The run back to the Normandy was exhausting. Harbinger's army appeared at every corner.
"Human, you've changed nothing." Harbinger roared as a flock of Seeker Swarms moved in their direction. Shepard turned around and fired at the Seeker Swarms while Miranda and Tali ran towards the Normandy. Joker waited for them, holding on to an M-8 Avenger in one hand and waving down the Commander and his team with the other hand.
"Over here Commander. Hurry! I have you covered."
Shepard and his team ran towards the main airlock.
"Shepard we need to jump!" Tali screamed.
"So jump Tali!" Shepard yelled back. "I'll lay down some cover fire for you and Miranda but you both need to jump now!"
Both Miranda and Tali did as they told. Shepard laid down some cover fire as they jumped towards the Normandy. He knew that they were running out of time. The bomb would go off at any moment. He had to leave.
"Commander, I'll provide some cover fire but you need to jump now!" Joker said.
So he jumped. He didn't know if he was going to make it. All he could do was hope that he would land in one piece but he did. He padded Joker on the shoulder.
"Get us out of here Joker!"
"Aye, Aye commander."
Shepard took a moment to catch his breath. He couldn't believe that he had made it out alive from that and that everyone on his team survive. He was just thankful that everything went according to plan.
"We made it to a mass relay, Commander. Any particular place you want to go?" Joker said as he drank water from a mug. He noticed Shepard staring at him and shrugged his shoulders. "What? We ran out of clean wine glasses." Shepard simply smiled. He was greatly for each crew mate. He couldn't have done this without them.
"Commander, the Illusive man would like a word with you down in the debriefing room."
Shepard sighed and stood up. "Thank you EDI. I'll be there in a moment."
Shepard headed over to the armory first. The armor felt heavy on his shoulder. Every step felt as if he was walking in snow. It reminded him of his days back on earth. The cold nights and brutal mornings. Moving from one foster home to another. He thought about his parents, thought about the many conversation they never had. He missed them. He placed his armor on the table and walked over to the debriefing room.
"Strength for Cerberus is strength for every human. Cerberus is humanity." The Illusive man said, waving his arms in the air. He moved towards Shepard, almost forgetting that Shepard was simply a hologram, someone who wasn't there.
"I'm not looking for your approval. Harbinger is coming with an army and we need to be ready. So from now on, I'm doing things my way, whether you agree or not."
Shepard started to turn. The Illusive man took one step forward.
"Don't you turn your back on me, Shepard. I brought you back from the dead."
"Joker, lose this channel."
And with that, Shepard walked away from the Illusive man and from Cerberus. He smiled and headed to the elevator. It finally felt good to cut all ties with both parties. He headed down to the cargo bay. His crew were all waiting for him.