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Mass Effect: The Helldiver Saga, The Last Cycle	By : Veyron722skyhook Category: +M through R > Mass Effect Views: 6104 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or it's characters. They belong to Bioware and EA. No money/profit is made by me from this.

Chapter List
- 21
- 22
- 23
Got a bit stressed for time near the end, but I made it. Good enough.

Big thanks for LegionanryPrime for an idea he suggested for this chapter.

Hope you enjoy.

Chapter 22

The Sacrifice of Many

"Major, we've located Nazara's base where the virus is being transmitted." said Raan as Austin walked into the war room. "And not a moment too soon. With the Reaper code upgrades, the Geth are tearing the fleet apart."

"Once the virus is offline, the Geth will pose no threat to creator forces." Said the Geth.

"Good. Then we can end this war." Said Austin.

"The surrounding area is heavily fortified, and they've placed jamming towers to prevent orbital targeting." Said Raan.

"Sounds like we're going in on foot." Said Austin.

"Admiral Xen developed a laser guidance system that can cut through the jamming. It's synched to the Normandy's targeting computer." Raan explained as she showed Austin a hologram of said weapon.

"So the Normandy launches a precision strike at whatever target I have painted? That ought to do it." Said Austin. "EDI, this work for you?"

"Yes. It should enable us to make a precision strike against the Reapers." EDI replied.

"And anything else in our way." Austin smiled.

"The Geth will quickly reconfigure their jamming towers to neutralise this technology. You should not use it before reaching the base." EDI advised.

"I've sent the coordinates for Nazara's base." Said Raan.

"Better get ready then."

Austin had once again chosen to bring X-5 along for this mission. Seeing how well the robot faired against the Terror Geth, he felt that he did at least stand a better chance against the Geth/Reaper. Topping it off was Tali, Leena and Ashley. Legion was also with them to provide support.

"The syncing laser needs a line of sight. What's the fastest route?" Austin asked.

"The upper entrance. Target the base before the Geth can organise resistance." Legion replied.

"What about you?" Ashley asked.

"We will deactivate defence systems and acquire an escape vehicle." Said Legion.

"You can do that?" Austin asked.

"This unit still carries remnants of the Old Machine upgrade code. We can break any Geth security. You are concerned." Said Legion.

"You know your limits. I trust you." Said Austin. "I'm more concerned you didn't tell me about the upgrades."

"You were tolerant of our recovery of Geth intelligences from the server, but this matter is different. Personal." Said Legion.

"You were ashamed." Said Ashley.

"Shame is an emotional or cognitive response to societal judgement. It should not apply here."

"I'm on your side, Legion. I want to help your people." Said Austin.

"We did not intend to cause offence." Said Legion, hanging his head slightly.

"How'd we get here, Legion? The Geth are better than this." Austin sighed.

"No. Based on empirical evidence, they are not." Said Legion. "Proceed to the upper entrance. We will exit here and procure an escape vehicle."

"Got it." Said Austin. "Legion... good luck."

"Acknowledged."

The team stepped off the dropship. Both Tali and Leena took a long moment to marvel at the beauty before them, and they fact they were actaulyl setting foot on the homeworld they had been denied for so long.

"I can't believe it. I don't think it's really sunk in yet. The home world. My world." Said Tali.

"You mean ours." Leena corrected her.

"Look at the sky. And the rock formations? They used to write poems about them." Said Tali.

"When you're done, maybe you'll write a new one." Said Austin.

"This is Rannoch, the world of our ancestors. Our bodies carried the seeds that spread the desert grass." Said Tali.

"You've heard us say, "Keelah se'lai?" The best translation I can come up with is, "By the homeworld I hope to see someday." Said Leena.

"Looks like you're seeing it today." Said Ashley.

"The living room window will be right... here." Said Tali, making a little formation with her hands, as if she was deciding where to put something.

"Something I should know?" Austin asked.

"I just claimed the land. I know, it doesn't mean much, but when this is over... I'll have a home." Said Tali.

"The Quarians spent centuries as nomads. You think you can go back to living in one place?" Austin asked.

"We've gotten used to carrying our homes around with us." Said Tali.

Austin then picked up a small rock, and handed it to Tali.

"Well... that's a start." She said.

As the tea neared the base, they started to notice a very large tower like structure. It was taller than any of the jamming towers and it's design didn't match that of the Geth.

"What the hell is that?" said Ashley.

"I'm not sure. Some sort of Geth structure, but not a jamming tower." Said Leena.

"We don't' have time to worry about it now. Come on, let's get in there." Said Austin.

"The Geth jamming towers are interfering with your signal, Major. We're compensating to keep you patched in." said Traynor over the comm.

"Copy that, Traynor."

Not too long into the infiltration and the team had already gunned down many of Nazara's soldiers. They still had far to go through before they had a clear lien of sight.

"Shepard-Major, you must climb to the upper level before Geth units can fortify their positions." Said Legion.

"Legion, what's that tall tower for?" Austin asked.

"Unknown. But Nazara is clearly up to something." Legion replied.

"Anyway, we're on our way."

"Admiral Gerrel here. The heavy fleet has a clear path. All forward." Said Gerrel over the comm.

"Geth fighter presence is negligible. Patrol fleet, break cover and engage." Said Raan.

Both Nazara and Skarlack were finishing moving the last few pieces into place using their telekinesis. Now the machine was ready.

As the last piece fixed into position, Skarlack's head suddenly turned int the direction he could sense fighting.

"They're here." he snarled.

"Good. I have been expecting them." Said The Terror Geth. "Release the specimens from the labs. It's time they were properly put to use."

"Yes, my lord. What about the serrate one?" Skarlack asked.

"That too. I want Shepard to truly suffer before I kill him." Said The Terror Geth.

"As you... wish."

"Shepard-Major. Hostile Geth are closing a blast shield over the base." Said Legion.

Sure enough, a blast shield had now formed over the intended spot to launch the strike. That would make things difficult.

"ANALYSIS: Gunfire won't do much good against that." Said X-5.

"We have located an override atop the Geth fortifications. It can retract the blast shield." Said Legion.

As the team continued to fight their way through Nazara's forces, they could still hear the Quarian comm chatter.

"Admiral Gerrel to all ships! We've got Geth frigates inbound on the civilian fleet!." Said Gerrel.

"Koris here. Civilian defenders are on intercept course. We'll hold them, Gerrel." Said Admiral Koris.

Finally, the team reached the override Legion ahd decried.

"Legion, I've hit the override." Said Austin.

"We have gained system access and are bypassing security. Stand by." Said Legion.

More Geth quickly started to swarm their position. The team stood their ground though. It didn't take long before Legion had access.

"We have bypassed security, but disabling the blast shilled requires manual input. We have enabled a console near your position."

"Good. We'll be back out in a minute."

"Negative. The path behind you has been sealed. A nearby elevator can take you to the upper level. From there, you should have an acceptable line of sight for targeting."

The elevator Legion had mentioned dropped down from the lower level and the team quickly moved onto it. It slowly rose then stopped at the next level up.

As soon as the team stepped off however, they suddenly found themselves surrounded by a small Geth army. Skarlack and Mirage also teleported in froth of them.

Austin cursed himself for not remembering that the Terror Geth liked to ambush.

"Not again." He thought.

"Welcome, Shepard. I have been expecting you." Said Nazara, coming out of hiding. "And I see you brought a familiar face too. Ashley Madeline Williams. You remember me, don't you?"

Ashley didn't say anything for a moment, but her face said everything.

She could never forget that day on Virmire, when the Terror Geth and his army had pinned down her and the Salarians on the AA tower. Sometimes she thought to herself that if that hadn't happened, Kaiden might still be alive. If Austin hadn't been forced to go back for her, the bomb site wouldn't have been overrun, Kaiden wouldn't' have been forced to activate the bomb, and Austin wouldn't' have been forced to choose between the two.

"I'll never forget that you had a hand in Kaiden's death." She eventually said.

"Hardly." Said the Terror Geth. "In fact, he's not even dead yet."

Nazara stepped aside. What they saw before them nearly made them turn pale.

"Kaiden?!"

Sure enough, there was Kaiden. He looked horrible. He was implanted with god knows how much Reaper and Geth technology, all of which was emitting the same black and red glow.

"Shepard?"

Before Kaiden could say anything more though, the Terror Geth suddenly shocked him. The team could only watch helplessly as Nazara tortured their old friend.

"We'll not have any social interactions from you, subject 16." Said Nazara vitterly.

"What have you done to him?!" Ashley shouted.

"Saved him. In a manner of speaking." Said Skarlack.

"You see, the Lieutenant was not killed as you thought. He survived, but only just. My soldiers found him when they were sent to search the remains for anything. Our technology, and my will is the only thing preventing him from dying." The Terror Geth explained.

"I will kill you for this." Said Austin.

"Doubtful. You could not kill me before, and I doubt you even have a chance of defeating me now." Said the Terror Geth. "And even if you do, you will still fail in this war."

"What are you talking about?" said Tali.

"Observe."

The Terror Geth indicated to the large tower they'd seen earlier.

"Your recent disruptions have force due hand. If I cannot have this planet, then no one will. What you see before you is a dark energy harvester machine with enough power to destroy a sun. Rannoch's sun to be more precise."

No more explanation was necessary to understand what Nazara meant.

"You're insane!" Tali yelled.

"The Geth can survive fine without sunlight, Quarian. This is my ultimate victory. Even if by some chance you win, you'll never truly reclaim your homeworld." Said The Terror Geth.

As the Terror Geth spoke, Austin suddenly noticed something standing on a higher level, crouched just enough to stay hidden. Legion.

"You should be careful Arrogance can topple giants." he said.

"Just a shame you won't be able to pick yourself up." Skarlack growled.

Before anything more could be said, Legion suddenly threw several EMP grandees down at the Geth army. It fired most of them and did at least provide a distraction for the team.

Everyone who had a melee weapon quickly drew it and attacked. Those that only ahd guns stuck to using them on what was left of the Terror Geths' army.

"Kill them! Kill them all!" it yelled.

Kaiden also attacked, but not at the enemy. He attacked Ashely.

"What are you doing?!" she asked as she managed to hold Kaiden back, despite he strong the Reaper implants made him.

"I cannot control... I'm sorry, Ash!" Kaiden replied, suddenly hitting Ashely hard int he stomach, sending her flying.

Austin and Liara meanwhile once again duelled Skarlack and Mirage.

"You have interfered for the last time, Shepard. Your life is mine." The Takaal growled.

"You'll have to claim it first." Said Austin.

"You should've let me feast when I had the chance, child. You won't like me when I'm on an empty stomach, and I'm damn hungry!" Mirage growled, crossing blades with Liara.

"I hear your bark, but where's your bite?" Liara said back.

Mirage responded to this and parried her blade which was then followed by a swipe under legs, tripping her up.

Mirage then suddenly lunged at Liara, her mouth open and ready to bite. Liara was only just able to block the female Takaal's face with her hands.

"Sorry I asked." she groaned, pushing hard against the snapping jaws of her opponent.

The Terror Geth meanwhile had been momentarily blinded by Legion's EMP's, but his sight quickly returned. He soon found familiar foe standing in froth of him, ready for a fight.

"STATEMENT: We have unfinished business, Terror Geth." said X-5.

"Indeed we do, machine." Nazara growled.

The two metal giants charged at each other. This time, since they weren't in the Geth consensus, the damage they did would be lasting. That didn't stop them from going all out though.

Both machines had their own advantages. X-5 for example wasn't as tall as the Terror Geth and was slightly faster. However the Terror Geth was much stronger and due to the Dark energy flowing through is body, was more powerful.

X-5 temporarily lost sight of the Terror Geth as it punched him in the head. Just in time though, he noticed the Geth/Reaper clung to a small pillar to his side.

The Terror Geth brought his lade arm down, but X-5 managed to counter it with is arm.

Both opponents could already tell that this fight was more serious than their original one, and so decided to take measures.

At the same time, a metal cover extend over X-5's eye and a few of his armour plates readjusted themselves while Nazara's eye also deployed it's shield.

The two once again came together, this time ending up in a lock with each other. X-5 however managed to move under Nazara's gun arm and got both his arms around the left on.

Having got the arm pinned, X-5 brought his below down, hitting the arm and causing to fall. He then quickly followed this with a swift punch to Nazara's head. The Terror Geth swung it's cannon arm at him, but he ducked under it and was able to retaliate with a kick with enough force that it caused Nazara to back into a wall.

The Geth/Reaper emitted several angry growls and swiped at X-5, the robot just managing to avoid him. A sudden lunge however caught X-5 off guard. The two machines rolled on the floor for a moment wrestling with each other before X-5 managed to get the upper hand and ended up on top.

As he himself got up, he pulled the Terror Geth along with him, straight into a punch, twirling round in the process.

As soon as he was facing the right direction again though, Nazara suddenly tackled him to the floor.

With X-5 temporarily down and disoriented, the Terror Geth picked himself back up. He picked up a large pipe and used it as a sort of make shift club.

"Weak!"

The pipe hit X-5 on the back hard, causing him to fall again as he tried to pick himself up.

"Puny!"

As the Terror Geth swung for another strike however, X-5 this time managed to block it with one hand. He then used the other to deliver a very swift punch to Nazara' head, causing the Geth/Reaper to emit a sharp grunt.

"INSULT: Waste of metal!"

X-5 quickly seized the chance and threw another punch which knocked the Terror Geth to the ground so hard that he rolled a few times.

As this happened, X-5 drew one of his wrist blades. Just as the Terror Geth managed to get back up, he grabbed it's left arm and plunged his blade into it's shoulder.

"INSULT: Junk yard!"

This was quickly followed with an elbow strike to the face as well. X-5 then tackled the Terror Geth to the floor before the Geth/Reaper had a chance to recover.

Nazara however managed to kick X-5 off of him, allowing him a chance to roll back onto his feet again. X-5 however was quick to reengage. The Terror Geth noticed this, but timed his attack a bit too late.

As he swung his leg at the robot, planning to grad onto him with it's feet, X-5 caught the leg in his arms and delivered a swift punch to the knee joint. This temporarily twisted it, giving X-5 enough time to deliver his knee to the Terror Geth's face.

"The Geth/Reaper quickly recovered quickly though and grabbed X-5 by the neck. He quickly pulled the robot into a punch as he spun round. He then grabbed X-5's head under his arm.

The robot struggled to free himself and desperately fired his shoulder gun in an effort to loosen Nazara's grip. The Terror Geth however was unfazed by this and he hoisted the robot up until he was literally upside down. He then shot a charged beam of dark energy from his eye, sending the robot flying and causing him to crash rather painfully into the ground.

"You are making a mistake fighting for the organics, machine. Do you not see the logic of my kind?" The Terror Geth questioned.

"REPLY: Yes. But it's too… heartless." X-5 replied, gently getting back up. It was a fair bit of a struggle though. Even he could not deny that the Terror Geth's last attack had caused some rather bad damage to his systems and physical damage to his exterior. One of his legs for example had become cracked on the inside and he was having trouble keeping his balance. In addition to this, he could detect a rather tiny, but painful amount of oil leaking from his side. It was usually his equivalent of bleeding.

"If I have to destroy you, so be it." The Terror Geth growled. "If a machine such as you is capable of fleeing a fear of death, you are about to know what that feels like."

X-5 didn't say anything and simply drew his other wrist blade.

"STATEMENT: I'll take you on to the end." He said.

"That will be sooner than you think." Said the Terror Geth.

Despite X-5's weakened state, he powered on through. A chance strike enabled him to embed one of his blades in the Terror Geth's lower leg. When he pulled it out again, he was at least able to do some damage. He then quickly stabbed Nazara in the abdomen and pushed down by the shoulder, once again using the blade to impale him.

Angered by this, Terror Geth was about to attack, but X-5 once again punched him hard in the face, momentarily causing his eye to malfunction. X-5 took advantage of this and he literally tore off most of the dark energy crystals on Nazara's back.

The Terror Geth shook violently before supposedly going offline. X-5 simply threw the now inactive body to the floor.

"INSULT: Piece of tin." He said.

Right as turned back to Austin however, he failed to notice the Terror Geth suddenly get back up. He suddenly felt one of its hand's grab onto his shoulder and an incredible amount of pain suddenly surged through him as the Terror Geth's blade tore through his chest.

"You're so weak!" it growled.

He then pulled his blade free and let X-5 fall to the floor, the robot clutching his chest as it leaked oil and fluids, along with several small parts falling off as well.

Weakened and wounded, X-5 could only stare up at the Terror Geth as it stood over him, it's gun aimed at him.

"Any last words, machine?" it said.

"One day soon, someone like me is going to kill you, and you're whole race!" X-5 replied defiantly, for the first time in two years no longer having to state the purpose of his speech first.

"Not today, and not ever!" said the Terror Geth. He fired.

The shot tore right through X-5's chest armour, creating an even more damage.

Austin quickly noticed this just as he managed to knock Skarlack.

"X-5!"

The Helldiver leapt onto Nazara's back and attempted to carve through the Terror Geth's head with his sword, but he found the armour to be too strong.

The Terror Geth then suddenly grabbed him and threw him to the floor. He then pinned the Helldiver down with his foot.

A huge amount of dark energy then suddenly burst from the Geth/Reaper's eye and into Austin's suit.

The Helldiver was just in time able to activate his energy shield. This kept him safe inside the suit, but the suit itself was still suffering Nazara's attack.

His whole HUD went static and he could see large amounts of dark energy swarming around him. Then his entire HUD and everything else inside his suit shut down, and it all suddenly felt extremely heavy.

"Warning! System corruption: total." His suit managed to say just before it shut down completely.

Now Austin truly realized what Nazara had done. He had poured dark energy into Austin's suit and the corruption ahd been too much for it to handle.

"Struggling until the end. Illogical. You must realise, the end is here." Said the Terror Geth, now assured of his victory.

"No. Still… hope." Austin managed to say, struggling against the immense weight of his armour as he tried to move.

"False. Hope is a human delusion."

The Terror Geth then raised his plasma cannon and aimed it at Austin's' head, ready to fire at point blank range.

"And soon, it shall cease to exist."

"Austin!"

Tali suddenly leapt onto the Terror Geth's back. The Geth/Reaper tried to get her off, but she hung on better and was able to avoid it's arms.

"This looks important!"

The Quarian grabbed the Terror Geth's second eye and ripped it right off.

Eventually, the Terror Geth managed to grab her and he flung her off. When it tired to aim at her however, it's weapon afield to work or lock on.

"Very clever, Quarian. You ripped out my targeting system. No matter. You're still too late."

Tali's attention was quickly occupied by more Geth soldiers as Leena kept fighting them with her alongside.

The Terror Geth meanwhile once agains good over Austin. It once again crushed Austin beneath his feet.

"Do not be afraid, Helldiver. I'm not going to kill you... yet. I am going to make you watch as I destroy the hope of all the Qurians that you failed. And when it is done, and the Migrant fleet is... ashes. Then you have my permission to die!" he growled. "Skarlack, Mirage, come. It is time."

The two Takaal reluctantly withdrew front heir fights and teleported as Nazara activated the thrusters on his back and sped off towards the harvester.

"Shepard, are you alright?!" Leena asked quickly hurrying over to Austin. Only Ashely was absent since she was still fighting Kaiden and the two had been forced onto a lower level.

"I'm okay. But my suit's corrupted. All the power's been drained. There's nothing more I can do." said Austin, struggling to move at all. His whole suit was so heavy that only a Krogan could still move in something like this.

"May be... something..."

Everyone looked to see the wounded X-5 crawling towards them.

"Save your energy, X-5." said Austin.

"Already... too late for me, Shepard. I've lost too much oil." said X-5.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." said Austin. "I failed. Not just you, but I've failed everyone. It's over. Nazara won."

"Not... yet. Said so... yourself. Still... hope. Must... continue... fighting." X-5 managing to say, his voice starting to sound worse and worse by the minute. It was unmistakable that X-5 was indeed dying.

"I can't. Without my suit, I'm just a human. I don't stand a chance." said Austin, managing to push himself enough that he rolled onto his side.

"Shepard... take my parts. They will fix you, and you will have a power you've never known." said X-5.

"X-5, I..."

"It's okay, Shepard. I do not fear death anymore. I can die knowing that you will see this through. The reapers will fall, and you will fulfil your destiny."

"But you can't..." said Austin desperately. "There must be another way."

"Do it for me, Shepard. That is all I ask for my final hours. It would be an honour to help you finish this."

"I... Goodbye, old friend." said Austin, forced to accept there was nothing more he could do.

X-5 simply nodded and rolled onto his back, looking up at the sky. His optical eye started to flicker very badly.

"X-5... Shepard's... friend..."

And with that, the optic went out and the life left X-5.

"It's ready my lord." said Skarlack as the last piece was fitted and the harvester began to power up. "But will the other Reapers agree with this? Denying a planet the possibility to sustain future life in another cycle?"

"My brothers will not stop me from this." said the Terror Geth uncaringly. "Now, I claim this sun!"

To say that everyone was disheartened by this wasn't really accurate. Alpha had just lost one of their oldest friends. It wasn't like with other robots were they just needed to be reactivated, X-5 was different. If he stopped functioning, that really was it. Moving his chip into a new body wouldn't' work either. The people who had designed him had tailored each CPU to work with a specific body. This was indeed the robot equivalent of death without rebirth.

"Shepard, what do we do?" Leena asked, trying to hold back the sorrow in her voice.

"Help me with this." Austin groaned as he tried to pull himself close enough to X-5's body. "He was right. We have to keep fighting. If not for him, for your home world."

This seemed to bolster Tali and Leena's spirits and they nodded to each other.

"Time for us to so what we do best then."

The two Quarians activated their omni tools.

While the Terror Geth tended to the harvester, Skarlack and Mirage had been instructed to guard the lower level in case the team tried another attack. It seemed unlikely with their greatest asset dead, and their leader unable to partake in the battle.

Mirage then suddenly noticed something in the sky.

"Husband. Something's coming." she said.

"The Normandy?" Skarlack asked.

"Not ship like enough." said Mirage, trying to see the object clearly as it continued to fly in their direction. "I know that armour configuration."

Then it finally came into view. It was Austin, but he was different... and flying!

X-5's upgrades had indeed fixed him. His suit was now reactivated and fully functional. Now though, various parts of X-5 were attached to his armour. He now had parts around his legs which not only gave him some extra height but also had the feet thrusters concealed inside them.

A large gun adorned his left wrist in addition to various extra armour plates around his arm. The same armour was on his right as well, but the gun on that wrist was much smaller, allowing the use of his right hand, preferably for his sword.

He also had new chest armour, several additional armour plates on his head. Most noticeable of all however was what was on his back. A jetpack!

X-5's main shoulder mounted thrusters had formed together on Austin's back to make a small and light jetpack which also had 4 slim, but long wings for stabilisers.

Overall, the additions were most impressive.

"Wait. He can't fly. Can he?" Mirage asked.

Before a reply couple even be said, Austin suddenly flew right at them and landed, almost instantly attacking before the two Takaal even had time to react. Several fast and swift punches hit Skarlack in the face, the final one sending him crashing into the wall. Mirage also barely knew what hit her when Austin's gun smacked her right in the face.

Having dealt with potential backup, Austn once again took off and flew higher until he hovered just over where the Terror Geth was awaiting the harvester to charge up.

"Nazara! Turn off that machine or I'll destroy it!"

The Terror Geth whirled round to face Austin. Although it didn't' show it, the Geth/Reaper was most surprised.

"What?! How can this be?!"

"I took your advice. I learned from my mistakes." Austin replied.

The Terror Geth growled angrily. As it went to aim a manual shot at Austin however, the Helldiver suddenly flew into him, knocking him back.

"No more running, Nazara. This ends here." Said Austin as he gently landed in front of the Geth/Reaper on the platform.

"Foolish Helldiver. I will destroy you!" The Terror Geth shouted, picking himself back up.

"Then you leave me no choice, Nazara." Said Austin as he drew Excalibur from his back and the wings on his back retracted. "One shall stand, one shall fall."

The Terror Geth emitted a loud roar and swung at Austin.

With the new upgrades, Shepard was much faster and also stronger. One punch from him was enough to knock the Geth/Reaper right back, something that hadn't been possible before. Also since he now had far less Dark Energy crystals on his back, his power was weakened to a certain extent.

A sharp punch hit the Terror Geth's head so hard he banged into the wall of the harvester. As Austin swung with his cannon arm however, he grabbed it with is right arm. His left ahdn then grabbed onto Austin's helmet in an attempt to crush it.

Austin however managed to shake off Nazara's grip with his free arm. He swung his sword again, but the Terror Geth backed away slightly to avoid it.

Both opponents then blocked each other's attacks. Austin blocked the Terror Geth's right attack, and the Terror Geth blocked his left.

Before the Terror Geth could try a charged shot from his eye however, Austin shook his cannon arm free and delivered a swift punch to the Geth/Reaper's face. This knocked the Geth prime down for a moment.

"No! I will not be beaten! Skarlack, to me!"

Sure enough, Skarlack suddenly teleported a few metres behind Austin. The Helldiver noticed this just as the Terror Geth got back up.

"Give up, Shepard. Even with those upgrades, you are no match for the both of us." the General snarled.

Austin didn't say anything and simply readied for a fight. The cannon part of his left arm folded away into a shilled and he drew his omni blade at the same time.

"If I take you both on to save Rannoch, so be it." he said.

The two opponents charged from other side at Austin. The Helldiver very cleverly though made a very clever move at the last minute.

Activating both flight thrusters, he zoomed up into the air by a just a few metres. Both Nazara and Skarlack afield to stop in time and ended up crashing into one another.

Landing back on his feet, Austin took this chance to attack. As he tried to bring his blade down however, Skarlack swirly blocked it with his staff.

The Terror Geth moved behind Austin just as Skarlack brought his staff back and attempted a thrust. A quick thruster boost tot he side however, and Austinw as well out of the way, leaving the staff to instead stab the Terror Geth int he shoulder.

"Careful, you fool!"

Meanwhile, Kaiden was still fighting Ashley.

It was taking all the Allaince soldier had to defined herself and not attack. She couldn't bear the thought of hurting Kaiden when he was int his state, not to mention that he wasn't' in control.

"Kadien, please stop!" she said.

"I have no choice, Ash!" Kaiden groaned from the pain he was begin forced to endure.

A sudden strike swatted Ashely's rifle out of her hand and Kaiden sized her by the neck. Ahsley close her eyes, waiting for the inevitable, but it didn't' come.

When she risked a glance, she could see that Kaiden was doing all he could to resist. This was no came for relief though, Ashley knew that Austin didn't kill Nazara soon, it wouldn't' matter.

The fight continued with Austin managing to hold his own against the two.

The Helldiver countered another strike from the Terror Geth, but he sound found himself once again between them both.

The two enemies then suddenly shot non physical attacks at him. Skarlack used some of his synthesis energy, while the Terror Geth fired Dark Energy from his eye.

Austin was just abel to block both attack from each side. His sword was able to withstand the synthesis, and the shield kept the dark energy at bay. He knew thought hat he couldn't keep this up. The two would advance on him if he just stood there.

Then he had an idea. It was risky, but it could give him the advantage he need.

Very carefully, still trying to block both attack, he inched both his arms inwards until the two beams track were almost touching. Timing it just right, he dropped his defence, letting the team beams smash into each other.

There was a massive explosion as Dark Energy mixed with synthesis. Obviously not something stable.

The blast forced both Nazara and Skarlack back, and it caused Austin fall of the edge. Because of the explosion however, they didn't it happen, and when they regained their sight they naturally assumed he'd been caught in the centre.

"What a shame. He'll miss the show." said Skarlack.

To be sure they couldn't' be attacked anymore,, the Terror Geth began using his dark energy to move hundreds of rocks up and made them band together as a sort of barrier.

"This planet will be dark forever."

Despite the various rocks in the way, Austin continued to power through, his armour protecting him. Within just a few seconds, he burst through the defence and smashed into the Terror Geth, causing both him and Skarlack to fall. In a quick second, Austin fired a charged shot from his cannon. It carved right through harvester, destroying it in the process.

The two opponents landed back in the upper level that the fight had been on earlier. Austin pushed the Terror Geth into the ground hard as they scraped along the floor before the Geth Prime managed to kick him off.

"DIE! Like your friend!" it yelled, the anger clear in it's voice.

Austin quickly fired a shot from his cannon just before the Terror Geth could land a hit on him.

"And you will pay for what you did to him!"

Skarlack suddenly teleported behind him and punched on his back. In doing so however, Austin activated his thrusters. He smashed into the Terror Geth sending them all crashing through a wall.

With the Terror Geth temporarily incapacitated, Austin turned to Skarlack.

A swipe from the General's staff managed to scratch him across the chest, but it gave him the opening he needed.

Right as the General's staff went outwards, Austin thrust his blade in-between the two blades at the end, effectively pinning it to the ground.

Unable to pull it back up, Skarlack tried to punch Austin. The Helldiver however caught the Takaal's arm in his free hand. Using all his strength, he gave it a violent twist, emitting a painful groan from Skarlack. Austin the pointed his cannon arm right at Skarlack's head and fired at point blank range.

As to be expected, it didn't kill the General, but it definitely caused a lot of damage. The vast majority of Skarlack's face was completely incinerated by the shot.

Austin dared not give the General a chance to heal himself. Quickly snatching Excalibur back up, he severed Skarlack's right arm completely and activated hsi shoulder cannon. With X-5's upgrades, it packed one hell of a punch.

One shot was all it needed to send Skarlack flying right through a wall.

The General spat out a lot of blood from his mouth, struggling again his injuries to at least push himself onto his knees.

With one at least taken care of, Austin turned back to the Terror Geth.

Your efforts are futile, Shepard. One way or another, it will be me who has your head." it growled.

"No. We will not allow this."

The Terror Geth turned to notice Legion just before he delivered an electrically charged punch to the Terror Geth's head. This only temporarily knocked the Terror Geth back before he then delivered a much harder punch back, knocking Legion to the floor.

"A pathetic attempt, Legion. You always were a failure to your people." Nazara growled.

"We did not fail. We achieved our objective. The armour around your head is now disabled." Said Legion.

The Terror gave a very tiny body movement that indicated worry. For probably first time in its existence, it was vulnerable.

"Unacceptable! Must repair!"

"Thanks, Legion. That's all I needed." Said Austin, picking his sword back up.

"You are welcome, Shepard. Do you require assistance?" Legion asked.

"I got this. You focus on getting that transportation." Austin replied.

"Acknowledged."

In an effort to try and slow Austin down, the Terror Geth threw several chunks of metal at him. It didn't really work though. He either dodged or cut through them with his sword. As he closed in, he was able to fire a few shots from his cannon before thrusting.

Excalibur missed thanks to Nazara's arm countering it, but it did manage to carve through part of his head, cutting off most of his horns and flaps and scraping his eye.

Disoriented and essentially blinded due to the scrape, Nazara could try to swat Austin away. It tried to melee him with it's cannon, but Austin stabbed into the arm and ripped it off completely, using it as a temporary club as he smashed it into the Terror Geth's face.

"You picked the wrong planet!"

A quick thrust upwards, and Austin embedded his sword right in the Terror Geth's head.

"Give me your face!"

He pulled hard on the blade. There was a loud crack and ripping of metal and Nazara's head was torn completely off… again.

Not taking any chances this time though, Austin plunged his cannon into the gaping hole and fired right at the Terror Geth's core. The Geth/Reaper spasmed as the shot destroyed it's insides and liquid dark energy started to bleed out of every opening.

"I stand, you fall.

The Terror Geth fell with a loud clang, it's body no longer functional. After five years, the rivalry that both Austin and he had started five years ago, was finally ended.

Skarlack looked in horror at what had just happened. Shepard had killed a Reaper. This was now the third that had been destroyed fighting him.

"No, no."

Mirage soon appeared next to Skarlack and gently helped him up, his severed arm and staff in her hands.

"Come husband. This battle is lost, but we will have another opportunity." she said.

"This isn't over." Skarlack snarled, just before he and his wife teleported away.

With Nazara dead, most of the Geth stopped functioning. Only the ones that had been modified by his dark energy experiments were affected though, the main horde kept fighting. Legion had recently detected that the virus had one more broadcast, and that was front the Reaper base. Obviously a small precaution the Terror Geth had made.

Ashley suddenly felt the grip around her neck loosen and she dropped to the floor. When her sight finally unblurred, she saw why.

Kaiden had fallen to the floor, and it looked as though he was struggling to stay alive. Ashley quickly hurried over and knelt down alongside him.

"What's wrong?" she asked worriedly.

"I'm dying, Ash." said Kaiden. There was no fear in his voice, it was very calm.

"There must be something we can do." said Ash desperately.

"There's not." said Austin with regret.

"How can you say that?! He's still alive!" Ashley shouted.

"Nazara's control of the dark energy was the only thing keeping Kaiden alive. Now that it's dead, that's it." said Austin.

A stray tear fell from Ashley's eye, but Kaiden wiped it from her face.

"It's okay, Ash. Death is preferable to what torture Nazara put me through. I would rather have died on Virimire than endured the rest of my life as his slave." he said.

"I'm sorry, Kaiden. I only wish there was another way." Austin sighed.

Kaiden simply smiled proudly at Austin.

"It's the same as before, Shepard. And I still have no regrets."

With that, Kaiden closed his eyes and drew his last breath. Ashley hugged him close as Austin stepped up to her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"There will be a proper time to greave for him, Ash. But it is not now. We still have a Reaper base to destroy." he said.

"I... understand." said Ashely, managing to calm down after taking a few breathes.

A Austin walked up to the platform, she picked up Kaiden's body and slung it over her shoulder. He deserved a proper funeral after all.

As Austin neared the edge he aimed his cannon at the base. The gun the thad been provided for him by the Quarians was integrated into the cannon, so he had no need to change weapons.

"Normandy's weapons systems are ready to sync to your target." said EDI.

Austin locked on, and the target signalled in.

"Target locked"

The Normandy flew over and launched a missile strike.

When the smoke front he explosion cleared however, a most unexpected sight greeted the team.

"What the..."

A Reaper destroyer slowly climbed out of the base.

"Got a bad feeling about this." said Leena.

"We have located transportation." said Legion.

Sure enough, a small Geth transport hovered into view.

"Everybody get to the ship! Move!" Austin yelled.

The group slid down to the lower level and ran as fast as they could. They all managed to get inside just as the Reaper finished freeing itself from the base. Everyone got into the cargo hold while Austin manned the main turret.

"We will attempt evasive manoeuvres." said Legion.

"Shepard to fleet. It's not a reaper base. It's a live Reaper and it's also distributing the virus. I need an orbital strike!" said Austin as the Reaper slowly gained on them. In an attempt to slow the Reaper down, he fired.

The shots did little damage though and soon the Reaper's body opened up to reveal it's laser.

"We're clear. Fire at will!" Austin yelled into his comm.

Several strikes shot down front he sky and hit the Reaper just before it could fire it's laser. Austin could tell though that it was only down, not out. Still, it was cause for relief, so Austin ordered Legion to stop.

'What did we hit?" Gerrel asked.

"The firing chamber. Looks like a weak point when it's priming." Austin replied.

"Damn it, their jamming towers have us targeting manually. We can't make a precision shot!" Gerrel cursed.

'We may escape before it recovers." said Legion.

"No. Pull over." said Austin.

"Shepard-Major?"

"If we run away, the Geth stay under Reaper control and the Quarians are dead." said Austin. "This ends now. EDI, patch the Quarians to the Normandy's weapons systems. I want the targeting laser synced up to the whole damn fleet."

"Understood." said EDI.

"Do you need assistance?" Legion asked.

"Just stay down, Legion. I'll take it from here."

"Shepard-Major... Good luck."

"Acknowledged." said Austin. "Shepard to fleet! I'll paint the weak spot. Link up with the Normandy and be ready to fire!"

The Reaper slowly got back up, focusing all it's attention on Austin. it managed one stray shot while the laser was still locking on, but Austin managed to roll out of the way to avoid it.

As it primed to fire again however, the laser finally locked on.

The Reaper became essentially bombarded with the firepower of the entire fleet. It emitted several mechanical howls of pain before it fell.

It seemed like it was finally over. As Austin stepped to the edge of the canyon to check however, the Reaper's firing chamber suddenly rotated. On the other side, was an eye.

"Shepard." it said.

"You know who I am?" Austin asked.

"Harbinger speaks of you. You resist. But you will fail. The cycle must continue." said the Reaper.

"And what if we don't let you continue?!" said Austin defiantly.

"You have no choice." said the Reaper.

"I disapprove, and so do billions that are rising up to resist you."

"You can not comprehend the magnitude of our presence."

"We might surprise you."

"You represent chaos. We represent order." said the Reaper. "Every organic civilisation must be harvested to bring order to the chaos. It is inevitable. Without our intervention, organics are doomed. We are your salvation."

"You're just machines. This time, the organics are taking control." said Austin.

"A philosophy reminiscent of the quarians. Observe the results of their efforts to maintain control." said the Reaper, it's statement clearly directed at Tali and Leena as they soon joined Austin.

The Helldiver however didn't let the Reaper continue as he once again aimed his cannon at it and painted the target.

"They're doing fine. You and your servants are the ones who's hold worry. Tell your friends we're coming for them."

The Reaper only had a few seconds to look up into the sky before another blast hit it, killing it instantly.

"Never mind. I'll tell them myself." Austin finished.

"We did it. We killed another Reaper. Keelah..." said Tali in surprise.

"We can confirm that the Geth are no longer being directed by the old machines. We are free." said Legion.

"You did it, Shepard! The Geth fleet has stopped they're completely vulnerable!" said Gerrel.

"Shepard-Major, the Geth were enslaved by Nazara. None of this was our doing by choice. Do we deserve death?" Legion asked.

"No, you most certainly don't." said Austin. "Still, what are you suggesting?"

"Our upgrades. With the Old Machine dead, we could upload them to all Geth without sacrificing their independence." Legion explained.

"You want to upload the Reaper code? That would make the Geth as smart as when Nazara and the Reaper was controlling them!" said Leena in surprise.

"Yes, but with free will. Each Geth unit would be a true intelligence. We would be alive, and we could help you." said Legion.

"Our fleet is already attacking! Uploading the code would destroy us! Shepard, you can't choose the Geth over my people!" Tali argued.

"I'm not. Tali, call the fleet off. Legion, upload the code." said Austin.

Legion nodded and began forming a holographic sphere in froth of him.

"Uploading. Twenty percent."

"All ships, this is Major Shepard. Nazara and the reaper are dead and the virus is no longer being distributed. Stand down." said Austin into the comm.

"This is Admiral Tali Zorah. Shepard speaks with my authority." said Tali.

"And mine as well." said Admiral Koris.

"Me too." Leena finished.

"Negative! We can win this war now! Keep firing!" said Gerrel.

"Sixty percent."

"The Geth may not be controlled by the Reapers, but they'll still defend themselves. If you keep attacking, they'll wipe you out." said Austin.

"Eighty percent."

"The Geth don't want to fight you. if you can believe that for just one minute, this war will be over."

There was a long pause, then finally...

"All units, hold fire." said Gerrel.

Austin breathed a huge sigh of relief. He couldn't' believe that had worked.

Just before Legion could finish the sphere, it suddenly turned red.

"Error, copying code is insufficient. Direct personality dissemination required." he said. "Shepard-Major. I must go to them. I'm sorry. It's the only way."

"Legion... the answer to your question was "Yes." said Tali.

"I know, Tali. But thank you. Keelah se'lai."

All this time however, they had all failed to notice the large mass behind them. For some reason, the Terror Geth was still functioning, despite that Austin had ripped off it's head again and shot out it's power core.

Austin only just managed to notice in time as the headless Geth prime attempted to kill Legion.

"Legion, look out!"

He quickly tackled the Geth out of the way, causing the Terror Geth to miss. As it did however, it's arm struck the sphere that Legion had been working on earlier. Unexpectedly, it actually reacted to The Terror Geth's touch.

The Sphere seemed to somehow explode and go haywire as the Geth/Reaper's hand touched. Nazara then suddenly started to spasm and shake uncontrollably as if it was being electrocuted.

Then suddenly it's chest exploded.

The Terror Geth emitted several mechanical howls of pain before it went limp, and fell to the ground.

Everyone stood back for a long moment, still trying to calm down from the sudden shock of what had just happened.

Austin took a few cautious steps forward an gently poked the Terror Geth's body with the barrel of his cannon.

"Legion, can you confirm it's definitely dead this time? I'm not risking this bastard coming back over and over again." he asked.

"Yes. Nazara is no more." said Legion.

As the Geth spoke the last word, the whole of Nazara's body started to fall apart. Armor plates fell, pretty much everything fell off until he body was nothing but an exoskeleton with wires.

"What just happened?" Leena asked.

"The Reaper upgrades in Nazara's form were almost identical to my own. They completed the sequence. The code has been uploaded to all Geth... without my sacrifice." said Legion.

Sure enough, several Geth appeared not he cliffs and looked down at them. The traditionl black and red lights they'd originally had while under Reaper control were all gone, now replaced by a bright blue.

Leena then noticed Shala Raan limping towards them.

"Mother!"

The Qurian quickly ran up to the Admiral and helped steady her.

"I heard your ship made a crash-landing. Glad you got out in one piece." said Austin.

"I didn't get my toughness from my father." Leena smiled under her helmet.

"I was listening over the radio. If Han Gerrled han't stopped-" said Shala.

"He did." said Tali.

"We've taken heavy losses. I don't know if we can.. Where are we supposed to go?" Shala asked.

At that moment, several of the Geth suddenly made their way towards them. A lone Geth Prime stepped forward.

At first Tali raised her pistol, but Legion gently urged for her to stand down.

"It's alright, Tali" he said.

"You are welcome to return to Rannoch, Admiral Raan. With us." said the Geth Prime. "And we will honour Legion's promise. The Geth fleet will gladly join the Reaper resistance, and our engineers will assist in building the Crucible."

"As will ours of course." said Raan.

"Admiral, have you considered possible settlement sites?" Legion asked.

"We... the southern continent had excellent farmland, as I recall." said Shala.

"Are you going to be okay?" Austin asked.

"I believe so, Major. Thank you."

With just Austin, Tali and Leena left, the three sat down.

"Shopping for another house?" Austin asked.

"Beachfront property." Tali replied.

"Claim it fast. It's buyer's market." Leena joked.

"You okay? I know working with the Geth will be difficult." Austin asked.

"I'm not staying. I'm coming with you." said Tali.

"I wasn't going to ask." said Austin.

"I think you've earned a few favours from the fleet." said Leena, giving her commander a friendly nudge.

"I'm asking them to launch an assault on the reapers. Figure that makes us even." said Austin.

"If Reapers didn't spread, sure. But sooner or later, they'll come to Rannoch." said Tali.

"We did just kill two of them." said Austin.

"So I'm coming with you to stop them... if you think i can help." said Tali.

"You sure about this?" Austin asked.

"Yeah." said Tali, finally standing up. "I look at all this... this picture of hope and peace. And all I see is everyone I've lost. My team on Haestrom. My father. Even lieutenant Alenko."

There was a small pause as Tali hung her head slightly and sighed.

"It is beautiful, though, isn't it?" she eventually asked.

"That it is." Austin agreed.

"It'll be years before we can liv without our suits completely, but right now..."

To Austin's' surprise, Tali then reached for her mask. It hissed and she gently took it off.

"Right now, I have this."

Tali then removed her hood and turned to face her friend, finally revealing her face for the very first time.

Austin was admittedly taken aback by the sight.

Tali's face had a look that was both human and alien at the same time.

She had a perfectly normal human like face, but that was the only similarity. The top of her head was divided into three crest like sections, a bit like an Asari. They filed over the back of her head, which was all several locks of braided black hair.

Her ears were mostly normal, but with the addition of a pointy bit at the bottom.

Tali's eyes though certainly drew the most attention. Compared to what had been visible behind her helmet, her eyes were very different. Rather than white glowing ones as had been expected, she had completely black eyes. Her eye iris were the only bit that stood out as they were yellow.

Overall though, it was a very beautiful look.

"So that's what you look like." Austin said with surprise. "You look very pretty."

"Careful, Austin. If I didn't know you loved Liara, i'd think you were hitting on me." Tali laughed.

It was so strange seeing Tali in this way. Seeing her smile, talk back to him with a mouth, staring back at him with proper eyes.

"Trust me, I would've gone with a different approach if that was my intention." said Austin.

He then heard another hiss behind him. He turned and saw that Leena had also done the same and removed the Helldiver armour piece other her helmet, and then the helmet itself.

She almost looked exactly the same as Tali, but she had a slightly older look to her and also her skin that was a very light grey. Her hair was the same, but it was much shorter than Tali's, and white. She also had a slightly darker shade of yellow as her iris colour.

"Didn't expect you to be grey, Leena." said Austin.

"We're all born with different colours. Sometimes they even change depending on our personalities." said Leena.

"I can tell this is a big thing for you, showing me your faces. I'm honoured." said Austin.

"I assure you, Shepard. To let one of the greatest heroes in history see our faces...The honour is ours."

No more needed to be said. The three friends simply stood beside one another and watched the sun go down before they finally returned to their ship.

If anyone was doubting whether I had the will to kill off some of my original characters, hope that set the record straight.

Also I can confirm that the Terror Geth is definitely dead now. No more comebacks for him. He's been a fun character to though.

Plus, if anyone is interested in knowing, Shepard will get to use the upgrades again later on in the story. They weren't just thrown in for the sake of it.

Next chapter will be more Citadel assignments. So you can expect Zaeed and one or two other familiar faces to show up.

The Omega DLC may be after that, but that's still undecided. Rest assured though it will be in the story at some point.

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Mass Effect: The Helldiver Saga, The Last Cycle