Note: Cutting down on the length of chapters a bit. Reunions come soon as do revelations. Review and let me know what you think.

Chapter 5

Liara had been waiting in the darkened room for some time, her patience a virtue learned from long stretches alone picking for relics at dig sites. Like a spider burrowed into the earth, she waited for her prey to walk into her grasp. Her clothes stuck to her skin, perspiration rolled down her face and into her eyes, forcing her to blink constantly. Only a few points of light, flickering electronic displays or the green glow of the door lock could be seen.

White light outlined the shape of the door before her, rays shooting out from small crevices. She knew who was coming. With a great rushing sound, the way was open and her eyes narrowed and focused in on the women before her.

"You are usually so timely. It's ironic you'd be late to your own funeral."

Nyxeris froze, her features twisting in the realization of what she had walked into.

"Shit." That was all the purple-hued asari could muster.

"Do you know why I've called you here today, Observer?" Liara said.

"You're the information broker. You tell me." Nyxeris said with venom dripping off of each word.

"I am here to terminate your employment. You can't serve two masters, both me and the Shadow Broker, at once." Liara stood now, seemingly rising from an ocean of nothingness as she reached her full height.

"You figured it out all yourself, did you?" Nyxeris said with her gaze straight ahead and unmoving.

"No. I had some help from a friend."

Liara purposefully circled around the woman with slow strides. She surveyed Nyxeris in detail as an admirer might do when someone pretty caught their eye. She was not sexually attracted to this woman though, whatever her inclinations might be in her personal life. Instead, this was the last chance she'd have to take in the person who betrayed her, imprinting her image in her mind.

With a firm hand, she pressed a panel on the wall, slamming the door shut. The room was suddenly bathed in light, causing her to squint slightly as her eyes now struggled to adjust once again.

"It was Shepard, wasn't it? That data she gave you from the terminals?" Nyxeris asked.

"Like I said, help from a friend. I can still rely on some people in this Galaxy."

Nyxeris snickered, an ugly expression. It was clear that she was unfazed by her current predicament, her body still erect, proud, and even accepting of what was to come.

"A friend? Shepard is more foolish than I would've thought. Your friendship is a one-way street, but maybe being dead has made her blind. Humans are too naïve and Shepard too taken in by our peoples 'natural abilities'. Tell me, did you always plan to use her when you slid your flesh against hers or did it just become clear what you could gain after she was spaced?"

Liara was now facing Nyxeris again. Her cold and detached expression flared in anger. "Do not speak about our relationship like that! You would know nothing of love or loyalty."

"And you would? Last time I checked your bondmate was flying around without you at her side. Is this the 'love' and 'loyalty' that you speak of?"

"Shepard understands," Liara began with her voice almost a growl, "that my mission is important, just as hers is. My actions showed how much I care for her. How much I lo-"

"Love? " Nyxeris said with a sardonic smile, "Love! Yes, I saw how 'loved' she felt as she fled your chambers nearly in tears. I saw how your hollow reasoning about your lust for vengeance comforted her. What a sweet, sweet girl yo-"

Liara roared and crackling, blue energy surged from her hand. Nyxeris was thrown like a ragdoll against a far wall, impacting with an awful thud. Her body was suspended above the floor, swirling with the projected force of her attacker.

"Your master brought all of this on us! That's why he has to pay! For everything he did to Shepard, and myself and Feron!"

Through her pain and gritted teeth, Nyxeris laughed. Her usual monotonous tone and reserved demeanor was gone, the façade shattered. "Really? Is that your justification for your pointless war? You could've walked away, Liara! You expect anyone to believe it was an idiotic drell and the deep feelings you have for a human bitch that drove you to all this?"

Liara pulled her hand back slightly then with a mighty swing of her fist released another wave of energy that slammed into Nyxeris. The woman screamed as again she was thrown, this time across the room into another wall. As her body flew helplessly in the air, anything in her path was thrown aside. Lamps shattered on the floor and furniture shifted as if aware to make way. Her pained and toothy smile was covered in her own blood from a trickle running down her nose.

"Don't talk about SHEPARD like that!" Liara yelled out, "The Shadow Broker tried to sell her to the Collectors! Feron sacrificed himself to save me!"

"Business, Liara! Just business! You'd know about all that, wouldn't you? How many credits in your bank account are clean? How many beatings and bodies in your name?"

Liara trembled with rage. Her face showed her anguish; lips quivered, eyes flooded with tears. "It's all for her! It's all for us! She knows I love her! I would, I have, killed for her! I have no regrets! I won't apologize!"

"For her! For her is it?" Nyxeris said as her voice shook in agony, "You know, the only difference between you and I, you and the Shadow Broker is that WE know what why we got into this line of work! You've deluded yourself into thinking what you do is for anything other than your own gain!

Liara sent out bolts of biotic power from her fingers, lashing at Nyxeris like whips against her body. The woman would not stay silent though, spitting her words through the torment.

"Maybe, just maybe Liara you are bad at this thing of ours and, worse, bad at prioritizing what you say matters?"

"I don't CARE about being an information broker! My only concern is-"

"Yourself! You couldn't get recognition wasting time as some scientist! You turned your back on your mother's dreams for you and had NOTHING to show for it! So you latched on to a human, who in her short life did more than what a century has earned you! Without SHEPARD your name would be SHIT!"

Liara had enough. She allowed Nyxeris to drop to the floor. The purple skin of her treacherous assistant was now singed and blackened. Blood streaked across her face, covering her natural markings.

"I am through talking," Liara began, "I don't have to justify myself to you!" A blue aura blanketed her with a gentle light. It began to grow in intensity, becoming no longer angelic but ominous and frightening. With her hands pointed towards the smoldering woman before her, she released all her power. Great sheets of energy cascaded down upon Nyxeris. The sound of her howling in suffering was drowned out by the rushing of waves of biotic force crashing into her like an angry tide.

"You pureblood BITCH! Fuck you!" Nyxeris rose slowly, struggling against the assault, and surrounded herself with a shimmering barrier. Rising to her feet, she charged at Liara, biotics giving her terrible power and speed. As she impacted, Liara groaned and fell, her body sliding across the floor. Nyxeris threw herself upon the stunned woman and began to pummel her mercilessly.

Liara tried to defend herself against the blows. As she would be hit in the face she could hear the smacking noise of bone impacting against flesh, feel the warmth of her own blood and even taste it in her mouth. At this proximity, Nyxeris' barrier would be of little use. Realizing this, she reached out her hand blindly and grasped for her attackers neck. She found it and began to squeeze tightly while her other arm swung forward with a right hook. A cry indicated that her strike had found its target. Rolling her body, she ended up on top of Nyxeris and choked her, pulling up and down to slam the woman's head against the floor.

Nyxeris fought bravely as her life slipped away from her. Her arms thrashed around, helplessly slapping against Liara. Eventually her color began to change as air failed to reach her lungs. Her resistance became weaker and slower. Her eyes stayed open, staring into Liara's own. Finally, she stopped moving, her face frozen and twisted in pain as she died.

For a few moments Liara did not let up her iron grip on the now dead woman's neck. With heaving breaths and muttered curses she held on and her fingers dug deeper into the flesh of the corpse beneath her. As her anger began to fade, she loosened her grasp. Her senses returned to her and she cried out in horror. Scrambling backwards on the floor, she looked at her handiwork, the lifeless and bloodied body before her. Her heart was beating, her chest rising and falling and her body began to feel the pain it had been numb to in its frenzied state.

She managed to get to her feet. The room looked as if a natural disaster had struck. Everything was a total mess and fragments of broken objects littered the floor. Blood was splattered against walls and the stench of burned flesh hung in the air.

Liara looked down on her hands. They were covered in blood. She gasped and ran quickly to another door in the corner of the room. It slid open as she came near and a small washroom was revealed. She thrust forward her hands under the faucet and water began to pour out. As the rushing liquid swirled down the drain, it began to carry away the color of the murder she had committed. Yet, not all of the blood would come off. Rubbing her hands together in desperation, she grew more distraught as her efforts failed to clean herself completely of the stains.

"Come off! Come off!" she said, nearly in tears "Damn it! Come off!"

Frustrated, she gripped the sides of the sink, the water still running pointlessly but providing enough noise to hopefully drown out her racing thoughts. Her head rose slightly and she looked into the mirror before her.

Who was this person? Her fingers began to search her own face. Was this her cheek? Were these her freckles? What of the dark rings under those sad and bitter eyes? Whose lips were these? They could not be the very same ones that once trailed kisses up and down her lover's body. This could not be the mouth that pursed in awkward confusion or smiled in greeting at those she cared for.

"Liara." she said. The voice was deep and rough. "How did you come to this?"

A terrifying realization rang out in her thoughts. She didn't want to believe it. Time must have changed her. The environment had made her this way. She was simply reacting to bad circumstances. It was the Shadow Broker's fault. Or the Collectors. Or the Reapers. This was for Shepard. This was for Feron.

The words swirling in her head were hollow, the same awful thought piercing through her excuses. The memory of the cold and arrogant gaze of her mother before her own fall came to the forefront of her mind. The vision of the face in the mirror was too frighteningly similar.

The Galaxy hadn't changed. Neither had she, not really.

"This is Liara T'Soni," she whispered to herself, "this has always been Liara T'Soni."

She wasn't different a different person. Just older and fiercer, is all.