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No Shepard without Vakarian
Shepard feels a presence around her. Her cautious nature causes her to try to sense who or what it was. The presence was warm, welcoming. She felt safe and at peace. When she opens her eyes, she sees a shape at her feet. Everything around her is white. It is almost a blinding whiteness, but somehow it is comforting. When her eyes adjust, she recognizes the shape as a man; a man she knows.
"Kaiden?" Shepard finds her voice.
"Hello, Commander." He says with a smile. It was that half-smile he always wore when he would laugh or when he was happy. As Shepard began to take in her surroundings, she noticed more silhouettes of people surrounding her. One-by-one, they came into view; Legion, EDI, Admiral Anderson, Thane, Nyreen, Mordin, Jenkins, Benezia, The Illusive Man, and Saren. A slight smile appears on Shepard's face as the people of her past appear to her. Her face then turns to a confused one.
"Am I…dead?" she asks. Thane steps forward and speaks.
"Not dead, Siha; you are in a place in-between."
Shepard pauses. She doesn't exactly know what to say. She tries to recall the events that got her here, but she can't quite picture it.
"I remember leaving Garrus and Liara behind on the Normandy. I remember going to the Citadel and waiting for the Crucible to activate and then…then it's all a blur. What happened to me?"
Anderson steps forward, "You were given a choice; to control the Reapers, to merge with the Crucible, or to destroy all synthetics. You chose the latter of the three."
Shepard looks apologetically to EDI and Legion, "I'm sorry…to both of you. I was being selfish…"
Legion shakes his head, "Shepard Commander. Your decision was correct. We can always be rebuilt. There is always a solution."
"I would have chosen the same, Shepard. You had a promise to keep." EDI says with a smile, "Besides, I am still a part of the Normandy and I still live within its machinery. And some day, I will have a body again. I would not have wanted to live in a world without you in it, Shepard."
Shepard stands slowly, EDI helping her. Mordin stands before her now, smiling as he always did.
"Did good, Shepard. Difficult decision, would have done the same."
"Thanks, Mordin." Shepard replies.
Admiral Anderson puts a hand on Shepard's shoulder, "You did good, kid, made me proud."
"Thank you, Admiral. I just wish you could've been there to see it."
"I was. Just not the way you'd have preferred." He smiles, "I was with you the entire time. You looked like you needed some strength."
"We were all there with you, Commander." Benezia says, "Even those who are still on the Normandy. They were with you in spirit, as were we."
"Lent our strength when you needed it most. Could not let you fall." Mordin inhales, "Would not let you fall."
Suddenly, Shepard hears voices in the distance. It sounds muffled and muted; as if she was listening from underwater.
"It's time to go, Shepard." Anderson says. The people around her look off into the distance. Shepard can see a light as she joins their gaze. It is dim, but she feels deep within her that she must go to it. However, she is hesitant. Mordin takes her hand.
"Still have those vids I sent to you about Turian mating?"
Shepard raises an eyebrow, "Yes, Mordin."
"Excellent! Will need them."
"I miss you, you crazy doctor."
"I as well, Shepard."
Shepard slowly walks toward the light, Saren and the Illusive Man nodding to her as she passes. When she turns back, the people from her past smile at her, encouraging her to keep going.
"They're waiting for you, Shepard." EDI says, "go to them."
Shepard smiles and turns back to the light, walking into it as those behind her disappear. As she gets deeper into the light, the voices grow louder and louder and suddenly, her body begins to ache…
