Shepard was furious. She'd hoped for either a delightfully gory torture video or perhaps some (forced) girl-on-girl action. She'd gotten neither—and calls to Lilith's quarters went unanswered. At first, she told herself it was because Lilith wasn't "done yet," but as an hour stretched into several, she became suspicious.
A commotion in the Eridium storage facility caught her eye. A guard reported a band of Psychos had broken in and were smashing the valuable Eridium stacks, so she sent in some of what remained of Thunder Squad.
In theory, her mission was to remove the Reaper influence from Pandora, but after each passing day, she cared less and less. The fleet she came in with had the same outlook as Shepard and thus forged an unspoken co-existence with the Reapers, which originated from the fact that formerly-super weapons were no longer working as well as they used to. However, the Reapers were not strong enough to evict the invading force either.
Thus, Shepard remained happy to sit in her little castle, not fighting and not losing. But not winning.
Materializing in a large cargo bay, Lilith, Maya, and the rest hoped not to have too much of a fight on their hands. They needn't have worried—EDI cleared a path by simulating a massive electrical problem which was prone to overloading, killing everyone in the corridor. Faced with possible death by electrocution, even the dumbest of Shepard's replacement crew stayed out of the way. No one noticed that the cleared path led directly to the battle bridge buried deep in the heart of the ship.
"Once the connection between myself and the base is severed" began EDI, "Shepard will become aware that Infinity is no longer under her control."
"So we keep that connection going as long as we can" replied Moxxi, as if this was an obvious fact.
"I do not believe we have been introduced" replied EDI. Continuing quickly, she went on "However, there are more important items on the agenda than organic pleasantries. The link only has approximately two kilometers of extra length before it will fade to nothing. Thus, we won't get far before the base is alerted."
"What about blowing up the base, then heading for the north pole?" asked Marcus.
His answer came in stereo as both Sirens, barely audible but with a conviction that could melt the polar caps, replied: "No."
He broke out into a belly laugh. "Ahahahahah. Hahahaha." Regaining composure, Marcus turned back to the two women. "But seriously, that little bitch has caused almost all the trouble we're having. Why should we let her live?"
"I'm not ready to give up on her yet" came the restrained reply, as if Lilith were ready to tear Marcus limb-from-limb for the suggestion. "Maya allowed my transformation" (she choked up), "Who are we to deny Shepard the opportunity?"
"Alert: Hostiles have taken notice of unauthorized presence in the battle bridge. Sealing all access points and closing blast doors." EDI's avatar showed as close to panic as an A.I. could. "If any of them alert Shepard, this whole plan will be jeopardized."
Outside, a rough-and-ready squad of batarians, some of the last of their species, attached a breaching charge to the door. Their hails had gone unanswered (EDI helpfully refused to transmit, without telling anybody), so in in the name of Shepard they were going to force their way in.
"The enemy soldiers have attached a breaching charge to the door! Stand back!" warned the A.I.
PFOOOOM.
A column of liquid metal shot inward as the explosive did its job. Cutting through a control console, the blast stopped short of incinerating the captain's chair. Just barely.
"We have no weapons" whispered Lilith. "How are we supposed to…"
"I WILL DESTROY YOU!"
A massive pink-and-purple shockwave cascaded through the batarian soldiers, throwing them all from their feet.
"Who the hell is that?" demanded Maya.
Not noticing the cowering Sirens and the rest of their party, Jack spoke into her communicator. "You okay down there, Brick?"
"RAAAAAAAGH!"
Splat.
A drop of something landed in Maya's hair, followed by a headless body collapsing to the deck. Two more shockwaves and the remaining batarians were tossed like ragdolls.
Another voice joined the melee. "Scoped and dropped!" Several enemies on the ground from the shockwave ceased moving at all.
"We're givin' 'em hell down here!" came the voice in Jack's earpiece. "Shepard hasn't made an appearance yet, but most of her lackeys are actually kinda pathetic."
"You let the psychos loose into the Eridium warehouse? Badass!"
"You bet! Iron Ab Slabs rule!"
"We'll see about that." Jack loved a good old-fashioned bodycount competition, but always remembered that channeling the rage left her dangerously close to becoming Shepard. That thought kept her from tipping over the edge—she would never become the monster her old commander had morphed into. Too much like Cerberus she spat in a voice only her head could hear.
"Alright you sissies, c'mon out!"
Slowly, the dazed party stood.
Seeing Lilith, Jack turned and made ready to throw another shockwave. "You."
"Wait, stop!" Maya placed herself between the deformed woman and Jack. "She's with us!"
EDI reappeared. "I did warn you, Jack, that the replacement bridge crew included an unexpected member."
"You could've told me who" came the reply, though all could tell the anger was mostly for show. "You owe me for that one!"
"We will settle debts on the chessboard later. Right now, we have a battle to win."
"Damn straight we do" came the flanging voice of what Maya recognized to be the turian, Garrus.
"Now what?" asked Moxxi.
"We take this ship, and smash it into the Vault" chimed in Tannis. "EDI slipped me information that completes my theory. I was right, as usual."
"Why are we smashing warships into vaults?" asked Marcus. "This thing's worth a fortune. If we stole it…"
"We've already stolen it" pointed out Michael. "But we aren't going to use it for profit. We're going to try to give this galaxy another chance."
"Nice try, you weak little spiderlings" cackled Shepard from her control room. Though her forces were losing on all fronts, she held the trump card: molecular-disintegration shells intended to be deployed against Reapers now loaded in the base's central Massive Velocity Repeater (MAVOR) artillery cannon. "You take my ship from me, I'll take everything from you!"
For maximum symbolic value, she would wait until just before her traitorous crew and their Vault Hunter friends thought they'd get away, then take down Infinity with a well-placed shot which would disintegrate its engines. Then, a second piece of rigged ordinance would detonate and wipe the base off the face of the planet. She didn't care about dying—she just wanted these annoying little insects swatted.
Aboard Infinity, all not loyal to Shepard gathered inside the battle bridge. EDI's ability to run the ship single-handedly proved quite useful as in order to prevent resistance, all occupied areas of the vessel were vented to space before the ship began to accelerate toward the north pole.
"Oh no you don't" sneered Shepard. Pushing a button on the console in front of her, she initiated a reboot of all EDI's core systems, causing the A.I. to stop responding while her systems re-initialized.
EDI's hologram disappeared from the bridge.
"Where'd the blue lady go?" demanded Jack.
Frantically entering commands into a workstation, Tannis replied "The A.I. Core isn't responding! Looks like someone spiked a maintenance request into the ship right before we broke the communication line with the base!"
Without EDI to guide it, the ship's trajectory veered. "We're off target" intoned Maya. "We're also gaining way too much speed!"
"That's right, run cowards, run!" Hovering a victorious fist over the controls for MAVOR, Shepard suddenly felt herself seize up.
Oh no you don't, you murderous warmongering bitch. I may be trapped in here, but you can't get rid of me!
Frozen for only a moment, her fist slammed down on the panel. She smiled as she felt the rumble meaning the artillery had fired, only to look down to see that the shell would miss its target by many kilometers.
That's right, you missed. They'll escape. Whatever they're doing, I hope it means the end of you! I'd rather die than live like this!
You'll get your wish, little child.
Pulling a detonator out of her pocket, she laughed maniacally before slamming a thumb down.
Nothing happened.
Click. Click.
"What the fuck?"
The door to her private room exploded inward.
"Looking for this?" bellowed Brick, hurling something large and black at Shepard before she could react.
Her frame crumpled under the weight of a massive artillery shell. It landed crosswise on her, pinning Shepard from mid-chest on down.
"Traitors! Thralls! You're all indoctrinated!" she shrieked.
"No" replied the gigantic man. "You are indoctrinated. Indoctrinated by the will of that warmonger Xytler. Indoctrinated by a mad desire to kill without reason, fight without cause, and create conflict without purpose."
For a split second, something changed in Shepard's eyes. Brick almost thought he'd imagined it, but he saw something. A pleading, plaintive look—quickly replaced by insanity.
"You can stay here" proclaimed Brick, slamming his huge fists down on the inert shell, crushing Shepard even more. "We'll decide what to do with you later."
Leaving the shouting, frothing, mad woman behind, Brick returned to the general melee outside.
Aspirations Toward Infinity screamed through the atmosphere, a six-kilometer box pounding its way downward toward Pandora's north pole. Though the ship's mass had been lowered via its eezo core, its exposed surface against the air of Pandora's upper atmosphere was not altered. Alarms wailed, but without EDI, the systems failed to respond. A red glow surrounded the outer hull as air surrounding the ship began to ignite.
A dull roar filled the background, as the crew had many meters of plating and armor between themselves and outside. Jack bellowed "Does anyone know how to fly this crate, or are we all gonna die?"
"It's not a C-Sec patrol shuttle, but I can try" replied Garrus, strapping himself into the pilot's seat.
"Can you fly a dreadnaught in an atmosphere?" wondered Moxxi. "Is that even physically possible?"
"Under the circumstances, what is considered possible is irrelevant" noted Michael. "I'd suggest securing a seat." He buckled himself in as he spoke.
"Reverse the engines. Open anything that can offer air resistance to slow us down."
The din filling the battle bridge was interrupted by EDI. "System reboot complete. Beginning analysis of ship systems…this ship was not built for atmospheric drag racing! You are in direct violation of several regulations. I will be forced to…"
"Shut up, EDI!"
Lilith. Not hostile—just annoyed. "We're on our way to the pole, but we're going to burn before we get there."
"Burn? Burn?" said Maya incredulously. "Don't we have some kind of fancy armor designed to prevent us from burning, melting or lighting on fire?"
"I have already activated the Trinity armor and set it to heat absorption. The temperature of the outer hull has stabilized and is beginning to fall."
"There's EDI, two steps ahead!" teased Garrus. "Twenty minutes to deceleration!"
"And exactly how do we accomplish that?" replied Jack with a pout.
"You don't."
The resoluteness of Lilith's raspy voice surprised everybody.
"We're all going to die. We're all going to die!" For being an amoral arms dealer who pretended nothing he saw shocked him, Marcus had become quite flustered. Several sets of eyes, including his, bugged open as comprehension dawned.
"You don't, because I will. When this ship slows down, you get to the escape pods. You leave. And you do not look back." She turned away.
Maya knew what that meant, but she also realized Lilith would not change her mind. Moxxi moved as if to start arguing, but Maya shushed her.
"Lilith's made her choice. She wanted to bring a little light back to the world, and this is how she's chosen to do it."
Tannis stepped forward. "I must relay this information quickly, as we must leave shortly. The Order of the Bringers of Life, my own work, and Liara T'Soni's research leave significant doubt regarding how exactly this process works, despite its simplicity. I believe it operates on a form of…"
"Would you just get to the important part?" Jack hated when scientists became long-winded. It was mostly reflexive, as much of her experience with talkative lab coats involved them meticulously justifying whatever cruel experiment they were going to perform next by dictating their thoughts into a recording rod or omni-tool.
"Crash the ship into the pole. You must activate your Phasewalk at impact. The Eridium needs to be liquid to start the process, but cracking it with weapons would create too many firebreaks in the material for the chain reaction to begin."
"And crashing a ship into it won't?" replied a dubious Marcus. "I think that's going to cause plenty of cracks!"
"All I have is a best guess" snapped Tannis, clearly flustered that a mere mortal dared question her scientific prowess.
"So heat the hull" interjected Garrus. "I heard you—disabling armor now!"
"If you do that, the escape pod hatches will burn away. Therefore, we must leave now!" The first urgency anyone had ever heard crept into Michael Mamaril's usually-unflappable voice.
"I recommend using the rearmost escape modules" lectured EDI, "as they are farthest away from the heat wave formed around the ship's bow. They will be struck by the vessel's wake, but less likely to experience excessive temperatures."
"Well Lilith, you better take the pilot's chair now" started Garrus. He removed himself from the seat and offered it to the twisted Siren.
"I guess this is goodbye" she replied. "Just, do me a favor, okay? If any kids want to draw a picture of me after…after I'm gone, tell them to use the old Lilith… Please don't remember me like this."
More than one person struggled to maintain composure. Maya snapped a smart salute, which was slowly echoed around the remaining members of the impromptu bridge crew.
"The escape hatches are reaching critical heat levels!" warned EDI. "You must leave, now!"
"But what about EDI?" stammered Jack, usually the absolute last to show any kind of sympathy, pity, or similar emotion. "What will happen to…to her?" She'd almost said "it."
"Unless you wish to join Lilith and myself in finding out what happens after being vaporized, I suggest you depart. You're welcome to stay, of course."
She paused.
"That was a joke."
Led by Garrus, the entire party minus Lilith scampered off the bridge, heading back to the engine module where several large escape pods could be found.
"The hull is reaching temperatures suggested by Patricia Tannis to be enough to liquefy Eridium and begin the reaction."
Lilith could have sworn she'd heard emotional inflection in EDI's synthesized voice before the rest of the crew left. Now she was all business.
"The first escape pod has launched. It has been caught in the trailing wake, but is otherwise undamaged. The second escape pod has launched. It has spun wildly on its x-axis and is clear of the ship's wake. The final escape pod has launched. Its launch door failed to operate correctly due to heat, and it was pulled into the side of the ship. It is likely the pod was destroyed. I am sorry."
Grieve now, you weak little thing. You've already started to fail, and you're not even dead yet!
But that's the difference. That's why I'm not you—because I can grieve. Because I can give a shit about someone who isn't me. That's what makes me better. THAT is what makes me strong. Not kill counts, bloodlust, or medals. It's not about rewards or recognition, it's about the people next to you. It's about willingly, gratefully giving everything so someone else may have a chance to build something better.
Fading screams of rage echoed in Lilith's head, and the vicious voice spoke no more.
Her head finally clear, Lilith concentrated on keeping the bouncing, jerking ship on course for the north pole.
"The hull is starting to buckle and warp. The front of the ship has begun to boil away."
Breathing heavily, Lilith demanded to know how much time remained.
"You must hold this course for another two minutes."
"That's going to be the longest two minutes of my life…"
Flash.
A printed ad for transport to Pandora. "Action! Excitement! Adventure! Treasure! Find it all here!" superimposed over images of Crimson Lance in their dress uniforms on one side, battle armor on the other.
Flash.
Playing with Brick, many years ago when they were still children. His dog, always slobbering all over Lilith's hair.
Flash.
Arriving on Pandora in search of another Siren. Seeing that there were other Vault Hunters for the first time.
Flash.
Roland tosses out his Scorpio. Mordecai is down. The Scorpio brings him back up as Brick slams his fists into a Badass Psycho.
Flash.
The slaughter at New Haven. Wilhelm. An utter rout.
Flash.
New Vault Hunters. Seeing them take down the Eridian Warrior and Handsome Jack, standing tall over the ruined corpses of a megalomaniac and his monster.
She didn't hear EDI's countdown from ten. The front of the ship had already slammed into the Vault. Made from pure Eridium, the structure began to twist, melt, fuse and collapse as the incredible weight of a dreadnaught crashed into it. A ripple effect, as the impact transmitted back along the three kilometers of main gun and the armor covering them. Groans, shakes and a sudden feeling of floating as everything between the engine section and front compressed. Liquid Eridium began to flow around the ship as it buried itself in a combination of the alien element and freshly-melted water.
Suddenly, EDI's voice jolted Lilith. "Phase! NOW!"
As she began to depart her normal plane of existence, she heard five last words from the A.I. "It has been an honor."
The ship collapsed around her, but she no longer felt it. The massive reactors detonated as planned, but no burning sensation took to her skin. A support beam stabbed through where her head had been moments before, shredding the headrest. The console suddenly rushed toward the chair with force that would have gutted her, had she been sitting there. The entire battle bridge burst into pink flames and a torrent of Eridium swept through.
She felt herself coming back.
This is the end.
She began to cry as she realized she'd die still physically scarred by acts of wanton evil, selfishness, and glory-hounding.
In despair, she looked to the shoulder where she'd jabbed hundreds of JumpPaks, only to see nothing. No mound of scar tissue, no oozing pus, no drops from leftover Paks. Just smooth, pale skin on a shoulder of normal size. No mound of misshapen muscle.
She looked down, seeing her feet instead of trunk-like legs. She saw the curves of her breasts and hips, no longer mutated by stimulant abuse. Her Siren tattoos glowed a blinding white. In that one single beautiful moment, Lilith knew she had accomplished her goal. Smiling serenely, the most powerful Siren in the galaxy was wiped gently from existence.