A little something I wrote for the Mass Effect Loot Crate Giveaway. Prompt used, Passing On.
The war continued on in silence outside. Shepard found herself in her own protective bubble so to speak. She looked up and observed the destruction raining down above Earth. Countless amounts of dreadnoughts, frigates and fighters bravely stood up to their insurmountable enemy. And one by one, they were being cut down. She didn't want to think how many souls were being extinguished with each one. But with each ship destroyed, another took its place, but how long could that last for? It was a desperate battle for survival.
They were losing. There was no way they could defeat the Reapers using conventional means. Eventually, this battle would be over and the Earth's orbit would be littered with thousands of corpses, ships and people alike. The planet below would be lost. Her friends, comrades in arms and billions of civilians would all die.
She had to do something.
But what?
Shepard looked to the Intelligence. A highly advanced AI that had been created by the very first beings that graced the galaxy, the Leviathan. It had been created to solve a problem. A problem that had repeated itself over and over for billions of years since. Artificial Intelligence turning on their creators. And the solution?
The Reapers.
Wipe out all advanced sentient life in the galaxy. Strip away everything right back to the dark ages. Destroy in order to heal.
This was something Shepard could not allow to continue. The Reapers must be defeated. By any means necessary.
Shepard had been struggling with this fight for three years now, had even died for it. Now, at the end, she finally had the answers she was seeking. And she knew it was the end. The fight on Earth had been the worst she had ever encountered. Endless amounts of Reaper forces descended upon them. The run for the beam to take them up to the Citadel had been truly horrific. Death and destruction as far as the eye could see. Harbinger itself rained death down upon them as they ran.
Somehow, Shepard had made it to the beam. Was it sheer luck? An act of God? Who knows. But what she did know was that she was dying. Adrenaline was the only thing keeping her upright as she listened to the Intelligence map out her options. It had revealed itself to her as she struggled to the console to see why the Crucible wasn't firing. Anderson's dead body lay behind, her friend and her mentor. Shepard had been ready to sit by him and wait for the warm hands of death to take her.
But apparently her part in all of this was not over yet.
The ethereal form of the Catalyst looked to her, waiting for an answer. For some reason, she perceived it as the little boy who she had failed to save as she escaped Earth on the Normandy. She wasn't sure if it was meant to be comforting, or if it was playing a cruel joke on her.
She had to make a decision. And fast. Pain wracked throughout her body. Everything hurt. She couldn't even pinpoint exactly what was wrong. Her armour had been smashed to pieces and she was bleeding everywhere. Her breathing was becoming shallower and her head swam.
Death was beckoning her towards its warm embrace.
And she was afraid. Not of dying, but for the galaxy shattering decision that she now had to make. It was all down to her now. Three options had been laid out in a calculated and emotionless finality. None of which Shepard wanted to take. How could it come down to this? After everything she had been through how could it come down to these three options? She wanted to scream and attack the form in front of her. Demand another option, one where she could save everyone and the galaxy could go back to the way it was before it had even heard of the Reapers.
But there was no easy solution. There never was. Every action had a consequence. And whatever happened was on her. The weight of trillions of lives was on her shoulders.
Shepard didn't know what to do.
Control, Synthesis or Destroy.
She looked down then and saw the blood pooling at her feet and felt the last remaining strength in her fade away. A decision had to be made, and it had to be made now.
The figure in front of her spoke, but she couldn't hear the words. A strange fog had descended over her senses. She felt like she was trapped inside of herself as a veil draped itself around her.
Now, now was the time.
With a supreme effort, Shepard forced her broken body forwards. At first she didn't think her legs were going to work, but as if out of nowhere they guided her towards her goal, her choice made. Hopefully the lesser of three evils.
She stumbled past the Intelligence and it looked at her with its cold stare as she resigned herself to her fate.
Her destination wasn't far, but every step she took felt like she was dragging her feet through mud. A slime that crawled up her body attempting to drag her down the closer she got.
Shepard had never fought so hard in her life. Just a few more steps, one foot in front of the other, keep on going. Just a little further.
Halfway up the ramp however, her legs finally gave way. On her hands and knees, the temptation to just lay down right there and go to sleep was so strong. Her body screamed at her. It had had enough, was begging for the sweet relief of death. And for a moment she almost gave in to it. But then the realisation that if she did that, everything around her would burn. It wouldn't just be her that would die. The galaxy would be lost because she lacked the strength to stumble a few more steps.
Her brain screamed at her limbs to move, just a little bit further. But they ignored her. Instead they collapsed beneath her and Shepard found herself laying sprawled on the floor. Tears sprung up in her eyes as she realised that she had failed. The Cycle would continue and the Reapers would win because at the moment of victory, Commander Shepard was not strong enough to finish it.
Shepard didn't know how long she lay there as she felt everything closing in around her.
A light appeared in front of her. So this was the end then. Funny, there wasn't a light the last time she had died. She remembered a darkness. Not cold, but warm and comforting as it took her away from mortal life. However this time, it was a blinding light.
Shepard squinted her eyes as she thought she saw something moving within the brightness. What was it? It glowed like the sun and she felt a comfortable heat envelop her. It was strangely familiar. It made her think of happier times. Confusion rolled through her as she lowered her head and stared at her bloodied hands.
All of a sudden it felt like a hand had been placed on her shoulder. Shepard looked up in shock as her mind reeled at the unexpected contact. What she saw then surprised her so much, she forgot to feel the pain wracking through her body. Kaidan Alenko was kneeling in front of her, the light a halo around him. Was he real? Was this a hallucination?
Did it matter?
Kaidan smiled down at her and held out his other hand. He spoke, but it sounded inside her own head and had a strange ethereal quality to it. You can do this Shepard, I believe in you.
Tears slipped down her face as she looked into his warm brown eyes and realised that this would be the last time she would ever see him. Sadness crashed over her. Even if he was a figment of her addled brain, she didn't want to let go of this. If she could have stayed there enveloped in his warm glow for an eternity, she would have.
The time had come. Somehow, Shepard just knew he was still alive. She couldn't pin point how she knew, she just did. And for him to survive, she had to finish this.
Her resolve strengthened and a new found adrenaline spread through her broken body. Holding out her hand, the light lifted Shepard up to a standing position. This time she wasted no time in her journey forward. Determination pushed her onwards. The light stayed with her, urging her on.
The device was within hands reach now. Shepard hesitated. She could still feel Kaidan's presence beside her. It was silent, but comforting. She thought back on her life. Family, friends, the mission, and finally rested on Kaidan. Looking to her right, she thought she could still see him standing there with a sad smile on his face. The end had come.
Shepard reached for the device that would enable her to control the Reapers and as she did so, the light that had been standing off to the side, completely enveloped her in a warm embrace. For a moment she swore that she could smell Kaidan. It was just like when he would wrap her up in his arms and she would sink into him, relaxing into the safety that only he could provide. Whenever they were together, she felt like she was home.
Shepard kept the memory of Kaidan with her as she grabbed the controls. She felt everything vibrate violently around her as the Crucible was activated. A few seconds was all it took. A warmth spread throughout her as the pain vanished and her body ceased to be, a billion particles floating in the air. Shepard's physical form died, but her consciousness would live on forever as she melded with the Intelligence and became one with the Reapers.
The war was over.