Author's note

The spell of writer's block is broken, I WRITE AGAIN! Ladies and gentleman, after more than a year of negativity and depression, I am now picking up the pen and writing once more! I love writing! I love telling stories! I love reviews! :P OK, last one was partially a joke, but I seriously hearing your responses, because my goal is to give you extremely good stories that will inspire you, empower you or at the very least, make your day brighter by making you all hang in suspense wishing for the next chapter, or laughing your ass off therefore brightening your day, or even making you go Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!, which incidently, is my prime motivation for making this story.

So yes, this will be a smutt and fluff filled series of connected one shots, starting with the end of Mass Effect 2. I pray you enjoy it.

Beginning Life Anew

Chapter 1: I Want To Live!

"Human, you've changed nothing."

The ghostly voice of Harbringer seem to echo from everywhere. Shepard ignored it as he focused only on escaping the Collector Base before it turned into a pile of slag. He stopped a few times to shoot a few of the seeker insects as they attempted to rush at him. Realising the futility of his action, he focused on running, always keeping his eyes in front.

"Your species has the attention of those infinitely your greater."

Collector guards finally spotted the escaping team and soon Shepard felt his sheilds sizzle as they deflected a hail of stray bullets. He still kept running.

"That which you know as Reapers are your salvation through destruction."

'It will not end like this! We won and we're going to live! I'm going to live!' Shepard screamed inwardly, andrenaline fueled not by desperation but strangely enough, the fear of death. Because if he died, he would never have a chance to fulfil his love, who even now ran ahead of him. He kept his vision firmly on her, determined that no one else went pass him to take her down.

The huge corridor opened into a huge cavern with a bottomless chasm at the edge, the central chamber where the Collector Cruiser used to inhabit. And out of the chasm, like a huge bird of prey it was designed after, rose the Normandy. The bridge hatch oepned and a single human armed with an assault rifle stood out. Never before in any part of his brittle bone problematic life did Joker look so heroic. He rained down devastating cover fire at the Collectors chasing Shepard and his team. The foolish Collectors were so fixated on Shepard that they stupidly ignored Joker even as the crippled pilot cut them down.

Garrus was the first to make it, cradling his arm and charging into the open hatch, narrowly missing Joker. He was unable to control his momentum and slammed unto the opposite wall, knocking himself unconcious.

The firepower chasing them intensified as more Collector's joined the chase. To Shepard's horror, some of them were also firing on the other squad member still running for the Normandy. Rage filled him as he saw the telltale signs of the kinetic barrier collapsing. With power borned of rage, he concentrated his biotic powers harder than any effort before. His implants felt as though they were melting through the back of his head and he could even feel blood oozing from his eyes, mouth, and even ears. As the biotic energy enveloped his body, the display of biotic power would have put even Jack and Samara to shame. Like the Zeus, Greek God of lightning, he spun around and punched his fist towards the Collectors, unleashing a massive shockwave that spread out towards the collectors. The shockwave dwarfed the one made by Jack only minutes earlier during the long walk where the troubled biotic protected the team from the seeker swarms. The horde of Collectors were thrown back but at the same time it cause the various floating platforms to collapse and while the structural integrity of the base deteriorated.

All of this Shepard did not notice, for he had turned back towards the Normandy without seeing his handiwork. His heart soared as he saw the final squad member leap into the Normandy but unlike Garrus, gracefully spun on her heel and immediately supported Joker by laying another barrage of cover fire. But just as quickly, it plummetted when he saw the platform in front of the Normandy collapse as a large bulkhead broke off the ceiling and smashed into it, leaving a bottomless chasm more than thirty metres between the edge and the Normandy. For one terrible moment, he resigned himself to his fate. After all, the mission was done. The base would be destroyed and all of his crew would live on.

His crew. One crew in particular filled his mind. He looked at her still standing at the hatch and even though she was masked, he felt her stare penetrating his own helmet.

'Don't you dare die Setsuna!'

His earlier thoughts vanished.

"I WANT TO LIVE!" he roared as biotic energy filled him once again as he ran even faster. More than even the shockwave he just created, the biotic energy surged through his body, giving him one last phenomenal burst of speed as he leapt of the edge.

Time seem to slow as he jumped over the impossible distance, well further than any athlete, human or otherwise, had ever attempted. But for Shepard, he no longer thought of failing to make the distance. In his mind, he had only one thought. 'I AM GOING TO LIVE!'

He did make it, barely. Most of his body slammed into the Normandy just below the hatch, but his head, shoulders and arms had reached the open hatchway and holding on for dear life. He felt his hands slipping the smooth surface of Normandy's floor and then a pair of strong hands gripped his right arm and pulled with a strength disproportionate to her small stature. Shepard was briefly fascinated when she lifted his whole body weight, including his weapons and heavy armoud, into the Normandy. He collapsed on top of her legs, panting and holding on for dear life. He looked up at the face of his saviour.

"YOU BOSH'TET! I SAW THAT LOOK! NEXT TIME YOU DO THAT, REMEMBER I HAVE A SHOTGUN!" Tali Zorah Vas Normandy Nar Rayya scolded even as Shepard saw drops of liquid wet the visor she wore from the inside.

For the first time since his unholy resurrection, Shepard laughed heartily even as tears of joy emerged. For the next few moments, that was all he heard even as Joker expertly piloted the Normandy away from the exploding Collector Base. The sound of his laughter was easily louder than the detonation of the Collector Base.

To be continued...

Author's note: Well, there you have it. I wanted to write in the other parts of the ending, such as the Collector General's death and Harbringer's condemnation, but would spoil the mood. Besides, we've all played the game a hundred times and are bored with the standard ending. This is how I'm envisioning my ending.

Constructive flames, reviews and feedback greatly appreciated.