If there were such things as gods, they were either mocking her, or granting her the greatest gift of all—to be a savior and transcend to their level.
"It would be great if a few of you could come down here to help me."
She had said no to controlling the Reapers and giving up her body, but after the Catalyst had informed her of the synthesis option, she had to reconsider her choices.
How could she, someone who had been orphaned at a young age and the sole survivor of her squad, not to mention cheated Death quite a number of times, be so drawn to a selfless choice?
It's because you're tired. You have felt the burden of war and suffering more than most, and have been the container of these feelings felt for billions of years. You are the beacon of hope, but also the symbol of suffering and persistence.
"I just want it…to stop. Forever. Not just for a few thousand, maybe millions of years. I want this generation, and their children, and their children, to have peace. For utopia to become a reality. And if I have to give my life for this one chance, I'll do it."
She began to hobble toward the beam of light in the center of the room she was in. When she got to where her choices divided, she stopped. She felt a waterfall of emotions rush at once. Even as a battle-hardened soldier, she tended to feel things immensely. Her feelings were a part of her will that she couldn't suppress.
Tears welled in her eyes. "Everybody…I could be with everybody if…I destroyed them. I could be selfish. I might have a chance of surviving even if this whole structure blows to high hell and my synthetics are fried. I could live the rest of my days with Garrus, and whatever lucky kid we decide to adopt. Hell, we might adopt more than one, I don't care at this point. I also have so many rounds to drink…damn, so many people owe me drinks. At this rate I could drown in a pool of liquor."
She took a few steps back on the path with the beam of light.
"It's what Anderson would have wanted me to do too. He would have destroyed these motherfuckers. Synthesis…isn't it what Saren wanted too? To become both organic and synthetic? Actually, now that I think of it, his idea wouldn't be such a bad one, if the Reapers weren't controlling him with the implants they gave him. This is a whole different ballpark. To transform everybody's DNA, to get to that level, it's like being a god. Do I really have such a right to make this decision that would impact trillions of lives? What's to say that it won't negatively affect everyone in the long run? Mutations and all that. But maybe if people's DNA contained synthetics, then mutations would be able to repair themselves? Fuck, I should have paid more attention in my genetics classes."
She straightened up and began limping toward the center of the room and towards the beam of light.
"I love you all, but to stop these cycles, to truly change fate, transforming who we all are at the cores is the only sure answer. Also, you all will have access to trillions of years of lost knowledge. That alone will be invaluable. The Reapers will become partners instead of destroyers, and with everybody possessing a form of synthetic and organic DNA, a large degree of peace will be achieved."
She threw her gun onto the floor and ran into the beam of light. She could feel her skin peeling away first, then her muscles. She closed her eyes.
"Garrus, Kaidan, Liara, Tali, EDI, Joker, Wrex, Grunt, Javik, Miranda, Jack, Samara, Kasumi, Jacob, everybody…you'll be all right. I'll be with you. This new genetic code that's being created…I'm a part of it. And my spirit will be watching you all."
She smiled, remembering Garrus's comment about a turian and human heaven.
"I'll meet you at the bar."
She was gone.
He was someone who usually expected the worst, but it didn't mean that whenever the worst happened he was numb to it.
When he put the plaque of her name up on the Wall of the Fallen, all he could do was muster a small smile and move his feet back and forth. To be honest, he felt like doing nothing.
But that wouldn't be what she wanted. She gave her life willingly to give humanity, life, and synthetics an unprecedented chance. And she knew that he would be okay.
He understood, but he still missed her like hell. She had begun to adapt to his sense of humor and thinking patterns, and he missed just being around her. When all was said and done, there wasn't even a body to be found. He knew that her DNA was used to provide the transformed DNA within him and trillions of others. He took a small comfort in that thought. Bodily, a small part of her was in him.
It was odd being on the Normandy without his lover. He would expect her to pop into the Munitions room and ask if they could spend some time together. He started to regret all the times he said he was busy calibrating equipment.
"Let's name her Revy."
His turian wife looked up at him with a knowing and gentle gaze.
Thanks to her, his family, their future families, and generations to come would be all right.