21 –Jack: Subject 0 (1)

'' How are you doing considering, well, everything?'' Samael asked the Prothean while sitting down in a nearby bed.

By this point in time, Samael had given Javik a new omni-tool, as his one was 50.000 years old and broken. So now the Prothean could communicate with everyone normally, as the tool acted as a translator.

Javik from the beginning was looking straight into Samael's eyes, like he was trying to read him or something like that. Soon, however, he just sighed and started talking, '' I'm alive... And I don't even know if that is a good thing.''

Samael really could understand what the alien was feeling, as he had felt this before, in countless other cycles. The feeling of not being able to do anything to change the outcome, losing, and, worst of all, surviving to see how it all unfolds.

It wasn't a pleasant feeling.

But Samael wanted the Prothean to try and live well. Even if it was just a selfish feeling, that was what Samael wanted.

So, he would try to give a pep talk to the Prothean, to show how there's still life after all that he went through.

'' Do you believe in fate?'' Samael asked while grabbing a nearby syringe

Javik didn't understand his actions but still replied, '' My race did believe it, but I never fully trusted their call with that.''

'' Ok, but now , based on what I know, your so called fate was to help win the war againts the Reapers, no matter the cost, right?''

'' Yes. But I failed.''

''We all experience failure sometimes in life, is how we react to that that defines us.'' Samael then showed the syringe he had on his hands, ''You see this syringe?''

Nod.

'' Good. Now, the fate of all syringes is to be used as a tool to help inject things into our bodies. Their fate, so to speak.''

Javik was following the conversation but didn't understand where it was going. While it was common to think all Protheans were 'sages', graced with knowledge, that was far from the truth. Javik was inteligent, but he could still learn things here and there.

'' Now, if I do this,'' Samael said, dropping the syringe on the ground. '' Did I break its predetermined fate?''

Javik looked at the syringe on the ground and thought for a moment before saying, '' No. It's fate is still intact.''

It was true. While a little broken and dirty because it fell on the ground, after cleaning and repairing a bit, it could still be used...

'' Ah...''

It finally hit Javik what Samael was trying to say. He was the syringe.

He was created to fight an impossible war against the Reapers, only to be betrayed thanks to the indoctrination and put into a cryosleep. Then he woke up 50.000 years later to find out the Reapers were attacking again, even after making his species extinct.

So, even though he was late, his predetermined fate was still the same. To do everything in his power to win the war against the Reapers.

Samael saw Javik lit up and knew the Prothean had figured it out. Again, he was just like him for a few cycles, and the only thing he needed was a drive, a goal, to put himself back up and force himself to move on with his life.

But it wasn't that easy to cheer Javik up. He got up from the bed, grabbed a glass cup, and dropped it on the ground.

"What about now? The cup is gone, there is no way it will ever work again. Its 'fate' is broken."

Samael just smiled faintly at the alien, as he also saw himself as the cup. He grabbed the broken pieces of the cup and put them on a table nearby.

"If the need arises, we just put all the pieces back together and try our best to restore them to what they were before."

"What if you can't fix it in its totality?"

"Then we use it as it is now. A broken cup is still a cup."

Just like a broken, purposeless, and lost Javik was still Javik.

After a few minutes of silence, as Javik strengthened his resolve once more, he asked Samael, ''Are you the spearhead on this cycle?''

Normally, in past cycles where the Reapers killed everyone, there was always a person who led the whole galaxy against the Reapers, a

spearhead.

' The spearhead, huh.'

Samael wasn't going to lie and say he never tried to rally the galaxy under him, but even after winning, he was still trapped in the time loop, so he never tried again. So, he left that job to Shepard and has helped her through the shadows since then.

'' No, I'm not. I'm just a guy who is preparing everything, so the spearhead has an easier job.''

'' Do you guys have your spearhead?''

'' Not yet. Hell, the whole galaxy is still unaware of the looming threat. Only the people on this ship know it.''

While everyone knew about the Reapers and their supposed involvement in the mysterious disappearance of the Protheans, no one believed it.

Heck, even Miranda, who knew the folklore about the Reapers almost didn't believe everything about their involvement in the extinction of the Prothean race, so how do you think the galaxy would react?

So, who could blame them though, as the story of deadly machines who came to the galaxy once 50,000 years to kill all intelligent life, was ridiculous.

'' We need to alert everyone now!''

Samael sigehd internaly. ' Do you think I don't want to do that? But he does not know about the stupidity of the Council.'

In a past cycle, while not so soon in the timeline, Samael and Shepard did bring Javik in front of the Council a few years earlier than normal, but they still did not act. They wanted more proof.

'' You just woke up, so you are still unaware, but the leaders of the galaxy, the Council, are... hardheaded. They usually don't listen to anyone about unknown threats, even more so about supposed fairytale monsters.''

'' Even with me, a Prothean, saying what I know?''

'' Yes. Unfortunately, we need more proof. But don't worry. If you want to appear in front of the Council, in a few days we will visit them. After all, you being alive is a surprise to everyone in the whole galaxy.''

Samael planned to rescue Jack, and then go to the Citadel to deal with the council. He knew the outcome of the conversation, but he would still go, as this was even sooner than the last attempt.

Who knows, maybe things will be different this time.

''Thanks.''

'' Don't mention it... Say, Are you willing to teach a few of us how to fight?'' Samael was asking on Miranda's behalf.

Javik looked at him strangely and said, '' You don't need training. You can fight against me with no problem.''

Samael knew Javik had good intuition, and the Prothean was right once more. '' It's not for me, it's for the woman with whom you fought yesterday. She has the potential to become one of the most powerful biotics on this cycle.''

'' Oh, her. She is strong, probably stronger than me, but she doesn't know how to use her powers... Ok, I'll help her and everyone else who might need it. After all, we need all the strength we can get to stop the Reapers.''

Samael was glad he woke Prothean up, as both had the same driving

force: stop the Reapers, no matter what the cost.

'' Good. I'll let you rest for now. We will leave the planet, do some things, then head to the Citadel in a few days, or weeks at most.''

'' The Citadel, huh? So your cycle also uses that as your principal base of operations.''

'' We do. It's, after all, the best place in the galaxy.''

The Citadel, a 'ship' that existed for countless years, was the headquarters of almost every races across all cycles of destruction. It was an amazing place really, but it was also a trap, but no need to say that now.

Javik took a few seconds to gather his thoughts, '' Thanks, for everything... In my cycle, you would've been an amazing asset in the war.''

'' Thanks, and you don't need to thank me.''

After that, Samael went to the gym to train with Veronica and John and to inform Miranda that Javik will train her to better her biotic powers.

--

After training with Miranda, Veronica, and John, Samael went to grab Natasha up. It was time to save Jack from Cerberus's hands.

'' RR, is everything ok with Jack?'' Samael asked his AI while he made his way towards Natasha's house.

'' No changes so far. Also, the other people you asked me to look after were still in good shape and no trouble on their way.'' RR was talking about Shepard, Tali, Garrus, Wrex, Liara, etc.

While not looking for them now, Samael was still keeping tabs on their lives, to help if the need arose.

'' Thanks for that.''

Soon, the android and human duo arrived at Natasha's house. They found her outside with just one briefcase filled with clothes.

'' Is that all?'' Samael could see the resolve in the woman's eyes. For her, this was it. No coming back.

Samael would not comment on that, but he knew the feeling.

'' Yes. This is all I have now.''

'' ... Good. Let's go destroy that base and save your daughter.''

While he said to her his objective was to destroy that Cerberus base and then try to recruit Jack to his group, thanks to her potential, his only goal was Jack all along. The rest will come as a bonus.

So, Samael led Natasha to his still unnamed ship, then went to wrap things up in Eden Prime.

He will not touch the Prothean Beacon located on the planet, as there's no reason for him to do so. If the need arises he just needs to come and collect it. Maybe he could use it on the Council, but that's a thought for later.

As he had brought the terrain where Javik was located, he would have to let some people around, as when he revealed Javik to the galaxy, a lot of researchers would flood the area.

Samael knew Liara would also come in a hurry, but it was not the time for them to meet yet. Even if he wanted quite badly...

Anyway, he paid a few people to maintain his terrain and left a person from his crew here, to oversee everything and have a personnel of his group in the area.

He instructed said member to wait for his order and play around if he wanted, just don't let people find out about the base yet.

After making sure everything was in order, he entered the ship and prepared to save Jack.

Before that, however, he told the crew their mission.

'' While the Reapers are a threat, they will not be arriving until years later. Until then, we still have a lot to do, to prepare for them. Now, we will go after a powerful group called Cerberus.'' Samael then passed the files he had on Cerberus to everyone in the crew.

Miranda and Veronica didn't act surprised seeing the atrocities Cerberus committed, as they knew beforehand, but the rest of the crew did react quite violently, as the majority of the people Cerberus kidnapped were from the slums, where the majority of the crew was born.

While not the same slums, the feeling of seeing a person who came from the same place as them being experimented on or being killed left and right wasn't nice. They were angry,

'' I found out about Cerberus a few years ago, when they tried to sabotage LD, the company. Since then, I watched their every move, and now it's the time to strike them. We will attack this base, rescue the people inside, then look for more bases to attack.''

Samael knew it was almost time for Cerberus to be gone for good, well, at least the Illusive Men had to die.

'' Remember, this is a rescue and destroy mission, and this time, they will be better armed than the people from the slums you faced before. So, do not let your guard down.''

While LD, the mercenary group, faced other people with better armor than the thugs on Earth, the majority of the ship's crew had never participated in the mercenary group, meaning they never faced people with good armor.

They could die if they get complacent.

'' Go rest now, because when we arrive at the place, we will face them. Good day to you all.''

After that, everyone on the crew went to prepare for the fight ahead. Some went to eat, others went to train, and others went to rest a bit.

Samael assigned a room for Natasha, '' We will arrive in a couple of hours at the base where Jack is. You don't need to participate in the fight.''

Natasha looked at him, '' What do you mean? I will be the first to shoot at them for kidnapping my daughter and doing those ... experiments on her.''

While she didn't show much, everyone could see the guilt on her face. After all, even if she didn't know about Jack's predicament, it still happened.

Samael said nothing as he knew she was prepared to die. He would not say no to a mother who was trying to save her daughter.

So, he would try and help her survive. He passed her an armor of good quality and a few weapons. '' I know you brought a gun, but these ones are better.''

Natasha looked at the things Samael passed her and knew he accepted her resolve. So, she also decided to accept his help.

She grabbed the armor and the guns and looked at him meaningfully, '' Thank you.''

''Don't thank me yet, we still have to save Jack. Besides, after all that, I still want to recruit Jack into my group.''

After that, Samael went to the cockpit and passed the coordinates to the navigator of the ship and to Veronica.

'' Let's go save a few people and recruit another powerhouse.''

--

JAVIK POV

On the same night they left Eden Prime going somewhere else he didn't know, Javik was resting in the infirmary.

That would be his routine for some time until he recovers 100%. Wake up, eat, rest.

The conversation he had with Samael was repeating itself in his mind. He knew the young human was right. A broken cup and a dirty syringe were still useful if used right and cared for, their 'fate' was still intact.

But it was still difficult to accept reality. He alone had survived while his entire race was exterminated. No one could relate to him, hell, he didn't even know if he could reproduce and restore the Protheans.

So, while he knew Samael was right and he was still Javik, the Virtue of Revenge of the Protheans, it still wasn't a nice feeling.

He knew he could not stay longer in this cycle of pain and misery, so he was doing his best to gather his thoughts and focus them on defeating the Reapers once and for all.

For one, the idea of training young people of different species in Prothean ways is a good start. That human girl had potential, as even he struggled with her biotic powers. If she had more experience, he would have lost that fight.

But he would not stop with just her. There were a lot of other personnel on this ship and he had nothing but time.

He would train them in the art of war, the Prothean way, of course. After that, he would speak with this 'Council' that Samael mentioned, and try to put sense in their heads.

That was going to be difficult as if what Samael thought of them was true. The young man didn't believe they would act, even in the face of upcoming destruction.

' As always, politics and the power struggle might ruin our chance to win this war.'

Things were just like that in his cycle too. While he was born decades later from the begginign of the war, the politics at his time were also pretty bad.

The Protheans, at the beggining, didn't take the Reapers seriously, and when they finally did, it was too late.

While Javik was going through all of this in his mind, he noticed something in the corner of his eyes. His eyes enlarged quite a lot, demonstrating he was quite surprised.

He got up from the bed and approached the object he saw. Even up close, he still didn't believe what he was seeing. It was the cup he shattered into millions of pieces before.

Just that this time, it was 'fixed'. Well, not fixed, but it was glued together, thanks to something, making the cup whole again.

While not beautiful, it was still useful, as it was filled with a liquid, proving it was still working as its fate dictated.

There was a note attached to it, and Javik read it.

' Remember, a broken cup is still a cup, just like a Prothean is still a Prothean even after 50.000 years.'

For the first time since he woke up, Javik let out a small smile. His fighting spirit was ignited once more, and he swore he would avenge his species.

' This time, things will be different. We will prepare- I will prepare them for what is coming... This will be the LAST time the Reapers attack the galaxy!'