Here it was: the moment Sovereign was waiting for, and the moment when Jane finally felt that the game is just starting. Geth flooded the Citadel through the Mu Relay, and Sovereign has also showed itself to the masses of the station. The reaper hugged its arms around the Citadel Tower, like a parasite.
"What a giant fucking bug!" Shepard voiced her amazement as they started climbing up the wall of the tower since their elevator broke down.
"And we're going to have a real bad bug-invasion if we don't stop this one now!" shouted Tali over the gunfire. Shepard let out a small, quiet laugh as she proceeded to wreck the geth that were pouring at them.
"Shepard, did you just laugh at your own joke, in the middle of the apocalypse?" asked Garrus from behind half-ironically, covering her while she was crashing through the synthetics. Another small, evil laugh could be heard from the comms, as the last of the turrets fell down, and the geth dropship started retreating.
Shepard turned around and pointed towards the trap door on the floor, used as an escape route in case of any emergencies: they had to use it now to get in to the Council chambers.
"I'll get him now" she said, blue eyes gleaming under her helmet. She immediately turned around to open the trap door.
"Shepard" said Garrus "You do realize, he can't be saved, right?" he asked. Jane froze for a moment, releasing the console and turning back to his turian friend. There was a fire in her eyes, telling much, even before speaking.
"We'll see about that" was all she said before ripping the door open.
They entered the Council chambers like a rocket: jumping out of the wall, like unexpected reinforcements, and made their way to the auditorium. Many geth fell once again in front of them, cleansing the space of their presence.
That's when she set her eyes on him.
Saren was standing right in eyesight, up on the pedestal, meddling with the Control Panel. He probably heard the gunfire as they were pretty close already, but was not interested in turning around. All of his attention was on the console in front of him.
But there was something in him. Something that wasn't right.
Shepard, after being frozen for a split second, grabbed the moment and went for it. She started running towards the turian, to reach him and end this once and for all. What she ignored was a small rocket tower planted just below the platform, to the left.
"Shepard!" shouted Garrus and immediately opened fire on the tower. But by that time, it was already firing. And Shepard ran right through its crossfire.
A thunderous sound blasted through the air, as the turret fired right at the commander, who disappeared under the cherry tree. When the shockwave subsided, a very angry Jane stood up from behind the large, white stones surrounding the tree, providing her cover.
"Tali" she asked quickly, motioning at the tower, in a conspicuously loud voice "These turrets have a delayed firing algorithm to pretend overheating. How many seconds do you think is the delay?"
Tali looked at the ground in front of her, calling on the knowledge in her head, as if it was written on the floor.
"Around 15-20 sec-" she looked up, and right that moment she caught sight of her commander running to the turret, and literally jumping on it. "Keelah!"
"Hell Yeah!" called out Garrus, his mandibles clicking in amusement.
Jane grabbed the head of the turret as she gained footing on the very top of it. Her biotics flared up as she grabbed the weapon with her left hand, and extended the right arm out to crack down. She looked right into the barrel, which automatically wanted to fire. In the last moment, a huge shockwave blasted from her hand, breaking the barrel from its rail. Electricity fired up in the air, and the rocket stuck in the now broken apparate gave in to the pressure. As Shepard jumped off of the geth, it exploded with a horroristic sound, quivering the walls of the chamber.
"What the hell is going on there?" could be heard from the console: Saren was just looking over his shoulders, insulted by the distraction.
They did not hesitate: the team ran right up the stairs, to meet Saren in a final battle. That's when Saren grabbed a small sphere, and as he threw it in their direction, they realized it was a grenade. The trio evaded it by falling off to the sides, hiding behind the railing of the pedestal.
Saren was standing at the console, looking down at them without a single move.
"Ah" he exchaled "I'm really happy you caught up, I was afraid you'd never make it in time..."
"For what?" Jane asked from behind her cover, listening to his words.
"In just a few minutes, Sovereign will have control of all the Citadel systems." he continued, his mandibles twitching, resembling a smile "The relay will open an the reapers will return."
Shepard let out a little laugh.
"Not so fast.. What makes you think you can take me down?" she asked with a smirk on her face. Still behind the cover.
"You were lucky on Virmire" he said with an empty smile. There was something wrong with his way of speaking. It wasn't like it has been on Virmire: it was a lot colder, if someone can be any colder than he already was. But there's been a ruthlessness to his speaking before then, something that emanated cold logic. But now… all of his words sounded like they were put into his mouth."But this time it will not be enough.. I've improved… Sovereign upgraded me.."
Jane's expression went dark.
"What have you done?" she asked with sincere disdain "Are you insane? You let Sovereign implant you?" in her anger, she stood up from behind her cover, and turned to face the turian.
That's when she noticed.
Saren's left arm was gone: replaced with a geth-like synthetic arm, with tubes and wires coming from it, ending between his shoulder plates. It was clear that he had implants too. But what changed the most was his face: little machines were peeking through on his mandibles, like little lights in the dark.
"I suppose I should thank you." he started "After Virmire… I couldn't stop thinking about what you said. About Sovereign controlling me and indoctrinating me… The thought was eating away at me..." he said without emotion "But Sovereign implanted me to strengthen my resolve!"
Shepard's eyes softened.
His face was ragged, dark of terror, and looked tired. None of the strength he talked about could be seen in his eyes. They were the same bright blue they were before, but there was a certain feel to them that Jane hated.
She didn't know why, but she wanted to see the old Saren. The one that was alive.
Saren extended his arms out:
"I now completely believe in Sovereign" he looked into her eyes "The reapers need humans, and we can show them just that. Together." he stepped closer suddenly.
"Come with me. We can become the beacons of a new life." he stepped closer again, and the commander withstood his advance, looking straight into his eyes, without blinking.
"Organic and machine, flesh and steel..." he took a deep breath "The strengths of both, the weaknesses of neith-"
Suddenly, a huge blow landed on Saren's face, disrupting his balance.
He tumbled backwards a step. Shepard was standing in front of him, her eyes almost in flames from the deep wrath that took her over. Her hair was flying from the sudden movement as she punched the turian right in the face plates.
"Even if you offered me the whole Universe on a silver plate" she shouted "I still wouldn't be that stupid to consider an offer like that!"
And with that, she was done talking.
She lifted her hand that held her gun, and slammed the barrel of it into his face. The turian reacted quickly, and utilizing his newfound synthetic arm, fired his fist to Shepard's stomach. The commander fell back, dropping his weapon.
Garrus and Tali stood up, targeting Saren immediately.
Jane used her positioning to trip Saren, who also fell on the bridge.
"Quick, the console!" she called, motioning her head toward the end of the bridge. Tali jumped out of her cover and started running through the pedestal. The bridge was so narrow it did not have a lot of space to move through: the quarian jumped right above the turian, who grabbed her legs and slammed her to the ground. Garrus fired a precision shot right next to Saren's face on the ground, so he lost his concentration for a second. The quarian kicked his hand off and made her way to the console, and started tapping away at it.
Shepard and Saren got up in the meantime and they both turned to each other. This time Saren made a move to bring down the commander again. Shepard evaded his move with ease, moving to the side, backing away constantly. She was quick, but Saren wasn't a spectre for nothing. The fast moves of the commander could not stop the slower, but harder strikes of the turian, who eventually landed a blow. They exchanged multiple punches after that, each one faster than the other.
And with every second, they fell deeper into their own world: they started responding to each other's moves fluently, like they were speaking a foreign language: made out of punching, trying to wound one another. Garrus and Tali were tampering with the console in the background, trying to bypass Saren's code and upload Vigil's data, but this wasn't even noise to the two of them. They just fought away, their minds concentrating on beating each other.
And after jumping back for the hundredth time, panting from the exercise, Jane let out a little smile in the heat of the moment. And to her surprise, Saren didn't just respond to her moves; he responded now to her smile as well.
He enjoyed the fight.
"Don't act like this is the end of the world" she said with a quirky smile "When it is not."
Saren extended his arm out and dropped the pistol that was in his hand this whole time. He didn't need it.
"No it is not" he started "Not if we bow to the reapers."
Shepard's smirk was removed from her face. This time she was the one attacking: trying to land a blow to the turian. And so their dance continued: flowing around each other like water and fire, day and night.
"You can still make it right!"
"But the invasion is inevitable!"
"No! You can fight it!"
Everything started to blur together as they made war. Her fiery hair touching his face when she moved, his talons ripping into her skin, his blue eyes locking on her eyes in every second. They were tired. Missing the blows, but moving faster, pushing harder, falling deeper.
"Fight it Saren!" she screamed, hitting the turian as hard as she could, without any focus, only her resolve remained.
"I cannot" Saren shouted in anger and desperation. Time stopped passing and now only the pain was left in him. His head was pulsing from the ache that took over it. He lowered his head and backed away.
"No, please" she called, but as she tried to get closer, Saren lifted his leg and with every possible strength he had left, kicked Jane in the stomach, who fell back behind the railing, slammed to the ground. She screamed from the pain of the fall, but immediately got back up, only to see Saren grabbing the pistol he so hastily threw away.
"I'm sorry" he whispered, lifting the gun up to his head.
Inaudible screaming broke from her throat, as she fired herself out from the cover behind the railing. Her mind lost its grip on reality, storming to him, to try to change his mind.
She can still save him. She must be able to!
Her red hair flew around her face as she was moving faster than ever, trying to make her way to him. To try to fight him, hit him, to do anything, but she was unable to reach him.
"It's too strong" he breathed. He pulled the trigger and the sound of a gunshot bounced back from the walls of the chamber.
Shepard fell back, freezing in her tracks, shocked from the sight. Saren's eyes closed, his body fell down the bridge, and broke the glass of the Citadel garden. Shards of glass were flying everywhere, and Jane's heart leaped.
She felt a shock that was stronger than any of Saren's blows, and any of the pain she endured. She couldn't blink, she couldn't breathe, she couldn't move. She returned to the same reality she was in before she touched that beacon on Eden Prime, before she looked into his eyes for the first time.
She was pushed into a darkness that numbed her brain and limbs… The darkness of solitude, the passing of days and months. The geth attack, the ruins of the Citadel, the face of the Illusive man. Time turned fluid, and as the missions passed she fell into a slumber.
~3 years later
"Commander, it is time." EDI chirped, her voice filling Shepard's quarters.
Jane sat up in her bed, heavily breathing, like she was frightened by the sound. The sheets were all tossed around the bed, she was all curled up in them.
Saren? Why was she dreaming with with him now?
"Thank you" she exhaled "How close are we?"
"The Namakli is an hour away, we already located Dr. Bryson's dig site" said EDI.
"Good job" she noted and slowly proceeded to pick up her armor and get ready for the mission. But her dream was still in her mind.
Years passed since Saren died on the Citadel, and a lot has happened since then. And she wasn't bored: the reapers finally managed to start their invasion and the cure for the Genophage was right in the making. While Mordin prepared the cure, they decided to take up the next lead in their pursuit of Leviathan: Dr. Ann Bryson's dig site was just now an hour away and she hoped the doctor would have some answers for the questions this Leviathan brought up. A reaper that destroys the reapers… might be their ticket to winning this war.
She reinforced her armor on her sides.
Maybe this will bring something new.