Benezia never heard the shot. The shot went right through her neck, her body flying. Ashley collapsed to the floor.
The others stood stunned for a split second. Then Tali suddenly leapt into action. She threw Udina to the ground, and dived for Anderson's gun. The two struggled, Anderson was stronger, but his wounds were catching up to him, he coughed more blood. Tali hit him in the gut, and he went limp.
Just as she aimed the gun at Anderson's head, Udina tackled Tali, pinning her to the floor. Grabbing her hand, he aimed the gun at her head.
"Give up, slave." He hissed as he fought with her. "Sovereign will be stopped."
"He's far more powerful than you can imagine." Tali's voice grew deep, the words not her own.
"What do you hope to achieve by doing this? You'll die! Your people will die!"
"He spoke with me. Quarians will be spared. We fix things. The great machines need us."
"You don't believe that. He's controlling you! You're brainwashed!"
"I have achieved harmony with artificial intelligence. I am the pinnacle of existence."
There was a horrible groaning noise. The entire room shook. As metal screeched on metal, the massive Reaper glowed a sinister red. The windows of the room smashed open, and the entire tower tore away from the Citadel. They were floating in space, drifting towards the Reaper, as air leaked away. Gravity shifted, Tali shoved Udina off of her, shooting him in the face. Tali jumped, using her momentum to reach the other side of the room, and began pulling herself along the railing towards the controls for the entire Citadel.
"TALI!"
She turned. Anderson was on the other side, still hanging on. She had dropped her gun to crawl along the rail, she couldn't let go without spiralling off into space.
"Don't do it Tali!" Anderson's voice was weak, overshadowed by the howling wind, but she could still hear the words. "The Reapers... they will kill you all, like the geth did so many years ago. You won't let that happen, Tali."
"My people need the Reapers! The geth worship them as gods! This is the only way to make peace, save my homeworld!" Tali screamed.
"You know that's not true." Anderson's body sagged. His grip on the rail grew slack. "They'll kill you all. They'll kill you all."
Outside, a gunship delivered a huge blast to Sovereign. It's body crackled with energy, and for a second, there was a lapse in it's consciousness. The tower spun wildly in space, tearing Anderson away. Tali clung on for her life. Sovereign's voice, a presence in her mind that had been there for as long as she could remember, was briefly silent. In a split second, Tali was herself, and she understood Anderson's words.
"The geth... slaughtered us..." She murmured.
She felt great pain as she did so, as if her nerves were on fire. Her hands clenched even harder on the rail, but something inside her had snapped, some basic truth revealed.
"Kill us all. That's what they'll do. Kill us all." The words poured out frantically, and the pain increased, but she focused on the words. The words would save her. "Just like the geth! Just like the geth! The reapers will kill us all! THE REAPERS WILL KILL US ALL!"
She had known synthetics were the enemy her entire life, and years of caution taught to her came flooding back. The pain was unbearable, and her fingers squeezed the rail, but those were obstacles she could overcome. She thought of her family. The fleet. Generations of wandering without a home. Geth trying to kill her. Running for her life. Seeing her friends die. The memories formed a blanket around her, shielding her from the pain as she let go of the rail.
The presence left her mind. She was spinning, crashing into walls, completely helpless. Her final feeling was one of immense relief, then her skull cracked and there was nothing.
In the council chambers, the very heart of the Citadel, the corpse of Saren lies in the dust. Shepard stands over him, panting heavily. Outside, Sovereign explodes, and the Normandy is at the head of the fleet.
Shepard slowly turns to look at his squad.
"So, I guess we won?"
WE ARE LEGION. THE TIME OF OUR RETURN IS COMING. OUR NUMBERS WILL DARKEN THE SKY OF EVERY WORLD.
