Chapter 53: Taming the Butcher.
Miranda looked at the thorian, which had suddenly changed. Instead of how it had appeared before it was glowing blue with dark energy, and it had become less oval, and was now more of a rectangle. The gentle curves had turned into sharp edges. Samara asked, "What's going on?"
The creeper said, "The final stage has initiated. I cannot speak now. I must focus here and now."
Miranda nodded, and sat down at the edge of the area. A few moments later, Shialla walked in and said, "I have returned, my liege."
Samara looked at her and said, "Who are you?"
Shialla ignored her, but Miranda said, "Her name's Shialla. She worked with Saren until he gave her to the thorian so that he could get the Cypher."
The Justicar nodded, and observed the younger asari as she knelt before the thorian. Minutes passed, and the thorian simply remained still, and the dark energy field began to expand. Miranda checked the timer and said, "There are ten minutes left. Let's hope this thing was accurate in its estimate."
Thane said, "What if it was wrong?"
"We'll give it five minutes past the original planned time, then if she isn't released, we'll pull her out."
"Got it." Thane replied.
-=0=-
Meanwhile, inside the thorian. Jessica looked around, and saw that the thorian had returned to its actual appearance. It said, "The Butcher will arrive soon. It knows we are here."
"I've just got to get the upper hand in the fight. You know what to do."
"Yes." The thorian said, as it left.
After the thorian left, there seemed to be hours of waiting for the Butcher to arrive, but in fact was only a few seconds. As it walked up, Jessica tensed up and prepared to fight it with dark energy, when it asked, "Why are you here?"
"To make so that you aren't a threat to those around me."
"I see, you think that you can tame me?"
"Yes, but I could be wrong. Wouldn't be the first time."
The Butcher laughed and said, "You lack confidence, that is good. Before you were so sure of yourself. So proud of your abilities that you failed to see my power. Now, we can fight for real." It said as it wrapped itself up in dark energy.
Jessica grinned, and called upon dark energy herself. They then stood perfectly still, waiting for the other to act. As they glared at each other, the atmosphere itself seemed to be holding completely still, waiting for the two to clash. Minutes passed, and neither moved. Then, the Butcher slowly began to walk sideways, always looking at Jessica. The Commander moved in the opposite direction of the Butcher, her sapphire eyes staring right into the red ones of the monster before her.
Then, as the tension in the air reached a breaking point, the Butcher fired a flurry of dark energy at Jessica. The many flows of it converged on the Commander, but were evaded by the veteran warrior. The Butcher snarled in frustration, and attacked again. This time, Jessica blocked it, if only barely. As she tried to hold off the attack, she felt the stress it was putting on her 'body'. She knew she couldn't hold it up for much longer, so instead of maintaining her protection, she leaped backwards, and used the energy she'd been using to block the Butcher's attack to instead attempt to wound her foe.
The Butcher evaded it with ease, and responded with a tornado of dark energy. Jessica smirked, and hit the tornado with one of her own that had an opposite flow. The two vanished on collision, fading into nothing.
"You have learned quickly. I am impressed." the Butcher said.
"I've been focusing on learning to control the flows better. That way I can beat you." she replied, as she stood still waiting for the next strike from the Butcher. Moments passed, and no attack came. That was what troubled Jessica. She stared into the eyes of her foe, and saw that there was nothing in them. Before, the Butcher had great rage in her eyes. Now, nothing. It troubled Jessica greatly, then she realized what was happening. The Butcher had left a fake image of itself where it had been standing, and she'd missed its movement. She scanned the area, but she knew that it wasn't anywhere she looked. Then, inexplicably, she knew that it was right behind her, and about to strike. She ducked, evading the blade of the Butcher. She replied by kicking it in the gut, and sending dozens of blades of dark energy at the butcher.
It deflected them all and stabbed Jessica in the abdomen. The Commander smirked, and said, "Got you!" before she burned the Butcher's face with dark flames. It stumbled backwards, and the sword vanished from Jessica's abdomen. She grinned, and approached the Butcher again. This time with a storm of dark energy behind her. Then she 'threw' it at the entity before her. However, the Butcher simply swatted it aside and said, "In here, I rule! In this place, I am a god!"
Then, a pair of reapers appeared, and fired their main weapons at Jessica. Then, just before they connected, she vanished, and landed on the platform before the thorian.
Miranda asked, "Did you get rid of it?"
"I was fighting the Butcher when I was dropped out. What were you doing?"
"Two hours had passed, you had to be released. That was our deal."
"I wasn't done."
"You were about to lose. It is too great for you to defeat with your current powers. You must learn more before you can combat it."
"You have to let me fight it now. I need to be free of it before I move on with my mission."
"There is nothing you can do to defeat it. It's powers are too great for any human to defeat."
Jessica glared at the ancient plant and said, "You will let me fight the Butcher again, now."
"You cannot defeat it. I will not allow you to lose to it. Then you would be a monster far worse than any you now know."
"There has to be a way for me to beat it."
"Your powers are not sufficient to defeat the Butcher." the thorian said, as Tali, Qael, and Rana showed up.
The thorian then noticed Shialla, and she began to writhe in pain for a moment, then a slightly moist pulp began to flow from her mouth. When it had quit doing so, the asari's skin tone had restored to its natural blue, and she looked confused.
"What did you do?"
"I removed the other one's spores from her. She would not be of use. Asari never have been."
"You're talking like you've encountered asari before our cycle." Jessica said.
The thorian shook its 'head' and said, "I suppose there is no way to avoid telling you this now, human. But, the reapers are not as infallible as they would have you think."
"We already know that." Miranda said.
"It is more than you think. Throughout the great multitude of cycles, they eventually came across a problem. They had eradicated all organic life in the galaxy. It would take billions of years for new life to evolve and advance. They did not like that concept. So, they used information in some of them to recreate an early evolutionary parent of the races they held, then they modified it to ensure that it would evolve the same way, but at a rapid rate. The newly 'planted' races would grow into what they had been before in a few short generations. Though, in some cases it did not work as well as others."
The Commander nodded, and asked, "Who originally created the reapers?"
"You need not know that."
Jessica sighed, and said, "Fine."
Tali then asked, "Is it done? Are you back to normal?"
"Not quite." Jessica said.
Tali nodded, and Qael and Rana helped Shialla to her feet. Then, as Jessica watched it she noticed something about Qael. His right arm was glowing red. "SHIT!" the Commander said and she tackled Qael. She looked him in the eye and said, "You're very clever, Butcher. You hid yourself well, but you should let those two go now."
It smirked and said, "Not while one of us is strong within you." and flung Jessica into the body o f the thorian. Rana looked confused, and ran up to the possessed quarian. It grabbed her and said, "I never did like you. You were simply one who was easy to manipulate.
Jessica asked, "How long?"
"Since long before you met me. It was difficult to maintain the ruse, but I had to aid my fellow Butcher."
"And that's why you helped Saren. But why did you turn against him?"
"Because Harbinger commanded it. He saw that Saren and Sovereign would not succeed, so he commanded me to help you. So as to ensure that I could amplify the Butcher within you through interaction. Why do you think Nihlus's barriers were so strong? Through Sovereign's intervention? No, it was my doing."
"You were clever Butcher, but you got sloppy. The red glow gave you away."
"Yes, but only you would notice, and I thought you were preoccupied."
"Not the case." Jessica said, as she overloaded the Butcher Qael. It fell to the ground, and before it could act, the Commander fired three rounds into its head. Rana then flared her biotics and tried to attack the Commander. Tears flowed down the asari scientist's eyes as she looked at the lifeless body of the quarian. Jessica didn't try to block or evade the blows, but instead took them. As the blows struck her, pain wracked her body and the Butcher tried to rise up. But, Jessica pushed it down.
Then, Rana's biotics faded away, and she simply sat down by Qael's corpse and cried. Jessica closed her eyes and turned to the thorian. Then, she said, "I'm ready to face the Butcher. It will not be victorious."
The thorian observed, and said, "Yes, you are different now. You can face it, and perhaps you will win."
"I'll beat it." Jessica said as she stepped up to the thorian. It took her up once more, and she stood before the Butcher again. It looked at her, and said, "You are different now."
"This has to end here, Butcher." she replied, and her eyes turned to the same shade of red as the Butchers. They stood facing each other, power flowing through them in amounts that would break the minds and bodies of lesser warriors. The sky seemed to tremble from the amount of energy the two held. Jessica stared at the Butcher as a single blade appeared in her hand. The Butcher did the same, and they paced around each other. Minutes passed, and then the Butcher charged. Jessica deflected it, and slammed the Butcher into a wall. It looked at her and realized, "You've seen something that has given you might."
"Yeah, I've seen what your kind do to those you conquer. I've seen the effect it has on those that love them. I won't let you take me and do that to my friends and loved ones. But, I've seen that the only way to beat you is to embrace your power. To take what you are, and make it mine." Jessica growled, as she charged the Butcher, which turned to flee. It sent reapers after her, but she simply dismissed them as false, and their attacks did not affect her. As she chased the Butcher, she saw those it had enslaved begin to appear again. She smirked, and fired created the Normandy SR2 and had it fire its Thanix cannons at the Butcher. But, the Butcher blocked it and suddenly sent Jessica flying. It rose into the air, and said, "You will never defeat me! HERE I AM YOUR GOD!"
Then, Jessica replied, "Non habeo deus, Lanium." before she charged through the power that the Butcher had summoned. The Butcher smirked and said, "Vestra sum exterminatore." as it sent attack after attack at Jessica. Each one blocked by the thoughts of the Commander. When she reached the Butcher, she said, "Hoc est meum mundo intus. Hic vos nihil sunt."
Fear filled the Butcher's eyes as it realized what was about to happen. Jessica slammed her blade into it, and it was held in place by chains that the blade became. The memories controlled by the Butcher gathered, and Jessica nodded at them. First her team on Akuze, then the colonists on Mindoir, then the crew of the SR1 who had been lost when the Collectors attacked, and then Matsuo entered the Butcher, changing it. The memory of her father said, "I'm proud of you, Jessica. And, do not mourn us any more. We had a good life, but that time is over."
Tears filled Jessica's eyes, and she hugged him. She said, "I miss you, dad."
He smiled and said, "I know you do. But I'm dead. However, it's still my job as your father to protect you from anyone or anything that would hurt you. And, I'll always be with you. Even though this 'body' will be gone. I love you Jessica, no matter what you do or how much you outshine me, you'll always be my little girl."
"Bye, dad. I'll see you one day."
"I know, but live a full life until then." he said as he flowed into the Butcher.
Sarah and Cynthia's memories ran up to Jessica and hugged her. They said, "Don't worry, Jessie. We may be dead, but we'll still help you however we can. Whether that be trying to hook you up with someone or making so that a monster in your mind is gone. And don't cry, that isn't very becoming of the Savior of the Citadel."
Jessica hugged them and said, "I'm so sorry that I didn't save you two. I should have helped you get away from the batarians."
Sarah said, "There was nothing you could do, Jessie. So, don't worry about it, just make sure that you don't die before your time. Live enough for all three of us."
"I'll try." Jessica said, openly crying as they entered the Butcher changing it even further.
Then, lastly, Kaidan walked up. He said, "Commander, cheer up. You haven't lost everything."
Jessica wiped away her tears and said, "Kaidan, I'm sorry that I'm asking you to sacrifice yourself for me again. Even if this is just a memory of you."
He smiled and said, "Don't worry, Jessica. You should know that I'd do anything for you. After all, I did love you in life. Even though I knew it would never work out. But, I have one thing to ask of you."
"What?"
"Would you go and talk to my parents, let them know the details of why I died, not just what the Alliance would have told them."
"I'll do it, Kaidan."
"Thanks, Jessica." Kaidan said.
As he turned to fade into the Butcher, Jessica said, "Before you go, let me tell you, I always loved you like a brother."
"I know, Jessica." he said as he faded into the Butcher, and it writhed, and became a simple entity. It looked Jessica in the eye and said, "You have made me a different kind of entity. Though I am still your darkness, I am now one who wants the best for you. The changes were not natural, and they bring me great pain. I would curse you, but I know that you only did it to make yourself safe for others. So, call on my aid when you need it, and it will be yours."
Jessica nodded, and said, "I'll do that."
-=0=-
Miranda watched the thrashing of the thorian as Jessica fought the Butcher, then after two hours, it came to a halt, and Jessica was dropped from it. And, she didn't smile, but instead sat on the ground, crying. Miranda asked, "Jessica, what's wrong?"
"To stop the Butcher from being a threat, I had to put the internal manifestations of my memories of everyone I've ever lost into it, to turn it into an ally. My family and Kaidan talked to me before they faded away. Talking to them again, even if it was just in memory form, reminded me of how much I miss them. It hurts so much knowing they're dead. Knowing that I couldn't help them."
Miranda held Jessica close, and said, "It will be okay, babe. It'll be okay."
Jessica rested her head on Miranda's shoulder and cried, while the Australian ran a comforting hand across her back. As Miranda held her, Jessica said, "I love you. If it weren't for you I'd be a wreck."
"I love you too." Miranda replied.
A few more minutes passed and Jessica shook herself, and said, "We should get going." The rest of the people there nodded, and they went to the shuttle that had brought the ground team. When they got back to the Normandy, Jessica said, "Joker, set course for Ferris Fields."
"Got it, we'll be there in about eight hours."
Jessica nodded, and was guided to the elevator by Miranda. They went up to the loft, and settled onto the bed. Miranda held Jessica close, as she cried softly. Then, after a couple of hours, fell asleep exhausted in Miranda's arms. Miranda smiled at the sleeping redhead, and brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face. She watched Jessica sleep for a few more minutes, then fell asleep herself, a smile on her face.
-=0=-
Harbinger said, "We have lost the one within Shepard!"
Silence replied, "Shepard is unimportant. The cycle will continue despite her actions."
Oblivion added, "And, she will fall, even though she defeated the one inside her mind."
Harbinger interrupted, saying, "That was the strongest Butcher ever to exist, now it is gone. We will have to focus our efforts on killing Shepard now. She has become a threat."
Kronos whispered, "Shepard is a single human, she will not be able to defeat any of our kind. What we need to do is take down their fleets. That way there will be no way for them to fight us."
Defiance said, "The human is dangerous, Kronos. You know that."
The ancient ship said, "Yes, but the fleets are more dangerous."
"She broke a Butcher! That has not been done in cycles. Only the krogan even knew of the Butchers, and just because they had to kill many of their people to destroy those Butchers." Silence said.
Then, Harbinger silenced them with a simple, "ENOUGH! We will focus on destroying the fleets, because as Kronos said, a single human cannot destroy one of us. However, the Collector fleet must move beyond the Omega 4 before they strike it. Have them believe the threat is gone, as is the child, so that we can surprise them with a flood of Collectors and their swarms charge down and take their worlds."
The other reapers 'nodded' in agreement, and continued on their journey to the Milky Way, which was drawing ever closer. Within two months the cycle would continue once more. And there would be nothing that the organics could do to stop them. They would attempt to build the Crucible, and it would be their undoing. As so many before them had fallen to their own desperate attempt to destroy those who were destroying them. Or so the reapers thought.
-=0=-
Oriana looked up from her room in the bottom decks of the Normandy and wondered when someone would come down and say hi. She'd been told to wait down here a while back, and she hadn't been told much since then. She sighed, and walked out to the elevator. Going up to the CIC, she was greeted by surprised looking crewmen. A redhead asked, "How'd you get on the Normandy? Didn't we leave you on the Citadel or Illium?"
"No, I've just been spending time in the lower decks like Jessica told me. No one seemed to remember that I was on the ship. Well everyone except the chef."
"Why didn't you come up sooner?"
"I figured that everyone was busy, so I just tried to stay out of the way, but it's been a long time in there. So, I decided to try and figure out what had happened. You know where Jessica and 'Randa are?"
"I think they're getting some rest up in the loft."
"Alright." Oriana said, heading to the armory, where she saw Ashley and Jacob working on the guns. The two turned and Ashley asked, "When'd you get on the Normandy, Oriana? I thought Shepard left you on the Citadel."
"Nope, just forgot I was on the ship. Which will make talking to her a bit awkward. Seeing as she completely forgot I was on the ship."
Ashley laughed and said, "She does that sometimes. So, you need anything?"
"I'm good. Just exploring the ship."
"Well, have fun. Don't go anywhere EDI tells you not to though. It could cause trouble."
"Alright." Oriana said, heading to Mordin's lab. The salarian was rapidly talking to himself about some damage to immune systems. Oriana asked, "What are you talking to yourself about?"
The salarian looked up and said, "No time to talk, busy."
The human looked at his work, and just walked away. She went to the elevator, and after going down to the crew quarters, she went to the main cannon, where Garrus was. He said, "You're Miranda's sister, right?"
"Yeah, Garrus, right?"
"Indeed. I thought Shepard had picked you up a while back. Figured you'd just been left on the Citadel."
"Nope, just was forgotten in a room on one of the lower decks."
"That's got to be tough." the turian said.
"I just view it as people having a lot on their minds. So, what are you working on?"
"Nothing right now, just relaxing."
"So, what do you know of what's going on?"
"Not much that Shepard would like anyone talking about. Classified and such."
"Alright. When'd you first join up with Jessica?"
"It was on the Citadel, about twenty hours before we first picked up Tali and Miranda."
"Wow, that was a long time ago. Weren't you with her when she went and fought Saren?"
"Yeah, I saw her help Saren realize he was indoctrinated. She may not always show it, but she's got a silver tongue."
"Yeah, why do you spend so much time in here?"
"Well, when you do what the people on this ship do for a living, things like calibrating a giant gun seem like a good way to relax."
Oriana nodded, and said, "Well, I should go and get something to eat."
Garrus said, "Make sure to order something specific, otherwise Gardner may give you rations."
"I'm sure he would." Oriana said as she turned to leave. When she had finished getting her food, a groggy Jessica and Miranda walked in and, when they saw Oriana, both looked horrified. Miranda wrapped her in a hug and said, "I'm so sorry I forgot you were on the Normandy. It completely slipped my mind."
"'Randa, it's okay. I know you guys have been really busy with work and all."
Jessica said, "Still, we shouldn't have completely forgotten you were on the Normandy."
"It's alright. It's actually been kinda fun not being known about, and it helped me think about what to do with my future."
"I thought you wanted to get into colony planning."
"After I did quite a bit of looking into that, I found that it wasn't really for me. It was too much sitting behind a desk on earth, and not enough actually working with the colonists. After a while, and a lot of research, I found a career that fits me better."
"What is it?"
"Well, I thought about it a lot, and realized that I wanted to do something that would actually make a difference in the lives of those colonists. Colonial planning wasn't too good, so I looked into it, and early colonial management in the colony itself is something that needs a lot more people doing it. Currently, corporations only have four or five people total who do that job."
Miranda said, "So, it's what you thought colonial planning would be?"
"Yeah, pretty-much. But, it won't be a job that I could get into until after the reapers are gone. Almost everyone is preparing for those things' arrival."
Jessica said, "Which is good. We need everyone to be prepared for the losses that will come when we fight the reapers. They've been destroying civilizations for over 23 billion years, and they won't stop now, unless we force it on them."
Oriana said, "I know, and I am so glad that I'm not in your position. Having to worry about stopping machines that have ravaged civilization for that long."
"I know, but someone has to. And, I've got people helping me do it. I'm not fighting this battle alone. Hell, even if I only had the Normandy crew, I don't think we would be able to fight off the reapers when they arrive and people realize that I was not crazy. But, luckily people are not complete idiots who ignore video evidence. At least, not the turians and humans." she said with a grin, that quickly faded away.
Miranda placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "It's ok. They wouldn't want you to break down over them."
"I know." she replied, shuddering again, and starting to cry.
"What's wrong?" Oriana asked.
"She had an... issue that in order to fix she had to 'see' the people she's lost. It was too much for her."
Oriana nodded, and said, "Maybe I should just go talk with some of the crew. Give her some more privacy."
Miranda nodded, and just pointed to her office. Oriana obliged, and went in to the office and sat on one of the couches.
-=0=-
A\N: Translations: non habeo deus, Lanium. I do not have a god, Butcher.
Vestra sum exterminatore: I am your destoyer.
Hoc est meum mundo intus. Hic vos nihil sunt: This is my world within. Here you are nothing.
Credit for the reaper names goes to aliasofall on BSN. Thanks for reading, and please favorite\follow if you haven't already. And, as always, please review.
