"Welcome John," Maikeru said as he turned around to face the once great Commander Shepard, "Do you know why I called you here?" He smiled wickedly, almost playfully so. He jumped backwards, flipping in the air to land on an invisible ledge.
Shepard was surprised at first, but the surprise faded as an invisible shuttle began to appear in front of him. It wasn't until the shuttle had finished decloaking that he realized what it was an exact recreation of Cortez's shuttle, "You were the one who gave me that dream, weren't you?" His eyes narrowed as he focused solely on the boy that had taken his daughter.
For once, Maikeru was speechless, he hadn't had anything to do with a dream. He simply made the shuttle so that he could get a rise out of the Commander. He wondered what the dream meant. Of course to Maikeru this entire thought process took only a few seconds, then he answered, "Yes, the dream was my doing," he hoped that he was a good liar, or else his plan might not work. It was then that he realized that this conversation was deviating from the one he had intended for this meeting.
"Commander Shepard," Maikeru started after a moment, "I do not wish to come to you as an enemy, you have too many of those already. But at this moment, you cannot consider me a friend."
"What are you talking about?" John asked, walking forward and reaching to his hip for a gun. He was obviously angry, anyone could see that.
"You made a mistake long ago, one that cost many people their futures, and many potential people their lives. I've come to offer you the chance to rectify that mistake, but it comes at a price."
It didn't take long for Shepard to figure out what Maikeru was talking about. The mistake was when John destroyed the Reapers, and that meant that Maikeru knew something that he didn't, "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because you didn't kill all the Reapers," Maikeru said quietly, "Or did you think them to be so small minded that they wouldn't expand to other galaxies, create other Citadels, learn from their failure here?"
Maikeru's words were like Knives in John's heart. The reapers weren't destroyed, in fact, they were growing stronger, "The Catalyst was only one of their controllers, only one program designated to this galaxy. There will be a day when the Reapers return to finish what they started, and this time, you won't be able to stop them with the Crucible. That is why I offer you this choice, this one chance to save your galaxy from your mistake."
"What is your offer?" John asked in a stoic voice, not showing any emotion for the deal he would have to make.
"The Reapers had knowledge of Quantum rifts, rips in space and time. I have their knowledge of the technology, and I can make send your mind through time to the point where you made your choice."
"You said there was a price for this, what is it?"
"Your body has to be destroyed in the process," Maikeru answered non-nonchalantly, "Which if this works, is no big deal."
"What do you mean, if it works?"
"Reaper minds are easy to transfer, all they are is data, a human mind on the other hand... Let's just say that if it works, you'll be the first organic life form to make the trip."
"So, there is a risk of this not working at all?"
"It is very possible, but you've never been one to look at the odds and turn away have you?" Maikeru jumped off the shuttle and waited for the doors to open, once they did he walked inside, "I'll give you time to think about it, once you've made your choice, tell your daughter," Maikeru grabbed something from off the seat and gingerly walked back out of the shuttle with the girl in his arms.
"Tila... What did you do to here?" Shepard asked as he took his daughter into his arms, being gentle with the young asari.
"Simply made it possible for her to be a conduit in which we could speak, nothing that would change who she is. At least, I don't think it is."
"You aren't as smart as you lead on, are you?"
"Maybe I'm not as dumb as I appear," Maikeru retorted as he stepped back into the shuttle. The doors closed silently before it once again cloaked itself.
"He is clever though," John said chuckling slightly. As he felt the shuttle fly away, he wondered when the last time he truly laughed was, and couldn't remember when it was.
"Father?" Tila asked as she awoke from the slumber Maikeru put her in, "I had the strangest dream, there was a forest... you were there, and a man. He looked so familiar, but at the same time he was a complete stranger."
"I don't know Tila," John responded quietly to his daughter, falling to his knees slowly as he held her close, "but I will make sure you are safe, no matter what happens."
"I know, you defeated the Reapers for mother and me. You can do anything," Tila wrapped her arms around her father, and embraced him tightly, "May we go home now?"
"Yes, we can," John responded as he stood up and carried her, though it wasn't as easy as he expected. He thought about what Tila had just told him. He didn't defeat the Reapers, he only made them stronger, and if he didn't do something to fix it she would be one of the ones paying the price. He gave her a quick kiss, "Everything is going to be all right, I promise."
Tila could sense something in his words, but couldn't figure out what he was saying. She snuggled into her father's arms, "So, the man said you would make a decision, does that mean that you've made up your mind?"
"It does."