Sarah sighed, as she leaned against a wall of the Normandy. "How long until we get to Keltharan?"
"The estimated time of arrival is another hour, Sarah." John said, "Are you sure you're ready to face Halthas."
"It doesn't matter if I'm not. He's had Miri for long enough." Sarah said. "Halthas will die today, no matter the cost."
John sighed, and said, "Sarah, don't do anything reckless."
"Can't make any promises, Dad." she said. "It isn't an option right now. Have you talked to Mom yet?"
"Not yet. If a second reversal is necessary I would rather not waste my time speaking with her if she would just forget." John said. "Better to only experience her wrath about this once."
"Who says that she won't be coming back too?" Sarah asked with a smirk.
"She's currently halfway across the galaxy from the Citadel. So, when the Crucible activates, she will be too far away to be affected. The relay network is set to deactivate immediately following your next arrival on the Citadel. So, the Crucible's blast will be contained to the Widow system."
"We'll need it farther." Sarah said. "How do you stop the relays from closing?"
"This isn't your choice to make, Sarah." John sighed. "Nor is it mine. This order came direct from his majesty. Everyone who is needed to be sent back is already on the Citadel."
"Why did he order that it be done this way?"
"He has his doubts about you. He fears that your love of Miranda will cloud your judgment and you will choose to go with synthesis to ensure her survival. This way if it happens, it will be containd to a single system."
"I'm no idiot. I know that if I do synthesis I'll have just doomed her to a fate worse than death." Sarah growled. "I'm not going to do that."
"I know, Sarah. But, his majesty does not have the same faith in you that I do."
"That why I can't talk to him?"
"Almost no one gets to speak with him. I have been one of our kind for far longer than you have, and still have not been given that honor."
"Only someone who has something to hide is so secretive." Sarah growled. "What is he trying to hide?"
"I don't know." John said.
"Quit being so goddamn evasive!" Sarah shouted. "You are constantly saying you don't know shit! But guess what, in my time in the Alliance and as a Spectre I've learned how to tell when someone is lying. And you obviously are."
"You are coming to inaccurate conclusions, Sarah." John sighed.
"Tell me the truth, Dad. I don't have time to deal with lies from you."
John sighed, and said, "The truth is I have a theory as to what the king is hiding. But I cannot be sure."
Sarah sighed, and said, "What's your theory?"
"I do not wish to mislead you if I am wrong."
"Just tell me, Dad. I'll keep it in the theory department until we know if it is true."
"I cannot." John said.
"Just tell me. I don't want to go into this fight while doubting those who I'm fighting beside."
John sighed, and said, "Very well. I think the king may have died long ago. When Halthas rebelled. But that instead of passing his power and authority onto his successor, he sealed it away. And that only one like you, half Lucis Entia, half mortal, could gain it."
"You would be wrong." Bryce said, walking into the Normandy. "His majesty is alive and well, John."
"Then why is he so secretive?"
"Because, when Halthas betrayed him, the king became paranoid. There are very few he feels that he can trust."
"Why?"
"Before his betrayal Halthas was the best of us. No one saw it coming. He was the most loyal of our kind."
"You knew him before he went rogue?"
"No. It was before my time. Long before it." Bryce said, "What is important is that you end Halthas, Shepard."
"I will." she said. "But I don't like going into an operation not knowing all of the details."
"You know what you need to." Bryce said. "We will be landing on the surface of Keltharan in fifteen minutes. You should get ready."
"About this mission..." Sarah said, looking around the room, "I want to go in alone."
"What!" John said, "You realize how dangerous Halthas is, don't you?"
"Yes." Sarah replied. "But... I need to do this solo. Miranda has been captured and had who knows what done to her. She's almost certainly been traumatized. Too many people could cause trouble."
John sighed, and asked, "Is that it. Or is it that you don't want anyone else to see what you're going to do to her captors?"
"A little of both, I suppose." Sarah said, as she walked into the armory. "Just have the Crucible ready to go. I've got a bad feeling that this is all part of Halthas's plan."
"Then you shouldn't be going in alone." John said.
"Dad, this isn't up for debate. This is my mission. It's my girlfriend down there, and I won't risk her safety by going in with too large a team. They might kill her if it's more than just me."
"They might kill her even if you go in alone." John sighed.
"They'll think they can take me if I go in solo."
"You don't know that, Sarah." John growled. "We can't risk your life. This is an opportunity to finally end the cycles and the Leviathans. This is about more than Miranda and your personal revenge."
Sarah slammed her father into the wall, and said, "You've changed, Dad. Before you were one of these 'Beings of Light' you wouldn't have opposed me going in alone to save the person who means the most to me. When did you start caring more about the 'greater good' than your family? When did you lose your connection to what makes you who you are? When did you just become another fucking soldier who doesn't care about anything other than getting the job done? Before you always talked about getting the job done right. In the way that helps both the people who you're protecting by doing the job, and those who do it. This is the best way to get it done."
"You're going to risk your life because you're angry that they took Miranda from you, Sarah. I want what is best for you, and that isn't dying."
"I won't die. They think they can take me on, bu they can't. No one is going to kill me, Dad. Because, guess what, one way or another I am turning back the clock so that those fuckers never got their hands on Miri. We're going back once we have her. Back on my terms."
"You're good, Sarah. But we don't know if you're good enough to beat Halthas."
"I'm good enough." Sarah said. "It'll be a hard fight, but he'll die by my hands."
John looked her in the eye, and said, "Alright. Sarah, make him pay."
"I will, Dad. Promise you'll talk to Mom when we go back?"
"I promise." he said, hugging her. "Give them hell."
"Yessir." she replied, smiling at him. "I'm thinking of doing a bit of a dramatic entrance. You'll want to see it."
-=0=-
The guard of the facility was sitting at a terminal, a game playing on his screen, when he saw something falling from the sky. Burning with the heat of re-entry. As it flew towards the ground he reached for his rifle. Before he could grab it, the object connected with the ground and a massive shockwave came from the source. It sent him flying into the far wall so fast that when he connected he was liquidized, all that remained was a large dent in the metal wall, and a thick coating of blood all over the room.
-=0=-
Sarah stepped into the guard room, and said, "That could have been a bit less messy." before kicking the inner door to the facility open. Inside, three guards fired on her, but were vaporized by her glare. She then drew twin Typhoon assault rifles, and began firing both at the mercenaries. One charged her shouting,
"I'll gut you, you fucking bitch!"
Shepard just laughed, before turning her rifle at the woman. Seven rounds hit her head, then exploded. Leaving nothing but a bloody stump where the head had been. Sarah shook her head, and continued running through the facility.
-=0=-
Miranda looked up at the alarm as it went off. Her solitary cell at least gave her some room to stretch out, and they'd let her take a shower the day before. She hadn't known why they were so concerned with making her comfortable all of a sudden, but she knew now. A smile crossed her face, as she thought, 'Sarah finally found this place. God, it's going to be good to see her again.'
-=0=-
Sarah ducked beneath the rocket the YMIR mech fired, and returned fire with her twin rifles. A second later the machine fell to the ground, and Shepard was back to sprinting down the corridor. She ripped the first door she came across open, and saw a pair of guards reaching for their weapons. Shepard fired two rounds, rendering both guns useless, and asked, "Where's Miranda? Where's your prisoner!"
"WE don't know! We're just guards!" the men said.
"Unfortunate for you." Sarah replied, using Dark Energy to cause the roof to fall on the two.
-=0=-
Halthas looked up, and said, "It would appear that Shepard has begun her assault on Keltharan. I should head there myself soon. She is only a few meters from Lawson."
"Yes." The Leviathan said. "Bring her here. The Crucible is about to attach. And then, synthesis can begin."
"Indeed." Halthas said, smiling as he vanished from the room.
-=0=-
Admiral Hackett looked at the Crucible device as it slowly flew towards the Citadel. The station's arms were open wider than before. It looked almost like a flower. The rotation was off now, or so he had been told, so artificial gravity was maintained entirely by mass effect fields. He asked, "How long until the Crucible is attached to the Catalyst?"
An ensign said, "Seventy-five seconds, sir!"
"Good." the Admiral said. "Began evacuations of the wards. We want that station to be abandoned when Shepard shows up to activate that device."
"Aye-aye, Admiral!" the ensign replied.
-=0=-
Sarah tossed aside her twin rifles, their ammo spent, and continued sprinting through the facility. Vaporizing any guards who were already armed. She ripped open a door, and saw a single obese woman stuffing her face with food. The woman said, "Oh shit! Shepard! Please don't kill me! I'm just a guard!"
"Where's Miranda." The Commander asked, glaring at the woman.
"In a cell one floor down. Directly beneath the barracks on this floor!"
"Thanks for the info." Shepard said, leaving the room. She ripped open a hole in the floor, and dropped down on top of a YMIR mech. She tore the machine's head off, before running back towards the barracks. "I'm close, Miri. Hang on just another couple of minutes." the Commander said to herself, as she eradicated anyone who tried to get in her way.
-=0=-
Miranda looked up at the security screen that had been placed in her quarters. "To crush any hope you may have of escaping." had been Halthas's explanation, when he had her put in here. Running down the hallway, vaporizing anyone who stood in her path, was Sarah. Dressed in black N7 armor and her crimson hair flowing behind her, the Commander looked like a furious angel of death. Miranda sighed with relief. The Commander would only be another few moments. 'There's no way that bastard Halthas is going to be able to interrupt now.' she thought.
-=0=-
Halthas stepped into the room. Invisible. 'Soon, soon.' He thought, 'It will all be over soon. Synthesis. The end of all conflict is upon us.'
-=0=-
Sarah ripped the head off the last guard in the facility, and ripped the door off the cell. Sitting in the room, looking exhausted, hungry, but overjoyed, was Miranda. She ran into Sarah, wrapping her arms around the Commander.
The Commander returned the hug, and said, "God, I've missed you, Miri."
"We need to get out of here." Miranda said. "There's some guy called Halthas who might show up any moment now."
"I'll take care of him." Sarah said, kissing Miranda.
"He's the one who was knocking you out somehow!"
"I know, babe." Sarah replied, grabbing the Operative's hand. "And we do need to get out of here. Time isn't going to reverse itself."
"It is not going to reverse at all." Halthas said, sending Sarah flying as he appeared.
The N7 was almost immediately back on her feet, and charging him, when she hit an invisible barrier. He said, "Not this time, Shepard. Meet us on the Citadel. There, we will... negotiate the terms of Ms. Lawson's release."
"You fucker. This was all a part of your plan."
"Indeed." he said smirking. "I will see you on the Citadel."
"I'll kill you and display your corpse where everyone can see it." Sarah said, slamming against the wall. Desperately trying to get through.
Halthas merely laughed in response, before grabbing Miranda and vanishing with her.
"No!" Shepard screamed, her eyes glowing blue. As tears flowed down her face, she said, "Shepard to Normandy. Set course for the Citadel."
-=0=-
Sarah reappeared on the Normandy, and said, "Set course for the Citadel. Dad, Bryce, Kaidan. I want you three to transport the ship and everyone in it there immediately."
"Where is Miranda?" John asked, his voice soft.
"Halthas got her. He jumped me, and put up a barrier I couldn't break through. Transport us to the Citadel now! He has her there."
"We knew he would try this, Sarah. Are you sure you can stay calm enough to prevent synthesis?" John asked.
She glared at him, and said, "Yes. I will be able to. Those turrets of yours are exactly what I needed. I'll use them to activate the reversal once I've got Miri in my arms."
"How do you plan to do that?" John asked.
"I won't say. Send us to the Citadel."
"Alright." John said.
-=0=-
Hackett looked at the Crucible device attached to the Citadel, then said, "Contact the Normandy. Find out their ETA."
"Right now." Sarah said, her voice coming in through the loud speaker. "Get the Council as close to the connection point of the Crucible as possible. I want that entire damn thing surrounded. That will have the greatest effect."
"Understood, Shepard." Hackett said. "We'll get things set up for you."
"Good." Sarah said.
-=0=-
Halthas stood silently in the Crucible chamber, holding a pistol to Miranda's head. When Sarah stepped into the room, she said, "Halthas."
"Shepard." He replied. "Our terms are simple. You initiate synthesis, and then we set Lawson free."
"Do you think I'm stupid, Halthas? I know that once I initiate synthesis, I will die. So, if you want me to do that, you had better have some better terms than that."
"And what terms would those be, Shepard?"
"You release her, then I initiate synthesis. Because for all I know, once I start it, you'll go back on your word."
"Sarah, don't give them anything they want!" Miranda said. "They're the enemy! Whatever it is they want you to do will hurt the galaxy! Just let me go!"
Sarah said, "What happens if I refuse to start synthesis?"
"Lawson dies." Halthas said.
Sarah looked Miranda in the eye, and said, "Alright. I'll start synthesis."
"Sarah! No! You will not! I'm not worth it."
"Yes you are, Miri." Sarah said, "And, I wasn't finished talking. Halthas, I will start synthesis for you under one condition."
"What is that?"
"You let me-let me hold Miri one last time. And say goodbye to her." Sarah said. "If I'm going to die, it's the least you could do."
"Fair enough." Halthas said. "But if you try anything, I will kill her in your arms."
"Fine." Sarah said.
He pushed Miranda towards Sarah. The Operative walked up to the Commander, and asked, "How can you betray everyone for me."
"Shhh." Sarah whispered wrapping her arms around Miranda and kissing the Operative. "I'm not betraying anyone. I'm saving you, and resetting the clock. Meet me on the other side, however far back it is? Promise me you will?"
"I promise" Miranda said, kissing the Commander back. "I love you."
"I love you too, Miri." Sarah said, using her abilities to activate the turrets aimed at the control pylons. As the rounds fired on the pylons, Halthas screamed,
"NO! You cannot!"
"Just did, sorry, motherfucker. But, I'm not giving you synthesis." Sarah replied, picking Miranda up and sprinting towards the pylons. Halthas fired on her, but his rounds were caught by a barrier. Standing in the path, was Bryce, who said, "Not today, Halthas. This time, you lose." before kicking the traitorous Lucis Entia back.
"So it would seem, Bryce." Halthas replied, vanishing.
Sarah and Miranda stood at the heart of the dark energy emanating from the Crucible, the Commander amplified it with her own power. Pulling herself and everyone around her back. As time reversed, she stared into Miranda's eyes.
The Operative smiled at her, before they were separated by the flow of time. Then, as time flowed backwards, Sarah smiled herself. Knowing that this time things would go differently.
-=0=-
The Council stood in the Citaddel Tower, watching a white wave of energy flow from the Crucible. As it spread, it engulfed them, and they felt their minds pulled back. Felt their consciousnesses being dragged through time, before their vision went black.
-=0=-
Joker said, "Prepare for time-reversal in three-two-one." as the Crucible hit the Normandy, shaking the vessel.
-=0=-
Garrus chuckled, and said, "I suppose that's one way to win." as the time-distortion enveloped him. Pulling him back in time.
-=0=-
John smiled as he felt the distortion engulf him, feeling his essence pulled back, to years gone by.
-=0=-
Grunt roared with pain as the distortion pulled him back, before feeling his mind re-enter the tank.
-=0=-
Kaidan laughed as he kissed Ashley, and said, "See you on the other side, Ash."
"Will do, LT." she replied, blushing slightly.
-=0=-
Thane said, "Perhaps, this time I can save Irikah." as he fell to the ground.
-=0=-
Kelly sat back, and said, "This'll be interesting."
-=0=-
Kasumi said, "So, Jack. Hook up again on the other side?"
"Sure thing, Kas." the Convict replied. "Meet me on Omega. I'll send you a message when I first get out of Purgatory."
"Will do." The cheerful thief said, as she hugged the convict.
-=0=-
Samara stood in stoic silence as the Crucible's blast engulfed her. The feeling of being pulled into the past was alien, yet strangely familiar to her ancient mind.
-=0=-
Wrex looked up to see a cloud of white energy heading his way. The krogan roared with laughter and charged it.
-=0=-
Tali was working on the Normandy's drive core in silence when the ship shook, and she heard Ken say, "What the bloody hell was that?"
"I don't know." The quarian said, as she fell unconscious.
-=0=-
Halthas stared up at the sky, and said, "So you will continue to deny me victory, your Majesty? You will use Shepard to reverse the timeline again so that the galaxy has a third chance to stop me? Are you so unwilling to accept defeat that you will not allow the timeline to continue in a way that you lost? A shame, Father."
-=0=-
A/N: Okay. I'm gonna cut this chapter off short, because it ended up being shorter than I had anticipated. I thought the stuff would take up more space than it did. So, enjoy this chapter. And please leave reviews. :-)