll be you, me, and a group of loyal men who will convince the gang of Tony's lies. Once that's been done, we go into his room and pull the bastard out. We shoot him in front of the gang and get a new leader. Simple, easy, efficient." He lit his cigarette once he had finished. Kane never liked the electric cigarettes or the nicotine patches. He was an authentic kind of guy.

"What if you drop it, before the drug's released?"

Kane exhaled a thin veil of smoke. Jacob coughed lightly as it filled his lungs. "You know how drugs work, kid?" Jacob shook his head: no. "They're simple. Once you inhale the drug, it reaches the cortex of your noggin'." He pointed at his head. "Right in there. That's where the good stuff happens. The hormone juices start flowing and pretty soon you're all doped up. At that point, you're as high as a kite." He leaned back into his chair. "This pill we are taking counteracts the effects of the drug. It goes into our head and messes with us; makes us depressed and shit. As long as we inhale Sagittarius while we are on the pill, we should be fine. Both drugs will cross out each other."

"So if we use the pill before the drug is release . . ."

"You'll be ready to kill yourself," finished Kane with a grin. "Exactly. That's why we've got to be safe here. There are no vents into Tony's room, so if we enter in there without Sagittarius in the air, who knows what we'll do."

A new scent had entered into the air. Mixed with the smoke and alcohol from the patrons around him, Jacob started to breathe in fear. This mission was risky, something that could very well end his life. All for what? he thought with a grimace. So that Tony can be put out of power? So that life can go back to what it used to be? Jacob shook his head. It won't go back, it'll never go back now. Besides, I don't want Tony dead. I hate him, sure. But I don't want him dead.

"You sure we have to kill him?" Jacob asked, his voice far away. "It just doesn't seem right."

Another puff of smoke washed over the boy. "Listen, kid. You aren't going soft on me, are you?" The turian shook his head. "I've worked for this gang all my life. As a mechanic, as a hit man, as the spirit damned second in command!" His fist collided with the table at that last title. "I'm tired of seeing this gang run as a shell of what it could be. I want the glory of the Zodiac gang to be known throughout Illium and beyond! You understand?"

Jacob, concern and sadness mixed on his face, shook his head. I should run. I should run and tell Tony about all this. Maybe then it'll go back to what it was. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that the world would only change if he went to the upper levels of Illium. Nothing else would change the hell he was in. With a smirk, the boy softly replied. "Yes sir. I understand, sir."

Kane grinned and took the cigarette out of his mouth, pressing it against his boot to kill the fading embers. "That's what I like to hear, kid. I'll be out in a sec, I'll take you to our loyal followers after. That's where the plan will go down." Standing up, Jacob could see the gun being holstered back into Kane's jacket. The gun had been out and pointed at the boy the entire time. Kane grinned when the boy realized this. "Got to be safe in this world, kid. Remember that. Always have a back-up plan." The turian left without another word, slipping by patrons and ducking into the back for, what Jacob presumed were, the washrooms.

Alone now, Jacob scanned the room. His water wasn't finished yet he didn't feel like drink it. The dull liquid did nothing to ease his senses. Nothing could please his mind into submission. Kane was a driving force that could not be stopped and Jacob was caught on his train. "If only I could get away," he mumbled to himself. "If only I could escape all this shit . . ." The air was thick and intoxicating. Sounds of jolted laughter rung through the air as a bygone melody, coarse punctuations of wine and beer drove into his nostrils through the clout of tobacco and sweat. The place looked the part, and the patrons acted like it. I wonder who runs this place, thought Jacob bitterly.

"You finished here?" A lovely voice kissed his eardrums, and Jacob turned to find an asari matron herself at the table, her smile just like his mother's. "You're awfully young to be here," she said, somber. "I'm surprised you were let through the door."

"The place is busy," the boy said in a deeper intonation, trying to act mature in front of the asari. "I could slip on by quite easily."

She chuckled at his antics. "I bet." With her sturdy hands she removed the two glasses and produced a bill from her pants. "That's for your turian friend. I'm guessing he's paying."

A warm rush of air washed over the boy's face as he shied away from her. "No," he said, though his voice cracked slightly. "No, I will pay."

She laughed again, harmonious and light. It was as if she was glowing, her body – though not incredibly slim – was mature and refined. She was not like the models or strippers he had seen in the gang before. She was a natural beauty. Gorgeous, ethereal, not created in a salon.

His side stares had her smiling wide with her hand sitting atop his head and ruffling his hair. "When you're older, I'm sure you'll find quite the girl for you. Just try and stay a kid a bit longer, okay? You'll miss it when it's gone. " A wink and she was off. Jacob, feeling properly embarrassed, turned his gaze back to the table, awaiting Kane's presence. The turian's shadow fell over him sooner rather than later.

"Let's go. Enough fraternizing with the asari servers." Getting up as quickly as he could, Jacob grabbed his overcoat and led the way out of the bar. The patrons laughed and talked with the bartender by the circular table.

"Tell us another story, Tim!" One of them called to the human. The slim human feigned thought before turning to the asari waitress Jacob had talked to earlier. Throwing himself over the table and grabbing her romantically, this 'Tim' wrapped his arms around her in a comforting embrace. "How about I tell you the time I met the love of my life. That sound fair?" The crowd cheered. Jacob felt sick to his stomach.

"See kid?" Kane said under his breath once they had reached the double doors of the bar. "Asaris are no good. All they know is whoring. You don't need them." Exiting the bar, Jacob followed Kane step for step. It was the last time the boy ever entered the bar.

Jacob hated the meeting.

Sitting alone by the window of the abandoned apartment, he overheard all the plans of the scheming members of the Zodiac gang. Those who Kane had considered 'loyal' were all there, planning the easiest way of accessing the ports to induce the gang with the airborne drug and handing out the infamous pill that would seal their safety.

"What if someone overdoses?" a salarian asked through his thin fingers. Many turned, but Jacob did not. "It's an important fact, isn't it? Would it not incite panic?"

"We will have a few of us scattered through the crowds," Kane answered. "If another falters, we can deal with them effectively."

"What if the crowd does not act to our will?" a krogan spoke up now, his deep bass vibrating through Jacob, causing him to shiver.

Kane had an answer to this query as well. "They will be more susceptible to our words. A good speech will do wonders to the already steaming seeds of doubt. Many have questioned Tony as a leader of this gang. All they need now is a reason."

More questions were asked, each wondering about how the plan would go down. Jacob paid no attention to these comments. He only watched the flickering lights outside his window, dreaming that he could be one step closer to the sky. Though the city was cleaner than it had been, the fact remained that the same pollution that had clogged his lungs when he was young was still in the air. He hated being down here, hated the filth and the life. But it always clung to him, begging him to stay. And he obliged.

"Let's go, kid. We're done here." Kane's harsh words broke the boy out of his trance as he turned to the turian latched to his arm.

"Everything set up?" he asked, curious.

Kane smirked. "Yes. Not much longer now till the Zodiac Gang is reborn." He lifted Jacob to his feet and guided him along, his armed wrapped around the boy's shoulders. "Tomorrow is the day, kid. Sleep well. Everything will happen as I have planned. Nothing more, nothing less will come about tomorrow."

Jacob did not inherently believe the turian's words, not after the night at the bar. But that poison-tongued turian was all he had left in this world to sustain him. He needed a crutch to keep him standing; the boy could never stand alone. It was with these worries that he joined the turian the next day, by his side, entering into the warehouse so that they could remove Tony from power. Maybe today, the boy thought once again, I can finally touch the sky.

"The loyalists have already entered the building," the snake-eyed turian began. "Tony has orchestrated a day of celebration for the gang, a Gemini." Jacob followed obediently as Kane opened the security door with ease. "Virgos will be everywhere, only the trained eyes and guns of his loyal Libra will be able to keep the peace."

The light danced around in blues and purples. The dark corners of the warehouse now filled with Virgos pleasing men, and a vast clout of smoke washed over them as cigarettes were lit and shared. At the front, the famous Libra, Tony's person enforcers.

"You know how we will deal with them?" asked Jacob over the rhythmic music surrounding them, the elastic tones slipping around his head, shaking and causing his body to bob to the beat. He was still a boy after all.

"We will kill them," stated the turian. "They will be killed once Sagittarius is released into the air. They will try to create order and we are trying to create chaos. It is natural that they die."

Jacob's nerves were not the best on most days, but the memories of nights similar to this and the promise of death swirled in his head, conflicting emotions surging into his cortex, simultaneously begging him to run away while teasing him with pleasure. He nodded to Kane and uttered, "I understand."

A smile crossed the turian's face. His mandibles' clicked in glee. "Let's go to the front then, we'll be safest there." After speaking he brought a cigarette to his lips and lit it, savouring the pleasant narcotics slipping into his subconscious and bringing him peace. "Follow," was the command.

Slithering between the cracks of dancing members, the two compatriots made their way to the entrance of the hall which would lead to Tony's office. So many convulsing forms ravaging upon the floor.

Kane only saw this display as vile, contemptible, and disgusting. "A pity," he said under his breath, "that Tony has created such nonsense. An absolute pity."

These dances were not unknown to Jacob, for the Gemini gave the opportunity for the young hormonal men a chance to let loose. It allowed for freedom, a 'gift' that Leo often gave to the gang in celebration of frivolity and fear, for these gifts were all trinkets Leo could snatch away if he or she so chose. Jacob remembered these parties and loathed the intricacy of them all. Too many putrid memories appeared in this state. His mother dancing with many men, laughing and giggling as they swooned over her, taking her into their arms and doing all but make love to her. Tony was one of these men. In his youth, these memories carried little weight. Too distraught over the death of his mother, Tony became his shield, a beacon to latch onto. But he got older, wiser, understood the passion of men. He hated it all. Especially Tony, who now only looked upon him with hatred.

Those blissful days seemed so far away now.

Velvet streams broke through the scene, crimson radiance danced around the large group conglomeration. They were now in front of it all, looking on the scene as gods. With a smirk Kane turned to Jacob. "And now, it begins," he said as he tapped the device in his ear, opening a connection with the loyalists in the ventilation room. "Now is the time. Deploy the drug."

Excitement surged through Jacob as he produced the pill and looked to Kane for the signal. The turian's eye looked phosphorescent in the lights around them, almost as if his eyes shone with a bright, blue hue. "You can take the pill, Jacob," the turian declared.

The boy did.

Sagittarius made its way into the room.

The world changed.

Instantly Jacob was hit with a startling pain searing through his head. He felt light, buoyant, and distant all at the same time. The bodies around him formed into mass flesh, an orgy of chaos. The coloured lights now were their most vibrant form, they danced and turned to apparitions of faces and sirens, beckoning him with their luscious mouths and sensuous qualities. His senses were heightened to such a degree that the boy felt he was flying. Every breath he took was another taste of this indulgence.

It did not take him long to realize what had happened.

He had been tricked.

Jacob whirled around to face the turian, his body and head spinning out of control. "Sorry Jacob," the distorted monster spoke to him. "I couldn't risk you foiling our plan, especially due to your relations with Tony." Relations? questioned Jacob. What relations? "I hope you enjoy the show from your . . . vantage point." A harsh laugh erupted from the turian's lips as a swirling golden mist exploded out of Kane's mouth.

Jacob fell backwards, hitting the ground hard to see the world spinning around him. Screams turned to laughing and sounds of sex. The blood that burst from the Libra's chest turned to butterflies that flew upwards, smashing against the ceiling and letting in crimson rays.

A hard metallic object fell onto his body. A gun.

The boy turned his head and moved himself towards the agent of the gift. Moving onto his knees, a soft melon rolled to him. He picked it up. It felt like flesh and the top was hairy. But the qualities of the melon were gorgeous, beautiful, as if he wanted to take a bite out of it.

But he refrained, feeling as though he was full from the drug. The drug! Specks of understanding burst into his mind. He had to warn Tony, had to stop Kane's rampage. No, he couldn't do that. Tony needed to die. Kane will have control in a few moments, realized Jacob in anguish. If Tony dies by Kane's hands, I will have no allegiances. I will become a useless member. Fear gripped at his throat. I have to kill Tony, to prove to Kane that I am loyal to him. There's no changing what will happen now.

He turned, clasping the gun by his side Jacob pushed himself from his knees to his feet. The world turned, spinning as he began to run down the hall towards Tony's office. Everything quickened, the pace of his breathing, the ideas in his head, the memories of days long since gone that birthed unity and wholesome adoration in the mind of a little boy who wanted to be loved. Simple, really. Jacob wanted one thing in life: to be loved.

He never got it.

The door burst open. The room filled his lungs with a deep, cold air. Lifeless and still, like he was smelling the pages of a thin yellow book. Old and musty, dust slipping off the page as he read each word. Sensations of madness streamed into his head as he spied his leader, Tony, before him. The human looked up, observed the boy and smiled. This room was not connected to the main ventilation system. Jacob supposed it was due to paranoid leaders in the past. This paranoia had saved Tony, isolated him from the mind-numbing drug that tore at the boy's senses.

This room, a final bunker of solace.

"What are you doing in here, boy?" Tony croaked, his body crunched up in the chair. He looked like a homunculus. The human's eyes grazed down the boy's body, till he spied the weapon in his hand. "Have you come to kill me?"

"Yes," the boy stated.

Tony smiled, looked at the sky, and sighed contently. "I predicted this: the end. I never knew it would end like it did before."

The gun rose and set its sights on the human. Jacob's eyes began burning, his hands started to quake, sweat rolled down his cheek. "Get up," the boy commanded. "Get up and look at me so I can see the fear in your eyes."

Tony's gaze drifted downward. His smile became incredibly sad. "I never wanted you to become this, my boy." Jacob snarled at the line. "I wanted you to grow up, free and without blood on your hands. I wanted to prevent the obsession that has kept me here, that has brought Kane into a fit of rage—"

"How do you know Kane is behind this?" questioned Jacob with beady eyes.

"You think I am stupid?" asked Tony, his voice only slightly above a whisper.

"I have cameras all around this base. I've known about this for a long time."

Jacob grit his teeth, anger surging through his head that mixed with the illusive drug. "You bastard . . . why didn't you try to stop it then?"

Tony's face grew soft, his features relaxed while his posture became more rigid. "Oh my boy, you have so much to learn." He stood up, walking over to the bookshelf on the right side of the wall. Jacob's gun followed the human wherever he walked. "This has happened before, multiple times. The 'Leo' of this gang will kill its previous leader for power and control, then use its power to do as 'Leo' so fits." Tony traced the edges of a book, feeling the imprinted title against his finger. "There are records, records going back decades to when this gang was first established. Every leader has known about these records. Some try to pretend like they didn't exist, like Synren did. Others try to use this knowledge to their advantage, like Dargén – the leader previous to Synren. Some have tried to hide this knowledge, like Akio Mann, a soldier during Dargen's reign or the turian leader before Dargen, Santionus. Each leader has had the ability to use this power and most have used it to their advantage, many to convince their followers of their 'divine right', some to merge two gangs together for a common purpose." Jacob's eyes widened at the revelation, the connection to Syrnen's reign. "But I, like Santionus, have decided not to use it. While Santionus hid it in a vault with a passcode trapped beneath firewalls on his computer, I have turned the damn thing off for even Santionus could not convince himself to rid the power on this city."

"But what is it?" demanded Jacob. "What is this precious 'device'? Why are you hiding behind all these secrets?"

Tony, distraught at the question, merely clenched his jaw. "It is not a burden you should be saddled with, my boy—"

"I am not your boy!" shouted Jacob, the hallucinations slowly easing his troubled eyes. Illusions and reality were still on the brink of collision.

Tony smirked. "Oh, so little you know," he said somberly, his eyes tracing the corners of the room. "I wish I could return to the state you are in now. Not having to keep this great weight on my shoulders, not knowing that potentially thousands of lives could be in my hands—"

"Shut up!" cried the boy again, his face contorted in rage. "Just shut up," he uttered now, his voice quaking with emotion pulsating through it. "I am done with you, done with your lies, and done with your pretty speeches. I've had to stomach it all, all of your stupidity. Now I am finally in control of what matters to me!" His hand beat against his chest. "Me! Imagine that! I hold your life in my hands! I can order you around, ask you to dance or sing. Would you like that?" His head was spinning. "But first, tell me what this device is."

Tony, closing his eyes, sighed. "I'm so sorry," he whispered as he left his perch by the wall, walking towards his computer. His eyes opened again, his fingers dashed along the keys and the wall behind his desk slide open with a satisfying thud. The grinding of gears, of time gone by since this secret passage had been opened, was palpable in the air. Jacob winced at the harsh scrapes of metal and stone against the floor. Then, his eyes widened and his gun lowered.

In the space was a large metallic object. The bulk of it was not symmetrical, nor was it any recognizable shape. The great inky thing looked as if it was pulled out of a bigger machine, this but a small cog in the greater device that had originally housed it. Pulsating blue lights flickered and dimmed rhythmically, as if the machine was breathing. Simple switches and vine-like pipes latched into the machine, feeding, nurturing, and suspending the monstrosity in midair. A heart. That's what it looked like. A severed heart.

"What the hell is that?" Jacob stated, his voice wavering in agony. The very sight of the creation hurt his eyes and a deep beat in the back of his head started to drum faster and faster until it felt as though his head was going to explode.

He turned his head away.

"This device is prothean in origin," stated Tony in an exasperated tone. "At least, the original survey team thought it was."

Jacob was gasping, his head splitting from staring at the horrid creation. "Hurts, doesn't it?" Tony asked, though his tone was not one of amusement, but sorrow. "It takes some getting used to when you work in here. Often it just dulls to a soft buzz in your head, beckoning you, asking you for it to be used." Tony shook his head. "It did not hurt as much when electricity was supplied to it. It doesn't like being turned off. The damn cement wall really doesn't seal the searing agony in."

Walking across to the front of his desk, the human leader continued speaking while the boy wallowed in anguish. "I have done some research too, observed it, and investigated its origin. What I have come up with is unsettling, especially since the only reports of the original owners are covered in deep conspiracies." Tony took a deep breath. "Reapers. That's what many calculated this is from. However, many of these 'theorists' are insane in my books. Often raving lunatics who hear one rumour of human colonies and the next about Cerberus attacks against the Alliance. But what if it was true?" Jacob's head was splitting and his emotions were surging up to his throat, threatening to pounce. "What if for, one second, we believed these crazy ideas? What then? Well, according to conspiracy theorists, this device will allow me to help control a populace, grant my suggestions to be delectable to the mind. This theory would not have weight if it was not tested in the past."

"Shut up," Jacob spluttered through his hand, feeling like he wanted to vomit.

"But it goes deeper. It explains everything that has ever happened to this gang. How could I not use it? How could I not be enticed by complete control? Because of Felicia I decided not to use it."

Jacob's body started with a sudden burst of adrenaline. "Don't bring my mother into this!" he screamed.

"She saved me, she saved you. It could be said that she is the reason that the coup is occurring right now. Without the succulent suggestions of the device, the members of this gang have begun to revolt. Destroying the device could prove deadly to all those who had come in contact with it, I needed to test its effects first. The experiment is a success."

"Stop it," Jacob wailed.

"If only this victory could be unsullied by the end of my reign—"

"Just shut up!" Jacob affirmed, his breath quickening by the second.

"Felicia, can you see me now?"

In a spark of fury, Jacob raised his gun and tightened his grip. His whole body quaked and quivered as he tightened every muscle. A loud sound sliced through the air. A metal shard slide into coarse flesh. A crimson fountain burst onto the floor. Butterflies danced out of the open wound in Tony's chest.

A cry of agony against the four walls.

Jacob screamed.

"So," Tony spluttered as he gasped through spouts of coughing, "the cycle continues."

Slowly Tony fell, sliding down the front of his desk until he reached the floor. Deep ruby blood poured out from his wound, his body convulsing as it tried to compensate for the miniscule hole in his chest. The wonders of mass effect technology, a wound the size of a sliver yet damage to the inertial organs that was almost beyond repair.

"I can get you something . . . I can . . ." Tony shook his head at Jacob's mad ravings for the boy had not expected the bullet to be fired. He promised himself he would kill Tony, that the human's death would be at his hands. These ideas were established before he ever fired a gun.

"How tragic . . . that your first kill should be me . . ." Tony's smile faded, his face changing into a dull ashen colour. "This sin . . . this choice is now yours, my son . . ."

Again the overwhelming assertion fell over the boy, his eyes burning from tears. "No, I am not your son. I can't be your son. There is no possible way—"

"Believe what you want to believe, Jacob. It doesn't matter anymore—"

"Of course it does!" interrupted Jacob as he lowered himself to Tony's side. "You don't have to die here. If what you said is true then maybe we can stop this nonsense, control the gang and–"

"You are so naive." Tony grinned. "You are just like me." Tears welled up in the human's eyes. "Damn this cycle, damn it all." Averting his gaze to the ceiling, Tony mustered the energy for one last grin. "I leave this to you as it was left to me . . ." With one last frail gasp, it was over. The cycle remained unbroken. It fell on the boy.

But he wasn't ready, he never would be. The choice to continue the cycle or to change it for the better was simply beyond him. Such a devastating condition, to be trapped in a state of imbroglio.

The harsh click of heels upon the cement floor caused Jacob to lift himself from the corpse of Tony and turn around to the newest intruder. The turian, Kane, had arrived. His thick-skinned head covered in a thin veil of gore, his eyes dark and foreboding, his body ready to pounce.

"My dear Jacob," he stated slyly, "what are you doing in here?"

"Finding truth," stated the boy, monotone.

Kane sneered. "Well now, isn't that just cheery." He observed the open passageway and then his gaze fell on the blood-soaked human by the boy's feet. "A little family feud?" the turian declared.

"Something like that," replied the boy.

Kane laughed, his crystal-blue eyes shimmering in the light. "We are done with these games now, my boy. I want that device."

Jacob's eyes widened. "You heard?"

"Every word. I want the power Tony was afraid to use. This gang, this whole damn city and galaxy needs to be taught a lesson about power. I can use it. I can harness and control this whole universe with that device, it is only a matter of time before I become like a god!"

"You are insane."

The turian shrugged. "Possibly, but aren't we all?" His gun rose and fell upon the boy's head. "Now, I hope you don't have any hard feelings about this. It's strictly bad taste to leave the son of the previous leader alive. Inheritance is a bitch."

Jacob looked to the floor, his choice made long before Tony had stopped breathing. "You have no idea how right you are, Kane." Lifting his arm behind him, his gun now pointed at the pulsating device: the open heart. "I say it's high time we ended this inheritance, wouldn't you say?"

Kane's scream could not be heard over the deafening screech of the machine's futile cry. Amidst the thunder and lightning surrounding him, Jacob lifted his gaze to the heavens and thought: maybe one day I will reach the upper levels of Illium.

The records of this event were shrouded in secrecy. No normal citizen ever found out about the Zodiac gang or its collapse under the regime of its last leader: Jacob Malone. The blast from the device had erased all memory of the gang from existence; the deafening blast and the spread of smoke covered the destruction of the abandoned warehouse. Weeks from the eradication of the gang, the Nos Astra officials deemed the destruction of the building as 'necessary' and they immediately began to build a large hospitable over the wreckage.

No one from the gang ever had a funeral.

No one remembered a single name.

But the cycle had been broken once and for all.

Illium had been saved and no one would ever learn about the story.

So you can see, dear Councillor, that this mission for the mysterious 'device' is unnecessary. The newest leader of the gang, whose name I am unfortunately unable to say, controls the gang with justice and efficiency. My mission is incomplete, yes, but it is not a failure. Instead what I offer to you is security and good tidings. The world will not be harmed by this gang, maybe in the future they will become competent members of society.

If you know anything about me, Councillor Sparatus, then you know that I am a living example of this. Saren has taught me well.

Turian Specter Nihlus Kryik

Leaning back from computer, Nihlus observed the letter, then he sent it without a single regret or worry. He had done what he needed to do, nothing more and nothing less. Lifting himself from his desk, he walked out of his office and to the main hall of his Illium apartment. He would be spending a few more days on this planet before he left for the Citadel. He might as well make the most of it.

Author's Note: This one took a long time, but now the first story arc is finally finished! Big thanks goes out to my editor who apparently slaved away at this piece for three hours (her words, not mine :P). Thanks for reading this and know that there is more Moonshine on the way!