A/N: I lied, haha - this, however, will be the last update for over a week. Hopefully this'll get the story into people's filters that get rid of fics under 20,000 words - I'm a little surprised at the lack of response however, though I'll keep on posting, rest assured!
The entire crew was tense during the journey to the Citadel, mainly because of the silence that Andy and Jack seemed to be treating each other to, and while the former still conversed with Liara and Kar'Shaal, the latter had sequestered herself in the Engine Room - refusing to speak to anybody. While Andy was still pissed off at the fact that she had suggested that he was low enough to simply use all of what he had done for her in order to get sex, he had understood her reasoning. She hadn't known anything else before in her life; to her, sex was payment, or a way to get things, or to manipulate people. She knew nothing of genuine affection, of unconditional actions, and it was clearly confusing for her, but Andy held his morals in very, very high regard; not breaking them for anything or anybody, and to have it implied that his morals allowed for such an act was downright insulting - hence the reason why he hadn't tried to patch up their tenuous relationship. She had to come to that conclusion herself. She needed to understand that she had to disregard all previous stereotypes of men, especially ones that liked her, when it came to him because as well as being unique in regards physical attributes Andy was also a rather rare specimen in regards his morality and personality.
"Andrew." The Commander looked up from his datapad that had all the information he'd typed up about things he could remember from the games and gave a small smile to the nervous-seeming Asari.
"What can I do for you Liara?"
"Kar'Shaal and I are worried about the dynamic of the crew at the current time - it has deteriorated to rather low standards ever since the Pragia mission."
He let out a sigh and placed the datapad on his desk where it automatically locked with an eternity-code algorithm of his own design and sat back with a nod. "I know, and don't think for a second that I'm not worried as well. I've taken, and am taking a big risk with this course of action in regards dealing with Jack. It has every chance of going pear shaped and blowing up in my face, but… if it works like I hope it will then Jack will understand me better, and hopefully we can get closer."
"So you are risking the crew, us, for a personal relationship?"
Her tone wasn't accusing, but rather confused and curious, and he shook his head in the negative, "Not at all Liara; I wouldn't risk anybody on my crew. Jack was always anti-social with you two, and it's me that'll get kicked in the face if this turns back on me and she lets her anger and past experiences dictate her actions. I'm powerful enough to contain her, so neither of you are at risk. Even though I like her, and care a great deal for her, and want to help her, that doesn't mean that I'd put you two in danger just to get ahead in our relationship."
Liara's nodded with a thankful smile and went up to the cockpit of the ship, likely to inform Kar about what he had said, and Andy gave yet another sigh before hauling himself from his own seat and walking up after giving them a couple of minutes to discuss the issue in private. He looked out at the rapidly approaching citadel and gave a small smile; his eyes glittering with restrained awe. Back on Earth, at least the one where he was born, there wasn't a single piece of art or architecture as incredible as the one in front of him. It seemed to glitter in the void of space, and he shook his head slightly as he thought about its true purpose; as a gateway for the Reapers.
"This is Destiny Ascension," came the hailing a few seconds later, "please identify yourself."
Andy leant forwards; his hands resting on the back of Kar's chair. "This is Andrew Kronos; Commander of the Icharus. I'm sending through advance credentials now."
He flickered through a series of programs on his Omni-tool, and a moment later the feminine voice came over the speakers once more. "Credentials received and verified - welcome back Mister Kronos. Your docking bay is clear and ready to receive you; we hope you enjoy your stay."
"Will do Control, Kronos out."
"I knew that they had 'rich people' protocols, but that's just ridiculous! Do they have C-Sec waiting at the docks to check if we're smuggling or anything?"
Andy shook his head with a wide grin and started walking towards the stairs, "The benefits of being rich Kar." He ignored the muttered, "Bosh'tet" and walked half-way down the stairs before bellowing out, "Jack, we're docking in five minutes - get ready to head out."
He hesitated for a moment, hoping for a reply, but gave a resigned sigh when none came even after thirty seconds of waiting and returned to the bridge before heading up to his cabin and getting changed into his smartest clothes befitting of his supposed status in society; he had to look the part when he stepped off a private dock after all. Returning to the deck he watched as Kar expertly manoeuvred the ship into position and initiated the docking clamps with an almost inaudible hiss. As the three made their way to the airlock they caught sight of Jack emerging from the lower deck and silently accepted her into the group when she entered along with them. It was a tense few seconds as the decontamination cycle ran its course, but finally the outside hatch opened and allowed them to advance onto the Citadel.
They were surrounded by expensive and egotistically spacious apartments that had their own private gardens; both a complete luxury on the Citadel where space was in high demand. Andy led them down the path that ran perpendicular to the housing complexes, and then finally stopped outside one of the biggest ones on the entire block. Grinning at all three of his companions' gaping expressions he made his way up to the front door and opened it with a wave of his Omni-tool, which quickly initiated a decryption program that would take even a Geth mainframe five days to brute force, and if such an event came to pass then he'd be alerted the moment the hack began. He hadn't yet visited the new apartment; he'd sold off Cerberus' when he was on Omega and purchased this one immediately after the sale. He'd taken one look at the space and facilities it contained and he was sold, with subtle bartering like the basement level which spanned a massive 60 meters squared underground being reinforced with barriers to withstand biotics, and a gym installed along with various other equipment.
The realtor had wisely not asked why he needed a lead-lined operating theatre.
Looking around he found himself grinning despite himself; it was all he'd ever envisioned his dream house to be, and more. Finally turning back around to face his comrades and friends he smiled and waved his arm towards the stairs, "Well follow me and I'll give you the tour."
They were amazed at the luxury each of their rooms had, and were more than shocked when Andy informed them that they were officially theirs for as long as they liked - none more surprised than Jack. Each room had walls that could be changed to display any scene or landscape the owner wished, and give the smells of the scene to make it as lifelike as possible to boot, as well as having their own ensuite, miniature kitchen and bar, terminal, walk-in wardrobe, and a king-sized bed that put any ship quarters to shame, even his own on the Icharus.
He then led them back onto the ground floor which had a fully-equipped kitchen, and took them through the deliciously spacious living room that was coloured a crème colour just like the rest of the house. On a whim he changed the entire colour scheme of the house to neon pink, but quickly readjusted it when Jack and Kar's protests nearly burst his eardrums. He had to admit that he quite liked the current deep crimson, swirling, fluid-like feature walls and neutral colours far, far better than the pink. Liara spent ten minutes looking around the operating room to check its suitability for surgery, and in the end, with wide eyes, proclaimed it the most advanced and capable theatre she had ever seen. The outdoor pool in the backyard was the next stop, and Kar could only shake his head at the spectacle; to the Quarian race, hell, even to any Citadel race, the space wasted was phenomenal.
The basement was a highlight for everyone, especially Jack when Andy outlined the protections it had around it to prevent any structural damage from biotics. He had a bad feeling that she took that as a challenge to actually manage that precise feat, but put that thought aside when she caught his eye and then immediately looked away, a frown marring her brow. After getting a quick bite to eat the four made a few trips backwards and forwards to the ship in order to bring their clothes, some armour, and other belongings to their respective rooms, and Andy spent that time creating new cyphers for his crews' Omni-tools; his home, as far as he was concerned, was now their home too. Of course their rooms would be private, but any other place they'd have access to.
Finally they had finished and Andy collapsed back onto the sim-leather couch that sat in front of the huge holo-screen in the lounge. Liara and Kar joined him a moment later on some of the other chairs, and Jack hovered near the stairs leading upwards to their rooms. He leant forwards after a moment and gave a small smile. "I know it's going to sound weird, well perhaps not to Kar because we've known each other for a couple of years, but I trust each and every one of you with my life." Jack looked especially surprised at this revelation, but her frown returned with more force than previously a moment later.
Andy put it aside for later thought.
"So this place is just as much yours as it is mine. Of course if you stab me in the back you'll not be coming back here, but I consider you all friends. Liara," he smiled at the Asari in question, "already knows that in just under two years we'll be getting recruited by John Shepard, dependant on us making a name for ourselves of course. Once that happens we won't be coming by here for a while, if ever, as we'll be aboard his ship stopping this universe from getting destroyed. For the time being however, feel free to come and go as you please, but if you run out of something or use the last pack of bread or whatever then please place a requisition order to the apartment's system. I know it seems trivial, but if I come down one morning and find that I don't have bread for a sandwich I'm liable to throw a fucking tantrum, and you don't want that."
He saw a smile twitch at Jack's lips while Liara just looked at him like he was mad, and he sent the latter a grin; not wanting the former to know that he'd caught the amusement in her expression - it seemed that she wanted to keep up the brooding appearance for the moment. Looking at his Omni-tool he stifled a yawn and gave them all a smile. "Well it's six ninety four Citadel time so I'm going to make myself something to eat and then head off to bed; it's been a long day and I could do with some shut eye or a nice, long bath… maybe both." Without waiting around to see the reactions to his statement he headed to the kitchen and quickly whipped himself up a few sandwiches with genuine cheese and ham, sculled down half a bottle of milk, and then made his way contentedly to his bedroom.
It was notably more advanced and larger than the others, but he had decided that he deserved a little bit more considering it was his money that'd paid for the place… at least some of it was - technically Cerberus funded the greater part of it with the sale of their apartment, but who was taking down specifics? He had just changed into his sim-silk boxers (real silk was a complete rip-off in his opinion, and sim-silk lasted longer anyway) and was about to head into the bathroom to draw himself a bath when his door flashed green and chimed pleasantly, indicating that somebody was wanting entrance. Having an idea who it was already he allowed it with a, "Come in," and a second later it hissed open to reveal Jack standing outside looking uncharacteristically nervous. He pulled on a singlet as she fidgeted and then sat down at his desk chair before motioning that she should come inside.
She gave an unsure nod and entered; sitting down on the spare chair on the other side of his bed, and then looked anywhere but him. It took several minutes of silence before she finally managed to blurt out, "I'm fucking sorry, okay?" and Andy gave her an amused look, prompting her to explain when she caught sight of it; her cheeks flushing red in either anger or embarrassment he couldn't tell at first. Her words however, made it abundantly clear. "Look Kronos, I don't know what the fuck you're playing at; whether it's one of your mind-screwing tricks or what… but I miss you coming down and just hanging around." Knowing that she was intentionally and consciously presenting herself in a vulnerable position he wiped all amusement off his face and nodded seriously as she continued letting her frustrations out. "Those three days before Pragia; you came down and just… like, fucking talked. You didn't touch, you didn't push, you didn't bribe, you didn't stare, and you just talked to me like I was the most normal fucking thing in the universe. People've never done that Kronos, fucking never."
"Well I'd say they do, else what am I?"
She met his eyes for a brief second before jumping to her feet and beginning to pace backwards and forth in front of him; blue occasionally flaring over her skin as her emotions ran rampant. "You didn't even lie when I asked you whether or not you liked me Kronos; you just came out and said 'yep, I'm attracted to you', and then you throw away a chance to fuck me. That's not normal Kronos; nobody throws away a fuck with no strings."
He gave a snort, and her head snapped in his direction at the sound. He stared into her eyes while raising his eyebrow, "No strings? If I'd have just, as you put it, fucked you, you mean to tell me everything'd stay the same? I'd bet the moment we were done you'd think of me like scum, and that's not what I am Jack. I didn't come and try and make up because you needed to understand it yourself without me putting a fly in your ear: I'm not fucking normal Jack. I'm barely human anymore, because let's face it: I'm more cybernetics and fusion-tech than anything else. I'm not like any other man you've met, and you need to throw away all your baggage that's screaming at you that I'm just like the rest; that I just want to use you and then toss you aside - because I'm not."
She looked at him, her face unreadable, and he changed the topic so abruptly that she jerked her head back to face him. "Pragia, Jack. When we were in your cell, sort of like now, you were vulnerable… and I swear to God Jack that I mean this in a non-bad way, but you were weak." He saw her jaw clench tightly and her eyes light up with anger, but flared his biotics and held his hands up in a show of peace. "Now before you kill me Jack, let me tell you what I saw - right then, and right now. I saw a woman who got fucked over by a human extremist organization; who lived through years of hurt and horror; conditioned to enjoy murder and pain. I saw a woman who'd fought against the odds and broken free; lived her life the best she could with what she had, and I saw that determination in your eyes to fight for something better, despite the fact that you thought that such a thing didn't exist. I saw a woman who was on the path to putting the past behind her, and moving onto something better; an existence free of the haunting spectres. The difference between Pragia and now, Jack, is that right now you don't have a fucking clue what you're feeling, do you?"
The confusion in her eyes, as well as the struggle as the rage tried to come through but was unusually dampened, was enough of an answer for him, and so he continued talking in his calm, measured tone to keep things from turning hostile… because the next bunch of things he was about to say had the potential to get him killed. "When I came down and talked to you, you felt like someone finally understood you right? Could finally relate to the shit you'd been through, at least to an extent." She gave an unsure nod and he nodded back, "Right, and you felt like you could tell me shit without me stabbing you in the back? And that I was telling you the truth even though you were still suspicious?" Again a nod, and more confusion in her eyes, and he took a deep breath. "Okay, and then you found yourself actually looking forward to our little chats, eh? Hell, you even came up to the main deck to sit with me a couple of times."
She nodded again, but her impatience reared its head and was voiced by a frustratedly confused, "Yeah, but what the fuck?"
"Jack, that's what the beginning of a relationship feels like."
We've just lost cabin pressure.
"…the fuck did you just say Kronos?"
"I said," he repeated with a deep breath, "that that is what affection feels like… that's what it feels like to want to be closer to the other person." Silence reigned supreme in the room they both inhabited, and Jack just stared at him with her deep-red lips parted in complete shock. Taking another deep breath he scratched the back of his head. "So considering I'm in line for execution already, I'm going to throw all the cards on the table right here, right now, because I want you to know I'm not fucking around with you, and so you know what I intend to happen. I'm attracted to you, heavily, both in a physical sense and in a mental one too. You're devilishly funny and sarcastic, you're dangerous but you have a softer side that I want to see, and I'm going to be blunt here because I think you'd kill me if I was anything else: your tattoos look fucking sexy.
"What do I want to do with you Jack? Well I'll tell you. I'd like to take you out sometime on a date," he saw anger flare into her eyes, overpowering her shock, and a moment later he found himself pinned to the wall with a very, very pissed off biotic right in his face. A second after that however, she found herself in the reversed position; with her pinned to the wall, and Andy standing in front of her; his biotics whirling around him in a lightshow of blue. She couldn't even speak because of the force he was putting into his restraining efforts. His expression had changed from what it had been earlier; his serenity now gone and replaced instead by a heated frustration. "You'll stay still and listen until I'm done Jack, because this isn't fucking easy for me either!" He saw shock in her eyes once more at the tone he was taking with her, and realized that he was likely the only person who had every dared to speak to her that way and had the means to survive afterwards.
"I know you're not a prissy woman who'd like to go to a nice restaurant and see a vid, and if you think I'm so inconsiderate of you that I'd suggest such a thing then GET THAT OUT OF YOUR GODDAMN HEAD!" By this point his nose was virtually inches away from her own, and his pulsing blue eyes were burning into her shocked, confused, and slightly, the tiniest glimmer, hopeful chocolate orbs. "I'm not looking to change you Jack; I like you just as you are. I like that you're volatile, but I also like that you seem to trust me and respect me enough to forego most of your shell and let me in… to an extent. You know the one thing that truly stands out in my memories of you Jack? It happened exactly…" he peered at his Omni-tool, "seven days, sixteen hours, and seventy three minutes ago. You were talking about moulding your biotics into shapes to increase your control, and you and I played around for a while on the ship table, and then you pulled up Tinkie Winkie from the Telletubbies show over a hundred years ago.
"At that precise moment you bared yourself almost completely to me, whether you knew it or not. You pretty much told me that you still wanted that innocence; that childhood dream of happiness, and I could see it in your face. You were watching me like a hawk to see my reaction; whether I'd laugh at you, reject you, make fun of you… and when I moulded my biotics into Dipsy… do you have any idea just how breathtakingly beautiful you are when you genuinely smile Jack?" He watched her eyes widen, but he forged on - he'd committed himself to this course of action now, and there was no turning back. He knew it was too sudden, too emotionally huge to throw onto Jack all at once, and he knew that it could take days, weeks, hell, even months for her to work her way through what he'd said and her emotions to his words, but to pull out now could ruin it for good. "Your whole face lights up; your eyes soften and become warm; and you just seem to… become another person." It was then he saw the panic entering her eyes, and he nodded his head. "That's right Jack; I've seen you."
He felt his biotics suddenly strain against the huge burst of energy Jack put forth, but tamed it albeit with a herculean effort. "STOP!"
Once more her shock at being talked to in such a way distracted her long enough for him to reign her in and completely suppress her, and he stared right into her eyes. "I'm not like all the others," he murmured quietly, "I'm not going to use you, I'm not going to throw you aside, I'm not going to leave you, and I'm not going to betray you. I'm not going to kill you, and you're not going to kill me, because you can't, and you know it. Now Jack, I'm going to do something risky right now. I'm going to do something that I'm sure you'd normally kill a man for if they did it to you, and I want you to concentrate on how it feels." He saw her eyes light up with terror and absolute horror at what she thought he was implying, but he went ahead before she could work herself up into a complete frenzy.
All at once he released her from his biotic hold, and at the very same moment wrapped his arms around her slim body before pulling her into a warm, soft embrace. If anything she became even stiffer after he'd released her from his biotic restraints. "This is what it can feel like to not be alone Jack," he murmured by her ear; the biotic amp blinking away by his lips, "this is what it can feel like to have somebody by your side that will do anything for you… except it feels even more amazing than this." Lifting his head away from her ear he hesitantly, but tenderly pressed his lips to the top of her head in a chaste kiss before resting his chin there for a second. "This is what it can feel like, if you embrace it, allow it to happen, give into it… this is just a fraction of what it can feel like if it evolves and turns into love Jack."
The two stood there, silent, for minutes until Andy pulled away and almost smiled at the reluctance in Jack's body to allow him to do so. Despite the fact that she hadn't returned the hug her body still leant towards his when he let her go, but he took a step back so it was impossible without her being conscious of it. She looked completely lost; out of her depth, and he took pity on her. He let out a sigh and returned to his seat by his desk before looking at her again, and saw her staring right back at him - her eyes holding a whirlwind of emotion; confusion, fear, hope, anger, softness… all at once. It was an almost overpowering thing to see. "Jack, I've said all I think I can say on this matter. I want to… explore the connection we have and see where it goes. I'd very much like it to turn into a romantic relationship, but if it stays as friendship I'd be happy as well, though not as happy as with the former option. I've said what I want to say, and I've said it because I've been thinking about it for a long time, and you haven't." He pointed to the door leading back out into the hallway, and it hissed open at his action. "I'm sorry I slammed you with all this at once, but I know you don't like bullshit, so I've put my cards on the table… and I don't want to fight you, because I like you too damn much, and you need to blow off your emotions. Head down to the basement and use the holographic combat simulator, and then get some sleep, 'kay?"
She nodded mutely before turning on her heel and walking silently out of the room, and the door hissed shut behind her before locking with a small, almost inaudible snap. Andy stared at the space Jack had been standing mere moments before for several seconds, and then buried his face in his hands with a groan, "What the fuck did I do that for?"
It had been four weeks since the night-time confrontation between Jack and Andy, and while they had talked it had only ever been about the couple of freelance missions they'd done, and the planning for the attack on the Shadow Broker. Andy found himself seriously missing the talks they'd had on board the Icharus, but under the circumstances he wasn't surprised, nor could he be mad at anybody but himself for the state of affairs he found himself involved in. He had sat Kar and Liara down one morning when Jack was down in the basement working out her biotics against the virtual system and told them what was happening, as he believed they had the right to know what was going on in the team dynamic, and they had thanked him for the consideration before agreeing not to aggravate the situation in any way.
At that moment Andrew was in the kitchen drooling over a monster sandwich he had made. It was literally twenty centimetres high, and he was more than a little proud of the achievement. He was just about to take a bite into it when a familiar voice broke his concentration, and grip, which sent the sandwich falling apart and into the plate in front of him; reduced to a mess of meats, bread, cheeses, and greens. He looked like somebody had just shot his puppy. "Whoops," murmured Jack with a smirk, and he turned his eyes onto her; blasting forth with the full force of his perfected googly-eyes - excess moisture and all. She blanched at the expression, and quickly took on a look of fear and terror when she felt herself wanting to apologise. "Fuck off!" she yelled before he could reduce her further, and he dropped the act before sending her a grin, picking up a fork, spearing a few of the morsels that used to be in his sandwich, and eating them.
"Hey, you ruined one of the best sandwiches I've ever made Jack, you deserved The Look."
She snorted with what passed as laughter for her, and then stared at him as he quickly demolished the meal and then placed the dirty kitchenware in the washer. She was silent for several moments, and Andrew made sure to keep himself moving around pretending to be busy in order to prevent any awkwardness - it was the first time in four weeks that she'd actively sought him out, and he wasn't about to screw it up because he made her feel uncomfortable. He noted that she was once again wearing the skin-tight black tank-top he'd brought her to wear on the Icharus; it had apparently become her favourite piece of clothing bar her boots. "The offer still open for those lessons on manipulating and shit… Andrew?"
Hiding his complete and utter shock at the question was the hardest thing he'd ever had to do, and for multiple reasons. Firstly, she'd actually asked for help… pretty much - and that was something that she'd only ever done once in the game, and that was asking Shepard to nuke Pragia. Thinking about the relationship in the game forced jealousy to rise up in his gut; the thought of another man being with Jack now that he'd truly met her made him feel nauseous. Secondly she'd called him by his name, not Kronos, not even Andy, but Andrew and that was something that he'd never thought would happen. He could feel the hope bubbling up in his chest, but all thoughts of that went out the proverbial window when he looked up, and found his jaw unconsciously slackening.
Jack; the infamous, dangerous, hateful, ruthless biotic… was blushing.
Somewhere a crate of ice skates had been shipped to Hell.
Forcing himself to come to his senses and actually answer the woman he nodded and forced away his shock - instead giving her a wide smile. "Sure, you want to start now?" Nodding with a look of surprise on her face he motioned for her to follow him and walked down into the basement. Liara and Kar were using the gym, and hid their expressions at seeing the two together very well; simply continuing their workout as if nothing were amiss. Leading Jack into the centre of the biotical area he called up his Omni-tool and rerouted all power to the shielding grid.
Liara and Kar looked up anxiously as the lights flickered and then dimmed, and watched with awe as the shields entered the visible spectrum; latticing all around the area that surrounded Jack and Andrew. The female biotic eyed the merc warily, her stance indicating her caution, and he smiled at her. "Just precautionary," he assured as he sat down cross-legged and motioned for her to do the same. She did so, and Andy noticed that Liara was standing outside the framework of the shielding looking very interested - and yet at the same time he was flattered he was also annoyed. It had taken him years to figure out how to fully unlock his biotic potential, and he wasn't about to just hand out how he did it willy-nilly; it was something he intended to keep inside his family.
Which was kind of why he was willing to teach it to Jack - because one day he hoped that she'd agree to be with him in a more… permanent way.
Lowering his voice to stop Liara or Kar from listening in, and noting that it added to the mysterious atmosphere, he looked right into Jack's eyes whilst sinking into lecture mode. "I kind of lied in a way about this technique; not anybody can do it - only biotics." Her interest was piqued, as he could see by the gleam in her eye, and he continued. "It does, however, require you to… unleash your biotics." A glimmer of anger this time, and he fixed her with a firm stare that stopped her words even before they formed. "I may like you and be attracted to you Jack, but you have no idea what I can truly do, and you have no concept of what true biotics are - nor do you understand the ramifications of me actually agreeing to teach you this. When I'm teaching you, you are a student and I am the teacher - you listen, and do precisely what I say, because doing otherwise could have your spleen hanging off Kar over there, and the rest of you spread pretty evenly over the rest of the room."
Her mouth snapped shut with an audible click and he nodded when he saw the intensity of her gaze; she respected him enough to let him have control over her, and that thought warmed him more than he thought possible, but he pushed it aside. There would be time to explore that later. "Okay, now there are several things you need to know about this - firstly, if you decide to go through this, you're going to have to be patient… and I mean very patient, as in 'sitting and meditating for five days' patient." Her eyes widened at the figure, but she nodded after a moment, and he gave her an appraising look that made her cheeks flush slightly, and had her wondering just what the hell was going on. Andy caught the flushing of her cheeks, but pretended not to see it. "Second, the process of unshackling your biotics is going to hurt… like an absolute bitch. You think you've felt pain? I can guarantee that you haven't."
Her gaze didn't waver, and he almost grinned, 'God she's tough'. "Right, and then there's the last… problem." He pulled out a syringe from his pocket and an angry glare immediately burned into him.
"What the fuck is that for?" she spat, and he placed it on the ground in-between them before holding his hands out placatingly.
"That, Jack, is a heavy sedative designed to knock you the fuck out when you finally unleash - because you're not going to be able to do it without your amp. The moment you unshackle your true abilities that little addition to your ear is going to kill you… just like mine nearly killed me."
She calmed almost immediately, and almost looked sheepish until she felt something warm on her hand and looked down to see Andrew's covering her own. He let it linger for a moment before withdrawing, and watched as her eyes travelled back up to his looking confused. He was tempted to tell her that what she was feeling was 'comforted', but decided against it; once again, that could be explored after the dangerous part was out of the way. "You see," he explained, "amps focus and amplify conscious electrical impulses in your brain to manipulate Eezo nodules in your nervous system; creating mass effect fields that are actually worth a damn. When you unshackle all that potential, you're going to hit Asari Matriarch levels of biotics at the very least… naturally. That means the control of you biotics are going to go through the roof, and your impulses are going to increase massively in power so that you can harness all that they have to offer."
"Right, so let me get this straight; I do this, I go through some boredom and pain, and then I get powerful as hell… with my amp I'd be fucking unstoppable Andrew, so what's the problem?"
"The problem," he admonished, "is that you'd flood your system with impulses, and your Eezo nodules could implode because of the instability… and as I said, your spleen would end up somewhere over there," he motioned towards where Kar and Liara had returned to their training because they couldn't eavesdrop, and Jack paled slightly.
"Right."
He gave a grin, "Yeah, so that's why I'll need to knock you out. This drug will suppress brain function for around twenty hours; more than enough time to get you into surgery and remove your amp."
She fingered the blinking piece of hardware wrapped around her ear absentmindedly, "So this will be gone then? Forever?" He nodded in the affirmative and her eyes took on a determined glint after a second, "Right then, let's fucking do this and get Cerberus' little tech-toy out of me."
He gave a laugh then, and she looked at him with raised eyebrows. "You're sure as hell not unleashing anything with that," he chuckled, "because I wasn't kidding when I said that you'd be meditating for a few days. It took me two years of meditation to find what you're going to be looking for, but hopefully I'll be able to lead you there without too much problem." He across at her and then gave a hum before standing. "Wait here," he ordered before jogging out of the room and up the stairs to the main floor, and Jack sat there looking at his retreating back with confusion written all over her face. He returned several minutes later carrying a huge bottle of water in one hand and a plate piled with sandwiches in the other. He sat down again and placed the food and water in front of her with a knowing smile, "You're going to need it. Eat it even if you feel like you're going to explode, and don't worry about having to go to the toilet; your body is going to be using every single bit of this for what you're going to be doing."
She nodded and began eating and drinking without complaint, but admittedly by the last cup of water and mouthful of sandwich she was looking rather queasy. She forced it down with a grimace and an uncomfortable shudder. Banishing the plate and bottle away with his biotics he smiled and gently pushed her backwards; his hand on her shoulder. He saw panic enter her eyes as he towered over her, but shook his head with a small smile, "Remember Jack, I'm different." She looked deep into his eyes for several seconds before closing her own and taking in a deep breath, and he watched as her body relaxed. "Good, now I'm going to be here the entire time, just sitting here and talking to you. I need you to listen very carefully to what I say, and do exactly as I order no matter what I ask and how silly it seems, okay?" He got another nod and he got himself settled next to the lying woman.
"Okay Jack, I'm just going to take off your boots okay? It'll make things a bit easier."
She nodded and he began unbuckling her knee-high footwear, a minute later sliding them off her surprisingly slender legs and off her petite feet. He shook his head slightly to clear it of the thoughts he was having; he should have expected such fragility and 'daintiness' from the rest of her slender figure, but her personality, biotics, and clothing offset such an image, and yet now, as she lay beside him, he found her entire figure surprisingly, but in his opinion wonderfully, feminine. He also noted that the tattoos continued even down her legs and onto the tops of her feet, but once again forced himself back to the task at hand. "Okay, now I want you to tense all the muscles in your feet as hard as you can, even if it cramps up." He watched her toes curl towards her soles and the tendons stand up on the tops of her feet with the effort, and then a grimace of pain flicker over her face. "Keep holding it, keep holding it, okay and now stretch and relax."
He repeated the process twice more on her feet before moving onto her calves, and then her thighs, until he was eventually telling her to relax her face for the last time - thinking it adorably cute how she looked when her face was all scrunched up, and how incredibly beautiful it was when she was relaxed. "Good. Now I want you to think of… your room upstairs. I want you to imagine yourself lying on your bed, completely safe. Your door is locked using my locking algorithms, so nobody but you can open it." He watched as her breathing became even slower and gave a smile to himself, at least until panic jerked through her body and she stiffened; her breathing coming in sharp, quick heaves. He immediately placed his hand over her own, and when he spoke his voice was commanding but soothing. "Only I can get in, only me, nobody else; no Cerberus, not rapists, no slavers, no nothing. No smells, no pain, no feelings but calm, complete calm, and I'm standing just outside ready to protect you."
To any person who hadn't seen Andy in action his words would have seemed egotistical, but to Jack who had felt the power of his biotics and strength of character it was in fact a very comforting thought, and she relaxed once more. He breathed a sigh of relief when her face turned serene and a slight smile tugged at her lips, and then continued speaking calmly, quietly, and soothingly, all the while wondering just what demons they would have to overcome in order to get deep enough to break the self-imposed hold humanity lauded over her biotics. It turned out that her demons were more frequent and violent than he had anticipated, so much so that she had jerked out of her meditative trance several times screaming in terror and had only calmed both herself and her biotics when Andrew had held her in an embrace for over twenty minutes at the least; his own biotics shielding him from any burns hers would normally wound him with. It had gotten to the point where he had had to resort to extreme measures, and so after another episode that left her shaking once more in his arms he gently lay her back down and gave a sigh. It had been two whole days since they had begun.
Her brown eyes looked up at him, and he could see the barely hidden fear in them that he would force her to delve back in and face the horrors once more. "Do you trust me Jack?"
Fear turned to confusion. "What?"
"Do you trust me? When I said… that night," she stiffened but continued listening, "that I wouldn't use you; that I wouldn't leave you; that I wouldn't betray you… did you believe me? Do you believe me completely?"
She frowned, and turned her head aside to break their eye contact. "That's pretty fucking deep Andy." She waited for several seconds before sneaking a glance up at him, and when she saw his waiting expression she gave a sigh before blushing a deep red and nodding. "Yeah," she whispered, and she felt a wave of heat run through her when she caught sight of his beaming smile. He quickly shook it off however, which she was grateful for because she still hadn't had time to understand or think about how she felt in regards their whole dynamic, and she looked back at him when she saw his mouth open to speak.
"I can help you Jack, with getting past those demons… but if I do it and you don't trust me; you don't accept me, then I'm going to die, painfully and violently."
The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees, and she sat up quickly to stare at him. "What? Why the fuck are you even suggesting it if there's a risk?"
"There is no risk if you trust me, because if you do then I won't die."
She shook her head almost as if in denial, "What the hell are you talking about Andy?"
He shuffled around slightly. "I'm talking about injecting my consciousness into yours through my biotics. It's something akin to Asari melding, but from what I've gathered it's more powerful, but far, far more selective. If I meld with you and you reject it, either consciously or subconsciously, then your own biotics will rip into me, and I won't be able to defend myself; I'll be torn apart piece by piece until I'm dead."
She drew her knees up to her chin, uncharacteristically vulnerable, although it was something Andrew was getting to be more acquainted with, and she stared at him with her searching hazel eyes boring into his icy blue. She murmured something that even his enhanced senses couldn't pick up, and he leant forwards slightly, where she whispered her two words once more. "I'm afraid."
His eyes softened at the confession, and he was both ecstatic and heartbroken at the words; the former because it had taken Shepard, in the game at least, two entire years to get her to lower her shields, and the latter because she was afraid of such a thing as trust. "I know." She looked up in surprise, and he sent her a small smile. "I know you're afraid, and I know you're worried, but I'm not going to stab you in the back, or abandon you. I'm here for as long as you want me, and I'm loyal to myself so nobody's going to manipulate me into breaking that promise. You've said it yourself Jack; I refused your offer for a 'quick fuck', and I know you know how much I meant what I said that night." This time she didn't look away from his eyes at the mention of their conversation four weeks ago, but he could still see the hint of a blush on the skin of her cheeks he could see above her bare knees, and the glimmer of warmth and happiness in her eyes.
"I trust you," she murmured after a couple of moments, as if she was afraid of anybody but him hearing despite the empty room, and he reached over to rest his hand on hers. Surprisingly she moved slightly and intertwined their fingers, and Andy was left in a state of slight shock for several moments, at least until she spoke. "I don't know why the fuck this has happened so fast. I never thought… I always thought I'd be alone; that nobody would ever understand. I never thought I'd feel like this for you… or anyone" she murmured, not once breaking her eyes away from his, "but I do… and I like it. It's what I always thought happiness would be like… but even better, and I want more of it." He smiled and squeezed her hand, and she lifted her face from her knees to smile at him; one of her beautifully genuine smiles that he'd seen only once before. "I want to be in a… relationship with you… a serious one."
He nodded, his own smile lighting up his face. "I'd like that very much, but you're setting the pace, okay? I don't want to hurt you or force you into something you're not ready for."
She nodded, her smile brightening even more, and he leant forward to pull her into a hug which she, for the very first time, returned. The feeling that evoked in Andrew was indescribable. Finally he pulled back, and this time he could feel the reluctance in her arms to let him away from her, but she finally relented. He saw the fully-fledged blush on her face and knew that he was the only person, ever, to have seen her like that, and felt privileged. "So how do we do this?"
He smiled and lay down next to her, and he saw her glance down to their still-intertwined fingers with an almost giddy smile before following his actions and lying down as well; closing her eyes once more, but this time focussing on the warmth of his hand instead of the 'room' she had been in for the past two days. "Now I'm going to push my biotics into you. I've never done this before apart from in simulations, so I don't know what this will feel like to you."
He felt her nod her understanding from beside him and slowly let his energy trickle through his fingers and into her body. He felt her shiver, but then a contented hum growl from the back of her throat. "Feels so warm," she murmured happily, and he let out a sigh of relief before allowing his biotics flow more freely. With more time he became increasingly aware of her being; her breathing, her heartbeat, and after nearly an hour her feelings and emotions. With a sudden spike he felt her panic as he saw the door to her 'room', but swathed his biotics around her mind comfortingly. He looked around the empty hallway with narrowed eyes. Inside Jack's room was her sanctuary and nothing should be able to reach her there, and yet they had… and he could feel things lurking in wait around him. Him being where he was in such a mind was incredibly dangerous; something he had purposefully neglected to mention to Jack when telling her of the consequences.
She thought that the hurdle was her trusting him.
She couldn't have been more wrong.
He was inside a foreign mind, however much the owner of it truly accepted and cared for him, and anything that happened to him in here would be replicated in the outside world because her entire being recognized him as not-self. It was a protection mechanism, and it was deadly effective. Jack's own mind could scare her and hurt her when she was here, but her mind shied away from manifesting that damage physically. It had no such qualms with him. Taking a deep breath he stretched out tendrils of his biotics and felt them snap into place when they found the 'lifeforms' around him; dangerous and very, very powerful lifeforms, he noted uncomfortably. He had a few himself in his own mind, but he had tamed them; had caged them so that he could banish them - and his unleashed biotics had helped with that… but then again the demons hadn't been anywhere near as powerful, and here his biotic potential was severely stunted, as he was using the majority of his power to control his presence within Jack's mind.
His Omni-tool jumped into existence over his arm, and he felt several of the demons shift suddenly; coming closer until he could literally feel their rage and power radiating from just around the corners and within the doorways around him. After a breath he closed the haptic interface down. He couldn't risk these demons getting into Jack's sanctuary; it could completely ruin her. He could feel the rage of her inner monsters increase at the disappearance of his Omni-tool but ignored it in favour of erecting defences around himself and Jack's door, and then slowly charging his mental representation of his Eezo reserves with excess energy from the meld. When they were at full brink he let out a sigh and started his Omni-tool once more, this time engaging the decryption program. In her mind it wouldn't open the door immediately like it would in the real world; her mind was consciously judging him to see whether or not he was worthy of entry, and such a thing took time - mere seconds in the outside world, but minutes here.
The monsters knew this, and so did Andrew, and so they struck.
A horrific creature barrelled towards him with an inhuman roar; chunks of rotting flesh hanging from its bones and teeth, and poison dripping from its claws. When he looked into its empty eye sockets he could see the memory it represented, and felt his entire being flood with untainted fury at the beast in front of him, and of Cerberus. With a roar easily matching the beast's Andrew charged and plunged his arm right through its head before letting loose with a burst of energy that splattered the walls around him with its gore, and the entire place descended into chaos. As their numbers and power grew, so did Andrew's fury and horror at what Jack had had to endure in her life, and complete awe at how she could have even kept the hope of happiness burning. Memory after memory, demon after demon, and monster after monster attacked him until the hallway was a veritable gore-ground. Blood was splattered all over the walls, and remains of demons surrounded the panting biotic as he pulled more energy into his nodules.
And then Andrew felt the ground shake.
He turned his head towards the sound and watched with fearful but determined eyes as the beast's head came into view, and then its massive, disfigured torso, followed by its clawed, charred feet. It was easily the most disturbing, and horrifying thing he had ever before seen. His own demons were mere fluffy cats compared to the monster that was stood at the end of the hallway staring at him, and it was with a clenched heart that he looked it dead in the eyes.
"Oh god," he whispered as the memory rushed through him, and he fell to his knees with tears running down his face. Andrew had never cried, not once, in this universe. If he counted it in years, it had been over ten since he had actually shed a tear, and yet this one memory and the knowledge that it belonged to the most important person in his life… it nearly broke him. He didn't notice the huge thing charging towards him until he found himself impaled through the shoulder with one of its claws, and then shaken violently off into one of the walls where he felt his ribcage light up as if doused in fire. For the first time his own blood joined the blood of the immortal demons he had defeated for the time being, and he looked up with pain clouding his vision as the monster charged once more; a physical manifestation of the darkest horror he had ever experienced.
And then Andrew White, the twenty one year old biotic-infiltrator-mercenary hybrid, snapped. With a bestial roar his body was surrounded by a nimbus of blue light, and when the beast swung its great claws at him once more he grabbed the offending limb and tore it right off before leaping forwards and jumping onto it; latching his hands around its neck as it roared and pounded on him with its remaining arm in an attempt to get him off. He felt something in his leg snap when a particularly violent hit slammed into him, but ignored the blackness seeping into the edges of his vision as he clambered upwards, flipped himself around so that he had both legs over the beast's shoulders, grabbed onto its rotting, disfigured head, and then tore it right off.
Its movement stopped immediately, and Andy clambered off it; his broken leg collapsing agonizingly under him when he landed on the ground with a thud, but he watched through pained eyes as it collapsed and fell still with a sickeningly wet thud. Mere seconds afterwards the door dinged behind him, and he turned his head over his shoulder to see Jack staring at him with complete shock, and then worry as she took in his bloodied, injured state. "Oh fuck!" He allowed her to drag him inside the room, biting his lip painfully as his ruined leg trailed behind him to stifle the screams that wanted to escape his lips, and then watched as she took one last look out the door at the carnage before locking it again and hurriedly running to his side where she knelt down and was about to say something, but he cut her off before she could.
"No, you need to go and lie down." She looked at him like he was mad and he gave her a stern stare, "Now! I've brought you some time by defeating them, but they'll regenerate soon enough so now's your chance. Listen very carefully Jack, because I need to leave this place and get Liara to come and help me. You need to go and lie down and calm yourself, don't worry I'll be fine, okay?" She gave him a small, timid nod, and he nodded back. "Right, you need to meditate here like you did in the real world, and just keep sinking deeper and deeper. You'll start feeling a resistance, and it'll be strong. That's your mindscape. It'll hurt, horribly, but you need to use your biotics like a knife and cut through it; revealing what lies underneath. My unleashed power being here has weakened it enough to allow you a chance at this. You'll feel pulsing through the cut you make, like a heartbeat, and you need to focus on that and follow it to where it starts. You'll see something like a spider web, at least that's what I found, and small blips travelling around it. That's your nervous system, and the big balls around the web are your Eezo nodules, and you need to pop them; every single one except the one at the very centre. That one will absorb the rest, and the pain will be unbearable - especially when it pops itself. I can't sedate you until you're past that stage. Do you understand everything I've told you?"
She nodded tearfully, and the worry in her eyes increased when he let out a hacking cough and blood droplets hit her face. "Andrew-"
"No, go and do it now. I'll be alright after a week or so."
"But you're in my mind?"
"I lied," he admitted with a grunt, "everything that happens to me here happens to me out there, so I'm gonna be hurting for a while - but I'm okay with that," he assured her when the pain entered her eyes, "because this needed to be done. What's a little bit of pain to help you heal, eh? Now if you want to help me then get on that bed and start meditating. I'll see you when you come out, and then I'll sedate you pretty snappish. I'll be okay when you wake up again, okay?"
"Okay," she whispered, and then leant forwards to press a chaste kiss to his forehead, much like he'd done to her just over four weeks previously. He gave a weak smile as she blushed and walked away, and then retracted himself painfully from her mind. He let out a gasp as he re-entered the real world once more, and winced as fire tore up his side. Hurrying, as time passed quicker in the mind than in reality, he called Liara on his Omni-tool. She answered almost immediately, and gasped when she saw his bloodied lips. "Get down here right now," he wheezed, "and prep the operation room. Jack's about to release her potential, and I'm going to sedate her. I need you to remove her amp."
"But you're injur-"
"And we'll all die if her amp isn't removed once she wakes up," he growled painfully. "I'll heal quickly enough; I'm designed to. Just get down here now, and keep Kar away; his suit could get punctured with all the energy about to go flying."
She winked out of existence a moment later after nodding, and seconds after that Jack's eyes shot open and a piercing scream left her lips as she collapsed her Eezo nodules and forced all of their power into a single point, which would soon collapse itself. Even knowing that the power she would receive would help her heal her psyche couldn't detract from the guilt and pain he felt from seeing her in such agony, and he picked the syringe up from the floor before crawling closer to her. The moment they locked eyes he could see the awareness in her brown orbs, and he lifted the syringe before jabbing it right into her chest; puncturing through the muscle and injecting the contents right into her heart. Even her enhanced biotics couldn't purge the sedative for long, and five seconds later she fell silent as her mind was forced into an induced coma.
Liara ran into the room a moment later with a pack on her back and hurried through the barrier before rushing to his side. He waved her off frustratedly and pointed to Jack. "Her first," he murmured, and she gave him a small glare which he easily rebuffed with one of his own; so dark that she looked hurriedly away and immediately begun preparing Jack for surgery. He saw Kar run out of the lift with two gurneys, and he gave a small smile to himself as he saw Jack's peaceful face beside his. "Now you can heal," was the last thing he said before drifting into blissful unconsciousness.
