Chapter 40: A Future Worth Fighting For

"Everything has been handled," Lucy confirmed on a call with Dr. Chakwas. "I entrust her with you, now. I've settled it with the lawyers and finances have been prepared. You need only submit a request if you require additional supplies. You should soon receive correspondence from them on how to access my available assets and investments."

"Understood, Commander. I will finish setting up here and then I'll return to the No-"

"No, please stay with her." Lucy interjected, mumbling soon after a quick apology for her rudeness. She knew what was coming, and the doctor couldn't come back. The less people back on board that they could manage to operate, threatened to be crucified for 'treason', the better. She couldn't afford any potential information leaks either, and pressed on the matter so that Dr. Chakwas would be none the wiser over the plan. "The sooner we get to work on her, the sooner we might be able to figure out a cure."

Dr. Chakwas frowned, though relented. "I admire your optimism, Commander. I'll get to work right away. Chakwas, out."

"Optimism? I don't know about that..."

The call ended. Lucy leaned back in her chair with a sigh, running a gloved hand down her face. Searing pain jolted over having accidentally stretched skin as such, tugging on the tape of her bandage. She had a few minutes where she could finally rest easy, though. She opened up her cabinet to withdraw her wine bottle and glass, pouring and sipping immediately to let it rinse her tongue of the mud-iron taste that constantly lingered from traces of blood leaking into her mouth from her wound.

Sensations were largely numb on the inside, not being an actual cheek. It would have to do.

{I've seen what's been plaguing you in the meld as well, and you're not as accepting as you've been trying to be. Or are we only going to rip off the covers on me, here?}

Bittersweet feelings plagued her now. She had to do this though, for Liara's safety and so that she could actually heal from something, rather than accruing scar after scar after scar, each perpetually ripped open. The stubborn asari wouldn't stop pushing though. It was concerning, really, after all the hurt and pain that Lucy inflicted, and still Liara refused to let this die between them.

"She once said it hurts just as much as its worth. I'm still not worth that amount of pain. I felt it, this time, in the melds. I felt so much, I still don't have words for it all."

It was still overwhelming, even still, with all this time she's had to continue to process all the emotions that slammed her, and all the quiet ones that leaked from the corners in the background. The mental resilience to even have locked all that up was impressive - and just as concerning. Trauma like that couldn't, shouldn't, be locked away.

"She'll turn into me, and then we'll be back to square one. It's my turn to be how she was for me, in the beginning. Though I'm not really nurturing..."

Lips tugged in a slight frown at that fact. She wasn't particularly confident that she could be the kind of support that Liara was for her, in the beginning, asking the right questions at the right times, being patient enough that one day, the answers would come to fruition when that individual was ready to realize them. She didn't know what questions to ask. She didn't really know what she was doing.

"Is that any different than how I've always been?" Lucy inwardly mused, amused. She nurtured her wine and delved back into her omni-tool, squeezing in calls to see if her law firm was available to settle additional legal and financial matters. She was running out of time. It would be a few more hours until Captain Anderson would begin his operation to free the Normandy, and then hopefully, by then, they would figure out a destination. The soldier sighed at the implication.

"Ideally, it would be best if Liara returned to her apartment on Thessia, to continue her life and hopefully start healing. But I still need her for this mission."

Still selfish, even now. It wasn't right, she knew, and she resolved that she would grant full peace, remove herself completely, so that Liara wouldn't be forced to suffer even more with all these reminders and memories. She was trapped in the very place that dealt so much trauma to her. It was akin to as if Lucy would remain trapped on Akuze, or forced to go back to Akuze thereafter. Even she didn't feel like she was resilient enough to do so. Mindoir took a lot out of her, alone.

Beeps sounded at her door, and she granted access as she unlocked it from her omni-tool. "Come in."

Apprehension filled her, for some reason, this feeling was happening more and more often. She'd feel this sickly clawing and twisting in her stomach. She checked herself every time, and her fears came to life when the person that walked in was Liara. There was... Something. The soldier didn't know how to describe it. It was like a vortex, this aura that surrounded her, a maelstrom of mayhem that clung to her. Her tranquil appearance was deceptive, as if she was the calm and the storm.

"I think I know where Saren is going," Liara spoke quietly, and there seemed to be a disturbed haunting dwelling in her eyes. Her gaze frequented to Shepard's glass.

"Would you like me to pour you one?" Lucy asked, fetching another wine glass from her cabinet to do so anyways. She'd tensed when the asari neared, and it was a most peculiar sensation. It was familiar, but... Not. It was a cry for space, but crying for a different reason. She focused on her objective as she poured a glass and offered it to Liara. "And where is he going?"

"Ilos." Liara accepted the glass, but she didn't make any moves to drink from it. She fidgeted with her glass. When the soldier sat, her gaze remained on Shepard's glass.

It was then she realized that the asari was glaring at her new hand, and Lucy nonchalantly switched arms, parking her new hand on her lap, hidden from view under the table.

"I'm... I'm not entirely sure," Liara confessed, "But through your visions, and from charting a route on the star map, it seems likely. Ilos is a world known only through second-hand sources, though I recall finding references to it at several other Prothean ruins I've excavated in the past. I think the reason why nobody has truly embarked to study Ilos was, if you consider the Mu Relay's time in history as to when it's location was lost... There was a supernova recorded at that time."

"So the relay would have been knocked out of it's position, and therefore lost, resulting in the cluster being inaccessible."

"Exactly! I reached out to Chancellor Epentha at my university-"

"Pardon? You what?"

"I didn't speak of anything classified," Liara rolled her eyes. "It was just to see if there was any additional information about Ilos, to confirm my suspicions."

Lucy settled a little bit, but that unsettling feeling remained ever strong inside of her. She was beginning to worry if she may have caused another trainwreck of sorts, where now the asari had completely derailed from the path intended - and if she succumbed to vindictiveness, she may indeed turn out to be the very security risk that Shepard assessed her for in the beginning.

"What an ironic and cruel twist of fate... Of my doing. Am I doing the right thing?"

Information was touted, mostly things that were kind of irrelevant to their mission, but the soldier listened. She nursed her wine, stealing pockets of opportunities to glance and observe, to try to deduce what exactly Liara was really feeling and going through, inside. She seemed enamoured, like the beginning, passionate to talk about all the archaeological nuances and Prothean discoveries. She almost seemed excited about the prospect of going to Ilos, and what that meant.

"Why hasn't your university been able to go to Ilos if it's such a enigmatic world, pivotal to the implications of discoveries?" Lucy inquired.

"Well, that's what I asked the Chancellor too, and it turns out that there have been plans to organize an expedition... But because the Mu Relay was lost, they were trying to chart a route using conventional FTL drives, and as such, the planning stages never really got far because of the distance and danger. The journey would take years, or even decades, as they'd also be passing by the hostile Terminus Systems, as well as dozens of unexplored systems as such." There was a renewed spark to Liara's eyes. "We'll be the first to set foot on Ilos."

"But... Why would Saren want to go there? I mean no offence, Dr. T'Soni, but I do not think he's there to go on a Prothean expedition. What theories do you surmise?"

"I'm not sure of that, to be honest. But who knows what we'll find? Ilos right now is the equivalent of an eezo mine, and there could be a significant Prothean artifact that may or may not house this 'Conduit' that he's searching for."

"And there are no other possibilities that he may be going anywhere else? You're certain that it's this world?"

"I..." Liara frowned at that, her confidence appearing shaken. Her gaze fell to her wine. "I can only attest to what I recognized in the visions, cross-referencing with my notes from past expeditions. It's still only really a guess that that's where he's going. But... Do we have any other option?"

"No... You're right. I'm sorry if I came off as doubting you there. I just..." Lucy glued her gaze to her terminal. "There is even more riding on this now."

There was a small sharp inhale. It sounded as though Liara had finally picked up her glass and began to sip at her wine. The glass clinked against the table with a sigh of finality. "I wish I could say that I understand you, Commander, but as of late, you've become just as enigmatic as Ilos. Your every action is ambiguous, subject to any matter of interpretation. I don't particularly enjoy the pleasure of debate all that much, when I feel like I must debate your paradoxical intentions. You have yet to communicate with me before reaching a decision. How little faith do you have in me that you truly believe I am so obscured by trauma, that I've suddenly ceased to make capable decisions?"

"It's not... It's not that. I don't think you're incapable, I never meant to imply that. But I keep adding to your list of trauma. Do you truly think you would make a decision, free from the constraints of emotion, to cease relations with me... When there's something that keeps gravitating us together, despite how much harm I've inflicted? Even after you learned that I kept Benezia a secret, and what I was doing... You kept coming back to me. And you got even more hurt as a result."

"So your conclusion of that is to conclude this relationship? Is it truly - as you humans say - that black and white to you? You haven't quite been keeping your word with your new decision either."

"I know that. It's difficult." Lucy's brow pinched in frustration, glaring at her terminal now. "I'm struggling with removing myself, to go back to the way things were in the beginning."

Silence fell in between them, time allotted to digest and analyze and choose. Liara struck back hard and didn't mince her words.

"I don't believe you want to do that. I don't believe you want to do any of this, nor for only this reason. I deserve the full truth. No more picking and choosing what to declassify, Luce. You can't just say all those things, try and fight so hard to support me, wake me up, debate with me over our feelings on the matter of your... New hand... And then dust your hands, say 'well I can't help you heal', so the best course of action now is that you're on your own. Do you hear how perplexing that is? Do you understand how that would make one feel? Your rush to solve this immediately has instead backfired, and I feel abandoned instead of any well intentions you have."

"What? I'm not abandoning you, I swe-"

"I feel that way, though."

This was beyond puzzling. Lucy didn't know what to do with this, how to resolve this. She mustered the courage to look at Liara, hoping to somehow find answers in her eyes, or to at least be understood. How have her actions resulted in that kind of consequence? It's contradictory if she says she is not abandoning the asari, and yet still somehow Liara feels that way.

"Will I ever learn these nuances, or how to comfort her? Or rather, to not inflict these doubts to begin with? I'm doing something wrong if I must reassure her over my own action." Lucy looked down at their wine glasses, autonomously moving to refill them upon noticing that they were empty. She watched it pour, and when she blinked, she saw a vague memory of shattered glasses and wine dribbling down a wall. The ghostly arms wound around her head, the incredulous story of a brave asari besting an agile hanar. These memories contributed to the difficulty of what she was trying to accomplish, how she was trying to protect this one who has become so precious to her.

"But I've lost everybody ever close to me. I don't want to lose her."

Ironically, she was losing Liara, by trying not to lose her in such a strange way.

With a sigh, Lucy plopped back in her seat. "I apologize for my incompetence and for not being clearer, thereby casting you at the mercy of frustration."

"Not just frustration this time, Lucy. In your goal to not hurt me anymore, you've hurt me perhaps the most. I've struggled - sometimes still struggle - with anger. I feel like I am on a ride, swerving down, swivelling up, spinning out. Even now, I want to lash out. How many more mistakes? When will you learn that true success means communicating with me, not communicating for me? It's these thoughts that plague me endlessly. It drains me, takes more effort now, to try to remember that you never had the opportunity to learn these things for a majority of your life. It takes effort to remember that you've resolved all your problems through brute force, immediately. I can understand that in lieu of that, it would be difficult to have faith and allow the passage of time to work instead of your own two hands. But it takes effort to remember that I do have to go through this - and I have to be open to communicating that with you - so that you are able to learn from it, and so that you are able to continue to heal from your own trauma, the pivotal aspects robbed of you that you'd ordinarily would have had to nurture and teach you."

There was a deep suck of breath, almost a gasp of air for emotions that were pouring out faster and faster. Liara suddenly seemed so weary, then, swirling the wine in her glass as she stared into it, her voice falling to a murmur. "Sometimes... Sometimes I'm just tired. I think I have burnt out this time because it was just overwhelming to deal with so many things at once. I care deeply for you, and I wish to invest effort into cherishing this connection between us. That's what I want, Luce, and I believe you're having difficulty 'removing yourself' because you still want that too. No matter what trials and pains strike us. More than anything, I want our connection. I want to stop being pushed away, for you to talk to me instead of succumbing to your own fear that I'm too close. I have faith it will pull us through anything, just as you said it makes you feel invincible. I hope you understand where I'm coming from."

Liara rose her head, her gaze a bit more steady. "I heard it in the meld, and I apologize that my own pains have led you to feel the way that you did... But I promise you, Luce, you are enough. You are more than 'good enough', and you are still clearly capable of love, even if you cannot touch the way you used to. You never needed your hands to touch the way you have touched my heart. I have felt that more than ever, since then. Neither of us are too damaged to heal, or to love, or to laugh. I truly believe that."

With that, Liara finished her wine, then rose from her table. "I'm going to go to my quarters and begin preparations for the Normandy's... Departure. I assume you'll be asking for a skeleton crew, yes? To mitigate the political fallout thereafter and ensure it is only those who are willing to defy the Council? I expect to see Helen, then."

Stumped, Lucy stared. She was stuck, honestly, in between awe and the wealth of information to process. She cleared her throat when the asari cocked her head in confusion, trying to revive her voice. It never came. Her mouth opened and hung uselessly, up until the searing pain burned and buzzed hotter against her jaw. T'Soni seemed to catch on, walking around the table as she laid a gentle hand upon the forehead, her warmth exuding and sinking in deeper than skin.

"May we meld? It will give your injury an actual chance to heal, for once."

"I still wouldn't know what to say," Lucy confessed quietly.

There was a strange burn in her eyes, then, and she gaped like an incompetent fool. She laughed, small, unsure of why, and she shook her head when the asari looked concerned.

"I'm fine," she rasped.

"You aren't. And it's okay."

Her eyes burned hotter. The ghostly arms returned with form, wrapping around her head, pulling her in against Liara's stomach. She didn't know why, didn't understand it at all.

Something about it made her feel like she was falling apart.

"I'm sorry," she whispered pitifully, and it was all she could think to say - but there were too many things to specify why. "I'm sorry, Liara. I'm so sorry."

Lips pressed to the top of her head, breathing into her hair. She said more apologies, tried to specify some reasons. Sorry she was such a mess. Sorry she was so hard to understand. Sorry she was bumbling about everything, sorry for causing more pain, sorry for causing so much confusion, and contradiction, and war. Sorry for being such a crybaby and pitiful maggot right now, an apology that earned swift retribution with a hand that slid along the good part of her jaw, to force her to look up at the terrifying eyes that burned and watered just as much.

"You're not," Liara's voice cracked. "It's okay," she cooed, drawing Lucy's head back in against her stomach. "It's okay. It's going to be okay."

Sorry that their positions were assways, right now, because Lucy was supposed to be the one comforting. Sorry - and it's okay - sorry, and it's okay.

It's not okay. It's not okay for somebody to be this drained, for their entirety depth of compassion to be sucked dry like this. It's not okay. And sorry. She was trying. She was trying so hard, in the only way she knew how, rather than investing in learning other ways how. Her stubbornness led to more pain. Her insistence to handle it on her own led to more pain. She wrecked havoc and chaos and still, still, Liara stood in the storm and remained calm.

How?

"We met at the wrong time," Lucy warbled in between harsh sucks of breath, pulling harder on the asari's hips to hide her face, soaking the poor suit. "I wish we'd met earlier. I'd be right, then. I'd be right for you, be able to take you to all the right places. You'd get to experience what riding a tractor is like, get to watch a silly herd of cows and their antics, chase the chickens and run away from the fuckers that plucked back. I wouldn't make so many mistakes, at least not the ones I am making now. I know I would still mess up kissing. I bet I would suck at organizing a date. I'd be lost in the city and probably be late for the date because I'd be too nervous to have studied public transit. Who wouldn't be nervous, dating you? You're... So... You'll forever be the strangest asari I've ever met."

Hands soothingly stroked through her hair, mussing it up more than what it certainly must have looked like now. She felt Liara tense at times as she rambled, and she wasn't sure why. She wasn't even sure why her mind had planted her back in time to her life as a teenager, before the Raid. Old rage stirred over the thought, the reminder, and she'd felt bitter over the course life had taken her.

The world took more strength from her than it gave.

Gently, ever so slowly, quivering hands cupped her jawline and encouraged her to look up, after much stubborn insistence not to. She hated looking like this, she surely must've looked weak. She was stumped again, then, and flinched when a couple tear drops landed on her forehead and trailed down, mingling with her own. Liara bent down and kissed her softly. Then she smiled, pressing it in against lips, never wavering away as her eyes fluttered shut.

"We met at the right time. Did you forget what I said before, Luce? I was a wretch, growing up. I wouldn't have been right for you, then."

A small laugh was drawn. "We could've been wretches together."

Sheen blue orbs opened and danced with amusement. "We still can be. Let's be wretches together and stop Saren once and for all. Then we'll get to organizing dates, ride tractors, run away from chickens, get lost in cities, find fuzzy insects and catch 'crazy' biotic fish together. How's that sound for scheduled activities on your agenda?"

"Mm." Lucy nodded slightly, a smile eliciting pain and reminding her to crook up only the other corner of her lips. "I look forward to it. I promise there will be exquisite events as well."

"Oh?"

"And I'll be on my best manners, too. No weapons."

"Now that I doubt most of all," Liara teased. She pulled away, and her warmth was deeply missed. She looked down at her stomach and Lucy felt... Strange, like she wanted to hide, as the asari plucked to release the suction of her soaked part of her suit from her skin. It seemed to herald the end of this, as she turned to leave. "I'll be in my quarters if you need anything before departure. Helen will be there, right?"

There seemed to be an insistent interest, there. Most peculiar. Lucy couldn't deny her curiosity, but restrained herself from being rudely nosy.

"Yes. Addison has agreed to stay as well. Rosamund and Monica were ordered to stand by to look after Talitha, as she had proved to be most stubborn when told to remain on the Citadel, despite her severe injury."

"Well, someone has been leading a stellar example for her," the asari lilted with a brief laugh, but she was gone before Lucy could ask her to clarify whom that was.

They needed to be evicted from the premises immediately, with how much trouble Talitha gave over the order.

"Another one who needs to learn how to mind her well-being," the soldier thought, disgruntled.

Business was soon returned to as she settled more matters through calls and messages on her omni-tool, but with a newfound lightness in her chest. It felt like a weight was lifted off her. There was a familiar eagerness, and she smiled as she brainstormed all sorts of ideas for her future date.

Laughter roared so loudly, Liara was able to hear it down the hallway. She heard Addison's groans in the mix. The asari had something to look forward to again, the momentum she wished to seize earlier. When the door opened, and eyes settled on her, Helen's laughter cut short and she suddenly had a serious look to her eyes, concern bright in them. She seemed to have been slower on her analysis than Addison, who'd perked back up and smiled.

"Welcome back, Liara. How are you feeling?"

There was strength to be learned from, from these women too. They always found a reason to keep moving forward, despite their own woes and traumas. Liara wanted to be like Helen, to still find reasons to laugh. She wanted to be like Addison, to still find reasons to care. She had hoped to find Lucky here and indulge in the comfort of petting her, but she'd already known the pyjak was likely with Talitha, to help comfort her too. The asari was still shaky inside, but she'd had faith she'd find her footing, and felt firm knowing she could find support here.

"A little better than I was," Liara confirmed, and she reciprocated the smirk that soon exploded on Helen's face, visibly relieved that she wouldn't have to be so proper to 'read the room' as they say. "I take it you've met your family?"

"Ugh," Addison groaned, "No... Why? She hasn't shut up about it."

"My mom can beat your mom up," Helen quipped with a devilish grin, delighted to be the source of misery for her fellow marine. She kicked back in her chair and balanced precariously on the legs as she aimed her mischief at Liara. "What I want to know is how the hell you even convinced the Commander to do that. You can be pretty fucking scary persuasive, clearly."

"It's just as much of a shock to me as it is to you, actually," the asari chuckled her confession. "I found out maybe a couple hours, if that, before you did."

"What?" The chair slammed down. "Seriously? This was her own idea?"

"Yes, I hadn't known you were an orphan prior to her remembering the detail in your dossier, though I knew where it all would go as soon as she revealed her idea." Liara went over to her footlocker by her bed, diving into it for a fresh suit to change into before the marines wizened up to the damp spot on her belly. She wouldn't reveal the nature of it, of course, but it'd help if the subject wouldn't be nitpicked and speculated to begin with.

Silence stretched, and she glanced over her shoulder when she removed her top, concerned that Helen seemed to have a slack-jawed look on her face. She truly was in disbelief.

"Mm hm. I can relate to that," Liara softly hummed, smiling as she went back to changing.

"Well... Shit..." Helen murmured. "Now I feel kind of bad with all my jokes."

"What, so you wouldn't call for reinforcements if you had to arrest your mom?" Addison teased, and soon yelped with laughter, probably because of a pillow thrown or smashed into her face. She didn't stop. "Don't wake up your mom, there are seven species that eat their young and your mom may be one of them."

"I can hear Helen's regret," Liara added, and she laughed when she'd felt something soft collide into her back. There was something she had to know, though. "So why did you agree?"

"For the jokes," Addison deadpanned with a groan. "Why else would she do it?"

Helen stayed quiet, and when the archaeologist turned around, she smiled at the contemplative look. The marine tried to shrug it off, directing her focus to building a new tower of precariously balanced cards. She stopped every now and then. Addison regarded her with a puzzled look, but didn't think anything of it. Liara decided to climb up on her bunk bed, retrieving a couple envelopes that she'd stashed. The wretched consent form, and the letter from Lucy that she had yet to read, written during a time where she was presumed 'dead' to the soldier.

After a time, Helen mumbled. "I felt it mean something. I'm just... I'm a grunt. Ordinarily, the Commander would never take any interest in us. What for? We're the lowest ranks, we don't report to her directly. It's just the way it goes. She wouldn't have cared if you didn't come along, Li. We can't really finalize it and sign papers right now since it'd be a conflict of interest, can't serve with family, but she still... I dunno. She already is family. Hit me like a truck when I found out that apparently I've felt like it to her, even if she didn't really know how to say it, going 'bout it to make me literally 'family'. But her action said it all. All you gotta do is tell her she sucks every now and then, I guess. She's a lost cause with her fucking dancing though, fuck..."

They all groaned, followed by chuckles. Liara smiled when she heard Addison whisper she was happy for Helen, reaching over for a pat on the back. Soon enough, their antics exploded back to life as Helen tried to blow away the seriousness of it all with her usual mischief. The asari took out her letter and braced herself for her emotions to be 'hit like a truck' all over again, but there was something... Freeing about it.

It renewed her hope that Lucy wasn't hopeless.

Only time would tell where it would take them all, time they were all determined and hopeful to fight to have just a little bit more of, rather than succumbing to the apparent inevitability of the Reaper's extinction cycle. It was always worth to fight for another tomorrow.

Omni-tool alight to be ready to type and translate, Liara took out the letter, and soon found out there were multiple letters. She was thrown back into the chaos of confusion when many of them didn't even have anything written on it. All it said was 'Dear Dr. T'Soni'. She wondered if that's all it would be as she leafed through them, checking back and forth, going so far as to utilize special lighting modes from her omni-tool in case if Lucy cleverly disguised it with some manner of invisible ink.

Nothing.

Then the last letter came, and delicate handwriting revealed itself. There were multiple pages. There were some scribbles, lines struck through sentences, halfway through. The gracefulness of penmanship unravelled upon itself, like slowly pulling thread out of a yarn ball. Raw emotion already showed itself even before the content was digested. There was a familiar burn in Liara's eyes, and she'd heard the whispers of concern from the marines below, giving a slight wave with her letters as she cleared her throat to have some semblance of steadiness.

"Just reading something she left for me, a while ago."

"Oh," Helen murmured, and then Addison piped up.

"Want us to leave so you can have some privacy?"

"No, it's okay," Liara shook her head. "Just ignore me if I start crying."

"As long as they're happy tears," Helen huffed.

Liara didn't think they would be, with the timing of this letter. But it'd still mean the world to her. She began to type in her omni-tool to translate the letter.

And already struggled to hold onto composure in the first sentence.

[Dear Dr. T'Soni;

I hope you are having a good day, wherever you are. That you are enjoying the sounds of insects and critters, laying in the sand, stretching your hand up to the stars. I wish I could be there with you. Hopefully one day soon, I will be, but I have to stay here. I have to fight. I hope you'll forgive me. I want to fight for this future you have taught me that it's worth fighting for. I wish I could have just one more day with you, and thinking that has made me realize that there are others out there that would desire the same. I fight for them, so that they can have just one more day with their loved ones. When the fight is done, I promise I will come to you.]

Liara already needed a break. She couldn't handle her heart breaking over the implications. She didn't feel like she deserved that kind of definition of loyalty - that kind of power over somebody's life. She hoped, by now, that Lucy had found other reasons to find life worth living for. The notion began to lurk, to whisper, to wave a flag more clearly whenever the soldier would speak of death so plainly, that she accepted the idea and state so easily. There lurked a sickness that seemed to pitch the idea and make it tantalizing that to offer one's life... That suicide was an answer. It seemed that the soldier was fighting an endless war, unknowingly, against depression itself, where its voice was like the inky black tendrils that snaked around her, slowly squeezing until her life faded from the blood oozing out.

It had taken such a long time for Liara to come to terms with this realization, that that battle may always remain, if uncontested. Hopefully one day soon, Lucy would be ready to heal too.

And this future was worth fighting for.