Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach and Mass Effect! They belong to their respective owners.

This chaptere was proofread by Zanthraxone! My thanks!

'Ah, a salarian.' - thought

"I am Krooogan!" - speech

Part 1. Third time is the charm

She was dying again. For the second time by the hand of a man she worked for. Of course there were few minor differences. This time she was cut down by Aizen's soul cutter. It bloody hurt. Well at least this time there was a reasonable chance to avoid the apocalypse. She believed that the Kurosaki kid had it in himself to put down the traitorous captain. And even if the hybrid failed, there was no guarantee that Aizen would be able to defeat the so called Spirit King. Or was it Soul King? She winced in agony. The pain and blood loss were making it hard to think. Not that it mattered. In both her lives she had seen more than enough combat wounds to know that she was already dead and she was holding on only because of sheer pig-headed disposition and the sliver of Reiatsu left in her brutalized body. No amount of instant regeneration or medi-gel (if it would have worked on an espada) would be able to save her in her current condition. The only surprise was that somehow she was still conscious. Score one for arrancar resilience - the destroyed spine, sliced right lung and collapsed left, with most of her internal organs half-liquefied and her rib-cage shattered she was still not quite dead. Ironically it was somewhat similar to the first time she died. Suffocating was covered, massive trauma too. This time she decided to pass on being cooked by falling into a planet's atmosphere and the turning into pancake by the impact with the surface. At least this time she was able to put a token fight. It was better than watching helpless how they never sufficiently damned Harper controlled her hand and forced her to shoot her mentor.

Tia lied still, her last heartbeats heavy with the bitter taste of failure. She had three lives, so many chances and in the end it was all for nothing. She couldn't protect her little sister at Mindoir all those years ago. Despite all the awards and publicity, her stand at Elisiym, was again too little too late. At least from her point of view. All the civilians she gathered for the last ditch defense had died. It got worse of course! The fiasco at Eden Prime, being forced to kill the mother of the woman she was failing in love with at Noviera. The death of Kaidan Alenko at Virmire. And her "Crowning" achievement, the battle for the Citadel, where because of her decision thousands of humans died. It got much worse after that. The Collectors. Even now she wasn't sure should she hate or pity them. After her first death and the resurrection at the hands of Cerberus, it looked like as if every decision she made was stained with the blood of the innocents. From the moment of her awakening when the personal of project Lazarus was slaughtered by hacked mechs, to the desperate fight of the combined fleets in a doomed attempt to retake Earth and secure the Citadel. In the end her hands were stained with the blood of millions and for what!? It ended with three bullets shot by an indoctrinated traitor. Jack bloody Harper. The bastard that made sure the last chance of the galaxy was wasted. It was her fault. She wasn't strong enough, was not good enough to make a difference when it mattered the most. And now as the tres espada she was unable to save her fraction, the only precious people she had left.

One last breath. It was almost over. Tia was ready. In the end she prayed for peace. She had done enough, sacrificed everything and had noting else give . With one final heartbeat, Tia Harribel, once known to the galaxy at large as Tia Shepard, the first human Spectre, died for the third time.

Part 2. A restful nap and time for a decision

Tia floated, enveloped by warm, comforting void for what felt like ages. No worries or regrets. No more nightmares about lost friends and comrades. Neither searing images of burning Earth and Palaven, and the fall of Thessia. The first restful slumber she had in thousands of years. She slumbered out of time feeling nothing. The espada was granted a bit of peace.

Yet it did not last. Tia was awoken by soft sunlight, bathing her exposed skin. With soft moan she stretched her long dormant muscles and slowly opened her azure eyes. She was lying on a sinfully comfortable bed. The room looked suspiciously like Liara's bedroom in her apartment on Illium. It had to be a dream. The espada pinched her left arm and felt it. Shepard stood up with a start looking around. This was her lovers home, all right. Minus any traces of the attack by the agents of the Shadow Broker. Tia remembered with barely restrained emotion the day she first visited this place. That bloody damned day. It was the when she was informed by a fellow Spectre, one Tela Vasir, that her lover was killed by agents of the fucking Shadow broker. The fact that, sweet little Liara had managed to decimate more than a platoon of his mercenaries before the bastards managed to took her down, was a little comfort for Tia. She had been nearing a breakdown at the time.

By all rights she should have broken. Being resurrected and thrown into the fire again and again, with no time to recover from the psychological trauma, should have been more than any human could endure. To an outside observer she had done her job by becoming a cold efficient killer who did whatever was needed. Inside her own mind and heart, Tia was a mess. She had thrown herself at her countless enemies seeking oblivion. Needles to say, none of them were up to the task. And the rest was history. Or so she thought.

''She is alive now, you know." said a melodic female voice.

Tia whirled around, faster than human eye can follow. She was crouching in a combat stance ready to pounce at the intruder. For her efforts the espada was frozen in a biotic stasis field. It was a déjà vu, because she stood face to face with Benezia, Liara's mom. And the asari matriarch had incapacitated her once again.

A much healthier looking asari matriarch smiled gently at her. This Benezia was a far cry from the shell of a woman, Shepard had met on Noviera.

"Calm down, child I won't hurt you." Said the asari. With a subtle motion of her hand she dissipated the biotic field and Shepard fell on her backside with indignant "Oww!"

"You are wrong, dear. Tia, you did more than anyone could have asked from you. You did the impossible, again and again."

Still sitting on the floor, Tia sniffed and mumbled:

"It wasn't enough! Everyone died!"

"Perhaps. Yet, right at this moment they aren't. My little wing is now at her office, trying to be a big bad information broker. Earth, Thessia and Palaven are intact. And the Reapers are more than a year away."

Shepard eyes widened. "You can't mean…" she trailed off, her mind spinning, her heartbeat deafening. The meaning of what the blue woman was speaking finally registered. She was somehow back in time. It was the only logical conclusion if the clone of Benezia was speaking the truth. Anderson, almost everybody was alive at this time. And she couldn't sense any trace of deception. Though that only meant that the woman believed herself, not that it was true...

"I'm not lying or delusional, dear. When we are in time at this moment is shortly before you awoke on that dreadful Cerberus station." Benezia said with a soft smile on her face. She continued speaking:

"You have a choice to make. You can pass into oblivion. Or..." the matriarch left the offer unfinished, simply smiling fondly at the human woman in front of her.

"A second chance?" Shepard asked quietly. Part of her wanted nothing more than an opportunity to hold Liara in her arms once again and never let go, no matter the price. But truth to be told she was tired of conflict, sick of deciding who should live and die. 'Ahh, Liara... my blue angel...' In the end it was the easiest decision she ever made. She chose life. What was left in Harribel of the woman, who was Tia Shepard could not miss the hope, however forlorn to stop the Reapers. So she chooses to fight again. There also was her reason to be something more than merely a lethal weapon. And the chance to save her lover from an untimely death. She chose Liara and herself, however selfish it may be considering what was coming.

It was as if a switch was pushed. Benezia grinned widely. Her silent prayers were answered! The wounded woman, hoping for oblivion was gone. In front of the matriarch stood the "living" legend, one of the deadliest beings this galaxy has ever seen, the Reapers included.

"Tia Harribel. The Shepard. A war hero! Spectre! Espada!" Benezia's voice thundered with power, not her own. Tia could sense that the asari was a conduit for raw energy, power so vast making her own great spiritual power pale in comparison. It was like comparing a single candle with the rays of the sun at high noon. She felt an immense sense of warmth and acceptance before a torrent of energy slammed into her and she knew no more.

Part 3. No rest for the wicked

"Rise and shine, dear! Rise and shine!"

Tia's slumber was interrupted by the voice of matriarch Benezia. Shepard shuddered. There was something just wrong in the way the elder asari was speaking to her like she was a little girl. For a really brief moment she entertained the hope that everything that happened to her was just a really nasty and vivid nightmare. Tia opened her eyes and looked around. No joy. Vague familiar med bay. Check. Bloody loud alarms, check. The really irritating Cerberus contestant for queen bitch of the universe, a.k.a. Miranda Lawson, droning on the intercom, yeah you guessed it - check again.

"Couple of point before I leave you to your new life, Shepard." Benezia's tone brook no argument. "You are now a human/arrancar hybrid, stuck in your physical body so take care! You are not as tough as you used to be back in Hueko Mundo. And no, you should not hunt down "Timmy" as you call him, before cleaning the mess with the collectors once and for all!"

That earned the matriarch an indignant pout.

"Can't I blow him up just a little? Just one teeny Cero? Please?" Shepard's attempt to sway Benezia with the ancient "puppy eyes" technique which effect was neutralized by the bloodthirsty smile stretching her lips.

"Nope" Benezia deadpanned. "Don't forget your zanpakuto. It's a bit different. You can't drown reapers after all, no matter how amusing the idea might be. And DO NOT let my daughter get killed again!" the last sentence was screamed with enough force to make Tia fall from the examination table she was sitting on and almost deafened her.

'Damn! and I thought Liara was a screamer!'

"Shepard! Get up!" this time the banshee screech came from Miranda.

'Damn it Miri!' Tia thought.

The resurrected woman got up and went to a nearby storage locker toning out the wail of sirens. If her memory served her right there should be a N7 armor and a pistol in that compartment. Over the locker was a plain katana, sheathed in a metallic scabbard with integrated magnetic clamps.

Shepard broke the old record for getting in an armor. Her drill instructor would be proud, the grizzled old bastard. On her way out she had to avoid an exploding container.

"Seriously what was that bloody thing doing in a med bay?!" she wondered.

Tia left the room only to be shot at by a Loki mech. The disruptor ammo it was packing permitted the grain sized bullets to pass straight through her shields. She was hit in the armor's chest plate which now was the proud bearer of four brand new holes. It hurt a lot, however she was relieved to see that the armor combined with her Hierro were able to stop the projectiles from piercing her skin. 'Note to self - don't get shot with AP ammo'. Tia really wasn't sure if her Hierro would be able to stop such rounds. When you add the little fact that she didn't know how much punishment her body could take now, Shepard would have to act more carefully from now on.

Meanwhile, the mechs where continuing to shoot at her cover. 'Lets see... Shoot it, cut it to pieces or...' Tia leaned out of cover and pointed her index finger at the automaton.

"Bala" she whispered and yellow beam of energy shot from her finger and struck its chest plate. The ensuring explosion scattered metal pieces all over the room. Oh, how she loved explosions! And this was her least powerful Bala!

Smiling wolfishly she stalked forward blowing all mechs in front of her, while trying to remember if there was something valuable between her and Jacob. 'Ah, yes a safe in a room with couple of malfunctioning mechs.' She blew up the said machines and sliced the safe open with her zanpakuto. No need to play safe-cracker this time around!

Tia stashed the credits she just looted in a spare compartment on her armor and frowned. Shepard had used only a couple of dozen Bala's so far, yet she could feel the small drain on her Reiatsu reserves. And it was restoring very slowly. A mere fraction of what it used to be. She'll have to be more careful how she spent her Reiatsu. It could be a long time until it replenish. She grumbled and went forward with katana and pistol in her hands. That was not as fun!

A grenade launcher and few more scrapped automatons later, she found Jacob Taylor, trading gunfire with a little horde of the pesky Lokis. Tia was getting irritated. 'Yeah, that should work' she thought. With a wave of her hand a cero was send across the chasm dividing them from the robots. The explosion obliterated the platform on the other side and left Jacob speechless as an added bonus. That was Reiatsu well spent. Besides if it all went as she remembered, there should be not enough room for such displays on the rest of the station. Not to mention the possibility to vent them in space if she hit the wrong spot.

"Shepard! What the hell was that?" Taylor screamed at her after gathering his wits.

"Umm, a very well-aimed grenade?" she said sheepishly while waving to the grenade launcher strapped to her back. 'Let's not freak him out too much. He's one of the good guys after all.' She really didn't want to explain right now. Not that anyone would have believed her if she told the truth, even if she had any proof beside her abilities.

"That wasn't... The damn launcher never left your waist! And it is not shooting bloody yellow energy rays!" the ex marine exclaimed.

Shepard shrugged her shoulders.

"Advanced bionics?" she said with a small smile.

The Cerberus agent shook his head in exasperation.

"Were you always like this or should I blame Miranda?" he asked.

"She sounds as a fun girl! Can't wait to meet her!" Shepard chirped happily. Truth to be told, once Tia managed to get out the stick stuck into Miranda's ass, Miri had turned out to be a great company.

"Let's get out of this dead trap. Explanations can wait.''

Taylor nodded still a bit rattled. From here on events proceeded more or less as she remembered them. They found Wilson, with his self inflicted wound in the server room. Shepard smiled at him sweetly and kneeled next to him.

"You know, about now there are three people alive on this station, four if Miranda is still up and kicking. "Jacob over there" she pointed at the black man, "had plenty opportunities to shoot me in the back in the last few minutes. And he did not."

Williams gulped. He had a really bad feeling about this...

"Miranda, if she's still with us is the one who awoke me before a Loki could make its way to the med bay and put few rounds in my pretty head. You on the other hand..." Shepard grabbed his hurt leg, gripping his wound and squeezed.

The scientist screamed like a little girl. Jacob whirled around and pointed his shotgun at Tia.

"What the hell Shepard!? Have you lost your fucking mind?"

"Aaargh! What he said! Are you insane woman?!" Wilson added his two cents.

The espada grinned maliciously at her victim and nodded to Taylor.

"We heard the gunshot over the coms. There is no sight of mechs in this room and as you said he has no business here. Considering that there are not many people left alive. " She squeezed again and hissed.

"Talk! Now! Why are you working for!? Why do you want me dead?"

A few seconds of screaming and cursing later, Williams relented:

"Enough! I'll talk! Stop already! It's the Shadow Broker! He's paying a fortune for your body!"

That bastard again. Add another reason to the list why, Tia was going to gut the bastard. Not that she did not have more than enough already.

"Good to know." she growled and grabbed the traitor on the chin. With a sharp, powerful motion of her arm, Tia broke his neck.

"Let's get out of here." she said.

Jacob shook his head at the brutal display and followed Shepard's lead. The Incendiary mods Jacob usually carried on his guns were not as effective against Mechs so he was glad when Tia produced disruptor ammo, which she had looted earlier from the rogue droids. A quick field modification of the pair's weapons later and they made a short work of the remaining Mechs. Soon they were at the doors leading to the shuttle bays. Jacob entered his codes, unlocking it and they almost hit a fatal snag. The door slid into the walls and revealed Miranda who was pointing a pistol between them. The Cerberus optative had come a hair breath from getting his brains blown out. All Shepard saw in the first moment was a gun pointing in her direction and acted, her own pistol whipping in the air. As her index finger was curling around the trigger, the owner of the gun registered. Tia huffed in vexation.

"Miranda! Be careful where you point that toy! I almost shot you by reflex!"

"Shepard!" Miri exclaimed.

Shepard shook her head and started cursing quietly. A shuttle ride with Lawson, who at this period of time was the Cerberus premier cheerleader, and lots of awkward questions. Oh boy, this was not going to be enjoyable. Although, she mussed...' Hmm, yeah might have fun this time'. Her cheerful grin made Miranda cringe.

Miranda Lawson would soon begin to regret not installing control chip in Shepard's head! And that would be before the woman was awake for a day!

AN: I hope that you enjoy this version better! Please review!