Saren ignores Shepard and continues typing on the console before him—clearly the master control panel that governs the core systems of the Citadel, exactly what Vigil predicted.
However, just as Shepard snaps and is about to open fire, Saren tosses a grenade toward the group and leaps down toward the gardens beneath the council chamber.
Alex and the others quickly dive for cover, narrowly avoiding the blast.
Saren reappears, hovering above them on his signature hoverboard, gliding effortlessly as the crew ducks behind the railing and surrounding obstacles.
"I was afraid you wouldn't make it in time, Shepard," Saren says with a smile.
"Had to wipe out a few hundred of your followers along the way," Shepard screams up at him. "Sorry if I kept you waiting!"
"You've lost. You know that, don't you?" Saren taunts. "In a few minutes, Sovereign will have full control of all the Citadel's systems. The relay will open. The Reapers will return."
"I'm heading to that master control panel, and you can't stop me!" Shepard yells.
"You survived our encounter on Virmire, but I've changed since then. Now, even your mighty Lieutenant will be unable to stop me. I've done my best to get rid of him, but it looks like he's still alive and kicking… what a shame. At least it allows me to personally kill him," Saren says, looking at Alex beside Shepard.
Motherfucker… I need to stay calm! Shepard can probably get through to him. I can't insult him and risk everything for my ego… he will die soon enough. Damn brainwashed puppet! I'm not sure if I should intervene or wait. The system might interfere? Will Shepard really be able to talk him into ending his life? That would be too easy! I need to act. However, she may be able to distract him…! Should I risk it? This is a tough decision…. Wait a minute, I still have one Joker to play. System, activate [Destiny Watch].
Alex sees a butterfly appear, fluttering to the side of the council platform, then gliding above the stairs until it reaches the council seats. From there, it arcs gently through the air—and lands directly on Saren's head.
Not… very subtle. So it's telling me to kill him myself. Aim for the head. Yes, if I am correct, his transformation won't even trigger if I do that! If this leads to a good outcome… I'll do it. The watch hasn't disappointed me yet!
"Fancy hardware's not going to save you, Saren!" Shepard yells.
Saren lowers his weapon. "You don't understand, Shepard. There is a place for organics in the new order. The Reapers need men and women of action. People like us. Sovereign recognizes your value. You've impressed it. Surrender to the Reapers and you will be spared. Join us, and we can find a place for you."
"Sovereign is controlling you through your implants! Don't you see that?" Shepard yells.
Meanwhile, Alex activates Zetsu and silently crawls toward the far side of the audience chamber.
"The relationship is symbiotic," Saren says. "Organic and machine intertwined. A union of flesh and steel. The strengths of both—the weaknesses of neither. I am a vision of the future, Shepard. The evolution of all organic life. This is our destiny. Join Sovereign and experience a true rebirth!"
Alex reaches the side and ascends toward the council seats. Saren, still hovering before Shepard, now has his back turned to him.
"The Reapers don't use organics!" Shepard screams. "They devour and discard them. As soon as the conquest is over, you'll be cast aside!"
"I had no choice!" Saren retorts, shaking his head. "You saw the visions. You saw what happened to the Protheans! Surrender or death—there are no other options!"
"You could have resisted! You could have fought! Instead, you surrendered. You quit!" Shepard snaps, her voice sharp.
"Maybe you're right…" Saren says, his voice faltering. "Maybe there is still a chance for… unh!"
Suddenly, his body convulses in pain. "The implants… Sovereign is too strong. I'm sorry. It's too late for me."
Shepard stands up from cover, lowering her pistol.
"There's still one way to stop this… if you've got the guts!" she yells.
"I… I want to… but I…" Saren's hands begin to shake.
He's hesitating. The system must be interfering again. After all that trouble you caused me, motherfucker, I'm not letting you go out with a hero's death. So I welcome this change. No redemption for you. Give me my damn loot, you imbecile!
Alex jumps into the air, drawing his [Executioner's Blade R2], the blade catching the light—its edge glinting sharply, signaling its effect is active. He also activates both effects of [Uzin's Rage], channels Ko, and focuses his Aura entirely into the blade. Then, he releases a powerful Thundara Sword, aimed straight at Saren's head.
Release Rage activated
You have lost 100 HP
STR and AGI + 20 for 10 seconds
Avatar of Vengeance activated
base STR and AGI doubled for 30 seconds.
Incoming damage reduced by 80% for 30 seconds
You have become Unstoppable for 30 seconds
TAKE THAT YOU MOTHERFUCKER!!
Alex's empowered attack hits Saren's head. The force of the strike pierces Saren's shields almost instantly, and his blade cuts clean through his body—splitting even his spine into two separate halves.
You have dealt 836 + 123 = 949 x 3 = 2847 damage to Saren
You have killed Saren
The devastating impact sends both halves of Saren's body crashing to the ground in front of the control panel. The crew watches in stunned silence.
Without hesitation, Alex lands, moves towards him, and hacks at the corpse again, separating what remains into over a dozen pieces. Only shredded remnants remain—nothing even remotely identifiable.
"Kerber! That is enough!" Shepard shouts, grabbing and shaking him.
"Sorry, Commander… I was worried his machine parts would try something… please… go ahead… I need to rest…" Alex says, panting hard, his whole body burning with exertion. His buffs slowly disappear, but Alex ignores the notifications.
For a brief moment… I felt like a god. Almost unstoppable. I had reached over 60 STR! My whole body is shaking! I want to kill more… this is insane… this Ring is a cheat, but I can barely handle it!
As Alex recovers from the fight, Shepard activates Vigil's data file to gain control over the system. Alex glances at Saren's mangled body, only to be disappointed.
He's only dropped a single Purple chest, which Alex picks up without hesitation.
You have received Chest (Purple)
"The file worked. I've got control of all systems!" Shepard says.
"We need to open the Citadel's arms. Maybe the fleet can take Sovereign down!" Garrus says.
"There are far too few ships for that. The Citadel is barely protected, its fleet is tiny," Kaidan notes.
"We should check if we can open a comm channel to the Citadel fleet!" Liara suggests.
Shepard follows through, managing to pull a weak signal:
"—the Destiny Ascension. Main drives offline. Kinetic barriers down 40%. The Council is on board. I repeat, the Council is on board."
Moments later, Joker's voice cuts through:
"Normandy to the Citadel. Normandy to the Citadel. Please tell me that's you, Commander."
"You were expecting someone else?" Shepard replies smugly.
Joker continues, "We caught that distress call from the Citadel, Commander. I'm sitting here in the Andura sector with the entire Arcturus fleet. We can save the Ascension. Just unlock the relays around the Citadel, and we'll send the cavalry in!"
"Wait, Commander! We can't risk all those human lives just to save the Council!" Ashley yells.
"I agree," Kaidan adds, lowering his gaze.
"The numbers support that decision, if too many Alliance ships fall to save the council, Sovereign might have the upper hand," Garrus mutters.
Liara steps forward, "This is bigger than humanity. Sovereign's a threat to every organic species in the galaxy! This could unite us! If you sacrifice them, it'll go against the only thing that can defeat the Reapers—our unity!"
"We need to save our main fleet for Sovereign! If the fleet gets destroyed saving the Council, we all die!" Ashley insists.
"Commander!" Liara pleads again.
Joker cuts in, "What's the order, Commander? Come in now to save the Ascension or hold back until the arms are fully open?"
Shepard blinks once—then gives her order:
"Hold off, Joker. We're not sacrificing human lives to save the Council. Keep our ships back until they can get a shot at Sovereign."
"Understood, Commander. We're waiting," Joker responds.
Alex sighs in relief.
Saving the council is a stupid decision.
Suddenly, his shields flicker
You have received 35 damage (blocked by shields)
"Careful! Geth approaching! We need to hold the control panel until the Alliance can take down Sovereign!" Shepard orders.
Alex curses and rises to his feet. "This shit's never going to end, is it?"
"Stop complaining! We need to finish this!" Shepard barks.
The crew digs in, fighting to defend the platform from the approaching Geth. Fortunately, they come in small numbers—single units, easily picked off. Garrus keeps them at bay with surgical precision using his Sniper Rifle, while the rest of the squad takes cover and guns down any that get too close.
At one point, Alex can't help but look toward the massive explosion—the Destiny Ascension, with the Council still onboard, erupts into a spectacular burst of blue light as its engines detonate.
Turning his attention back to the fight, Alex draws his [Brawler-Pistol] and [Enchanted Runeblade]. He fires methodically, casting Thundara again and again, tossing every last Annihilation Grenade he's got until the Geth are finally stopped.
The team, now utterly exhausted, watches as the Alliance fleet enters the now-open Citadel and unleashes wave after wave of bombardments against Sovereign. Many Alliance ships don't make it, getting destroyed by the Geth ships or Sovereign's devastating laser beams.
Finally, Sovereign loses its grip on the tower, getting pushed away from it.
Joker, at the helm of the Normandy, seizes the opportunity—firing a pinpoint missile into Sovereign's weak point, delivering the final strike.
Alex, suddenly panicked, backs away instinctively, praying the tower can withstand the blast.
To his horror—exactly like in the game—one of Sovereign's jagged spires, like a massive black finger, breaks off from the main hull and rockets straight toward the tower. It shatters the transparent upper walls like glass.
Fuck, fuck, I swear if I die to something stupid like this after surviving all that shit, it would be truly unfair!
Shards tear through the air like missiles. Then Alex remembers—
"JUMP DOWN! TO THE LOWER LEVEL!" he shouts, grabbing Liara and Tali and dragging them toward the garden below the Audience Chamber.
The others follow quickly, just as the incoming shrapnel tears through the space they occupied moments before.
Shepard, struggling with Kaidan, pulls him along. Alex rushes back, grabbing Kaidan from the other side. Together, they toss him to safety.
But then—a massive shadow looms overhead.
"FUCK!" Alex shouts.
Shepard grabs him, and they leap together, just as a huge chunk of Sovereign slams into the tower above them with a thunderous explosion. The station shudders violently, as if an earthquake were tearing through its foundation.
Alex's vision goes white.
You have received 71 damage
"..."
"..."
"..."
Alex opens his eyes. Shepard is still clinging to him.
He shakes her slightly, worried. "Shepard, are you okay?!"
"Stop shaking me," Shepard mutters, rising to her feet and gently pushing him off.
Alex exhales in relief and tries to get up, only to see Shepard's hand stretched out to him.
He reaches for it with a faint smile—until a new system message appears:
[Main mission completed…
------------------------------------------------
A/N: Always thankful for Power Stones, Comments, and Reviews. Thank you for reading!
If you are interested, then please support me at patreon.com/FRWriter
65+ Early chapters available - I will still release on WN daily!! Thank you!
New Chapters every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday!
Bored? Complains? Demands? Check out the Discord: https://discord.gg/puVqWsf3y9
Thank you for supporting the story with Power Stones!