Foreward: For proper context; go to Makani's tumblr at makanidotdot. tumblr. com and look under the #mass effect tag. I, with permission from the artist, wrote a short story based on several pictures of her ending of Mass Effect 3. I also posted this on my own tumblr paladincomplex. tumblr. com.
With heavy breaths, Shepard stumbled her way to the console. Even if that deluded old fart was right, that the Reapers could be controlled, better her than him. At least she wasn't operating under the delusion that he was capable of controlling them while he himself was indoctrinated.
Idiot.
The only thing that made this thing more monotonous was the starbrat's overly vague explanation as to why this came to be. Frankly, she didn't care. All that mattered was that the war was going to end here and now.
She reached up to the first handle and took it. She grit her teeth as she felt the electricity start to sear through her hand. As the pain intensified, she grasped the other handle and felt the overwhelming heat start to flood her system.
Immediately, her body started to disintegrate and everything she saw was drowned in light. When she couldn't hold back anymore, she screamed in agony as she felt her being absorbed into the collective Reaper consciousness.
The light changed to an omnipresent darkness. She was still there, but it seemed all that was left was an outline. A base. Despite all of this, she screamed in pain. Her death over Alchera seemed far less worse in comparison.
At last, the pain receded and she collapsed upon her knees. Her consciousness gathered, she looked ahead to see that the Catalyst had told her the truth. In front of her, were countless screens from the eyes of all the Reapers and their servants. From every Reaper, from every husk; she could see them all.
Light burst from her eyes as she felt herself spread to the collective, overriding their wills with her own.
"Shepard," a familiar voice said from behind.
She stopped when she heard the Catalyst begin to speak. "The Reapers are yours to control now. However, that would defeat the purpose if you were to destroy them. If you were to destroy them, you would destroy yourself."
A hateful snarl soon grew on her face. That wretched little twerp had led her this far and if she was going to control the Reapers, she was going to do whatever the hell she damn wanted to!
"Only you can prevent the cycles from continuing, however, it's only through the Reapers can the destruction be truly abated."
She whirled around and made a mad dash towards the outline of the Catalyst. Before it could react, she had tackled him to the ground, raised her fist, and in one powerful stroke, shattered the Catalyst into countless pieces as though he were made of glass. Even though her fist still rest upon the ground, her breathing still continued, hot and enraged.
One by one, the remnants of the Catalyst dissolved into nothing and her power over the Reapers became absolute. She stopped when she realized that the voice of the Catalyst no longer harried her. She had conquered them. The Reapers were now truly hers.
She stood up and walked slowly back to the display that was before her. A deep breath taken, despite having no body, she opened her eyes to enforce her will upon the Reaper collective. They all stood to listen.
In one word, she ended the war with the Reapers.
"LEAVE!"
Immediately, every vessel stopped their attack, processing her commands, and to the bewilderment of all the races, lifted off into space. And those in space stopped firing and made a straight course for the Mass Relays.
She looked down and saw the corrupted, twisted, and malformed victims in the form of all the husks, banshees, cannibals, marauders, ravagers, and brutes and said with the same power;
"SLEEP."
At that same moment, every individual that had been transformed by the Reapers collapsed. Once the lights went out, they would awaken no more.
You did good, child. She remembered Anderson saying.
The cost had been great, not to mention that of her body, but her friends and squadmates were all safe. The war was over and for the first time in years, she smiled.
