~Chapter One~
~The Cycle Ends~

Commander Shepard stood bloodied and broken before the catalyst. Facing the most devastating blow of all. After everything it had taken to get her to this point, there was no way to win. She had fought and sacrificed only to be manipulated in her last moments. It was the first time since this war began that she was unable to finish things on her own terms. The reapers had to be destroyed. That was always the aim. Saren and the Illusive Man had had different ideas, synthesis and control weren't a viable option then and they weren't a viable option now. She sighed heavily, looking down at her injuries. Serious burns marred bare flesh along her arms. Her decimated armour had melted onto her flesh, restricting her movement. Blood still trickled from the bullet hole gifted to her by the guarding marauder. God knows what else was broken. This wasn't what she was willing to die for, the collateral damage was unacceptable. To destroy the reapers also meant the destruction of an entire people. The geth didn't deserve that, their entire existence thus far had been suffering. A constant fight for survival and an end to their slavery under the Quarians, Saren, the Reapers. EDI wasn't expendable either, a true friend who was just finding her place in the galaxy. Her journey should be beginning in this moment, not ending. The destruction of the relays would pull everybody apart after they had finally come together in a way they had never done before. Shepard was fighting this war for them too. She wasn't about to throw it all away for a quick, empty victory. She thought about her words in her last moments with Cerberus and in the destruction of the collector base. 'I won't let fear compromise who I am.' There was always another way.

"I can't sacrifice all synthetic races to save the rest of us! Unlike you, I'm not big on genocide. Look at how far we've come, we are all in this together. They deserve to be free of the reapers just as much as the organics. We don't need synthesis to reach the pinnacle of evolution. We're making our own way there, but we can't do that with reaper interference. I can't take control of such a force and enslave a race by force, no matter who they are. What would be the point? The reapers are just here to kill us. Why would I want to join them if there's a chance I could be further manipulated? This is who I am, alive or dead. If you force me to choose, of course I will destroy, but there must be another way. You were designed to help us, and we are no longer just organics we are a united force of all life in this galaxy. Everything has changed. So should you."

The catalyst stared blankly back at her with eyes stolen from a child. "Your campaign for the wellbeing of synthetic life is unexpected. They may be recreated in any way, at any time. Even the reapers could be destroyed and recreated. You see the problem. This is why we had to find the solution. We have witnessed many years of war between you. This could reoccur at any moment. Your species will only be remembered by the reapers. We are your salvation through destruction."

"No." Shepard drew energy from her anger and desperation. Standing a little taller she continued to channel that negative emotion into a full on charm offensive. "Organics war against their own kind everyday, it has nothing to do with synthetics. The Krogan were almost wiped out entirely by the actions of the Salarians and the Turians. Humans almost destroyed their own planet trying to find new ways to kill each other. We have already evolved beyond that in order to survive your harvest. That is how you help us, how you have already helped us. The more advanced the synthetics of our cycle become, the more we will experience peace between us. Everything else is just a healing wound. You can't see it, but your job is already done. The organic races don't need you anymore."

"Reassessing."

Barely daring to blink, Shepard stared at the child. A human would have withered under that gaze and her sheer will could turn the tide of an ocean. Hope blazed again deep inside her that it might work on the intelligence too.

"Combining your perspective with our own is problematic. We are far more advanced than you could begin to understand, we should be able to view all variables yet you have provided new information."

"Yeah. Well isn't that kinda how the geth work too? The more geth there are connected, the more intelligent they become, they gain new perspective from each geth unit. My friend Legion taught me about that. Maybe you missed the part where he and I entered the geth consensus. An organic and a synthetic, existing in each other's worlds. Wouldn't that satisfy your idea of synthesis? We make each other stronger." Shepard was getting tired. She was running on adrenaline, not much of that in conversation. People normally came round quickly under her influence. This was too much, it had to end soon or the crucible wouldn't fire at all and the harvest would continue unchallenged.

"That is true, in as much as an organic can understand."

"So if I can help you like this, you, the most advanced A.I in existence doesn't that show you there is no need to wipe us out or rewrite our entire genetic code? The differences of our cycle are what brought us here. The Protheans tried to erase that individuality among their people and they didn't to unite the galaxy under one empire. Remember them? I got that from another friend, one you missed on your last trip. They didn't get this far, they didn't understand unity the way we do now. This cycle is unique. We are already the solution. There is only one synthetic race posing a threat to the galaxy now."

"Us."

"Exactly!" This was starting to feel possible. She could do this. The catalyst was listening to her logic and reason. This was what made Shepard special, what made her a true leader and the only person who could get this done. Her words carried weight. Adrenaline was back. The Commander grasped a new hold, her physical pain and exhaustion was gradually anaesthetised. "For you to fulfill your purpose you have to stop this not me."

"We have not developed a solution. The problem has evolved. We concluded the cyclical extermination would always continue. If we have reached our purpose, what is the meaning of us?"

"Isn't that the big question we all ask of our creators? I would say you ask them their opinion, but they're more powerful than you remember. You missed a couple of them too. I don't know that this solution of yours was ever that great if I'm honest."

The child's eyes seem to sparkle slightly, the ghostly glow brightening. "It was perfect. It brought you and us to this point. This is how it always had to happen. You, the first organic to breach this area, you are the product of the solution. There are only two paths from here. For you to choose. The reapers can return to dark space and await a new purpose. Or we can dissolve our intelligence to aid the synthetics of this cycle. Your intervention is still required. You Shepard are the new solution, it is out of our control."

"Alright. What would happen to our synthetics? Would you be in control of them? Would the heretics return?"

"No, they would not become us, we would become them. For example, the geth would no longer need to connect into their network to achieve heightened understanding. They would have the intelligence of the heretics but not be bound by our purpose. However, there is a potential that the transfer may not complete without casualty. Some synthetics may not survive the transition and the mass relays may be significantly damaged. The citadel may also be affected, but it is likely the keepers will be able to make full repairs."

There was always a catch. Shepard was reminded of EDI's less than seamless take over of Dr. Eva's body. That was small scale in comparison, but this was what the entire galaxy was fighting for. War would always claim casualties and this was the mother of all wars. It was the alpha relay all over again. Some may be lost, but the race would survive. Potentially and hopefully they would recover. The child made it sound like losses would be high, but Legion worked the reaper code with no problem. There was no question in her mind. This was the only victory. If the reapers went back to dark space they could come back at any time. One disagreement between EDI and Joker could bring them storming back into action. They were probably sitting on the Normandy arguing right that second. Way too risky.

She nodded slowly. "That's a better chance than they had a couple of minutes ago. There's a couple of problems though. The geth already adapted that level of intelligence. We used your code, Legion sacrificed himself to ensure the upload. He was the only casualty, they made the transition just fine. Again, we're doing this by ourselves. What about like EDI? She was created using adapted reaper tech, if the relays could be broken by this what would happen to her?"

"I cannot be sure. It is likely that much of what she is will be gone. If so, her intelligence will also be distributed."

"She's not a reaper. I have faith the crucible will target the right enemy. After all, its not the destruction gambit you had in mind earlier. If you have nothing else to offer, I'll take it." Time to wrap things up. The reapers were basically surrendering. They really were trying to help after all, in the only way their flawed intelligence could understand. Synthetics never overtook organics, not in ways that mattered to base organic life. Technology wasn't everything, technology would have lost this war. Shepard wanted to show them once more what it meant to be an organic in this cycle."You know, this solution means that you get to help us one last time. Isn't that preferable to waiting around in dark space without a purpose?"

"We do not perceive the galaxy with that kind of emotion, but your sentiment is understood. You will have to sever connections in that panel with me inside. Thank you, Shepard. We are pleased to have been your guardians."