CHAPTER 21:

THE FINAL CLASH

Harry gripped the dashboard of the Mako as Jeanne put the pedal to the metal, speeding down the waterway. After all that they'd been through, all that they had learned from Vigil, the Prothean VI or AI or whatever it was, here he was, with a madwoman determined to kill them all. Most of the others were in his expanded trunk, with only Wrex and Liara actually in the back of the Mako. "Are you insane?!"

"You're a Gryffindor, aren't you?" Jeanne said with a grin.

"Yes, but driving head-first into a Mass Relay in a Mako, and not a spaceship?!"

"Yeah! This is gonna be great!" Wrex roared.

Jeanne then said, "Play Number 85 on my playlist. Start at the two-minute mark." Her Omni-Tool chirped, and familiar strings and horns started up as they charged towards the Conduit. The Back to the Future theme.

He had to admit, he couldn't think of any other way to get back to the Citadel fast enough to have a chance at stopping Saren and Sovereign. But even his impulsiveness had limits. He was glad Tali had stayed in the trunk for when they were in the Mako, along with the remnants of Vigil, which, thanks to Tali and his magic, they managed to disconnect, shrink, and keep safe…for now.

"Right, we're going to experience some turbulence, so hold onto your sphincters!" Jeanne yelled.

As the music reached its triumphant chorus, they hit the Mass Relay…and then, everything stretched, warped, and then snapped…

…And then, they were crashing. Harry caught a glimpse of the Geth platforms they were rolling over, before they came to a halt. They clambered out, fishing out the expanded trunk, and opening it, allowing the others to clamber out. Liara, who was looking more than a little nauseous, looked around, and gasped. Not at the ruined vistas of the Citadel, which were horrifying enough, but at a replica of a Mass Relay that was even now powering down. Harry remembered it from earlier. "So that was no mere replica, but the other end of the Conduit," Liara said.

"Looks like it was useful after all," Jeanne remarked grimly. "Okay, looks like it's a SNAFU. Saren's heading up to the Citadel Tower, no doubt. Let's get a move on…"

What followed was an arduous trek. The elevators they first tried halted partway up, so they had to use the magnetic soles on their environment suit boots to advance the rest of the way, with Geth and the occasional Krogan coming to stop them. And in the distance, Sovereign was perched over part of the Citadel Tower, like a predator perched on the corpse of a fresh kill.

As they continued on after one such encounter, they heard a crackling in their comms, relayed from their Omni-Tools. "Hello?" Hermione's voice asked. "Can you all hear me?"

"We heard you. Is this a secure line?" Jeanne asked.

"As secure as I can make it. I left a backdoor on your Omni-Tools for me to communicate with you in an emergency," Hermione said. "The Normandy's on its way back to the Citadel, and Hackett is bringing the Arcturus Fleet. I'm currently hacking into the security feeds of the Citadel, what's left, anyway. Something's interfering with weird ECMs, and it's only thanks to a friend of mine that we can even do that."

"Is that Legion?" Tali asked.

"No," an electronically-laced feminine tone said. "This is Edith. I am currently working on helping Hermione clear the way ahead of you. At the moment, all we can do is access surveillance camera footage. Saren is currently at the Council chambers, attempting to take control. While Sovereign has been able to flood Citadel systems with ECMs, it cannot control the Mass Relay that connects the Citadel to dark space. We have overheard him speaking about this while attempting to override the system. The process is a protracted one, so you have time, but make haste. Do you have a countermeasure?"

"Yeah, a VI on Ilos gave us some codes," Jeanne said.

"Good. Edith's right, you'd better get going. I'll try to see if I can slow him down, but I can't promise anything," Hermione said. "Good luck…"

Jeanne made things very clear to Harry and Tali. Don't go charging in shooting until later. Leave the talking to her, for the most part. Delay him from doing what he needs to do, firstly through words, and then through bullets.

And so it happens, with Harry and Tali crouched together behind some debris as Jeanne exchanges barbs with Saren, who seemed to have even more cybernetics than before. And then, Jeanne said, "You know, Potter was right. You are a coward. You spit on the legacy of your people, never mind all others."

"And yet, what is that quaint human saying? Fools rush in where angels fear to tread?" Saren sneered. "I'm genuinely surprised to see the suit-rat still alive."

"I'm tougher than I look, you barefaced bosh'tet!" Tali snapped. "People like you blame us for unleashing the Geth on the galaxy, but you're the one who brought them out from the Perseus Veil, along with Sovereign. And because you thought there was no hope? It's either that, or you just want revenge on humans, and you don't care if the people you supposedly served get killed in the process. Saren'Arterius von Palaven. A suit-wetter, a coward…do they hurt?"

"Do what hurt?"

"The burns my boyfriend left you with?"

There was a distinct flanging growl, with Harry snarking, "Seriously, the big bad SPECTRE is afraid of a little fire? That's the thing, Saren. People claim that all bullies are cowards. I think that's bullshit, many bullies have guts, as much as I hate to admit it. But you, Saren'Arterius von Palaven, are a bully, a coward, and a would-be genocide. I've fought people like you before. The only difference between them and you is the alien body and the cybernetics. And how many more did Sovereign shove up your arse?"

Another growl of frustration. Harry enjoyed using the term 'von' against him. In English, or rather, in German, it meant 'of' in a name, in the same way 'nar' or 'vas' meant the same thing in Keelish, albeit related to the birthplace and the current residence of a Quarian respectively. In Keelish, 'von' basically meant someone with a weak bladder. At best, it meant someone with a nervous disposition, but at worst, it was a synonym for coward, or 'suit-wetter'.

Then, just as Jeanne began talking again, Harry frowned. Tali had actually referred to him as her boyfriend? Well, they were acting like it in every way that mattered, but still…

And then, to his astonishment, Jeanne has managed to get through to Saren, appealing, if nothing else, to his Turian pride, and the fact that Sovereign was controlling him through the cybernetics. And she was succeeding. Eventually, they heard Saren snarl, "Damn…I will not…I will not bow to anyone…especially not a machine…!" Harry and Tali peeked out from behind cover to see Saren put a gun to his head, and pull the trigger, with part of his head bursting like an offal-filled pinata. He toppled off the glider he was perched on, and crashed through a glass floor.

"…I can't believe that worked," Jeanne said, hurrying over to the control panel Saren had been working on. "Didn't think that bastard had any real sense of duty left or any morals…so an appeal to his pride worked. I'm glad it did." She activated her Omni-Tool. "And Vigil's data file got uploaded. Okay, I've got root access to the Citadel's systems. I'll open up a comms channel, see what's happening."

What they got was a garbled transmission from the Citadel's flagship, the Destiny Ascension, apparently in deep trouble thanks to the Geth Sovereign brought along. The Council was on board. And then, Joker's voice broke through. "Normandy to the Citadel, Normandy to the Citadel…do you read me? Please tell me that's you, Commander."

Jeanne activated the link. "I'm here, Joker. I'm guessing you caught that distress call from the Destiny Ascension?"

"Yeah. We're here with the Arcturus Fleet. Just give the word, and the cavalry will be ready to swoop in and save the day."

Those present exchanged looks, though it was Wrex that voiced something that was on at least Harry and Tali's minds. "Why save their worthless hides? Those pyjaks have been pains in your asses since day one, and you know what they've done."

"But this is bigger than humanity. Sovereign and the Reapers are a threat to every sentient lifeform in the galaxy," Liara protested. "And if you sacrifice them…I'm not sure their successors will think highly of that."

"Screw that," Jeanne said. "Besides, there's innocent crew on that ship. And hopefully, having seen Sovereign up close, this will do more to persuade them than even Wotan could do." She activated the comm link. "Joker, have the fleet save the Destiny Ascension."

As Joker sent his acknowledgements, Wrex rumbled, "I hope you know what you're doing."

"So do I, Wrex. I hate politics. Now, Harry, I want you to come with me. With all those cybernetics in Saren, I want to be sure he or Sovereign don't have any nasty tricks in store for us. And don't use Fiendfyre. Cut him into pieces."

Harry nodded, before he looked down below the Council's audience platform, into a garden where Saren's body had fallen. He cast another Sectumsempra, cutting the corpse in two…only for it to convulse. Red lightning crackled around Saren as he convulsed. Harry hurried, using more of the same spell, until all that was left was broken slices…and Saren's head, burning with red energy, the flesh sloughing off the skeleton. Harry decided to try something else. "Accio, Saren's head!"

The skull sped towards Harry's hand, and he caught it by one of the crests. The skull still snarled, the voice clearly that of Sovereign's, but more emotive, frustrated even, a far cry from its calm, assured tones from Virmire. "Do you think this changes anything, human? I am Sovereign, and this station is MINE. Your pathetic powers will avail you naught, and we will harvest every last…"

The sound of Tali pumping her shotgun cut across Sovereign's rants. "Harry? Toss him."

Harry nodded, and flung the head into the air. Like a shooter firing at a clay pigeon, Tali fired, and Saren's head burst into gore and shrapnel. "Boring conversation anyway," she remarked.

Jeanne led a withdrawal from the Council audience chamber, just in case. And just as well. Sovereign was soon defeated by the Alliance fleet, albeit with heavy casualties, and parts of the Reaper had scattered and crashed all over the Citadel, including, as it turned out, the audience chamber. They soon rendezvoused with Anderson, who was leading the mop-up of the remaining Geth on the Citadel. The group went to assist him, including helping the survivors, the ones who couldn't evacuate in time.

It really hit hard to Harry how close they had been to losing. And how many people lost their lives. Thousands, at least. The Citadel was home to over 12 million people. The death toll would probably still be counted for a long time afterwards.

And that didn't count the human soldiers who lost their lives defending the Destiny Ascension from the Geth, as well as putting paid to Sovereign. He understood Liara's logic: if it became known that the first human SPECTRE allowed them to die, then the Council, or their successors, would not be pleased. But his attitude towards the Council hadn't changed much. They had condoned condemning the Krogan to a slow genocide, they had punished the Quarians out of proportion for the whole saga with the Geth, they tolerated the slaving of the Batarians. It felt like a waste of human lives…no, lives in general. Though saving the crew of the Destiny Ascension had its own logic.

Then again, looking at the destruction Sovereign, Saren and their forces had wrought, in a way, it felt so familiar to Harry. It was like looking at the devastation after the Battle of Hogwarts all over again. True, none of his friends were here in this future time, save for Hermione…and Tali. But over the past couple of weeks, he'd made new friends. True, some relationships were more tentative than others, but even so…he was marooned in this time. He might as well make the most of it.

Harry and Tali were taking a break from their search and rescue efforts for now. And as they sipped drinks, a familiar dark-skinned figure, one Harry had only met a couple of times, walked up. "How are you two doing?" Captain David Anderson asked, the burly Alliance officer looking weary.

Harry sighed. "I think I'm trying not to think about this. Thousands, maybe millions of people killed, and all because a xenophobic Turian had a hissy fit about humans and made a deal with Cyber-Cthulhu?"

"…It's not the first time you've seen action, isn't it?" Anderson asked. "I knew it when I saw you. I've seen that look in former child soldiers. And that was before I got sent an information package, courtesy of Wotan. You're a long way away from home, aren't you?"

Harry looked at him sharply. "And how much did Wotan tell you?"

"Enough to know that you have special abilities, that there's more than one cult centred around you, that Cerberus will take an interest in you, and that you're from the 20th…well, early 21st Century. Wotan told me this because they wanted myself and Admiral Hackett to arrange for your protection, politically. Word will leak out about your involvement here, sooner rather than later. Wotan did tell me that it is unlikely that you and your friend will work with the Alliance for much longer, which is good, as it means less need for secrecy than if you were in our territory. But I want you to know, Harry Potter, that I am on your side, and I want to help you keep fighting the good fight, in your way."

Harry scowled a little at Hermione doing this, even if she meant well. But Anderson seemed like a trustworthy sort, and Jeanne spoke highly of him. "And how am I supposed to keep fighting the good fight?"

"You will be accompanying Miss Zorah during the remainder of her Pilgrimage, and in all likelihood, going back with her to the Migrant Fleet," Anderson said. "We need all the allies we can get if the Reapers attempt another invasion. At the very least, I'd like you both to persuade the Admiralty Board of the veracity of the threat, to find novel means of combating the Reapers, to find anything that could be used against them. Hackett and I will try to muddy the waters. As much as I despise politics, I know one or two tricks. And Wotan wanted me to remind you about something."

"And what was that?"

"You saved the lives of many people. Don't dwell on the number of people who have died. If it weren't for you two, along with the rest of Shepard and her crew…many more will have died, and we may have been facing an invasion of the Reapers by now. You helped stop that. You're a hero, and, if what Wotan said, you're one by choice this time." Anderson gave a rueful smile. "Sorry if that sounded preachy."

"No, it's fine," Harry said.

"What do you think will happen now?" Tali asked. "I mean, aside from the obvious rebuilding."

"I don't know. The Council have only just docked back here, and I think this experience has shaken them. I heard about Wotan giving them the information earlier. Let's hope it spurs them to do something."

"I'm not holding my breath," Harry snarked. "I haven't had the best track record with politicians, especially those who act like ostriches."

"Sounds like part of one hell of a tale," Anderson said.

"Oh, it is," Tali said, and Harry could hear the smirk in her voice. "One hell of a tale indeed…"

CHAPTER 21 ANNOTATIONS:

So, Saren's been dealt with, and the battle is over. For now.

Now, I'd like to discuss one major sticking point, for me at least, with the storyline of the original game. I think Saren's character development from Virmire onwards is, bluntly, shit. I know people like to complain about, amongst other things, the Horizon mission in the second game, or the endings of the third game, but Saren turns from a malevolent force into a whiny bitch from Virmire onwards, and I genuinely don't think Shepard would have been able to persuade him to commit suicide, at least with the in-game dialogue.

So while I did rush things somewhat, I changed things around so that Jeanne appealed to his pride, being taken over and subverted by the enemy, rather than appealing to his sense of duty. That, I feel, would have succeeded more. Saren is a VERY selfish person, one who would willingly collaborate with the genocide of the galaxy if it meant getting revenge on humanity, that's what I see of the character.

So while Jeanne talked him to death, I wrote things so that it was Harry and Tali who laid the final blow to Sovereign-Saren, with a slight callback to Feros, as well as Tali watching Star Wars. Plus, playing the Back to the Future theme while charging for the Conduit…wouldn't that be badass? Let's put it this way, before I got into Doctor Who, Back to the Future was pretty much the only time travel-related series for me, and I loved Alan Silvestri's music, amongst so many other things.

No numbered annotations this time.