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Returning	By : braxy29x Category: +M through R > Mass Effect Views: 3007 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect, quoted poetry or lyrics. I make no money from this story.

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
- 8
"I'm you, the Gun said. I'm saying good night to my own subconscious. Of course you are, the Gun said. Now Sleep." -adapted from Against a Dark Background, by Iain M. Banks
...
Thane did not sleep over the next few hours, holding Siha close to him, keeping watch over her instead.
He realized, with considerable consternation, that Mordin's warning had been correct. She had responded ardently to his advances, and he had relished the opportunity to embrace her for the first time, to place his lips on hers, only to see her cut loose from him, delirious, her eyes trained on some faraway place she had found in his kisses.
Thane traced a finger along her lips, noting with some relief that while they were reddened and swollen, he saw no sign of a rash, no reaction he would not expect from the time they had spent engaged kissing each other.
Thane peered at her face; she was peaceful and relaxed against his coat, the fingers of one hand twisted around the top strap of his suit and her other arm wrapped around his side. He regretted that he would not enjoy tasting her again; he had relished this new activity a great deal, experiencing an intimacy and connection to his Siha he had not believed was possible.
Holding her would have to be enough. Her steady, deep breathing comforted him, even as he felt the familiar heavy sensation of his own lungs struggling within him.
"Shepard," announced EDI's calm voice, "We have arrived at the Omega-4 relay and are prepared to pass through on your command."
Shepard started awake, her fingers tightening on Thane's suit and hip as he eased her upright onto the couch, reluctant to let go of her. "I'll be right there, EDI."
She turned away and got to her feet without looking at him and disappeared into the bathroom. Thane stood and waited near the couch, hands at his back, uncertain whether she would prefer him to stay or go. She returned a moment later and sat on her bed wordlessly, her expression serious and determined, strapping on her armor as he watched. When she was done she approached him, helmet and gloves under one arm and leaned toward him to press her lips to his, the fingers of her other hand gently touching the exposed skin of his chest.
She does not see me.
Thane flinched and stiffened when he felt her lips, shutting his eyes for a moment to focus on her touch, but unwilling to return her kiss.
When he looked at her again, Shepard met his gaze questioningly. "Siha, I do not desire to harm you. I fear my attention affected you poorly." He frowned at this, troubled by the idea that he could inadvertently wrong or desecrate her in some way.
"It's okay, Thane," she breathed softly onto his cheek, her fingers caressing his neck and jaw. "I'm okay now." He caught her hand in his, holding it open against his chest and looking into her now normal eyes for a moment, reassuring himself before she pulled away and walked toward the door. She exited and he was left standing alone, considering what had happened, grateful that she appeared well again.
"You are beautiful," I tell her, reeling with need, my desire apparent as she presses against me.
He pulled himself from his memories and followed after her, steeling himself for the battle to come.
...
Moving through the Collector Base, taking cover, shooting, defending, these were things Thane did without conscious thought. A lifetime of practice had made it all automatic. His body did what it was trained to do; too much thought interfered with what the muscles knew best. His legs pumped beneath him, his vision focused through the scope, hearing yielded up only vital information and the only touches he felt were those of his finger at the trigger and the butt of his sniper rifle recoiling against his shoulder. Every strike seemed to arise of its own accord, enemies were pushed aside by gun or fist, even the pain of breathing subsided to nothing, the constraint in his chest only another part of the experience that unfolded around him.
Shepard pointed to Thane and Samara. They joined her on the platform and Thane vaguely heard Shepard give a short speech to the others before the platform moved them away from their companions into a bleak unknown.
He had been at her side throughout the entire mission, his only thoughts arising from his awareness of her location and well-being. Even these primal thoughts were unarticulated, unreasoned. He knew he would defend her to the death; he would look wherever she didn't, keep her within an ideal possible distance, never letting a variable between them. He rarely looked directly at her, he didn't need to. When he did, he observed that her hands never shook and her will never faltered. She pushed continuously forward, unstoppable.
Their platform appended others, and the three of them took on the Collectors and Harbinger easily, forming a line behind the barriers the enemy never managed to breach. Siha seemed to regard them only as minor hindrances that would not slow them as they headed inexorably to the base's center. Another platform of enemies met them, and another. Thane worked in tandem with Samara whenever possible, detonating her biotic pulls with his own warp ability between shots, or simply shooting the enemies she levitated.
When the Collectors were down they shifted to the far platform of the assemblage and Shepard tapped at the controls. They drifted toward an aperture in the wall of the chamber, where EDI's warning came of what lay ahead.
"Shepard, if my calculations are correct, the super-structure is a Reaper."
As they approached the Human-Reaper, Shepard removed her helmet, eyes widening as she took in it's huge death's-head lolling down at them, the grin of its massive, unfleshed metal skull, inhumanly jointed hands hanging overhead from the raised arms and tubes supporting its weight. Thane could hear the shock and disbelief in her voice while she questioned EDI, her face hardening in anger as she finally said, "This thing is an abomination, EDI. How do we destroy it?"
Shepard did not bother to replace her helmet, but let it drop beside her as she raised her gun toward an unsheathed section of conduit funnelling the processed remains of Gods-knew-how-many dead into the Reaper-embryo just as another wave of Collectors approached.
Thane watched in horror as she retrained her aim to the advancing enemies without bothering to seek cover. She stood unwavering, her feet planted as if they were part of the platform. He would be unable to pull her down without giving them both over to the Collectors; he could only fire away with Shepard and Samara, making every shot count for as much of an enemy's life as he could leech away, unwilling to let go of his rifle for the few moments he would need to throw one into the space around them or detonate Samara's biotic attacks.
As the last of the Collectors fell, the armor of the Reaper before them slid back to expose its feeding tubes and they destroyed all four quickly between them. The abomination snapped loose from its remaining supports and plunged into the chasm below, each of them approaching the edge of the platform to witness its fall.
Shepard immediately linked to the rest of their team for a status report, her voice firm as she instructed them, "Head to the Normandy. Joker, prep the engines. I'm about to overload this place and blow it sky high." She lifted up the core from the floor of the platform they stood on and had just set to work when Joker informed her of an incoming comm from the Illusive Man, EDI routing it to Thane's omni-tool.
Thane held his tool aloft, the image of the Man projected in front of him. He was unsurprised to hear the Illusive Man's desperate attempt to convince Shepard to preserve the base, to secure for him what might bring Cerberus unimaginable power. "This is our chance, Shepard. They were building a Reaper. That knowledge, that framework, could save us." Thane shook his head slightly at her, well aware his sign was wasted; she barely looked up from her work, and he knew she would make the right choice, as always.
"We'll fight and win without it. I won't let fear compromise who I am," said Shepard, her end of the conversation done.
"Think about what's at stake, about everything Cerberus has done for you…" Thane silenced the Illusive Man with an irritated tap to his wrist, glancing at Samara before turning back to Shepard, watching as she slid the core back into its housing.
"Let's move," she said, standing. "We have about ten minutes before the reactor overloads."
A disturbing sound drew his attention and he looked behind her, realizing the Human-Reaper was clawing its way back onto the platform. It shook beneath them, nearly knocking them to the ground as the monstrous visage appeared over the side, leering at them.
Shepard drew her particle beam from her back and he thanked Arashu when he saw her move straight to cover this time before firing at its eyes. A horrible grinding noise issued from it, the sound becoming an immense, low feedback as its mouth glowed bright red, releasing a huge pulse of energy toward them. They ducked in time to avoid the blast and Thane looked to Shepard. What he saw was startling; he barely recognized the woman he loved, her expression of fury unlike anything he had ever observed in her.
She stood immediately, the intensity of her rage almost a barrier itself, empowering her, making her seem indestructible as she faced the Reaper. She fired again at its right eye, emptying the particle beam as the Reaper charged itself again, only barely dropping away from its gaze as another of its attacks slammed against the opposite side of the low wall.
This time, Thane and Samara stood with her, all of them targeting the same eye. Thane sensed the Reaper had nearly stored up a new surge and crouched down before it hit, putting his back to the barrier. He looked up at Shepard again, reaching out for her, hoping to reach through her anger and pull her to safety beside him.
Just as the wave hit her, she was bathed in red light, her shields flickering away as she continued to fire. Thane had the impression that she was no longer merely Human; she was no longer the angel of Arashu he had devoted himself to. His Siha had become Kalahira. She was a destroyer.
Shepard slammed to the floor, her head smacking against it soundly, her body suddenly yielding as the metal demon crashed down in flames against the edge of the platforms before flailing away, pulling them down with it. Thane instinctually grasped at the wall when he felt himself begin to tumble over it, watching in horror as Shepard jumped over it and away from him, her hand stretched out to catch Samara from sliding into the abyss.
Time slowed as Thane saw both his beloved Siha and his great friend at the edge of death, powerless to help either of them. The platform began to right itself and Shepard pulled Samara back up, Thane rushing toward them. His footing gave way as the platform rocked the opposite way, and they were each knocked down again, rolling across its surface. Thane felt a growing sense of weightlessness as the platform plunged down beneath them, and then saw another platform flying toward them, colliding into theirs before he was knocked unconscious.
I awaken when my Siha lifts the weight from me, life and breath filling my lungs as she looks into my eyes. She is beautiful, my protector, my lover.
- 6
- 7
- 8
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