Bioware owns all.

Author's Note: OK here it is. Like a lot of people i found the Mass Effect 3 ending lacking. It really wasn't the Catalyst itself but more that all those decisions you made through the first three games ended up not mattering at all. I was one of those people who saved my copies of Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 in case i had to replay them to get that ultra hard "perfect" ending. Needless to say i was dissappointed. Out of the dissappointment came an idea, a what if, if you will. This is my very humble idea of what if. I hope you all like it and this chapter more than any i would like to hear what you think. If you enjoy this story take a couple seconds and tell me what you like or what you think doesn't work.


Space looks much different from Shepard's perspective now. He always found a calmness when looking out over the empty vastness. Now he sees how it works, the patterns hidden away within the chaos.

He sits on the floor looking out the window in Liara's bedroom. A slight chill runs through him as he sits in his boxer briefs. Looking over at her asleep in her bed, he feels so conflicted about everything that has been going on.

He knows she saved him. The moment he left his body after getting spaced it was like he was becoming less human. The longer and further he traveled the less he could think in human terms. He didn't doubt for a second if she hadn't lead him back to his body that he would have done things even worse than what he did. He can feel the very essence of the galaxy around him. He knows that if he desired it that it would bend to his will. No being should have that power, and he is scared. That, though, is a small fear compared to what his human emotions are going through. He's always cared for Liara, but he isn't sure if what they did last night was a side effect of the healing and their meld or if he is ready to move on with her.

It's only been a few months since Ash passed; shouldn't he be sitting in a rocking chair on some back porch somewhere missing his wife? Not millions of miles away and for sure not sleeping with another woman so soon. Does he really want to start another relationship, or is he just afraid to go through this alone?

"Mmmm, Good morning."

He looks over at Liara sitting up on her elbow looking down at him. She looks beautiful laying there. Her full, firm breasts highlighting her youthful figure. Her sparkling blue eyes look over at him sleepily. He looks away from her nakedness. Color rises in his face, and he stares hard down at the floor.

"Good morning." He answers her. He hears her moving in the bed and he glances over at her to see her sitting up looking at him. He looks away again, and she sighs and leans over to pull a shirt over her head.

He feels her walk up behind him, her fingers barely tracing along his shoulder as she walks past him toward the common area. Her touch draws his attention, and he watches as she walks out through the doors toward the common area. The shirt she put on came just below her butt, and Shepard was grateful she got dressed. Knowing they were about to meld, he really didn't want to deal with what happened last night quite yet.

A few minutes later she comes back with two steaming cups. Leaning down she hands him the cup of coffee. After he takes it, she moves next to him and sits down looking out through the window as well. Taking a sip of her drink she reads what he has been thinking about perfectly.

"Doesn't look quite the same anymore, does it?"

"No. It sure doesn't." He replies.

"We can't just run away from all this can we? Seems to me we have done enough for this galaxy already." Liara tells him as they slowly empty their drinks.

"I don't think we could if we wanted. No. We need to find out what's going on anyway we can. Why do you think we can learn anything new by doing a meld now?" Shepard asks her.

"When I touched your mind at the citadel it was so much deeper and more complex than the other times we've melded. I think the secret will be to keep you grounded in your body while we try expanding your mind into what it was then." Liara answers him.

"And what if the answers we find aren't good ones?" He asks her, his voice quieting not wanting to vocalize his fear.

"Then we change them. Nothing is ever set in stone." She answers her voice showing her determination.

He smiles at her looking down into mug. "I guess we shouldn't put this off any longer."

He sets his mug down next to them, and she does the same. Turning to face her he reaches out and takes her hands in his. "Lets do it." He tells her.

Changing positions to face him, she squeezes his hands tightly in hers, her black eyes reflected in his. "Embrace Eternity."

They find themselves looking inward through Shepard's memories.

"This isn't all of them. You need to expand your mind. Stop thinking in terms of your humanity. Embrace what you have become. Try reaching out toward that void that's always on the edge of your conscience." Liara tells him in his mind.

He stills his mind, remembering what it was like right before he gave up after being spaced. He closes his senses even like this. Calmness envelops him, and he reaches out past his organic existence. The rush of power shocks both of them and the scenery in their meld seems to from two dimensional to three. His breath of understanding expands beyond where their minds could reach. He feels as if the very fabric of being is there for him to understand. He's immediately lost in the implications.

"Don't let the vastness of it intimidate you. These are memories just like the ones we've seen before. Here let me show you."

He watches as Liara plucks one of the "stars" from the galaxy background that makes up his mind. Bringing it to the forefront of his mind she replays it while they watch.

They watch as the old citadel comes into view. There are no asari or salarians though, the occupants are mostly Prothean with the occasional species that they don't recognize. They hear them arguing as what appears to be a battle rages outside their room. They talk of a trap and the overwhelming force of the invaders. The Prothean's decide to throw the lesser races at the invaders to try and buy them time to build a counter attack. They watch helplessly as the reapers break through the door and slaughter the council at their seats.

Liara breaks contact with the memory and lets it fall back into its place among all the other stars.

"That was the beginning of the Prothean harvest. We need to go back way further than that." Liara tells him.

"Why do I have a memory of the Prothean harvest?" He asks her.

"I think they were implanted during your stay on the citadel. What I need you to do is think of the furthest spot in your mind from where we are right now. When an older asari wants to bring up a really old memory she travels all the way back to her first one and works forward from there. I want you to do the same thing. Just picture in your mind your earliest memory, and it should come to the forefront."

He does what she suggests. Trying to picture the vastness of the millennia of memories he has, he simply asks his mind to bring up the first imprint, and immediately its right in front of them.

"Well that was easy." He tells her.

He can feel her smile through the meld as she brings up the next memory.

"How goes the experiments, Doctor?"

Shepard and Liara watch as two Leviathans watch a couple of people from other races move around what can only be described as a Lab. Your standard lab equipment litters the desks and tables in the room. They watch the scene through the eyes of one of the Leviathans. As the hulking beasts swim silently behind what could only be a two way mirror obscuring their presence from the smaller race working within the lab. The body in which they reside answers.

"None of the subjects have been found worthy and have had to be put down. Their limited mental capacity has made the perfection process a trial in futility. Their mind either breaks completely from the process, or they become disconnected with the beings around them with their new found powers. I've tried every thrall species I've been able to get. Male, female, child, adult, genius, and uneducated they all break under the stress of the transformation."

"The Hierarchy is getting inpatient with your lack of results. They continue to destroy themselves as fast as we can uplift them. Their quest to make things easier always ends with their own destruction. What am I suppose to take to Hierarchy?"

"We have come up with another solution. Myself and some of the other scientists have been in talks about creating an artificial intelligence built solely for finding the answer to this problem. While I don't think we should give up hope on the Perfection project just yet, it will give you some alternative ideas to present to the hierarchy."

"Have you come up with a blue print for this Intelligence?"

"We have. I will have it forwarded to your account. Get them to give me more time, and I will get you the results I promised. I know the right candidate is out there somewhere."

"I will present your findings as I always do, but time is running out."

The scene fades to black and Shepard and Liara are quiet for a couple minutes as they process what they have just seen. Liara is the first to break the silence.

"Do you have any idea what they were talking about?"

"The catalyst was the intelligence they mentioned. I have never heard of the perfection project, but Harbinger did mention what I went through was one of the first forms of Ascension. It could very well be what they are talking about. I think we should keep going and see if we can find out more concrete answers.

Liara nods her agreement, and she picks out the next memory and plays it.

The same setting comes into view. They feel the panic and impatience of the being in which they reside. It turns to see the same Leviathan swimming up to it.

"Time is up, Doctor. The hierarchy has decided to go forward with the Intelligence."

"You're making a grave mistake. There is no way we can predict what the Intelligence will decide once its given the processing power that is required to run it."

"You have been given countless generations to try to make your Perfection work. Maybe it's time to accept that no living being alone can handle such intelligence and power. Tribute does not flow from death races, Doctor. Make your final calculations, and have them ready for me by the morning."

They feel its frustration boiling under the surface, but it does what its told.

The scene fades to black and Shepard answers the question he feels on Liara's mind.

"That is what the Leviathan told me during the reaper war. They created the AI to come up with a solution to why everyone creates AI. It was the very essence of stupidity."

"So what does all this have to do with you? I mean, why implant all this in your head?"

"Think about what it said. No being has been able to handle the intelligence and power. You witnessed my attack on the citadel. I was as lost as I could be. My mind was broken and it would have stayed that way without you. Evidence is building that I was put through this Perfection project they were speaking of."

He feels her anger and uncertainty in her mind. He stays quiet while she works though her emotions.

"There has got to be a point to all this. I'm going to bring up the next memory."

Shepard nods his consent to her in his mind and prepares himself for whatever else can be thrown at him.

They find themselves back inside the head of the Leviathan. It's mentally communicating with a virtual interface.

"The solution has been found Doctor. It is too late to change it."

"I don't want you to change it. I just want to add a secondary objective. Set the cycles to these intercepting instances. Evolution must follow along certain patterns to ensure we can find the one who will be able to put an end to the cycles. It won't affect your objective, and it will make it possible for the cycles to end once the candidate is found."

"How do you suggest we monitor this secondary objective?"

"We create a trap. A station built in the center of the galaxy that will become the seat for each cycle. We will upload your programming into the mainframe there and use that as the start of each cycle. We will be able to monitor all digital communications from that spot and use it for our search.

"And how will you ensure the final stage of your Perfection project is completed? According to your programming, I will already have been shut down."

"By offering myself as the first Leviathan in your new solution."

"You would do that even though it will mean the end of your existence as you know it?"

"Yes. This is my project. It is my responsibility to ensure it is completed. I will be the Harbinger of its perfection."

"As you wish, Harbinger."

Memory record viewing, verified. Starting final visual interface. Interface loaded, uploading data files.

Shepard feels Liara's confusion matches his own. They both struggle to come to grips with the information they were given as the data files load. In a couple minutes another memory plays of its own accord.

A bright flash and Shepard finds himself in a very familiar room being approached by a very familiar small child.

Liara walks up beside him and she reaches for his hand. He takes it and squeezes it in a show of support. They both turn toward the Catalyst.

"You."

"Shepard, glad to see you made it. We took a great gamble with you."

"Enough games. If this is a memory then why are you still in that form?" Shepard asks.

"This was the form you gave me. From what I could gleam from your memories you wished to believe what I said. So, your mind gave me a form that you would pity and naturally believe."

"What do you mean my mind? You brought me to you, not the other way around."

"You still don't understand. This room and everything in it is all a product of your imagination. Your mind's struggle to put substance to something that has none. You witnessed the same thing when you interfaced with the geth consensus. Their process is just less refined than ours."

"Then what was all this? I don't understand."

"It was a test."

"Why bring me up here just to test me? That makes no sense."

"Again you misunderstand. This is not the test. Your very existence is the test."

"What do you mean? I don't understand."

"Think about it. You know already that each cycle followed guidelines that we set. Situations that would most likely lead to a suitable candidate, from the time you were born until now you have been tested."

"Are you telling me that all the cycles, all that death and destruction was all so you could find a singular candidate?"

"Don't act like the outcome would have been different if we didn't. Your own history proves Organic civilizations thrive only on destruction. It took the death of half the world before you even learned to wash your hands. Another half had to die because one mad man thought he should decide who deserves to live and who deserves to die. And the rest of your galaxy isn't any better, look at the Turians, they tried destroying themselves countless times before they became part of a larger picture, and even then when someone new challenged them they were ready to face destruction again at the hands of your species. The Krogan would still destroy themselves the minute you let them. Do you think the Salarians would survive their own intelligence if left to their own devises? No. The solution was necessary until we could ensure that a being existed capable of surviving the process."

"So you're saying from the very beginning you watched my progress?" Shepard asks.

"We were aware of your existence, but we didn't take a hands on approach until you were presented to us as a SPECTER candidate."

"What do you mean a 'hands on' approach?" Liara asks.

"Think about it, Liara T'Soni. Saren was our agent. He did what we wanted him to do. At anytime he could have activated me and sent the reapers through the relay. Do you really think we didn't know of the Prothean's sabotage. We looked into your background and the background of your species, and we found you worthy of testing."

"What tests?" Shepard asks anger in his voice.

"Everything that happened from the time you left the citadel until now has been a test. We gave you the tools you would need and sat back to watch if you could succeed where everyone else had failed."

"What tools?" Shepard can barely contain his emotions.

"First, you would need someone who could help with your species limited mental capacity. The perfect candidate was already within our grasp. We simply had to let you acquire her."

"Your talking about me, aren't you?" Liara asks.

"Of course. A young idealistic asari with limited experience and a fanatical side when she sets her mind to something. You would be his greatest asset. When everyone else would give up hope you would be the one who wouldn't. Your blind love for him would keep you by his side even if he chose someone else." The catalyst explains.

"Wait. You let me acquire her?" Shepard interjects.

"Of course. Her mother was our thrall. All we had to do was have her send a message that she wanted to talk to her about her father, and she would have been indoctrinated just like her mother."

Shepard hears Liara gasp, and he squeezes her hand in support.

"And everything else?"

"Power is not enough to rule. To find you truly worthy we had to test your decision making. You failed your first test on Novaria with the Rachni queen. Letting an enemy have such a powerful weapon will lead to your downfall but you didn't have all the information at your disposal yet. You could not be sure it was truly us who commanded them. So, we decided to give you another chance to correct your mistake. You did when you destroyed them and saved the Krogan. You passed the Feros test by getting the cypher and trying to save the colonists and the asari Shiala. Even now, she is a powerful weapon for you and your offspring. Your choice between Ashley Williams and Kaiden Alenko was not our doing, but we were disappointed when you chose the one you loved over the one you were supposed to save according to your own rules. But when you walked away from her on Horizon and put the good of the galaxy in front of your own personal happiness, you passed that test as well. It wasn't until the battle for the citadel that we truly took an interest. We pitted you against your toughest odds and against your toughest opponent, and you talked someone indoctrinated into killing himself. That had never happened before. Also, you defeated him when he was updated with reaper tech. Your sacrifice of your own people for the galaxy and the council who would be no ally to you would come back to pay dividends when it truly mattered.

We decided a more personal test was required. Harbinger put the collectors on your path, and we sat back to watch. Liara again came through for you, traveling the galaxy looking for you and losing friends along the way. When even your mate had betrayed you, she was ever your protector. We wanted to test your ability to inspire trust so we took away all your connections and friends. We used our agent to rebuild you and gave you nothing but a ship and your abilities to do something no one had ever done. You achieved it and didn't lose a single person along the way. When faced with the most important question, whether to give the base back to us or not, you saw through our guise and destroyed it.

Then, we tested your ability to lead against a war that couldn't be won. You united a galaxy at war in the matter of months. Krogan and Turian, Geth and Quarian, Asari and Salarian all working together of their own free will. The Protheans were not worthy because they made the same mistake the Leviathans did. When you enslave, you stump evolutionary growth. You made everyone realize they were stronger following you than they would be on their own.

So after all that, we figured the last thing to test was your personal desire for power. So we created this room and those three choices. What would you choose when faced with the possibility of unlimited power at the cost of your own soul? Would you be able to enact a galactic change on all living organisms in the name of the greater good, or would you choose the reset button and let the galaxy find its own way? When you decided you didn't want the power and you weren't qualified to make that decision, you passed the second to last test.

Of course, Chaos was never the third choice, and the other two would have never happened since we would have just killed you and continued the cycles. Since you didn't want the power or the ability to change, you were deemed worthy of both. I put you through Perfection. Once the process was complete, we waited and gathered our strength for the final test. We allowed you a hundred years of peace while we pitted your friends against you.

Now the final test starts. Harbinger has gathered his strength. He is the greatest weapon ever created, and he is waiting for you alone. We have subverted your allies and gathered your enemies into one force. The test is simple, save the galaxy and prove yourself perfect. If you defeat him, you will be solely responsible for the safety of the galaxy as was intended all those millennia ago. If you lose all life will be destroyed, and your essence be used to create the next reaper."

With that final sentence the room they were standing in faded back into nothingness. Both Liara and Shepard stood quietly in the corners of their minds. Shepard processing all the information he was just given while Liara swore to stand by this man's side no matter what the outcome. If he was to be the first essence used in a new reaper, hers would be the second. No more trickery or continued fighting. She would live or die next to this man who was greater than anyone else in the history of all things.

"Now what?" She asks him.

"I think it's time I meet my maker." Shepard answers her as he breaks the meld.