***Author's Note***

Okay okay okay, I'm playing with timeline a little because there's stuff I wanna put into this story but I need the right characters for it and they're not here yet o.o

Also, it took me AGES to write this because I just couldn't get it to...do stuff. Then I lost it. then I found it. It was an emotional rollercoaster.

As always, let me know what you think :3

Chapter 35 - ...Into the Fire

It was a few days now since Shepard had visited him, and whilst he was glad that Shepard was out doing what he does best, he was disappointed that he couldn't be aboard the Normandy…for the time being. As soon as he was well enough, he would go out into the galaxy again. Maybe Kolyat would come with us? He smiled gently at the thought of all his family being on the ship and doing everything they could to help. Marie would be in the engine room with Tali'Zorah, Kolyat would most likely be in the cockpit learning all he could from Joker, and he would be working with Garrus or Kasumi.

"…Thane?"

He looked up at his name to see Marie curl up on the bed beside him "Hmm?" It was getting late and she should be leaving for home soon.

"Oh, nothing, just seeing if you were awake I guess." She shifted and nuzzled her face into his bicep, wrapping her arms around his waist as she did so. He laughed lightly and rolled onto his side so he could wrap around her. It was difficult on the small hospital bed but they managed. It was like being on the bunk in the Life Support on the Normandy.

They lay like that for an hour or so before she sat up and stretched her arms over her head as she popped her back. A small sound escaped her as she yawned making him grin.

She narrowed her eyes at his expression "What? What are you grinning at?"

"Nothing, it's just you're…what's the word you used once..? Cute?"

"I'm not cute, I'm a scary engineer with scars and muscles and everything!" She flexed her arms showing the slight bump of muscle there. Thane flexed back, his biceps bulged and she stopped, defeated. "Cheater."

"I never cheat, siha."

"Liar."

"I never lie, siha." He grinned and buried his face in the pillow.

"I think this is your drugs talking."

"Drugs don't talk, siha."

"You're impossible!"

"I'm-" She covered his mouth with a hand and he mumbled the rest of his sentence into it.

"I need to go home now, before it gets dark and things." She frowned and stood up, gathering her things and donning a jacket. "I'll be back tomorrow though."

"I know."

She smiled and bent to kiss him. It was a sweet kiss, passionate, and over too quickly. "I want you to come home now." She mumbled against his face and all he could do was nod. She turned and walked through the door with a little wave and a grin, and then he was alone for the night once more.

He stood and moved over to one of the drawers that held some personal items of his. Clothes, books, and the such. He rummaged around, nimble fingers keeping everything neat as he searched.

Finally he found it. A small silver bangle, designed to sit at the top of the arm. It was elaborate with many branches coming of it and small green and blue stones sat into the surface. Engraved into it in simple yet elegant writing was the word tu-fira: lost in another.

He knew humans exchanged rings with promises whereas drell simply made the promise. He didn't want Marie to go without a ring but he wanted it to be drell. So this would suffice. He hoped. Kolyat had taken the liberty of getting it when Thane expressed his concerns for his plans. Hopefully she would understand.

I will ask her tomorrow.

Marie left the hospital tired and irritable. She wanted to go home but not without Thane. She wanted to be on the Normandy. When he is well, we will join the Normandy once again, she thought.

She made her way through the Presidium, dodging the rushed people trying to get from A to B. Their hurrying about left their attentions distracted, knocking elbows with passersby and the occasional full on collision followed by a hurried "sorry" before the whole thing was forgotten and they moved on. It had been this way since she had moved here and she had simply learned to block it out. Or maybe she was too tired to realise it. Between her odd jobs fixing or modifying random parts of machinery or tech and watching over Thane and Kolyat, a collision with an equally distracted member of the community seemed unimportant.

"Oops! Sorry!" She smiled at her new collision partner and stepped around him as he too apologised and blinked his four eyes at her. They moved on and forgot about it.

A few more collisions later and she was at her favourite take-away. A little stall that sold a variety of dishes from all over the galaxy simply called: Sarah's. The woman who owned it saw Marie approach and gave her a grin, flipping fiery hair over one shoulder and rolling a cigarette from one side of her mouth to the other.

"Back again?" Her grin lit up her bright blue eyes with mischief, her quick hands handling food and drink orders with ease.

"Uh, yeah, can I have – "

"Earth style meat pie and gravy? Sure." She bagged an order for another customer without looking and began stirring cups of coffee. "You look tired, hun."

"Hmm, busy day," She took a cup and sipped as she watched Sarah work "Whole mess of things happening."

"The war, Shepard, that kind of mess?" Another bag of food.

"How did you-"

"In my line of work, you don't miss much, hun. So, is Shepard your boyfriend? I heard he was as bent as over-cooked pasta."

"Yeah, he is. If you want to put it that way." She grinned around her cup.

"Waste of meat that. He seems like a fine man." Sarah handed Marie her food. "Someone that would look after his own."

"He does. Anyway, I have to get off." She took a step away from the stall that was surrounded by the mixed smells of good food and acrid smoke.

"See you tomorrow, hun." She winked and moved on to her next customer.

After that, the struggle through the crowd began again. She kept her head down as she ate, avoiding people without looking in that uncanny way that sometimes happens. A left lead her into a darkened alley that served as a shortcut to her apartment she had with Thane, it cut five minutes of her walking time.

The alley was curved and served as a refuse area as would any alley on Earth. She found it nostalgic and smiled around her food as she avoided bins and other such things. Being the Citadel, however, it was still very clean especially so close to the Presidium. The night cycle was well under way, the artificial lights casting long shadows that played tricks on the eye. Shuffling sounds echoed around the alley and grew closer before backing off again. The hairs on the back of Marie's neck stood on end.

Where did this paranoia come from? She thought as she lit up her Omni-tool to distract herself. She sent quick messages to Shepard, Garrus, Kolyat, and Thane. Nothing important, just updates on her whereabouts and the such. Why would I even send that? I've never felt the need to before.

The feeling of being watched grew in intensity, making her legs speed up on their own before she broke out into a jog toward the distant opening of the alley. Beyond it, she could see the gardens that her apartment overlooked, the gentle lights that made it romantic for the young couples that walked happily through it. So close…yet so far.

Her food was left forgotten on the ground as she ran.

The smell of fire, smoke, and burning bodies was overpowering. It was too much. The whole fight was too much. After days and days of mindless killing, watching soldiers die on both sides, Garrus had had enough. His squad numbers had dwindled down to two, himself and a green private fresh out of the academy. He was wearing thin ad there were only so many stims a body could take.

The base was under attack and they needed help desperately but no back up was coming. Not for them and not for him.

A new wave peaked over the top of a small incline to his left. The grotesque mix of biological and mechanical faces roaring at him, daring him to fight against them. And he would dare. He would dare as long as he drew breath. He lifted his tired arms, forcing them to not shake with the effort, and nestled his rifle into his shoulder looking down the sight at the Reaper troops.

It reminded him of the time he spent on Omega, more acutely the time toward the end. When he believed he was going to die. He had resigned himself to that fact and attempted to make peace with it, trying to erase all regrets in those last few moments.

Son, when you're finished, come home and we'll settle everything.

His father's voice drifted into his mind and he spared a glance toward Palaven, toward Cipritine, toward his father and sister. He prayed they were still alive, still fighting, still capable of screaming at him for being an idiot when he saw them next. If I see them. He shook his head to get rid of that thought. Of course I'll see them again, how could I not. Wishful thinking. Shut up!

The repetitive and loud sound of a gun being fired beside him brought him back to reality. The green soldier, Hytlus, had his rifle close to his face; his expression was clear when the tracer ammo lit it up briefly before flying off toward its target, he was scared. His green eyes wide with fear beneath his clan markings. Long and elegant red flicks creeping up his cheek-plates, mixing with the blue of his blood that seeped from a small wound beneath his fringe.

He followed the younger turian's example and began to empty his bullets into the heads of the abominations. The first time he saw them he couldn't keep the vomit down. Turians and humans, warped into something that mocked their existence. Remolded by metal and pipes into mechanical shells of their former selves, hell-bent on destroying the very things they had sworn to protect.

Eventually, they managed to take cover behind a low pile of rubble and catch a break from the onslaught.

"Hytlus, how're you holding up?" He tried to add a reassuring sound to his words from his sub-vocals, but all that escaped him was a wavering whine.

Hytlus glanced at him and shared his own small sob. "Honestly, sir, I've been better." He blinked a trickle of blood away from his eye. "The wound beneath my fringe is more serious than I thought, I'm afraid."

"Damn." Garrus glanced over the wall to cover the nauseous feeling in his gut. For a second, he thought he saw the distinctive silhouette of the Normandy circling the base before flying off. When he blinked, it was gone. Spirits, I'm losing my mind. "Hang in there, Hytlus." The Normandy wouldn't have left Earth without Shepard. A pang in his chest echoed in his mind as he thought about his mate.

"Sir, more on the ridge!"

Garrus groaned as he moved into a crouch and positioned his rifle on the top of his cover. He had clear shots at the heads of the enemies, easy pickings if he just had enough ammo.

"Vakarian!" General Victus' voice echoed through his comm."The base! Get those things of my men!"

This small distraction was enough for the enemies to turn and open fire at them. Hytlus fell as a bullet punctured the softer skin of his neck. A fountain of blue erupted from the hole, the warm liquid falling down his chest as he gasped for air. Green eyes stared up at him as all he could do is watch.

"Vakarian! Now!"

He had to leave the body of his last team member behind and run toward the base. He doubted that one soldier could make that much of a difference against such odds. But he would try.

He sat on a crate when the battle came to a lull, cracking his neck to release some of the tension there that had built up over his time on Menae. He gently placed his sniper rifle beside him and just listened to the soldiers around him as they came down from the adrenaline and initial panic.

"…at least the comms are back up…" One said lazily as he passed with a group.

"…there are so many!" Another said as she looked up at the chaos above them.

He spared a glance up at Palaven. Great orange fires burned as the planet came under attack; some small, others massive. He wouldn't look at Cipritine again, not until he had some reason to hope that there were people still living in that great hell that he once called home. So many lives lost in so little time. Their spirits lingering around their suffering loved ones.

"…we should be thankful for the back-up, small as it may be."

Oh, so we have back-up now? His mandibles flickered with relief. The extra bodies, however many there are, will help the fight to no end.

"Yes, but humans?" He rolled his eyes at the slight racism. People should be pleased of the help, regardless of where it came from "And only three?"

That is small relief indeed.

And suddenly it sunk in, humans on Menae? Why would the Alliance send such scant numbers if it wasn't for something specific? It made no sense. They were here for something…something important.

Garrus stood and took up his rifle in one fluid motion and beckoned the two soldiers over with a small gesture with his talon.

"Vakarian, sir?"

"Where are the humans now?"

"Speaking with General Corinthus" The youngest of the soldiers nodded with his head at the low building that served as the general's quarters "They helped repair the comm tower so we could speak with command on Palaven"

"I see, thank you."

And then he was storming away toward the general, the black metal building getting bigger and bigger with each long-legged stride. His keen turian hearing began to pick up snippets of the conversation that was happening between Corinthus and the humans there.

He knew that voice; the slight laughter that bubbled beneath every word, a soothing deepness that often broke when he was excited or shouting.

He rounded the corner of the building and paused to take it in.

There was Shepard, his Shepard. His armour was scuffed as he stood with his arms crossed and his weight on one hip. Those hips…

His companions glanced in his direction. The larger human shrugged and turned back to the commander, the smaller wasn't a human at all. An asari. One he knew. Her eyes widened with shock and then joy, her hand shot out and patted Shepard on his elbow.

Before the commander turned to her he and Corinthus mentioned finding Victus, that was his chance to interrupt.

"I believe I can help with that…" He spoke loudly and almost let a trill of joy escape him when Shepard turned to face him. Brown eyes narrowed and then lit up as they landed on him.

Their Omni-tools beeped at the same time, signaling a message. They ignored it for the time being.

Mao?