A/N: I was so irritated with the ending of ME3 that I made my own fix it, but I didn't want to write it until I had a good idea and a story I could continue writing for some time. Now I have that, and this is the first chapter of that. Yay! Based on my Femshep Alexandria Shepard, or Alex, Vanguard class, paragon with some renegade, colonist, war hero, saved Kaiden and romanced him in ME1 and Garrus Romance ME2 and ME3. Please enjoy and I hope things aren't too confusing as I'm still getting out of the habit of being a boring technical writer, but a BSN degree does that to you! Enjoy, rate and comment please!
The Shape of Things to Come
Neurotic Banana
One: The Alternative
She had worked so hard to get to the Citadel only to find mutilated piles of bodies, hardly any resemblance to what she had always known as the Citadel. What she saw was the stuff of nightmares, and many times as she had dragged her bruised, broken body up the ramp in Anderson's direction, she had felt sure she was dreaming or that she was dead and this was Hell. However, her thoughts of dreams had been washed away when she'd come face to face with Anderson and a corrupted, indoctrinated Illusive Man.
That had ended unpleasantly, with the Illusive Man barely admitting to indoctrination and then taking his own life, but before that happened he' d shot Anderson. Shepard knew it was a fatal shot and that what time she had left with Anderson was limited. They'd shared a few moments together before he fell silent. It was around this time that Hackett had started communicating with her, telling her to do something because he arms of the Citadel weren't opening up…but she could do nothing! There was nothing for her to do, but lay there and accept her own fate, of inevitable death and to live her last moments knowing she had failed the galaxy.
As she laid there, she thought of all the people who had rooted for her, stood by her…loved her. Tears had threatened her vision as an image of Garrus Vakarian came to her mind's eye; his goodbye to her as she had parted from him, her promise to return. She wanted all of that to be true, to happen, but now as pain coursed through her body she felt as if it was a far off dream of hope that now faced imminent death.
While she had been having these thoughts she hadn't realized she was being lifted to another room, with some sort of sentient being in it. This was when everything changed; it was the moment Shepard's fire for success returned to her; the turning point in a game played by the Reapers for thousands of years.
It came to her as the child she had been dreaming about and for all intents and purposes it looked completely inorganic, more like a hologram really. As it had been explaining things to her she felt certain that it couldn't be destroyed, that it was some kind of god child, other worldly and indestructible. The god child offered her three choices, illuminated by three colored lights; red, for destruction of the Reapers and all synthetics and not completely solving the problem of organics and synthetics; green, for synthesis, joining synthetic and organic life into one, solving the Reaper problem, but requiring her life as sacrifice; blue, for control of the Reapers, no longer a threat for they would be under her control, but also requiring her life as a sacrifice. Three choices and she must only pick one of the choices provided.
Shepard looked at the lights ahead of her, her striking blue eyes taking in the glowing colors. Three choices to choose from, all of them not exactly a win situation. Why couldn't there be a fourth option? If this being, truly was other worldly then certainly there should be other options. If she was facing her own creator, if that was what this god child was, then shouldn't there be other options?
The god child waited patiently for her to make her choice, but inside of Shepard she felt her heart harden and her mind set. There were always other options, that was exactly what she had done in life; when there were no other alternatives, she made new ones. Slowly Shepard turned from the glowing lights and faced the god child a look of fierce determination etched into her face.
"There are always other options…I refuse these choices," she stated and waited for the god child's response.
At first the god child just stared at her, and since it appeared to have no real structure she couldn't really tell what emotions its face was trying to project. Finally it did speak.
"Commander Alexandria Shepard, why do you oppose me?" It asked calmly.
Shepard snorted and replied, "Because there are always other choices. That's what it means to be human, to be organic. You say that you created the Reapers to control the wars that wage between synthetics and organics? How does destroying billions of species, forcing them to merge into some Reaper creation solve that problem? It doesn't! I helped fix the war between the Geth and the Quarians. Organics and synthetics can get along. So these choices," Shepard gestured toward the three lights, "are lies."
"You surprise me, Shepard. For millennia after millennia I have watched your predecessors reach this point and take one of the options I have given them…but you, you stand against me and insist on another option," the god child responded calmly. Shepard stared at the transparent child in shock. Her predecessors? What did that mean?
"My predecessors? What do you mean?" She demanded.
"I created the Reapers long ago to control the wars that would wage between synthetic and organic life. It was my means of controlling the domination of weaker species that synthetic life can exert; however, my plan backfired and the Reapers became too powerful, so that I did not have complete control over them. They acted on their own, destroying organic life every 50,000 years for the greater good. My creation, the Reapers, the original Reapers, needed to have an equal, so I took steps to ensure the balance of power. I created a being of equal strength to the Reapers, capable of destroying them. Every cycle the Reapers have risen for the Harvest, I have aided in the creation of a being of similar power, resistant to indoctrination, brimming with power, capable of the annihilation of the Reapers. In this cycle of Harvest, you are that individual, Shepard. You possess the power to destroy the Reapers," the god child was silent after this, simply looking on at Shepard.
Shepard just stared at the strange being in front of her. She didn't know what to say, and felt very confused and little inside. Had her life as a human all been a lie? Was every experience she encountered some programmed, pre-determined situation? What was she? And if she was truly capable of destroying the Reapers, why must she choose from three options that didn't seem like the right path? Shepard suddenly remembered one of the first things the god child had said in response to Shepard's refusal to choose.
For millennia after millennia I have watched your predecessors reach this point and take one of the options I have given them. That meant that the others like her had reached this point and had made a choice, the wrong choice apparently since the Reapers still existed. However, it also meant that there was another choice, another option. Shepard paused briefly, considering acquiring more information about her predecessors and what exactly she was, or demanding to know what the fourth option could be. She decided to dig for more information.
"You aided in my creation? So what does that make me? Am I a Reaper?" Shepard asked with arched eyebrows.
"No. You are organic. The being of equal strength to the Reapers has always been, and always will be organic. It was the only way to restore balance," the god child paused as if considering what to say next. "I did not create you; I am not your creator, I am not capable of creating organic life forms, only the destruction of them. I am, however, capable of modifying them into a being of equal strength to the Reapers. Before you ever took your first breath of air as an infant, I had changed you; I did this to you and the others that came before you. Never have I met one so tenacious and head strong as you, though."
Shepard felt a small weight lifted when the god child told her she was not in fact a Reaper. Despite and relief she was feeling she knew she needed to press on; she needed to get answers quickly and then find a way to destroy the Reapers.
"The others, before me, they chose…they chose one of the choices you'd given them?" Shepard looked toward the lights and then back to the transparent child before her. "If they chose one of the options you'd given them then obviously it was the wrong one since the Reapers are still here. Why don't you just give a fourth option?" Shepard demanded anger tickling its way into her voice.
"Your predecessors chose. Some chose control, others destruction….none have chosen synthesis," the god child motioned to the green light. Shepard got the distinct feeling that it wanted her to choose that route.
"I don't believe you," Shepard sneered with narrowed eyes. She was convinced this horrible little monster of a creature was lying to her. It created the Reapers, and while it might've modified her and others before her for the good, the Reapers were it's creation, and she felt it unlikely that it truly wanted to see its creation destroyed.
The glow of white light that was the god child faltered, fading to a darker shade briefly before responding. "Synthesis is the only answer. Destruction and control will not solve the problem of synthetics and organics. Synthesis. You must choose Synthesis."
Shepard felt adrenaline surge in her body. The dynamic was changing, the god child wanted her to choose synthesis, but she was free willed and could say no. There are always other options, Shepard thought with determination.
"There doesn't have to be a problem between synthetics and organics! Look at the Geth and the Quarians! They are no longer fighting. This can end. The Reapers can end. You created them, you can destroy them."
"No! Synthesis must be chosen! You must choose synthesis!" The god child roared at Shepard.
Shepard felt the ground beneath her shake; whatever she was going to do she was going to have to do it fast. She remembered her gun at that point, hanging limply in her hand. While she was unsure if it would have any effect on the god child it wouldn't hurt to try. It was her only other option. While she was beginning to feel renewed, she wasn't sure she had enough energy to actually use any of her biotic talents, so that for the moment was out of the question.
Quickly before the god child could stop her, Shepard raised her gun and fired two shots point blank into the strange beings semi-transparent head. The squeeze of the trigger felt good as she pinched off the two shots. The god child did not immediately react, but instead seemed to have absorbed the rounds.
Shepard watched as the glow of the child in front of her darkened to gray, to brown, and finally to black. She was startled as she saw a spurt of a pale black, oozing, viscous fluid flow down the god child's face. She watched as the glowing of the child faded into what appeared to be solid substance, like skin. The pale black fluid slowly trickled to a stop and Shepard took a few slow steps away from what once was the god child. It grew in front of her from the form of a child to that of a large, towering creature, standing at least six feet taller than her. The once childlike arms extended into thick, beefy appendages with a bone thin hands that had long, black talons stretching out from them. The glow was completely gone and what stood before her now was a monster, something out of a horror novel that her wildest dreams wouldn't have been able to create.
It stood over eleven feet tall, with long, thick arms. The body was thick like a tree trunk but vaguely human and covered with what appeared to be oily, black skin. Shepard felt certain that if she touched it, it would burn her. The face, which had once been like the boy she had often dreamt about, was now similar to a human skull. The eyes were hollow, burning with a dark blue fire that made Shepard's skin crawl. The mouth which had barely been there before now seemed to stretch from ear to ear as if it had been carved into flesh by some sick and demented clown. She couldn't see teeth, and was glad she couldn't. The head appeared completely bare, except for what she thought might be the same cord like veins she often saw on Husks and all Reaper perverted creatures.
"You will die here Shepard! Your species will suffer; the galaxy will burn because of you!" It screamed in a shrill voice that had a slight mechanical sound to it. Shepard backpedaled rapidly from the creature before her feeling her heart rate pick up. Her fatigue and injuries suddenly seemed very far in the past. Adrenaline shot through her veins and Shepard suddenly felt the thrill of battle take hold of her. She was fighting alone, but she was fighting a solid form that she was certain could be destroyed.
With renewed energy, Shepard felt her biotic abilities spring to life with frightful energy, more than she knew she possessed. Her heart did double time as Shepard locked the horrid former god child in her sights and felt pure biotic power rip through her. With frightening speed Shepard closed the distance between her and the creature in a forceful Biotic Charge. Her impact with it sent the creature stumbling backwards a few paces and Shepard wasted no time crashing her fist into the ground letting loose with a powerful Nova blast. This seemed to do minor damage to the creature so Shepard decided to Charge it again to get her Barrier back up.
As Shepard Charged however, the creature seemed to anticipate this and used one of its massive arms to knock Shepard away from it. Shepard felt the impact blow into her right shoulder and was certain that it had just dislocated. She was thrown away from the creature and completely out of the Charge. Shepard landed with a loud thud a few feet away from the former god child. Her head was swimming with pain and when she tried to move her right arm she couldn't. Pain shot through her shoulder socket in ripping waves. Her eyes blurred with tears as she glanced up toward the creature; it was heading her way letting out some sort of demented mechanical laugh as it went.
Struggling, and panting heavily, Shepard sat up and gripped her right arm with her left hand; she had to get it back into the socket. Gritting her teeth, Shepard took a forceful hold and snapped it back into place. The loud pop of the humerus head meeting with the socket made Shepard want to vomit. She returned her gaze back to the creature that was closing the gap between the two at an alarming rate. With a whimper Shepard rose to a standing position and stared ahead. Her gun was gone, dropped from her hand when she had Charged the first time and she felt completely drained of energy since she'd been violently knocked out of her Charge.
"How do I defeat it?" She whispered to herself helplessly. Then the sight of the glowing lights caught her attention. Her 'choices' were still waiting for her and while she could stupidly walk up to one and make a choice, she had a better idea. Perhaps she could knock this abomination of a creature into the red light, the one that destroyed the Reapers. It might not kill the Reapers, but it would probably kill or heavily damage the creature before her.
Thinking quickly, Shepard deduced that if she was able to dredge up one powerful Biotic Charge she could knock the former god child back quite a ways, putting them both much closer to the lights, specifically the red light. Once it was closer she would try to throw a Shockwave or Pull at it. If those efforts failed she would desperately try to get to her gun and fire at it, hopefully enough to push it into the light. If she wasn't able to get it into the red light with her biotic capabilities or her gun then she would use what little physical strength she had left on it. She would engage in up close combat until it was knocked into the light and if she needed to, she'd go with it. It didn't matter if she died, the creature had to die. Destroying the creator of the Reapers had to be some kind of significant blow to the Reapers as a whole.
"All plans are in vain, Shepard," it cackled at her.
Closing her eyes and wondering if she could really do it, she remembered all those she was fighting for. Liara, Wrex, Kaiden, Tali, Joker, EDI, Hackett…Garrus. Their faces swirled through her mind giving her the strength she so desperately needed.
"For the galaxy," she whispered, and as if she felt it would be the last words she ever spoke she whispered even quieter, "For you, Garrus." She locked her eyes ahead.
Her already tired and overworked heart skipped a beat as she set her eyes on the creature before her and once again felt her biotic abilities bloom into life. She felt her body begin to Charge, felt the strength behind it, knew that this time the Charge would not be stopped.
Her body collided with the creature and she was pleased to see it stumble back several feet. She spied the glow the red light not far from them and used the last bit of biotic energy she had to throw a Shockwave out in front of her, knocking the former god child back, bringing it closer to the red glow. Her body seemed to sage with fatigue as she watched the creator of the reapers stumble; it was barely a foot away from the red light…she was so close.
Shepard closed the gap between them quickly getting close to her goal, and snatching up her gun as she closed the distance. She fired three shots that made the creature stumble even closer to the red light, before she realized the gun was out of thermal clips. With her last bit of energy Shepard frantically rushed forward and thrust her fist forward, glowing and sparking a heavenly blue, finally making impact with the former god child's body. Her fists' impact with once god child's skin burned and scorched her hand, but she was hardly aware of it as she watched the being before her stumble the final distance, colliding with the glass structure around the red light.
The red light, which had been dull before suddenly brightened upon contact with the god child. A crackling sound filled the air and sparks sprang up around the red light and the creature. It howled angrily and tried to pry itself away from the red light, but the light seemed to consume it. It cut through the black, oily skin like a laser. The once flame blue eyes turned black, the mouth gaped open, the skin started to dry, flaking away from the body leaving empty black, charred holes.
The glow from the light grew brighter, lighting the whole room, nearly blinding Shepard. She could no longer hear anything but the crackling of the light and the howls of the former god child. The howls however, were becoming less and less and the sound of the crackles, like fire burning, was growing with intensity. Shepard couldn't see anything through the brightness of the room. She vaguely became aware of the ground moving beneath her and her body cascading down. One of her legs filled with pain when she stopped sliding downwards, but she was only distantly aware of it, for she was too focused on protecting her eyes from the brightness that seemed to have swallowed her whole. She heard other cracks, like concrete cracking in half, she heard thuds, but through all of it she was primarily aware of the crackling fire sound. She felt certain that the red light had turned to fire that was burning through the former god child and was shortly going to be consuming the Citadel.
Distantly Shepard heard a voice, a human, familiar voice speak to her from somewhere. Perhaps through her communications piece, but she was fairly certain that had been destroyed.
"The arms…they're opening!" the voice, which she now identified as Admiral Hackett, shouted.
The light only seemed to grow and Shepard once again felt the ground beneath her moving, shifting. A great cracking sound erupted from above her and she felt debris scatter over her body. Something heavy landed on her back, forcing her into a prone position. With the heavy debris on her back she found it difficult to breath, and her mind slowly started to slip away from her.
There was noise everywhere, and light everywhere and the world itself seemed to be shifting in an entirely different direction. Although it was likely she was about to die, some part of Shepard felt satisfied, as if she had just personally witnessed the destruction of the Reapers. As the world started to slip away from her things around her finally quieted down and the light faded to shadows. It grew quiet around her and things seemed for once, at peace. It was at this moment that blackness swept over Shepard and her mind travelled to unconsciousness.