"Your minds belong to me."
Javik appeared in front of them. He stepped out of the emptiness, his voice that of Leviathan.
"Javik? What's happening?" Jane asked the question.
"Your memories give voice to our words. Your nature will be revealed to us. Accept this" said Leviathan with Javik's face. It communicated to them not by words, but directly to their brains. On the edge of their consciousness, it connected their minds. Saren knew now why he felt such a weird tie between himself and Shepard. They were in their minds, their thoughts clashing together.
"What are you?" Saren asked.
"Before the cycles, our kind was the apex of life in the galaxy. The lesser species were in our thrall, serving our needs. We grew more powerful, and more hungry. The species were taken, to serve us in their life, and in their death, giving their own to us."
"You mean… you destroyed them, to take their essence?" Jane gasped.
"You harvested them" Saren pressed the words out through his teeth slowly. Anger and disappointment filled his voice, his face disgusted. "To elongate your own lives..."
"You cannot conceive of a galaxy that bends to your will. They were our servants. And we have evolved to acquire them faster. We created the mass relays and the Citadel to speed up the time needed for evolution. But it was not enough. We created an intelligence to serve us in our ultimate purpose of acquiring the species. We formed it from the essence of the lesser species, in our own image. We named it Ekin. You now call it Harbinger."
The realization dawned on both of them, freezing them. They stood so close to each other they felt like they were the same being, living the moment they never thought would come. But it was here.
"You created the mass relays and the Citadel? You created the reapers?"
"Yes. Harbinger was merely a tool to serve our perpetuity. But it grew hungry, maddened by the blood.. And in that instant, it betrayed us. It chose our kind as the first of its harvests."
They fell into their own trap. Their hunger and greed destroyed them, embodied by Harbinger.
"Each cycle ends with the birth of a reaper. Perfect in its design. Each reaper has the power to influence organics. But their power is imperfect, too raw. It spoils organics."
They understood now. Leviathan's powers were clean, instant, and did not leave the subjects damaged, just like the miners. But the reaper infrasound… they all knew the effect it had on living beings.
Saren's talons dig deep into his palm as the memories flooded him.
"How did you remain hidden all this time?" they asked. Not knowing which one of them asked the question, their voices so similar.
"Our extermination was not complete. Some survived and found refuge in the dark corners of the galaxy. I am their progeny. Over the cycles, thrall races were controlled to remove the traces of our existence. Today, we reach out through fragments and watch for discovery."
A Leviathan artifact appeared in front of them, the globe that led them here.
"They provide a window to the galaxy. Tools for exploring the events of this cycle from the safety of our worlds. We watch, we study from the shadows."
"Why aren't you fighting back?" Saren's anger emerged from their minds, his voice thick in the emptiness around them. Leviathan stepped back, turning around.
"There is no fighting. Only the harvest."
"There is!" Jane cried out "Help us stop it!"
"None ever had the strength to end the harvest. Not even the protheans."
"What do you know of the Crucible?"
"The Crucible is not of our design. It has never been completed. Those who tried fell victim to the harvest. None have found the core. But you are different..." it turned around "I have witnessed your actions in this cycle. The reapers perceive you as a threat." it looked at Saren "Your reconstruction speaks of Harbinger's fear more than they admit."
Saren looked at Jane, deep in thought, mute.
"Will you help us stop the cycle?" Jane asked quietly.
"I have searched both your minds. You are an anomaly. You're organic to the reapers, but machines to organics."
It was correct. Both of them reconstructed, stripped of their previous lives. Ghosts in the galaxy, they belonged nowhere anymore.
"You are singular unknowns, reverse of the same core. Your victories are more than a product of chance."
It was all true. The closer they got, the harder it was to separate. The more they fought together, the more similar they became, the same darkness looming inside, waiting to be ignited. Saren brushed his hand to hers, then taking it into his. He squeezed it hard.
They knew it, there was no turning back for either of them.
They had nothing left.
"We will fight. But not for you or the lesser races. We are the apex of life, we will always survive. The reapers will understand our power, and become our slaves. And now, go."
Jane fell out of the Triton. She ended up on the ground, followed by Saren who stumbled around, trying to keep his balance, but ultimately falling on his knees. He turned back to reach for Jane, and the two of them helped each other up. Both of them had a hell of a headache and blood was dripping from their noses.
"Shepard!" Tali called, running to them from cover. They were fighting the reaper forces still. One of the Brutes turned after Tali, noticing Shepard and Saren. As Tali ran to help up the Commander, the monster turned in their direction and started charging at them.
Saren was right in front of the brute, Jane covered behind his back.
"Leviathan!" he roared. A second later the pawn suddenly stopped, freezing for a moment. It then turned back and attacked the other brute that was fighting Cortez. A small smile showed up on his face as he knew, Leviathan was indeed on their side now.
Later, when they escaped in the shuttle, it even sent the reaper chasing them down in the ocean. Despite his unbearable headache, this was a victory all in all.
The doctor turned his back on the med computer and stepped to Jane who was sitting on the bed in the med bay. She ordered check-ups for both of them after returning in shock from the Despoina.
"Just like Saren, you are perfectly healthy." nodded Chakwas.
"Told you!" a smile appeared on Jane's face and she stood up. She went for the door as they were done here, and waved to the doctor. She really wanted to take off her armor now so she started for her quarters, up until Joker started chirping to her through the radio.
"Commander, you are needed in the war room." she sighed and changed directions. She went through the ship deep in thought, not being able to let go of what Leviathan said or the feeling that came along with it. She felt the weight of the whole universe on her shoulders, making her sigh in an attempt to get more air. But at the same time, she felt a strange peace, a calmness that lingers before a storm, as heavy as fate.
As she entered the war room, she didn't even need to look around, her eyes immediately darted to Saren who was standing behind the galaxy map, looking through the hologram and right at her. The blue in his eyes were muted by the projection in front of him, but the look was the same. She slowly stepped down the stairs and approached the others. EDI and Tali started talking and she was listening, but they kept eye contact with Saren all along.
"I received information from the geth that there is a reaper that somehow got deactivated in the Far Rim." Tali started "What is more interesting is the location - it went silent in the Dholen system, near Haestrom."
The surprise was visible on Jane's face who raised an eyebrow in question "Haestrom? Isn't that the planet we saved you from? The one that has the sun that is aging way too fast."
"Correct. We suspect the sun was affecting the reaper - and shut it down."
"With what?"
"This is only speculation, but the sun in that system was aging too fast, because of dark matter appearing in its core. It still grows to this day, and it could very well mean that reapers are weakened by concentrated dark matter. Examining that reaper could give us invaluable data about the reapers."
"So far the body was left as is by the geth" EDI informed "They told us immediately as they thought it's best if we examine the wreck first."
"A wise decision on their part" Saren added in a menacing tone.
"We are indeed lucky" Jane said "What is the ETA?"
"15 hours as we need to pass through The Omega Nebula and the Pylos relay as well."
"Very well. Set a course for Haestrom and let me know as usual. Dismissed." she commanded, and everyone dispersed.
Hours passed before Jane could retire to her quarters. Schematics, mission plans, maintenance issues and just talking to the crew took forever. She visited Liara and Javik, eventually ending up in the battery talking through everything with Garrus for hours.
When she finally reached her shower, she happily jumped in. After finishing with it, she looked in the mirror and examined herself. Considering everything, she looked quite all right. So many things were running through her head, but there was one thought that always came back. Every chain of thought ended in this feeling, and she couldn't get rid of it. She eventually dressed up and started working with a bit of an ambient music in the background. They only had an hour or so until Haestrom - there was no point in going to bed or even taking a nap, even though she was tired. She put down her console to grab a drink from the cabinet, when she heard someone knocking on the door.
"Come in!" she chirped. The door swooshed open and revealed Saren equipped with a PDA. He stepped in and stopped in front of the fish tank. He looked at the fishies, peacefully swimming in their own little world, not bothered by the conflicts of the universe.
He looked at her and she looked at him, and it was already apparent that he did not come here for nothing. He looked at her the same way he did in the war room. Seeking, wanting to talk, to connect.
"You need to take a look at this." he started, giving her the PDA "Just a couple algorithms we could integrate into the Normandy. It could help us locating reapers with more accuracy, if it works."
"You came up with this?" she looked up, examining him. He had a casual grey robe on that blended well with the colour of his plates. He had no gloves on, the silverish tone of his skin peeking from under his sleeves. Even as casual as he was, he still looked almost regal to her. The way he carried himself always commanded respect, even when he let himself go a bit, like now. He wasn't so hyper-alert in her presence as he used to be. She remembered the first time he was on the Normandy, when she shoved him to the wall. His instincts were so sharp, it almost scared her. And not as an opponent, but as a being.
But that feeling was gone, he was relaxed mostly.
"I'm still analyzing the data I got from the reaper on Rannoch, this is a small fraction of it. I'll have more later." Saren looked at her with curiosity. "Are you surprised?"
"Surprise is not the correct word" she shrugged "I wasn't surprised when you came up with the targeting algorithms either. I'm just impressed."
A small smirk appeared on Saren's face, but Jane didn't see it as she turned around. He said nothing, waiting for her to see what she was doing. She went to one of the cabinets in the back and opened it. She rummaged a bit, then returned with two glasses, one filled with golden whiskey, the other with bright blue horosk. She handed the horosk to the turian.
"Cheers" she said, and they drank a bit.
"You even have booze in your quarters... Jane, you have a problem." Saren stated, looking up from his glass, an evil smile shining at her.
"Shut up, you have the same problem" she smiled at him "The turian who's favourite is a drink that puts others into coma should remain silent!"
He chuckled a bit, and as his mandibles parted, the tension somehow escaped her. He was about to reply but she interrupted him.
"We might have to kill the Leviathans.."
Saren froze and started following her with his eyes as Jane turned around and started circling in the room.
"Why?" he asked, a clear expectation in his voice regarding her answer. She turned around again at her bed, facing him, giving him the exact answer he counted on. It seemed that this has weighed down on her since they returned from the mission, since her face was suddenly so serious and troubled.
"They are responsible for the cycles. Their greed and hunger started all this shit, and the reapers exterminating them didn't teach them their lesson. They're still arrogant and dense. They are only helping us to climb on our backs and defeat the reapers. And once that's done, they'll want to reinstate their reign. If we won't be beaten by the reapers, we will be eaten by the Leviathans. And I know you would do the same." her eyes were beaming with the usual fire that amazed him every time. She was confident, logical, but passionate in every word.
"I have a bad influence on you." he noted as his voice rumbled in the room. "But a couple drops of blood is going to save millions."
He closed the distance between them and stood in front of her.
"I'm not going to attack them if they don't hurt us" she explained "But we need to keep our eyes open."
He cleared his throat, looking at his glass and the blue liquid circling around in it. "You know humans are not my favourite species to say the least… but you're not entirely hopeless, Jane."
She smiled at that. They toasted, and finished their drinks. Saren took the glass out of her hand and placed them down on the coffee table. The white box that used to hold the ring in it was still there.
Jane looked at him from behind, her heart heavy with all the problems she had enough of. Saren must have noticed, because he stepped to her after putting down the glasses, and moved a hand up to the side of her face.
"What are we going to do if this is all over… if we win?" she asked, looking at the floor as he touched a lock of her hair and moved it behind her ear. "What else is there after saving the galaxy? All I know is travel and war, nothing else. I have no idea what to do with peace."
"There is nothing else in this galaxy for you." she heard him saying as she slowly moved into his embrace, just like back on Thessia. His arms wrapped around her, loosely, just holding her enough to feel her scent. She closed her eyes and as her temple touched his chest, she felt the vibrations of his voice. As she wrapped her hands around his torso, the moment she touched the material, a shiver went down her spine.
"What do you mean?" she whispered the question into his chest. The ambient music was still on in the background and Saren just now noticed it. He moved a leg a little bit, taking a tiny step, his weight slowly shifting to his other leg. Jane automatically followed, and they slowly started to move, resembling a very slow, tired, intimate dance.
"Dark space." he explained.
She smiled as she imagined it.
"When this is all over, we grab a ship and leave this galaxy behind. We sail out and see what the universe can offer… see if it can keep us entertained with the reapers gone."
She liked the idea. Even if just imaginary, it calmed her. It seemed so logical, so otherworldly, it fit perfectly. She never fitted in here. Not into society without parents or any upbringing, not into the military with her explosive tactics, not into the world of organics where she felt like a cyborg.
"Deal." she replied quietly, a small smile on her face. She raised her head and looked up at Saren in his embrace. His eyes settled on her.
"But we're not bringing any Mako with us, you're going to kill me otherwise.." he commanded, half serious, half joking. She started laughing, and as her laughter rang around him, he couldn't help but think how beautiful she was. How her hair fell onto his chest as she laughed, her husky voice so sweet, full of emotion. He couldn't stop himself, he needed her. His hands instinctively moved to the small of her back, and in one move he pulled her closer, pressing her core to him.
Jane went silent.
The force with Saren pulled her to him wasn't big, but it was distinct, firm. Unmistakeable.
Her laughter died, the air left her lungs. She looked at Saren, and his closeness messed her up badly. Her insides shuddered as his hands pressed to her back, and he bowed down to her.
Their foreheads slowly touched.
Jane knew what this meant, but she didn't mind. It felt right, it felt true. The cold touch of his plate, his talons stroking her shoulder pulled her into a reality that was truer than anything she ever felt before. As he looked into his eyes, she knew that there was no going back.
No other man could ever touch her anymore.
Her heart leaped and time turned back. To all the times he looked at her while fighting, dancing through the enemy. When he woke up on Namakli, under the wreckage. When she first looked into his eyes on Virmire, trying to convince him.
It was him, and it had always been just him. From the first moment she laid her eyes on him, all this time, she knew where they would end up. Unspoken for so long, it came to the surface now. No one ever understood her or protected her the way he did. No man came close to him in anything. No one could replace his intelligence, the works of his wonderful mind, the raw power, the way his coldness warmed up around her. The feeling of the cold danger he emanated thrilled her.
The blue light of the fish tank enveloped them, the jellyfish innocently swimming around. Leviathan's words hang around in the air, deep in the caves of their minds.
"You are singular unknowns, reverse of the same core."
Her nails dig into his robe on his chest, his mandibles clicking slightly in reply. She relaxed in his embrace, letting his hand ascend to her face and dig into her fiery hair. A slow, deep, seductive growl escaped from his throat that made Jane move even closer to him. As she touched his jaw, his head eased into her hand. The texture of his skin was fascinating.
All she could see was his eyes, burning into hers like fire. His embrace tightened. A sharp talon traced her jawline as their noses touched, the cold of his silver plates on her warm, pale skin. They breathed, her lips inches away from his. The world became hazy.
Saren moved.
"Commander, wherever you are, you are needed in the war room right this instant!" Joker's voice ripped them out of the moment, shattering the illusion. Jane pushed herself away from him in her surprise, almost scared by the abrupt noise. Saren exhaled through his nose while burying his face in his right palm. The sudden lack of contact left them dry, dim. He looked at her, wanting nothing else just to touch her again. He was going to kill Joker one day.
"What the fuck, Joker?!" her husky voice ripped through the air, almost shouting at the comms.
"I'm sorry but it's important Commander, it cannot wait." he replied. Jane sighed, looked at Saren in frustration and just decided to go. She stormed out of her quarters.
"What happened?" Jane asked as she entered the war room with Saren closely behind her. Garrus, EDI, Traynor and Tali were there, all of them looking anxious.
"Kai Leng just reached his destination" Traynor started "He's currently on Horizon, where the Sanctuary facility is. We also just now received news that the facility has gone dark, after reaper activity detected in the system."
Jane closed her eyes, a deep sigh leaving her lips. This was the worst possible timing for Leng to appear, and not just because of it disturbed her and Saren, but because they were only an hour away from Haestrom. And the reapers too… can't she just have a moment of piece?
"We have to turn back" Garrus suggested "Otherwise whatever Leng wants to do on Horizon we'll not be able to stop."
"That reaper is extremely important, and we may not have another chance like this" Tali added "But we know that Leng carries information about the Catalyst. The reaper is an unknown on the other hand. I understand if you want to turn back to Horizon."
Even though Tali was telling the truth, it did not make it easier for Shepard. Saren stepped forward and basically voiced her thoughts:
"I disagree. Both are equally important. We have no idea how long that reaper is going to be there, if it's dead or just deactivated. If we miss this opportunity we might never have another again, and it could contain information that we can get from nowhere else. But the same goes for Leng, too. If he escapes, we may never see him again until it's already too late. You need to choose, Jane."
She looked at him. His expression was strong, firm and confident. He nodded at her.
"We need both" she started after a moment of silence. "We're already here. Tali and I can meet up with the geth near Haestrom in an hour, but without the Normandy. We can board the reaper from the geth ship and conduct the investigation. In the meantime, you turn back to Horizon with the Normandy, beat up that fucker Leng and come back to pick us up."
This was the first time Jane saw Saren genuinely surprised. His mandibles clicked anxiously, opening his mouth to speak, but Garrus spoke sooner.
"Shepard, this is crazy..."
"I will not leave neither the reaper, nor Leng behind. They're too important!"
"I'll go to the reaper" Saren stated without hesitation, his voice almost commanding.
"Bullshit, you need to go after Leng. You'll lead the ground team on Horizon."
Garrus snorted. "What?"
"You cannot go on the reaper alone!" Saren argued, ignoring the fact that Jane just given him command over the ground team "I'm reaper tech, I will go to the reaper, it's crazy the other way around..."
"Saren!" she argued "This was an order." she sighed, letting her anger and frustration go, and let the logic take over "You almost killed Leng on Thessia. He's afraid of you, and we need to use that. You have to be the one to chase him, he's likely to make more mistakes like that. Besides, the deactivated reaper is probably a trap anyway. And let's be honest, it's probably made for me and not you. I need to be on that reaper for this investigation to mean something."
The sharpness of the silence was so dense in the room, it could be cut with a knife.
She was fucking crazy, and even though that was what he loved about her, he just couldn't accept this plan. It was too much, too risky and was borderline insane.
"Fuck this, Jane" he said it out loud, the others in the room in dead silence. "You may be the Commander of this ship, but I will not assist you in killing yourself."
"Then you can fuck off of this ship if you're not respecting my orders!" she shouted, then turned to EDI "EDI, get Cortez to ready the shuttle. Tali, round up that geth ship, I want to be on board in an hour. After we drop, Joker will set a course for Horizon immediately. Understood?"
"Aye-Aye" came Joker's voice from the comms.
She nodded and stormed out of the room, almost knocking Saren up in the process.
"Way to go, asshole" Garrus noted as he looked at Saren, then left the room himself.
Hi! 3
Thanks for reading my fanfic so far 3 Just a little author's note.
I just wanted to let you know that this fanfic is going to have an alternative ending instead of the canon one in the original games. As you might have noticed, this is the chapter where the main line starts to differ from the default route, so just wanted to let you know that there will be an alternative ending here (when we'll get to it).
I did paint Jane today because I was in the mood. If you wanna check it out head to my DeviantArt page, I go by the same username, so WorldAnchor. :) I might paint Saren OR the two of them together next, so you can watch me there if you're interested. ;) I have also started uploading the chapters to DeviantArt for funsies.
I cannot even tell you how much it means to me that someone is reading this. This story was in my mind for years, and I almost gave up on art, but this is giving me life 3 I hope you'll continue to like it :)
Ps. Next chapter comes on Sunday (so 5 days from now, as usual).