"The way you two carry on. People will talk!" Hawke said as she strolled into the Chantry courtyard, Fenris, Aveline, and Varric with her.

The entire situation was practically routine by now: let Orsino and Meredith scream at each other, send them to their respective naughty corners, go home with splitting headache, snuggle with Fenris.

Even if the final step of the oft repeated dance was rather enjoyable, Hawke was dreading the build-up. Just because she was a mage didn't mean she had to support Orsino. Just because she had witnessed the evils of blood magic didn't mean she had to endorse Meredith. Was everyone in Kirkwall an angry zealot? Would it kill them to compromise? Hawke's headache was making an early appearance.

Choosing to ignore Hawke's ill-timed humour, Meredith approached, "Good. You've found us."

"The Champion will not stop me, the people deserve to know just what you've done." said Orsino.

"What I have done is protect the people of this city, time and again. What I have done is protect you mages from your curse and your own stupidity!" Meredith spat "And I will not stop. I will not lower our guard. I dare not!"

The argument only grew more heated. Blood mages, corruption, freedom, oppression, control; Hawke had heard the same debates a thousand times over but there was no redirecting it this time. Both the Knight Commander and the first Enchanter seemed on the verge of violence and Hawke's stubborn neutrality didn't appear to be helping.

"This is getting us nowhere. Grand cleric Elthina will put a stop to this." said Orsino, turning and marching towards the Chantry. For once Hawke agreed whole heartedly with him, Elthina was really the only other neutral party, and ultimately the only one with authority over both the mages and the Templars.

Meredith did not appear to agree and turned to stop him, giving Hawke her back. The last rays of the sun caught on her sword, blinding Hawke for a moment. Hawke had always thought Meredith's sword a bit odd. In fact, it almost looked like-

"The grand cleric cannot help you!" a far too familiar voice called out. Anders approached with his staff in his hand and a determined look on his now haggard face. A chill settled in Hawke's gut.

"Anders? what-"

"Explain yourself mage!" Meredith demanded.

"I will not stand by while you treat all mages like criminals, while those would protect us bow to their Templar jailors." said Anders, stabbing his staff into the ground in agitation.

"How dare you speak to me-" began Orsino.

"The circle has failed us Orsino! Even you should be able to see that!" Anders cried, his voice resonating with depths that were not his own, his skin cracking with a glowing blue. "The time has come to act; there can be no half measures."

"Anders, what have you done?" asked Hawke, her voice thick with apprehension.

"There can be no turning back." came the almost sad reply.

The ground began to shake. Windows of the Chantry shattered and one of enormous statues wobbled. A loud rumble filled the air, followed by silence.

A huge red blast of light tore through the Chantry, three spires of destructive light shot into the sky, ripping the building and all within it apart. The crumbling ruins were wrenched up into a massive vortex of blood and rubble, whirling in the sky. The vortex curled in on itself, then exploded out, letting a fine mist that smelt of fire and flesh rain down upon the stunned city.

"Maker have mercy..." Meredith broke the shocked silence.

"There can be no peace." said Anders. Hawke didn't know what to say. Was… was this what Anders had asked her to gather ingredients for? He had refused to tell her what they were really for, had this been his plan? Why? And how dare he use her like that! How could he do this?

"Why?! Why would you do such a thing?" asked Orsino, voicing Hawke's confused horror.

"I removed the chance of compromise, because there can be no compromise." said Anders. He stood tall and unashamed, as though destroying a chantry, a place of refuge filled with worshippers was perfectly reasonable. In his mind it was reasonable, realised Hawke. Anders' grasp on sanity had always been tenuous, his passion for mages over ruling everything, but she never suspected he would go so far. She should have known better.

"The grand cleric has been slain by magic, the chantry destroyed." said Meredith, outrage and determination bleeding into her voice "As knight commander of Kirkwall, I hereby invoke the Right of Annulment. Every mage in the circle is to be executed – immediately."

"The circle didn't even do this! Champion you can't let her!" cried Orsino.

"I call on you, Champion, to keep order." said Meredith "After this, you cannot deny what must be done!"

"It's unfortunate, but it's the only way." said Aveline.

"It can't be stopped now. You have to choose." said Anders.

Hawke had had enough. They wanted her to make the call? Then they were all going to damn well step in line.

"Meredith! You have your culprit!" said Hawke, grabbing Anders' arm and throwing him forward into Meredith's second in command, Cullen held him securely. Anders looked at her with betrayal in his eyes, but Hawke had no pity for him. Not now. He had started this, she would finish it.

"He did this. You all saw. Take him, do whatever you wish, he has brought it upon himself. Why should the circle burn for the crimes of one apostate?"

Meredith shook her head and turned away from Hawke. "It doesn't matter." She said with her head down, "Even if I wished to, I could not stay my hand. The people will demand blo-"

"Meredith, where did you get that sword?" Hawke demanded.

"What?" Everyone looked a little taken aback by the sudden change of subject.

"Where did you get that sword Meredith?" she repeated, her voice as steady and commanding as the day she killed the Arishok.

Meredith studied her for a moment, before deciding to answer.

"I bought it from a dwarf." she raised her chin at Hawke, as if in challenge. Hawke took her up on it.

"Was the Dwarf's name Bartrand?" she could hear Varric exclaiming behind her but she wasn't done, "It wasn't even a sword when you bought it, was it? It was an idol carved from pure lyrium. Tell me I'm wrong."

"I have no need to. Yes, I had the dwarf's prize remade; the lyrium has given me the maker's strength to root out corruption wherever I find it."

"No Meredith. The pagan idol corrupted Bartrand's mind, it destroyed both him and all who followed him. It is the work of abhorrent blood magic, sealed away long ago to protect us from its influence." Hawke knew she was taking artistic licence, but she was beyond caring.

"I am stronger than he-" Meredith's defence was immediately interrupted.

"All this time you have been seeking the source of corruption in the tower, yet no matter how many blood mages you killed, no matter how hard you laboured there were always more." Hawke had everyone's rapt attention now; the Templars were looking quite uneasy, "You were the corruption, Meredith."

"How dare you! I am the knight Commander!" Meredith hissed, "I am all that stands between this city and desolation!"

"You are a Templar who has been exposed to corrupting magic. Who knows how many demons you're hiding? How many mages have you infected?" Hawke turned to Cullen. "Knight Captain. What is done to a compromised Templar?"

"Do not presume to order my men, Champion. You have no authority over any Templar." said Meredith, eyes narrowed and fists clenching.

"Then you tell me. What is done to a compromised Templar?"

"I have NOT been compromised!"

"ANSWER THE QUESTION!" Hawke thundered. Silence filled the courtyard, all eyes focused on the two women, Anders and Orsino completely forgotten. Hawke stared the knight commander in the eye, with the flinty gaze of the woman who had dragged her family through blight ravished lands, clawed her way out of low town, and slaughtered the leader of the entire Qunari army.

Meredith looked away.

"A compromised Templar… is relieved of duty." Meredith said quietly.

Cullen stepped forward and cleared his throat. "Knight Commander, I relieve you of your command."

Later, when they were all thoroughly drunk, Varric would complain to Hawke that it was all too anti-climactic.

" 'And then Hawke asked the nasty Templar to stop being so nasty and then everybody attended a grand cleric's funeral'. Honestly Hawke, what kind of ending is that?"

"Pffft, it's the kind of ending where I get to go home afterwards and no wars were started. What's wrong with that?" Hawke slurred while resting her forehead against a passed-out Fenris. "Even if they did hang Anders. Bloody Anders." She scowled into the elf's shoulder.

Varric sighed. "This is no way to end a legend. Even getting gloriously drunk doesn't make up for the lack of proper finale."

"I dunno. You could always tell 'em that I killed Meredith. And all her Templars too I guess. And Orsino. Never did like that bastard." she mumbled, slowly falling asleep.

"You know Hawke, I think I might."

THE END

Note: I hate the ending of DA2. I liked the rest of the game (more or less), but the whole 'now slaughter everybody!' thing was just stupid. I still haven't forgiven Anders. I like to think Varric was just bullshitting his way through Cassandra's interrogation XD