Chapter 9: What Comes Together
Location: Utopia System; Tenjo; Ultimo's quarters.
When Milieu finally woke, it was with an utterly calm and composed mind wholly plump with satisfaction from the most passionate and pleasant night he's enjoyed in a long time. Not an ounce of fatigue remained anywhere after the lay and the precious sleep that followed. And with a smile on his lips he squirmed loftily against the pillow and bed, mindful of the sleeping beauty who rested in the embrace of his right arm, still naked above the waist, and the line that ran down his chest was still slightly open in what would in a more public setting be rather immodest a showing.
A sigh left him as he leaned his head against Ultimo's in a small hug, together with a kiss to the flame-red hair in deep thanks for the attention. Not to say there was an absence of regret of earlier events, but he felt a lot better now. Much more relaxed.
Too bad what he woke up to was not Ultimo's angelic voice, but the rough beating that the door underwent. Even without anything said he noticed a distinct style to the rough rhythm that could only belong to fellow Grand Aspect Vice. For a moment he wanted to speculate that Vice was angry to be left out, but the intensity of it was a little too excessive for that to be the case. So though he did not want to, he gave Ultimo a gentle shake. Highest leader he may be, the apartment's programming had been adapted so to respond to Ultimo's voice alone.
"Mph, huh?" Ultimo groaned softly as his red and green eyes opened and focused on him.
"We got a visitor." Milieu said gently, "And you're the master of this room."
"So I am..." he half-sang before he pushed away the blanket to get up on his knees to articulate and stretch his arms and joints in an astonishingly tantalizing manner.
"Don't forget the shirt. Your line is showing."
Ultimo looked down and blushed, "So I am." as he reached for the shirt and put it on then brushed his hair a bit. Finally he addressed the door, "Enter!"
It slid aside to reveal a supremely annoyed Vice whose eyes widened slightly upon the sight of them. "Thought you lovebirds were on to something in here." he observed and glared, "And while I would love to rant we got bigger things to worry about!"
"What do you mean?" Ultimo frowned.
Milieu adjusted his kimono as he sat up and likewise joined the conversation, echoing the red-haired dôji's expression. Somehow he knew what would be said, the confirmation of what was inevitable. Like that and he was even more grateful to Ultimo for having given him this precious night of relaxation and passion.
"The jig is up." Vice was succinct, there was no need for elaboration.
"Did you call a meeting?" Milieu asked as he packed away the blanket and got up, his hair for its complexity quickly made as flawless as it ever was.
"Three minutes from now. Get a move on!"
Ultimo sighed as he slunk off the bed and made an absent gesture that manifested into existence between them a spatial orb through which they can simply touch and instantly arrive at where they must go.
"Or you can do that." Vice huffed with a glare.
"Calm down Vice." Milieu lectured mildly as he arrived to it after a final adjustment of his hairpins, "We still have time to prepare."
"Sooner the better!"
"Yeah to both and let that be the end of it." Ultimo giggled and vanished without even using the orb.
Without another word, Vice applied a gauntlet to the orb and followed suit.
Milieu let himself stay in the silence and relished it while he performed other adjustments to his outfit to maintain due deference before he finally touched the orb and he was immediately brought to the meeting room where he airily paced to perch himself on the seat reserved for him in the center, and from it noted that almost all the aspects have arrived – half of them using holographic projections. Only one had yet to arrive; Jealousy. The aspect of Envy's neighbors Orgullo and Paresse watched the seat impatiently.
Without a word out of him, Milieu reclined slightly and waited patiently, something Pardonner already did with an expression of frigid neutrality. Only gesture made on his own part being to retrieve his nearby fan to unfold and hold it up to cover his chest and the lower half of his face in a regal manner. No one had said anything, but the implications that the war will come to them very soon was clear to all of them. His tranquil poise however had a sort of calming influence on the others.
Only two minutes after the meeting was supposed to start did Jealousy's image above his seat flicker into view, and his very first act upon arrival was to bow, "My apologies for the lateness. There were a couple of unforseen complications that I simply had to attend to."
Some looked like they wanted to complain, but Milieu quelled them with a single statement, "It is fine. Now let us more dwell on more important business. So will Regula to clarify what has so clearly been implied?"
The bald dôji who sat among the virtues nodded slowly, "Of course. And without ado I have now to reveal onto you that our position in the galaxy is no longer a matter of secrecy. The species of the Citadel now know of our location."
"And how did this happen?" Paresse yawned, taking the news with such crushing calm it bordered on boredom.
"A drone came through the relay, presumably to check on the supernova-class signature anomaly given off by the events in the Hephaestus system. Alas it got no further before it noticed us, instantly sent back a data-package, then self-destructed."
"So now the war is imminent." Pardonner pondered, "We always knew it would happen eventually. At least we are somewhat ready. A passably sizable fleet has been completed though its crews aren't quite as trained as I would have liked, and the relay has been placed in Nirvana's orbit according to specifications. How is the situation on its surface?"
"Nearly all ground defense installations have been completed, and the rate of supply to ground forces is adequate." Rage informed and shrugged, "Only need the troops."
"I pray it is all enough." Sophia aloud, "What little we've put together about enemy numbers is troubling."
Orgullo waved a hand dismissively, "Only a fraction of it will engage us, surely. For even if they prepare for war against us they got the rest of their territory to look after."
"And they only have one point of ingress." Service filled in, "Enough has been gleamed about how long a range the relays have to set up connection and transit – so no matter the numbers they will arrive piecemeal. Our limited numbers should amply suffice."
"We can not account for every action that the enemy may throw at us though." Milieu thoughtfully speculated for all to hear, and their attention to him was mot rapt. "For that to guarantee success I propose for every Grand Aspects including myself to engage in battle."
"Are you sure of that?!" Regula nearly stood in his surprise, the sensation shared among most of the others.
"Perfectly." he raised his shoulders and stated with complete clarity, "While many may protest such an action we will not pull any punches to blunt the aliens' fleet effort against us. I suppose there is no objection - Vice, Ultimo?"
Vice smirked devilishly, "None at all."
Ultimo on the other hand lowered his gaze sadly, no doubt he did not look forward to it. Alas in this case to protect their own people they had little choice but to slay that of others, unfortunate as it is. "No objection." he agreed quietly.
"Good." Milieu appraised them one by one serenely before he addressed the rest, "Mobilize all assets and finish all preparations. Put a probe to the other side of the relay to let us know when the Council forces come for us. Upon that moment, we must be ready for full state of war."
Prompt in their action in unison the assembled apects bowed and acknowledged, "It shall be done!"
"Good. Now, is there anything else we should go over before we adjourn?"
"If you will," Jealousy raised a claw to bring attention to myself after a moment of thought, "there is one thing I would like to bring to the attention of this Council."
Location: Utopia System; Eden Prime; Oinari village.
Not much time was left until the light of day and Lyta Lyle sat anxiously on his lounge chair and brushed a comb through his long hair to keep himself from fidgeting with mildly apprehensive anticipation of what was to come. Of everything that happened, nowhere did he expect the likes of an aspect to intervene in such a small matter. Jealousy's arrival and swift dispatch of the criminal who was soon hauled off to be locked up by Hatter came as a massive surprise to everyone involved. All except the organics who thought of him as just another dôji.
A measure of calm was won as it usually did when he took and put his comb to use. It was a meditative act that helped him many times before to maintain his composure. Right now it was about the thorough questioning he was subjected to by the aspect who had him tell the full story of how he came to have those aliens in his care. It only ended when Jealousy received an urgent message and left with the instruction that he take the organics back home and wait. An instruction he obeyed without question.
Right now the organics, more uncaring about the predicament, slept like rocks in their room that was once Sullivan's. Or it was just Balak who slept and made enough noise for two... or ten. Lyta Lyle listened idly and focused on the only other who is currently awake. Pi had come home with him, and currently his voice echoed with a melody from the kitchen as he prepared some coffee, both for him and the aspect who both were sure would come really soon.
Nervous about the meeting to come, Lyta Lyle deepened his thoughts into the other ample surprises that this night has provided him with. One of them being the reveal of Pi's desire to become his bond mate. When he thought about it there were in fact signs from up to days earlier to indicate this interest but he really did not pay true attention to the awkward shop owner before this very night and found that beneath the exterior of clumsiness was a deeply efficient and thoughtful person whose adjustment to a more peaceful life turned out to be more difficult than it was for others.
After all that, he was about ready to accept Pi's feelings and likewise welcome a closer relationship between them with open arms. Still, formal protocol still applied for propriety's sake. Currently few things existed more appealing to him at the moment other than having the talk with Pi to make sure before he finally offer the big question.
What felt like an eternity passed before someone he was perfectly sure to be Jealousy finally knocked on the door. "He's here." Lyta Lyle put his comb aside and brushed his by then very smooth mane past his shoulder with a flourish, "Pi, is the coffee ready yet?"
"In a moment!"
"Okay. Time to face the music..." he whispered quietly to himself as he stood and adjusted his green and patterned kimono before he strode to the entrance and opened up. Just outside though he met one he entirely did not expect, and it showed.
In any other situation he would have expressed a little mirth at the gobsmacked expression he was greeted with, which was rather to be expected. For a matter like this, however, Pardonner chose to be discreet. Even though it has been many decades since last time he caught sight of the elegant green-clothed dôji the recognition was instant, "Long time no see, Lyta Lyle."
"L-likewise my lord." the minor dôji respectfully bowed as composure was regained, "Excuse me if this offends, but I was expecting Jealousy..."
Pardonner took no insult and idly indicated the hole in the distance, "He has also come. The task of his is to take a look around in the facility you stumbled upon. A full sweep of its contents. You need only concern yourself with me."
Lyta Lyle nodded, "Understood."
"Good." he with approval stated, "Now will you let me in to the aliens so I may check up on their health?"
"Of course." the black-haired one stood aside, "They are currently asleep I must note."
He shrugged as he stepped in and was led to the bedroom in which they stayed, "It is of no obstacle. I'll be done before they take notice, and ideally it would make things easier if they stay asleep for the duration of our stay."
"Why is that?" Lyta Lyle curiously asked as they arrived and he gently opened the door to reveal a pair of beds, each with its own sapient being sleeping deeply and peacefully. "W-wait, won't this be a continuation of the earlier inquiry?
"No. Minimal disturbance. We are only here to check up on things and then leave. The war has come to us, and in just a few days we suspect it will begin in earnest."
"So that's why..." the other looked puzzled, and worried.
"If there are no signs of mistreatment on their part, we'll leave this situation as it is." Pardonner reassured in a simple manner as he strode to the first body and gently unfurled the blanket, something the alien bluntly ignored, "Quite frankly you got off the hook for a reprimand just barely."
"What do you mean by that?"
"For sheltering a couple of aliens without letting the proper authorities know. The only reason we won't bother is that neither - a pirate and a member of a near-extinct species - can be defined as a danger to our presence in this system. Soon as we're done, we will leave and only send one representative to you once a week to make sure these aliens are doing fine. All depending on this analysis, now if you please."
"Of course." Lyta Lyle bowed before he left, "We got some coffee in case you want some afterward."
"I'll consider it." Pardonner shrugged and as the footsteps of the minor dôji vanished toward the living room he went to work and raised a gauntlet over the sleeping biped's body, an alien with a strangely stretched head and four eyes stacked in a square – quite unlike the aliens that he treated once but not terribly different. It was somewhat strange to him that so many intelligent species conformed to the same basic shape, a novelty he chose not to question all too much – he had enough on his plate.
His proffered gauntlet split across the entirety of its surface in preparation to initiate his Noh if the scan hit any abnormalities. Pardonner held his gaze, blinked once, then glared with implacable intensity as he browsed through the man's innards one layer at a time, and was satisfied not to find anything that warranted healing. Just a little strain here and there, probably from working the fields – according to Jealousy, in return for his work as a farmhand Lyta Lyle provided the alien with food and lodgings, both conditions which he decided was entirely adequate with there not being an ounce of malnutrition in the batarian's system.
Satisfied with Balak's condition he retracted his claws and pulled the blanket back up in a manner much like a parent. An act that made him briefly think of his son, Hikari. After he drank the concoction Désir brought during that sausage dinner the boy had grown more independent and ready to stand on his own feet - apparently shocked firmly to adulthood by the strong drink. Pardonner hoped that the boy would stay with him a little longer, but accepted the eventual split that will soon come as inevitable.
Pardonner shook his head and turned to face the real enigma. The prothean. Like Balak it sported a quartet of eyes, if upon a more insect-like body structure. In addition this alien wore surprisingly baroque armor that had not been removed when he went to sleep this night. The alien probably did not trust dôji enough yet to go that length yet, understandable if Jealousy's story of this species' war against a machine army was of any indication. The knowledge that there came a synthetic saboteur who gleefully damaged the facility so it could not fulfill its purpose had without a doubt only added to and fueled his distrust.
Lyta Lyle's apparently a saint, Pardonner thought wryly while he prepared to do the scan, but instead came to discover a trio of particularities that he was unsure counted for all protheans or just Javik:
That the prothean can wake up at any time without warning.
That the prothean can wake up really fast.
And immediately attack.
Pardonner watched with wrapped interest as Javik's eyes flew open and he tilted his head at him in a certain way so the ridge above the quartet of eyes partly covered them and made him look far more furious than he was to an almost comical extent. It was followed with great immediacy by the approach of a curled fist that glowered fiercely with distinctly green-colored biotic energy.
Most dôji have precious little defense to biotics, but Pardonner is not most dôji. He watched the incoming fist dispassionately and brought an open-palmed gauntlet to block it at the same time as he performed a scan of the prothean's body, browsed through its every layer, tracked electrical signals, and after an instant of furious study found how the Javik initiated and maintained his biotic charges. Too quickly for the prothean to react he used his Noh to disrupt those of Javik's electric signals that passed between his arm and brain just enough to dissipate the biotic glow.
So when the fist finally arrived at his palm, nothing happened.
Javik stared at the impact area then up at him in abject incomprehension.
"Calm down, soldier." Pardonner addressed him with a soothing tone, "I am not here to harm you."
"What did you just do?"
"Noh power: Corporeal Manipulation."
"You're..." Javik's glare continued as an understanding dawned, "One of those so-called Aspects?"
"Indeed I am." he suppressed an urge to sigh after a brief time to wonder if Lyta Lyle and the cute other who is probably his bond mate took time to educate these aliens. "Pardonner, embodiment of Patience, at your service. Now will you pull back and relax?"
Only with extreme reluctance did he comply and sat back, "What do you want?"
"I am only here to check on your health. Nothing more."
"You aim to dissect me?"
Pardonner folded his arms across his chest and supplied the prothean with an annoyed look, "Not at all. It is no more than a scan where I map your body and trace the electric signals that course throughout it in search for anything your brain discerns as an anomaly, and treat it accordingly."
"Is it really that simple?"
"Yes." he shrugged, "For me it is that simple a matter. Now be quiet and hold still; Doctor's order."
Still on guard, Javik nonetheless warily moved not an inch.
After a roll of his eyes Pardonner resumed the scan and completed it within the next instant as the final bits of information about prothean physiology fell into place. "Done, now go back to sleep." without pause he made a half-turn and calmly paced to exit the room.
"What is the meaning of this?" the prothean stared at him in disbelief.
"You doubt me? I temporarily disabled your biotics in less time than you could throw a punch." the thickly clothed aspect replied flatly without turning as he took the door knob, "A simple scan is child's play compared to that."
Only at the last step before he closed the door did he stop and look back at the stunned alien – Balak hadn't even budged an inch and remained steeply asleep – "By the way, a colleague of mine is preparing a surprises for you. It should be ready in a few hours."
Lyta Lyle sat together with Pi on the bench while they waited for the aspect to return from doing his checkup that seemed to finally complete after a minor scuffle that ended as soon as it began. He had been only so far from running out to help clear up whatever misunderstanding had cropped up when it had quieted down and was followed soon after by a brief exchange of words that ended with the click of a closed door.
A few seconds later Pardonner came into the living room and said with arms folded against his chest; "Quite a feisty alien you have there. He kind of reminds me of someone."
"Yeah," Lyta Lyle agreed heartily – though he had no idea as to which alien the older dôji referred to, "but he's come a long way."
"Sounds a fair bit irksome."
"You have no idea." he chuckled and indicated the canteen filled with steaming coffee, "Would you like a drink? It's still hot."
Pardonner belatedly nodded and gently took up the cup that was prepared for him, "After that, sure. Still got to wait for Jealousy to finish up anyway." and held it out.
With a nod, Pi rose from where he sat and expertly plucked up the canteen and filled up the proffered cup, "Hope you find it to your liking, sir."
"Mm." the short-haired Aspect brought the cup to his lips and took a couple of sips that left him to breathe in quiet approval; "Wonderful. Lyta Lyle I must say your bond mate' coffee is exemplary."
The Son of Milieu blushed far into the pink side of the spectrum at the complimentary comment, while Lyta Lyle perhaps a little too hurriedly corrected; "Excuse me, sir. But... we haven't mated yet." Once those words had left his lips, he momentarily froze solid as the fellow minor dôji came to stare at him, agape, with an expression of barely contained surprised joy as he without equivocation affirmed that he has no intention of rejecting Pi.
Pardonner with a glint in his eyes quirked an amused smile as he took another sip, "Sounds like you are very nearly there at least."
Lyta Lyle let out a long drawn-out sigh, "Yes, we are..."
"Then..." Pi slightly pressed as he positioned himself at least one and a half inches closer, "w-when would you like our contract to be made?"
"I would say pretty soon..." he embarrassingly scratched his cheek from the intensity with which Pi looked at him, now completely ignoring that Pardonner still watched as he continued to sip from the hot and strong drink, "but I want to lay down one ground rule for the sake of our child to be."
His bond mate to be seemed to swoon at the mention, "Yes?"
"No war stories." Lyta Lyle managed to steady his voice enough to state, "I want him to be raised as part of the life we live here now. Agree to that... and I'm all yours."
It only took a moment of consideration before Pi closed in and wrapped his arms around his slender figure, bringing them so close that their noses touched, "Of course I agree, it's what I also desire!"
So strong... Lyta Lyle absently thought as he was by the Son of Milieu held and locked eyes with him, not nearly as much surprised as he was by that Pi shared the very same dream, "Y-you also sought that?"
Pi smiled brilliantly, "Of course."
It could be simply a lure to make sure he would love him back with equal strength. But of that Lyta Lyle didn't care as he leaned in the final distance and locked lips with his bond mate to be for what felt like years that lengthened even further as Pi responded in kind and made it perfectly a core-melting moment. "This coming night." he decided the moment they parted.
"Hm?"
"Our contract. The midnight that comes, we will consummate our union."
The Son of Milieu looked as though he was about to weep in joy, "Y-yes."
"What's going on here?" they all heard Jealousy ask, and the two minor dôji who had in the heat of the moment forgotten all about there being other people present almost jumped with the realization. The aspect of Envy had come in with a placid countenance that scattered into mild professsional disbelief at the drama that just transpired.
"Nothing big." Pardonner smiled with unusual mischief as he put his now empty cup down, "Just the emergence of a new wonderful relationship."
Lyta Lyle became bright red in embarrassment, his role completely switched with Pi who positively beamed as the one most composed of them both. This instant he wanted nothing more than to be buried deep under ground and vanish. With that a non-option instead he merely buried his face into his palms which woke amusement among the others.
That smile still on, Pardonner continued with an arm extended far enough to pat against the black-maned minor dôji's shoulder, then to Pi's, "Congratulations, may your relationship be prosperous, and your child a happy one."
"Thank you." Pi graciously thanked and bowed, "Thank you." and prodded his companion next, "Now say thank you too."
Lyta Lyle grimaced, "Thank you."
Pardonner nodded, "You're welcome." and turned to his compatriot, "Have you finished up down there?"
"Yes. It is rather broken down but I've taken a look everywhere that matters." Jealousy shrugged, "Now I believe we should go. Too much work has been set aside for this venture, too much to keep waiting."
"I agree." the aspect of Patience agreed as he joined up with the other, but before they left took one more look to the minor dôji, "Farewell for now. Thank you for the coffee, much appreciated."
"No problem." Pi replied happily, his grin broad, "Come by any time you want!"
And so they waved farewell for now, and left Lyta Lyle to recline against the bench with his companion and thought of his earlier conviction and how little it in the end was adhered to. So much for protocol and propriety...
Five hours later.
Balak was annoyed as always when he tilled the fields, his dirty overall while so different from his more preferred type of wear was nothing compared to the herd of Gargants that had flocked on the other side of the nearest fence, all as one staring at him in dispassionate interest. With his earlier desperate flight from their alpha they all have come to the conclusion that unlike Lyta Lyle who was the supreme authority within this farm he was fair game to be stomped flat and eaten.
Soon as another five feet of dirt had been turned over, Balak tossed a look in the direction of the area that holds the gas bags. Lyta Lyle currently busied himself with teaching Pi - who had during breakfast announced that he is going to move in and supplement this farm with a shop where products made here could be sold until the trade market is properly established - on the fine points of how to milk gas bags. Apparently during the morning he and their taskmaster had finally come together.
It was enough that he lost his appetite and left the table. A decision he now soundly regretted as hunger gnawed at his midsection like it tried to gouge a hole in it.
A groan exploded from the house as Javik finally decided to grace them with his presence. Pi had said it was his fault for snoring so loud that the prothean was barely able to sleep the second time, whenever that was, and only now woke from the deep slumber that he eventually managed to faint into. And when their quartet of eyes met, in his there was nothing but anger.
"Looking good there, champ." Balak just had to say, and only angered the prothean to glow with biotic force that severely freaked him out. "Whoa, whoa there!" not the smartest thing he ever said, "I'm sorry, don't hit me!" He once suffered a biotic throw that sent him very high in the air. Suffice it to say he was in no way eager for another flight. "I'm sorry!"
Javik only stopped glowing when he came within five feet of him, fury in his eyes. "The only reason I won't toss you to the Gargants is because I need direction!"
"Whatever you want!" he nervously agreed to it. "Where do you need to go?"
"I was told there would be a 'surprise' someplace for me. Where is it?"
Balak scrunched up his face, and looked into the distance beyond the farm's edge. "You mean that thing?"
Javik blinked in confusion as he followed Balak's eyes and found the object of his attention, something that was not there even five hours ago: An obelisk made of pale white stone and stood fifteen feet tall, towering over the surrounding landscape it was firmly planted in. "Any idea what that's for?" he heard the batarian question coarsely, part of it which sounded much like hunger to Javik's private satisfaction. Ignoring the question, he left the alien tiller behind to go and take a closer look. During which Lyta Lyle had turned to look at him and nodded, encouraging him to go closer.
Unable to make out why this was meant for him, he nevertheless advanced across a field that stretched wide and far, as of yet not prepared to receive crops to grow in its bosom. He climbed past the single fence that lay in his way and continued while the three back by the house idly and expectantly watched. It was a strange moment.
Finally he came up to it, and stared up at the tall structure of solid stone. No, it was made from marble, and into the front that faced the farm it was inscribed with runes he could not make heads nor tails of. In attempt, he reached out to touch the pillar when a voice reached out to him. "You must be Javik."
Confused, the prothean looked back to its owner, a dôji with golden eyes, shockingly blue hair with an equally blue visor on top, dressed like most dôji are except scantily above the waist. His smile used in the greeting was almost sickening in its genuineness and angelic in its application. Friendly without reservation. "Who are you?" Javik asked of him.
"My name is Service." the dôji presented itself and bowed, "I am the aspect of Generosity."
"Generosity?" Javik looked back up at the pillar, "Is it you who brought this? To me?"
"Indeed it was me." Service confirmed in a pleasant tone, "When I heard about you and the fate of your people my core bled in sorrow."
"..."
"And I decided to give you, them, this. Remembrance."
Javik blinked, "Remembrance?"
"Yes, a proof of existence. For now this is all that we can do, for a war looms on the horizon."
"You are saying this was raised in the honor of my lost people?"
Service nodded as he walked up to and stood beside the prothean, each step so slight it was as though none touched the grassy ground. He raised a stunningly ornate blue gauntlet to point out the runes, "It says; 'Here rests warriors from a distant star'."
Simple, succinct, concise. It was not much, but it was an actual tombstone meant for those below so that anyone who came by would know that they stood here long ago, beaten but unbroken and unbowed. But what utterly astonished Javik was the actual deed of this, that it could ever occur to a synthetic to do something so fundamental an act as honoring the departed. In astonishment he finally brought his fingers onto it, and felt intimately the love with which this was carved out. So much of it, genuine love and sorrow, that his eyes instantly teared up. Javik had held an expression that was carefully neutral, but it burst as the sensation traveled from this pillar of marble. He had sworn to never weep again, to never spill more tears again, and never would again. But for this once he simply let it all out again as the emotion of it overwhelmed him. Javik crumpled onto a knee and he leaned against the simple remembrance. Are these the synthetics that I so despise? Javik thought as the final dam to his heart broke as everything they did for him came on. The care, all the patience, the delicious fish. Not a single iota of hostility was to be left in him, all of it pouring out as he wept. "How weak am I truly...?"
"Not weak." Service said gently as he came in and put a gauntlet softly onto his left shoulder, "Sorrow does not make you weak."
Javik looked at the dôji from the periphery of his vision, "Service..."
"Let it all out, Javik." Lyta Lyle concurred heartily as he joined in, his claws quick to land upon the other shoulder, grasping it in a decidedly friendly manner. "It may seem like weakness, but it eases a burdened heart and soul so much good can flow in."
"Lyta Lyle..." he looked to the other who was the one to save him from his pod that was so close to breaking. In a way it was a cruel mercy, for being the last prothean alive really meant to be the last prothean alive. But... as he wept and let his burden bleed free, an epiphany occurred to him that set to light something deep inside of him as recent memories came back to him, of what he learned from Pi about Lyta Lyle's father, a changer of fate. His pragmatic mind said it simply could not be, but if it can be altered did it not disprove him? If destiny could be changed, did it not affirm the existence of fate? What if it was not a coincidence that it was a son of that particular aspect who saved him?
Maybe... there was for a reason that he woke up, for the simple act of being found found in this endless cosmos was by itself astronomically low. He had no idea why fate would provide him salvation after fifty thousand years of sleep, but he now intended to find out.
The last ember of him that thought of the dôji as his enemy made a final stab at him, to warn that now that they got him fully at ease, with gratefulness and acceptance, they would finally turn on him to make their victory all the sweeter. Seconds stretched on, but nothing happened – the dôji as supportive as they showed themselves all along to be. Before this the last thread of hatred bled away, and free from this final shred of his rancor he made his decision that as of today he would start and seek out the reason that the universe spared him from an ignominious end.
Author note: Did not end up so very satisfied about this chapter that included quite some rambling at the very end, but I was kind of at a loss on how to properly end it for a fair while. That said this part of the Robophobia saga is nearly at an end. I'll see if I can squeeze the end of Rising Eden in the next chapter.