[Book Four] Chapter 22: The end of a series

Chapter 22: The end of a series

For the last time Rick released a trailer for the ultimate season of Mass Effect. From his point of view, nothing much was happening in it. Just a bunch of stuff to keep the public wondering about things and hyping them with some snippets of fighting scenes.
One thing he did differently was the teasers for each crew member. This time he simply presented some arts from the artists that had worked on the propaganda during the war or simple street art. It was of course animated a bit to make it seem like it was new. The viewers gobbled it all up.

Ash’s artificial eye was finally done to perfection and Rick sent it to the navy with a personal note for her.

“Keep the eye patch around, ‘cause you’re really fucking sexy with it, Bombshell.”

With that done, everything was going well in his life. He had patched up things with Arianna and she had stopped holding herself back. She was more than ready to enter the fifth year of the Academy next year. She would be paired with Dorothea who was finishing her current course and wanted to start another. That brought him some relief as his daughter would be almost half the age of the youngest student in that year.

The company was doing extremely well. BLUE was revolutionary and was being adopted more and more from the masses. However the need of Eezo was annoying him as it was rare and difficult to mine. He wondered if creating another material releasing dark energy was possible. After all that was what was really needed for space travel, dark energy. If they could harness or produce it in a cheaper manner, they would have total control of the market.
His primary question regarding that particular subject was how could the Mass Relay have so much element zero at their center and never run out of it? That baffled him. It was impossible to collect any eezo from them and studies of the relay when they got repaired didn’t give an answer.

‘It’s like eezo is popping right out of… existence.’

That thought triggered something in his mind and he immediately called EDI and David that were still working on the possibility of making a ship its own Mass Relay.

“Hello, EDI. Hello, Rick.” David greeted them.
“Hello everyone.” greeted back the AI and so did Rick.
“I just had an eureka moment.”
“That must be serious if you’re calling us immediately.” said EDI.
“Is the creation of the eezo from the Mass Relay, and the manufacturing of infinite dark energy serious enough?”
““We’re listening.””
“Where does the eezo at the center of the Relays come from? It’s always there and never ending, which is…”
“Not possible. It must come from somewhere.” The line of thought was finished by EDI.
“A subspace.”
“Probably. By studying my biotics I noticed the ‘growth’ for a lack of a better word, of my eezo nodules. If eezo was purely non-organic that would be impossible.” Rick explained.
“Are you saying that eezo has organic properties? Hmmm… That would explain why there is always some at the center of the Relays if the energy from the subspace transforms some particles into eezo and feeds them energy constantly…Despite how old the Relays are and how long they have been in use.”
“There would theoretically be an infinite amount of Eezo produced.” concluded David.
“So, can’t we not reproduced what we did with RED but to create eezo? Or, one step further, create dark energy already negatively polarized to reduce the mass of objects to nothing?”
“I’ll never understand where you got those ideas but…”
“It may be doable.”

“Would that help you in making a ship Mass relay?”
“Greatly. The problem so far was to have enough eezo and dark energy to sustain our own subspace corridor. The theory is sound and ready to be tested but practically the quantity of eezo necessary is too ludicrous for that to ever happen but now…”
“We may very well be able to do it.”
“Time table?”
“Half a year?”
“We already have what’s needed for the creation of a subspace after working on the RED. What we need to work on is producing dark energy or eezo. The latter we already know the process and the numbers so it would not take long to recreate it in a subspace. The former is more complicated.”
“That’s alright. I trust both of you to succeed.”

With that, the call ended and Rick had to do his best to calm down, his excitement being very high.

____________________________________________________________

After further thinking about it, visiting Aria with the children was put on hold, instead Rick contacted her to know if she wanted to visit them. She had refused but relented when he told her that Celeste would be near Omega. The children had been wary at first since the Pirate queen had such an imposing presence. They were not understanding how she could be their daddy’s mother and their grandmother. Rick had told them that they were too young to know but that one day they will be told. The only one who didn’t have a care in the world about Aria’s imposing demeanor was, of course, Arianna. She remembered a bit of her grandmother when Celeste was first launched but what explained it the most was that she was every bit her father’s daughter. She talked to Aria, normally, asked questions about her, her work, her life and if she wanted to play a game.
The asari’s poker face never broke but she looked intently at Arianna, then to Rick, then back to Arianna. She felt like she had made a jump more than twenty years into the past. While she didn’t play any games with the children she told them stories of Omega. They were censored of course and some things were changed a bit for the children’s ears but they all were captivated by her tales. When she learned that Arianna, Adam and Sandra had begun to train their biotics she had been surprised that Rick would have put an implant on them so young.

“Yeah… about that…” her adoptive son spoke hesitantly.
“What?”
“They don’t need one?”
“... Of-freaking-course, they don’t need one. What did you come up with?”
“I was just born that way and they inherited it.”
“... Are you telling me that you’re a natural biotic?” she asked dumbfounded.
“Pretty much…”
“...It’s always something with you… All your children will be biotic then… I don’t know if the Galaxy is ready.”
“I sure know my kids will be ready for the Galaxy and that’s all that matters.”
“You got that right.” she replied with a small hidden smile full of pride.

After dinner mother and son spent some time alone to catch up as both have been busy doing their own thing. He talked about Celeste Academy and how he was poaching the best students right under everyone's noses and no one could do anything about it. He also talked about some of his current projects (not the ones with EDI and David) but the regular ones. He also asked her if she wanted to be in charge of his company store on Omega if she allowed one. She didn’t give him a concrete answer but promised she'd think about it before leaving Celeste to return to Omega.

Summer break was far from over and Jennifer and Miranda went to their home on Eden Prime for their annual vacation. Rick told Miranda that she could have two weeks instead of one if she took the children with them. Not mad enough to refuse the opportunity to have a longer break for work, Miranda accepted on the spot. Jane had been wroth with him for that unilateral decision until he told her that it was just Arianna, Adam and JJ so they could see the outside world and not just be confined on Celeste. Speaking of the school ship, Hilary water landed it in the Pacific Ocean and its international waters. The hundred or so students that were living full time at the Academy were free to visit the paradise islands in the vicinity but in small groups of ten maximum and with a chaperone. Plenty of teachers had chosen to live fulltime at the academy too and wanted to enjoy their vacation in a nice place just like the students.

He caught Kahlee before she left with Anderson and talked to her about the possibility of having some unused area repurposed for religious belief. That was something that had crossed his mind recently. With many people living all year round on Celeste, they didn’t have any way to connect with any deities they may have believed in and providing them with one was more or less important in Rick’s mind. Kahlee thought it was a good idea and that they would work on this together once she got back from her vacation.

With Kahlee away, Rick was more or less in charge. It was his school after all. He let Kahlee hold the reins of it because she was his sister and because he couldn’t be bothered. He did ask the Students where they wanted to go this summer and they gave him multiple answers. In the end Celeste would stay a week at each destination. The next stop would be the Citadel followed by Sur’Kesh, Tuchanka (Rick had been surprised at this one) and Thessia and finally Palaven before going back to the Serpent Nebula and welcoming back all the students.

On the space station they had met Kaidan and his crew that were there for a short stop between missions. Some additions to the team had been made though. The spectre had somehow succeeded in having his husband into his crew, Traynor was there too but also a former Asari commando. How he got the last one, Rick didn’t know and while curious about it, didn’t particularly care. Jane and the children went to see Hannah while he went to the presidium. Mr. Bean’s shop had not been opened when he visited the year before and he was glad to see that it wasn’t the case anymore. Greeting the store owner, Rick partook in what he hated the most, small talk, before trying to find dresses to keep up with the demands of the women in his life. Because the presidium had been mostly spared when the Citadel was destroyed the entirety of the shop’s content had been spared to both Mr Bean and Rick’s joy. He spent an hour or two trying to find the eight dresses he’d been asking for. He only found three that were both appealing, pretty and to the size of the women they were destined for. For the others he found the models but not the right size and acknowledged that he would have to contact a tailor to have them made. It was bound to happen anyway as a dress for Dorothea’s proportions were impossible to begin with, human women of her size didn’t exist back a hundred or two hundred years ago.

Afterwards, Rick went to check his own store also located on the Presidium to see how it was doing. The long waiting line outside of it and a quick look inside told him all he wanted to know and he didn’t even stop for a moment. He went to the cafe Liara usually frequented and to his luck found her there. Giving his order to the counter he sat down in silence next to his asari bondmate and enjoyed the view.

“I’m surprised you didn’t go with Jane to see her mother.”
“She will always come last in the family. Far below my bondmate.” He replied as he took her hand in his.
“Really?”
“We’ve… reconciled and I admit that I love her but you’ve been in my life longer than she did, so to speak, so you get better preferential treatment.”
“That makes me both sad and happy.”
“There is also the fact that I’m not bonded to and not having sex with her and that counts for a lot.” he joked.
“You didn’t… ? Now, that’s interesting.”
“How so?”
“She looks like an older Jane and she’s, what is it humans would call her… A MIF?”
“MILF. With an ‘L’. It means Mother I’d Like To Fuck. And no it’s not supposed to refer to your own mother but a woman who has given birth and is more mature physically. Which Jane is.”
“I see… Still, Tali and Jennifer aside, you tend to prefer older women, so I’m surprised that…”
“You don’t look older than me Baby Blue.” he interjected.
“No. But Jane, Ashley, Miranda… Analysse. There have been far more older looking women than younger women in your life.”
“... True.”
“Now don’t change the subject more than that. Why not your mother?”
“...You’re mighty curious about it… Fine. I already have enough ladies to pay attention to and… I’m married now, twice over. I can’t really go and sleep with every sexy and pretty lady. It doesn’t sit right with me. Especially since I don’t want to make more connections like the ones I already have.”

“Is that why you didn’t go after Ashley’s sisters? They’re all beautiful.”
“Yes. While I wouldn’t have minded before I got married as I expected all of you to find another partner… It’s different now. I… really don’t want more. Especially ones that may want children. Though with Ashley, who knows what will happen.”
“You already have enough.” joked Liara.
“Yes but… We’re a really tight family because we thought together so our family is nuclear. Any other women? They wouldn’t be really a part of it. I’d be a father to the children if they had some but… I would never really be in their lives as I’m already with the ones I have. Sandra is half the time with us because of how close I am with Jennifer and Miranda but I don’t think it would be the same with anyone else. Then there is the possibility of Tali deciding to have more than Leeha, Dorothea, you… I’m good honestly.”
“You say that but Hannah is part of the close family, if not through you, through Jane. She is the children’s grandmother. From your criterias she is checking all of them.”
“... You just want me to fuck my own mother don’t you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Liara strongly denied this. Too strongly.
“HmmHmm. And you don’t want to roll under the sheet with her either, huh?”
“I do not.”
“You mean, you don’t want to have sex with an older version of Jane, the only other person besides me that you would have started a relationship for based on your feelings?”
“...”
“...”
“Alright! Maybe I want that a bit.” she finally confessed after feeling her bondmate’s intense gaze on her, despite his helmet.
“I’ll ask Jane if she’s interested in a threesome with the two of us.”
“You don’t…”
“Have to, I know. But there is nothing wrong with spicing things up a bit. I’ll even let you have your way with her alone once she’s really into it.”
“... I have the best bondmate ever.” the asari whispered as she gave him a loving kiss.
“I disagree. I think I have the best bondmate ever. She’s smart, a bit shy and naive at times, she can be pretty, cute, adorable, sexy and utterly beautiful. She’s a kick ass biotic but also very wise and a scary sex demon. I couldn’t ask for more.” he replied as he planted kisses along her neck.
“... Keep talking.”
“No. Or we’re going to be arrested for public indecency and banned from ever being customers of this cafe again. Because I swear I will not stop if I start ravaging you against this table.”
“You better be all mine tonight.”
“I will be.” he promised.

____________________________________________________________

Summer break has done some good for everyone. The family had finally met Solana, Garrus’ sister and she was the total opposite of him. A total extravert and very outgoing. Calibrations? Never heard of it. Well, she wouldn’t have had she not been born in a military family in a military hierarchical species. She got along really well with Jane and both brothers simply wanted to drink themselves to death as their sisters were exchanging embarrassing stories about them. Unfortunately for them, the children were present and that was not an option. Solana was very happy to see her niece and nephew (not caring that Laura was human) again. Garrus and Chloe gave her a tour of Celeste and she fell in love with the place.

After their allotted time on Palaven ended they left for the Serpent Nebula but not before Primarch Victus personally visited Jane and Rick to thank them for bringing back the few missing turian that Bahlak and his cohorts had enslaved and for putting a bullet in any turian pirates back on Ontarom.

Life went on as usual as the end of the year came. This time the graduation happened on Earth in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. Donors were, as always, satisfied. Students and families had fun. Arianna had the best birthday ever in her opinion thanks to the special glasses her daddy had made for her. They didn’t correct eyesight but there was a scan integrated in them with a link to the galactic encyclopedia. Everytime she wanted to know what something was, it would display it in front of her eyes. She nearly choked Rick to death with how hard she hugged him with her small arms around his neck.

Finally, Christmas eve came around and it was on a Saturday which, coincidentally, was the day of airing of the last two episodes of Mass Effect. Everyone waited impatiently to see how Jane had defeated the Reapers once and for all and in Rick’s opinion they wouldn’t be disappointed.
This last season has been split between what was happening with Jane and what was happening with Rick for obvious reasons and the public didn’t dislike it. Jane may have been the hero and main protagonist but beside attacking Cerberus’ headquarters everything important was happening on Rick’s sides. Some episodes were focused on what was happening around the Galaxy, most notably Earth, Palaven and others homeworld that even thought they had fallen were still fighting. It has been well received by the public too. Considering the occasion and the time of the year, Hannah had been present on Celeste. She was after all an important part of what had happened. The rest of the crew was there too, even the one not working at the Academy, with the exception of Ashley.

The previous episode had ended with Jane and the crew gearing up for taking Cerberus’ HQ down and the organization once and for all. People’s reaction to Act!Rick killing Act!Kai Leng in two seconds had been priceless. At first a chain of ‘done with this shit’ memes (the one with Act!Joker’s face) began but was quickly replaced by many celebratory gifs and memes. Now that only Act!TIM was left, people were hanging at the edge of their seats for his death. They had been pretty disappointed when it was revealed that the man was not there but then shocked to see that the data on the catalyst had been erased. The crew’s reaction at that revelation has been one of defeat and the public sympathized.

The scene cut to Act!Rick barging in the council chambers and telling the council the station needed to be evacuated because it was the catalyst and what was going to happen. Everyone laughed at Act!Rick being lost at the fact that he didn’t need to kill a councilor to be heard and get things moving despite having his gun in hand and pointing it at Hannah.

“Oratrice_Mecanique: I guess some habits die hard.”
“OctoDaddy: This one wonders if he would have gotten that free sundae.”
“°Rick<3°:You know how much he’s trusted by the council when they simply accept what he told them at face value. The Commander must have been so pissed about that.”
“SkyllianConsularLV99: I found it pretty funny that all organics species had denied everything for years while Legion simply told the geths and they just accepted it like the council just did.”

Finally, the Reapers arrived en masse to the Nebula to take control of the Citadel and Rick pushed Act!Tevos to go on the last shuttle using the conduit as Act!Valern was already on Ilos and would need help, and Act!Quintius was leading the fleet with refugees. Act!Hannah chose to stay behind for the people refusing to evacuate or wasn’t lucky enough to get off the station in time. The truth that she wanted to stay by her son’s side because he was staying too was completely buried after a whole season of misinformation about Rick’s origins.

Cue back to Act!Jane on the Normandy with Act!Hackett (that the fans were now calling ‘The Hack’ thanks to Rick’s shenanigans) present in the flesh. The timely arrival of a single Alliance ship, revealing the truth of the catalyst had brought everyone’s hopes and moods up until It was brought down by the news that it was probably already in the Reaper's hands to be brought up again when Dorothea contacted everyone from Ilos and transmitted the black box Act!Rick had given her. The public’s mind was blown at how Act!Rick told the crew where the Citadel was without telling them anything at all.

“JenniferLover: Holy shit! That’s insane! It’s like… a puzzle into a puzzle into.. Well you get it.”
“°Rick<3°:That the crew even found the solution in the first place is even more amazing! It’s proof of how well they know each other and how they think.”
“OctoDaddy: This one believes EDI and Dorothea are the best!”

Afterwards the scene with Jane in her cabin, processing everything and readying herself for perhaps the last battle of her life was really emotionally heavy. The viewers felt the burden on her shoulders as if it was their own and respected her even more for not breaking under the pressure. Especially after the revelation that Rick had made her an icon. They had been shocked to learn that he had done everything in his power to hide it from her so she could endure it more easily. Many believed she had been aware of how everyone looked at her at the time. As Act!Jane was discovering for the very first time the propaganda posters and street arts depicting her, EDI came into her cabin to give her the speech Act!Rick had written for her and the custom camo armor and the lion’s helmet. The sight of Jane standing up wearing the latter inflamed the chat. Especially when she started changing its colors through her omni-tool. The default color was white and the red sigil of the N7 was instead blue. It wasn’t her in the least but people find her even more inspiring and awing like that.

Finally when Act!Jane made her famous speech across the whole Galaxy, the chat reached a new record in activity with displays of respect and cheering for her. It was truly a great motivational speech. The music in the background at the time had been composed by Rick himself to maximize the effect and it showed.

“CmdShepardN°1Fan: That’s the greatest speech I have ever heard!”
“Not_Hamlet: [Combative] It makes me want to fight.”
“°Rick<3°: That speech gave me goosebumps.”
“OctoDaddy: This one wonders what’s a goosebump?”

What followed was the culmination of the entire series and History with a capital H. A forty minute battle on the ground and in space. Constant action with only a break when Act!Jane and Act!Anderson were reunited. Finally the last assault towards the Earth’s conduit started and the fans were not disappointed by what happened.

“CmdShepardN°1Fan:This is it! That’s the place! From the Commander’s Teaser!”
“Scientist_Salarian: Something bad is going to happen, there are too many people with her. She was alone in the teaser.”

And happened, it did.

Act!Harbinger showing up and killing everyone had put a silencing spell on the entire chat.

The succession of scenes showing the other crew members at different locations, fighting with everything they had to get the heat of the main group that was going to the conduit not knowing that everyone had been killed was heart wrenching and once again the music didn’t help. However the scene changed back to the main group to zoom in on the body of Act!Jane who started to breathe again. She, removing her broken helmet, trying and failing to get up until she succeeded, was perhaps the most powerful moment so far. Showing why she was THE Commander Shepard, why she was the one that would lead them all to victory and their survival. No one even bothered to actually cheer on the chat, everyone was too focused on cheering silently for her in the real world for that.

It was silly, really. Once again they all knew that Jane succeeded, that she saved everyone and yet it didn’t enter the mind of the viewers. They were too engrossed in the moment. They were not just merely watching, they were living it, feeling it. Thanks to the action of course but mainly because of the music. It was the same music that had been used for the mission of Thessia. A mission that couldn’t be called a success with the fall of the Asari homeworld and a paralyzed Rick despite the protean data being retrieved and a trap set for Cerberus.
This time however, the music was different. It wasn’t action oriented, pumping the watchers with adrenaline for a desperate and doomed struggle. No, this time the track was simpler, slower, more raw. There was only the powerful voice singing, breaking under the emotion of the singer in it, most of the time acapella, accompanied lightly by the sound in the background of violins that could barely be heard or an acoustic guitar; the whole thing conveying only a deep, crippling despair for what seemed a sorrowful end.

As if Act!Jane’s journey towards her destination wasn’t heartbreaking enough, it was intermittent with Act!Rick’s own journey into the heat sink corridor of the Citadel. Watchers witnessed how bad it was for him. He was moving slowly, limping, moving step by step, while enduring the deadly temperature he had submitted himself on his own volition to help win the war.
Many gasped, either in fright, or shock or sympathy when part of his armor malfunctioned under the crushing heat and broke into pieces with sparks of electricity, making him scream in pain and reel forward until he ended on his hands and knees. He tried to pull himself up, once, twice, thrice but with no success. In the end, he moved forward on all four, grunting in pain, leaving in his wake a small trail of blood from his new wounds. Every drop of the red liquid touching the ground sizzled loudly and immediately boiled and fumed.

After a brief scene with Act!Jane, dealing with a couple of reapers ground troops on her way and limping too towards her goal, the scene went back to Act!Rick in the middle of vomiting on the floor then falling flat. His breathing was very slow but deep and most notably painful, yet he didn’t give up and started crawling, his objective less than fifteen yards away. The viewers could see the cramps his muscles were subjected to with how rigid they were, especially his hands, frozen in a permanent claw shape. Yet despite all that he never stopped moving. Inch by in inch. Forward.

When he reached the door the scene went back to Act!Jane reaching the pillar of light and getting shot by a lone and sneaky marauder before dispatching him with a bullet to the head.

“Damn! Man! I’m not crying! Stop pestering me!” said James a bit too loudly in an emotional voice from his seat a few rows below in the theater.

The big macho man wasn’t the only one shedding tears or close to it. On Rick’s right side, Jane was gripping his arm in her embrace, her head burying itself into his shoulder, letting the tears flow freely. Their mother, on his left side, crushing his hand in her own, perturbed. Many knew of what he did but none truly understood what he had gone through. In everyone’s mind, he just walked into a very hot room and sweated a lot, not… this. Not the injuries, not the herculean efforts he had to make to move his broken body. Not the insane willpower to not pass out and die right there on the floor. Cooked.

“Did you have any idea?” Helena asked her uncle sitting by her side on the man’s couch. It was a ritual of sorts they started over the years. Watching together the finale of each season of Mass Effect at the old Admiral's apartment on earth.
“None. I thought… he just went through that corridor in a breeze. Either by running or a biotic charge, not… Not this.” confessed Hackett solemnly, his eyes, just like Helena’s, not leaving the screen, just as his acting counterpart was trying to get into contact with Rick.

The scene was masterfully done. Everyone could hear Act!Hackett’s voice calling out for Act!Rick, while the camera closing up on a green lit terminal began to zoom out, revealing a down man, smoke emanating from his unresponsive body.

“Shit. That scene is really good.” admitted the woman.
“It is.”
“Say…”
“Yes?”
“I’d like permission to make him go through the N6 Test.”
“Why? This…” Hackett began pointing to the screen “Alone is enough to know he would succeed in the survival test.”
“I want to see how far he goes. It’s also an occasion to up the tests and the training regiment.”
“... I’ll think about it.”

While the two were conversing, the chat was alive again. A mix of respect emojis for everything that just happened on screen and some comments intermingled.

“OctoDaddy:  This one would have fried on the spot the moment the door of the corridor opened and he went through a hundred yards of it?”
“X-_Destroyer_-X: What the hell is this guy made of? Seriously!”
“Not_Hamlet: [Awing] And the Commander. She survived a blast of the Chief Reaper which killed everyone.
“JenniferLover: Can you imagine the willpower those two have? That’s insane! They’re simply too stubborn to die. Death has come for them and they just told it to take a hike and come back later.”
“°Rick<3°: He is the one dominant lifeform in this universe, remember? Or they are, I suppose. I have to give the Commander some credit.”
“SpaceCowBoy: SHEEEEEPPPPPAAAAARD!”
“SpaceCowBoy: WAAAAAAAALLLLLLDDDDD!”
“BIG_QUAD:  Am I the only one crying?”
“Swiggity Swooty Booty:  F*ck no! I’m crying like a little bitch and I’m not even ashamed to admit it despite being a war veteran.”
“Deranged_Armony:  That’s the music! D*mn, was it heart-wrenching!”

The Chat quieted down again when Act!Jane reached Anderson in the command center. It was quite the shock for everyone to see Act!TIM already on the Citadel and taking control of both Act!Jane and Act!Anderson. Despite knowing that they had won, the scene was so mesmerizing that it didn’t even enter the viewers’ mind. Everyone was holding their breath when Act!TIM made Act!Jane raise her gun to shoot down Act!Anderson. They saw how hard she was fighting against the man’s control, the shaking of her moving hand, her teeth stuck together in a tremendous effort. It all came to an end when the sound of a gunshot was heard and both Act!Jane and Act!Anderson fell to the ground. Everyone thought everything was lost until a familiar piano began to play a very familiar song as TIM put a hand to his chest and saw blood on his fingers before falling on the ground. The whole chat cheered even more than when Jane reached the conduit to the Citadel. They knew what it meant. They knew what that music meant and the traveling of the camera at a very fast speed to reach Act!Rick, sniper rifle in hands looking through its sight, inflamed the people even more. They cheered even more when Act!Rick said ‘I wasn’t late this time’ drawing the parallel with his wife and unborn child back on Eden Prime. It made the whole thing even more wholesome. Even more so when Act!Rick made Act!TIM listen to Mordin singing just as he died.

When the people thought it was the end as the Citadel was opened and the crucible attached to it, they were shocked to find out that there was more. The conversation with the Catalyst itself had made everyone mad at the little shit. Its options however were considered. Control of the Reapers or synthesis between organic and synthetics had appealed to many and a small debate raged on the chat. It was put to a stop when Act!Jane refuted them all and Act!Rick added some of his explanation to hers as to why destruction of the Reapers was only the real solution. The revelation that Act!Rick had used her as bait, had not surprised everyone. After all Rick was the ruthless cunning type and some people had expected that in insight.

The episode ended with the scene of Act!Rick confessing his whole plan after waking up in 2188. Though no allusion to taking control of the galaxy by removing key problems (aka people who didn’t suit his needs for a peaceful galaxy) were made. The people once again were shocked and if they haven’t watched the whole show would call it bullshit. The ultimate scene was of Act!Jane and Act!Rick on the roof of the Alliance building, enjoying the fresh morning air with a small breeze. To close this last chapter of Mass Effect, Act!Jane ended up pushing Act!Rick over the small rail out of the blue and while everyone saw him using his biotics to not fall to his death and calling her a bitch, the camera focused on Act!Jane who had a mischievous and satisfied smile on her face, eyes closed, her beautiful crimson hair floating in the wind. She was simply enjoying the moment.

“Years of suppressed urges finally dealt with…. Yeah… Life is good.”

She didn’t enjoy the moment for long as she jumped over the rail and joined Rick a hundred floors down, landing right in front of the building entrance. From there, she grabbed his arm and began to drag him away, not caring about his rant and curses he was sending her way. With how docile he was acting physically everyone knew that he didn’t mean any of it. They met many people, from all species just going about their lives, sometimes stopping when they were accosted and thanked for what they did. All the while a beautiful song could be heard.

“Wow, you really went far back with the song.” Joker commented, recognizing the track at the very first notes.
“I thought it was fitting.” replied Rick.

“I see trees of green, red roses too.
I see them bloom, for me and you.
And I think to myself,
What a wonderful world.”

“It certainly is.” Liara admitted and many in the room nodded in agreement.

As the credits rolled, recent pictures of the crew (the real ones) were shown and a few words on what they were doing today accompanied them. Rick’s was one of him during a biotic class, trashing his students around. It ended with the picture of Jane in casual clothes, holding Arianna and Matthew, smiling happily with the Celeste academy behind her. The end credits music was the one used for the scene of the cure being released on Tunchanka ending the whole war in a positive note in people’s mind.

____________________________________________________________

As usual after the last episode of a season the Q&A, hosted by Illiana Lorat happened.

“I’m happy to host once again the Q&A of what is the most successful series of all time so far and… I admit, quite a bit sad because this is the last time.”
“I think I’m speaking for everyone when I say: we all share the sentiment.” said Christina who got nods of approval from her colleagues.
“It has been quite a beautiful ride. For the last four years you all played well… Let’s be honest, you played Historical figures; figures still alive and among us today. My question is… Did your outlook at life change with your role? Wait! Let me rephrase that, did your role change you? Your life?”

____________________________________________________________

“I admit, that was a better ending than what we had on this rooftop. I’m not surprised you didn’t put Arianna.” Jane said with a pleased smile, her eyes still red from crying.
“Arianna is no one’s business but ours as for the ending… Well, I wanted to finish on a good note. Something light and funny and I thought, why not make you finally, truly at peace by getting what you always wanted to do? I mean… I’ve been such an asshole to you all this time and you never really got any payback.”
“Can we take turns or is it just for Jane?” Kaidan shouted, sitting next to Steve and making everyone laugh.

____________________________________________________________

“This is a question for Christina: ‘Did you wear the Commander’s armor like you did with her dress or was it a replica?’ Now that’s an interesting question.”
“It was the Commander’s own armor. Well not the actual one, she wore the original one during the battle of Earth, obviously, since it was destroyed it wasn’t the same but another.”
“To everyone on set’s despair.” commented Ryan with a tired sigh.
“Oh?”
“She kept using the camo to prank everyone!” shouted Lorelai in exasperation. “And Rick and EDI did absolutely nothing!”
“Now, that’s not true.” replied EDI.
“I’m curious to know what you’ve done to stop that menace?!”
“Hey!” protested Jane impersonator.
“Stop? I helped her.” replied the AI with a grin, making everyone laugh but the victims of Christina’s prank, who simply groaned in desperation.
“Alright, here is a question for everyone this time: Did you keep a souvenir of this adventure?”
“We all kept the helmet, that’s for sure, though personally I kept my coat.” answered Ryan.
“I kept the shotgun.” replied Lorelai.
“““Of course you did.””” the rest of the cast commented.
“What? It’s a really good shotgun!”
“The gun maniac aside, I actually asked to keep the armor and to my surprise the Commander agreed, though I can’t change its color beyond black or white and of course I’m not allowed to display any affiliation to N7.”
“I kept the replica of Garrus’ sniper rifle, for my part.”

____________________________________________________________

“I’m sorry you had to go through that. I should have.” Hannah said to her son, finally finding the courage to speak about that moment just before he entered the heat sink corridor.
“You should have nothing. We talked about it then, nothing has changed now. You didn’t have the expertise, nor the armor to survive it and I couldn’t go through the Citadel’s air vents. We each had things the other couldn’t do.”
“Still...”
“Mom, stop. It’s over. Don’t think about it anymore.” Jane said, knowing perfectly well where her mother’s thoughts were leading her.

____________________________________________________________

“... No, it’s actual footage on screen, can’t take the credit.”
“You mean…”
“Yes, it’s Rick going through hell at the time that everyone saw, not me.”
“You talked like you didn’t know.” said Christina.
“Because I didn’t. It’s actually the first time I saw what happened, just like everyone. The scene ended when Aoife and I separated and I went through the door. Until tonight, I simply thought that whatever was beyond the door was unimportant. And honestly… I don’t think I could have acted that. Even with the special effects to help.”
“That makes me think… Did you watch the show?”
“Usually, I don’t watch anything I’m in. In fact I didn’t watch the first season when it came out…” began Christina.
“But the response from the critics and the public was so great that I don’t think any of us could not watch it.” added Lorelai.
“Yes. And It’s bluffing. The amount of work and details put into the show. Most notably the biotics. When we were filming, I always felt a bit silly moving around without anything happening but seeing what came out of it… It hits differently.” Ryan ended.
“All the magic comes from the music though.”
“Yeah, Christina put the finger on it. Without the music some scenes are not as impactful.” Ryan agreed.
“Not nearly as powerful. I watched the infiltration of the collector base while I was cooking with the sound turned off. Not as engaging.” confessed Lorelai.
“I think sometimes it’s too much.” Orianna commented.
“Kid?” Draxx inquired.
“The music during the rush to the conduit on earth? The flashback about Edem Prime?”
“Oh, yeah… “
“It hit a hundred times more. Damn, when I filmed the flashback… it was really hard you know? For all kinds of reasons that I don’t think I need to talk about but the music? Shit, when the piano madly flares at the end…” said Ryan shaking his head.
“At the same time some songs really get you going. The mad rush to reach Saren or against that Reaper on Tunchanka? I was pumped for days afterwards!” Lorelai added trying to lift the mood up.
“Personally, they’re part of my exercise playlist.” confessed Christina.
“Me too!”
“Me three.”
“I think everyone can agree that Rick put a lot of effort in his work regarding the sound track.” said Illiana just as EDI spoke up.
“As for me, I watched religiously ever since the very first episode aired, along with the members of the crew present at Celeste Academy.” dropped EDI.
“““Really?!”””
“Yes. It was… a kind of ritual. Based on nostalgia and curiosity.”
“Curiosity?” Illiana inquired.
“Some members joined the crew along the way and wondered how it all started from Eden Prime. There is also the curiosity of seeing themselves portrayed on screen and…”

EDI stops talking to laugh aloud out of nowhere puzzling her entourage.

“EDI?” asked Illiana.
“I’m sorry. Dorothea is currently with the crew and Steve just said that Ryan’s ass is better than Rick’s.” the AI answered, giggling.
“Ah! I knew it! Thank you Steve!” Ryan exclaimed.
“And now Rick is… I better show you.”

____________________________________________________________

“Look at it! Look at it! How can you say that his ass is better?!” Rick said as he had his pants down and was showing his underwear clad butt to everyone in the room but most notably Steve a few rows down.
“Easily! Ryan’s has a better shape.” the shuttle pilot argued.
“You just didn’t say that! Jane, he didn’t say that right?!”
“Sorry Rick, but he’s kinda right.” his sister replied with a wry but amused smile, making him gasp in shock and betrayal.

____________________________________________________________

“TRAITOR!”
“What does it matter anyway? It’s not like it’s a competition since I have the best ass in the Galaxy!” commented Tali.
“Oh hell no! My girl has the best ass in the galaxy! Proof that there are more shots of her twin’s butt in the series than yours!” Jennifer yelled, pulling up Miranda and displaying her catsuited butt to everyone as evidence.
“Jen!” the ravenette protested.

The chats, and the actors on the set were having a good laugh at what was happening with the crew.

“I can’t believe they’re fighting about who has the better ass.” said Illiana as she subdued her laughter.
“Honestly I don’t know why they are all fighting either. Like Tali said, it’s not a competition. Dorothea has the best one after all.” EDI commented.

Hours later, despite the end of the Q&A, the question of ‘Who has the best posterior’ was still being discussed on the chat. For once, EDI left the perverts alone and soon enough, Tier lists appeared with pictures of every member of the crew’s butt.