So, after nearly a month away, I am back! Unfortunately, after some real crappy timing with events and other stuff regarding this weird thing called life, I was only able to get one request out, and on top of that, my laptop was fried. So, I'm writing from scratch again with a new computer.

Thank you to all those of you who reviewed chapter 49! This chapter, chapter 50, begins Act III, the final act of Violet Eyes! This act has a point that I will be reaching, but I wanted to let you readers get a little more involved! Therefore, I will be taking requests for things that the T'Soni family, either one or two or the whole bunch, can do together! I'm still contemplating how many extra chapters to do, but we shall see!

If there is something you're itching to see happen, let me know and I'll consider it!

Please be aware that there will be time skips in the coming chapters. Not entirely sure how long the time skips will go, but no increment will be long that 2-3 years. I'm thinking about a poll to see how far into the future we're going here. Maybe ten years. Maybe fifty. I'm not sure. I will let you all know when that poll comes up.

Without further adieu, chapter 50!


Violet Eyes Act III

For Family

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Liara's grief was palpable, but she had to swallow it, for the sake of keeping some semblance of order. The losses against the commandos, both from House T'Soni as well as Armali, were staggering. The enemy, a lethal mix of droids and biological Revenant mercenaries, were wiped out, both by the Stinger jets as well as the arrival of significant ground reinforcements. Liara knew that this would go down in history as a terrible day.

While death was always a reality of battle, of being the strong few who took up arms against those who would hurt the innocent, it was always a possibility. Yet, even with that, Liara had not yet come to terms with the fact that asari that lived on her estate grounds had died to defend them. On top of that, several more were wounded, some worse than others, but they had yet to take full stock of the state of those who were wounded.

Hayha had remained on top of the estate, her eagle eye trained through the scope of the Widow rifle she had borrowed, making sure no other forces would attempt a surprise attack while they were off guard. Captain T'Fare had rendezvoused with another captain who had come with the reinforcements, and they were making arrangements to take the dead away.

Jack and Miranda had come down to the main living room, where many of the wounded were set up currently. Miranda was putting her skills in medicine to use where she could, and so far she had been able to help a good few. Jack was watching them with a stern expression, and she offered words of encouragement where necessary. Up to this point, the twins were still ensconced within the bunker below the gardens along with their grandfather, the three of them watched over by Glyph.

"Mistress…the wounded and dead from the forests are arriving…" Hayha mumbled into the comm. Liara turned from the room and headed that way immediately, wanting to see what the damage was to her other sisters. She nudged Miranda as she walked by, drawing the woman's attention.

"Be ready. Yenda and Jarra are apparently wounded badly…"

"I will do what I can for them until Dr. T'Sante arrives." Miranda said with a tight lipped nod. None of them were apparently ready for this and the feelings it brought up. Liara, Shiala, Jack, Miranda had seen heavy battle during the Reaper War. They had seen atrocious things, but…ten years changed them. The last time they had seen battle and death on this scale personally, was on the final push for Earth. Liara had seen battle at Olympus Mons, but…nobody died. There were wounded, but nobody died.

Out of seventy commandos who had fought today, fifteen had died. That was just over a fifth of their total force who had been killed in action. It had hit them all very, very hard. Jack was staying strong, but both Miranda and Liara were struggling to hold it together. Especially Liara. Even as she walked now to the entrance way to meet those coming in, she was hoping to see a skycar coming back with Zaia on it. Her strength was needed right now. For once, Liara needed the battle hardened resistance to grief that Zaia carried so well.

When she got to the front way, she immediately noted the biotics that carried the bodies of Yenda and Jarra. Those who were carrying them, also commandos of House T'Soni, let them down gently, falling down themselves from exhaustion. Paila came forward, panting and sweating, her face marred with small cuts and bruises that came from combat.

"The dead are still outside…" She said tiredly, and Liara recognized the look of someone who was holding back. "Who…who died here?"

"Ilia and Ji," Liara reported sadly. Paila nodded numbly before turning to look at the battered bodies of her two surviving sisters. Only just now noticing, Liara saw several burns on both of them, the scorched remains of leathers surrounding them. When she went closer to get a better look, she held her breath. The burns looked like they had been inflicted by a hand.

"What did this?" She mumbled, running a hand on the wounds. Paila kneeled down next to her.

"The Banshee. She…she is the only reason they are alive right now. The only reason many of us are alive right now." She muttered. Liara was well aware that many of her commandos had come out against the fact that they had inflicted the Banshee Designation upon their former sister. She didn't know exactly who, apart from Shiala and Jarra, but…she didn't know how the others felt.

"I don't know what Mistress Shepard has been doing with her, but she is…different." Her eyes seemed to be far away as she spoke, and it prompted Liara to stare at her in worry. The commandos eyes flicked about, like they were following someone, but Paila only stared at a wall.

"What do you mean?" Liara asked.

Paila looked contemplative, but soon began talking. "The battle was not going well for us. Their numbers were just too great. We were being pushed back, but…that's when the first wave struck. I fought in the Reaper War, and that was the last time I saw biotics like this…" She fixed Liara with a cold stare, her eyes stony and dull.

"They were angry and destructive. Two blast waves threw the enemy into complete and utter disarray. I know not what the others saw, but I saw the source of the waves. A form, suited with silver and black armor, carrying a turian made assault rifle. I knew the armor, knew it was the same armor that the Banshee had taken to wearing. Again, I don't know what sort of training she has gotten…but she is not the asari we knew. She's much faster, much more brutal, and far more efficient. She carried explosives as well, and used them without hesitation. When Yenda went down and Jarra soon followed, we thought for sure that they were going to die…and then the orbs came…" She trailed off, and Liara felt her breath catch.

Biotic abilities such as blast wave and biotic orbs? She knew that Shepard had been having Jack train the Banshee while she was injured, but this…those abilities were amongst the most destructive known. It was said, amongst more spiritual circles, that using abilities like that did things to the mind. Of course, she wasn't a believer of those things, but it was a fact that asari who used those abilities were often mentally unstable and violent.

"Those orbs were like tiny warps, but they packed the power of larger charges. They exploded on contact with anything…other than us or the Armali commandos. The explosions tore through the enemy, reducing their numbers incredibly. When she arrived to Jarra and Yenda…she cauterized their wounds. With her hand." Liara bit her lip as the reality of the matter closed in on her.

Regardless of her feelings about the Banshee, she had done a large part to help the commandos in the forests. While Liara was certain they would have lasted out regardless, there would have been far more casualties, if not for the Banshee's interference.

"How is she still here, Mistress?" Paila's voice was heavy with regret as she spoke. "We sentenced her to the worst punishment possible for a commando. We outlawed her very name on asari worlds. Yet…when our darkest hour came…she was there, fighting alongside us…" Paila stood up and stalked away, still murmuring to herself. Liara shook her head, knowing that she had more pressing matters to think of right now than the Banshee.

Before long, she had the wounded set up where she could put them, with both Yenda and Jarra being put into bedrooms for the time being. When Dr. T'Sante arrived, she would be able to look at them at judge if they could be moved any further safely. The front boulevard was now marred by fifteen bodies, covered with sheets, awaiting transportation to hospitals for autopsy's and final arrangements.

Liara looked at the three rows of bodies, her own body aching with the pain that so many were about to be going through. There was so much to be done, and it all seemed so hard right now. There would be investigation as to how so many hostiles had managed to get onto Thessia in the first place. There was the fact of Khan himself, and how Zaia had dealt with him. If Liara knew her love, she would guess that Khan is in fact dead right now.

She knew that Admiral Hackett had requested Khan be brought in alive, but she wasn't sure that Zaia fully intended to follow up on that. Khan had done so much against them, against the T'Soni family, that she was unsure if Khan was still drawing breath. Zaia knows, maybe better than anyone, how the politics of things are, and Liara was unsure if she would even allow the very chance that Khan escapes proper judgement.

No matter what things would come from this, she hoped that it was the end. The end of the intrigue, of the secrets, of the diabolical plots. She liked to think that her family, her house, her commandos, everyone that had been a part of her life had earned the right to peace. Earned the right to be able to sleep at night without worrying about who was going to die next. Worrying about which maniac was going to try and take advantage of them this time.

Was this the price she had to pay for that peace? The Reaper War wasn't enough? Being without Zaia for ten years wasn't enough? No, she had to pay in blood and grief. Maybe not her own blood, but her grief, very much so. Yes, raising Vasha and Imali with everything else that had been going on was hard, but during that time, nobody was trying to kill them or her. Now…now it seemed like everyone wanted a piece of their lives.

"Dr. T'Soni." Liara turned to the voice and met with the eyes of Captain T'Fare and the other captain, whose name she had yet to discover, standing behind her. "I and Captain T'Moaea have orders to remain in the area until we can be certain there will be no secondary assaults."

Liara grimaced. "I…I don't think that will be necessary, Captains, but if your orders are that…then I can make room for you. How many troops will be staying?" She really didn't want numbers of strange asari in her house, especially around her daughters and family. With everything that has been happening, how could she be so sure that one of those strange asari wouldn't attempt to do something?

The two captains spoke in hushed tones for a moment before coming to a decision. "We'll leave a smaller force. Captain T'Fare will stay for a few days with fifteen others." Liara nodded silently, and the two captains left her alone. She would handle arrangements for them later. Under other circumstance, she would have retrieved her daughters already but…she did not want them to see the state of things out here.

Less so she was thinking of the destruction, but more of the people. She didn't want them to see the injured, or even worse, the dead laying out in front of the house. The bunker was constructed so that they would have plenty to keep themselves occupied for the time being. They wouldn't be in there long, but…just long enough so that the wounded could be taken care of, and the dead removed.

She'd already had Glyph explain to her father what was going on. Aethyta had been around for almost a thousand years; she handled the news of the deaths much better than Liara had. She was upset, yes, but she knew how to deal with it. She held the commandos to a more militaristic standard in her own emotions. They knew what the risks were, and they had died for their love of House T'Soni.

As much a Liara wanted to accept that as the truth, she wasn't sure she could. Being a commando for her family was not always an easy thing to do. Yes, the name of T'Soni carried with it storied honor and thousands of years of history, but between her neglect and her mother's frosty disposition, being a commando for the house was something that took great patience to do.

She looked up at the blue sky, eerily calm and peaceful, as if there wasn't a bloodbath just a short while ago, and hoped. Hoped that the bloodshed was over. That the lies, and the intrigue, and the cowardice, and the violence was all over. That Zaia could come home, and they could enjoy their lives together without having to worry about what was going to go wrong next. She held her hope close to heart as she went back into her home to care for those who had been injured protecting her family.


Her steps through the garden were labored, and Liara knew that she would sleep deeply tonight. She was exhausted, both from the battle itself as well as all the efforts after. Treating the wounded had gone much faster once Dr. T'Sante arrived, and along with Liara and Miranda, they treated everyone. The dead were taken to Armali for preparations, and the house had been cleaned up as well as it could be to this point. Rebuilding the skycar garage would take time, but that couldn't be helped.

She had called Zaia and told her that everything was…fine. At least where their family was concerned. She didn't mention anything of the extent of the damage, both to the estate and to the commandos, but she had simply wanted her lover to know that they had survived. Shepard told her that she had to take care of Khan, whom she had taken prisoner, and that she would be home late.

She quickly found the gazebo of her destination. On the first pillar lay a carving of an exotic bird native to Armali. While looking like a nicely done decoration, it had another purpose. Liara placed her hand against it and pushed firmly. The pressurized switch pulsed, and the floor of the gazebo opened to reveal a stairway, going down to a massive metal hatch.

She descended the steps tiredly, coming to a stop in front of the door. "Zaia Lindsey Shepard." She said out loud. The door hissed as the pressure released, and the multitude of locks began deactivating. The password to the bunker was literally the single piece of information that only two people in the galaxy knew. Zaia's middle name was probably the biggest kept secret of Liara's life.

She had designed the bunker to only open for either her or the human. At least from the outside. If one was on the inside, they could easily get out using a DNA recognition program that was installed in Glyph. However, from outside the bunker, only Liara or Zaia could open it. Technically, only Liara could open it right now; Zaia was still unaware of its existence.

Finally, the locks were all inactive and the doors opened. Glyph appeared just behind the door, as if waiting for her. "Doctor T'Soni, there were no intrusion attempts." He reported.

"Good. Thank you, Glyph." She waved a hand and the drone disappeared. She strolled through the halls of blast doors until she reached the final door. She knocked on it a few times. This was a door that could only be opened from inside once it was locked. Which could also only be done from inside.

After a few moments, the door slid apart, revealing her father. She looked, for lack of a better term, bedraggled. The two of them stared at each other before Liara let a sigh go. "Hello, Father."

"Little Wing." She said tonelessly, and they both knew what was happening here. Liara had done it many times, and Aethyta had seen it most of those times. They wouldn't talk about it, because it wasn't something that would go away.

"They're napping. Tired themselves out in that simulation room." Despite being so tired, and battling her anger, frustration and sadness, Liara allowed a strained smile to leak through.

"I knew they would like it." She sighed. Her father turned and led them through the few rooms to one that had dimmed lights. Liara could make out her daughters sleeping beneath covers in two beds, and she felt her heart swell. As long as they were safe, she would do whatever it takes.

"Let's get them to my bed." She whispered. Sometimes, her father protested them sleeping with Liara, saying that they were too old for it, but Liara usually won out. Sometimes, she did allow Aethyta to talk her out of it, but not tonight. This time though, her father didn't say a word and went to collect Imali. Liara scooped Vasha' sleeping form up into her arms. The little asari mumbled in her sleep and gathered a fistful of the robe that Liara wore in her hand.

Liara and her father left the bunker, the scientist leaving orders for Glyph to lock it and seal it. For now, they would not need it. Silently, the two of them made their way through the gardens and into the estate, carefully stepping around sleeping commandos. Many were House T'Soni commandos who were still resting from their battle. They had absolutely refused to go back to the commando quarters and instead had taken up spots in the halls and living room.

Jarra and Yenda, being the worst injured of them all, had been taken to Dr. T'Sante's clinic, where they would stay until cleared by the doctor. Liara had no doubt that they would have wanted to stay at the estate, but she just couldn't risk such a thing with their injuries.

The Armali commandos, those who had stayed along with Captain T'Fare, were out on patrol tonight, following specific paths sent to them by Hayha. The sniper was still on the roof, fully aware and alert. She had refused to leave, and had taken a brief nap up there before taking up vigil for the afternoon. She maintained that she would remain there through the night…but Liara wasn't sure if she could make it.

As they went, they passed Jack and Miranda, the two humans sitting together out on the second floor balcony, where they had fought the attackers from. Jack was sat in a lounger, and Miranda fixed between her legs. Jack's arms were wound tightly around the ex-Cerberus scientist. She couldn't tell if they were speaking to each other or just enjoying the silence, but the scene made Liara full of longing. How she wished to have nights like that with her own human.

The silence between her father and her was literally stifling, but that's how it was for the last blood members of House T'Soni, apart from Vasha and Imali. They dealt with their feelings separately, and neither have them had a problem with it. For tonight, they wouldn't speak of it, simply to allow the strongest of their emotions to bleed off.

They reached Liara's bedroom, and the twins were quickly deposited onto the bed. Liara thanked her father briefly, and the matriarch left the room. Liara crawled into bed between her daughters, not bothering to change, and wrapped her arms around them, placing light kisses on each of their crests before allowing her tired body to succumb to sleep.

XXX

The skycar touched down on the boulevard, and Shepard stepped out, glaring around. In the bright starlight, as well as the lights from the vehicle, she could see how torn apart the cobblestones were. The skycar garage, the whole thing, was a pile of rubble. She and Draga shared a long look before closing the hatch and letting the car fall silent. They hadn't walked more than thirty meters when a voice broke through the night.

"Stop. State your name and business." It was an unfamiliar voice, but Zaia was aware that the Armali Commandos had left soldiers here. She waged that it was one of them. She was right.

"Zaia Shepard. I live here." She grunted. The asari, who was indeed one of Armali's group, lowered her rifle and came to stand in front of the pair.

"Apologies, Shepard. We've been on high alert since your vehicle was spotted."

"Who spotted it?" Shepard wondered with a cocked eyebrow. They had been driving silently and the lights dimmed. Nobody on the ground would have noticed it unless they were staring at the sky.

"A commando of the estate. She holds position on the roof, armed with a sniper rifle. She called out your approach to us." The commando reported. Shepard glanced up at the roof of the estate, where the top balcony lay. She held out a hand.

"May I use your comm?" The commando hesitated for a moment before handing over a small earpiece. Zaia pressed it to her ear.

"How long have you been up there?" She demanded, staring up at the spot where she knew the balcony to be. Liara had mentioned who was up there, and if it was the same person, the Zaia would go up there and drag her down by her crests if she had to.

"Shepard?! I-uh…since the battle…"

"Yeah, Liara told me you were up there. Get down and get some sleep, right now." She ordered. When she had spoken to her lover earlier, Liara had expressed concern regarding Hayha and her staying up there, despite the grief and the battle.

The asari was silent for a few moments before speaking again. "I can't leave, Shepard. I need to stay here and keep a look out."

"Don't hurt yourself." Shepard said firmly. She handed the earpiece back to the commando and thanked her. Draga spoke to the commando briefly before returning to Zaia's side. The two of them continued up into the estate. The first thing Shepard noticed was the sleeping commandos, all through the halls and in the living room. There were many that had bandages of some sort wrapped on them, while there were others who were unmarred.

None of them were awake, and the only sound that could be heard was the light sounds of sleeping breathing. Kira suddenly split off, but Zaia wasn't concerned about her. The pilot knew where she was going, and even if she didn't, Shepard was more focused on other things. She climbed the stairs into the upper floors silently. There wasn't a soul awake…apart from the one who was on the second floor secondary balcony.

Shepard stopped, staring at her back. She was quite, but she was awake, and that meant that they were alone. Zaia walked out onto the balcony, taking a spot to the asari's right. She noticed the bottle of elasa on the chair and the empty glass on the banister. She took the glass and filled it, holding it out to the asari.

"About time you got here," Matriarch Aethyta growled, turning a steely eye on the human. Shepard didn't return her look.

"You managed," She said shortly. The elder asari snorted in contempt.

"No we didn't. Managing would have been a few injured. Not a few dead." She snapped venomously. Shepard shrugged.

"Managed all the same."

"Fissa managed to graduate commando training five years ahead of her class. Managing that didn't do anything when a bullet went through her skull. Loa managed to post the fastest recorded time on the House T'Soni obstacle course. Managing to be that fast didn't help when a grenade blew her legs off." She hissed angrily.

Shepard let the anger pass her by. She knew that things would be tense here. That there would be anger. There was nothing she could do about it, especially from a ship in space. She did all she could, which was to call the Armali commandos in. Aethyta could throw all her anger and abuse she wanted, but Shepard wouldn't take the blame for those deaths. They were commandos, they knew what they were doing.

"Hayha is on the roof."

"Has been since the battle." Aethyta didn't grace the observation with any more words, taking a long gulp of the elasa. When she drained the glass, she held it out. Shepard grabbed it and refilled it for her.

"Where's Liara?"

"Sleeping. Your daughters are with her."

Shepard let a smile flit to her face as the thought of her family being together again came to mind, but it was tempered. Her daughters were still young. "Did the twins see anything?"

The Matriarch shook her head. "No. Liara put them in a bunker with me. They didn't come out until the dead were gone." She said blandly. Shepard scowled into the night, again starting to feel angry that such a thing had happened so close to her daughters.

"I tried to help." She grunted.

"How's that? Have a good luck toast from the comfort of your fucking ship?" Aethyta laughed mirthlessly. Zaia let the words wash over her and away. She knew they were meant to make her feel guilty, but it wouldn't work. Death in the line of duty was a reality.

"I called Armali and told them to get to the estate."

"At least you did one thing right." Aethyta remarked callously. She downed what was left of her drink and, instead of refilling the glass, she hurled it angrily into the darkness off the balcony.

"This is the last time, Shepard!" She whipped around, her hazy eyes burning with anger. "Every single time something happens to this family, you are conveniently gone!" Shepard opened her mouth, a sharp retort forming as her own temper began to flare. Aethyta held up a finger to her, and for once, Shepard was placated.

"I don't care how deadly you think you are, Shepard. This is the last time that Liara fights alone. You're here now, and it's time you picked up the slack. Vasha and Imali need a father; not some woman who sleeps in their mothers bed." Shepard would have normally been furious with the words. She would have probably threatened to kill Aethyta for all that. She knew though, through the haze of anger and careless indifference towards grief, that the matriarch was right.

"Either be that father," Aethyta turned away and grabbed the bottle of elasa. "Or get the fuck out of their lives." She stormed back into the estate, leaving Shepard to her thoughts on the balcony. Was she really that careless about her daughters and their wellbeing? Couldn't be. She had slaved under the Council for a decade to keep them safe. She had chased them across the galaxy when they were kidnapped. She'd tracked Khan to keep them safe.

Was that the problem though? Her willingness to simply up and leave at a moment's notice? Did being a father mean that not only did she have to keep them safe, but she also had to be present with them? She thought she was doing everything a father could do. Was it not enough? She had no example to go off of, no personal experience when it came to being a father.

She had postulated that the role was one of symbolism, rather than visual evidence. Maybe she wasn't here, at the estate all the time, but she was out and about doing what she could to make her daughters lives better. If she was doing that, then what was the problem with her? Acting like a father meant enabling the well-being of her children. That had to count for something at least.

The past months had been enlightening for her, where it came to her daughters. Yes, they were closer than they had been when she first came from the blue, but that was to be expected. Really, the times that she had been with them had been terrifying. She had no idea what to do with them, or how to read their emotions and actions.

By some miraculous accident, she managed to teach them something. They had only asked a question about hiding, and after a brief explanation of the art, the twins had looked to her with such rapt attention that she was intimidated. Without having meant to do so, Shepard had taught them how to hide, and in doing so had convinced Liara that she was becoming a bad influence. She hadn't even been aware what she did to make the girls listen to her.

That was the worst part. She actually had no clue how to relate to the twins, how to converse with them comfortable like Liara did. She wasn't a jealous person, but she was ferociously jealous by how easily Liara interacted with Vasha and Imali. She had tried to watch and listen, learn to communicate so smoothly, but…it was a lost cause.

It was infuriating. Jack was sure that Shepard was secretly a great father and was only hiding it to keep up her tough image. It was a lie. Shepard had a mountain of doubts about her ability to be a parent that easily surmounted any other obstacle before, and the passing days only increased the load. Right now, they're primary concern is how cute they have to be to win a lexica juice from either Liara or herself.

When Zaia was their age…she was already a killer, living only by the strength of her body and her instincts. It was a difficult thing to reconcile, because she had no idea what normal ten year old children were concerned with. When she was ten, she was concerned with how fast she could incapacitate a security guard. She couldn't possibly relate that to her daughters.

It made her feel disjointed from them. Distant. As if she had no real place being their father, but was only a step parent, looking in at them as her children, but also never truly knowing them. How could she ever reach a level of comfort and love with the girls when their upbringings were literally polar opposites?

It wasn't like she had previous experience to run with, either. The only thing she remembered about her own father was that he was a steel worker. That was all. She didn't remember her interactions with him, or her mother. The only thing she remembered about her mother was her name. Hannah. Why she remembered only that, she didn't know.

Even with those scant memories, she had tried to dive into herself and pull out anything she could recall. A time at home, before she was left to the streets. A time during a holiday, when families are supposed to be together. Anything. Yet, whenever she tried, she only met with failure. Failure and anger. Now that her war with Khan was over, now that the war with Revenant was over, at least for the time being, she had a moment to think. The biggest looming problem for her was how she could bond with her daughters.

The very concept was daunting to her. Her mind was foreign to it. She could think of a thousand ways to kill a person right now, and she couldn't think of one way to bond with her own children. She turned from the darkness and went back into the house, heading towards her bedroom and her family, Aethyta's words lingering in mind. She was home, and she was going to stay here.


I hope you all enjoyed! Have a good weekend!