Jane woke up with a throbbing headache the next day.
The party was awesome, but it left her dehydrated and tired, and she had no time to lie around. She had an appointment with Councilor Tevos in an hour. She quickly got up to get ready starting with a good shower, but she was still thinking about the club. The drinking game destroyed most of the crew, and it was hilarious, but she had to get back to reality now. As much as she enjoyed getting drunk with Saren, she also had a war to win.
When she eventually went down to the mess to gather some strength from coffee before heading out, she found no one there just the two turians of the ship. Both of them making coffee, trying to ignore each other to the best of their abilities until they can both escape the situation.
"You guys are already up?" she asked sleepily as she entered the room, making way to the counter between the two of them.
"Jane, we're not as squishy as you humans are" commented Garrus, a smile on his face.
"For once he's right." added Saren, but his voice was muffled, deep, almost as if he was under water. To his bad luck, Jane picked up on that.
"Oh, you're sick?" she teased.
Saren glanced at her, the look in his eyes burning like fire.
"That question doesn't even deserve an answer..." he added eventually, and saw Jane's smile die down into a sarcastic sad face. She looked tired, but there was something in her tousled hair and sleepy eyes that was almost endearing. Suddenly he remembered last night, the chase and seeing her on the balcony with the Citadel behind her. The drinks, the talks they had, somehow ending up in the Presidium lake, then getting back to the Normandy completely wasted, trying to find the elevator.
She seemed so different now.
He noticed her cherry scent a lot more, and he realized it was everywhere on the ship. He now noticed the way she walked, how her lips moved when she spoke. It felt like he was coming alive, the more time he spent with her the more powerful he became. He wanted to spar with her suddenly.
Where did this come from?
Jane returned from Tevos with devastating news. Thessia was now under reaper attack, and apparently there was a relic on the planet that could bring them closer to the Catalyst. They set a course for Thessia immediately, and the shore leave was instantly over. Thessia was quite close in Citadel space, but it still took a couple days to reach. Those days were spent with preparation and waiting. This was their shot. The Crucible was almost complete, all it needed was the Catalyst. They were an inch away from the end of the war, either by defeating the reapers, or by the reapers destroying them. The artifact on Thessia could be the breakthrough they were looking for.
And when they finally landed on the planet with the shuttle, a new hell opened up in front of them. Liara was devastated as she saw Thessia in ruins, ravaged by reapers. The skies were greyish from the smoke, and the ground filled with debris and the dead. They were going to the temple of Athame, quite an odd place for a government defended relic. Tevos sent a team of scientists to the temple to help Shepard and her team, but they could not reach them from the swarm of reapers that flooded the city.
But at least their combat synch with Saren was finally back: he was his old, unstoppable and violent self while fighting, he enjoyed every blow, every shot. He constantly got Jane's back when she dived in so recklessly she always did, and helped her ensue chaos on the reaper forces. It was good to be back at it again.
An asari commando team also helped them to reach their destination. And when they finally got to it, it was completely empty. No scientists, just quiet.
"Something's off here" Saren commented, looking around "Your scientists should be here." He was moving cautiously through the temple. Something was disturbing him from deep within, his gut feeling was ringing an alert.
"Take a look around, maybe one of these artifacts is the one we're looking for."
They started looking. There were a couple of artifacts laying around, most of them completely unprotected.
"These cannot be the ones, asari government secrets cannot be just left on pedestal in the middle of the city" Saren said again "There must be some fail-safe here." Jane was standing in front of one of the statues, so taken aback, she was unable to say anything.
"What do you see?" came Saren from the other side, stepping next to her, but as soon as he saw what she did, he also ran out of words. Liara noticed this and joined them, taking a look at the statue.
"It's Janiri, Athame's guide who..."
Saren finished it for her.
"... Who looks exactly like Javik." The statue was undoubtedly a prothean face, and Liara's expression grew dark with realization. Athame was the guide of their civilization, the one who brought light.. Light from the protheans.
"Our entire civilization… was aided by the protheans?" she sighed.
"It's not so hard to believe… they were the dominant race of the galaxy before us." Jane pointed out. Liara covered her face, trying to process the information. As their discussion flowed, Saren left them there alone. He walked to the altar of the temple and to the console planted there, beneath the giant asari statue that was the centrepiece of the temple.
"The scientists won't be helping us." he informed as he turned back, calling for Jane and Liara. They both followed, and while Jane stopped next to him, Liara crouched down to examine the scientists, who were laying on the floor, dead, their corpses thrown in a pile.
"Their throats have been slit… This is not the reaper's doing."
There was only one party at play apart from the reapers that had any real footing in this war. She looked at Saren and met his eyes that beamed of the same suspicion.
Cerberus.
"Be prepared" she said, motioning to Liara to leave the corpses "but for now, focus on the artifact." she turned back to the console. Liara started talking about the statue, but the more she talked, the more her voice became muffled. The power the temple emanated suddenly changed, and concentrated on the statue. A strange, familiar shiver ran down her spine, and as she looked at Saren briefly, it was evident that he felt something too. His blue eyes were fixed on the altar, hist breath held in.
"Can you feel it?" she sighed.
"Yes..." he murmured.
"There's a prothean beacon here!"
Liara's eyes widened as she witnessed both of them saying the same thing at the same time. They were glaring at each other, filled with surprise, but in perfect synch.
"What?" she hissed "Are you sure?"
"Positive" nodded Jane "It's not something you forget."
"But why hide it?" Liara asked. Saren coughed, looking at the asari and crossed his arms on his chest.
"Isn't it obvious?" he asked, his tone arrogant, but knowing "Asari hoard the knowledge of the protheans. You hid the beacon for your own gain."
"That can't be right!" Liara protested.
"Think about it… you're the most advanced species in the galaxy.. It explains a lot."
"I can't believe this!" Jane lashed out, burying her face in her palm in anger "Tevos told me about the artifact. She knew all along… " her rage was apparent on her face, and Saren shared her frustration "And she decided to share it only when it was time for her people to be affected, not before…"
"Shepard… I" Liara interrupted.
"It's not your fault Liara" she stated, her stance becoming more aggressive "But if Tevos survives this war, she'll die by my hands. The blood of millions are on her hands now. If we learned this sooner… " she could not believe this. Saren was right on the Citadel when he said it was a miracle that Jane didn't kill the whole Council as it is already. She was a fool to let them live.
But as she was buried in her emotions, something happened. She heard a noise and turned back.
Saren touched one of the smaller artifacts on the side, and a green light broke out from it, shooting into the statue of Athame in the middle. The stone cracked, and a small, scattered light of green poked through the idol.
"We can crack this" he noted, stepping back.
"Incredible" Liara added "It thinks you're prothean… It must be the Cipher.. Shepard, you should try it too!"
"Yes, there must be more of these connections" she nodded, and they went around the room, just touching each artifact. Just minutes later, the prothean code was cracked, and the beacon gained enough energy. The statue of Athame fell apart, revealing a familiar looking, giant prothean beacon. It beamed with energy, playing in all colours of green. Not so distant memories flooded their minds.
Jane's ring also lit up, but she could not see, it being under her gloves.
Simultaneously, a small orb of light broke away from the beacon, landing on the ground beneath their feet.
[Obtaining chronological marker. Hold]
"By the godess..." Liara panted.
[Timescale established. Post prothean cycle confirmed. Reaper presence detected. Extinction terminus confirmed. Shutting down.]
"Wait!" Jane shouted "We need answers!"
[To what question?] asked the intelligence.
"The Catalyst. We're building the Crucible, we need to find the Catalyst." To her reply, the small orb descended from the air, and changed its projection to what looked like a prothean.
[I am called Vendetta, a highly advanced virtual construct. Overseer of the project you refer to as "Crucible"] It spoke, his voice reminiscent of Javik, but synthetic, similar to a VI. [Our studies of the past ages led us to believe that time is cyclical. Repeat of the same patterns. Evolution of life. Civilization. Same patterns of evolution and dissolution.]
Liara commented, deeply in thought "We assume the reapers are responsible for the pattern."
[Our data shows otherwise.]
They exchanged looks. Who could be the controlling the cycles if not the reapers?
[And the plans of the Crucible are not prothean design. They are ancient blueprints of countless civilizations, each improving on it, each adding knowledge. Our knowledge was learning about the Catalyst.]
"Then tell us about it!" Jane urged the program, impatient, nervous. Saren looked at her, and she was a mess. They were so close, so close to winning this war. The program shares the secret, and this will all be over.
[No point. The reapers have already arrived, it is too late.]
Jane could break this program at this point, if it had a physical form instead of a hologram.
"It is not too late! We're almost finishing the Crucible, we're united! All we need is the information you have and this will all be over!" she shouted, exhausted. It was all hanging by a thread.
[You cannot win. The cycle will continue.]
"It will be broken" Saren suddenly said. Jane saw the determination in his eyes that she was so used to. The strength he had gave him the power to speak the words the construct needed to hear. His cold confidence shone through his deep, rumbling voice. "We found the Conduit. The reaper invasion was delayed. We have a chance no one ever had before our cycle. We will win."
The construct turned to him.
[This one is reaper technology, but no indoctrination present. You are an anomaly.]
"Our cycle is an anomaly. And it will win us the war."
Silence.
[Very well. The Catalyst is… - Indoctrinated presence detected. Activating security protocol.]
"What!?" Liara shouted, as the construct closed itself off, returning to an orb form, disappearing into the beacon.
They heard noise, and noticed that a Cerberus gunship landed right in front of the temple. There was only one person exiting the cargo area, and it was a familiar, nasty face that Jane and Saren had seen before. It was the Cerberus assassin, Kai Leng. They knew his name now, and could never forget his face. That face full of arrogance.
They all raised their weapons.
As the the assassin came closer, slowly in a relaxed pace, he glanced at Saren with dissatisfaction on his face. Leng's plan with the virus was a mistake, and Saren knew he had the upper hand now. Cerberus failed to kill him, and they will pay for that mistake a thousandfold.
"You..." Jane hissed, disgusted. "What do you want?"
"Your attention." he said, his voice calm. He raised his hand and opened up his palm to reveal a small holo device. Jane immediately realized what it was: he wanted to project a hologram of the Illusive Man, this was their style of playing. But she had no intention to speak with that garbage of a man.
"Fuck your Illusive Man!" she shouted. Despite the tension, Saren's mandibles parted into a small smirk.
"All right" Leng said, putting away the device "If you want to play like this, very well." And with that, he was already in a fighting stance.
Jane fired her weapon in less than a second. Saren and Liara joined in, ducking into cover first. Leng disappeared. Saren was already prepared for him, it was no secret that he would first try to round them from the sides, given the structure of the temple. His palm was itchy to beat him, and so he removed his gloves.
And Leng indeed came around the corner. The moment he did, Saren tripped him shamelessly and threw his gun into his face, grabbing his neck with the other. His talons sank deep into his skin, resulting in the assassin hissing under him.
"Welcome back" was all he said. Leng then raised his hands to land a punch in Saren's face. As he fell back, the assassin jumped up, avoiding Jane's bullets, rounding them again with jumps hard to follow.
"I'm not wasting my time on you" Lend said, and reached to his ears. The gunship appeared at the entrance of the temple. "Target the supports!"
"Fuck!" Jane cursed as two missiles flew right into the inner support pillars of the temple. The ground started shaking beneath them as the building started collapsing, the ceiling falling down on them, breaking the floor, destroying the artifacts and creating holes in the ground. Knocking them off their feet, Kai Leng moved to the console to retrieve the data.
By the time the building stopped shaking, he was done. He turned back, and to make his way out, he had to go through the others once again.
He reached Liara first and shoved her to the side like she was a pillow. Saren was his next target, but he could not get through him that fast. A couple blows followed each other, and eventually Leng managed to push him back as well, if only temporarily. He turned to Jane, as now she was the only one left in his way.
She dropped her gun, knowing that he had kinetic shields, there was no use for them now. She landed a blow right in his face, but he was not giving up that fast. He was prepared now, the surprise was on his side. He turned to land a kick in her face, and she raised her hand to block, but his legs went to her legs instead of her face. She fell flat on her back, and when she wanted to stand up, another missile launched, striking the right pillar. The explosion sent her to her back again, and Leng was on her in a fraction of a second. His hands wrapped around her neck, and his gloves screeched with sparks.
As Saren stood up after the third missile hit, he noticed Leng on top of Jane, wrapping his hands around her neck. Before he could react, he saw electricity, and Jane's scream shook the building. The sound coming from her throat was the most hellish, heartbreaking sound he ever heard from her, and saw the electricity running through her body, shaking her, breaking her.
Her scream broke him. His mind went blank, and only the thought of her being in danger remained. And in an instant, his wrath exploded into a hellish roar. Kai Leng noticed him, but instead of Saren Arterius, he saw a monster.
Saren's voice was raw, deep, more dangerous and more dark than ever before. He bared his teeth fully and immediately, clenching them together. His blue eyes focused on Leng, not feeling the ground shaking anymore, not being stopped by mere missiles. His legs lifted off the ground, and he started running to them with a speed that scared even him. Leng removed himself from Jane immediately, and realizing the danger he started to run to the gunship.
But the turian was unstoppable.
Saren reached the assassin in a second, and at the peak of his anger, he didn't hold back. He grabbed his arm, pulled Leng back, instantly breaking his shoulder and crushing him on the ground. The cry that escaped the man only fueled his frenzy, and he lifted his arm and brutally slammed his fist into the assassin's face. He flexed his talons and without stopping he shoved them into his face. The claws ripped through the flesh, torturing Leng, who writhed under him, helplessly like a toy.
Saren's teeth parted for a moment, to make way for the few words that left his mouth, slowly, with a fury so deep, so raw, it paralyzed Leng.
"No one. Touches. Jane."
But Leng was still ahead of them.
Just a fraction of a second later, despite the pain, he reached up with his other hand, and shocked Saren suddenly, with the same device he shocked Jane. He was affected for a lot shorter duration than Jane, but it was enough to stop him. He fell down onto the ground, allowing Leng to stand up and run to the gunship with the last drop of his strength. Saren jumped up, but he could only witness the ship taking off, with Leng and that data on it.
He felt like he was going to explode. He wanted to scream, his heart was racing, and he felt the rage building up in him to a point he never felt before. He hated the reapers, he hated Cerberus, he hated Kai Leng, and he was hungry for all of their blood.
"Saren..." he heard from behind his back. It was a faint but husky voice that brought him back down to reality, and eased his rage so fast, it frightened him.
It was her, it was Jane.
He turned back to run to her, and fell on his knees next to her. His arms moved under Jane's back, raising her up a bit into his arms.
"Jane" he murmured. His left hand stroked her temple, brushing away the hair and blood from her face. Her blue eyes looked up to him, a bit weak, but alive, searching for him. He watched her ease at his touch.
Protecting her.
She was weak, her nose bleeding, but she stood up after a minute, stumbling outside, looking for Leng, the data, only to find reapers in the sky. They filled the air and the ground, and they knew that this was it. They lost the data, the only chance to end this war, and it was all in vain. Thessia was lost. Liara walked away, aimlessly, shocked.
Jane remained. She was frozen, watching the reapers conquer the ground, crush into the buildings, and Saren watched her. She straightened herself eventually, the look in her eyes trying to mask away her sadness. She looked in his eyes, but she could not keep the wall up for long.
She couldn't lie to him.
A tear streamed down her face. He reached to her cheek and wiped it away with his talon. Her eyes that still shined like jewels, were now full of desperation. She was so strong, so wonderful, but so incredibly vulnerable at the same time, it baffled him. She had everything that was missing from him, every ounce of honor he left behind, every drop of good will he never had.
He reached his arms out, and took her in his embrace. She leaned into him, finding peace in his arms that wrapped around her tightly. As he stroked her hair slowly, gently, to try and ease the pain, he breathed in her cherry scent, and cursed the world around them.
Time stopped for him.
Everything worth saving in this damned universe was all in her.
His blood was still boiling from the sight where she was lying on the ground, tortured by Leng. He got so angry, he lost his mind, he thought she was going to die. Waking up in a world someday where she wasn't there seemed an endless torture. He was always alone, never bothered by it, never cared to look around, to enjoy. He always just calculated. And she was his opposite, but still the same as him somehow. So passionate, so playful, so crazy, but just as lonely and weird as him.
What would he do if she would die?
She wouldn't die, she couldn't. She was too strong, too perfect.
Too beautiful.
His head started spinning, his breath caught, trapped. It hit him, and it hit him like a dreadnought to the face.
He loved her.
She raised her head to look at him, told him that they needed to go back to the ship.