Celebrating a Job Well Done (Saber)

[Mani4c]

Huntress sighed, downing a swig of her drink. "What am I supposed to do? Shepard's fucking ripping herself to shreds, she willingly installed a program that could have made her into a murderous psychopath...all because I was a fucking dimwit and got captured. I'd never noticed how much she needed me, but...it makes sense looking back." Huntress looked at the floor. "Sam had just been drummed down because of the Times Square incident, she was a fucking pariah essentially, many of the cops thinking that she'd escaped prosecution. But I knew better, I trained her, fought alongside her as a comrade and as a friend. I was, aside from Sam, the ONLY person she had...and then I was gone, thought dead because I took a hit for her."


Huntress looked at Rift, her face was impassive, but her eyes were filled with regret, "She must have blamed herself every waking moment... I've had survivor's guilt, it's soul crushing. Shepard was just getting back to normal, and in a single moment she lost everything. She wanted an escape, she wanted to numb the pain, so she tried to throw away her mind, to drown her thoughts in rage and a lust for violence with the Renegade engine. But all it did was make her want to share her pain, to force the wicked to feel fear and loss too."

Huntress sighed, taking another gulp of her drink. "The Paragon engine was probably supposed to fix her, but she's never been fixed. That guilt, that anger and hatred towards criminals, all this time it's been roiling under the surface, waiting for a chance to spill out. My return may have done that Rift...she doesn't know what she is now, and that insecurity is feeding the anger inside of her."

[Saber]

Rift sighed when Huntress began to vent her concerns -and frustrations- about how Shepard was falling apart because of what happened to her. She even started to blame herself for Shepard's sudden desire to make criminals suffer, and that's where he needed to say something "...Perhaps...But the only one who can say for certain is Shepard, and right now, she's a danger to herself just as much as she is to anyone else who pushes her too far...The renegade engine seems to be the source of this potential problem, but I know for a fact that she won't remove either of those programs, not willingly and I will not resort to an unwilling removal, because it will only make things complicated and repetitive if she reinstalls them."

[Mani4c]

Huntress shook her head, "I don't even know if those damn things CAN be removed once installed, every avatar before her went so fucking crazy that they offed themselves, she just turned it into anger...and part of it isn't the engine, it's HER. She's mad at everything, herself for not looking for me, just assuming I was dead. She's mad at me for leaving her alone, and she's mad at you for judging her, when you've admitted yourself that you haven't felt loss like that before. She's pissed at everything, and she doesn't know how to handle it."

[Saber]

Rift folded his hands together and leaned forward. Huntress was right, Shepard was angry at everything around her, and as much as he wanted to understand her, he couldn't "I want to understand her, but there's not much I can do, Huntress. However, there's one thing I do know: Data can be removed from any source, with the right tools. If she wants to finally absolve herself of her anger and despair, she needs to remove the programs that are causing it, but only she can make that decision."

[Mani4c]

Huntress sighed, "I'm not telling you to twist yourself in knots trying to understand her, just...ugh, I don't know. I wasn't expecting this, she's never shown this side of her?" Suddenly, a voice came from behind the pair. "Perhaps the problem isn't what she's going through, but how she will move forward."

Huntress sat up, looking behind her to see Amaterasu, her hands clasped together in front of her. "Think about it, you could spend months trying to figure out why, but it's not like with a disaster or accident. Emotions are complex, and don't make sense most of the time. You need to focus on how Shepard and you will move forward, not why Shepard made the choices she did in the grips of grief and anger."

[Saber]

Rift noticed Amaterasu approach, and heard her out. She had a point, Shepard and Huntress both need to move on from the past, and can't keep dwelling on it. "Amaterasu is right...The two of you need to move forward, dwelling on the past will only bring up more memories. As much as I want to, I cannot help either of you with that, not on a psychological or emotional level."

[Mani4c]

Huntress nodded, sighing, "Alright, well...no time like the present." Huntress stood up turning to Rift and planting a small kiss on his cheek. "Consider that my apology for standing you up, I'll be back as soon as I can." Amaterasu placed a hand on Rift's shoulder, "I can warm him up for you Huntress." Amaterasu's tone was jokingly flirtatious, shooting a wink at Rift with a small smirk. Huntress rolled her eyes, "That's up to him, I gotta go find Shep."

With that, Huntress ran from the room, heading to Shepard's office first.

[Saber]

Rift chuckled when Amaterasu teased jokingly after Huntress kissed him and apologized for ditching him. "It's quite alright Huntress, I'll wait for your return. I should oversee the party attendants anyway, make sure none of them try and get into any fights." He got to his feet, and took Huntress' hand, lifting it up and kissing the back of her hand softly "Until then."

[Mani4c]

Shepard was currently moping in her office, the lights turned down and the security feeds disabled. "Heh, I shouldn't be surprised, Rift wouldn't get it, no one would..." Shepard closed her eyes, letting out a forlorn sigh. "What am I doing? I've been chasing Huntress' shadow for so fucking long, trying to replace her...but now she's back, and I'm nothing." Shepard spat the word angrily, her hands clenching into fists. Suddenly, there was a pounding knock at the door. "Shepard! Let me in!"

Shepard looked up when Huntress slammed her fist into the door, only to ignore her former commander, not even responding. But Huntress wasn't a fool, she had heard Shepard talking to herself, and she wasn't going to let her friend simply wallow in her anger. "Override code, Authorization: Huntress, NPD-CO14567!" The Door unlocked, allowing Huntress to enter.

The amazonian avatar walked up to Shepard's desk, closing her eyes and inhaling before opening her mouth to speak. "I'm sorry for being so judgemental of you earlier, I couldn't possibly understand what it was you were feeling..." Shepard opened her mouth to speak, only to be silenced by Huntress. "Let me finish. If you cut me off I'm never going to get this out... I don't know what happened to you in the past, but right now, that's not what's important. What is important is figuring out what we're going to do to get past this, we're both too important to be arguing like this."

Mani4c was currently sitting down, holding Baretta in a one armed hug, watching as Katana and Ryutaros were in the middle of a dance competition. "Heh...we should have these more often."

[Saber]

Baretta smiled and couldn't help but giggle when Katana got close and punked Ryutaros with one of her moves, flipping back and crossing her arms in wait. "Yes, it's very relaxing."

Saber was currently sitting it a table, in his limit break form and challenging Claymore to an arm wrestling contest, smirking confidently. Dagger was simply watching from the sidelines, perched along the wall and keeping himself upright with his folded legs.

[Mani4c]

Onimaru was currently engaged in a brawl with War, the both of them laughing and having a good time despite the fact that  one of Onimaru's horns was broken off, while War was sporting a split lip and a bruised cheek. Sieg, Amaterasu and Totenkopf were relaxing under a tree, Amaterasu painting while  Totenkopf slept and Sieg read a book. Kintaros was sitting nearby while Urataros tried to put the moves on a female NPD officer, actually making the woman blush with his compliments and cool confidence.

Mani4c smiled when Ryutaros answered Katana's challenge, snapping his fingers before not only replicating Katana's routine, but melding it into his own, finishing by spinning on the balls of his feet and pointing at Katana. "Quite the happy, dysfunctional family, eh?"

Shepard was silent for a long time, simply sitting in silence for about 5 minutes before speaking. "What can we do? I'm obviously unfit for command, Rift doesn't trust me, don't know if he ever did. Hell, I don't even trust me right now, all of the pain, all of the sadness and anger and grief from the last 10 years is just...exploding out, and I don't know how to-"

Huntress cut Shepard off walking around the desk and pulling her into a hug, "Just...let it out Shepard, don't try to be strong, don't try to impress me. Please, just stop destroying yourself by keeping it in." Shepard hesitantly placed her hand on Shepard's shoulder, before hugging Huntress tighter, finally breaking down. Tears began to flow down her face as she embraced her long lost friend and mentor. "I'm sorry...I should have looked harder, I should of-" Huntress just shushed her. "Hey, hey...it's okay honey, I'm fine, you're fine...everything's going to be alright, I know it." Shepard and Huntress just sat there, one finally letting her grief be expressed, while the other simply held her friend, seamlessly becoming her source of comfort, just like 10 years ago.

[Saber]

Baretta giggled and nodded, her smile growing as she watched as Katana recruited one of her clones, showing an aerial display of art in motion. Eventually, her clone was in a semi-crouching motion, while Katana slid head first between her open legs. With almost precision timing, she pushed back as her clone lifted her up by her feet, doing a spinning as she rose upward, and stuck the landing while pointing at Ryutaros with an upside down gun pointing gesture, her body turned almost sideways while pointing "It is...But it's our family."

[Mani4c]

Ryutaros laughed and waved his hand, showing that he couldn't match Katana's move, not that it was easy to do without a clone. "I give Katana-chan! You win!"

Shepard and Huntress had been gone for almost a half-hour, and Amaterasu was beginning to worry. She was about to say something to Rift, before Huntress and Shepard walked back into the room. Shepard looked a little tired, but she was smiling, a genuine smile. Huntress, as was her custom, had a smirk on her face, proud of herself for being able to help Shepard out. "Ya miss me assholes!?" Amaterasu chuckled, nudging Rift with her elbow. "She's definitely a good match for you Rift, she'll say what you have the tact to hide.~"

Shepard walked over to Mani4c and Baretta, sitting next to the pair and looking at the officers as they enjoyed themselves. "...So, what do you two plan on doing to "celebrate"?" Shepard looked at the pair, a small smirk on her face. Mani4c blushed slightly, "Uhmm, h-heh, well..."

[Saber]

Katana subbed her nose smugly, chuckling and letting her clone disappear before walking off of the dance floor. "Just say when if you want a rematch!~"

Rift smirked when Amaterasu teased him about Huntress being a good match for him, being more blunt and tactless than he was in how she spoke "I suppose so."

Baretta rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at Shepard, before leaning against Mani4c "That's for me to know, ma'am, you don't need to trouble yourself with that~"

[Mani4c]

Ryutaros laughed, "You got it Katana-chan!~" Ryutaros ran over to Amaterasu, gently tugging her sleeve. "Amaterasu-san, can we go play?" Amaterasu smiled, putting the finishing touches on her painting before handing it to Sieg. "Could you watch this for me honey?" Sieg nodded, "I would be honored Amaterasu-sama." Amaterasu then took Ryutaros, running off with the avatar to play tag.

Huntess walked over to Rift, giving him a peck on the cheek. "Miss me handsome?"

Shepard chuckled, "Hehehe, alright. I'll be mum, just make sure the soundproofing in your room is engaged, last time you two forgot I had to keep Justicar from killing you two." Mani4c smirked lewdly, "Who said we're gonna be in our cabin?" Shepard just laughed at that, "Oooh, getting daring are we? Let me guess...Baretta's office.~"

[Saber]

Rift smiled when Huntress walked over and kissed him on the cheek, meeting the amazonian's eyes with his own "I would be lying if I said no, my dear. How did things go with Shepard?"

Baretta rolled her eyes when Shepard and Mani4c started trading ideas, obviously they were going to keep going. She elbowed Mani4c in the ribs, and gave Shepard a calm smile "Please, like I'm going to risk my career doing something in a publicly accessible environment? The last thing I want is for the chief to find out and drop me back down to patrol duty."

[Mani4c]

Huntress chuckled, "Alright, she honestly needed a good cry...she'd been holding so much in, I think she was afraid that I'd chastise her for it. Heh, the stupid things kids do for respect..."

Shepard smirked, "Damn! hmm, maybe I can put a desk in your cabin when Bit's not looking...ooh, what about roleplay? Keep things exciting." Mani4c cocked an eyebrow, Shepard wasn't just joking now, she was actually being serious in her suggestions. "Uhh, Shep...not that I don't appreciate the ideas, but. Well...why are you so interested in our sex life?" Shepard froze, looking at Mani4c with a small smile. "Because I want you two to be happy, don't ever let each other go..."

Shepard looked at Huntress, feeling a small ache in her heart. Oh, she had been so young back then! Filled with emotions that most avatars couldn't fathom, Huntress had been more than a friend or confidante to her...Shepard had loved her once, but she now knew that it wouldn't work. "Because sometimes you don't realize what it is you have until it's too late..."

Shepard didn't sound sad, she sounded...almost nostalgic, like she was yearning for the days where she could delude herself into believing that her beloved mentor would sweep her off of her feet, holding her close and whispering loving words to her. "Me...I'm too old, it's too late for me, but you two..." Shepard looked at the pair, her smile becoming almost motherly. "You have something beautiful, and I'll be damned if I let anyone take that away." Mani4c was floored, for once, he had nothing to say. He only managed a quiet. "Sh-Shepard..."

The NPD commissioner stood up, walking over to Dagger and leaning on the wall next to him. She looked over at the Cyberblade. "Penny for your thoughts Dagger?"

[Saber]

Rift sighed and pulled Huntress close when she started to explain what went down during her talk with Shepard "...Well, she certainly seems better. You did great."

Baretta blushed deeply when Shepard started getting nostalgic on them, and started talking about their relationship like it was a treasure they needed to keep safe for eternity. When Shepard walked away, she looked to Mani4c, her expression as surprised as his was "...Wow...I honestly don't know what to say..."

Dagger looked at Shepard as she approached him, asking what he was thinking about. He turned back to the crowd, not really reacting much to her question "...I could have just killed him...When Ripper started walking away during the fight...I was positioned and ready to kill him the moment he walked out of the door..."

[Mani4c]

Huntress just smiled, walking Rift over to the dance floor, motioning for a slower tune. "Well...I knew her longer is all, once ya learn her tells, she's a bit easier to read. Don't worry about it."

Shepard listened to Dagger when he said that he could have killed Ripper when he left. Looking at the Cyberblade with a quizzical expression. "So...why didn't you?"

[Saber]

Rift smiled and held Huntress' hips as she led him to the dance floor. He chuckled when Huntress told him not to worry about it, and that he'd pick up on her 'tells' after working with her for a while "I'm sure you're right as always, it'll just take time for me to read how she is."

Dagger's expression didn't change, glancing at Shepard with his eyes before watching the party again "...I do not know...Since my activation, I thought I knew the difference between criminals and innocents...This one seemed to be somewhere in between...If his story was in fact true, he did not have an easy life, and he is risking his life even now by returning as a failure..."