Stepping on the soil of Rannoch was a moment both Jane and Tali will never forget, but Saren couldn't care less. He just wanted to be through with this whole thing. Considering they didn't have much time, they proceeded quickly. They went through the reaper base with not a lot of problems, Legion was diverting most of the geth from them, and the rest they could take on easily. The problem there was, that the geth covered the signal base with a blast shield, so there was no way for the Normandy to punch through that.

[There is a control room on the far side of the complex that you can use to override the blast door controls.]

"Thanks Legion" Jane purred into the comms "Okay, let's go." It seemed like she was a bit more relaxed compared to the previous mission, but she still looked like crap. She wasn't really pushing her boundaries on the battlefield, and she moved quite sloppy, but it was a bit more fluid. Saren now intended to find out what the hell was off with her.

Geth primes just flooded them from every direction, and navigating the base proved difficult with the enemies swarming at them. Not to mention that Saren's whole body was on fire at this point: It was harder and harder to concentrate with his bones weighing tons, and his muscles flexing and burning for no reason. Everything was so hot, the air heavy, his moves became slow. He was busy shooting one of them, cracking the armor and eventually finishing it, when he heard Jane's cry.

"Saren!"

He turned his head to the right, where her voice was coming from, instantly seeking what could have gone wrong. But his sight was blocked by a giant, grey coloured geth prime, charging right at him.

"Saren, move!" Jane screamed from the distance. She didn't fire a single shot, she was afraid of hitting Saren instead. Eventually a shot was fired.

The prime fell right back, its face searing from the close shot, and revealed a very disturbed looking Saren, holding his gun in his hand, almost looking puzzled. He fired a lot later than he wanted to.

"What is wrong with him?" Tali asked quietly. She knew enough of Saren to recognize this was way too slow of a reaction from him. But Jane didn't answer, she just stared at the turian, then they proceeded.

The console was not far away, so they reached it successfully and locked themselves in the room. As Tali began to type away on it to lift the lock, Jane turned around to take a look at Saren. He was standing near the wall, silent and motionless, scanning the floor with his eyes. She slowly stepped over to him.

"Is everything all right?" she asked, whispering. He looked at her and saw the exhaustion in her eyes. They both looked like crap. What a mess.

"I should ask you the same question." he murmured, his breath heavy. He heard her heart throb in her chest at his question. Something was indeed wrong. They shared a glance, and found that none of them had the strength to share.

"You deserve each other" interrupted Tali who just finished with the console, and was now standing next to them "Let's finish this mission."

"The signal wasn't just broadcasted by a transmitter" Tali added, following Shepard as they were running for their lives"It's an actual reaper!"

[Shepard Commander, We have acquired a vehicle] came through the comms, and a small, geth vehicle popped up at the far end of the station.

"All right, move!" she shouted. The reaper was just emerging from the ground, and wasn't on his full height yet, this was their only escape.

"How are we supposed to fight that thing?" Tali shouted.

"I was hoping your fleet might lend a hand!" confessed Jane. They jumped into the small ship and Legion stepped on the gas, propelling them through the underlying paths of the reaper base. The giant reaper behind them screamed again, and the walls of the complex shook, almost crushing them into the ground. Jane climbed on top of the vehicle at the main gun to follow the reaper's position.

"Jane Shepard to the Migrant Fleet!" she screamed into her comms "It's not a reaper base, it's a live reaper! I need an orbital strike!"

And not even a minute later, a giant laser soared down from the sky, hitting the reaper right in the face. The monster fell down on the ground, and the red light turned black for a couple of seconds.

[What did we hit?] came the question from the quarian fleet.

"The targeting chamber, it looks like a weak spot, when it's priming!" she replied, and ordered Legion to stop the vehicle immediately. "Pull over!"

[Damn it] cursed Gerrel [The jamming towers have us target manually, we'll not be able to make a precision shot!]

[We can get away while it's out, this is our only chance!] Legion argued, but Jane looked at him:

"Pull over!" she demanded, her eyes aggressive, not bearing any resistance towards her. It seemed like the presence of the reaper woke up all of her instincts and now she was going on pure adrenalin. Legion stopped, and Jane jumped out of the vehicle at a cliff that was looking right over the reaper "Leave now, I'll take care of the targeting!"

"You're crazy!" jumped Saren too, looking at her from the door "You'll be too close, it will crush you!"

She turned back, with all of her red hair in her face because of the wind. The reaper in the background started to move a bit, it's targeting core light coming back to life. She shouted:

"Since when are you against doing crazy things?"

"Jane this is nuts, I'll help!" he replied and took a step out the door, but she rushed to him, and delivered a punch right to his abdomen, kicking him back in the ride. He growled at her, but in the heat of the moment he was too stunned to be angry about it. Saren wanted to speak but she leaned into the vehicle and interrupted him.

"You will not help!" she reprimanded, almost screaming into his face "You drive away with Legion to a safe distance, and wait for my orders! I will not be second guessed with a reaper behind my back! " she exhaled "If I turn my back on this, the geth stay under reaper control, and the quarians are dead. If I run now, we lose everything!"

"You idiot!" Saren stood up "You're not the only member of this fucking ground team! Don't kill yourself!"

"Legion, GO!" was all she said, and in a fraction of a second she stepped back and shut the door closed. A moment later, Saren fell back from the force as the ride got going.

"Fuck!" he cursed, and sat back on his seat. His heart rate was going off the charts, he felt his chest being filled with a darkness unfamiliar to him until now. His legs were tapping on the floor, his talons carved into the metal under him. The quarian next to him was staring, but did not say a word. He was pissed, so pissed at her, that he could wreck this car with his bare hands in a second. Why was she so stubborn? Why is she throwing her life away, when she was the only thing that could stop the reapers?

And that moment was the one, at the apex of his wrath, when he finally understood.

She stayed behind, and sent away the only ride, carrying two of her friends. The quarian, and that weird geth she loved so much. And him.

She was protecting her friends. She was protecting the only thing that she had, that he didn't. That is why she was so kind to everyone, and why everybody loved her. That is why she was broken after Mordin died, and this is what caused her rage after Thane was stabbed. The only reason she looked so bad, so fucked up for days now, was because of fear.

Fear of losing them. Of losing another one.

Reality stopped for him.

She didn't hate him, she didn't want him off the ship, that's not why she was so annoyed. She just wanted to keep them around as long as possible, even if that meant to let herself wither away… like the way she wanted to keep him around, when he was indoctrinated three years ago. And the question he asked Jane in the observation room after their little incident with that telescope…

"Why did you help me three years ago?"

The answer to it was clear as the sun now.

It was the same reason why he wrapped his arms around her, when that reaper almost shot them.

He didn't want to lose the only thing that meant anything to him.

Saren stood up, like all his strength returned, not caring for the pain anymore, and stepping through this weird geth vehicle like lightning. He crouched above Legion, and without saying a word, he slammed his hand into the control panel, stopping the ride at once.

"Saren, what are you-" asked Tali in the back, but she got no answer. The turian cracked the door open and practically flew out of it. She looked out, and saw him running right in the direction of the reaper, his legs moving so fast, his feet kicked up the sand high in the air. Turians indeed ran fast.

The reaper was close.

Extremely close. With her helping with targeting, and synching up the algorithm to the whole fleet, they had done some damage, shooting the reaper a couple times. But it was getting closer, and it was harder for her to move away from the laser that burned into the ground right next to her. But she did finish targeting one more time, and the monster got another dose of rockets into its face. She needed only one shot more, and that asshole would be finished. Just one more. She sighed, and the reaper was already back on its feet, towering over her, its core piercing right into her eyes.

Saren was running as fast as he could, but when he reached the edge of the cliff, he stopped. Jane was there, only the targeting gun in her hand. She was so close to the reaper, his breath almost stopped, as he's never seen anything like this before.

The giant monster stood in the valley, its claws almost on the cliff, its targeting core a couple feet away from the tiny commander, with red hair flying around her face. The reaper was scorching hot, its metal plates simmering from the preceding orbital strikes, its core fully open and focused on Jane. He was rushing, jumping down to the cliff. Jane had only seconds before the laser would shoot, and he was so close. She didn't have enough time to target, and get away from the laser at the same time. She'd either jump away before the targeting would finish and have no possible chance to do it again, or stay where she was, finishing the deed, but getting killed in the process.

He jumped.

Jane was tackled just at the last moment, and she felt the reaper's shot crushing to the ground next to her. Red light blinded her eyes, but she saw one thing: a mandible.

Saren?

They fell hard on the ground, and just a second later a giant explosion ripped through the sky. Heat rushed over them, and the turian pressed her hard to the rocks, defending her from the debris. From behind his shoulder she saw the reaper step back, tumble almost. Its core went black as it fell down, spreading through the valley like a disgusting insect.

She looked up and saw him rise from the ground, letting go of her, and helping her up with a hand.

"I told you to-" she started, but she was quickly interrupted:

"I didn't come back from the dead for you to die halfway through!" he argued, almost in a reprimanding tone, his voice harsh, his eyes glowing from frustration. "You also promised me a reaper to kill, but it looks like that was a lie..." She opened her mouth in reply, but they both got cut off as a third voice sounded:

"Shepard. Arterius."

They looked in the reaper's direction. It was lying in the valley, defeated, but its red light started flickering once again.

"You know us?" Jane asked without hesitation, taking a step closer.

"Harbinger speaks of you. But you will fail like all the others."

"We're not like the others" Saren added, stepping next to Jane. "We're not going to break your precious cycle..." he hissed, his voice rumbling into the valley "...We'll destroy it!"

"Our power has blinded you, Arterius. Your delusion will be your death."

"No" Jane said "He's right." she looked at Saren, right into his eyes, gathering strength from the look in them "We're not like the others. We stopped Sovereign, the Collectors, and we're not just going to stop you-" her voice rang in the air like a battle cry. Tali and Legion appeared, listening in silence "We're going to take back our worlds, and take away everything you have. We'll bleed you out the same way you bled our friends and ancestors out. We'll make you regret every life you've taken, a thousandfold!"

He heard her heart beating, it was so fast, she should have passed out by now. But she was unstoppable, standing there on the cliff like a rock, a statue of war. The revenge in her eyes mirrored in him, and he instinctively moved a step closer to her.

"We will recall these words when we crush you." hissed the reaper, before its core finally went black, and the pressure in the air lifted.

"Keelah, we killed a reaper!" Tali said as she stepped behind Shepard, who turned her back to the monster. Her hands were still clenched into fists as the shock still ruled her, but slowly her features relaxed somewhat.

Saren didn't step away from the reaper, this was a perfect opportunity. He brought up his omni tool and started examining the corpse. In the meantime Legion and the fleet confirmed that the signal died, and the geth fleet stopped all hostile action.

[Shepard Commander] Legion started as he stepped closer to the reaper, standing just behind Saren [The geth only acted in defense after the creators attacked. Do we deserve death?]

Jane looked at him.

This was no question for her. Not to mention the support the geth would provide for the war effort, was immeasureable.

"What is your offer?" she asked.

[The reaper upgrades. With the old machine dead, we can upload it to all geth. But this time without losing individual independence.] he turned back to her [We'd be free.]

"What?" Tali stepped forward, worry in her voice "That would make them as smart as when the reapers controlled them!"

[Correct, but with free will. We would be alive, and we could help you.] Tali stayed silent this time, looking at Shepard. The fleet was already attacking, this could result in tragedy. [Do you remember the question Tali? "Does this unit have a soul?"]

"Upload the code." said Jane, cold confidence in her voice. "Tali, call off the fleet if you can."

Saren smiled to his omni tool. Perfect tactical decision.

[10%]

"Legion, please! Don't do this!" cried Tali. Jane reached for the comms.

"All ships, this is Commander Jane Shepard. The reaper is dead, stand down."

[Negative, keep firing!] came from Garrel.

"The geth are about to return to full strength. If you attack now, you'll be wiped out!" she continued, her heart-rate raising again "Your history is all about chasing the geth. All they did was defend themselves from you. You forced them to rebel, you forced them to work with the reapers. You're taking away everything they have just because they are alive, because you couldn't cooperate. And if you keep attacking, they'll kill you all."

[60%]

Saren twitched at her words. She spoke really well, he had to give her that. Getting two armies instead of one was impressive in his books too.

"They don't want to fight you. If you could believe that for just a second, this war would be over. Please. Keelah se'lai."

[All units, stand down.] came from Garrel with a sigh. A smile spread across her face, and she stepped to Legion.

[Error] he chirped [Copying code insufficient. Direct personality dissemination required.]

The smile wiped from her face in a second, and within a fraction of a moment, the victorious Jane disappeared, and her expression distorted into a darkness that was scarier than an army of reapers.

[Shepard Commander] Legion stopped and turned to her once again [I must go to them. I'm sorry.]

She didn't answer. She didn't move. All the blood rushed out of her head, and she saw Tali stepping to Legion.

"Legion" she said softly, looking right at him "The answer to your question was "yes"."

[I know Tali, but thank you. Keelah se'lai.]

And he continued. He turned to the sun, and lost the light in him. His parts went dull, his headlight becoming empty. He fell on his knees, and just like that, lifeless, he fell on the ground. Jane was looking at him, shock in her eyes, not being able to say a word.

Tali stepped to her and moved a hand over her shoulder. She turned them as they went, and sat Jane down on the edge of the cliff. Saren wanted to concentrate on his omni tool, but it was extremely hard. It took him minutes to stop thinking about her face.

They were still sitting there, but he could not hear what they spoke, there was too much Chaos in his mind. Tali took off her helmet. The sun was going down, and they spent a good amount of time just being there. As Saren finished the scans, he closed the tool down and stepped to her. She was just sitting there, not moving, her arms curled around her legs. She looked far into the distance, silence on her lips.

"Jane" he called.

She turned around.

He didn't answer, he just looked at her. She sighed and stood up to face him.

"Yeah?" she asked, quite frustrated and sad, her tone dark, weak.

But he still didn't answer.

"Yeah, what's wrong?" she asked again, and his eyes widened, in shock. His chest rose suddenly, he took a deep breath as if catching for air, and his right hand slammed onto his own chest. The left hand side.

"Saren, what's wrong?" she asked now in shock too, stepping to him, trying to find out what was wrong, but he could not speak. He just looked at her, chaos in his eyes. His whole body was on fire suddenly, he felt like a fireball was dropped on him. His heart ached like thunder went through it, and all his air escaped from his lungs. Immediate pain crushed his head and neck, and Jane's face slowly went out of focus. His limbs betrayed him, all of them going limp. It felt like death, like the life in him was leaving him. For good this time.

He fell forward, right onto Jane. She collapsed under the weight, laying him down on the ground. His face went completely blank, his eyes were closed and if it was even possible, his plates were now almost white, so pale. His body was trembling.

"Saren!" she cried. Tali just turned to see what happened, and she saw him on the ground, and heard her commander's cry. Jane was leaning over the turian, her hands on his chest. "No! No!" she cried, screamed almost, completely lost in panic.

He could not die, she couldn't even think of it, but his body went limp in her arms, his breathing stopped and it didn't matter how hard she cried, he would not respond.

This was not how it should have been!

He could not die, not again!

The air was suddenly filled with darkness, and reality twisted around her as tears filled her eyes. Everything went blurry and all that remained was the sheer panic, the fear, tearing her mind apart. She heard a gunshot in her mind, glass shattering, and empty space enveloped her. She was living that fateful moment again, from 3 years ago.

"JOKER!" she screamed hysterically into her comms as she fell on his chest, reduced to tears.