CyanB spellsaver, wordwizard and source of inspiration. This chapter is for you ;)
Wishful thinking you might be mine
Every shiver sends
One breath under the bridge of sighs
Bending where the river bends
And every dream is just a dream after all...
From the song Paper Cup by Heather Nova
James and Garrus burst from the entrance of the subterranean ruins and into a thicket of entangled branches and vines. They fought their way through the mess only to find that spot where they had left Kaidan and Shepard was empty.
"This is so not good", James said, tension giving his voice an edge.
Garrus glanced at the radar but there was nothing to see. No red dots signifying enemies, no blue that could tell them where Kaidan and Shepard was. He cursed, dark sub-harmonics vibrating like a growl in his chest. "We need to find them. Now."
"We will", James said, a little taken aback by the churning emotions in the turian's intense gaze. "Don't worry, Garrus."
Together they searched the ground for any signs that would reveal in which direction Shepard and Kaidan had gone. The soil was soft after the rain and it didn't take them long to find two pairs of tracks taking off away from where the tree had fallen. They followed the tracks in amongst the trees towards the pyramid-like structure that towered over the rest of the ruins.
Kaidan knew he was in a bad state and going down quickly. He had overexerted his biotic powers without giving himself respite or replenishing his energy. He needed to eat, to take a dose of medi-gel combined with painkillers to fight the migraine. Cold sweat trickled down his back and he had to struggle to stay on his feet.
Shepard was pulling him along now, leading him up wide steps that curved around the pyramid towards the top. Her eyes once again had that eerie glow. The damp smell of decaying plant life, crumbling stone and that of the long since dead touched upon Kaidan's drained senses. Once again he felt the atmosphere thicken and the shadows come to life.
The whispering had started again. It urged them on. Calling to them in a language that was forged of blood and souls. A language spoken long before the Reapers emerged from the depths of deep space and stole the Protheans' very existence.
Kaidan felt himself begin swaying with the chanting voices growing louder in his mind, his feet moving as if by their own accord to follow the goading voices. Shepard was a shimmering figure in front of him, mysterious and ethereal. He struggled against the feeling of being controlled but his mind was sluggish, dazed. The voices seemed to be stronger the nearer the top they came until the chanting almost drove him to his knees.
They had ascended above the tree tops. Thin, torn sheets of clouds rushed across a full moon that hung low in the troubled sky. The steps ended in an open gallery with columns just below the top of the pyramid.
A large sphere hung above a slab of black stone placed in the centre of the gallery. The sphere glowed with a churning light that mingled with the moonlight to illuminate Prothean statues standing in a semi-circle around the altar-like stone.
"Oh god..." Kaidan mumbled. He shook his head, trying to clear it, and the jolt of pain made the haze lift a little. He could feel the power that radiated from the sphere. They had encountered artefacts like this before. One in Dr Bryson's lab and then many more during their hunt for Leviathan. But those spheres had been dark, black almost, while this one shone with a white glow.
Shepard moved towards it like a moth drawn to a flame.
Every instinct screamed in him to stop her, but he had no strength left. He was barely able to hold himself upright. His head was pounding, the pain so intense that it brought tears to his eyes and made him nauseous. But he didn't let go of her hand and as she extended her other hand towards the sphere and touched it, he felt a jolt as if an electrical charge had been released and travelled through Shepard's body and into his.
The light intensified as the orb rose in the air until it floated above them.
The faint whispers became louder, clearer as if he tuned in on them. Voices... memories of a doomed people saying their last farewells to the ones they loved. He didn't understand the words but he knew the emotions all to well.
But it was too much, too fast. Shepard couldn't control it like a Prothean would have been able to do. All the memories stored within the sphere erupted at the same time, causing it to explode. The onslaught made her stagger and cry out as the visions slammed into her already bruised mind with full force. She clung to him and and he clung to her as the stored memories washed over them like an ocean of longing and sadness.
It was children crying for their parents, friends knowing they would never see each other again. Lovers ripped apart. Last words, brief reunions before oblivion swept them away.
It was him and her as it could have been. As it should have been.
The world tilted and Pragia's night-time jungle faded away to be replaced by Horizon's vanilla sky and grasslands, tinted with gold from the setting sun.
Dry grass whispering underfoot as he took step after step towards her. A soft, sweet smelling breeze caressed them, cleared the air of the stench of singed plastic and flesh left by the fight with the collectors. Her hair was as dark as he remembered it, framing her face, a few strands was dancing around her cheeks. Scars criss-crossed the pale flesh but her eyes... Oh, her eyes were as deep as they always had been, like sacred pools, the colour of a summer's night sky, filled with a turmoil of emotions, too many for him to even begin to decipher them.
"Hey, Shepard."
Then she had been in his arms, clinging to him as he clung to her. He closed his eyes, breathing in that light floral scent that he thought he had lost forever. For that one perfect moment he believed. He thanked God. He felt whole again.
This time he didn't break the embrace. Instead he held her like he was never going to let go. He brought his face to hers and claimed her lips. Kaidan fed everything into the kiss, all his grief, his yearning, all the long, lonely moments he had spent without her. And Shepard kissed him back with the same desperate hunger.
Having heard Shepard cry out, James and Garrus moved quickly, prepared for the worst. They ran up the steps leading up the pyramid. The fact that Kaidan and Shepard had decided to climb to the top of the pyramid was strange. It made no sense. But neither of them commented on it. They simply focused on getting to the top as fast as possible.
They broke through the tree tops and James pulled off the night vision goggles so not be blinded by a white light, too strong to come from the full moon alone. They reached the end of the steps and found themselves in the gallery with its many columns, weapon at a ready.
The silver tinted light revealed a scene that froze Garrus in his tracks.
Shepard's body was a graceful line of desire, her back arching, as Kaidan kissed her deeply. Passion fuelled by regret, by the released memories of long dead lovers, ruled them both.
Blind to everything else, Kaidan gazed down at Shepard. Her pale skin seemed to be almost glowing in the moonlight, her eyelashes were dark shadows against her cheeks as her eyes fluttered close. Even in this dishevelled state she was beautiful. Her heady scent filled his senses, and before he knew what he was doing, he brought his mouth to hers again. His lips brushed hers and he couldn't suppress a shudder. For almost three years the memory of her had haunted his nights. It had felt as if someone had literally ripped his heart out. And he ached for her. Even here and now, he wanted her.
Kaidan held her even closer. He moaned when Shepard dragged her fingers through his damp hair. She was trembling against him. Her lips parted as he took her mouth again and coaxed her tongue into play.
A few feet away James put a hand on Garrus' arm. But the turian ignored him and took a step towards the couple. Mandibles held tight against his face. A low, dark growl rose in his throat. Unable to control his raging emotions Garrus grabbed Kaidan, tore him off Shepard and slammed him up against one of the columns that supported the pyramid's top. "What the hell are you doing?!" He growled, towering over the human.
Somewhere in the distance Shepard shouted for him to stop, but Garrus didn't even register it as he stared into Kaidan's stormy eyes.
He gasped as the turian's powerful forearm pressed against his throat and threatened to cut off his air supply.
Kaidan was a good combatant, a worthy component in in any fight, when he had his full power. But drained like this, he was easy prey. Garrus' mandibles flared. Abruptly he released his grip on the man, turned his back to him, crossed the gallery and headed down the steps.
Confusion and shock was written across Shepard's face as she watched Garrus leave. She hated the pain she could read clearly in his eyes, knowing she was the cause of it.
Glass-like material crunched under James' heavy combat boots as he knelt in front of Kaidan, not liking his pallor or the way sweat beaded on his brow. James looked down at the smooth, shiny pieces that was all that remained of the sphere. "What happened here?"
"We found some sort of Prothean artefact", Kaidan said in a hoarse voice. "A sphere."
"A sphere?" James frowned. "Like the one Bryson had? Are you sure it was Prothean?"
Kaidan could only shrug. He was still reeling from it all. The sensation of Shepard's lips against his, of her body under his hands, burned in his blood like a fever. He winced as James injected him with a dose of medi-gel combined with painkillers. He let his head slump back against the cool stone, hoping that the cocktail would work quickly.
"They knew the Reapers was coming", Shepard said quietly from where she was standing, surrounded by glittering shards. "The Protheans hiding here knew that all was lost. They used the sphere to store part of their essence, their souls..." Her gaze strayed to Kaidan and she frowned when she saw how haggard he looked. "Are you okay?"
Kaidan managed a pale smile. "I'll make it. But remind me to stay far away from ancient artefacts from now on. I don't seem to be able to handle their effect as well as you do."
James cleared his throat a little. "I hate to interrupt but we really need to get down from here before we're spotted by a drone or, God forbid, another gunship."
Kaidan nodded. He grabbed the hand the younger marine extended to him and allowed him to pull him up to his feet. He gritted his teeth against the explosion of pain behind his eyes. He steadied himself against the column and waited for the pain to subside. "Go help Shepard", he said a bit hoarsely to James who gave him a worried look. "I'll be fine, just give me a minute."
Though not not convinced, James nodded and made his way over to where Shepard was standing in front of the black stone altar. Emotional turmoil seemed to roll off her in waves. "It's going to be okay" He said gently after having lifted her into his arms so he could carry her across the sharp shards.
Shepard sighed. "No it won't", she replied with certainty. "I don't know how to make it right again."
James put her down once they reached the steps and watched as she started making her way down. Kaidan came up beside him. The painkiller had started to work its magic and dulled the headache a little. He was still pale, his jaws tight and his face drawn but at least he was able to stand upright without black spots dancing before his eyes.
"You better eat something, Major", James said thoughtfully, taking in the fatigue visible in every movement Kaidan made. "And then I think you and Garrus should have a talk, man to man... eh, turian."
Ah, I love the smell of emotional torment in the afternoon...
The part taking place on Horizon is recycled from my story titled Empty.