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Part of Shepard would have liked to have enjoyed the experience of sinking into the depths of an unexplored ocean … but the rest of her was tense, watching the system readouts and staring into the darkness around her looking for any sign of Leviathan.

Eventually the mech hit bottom, a surprisingly soft landing considering how far down she had come.

She hit her comm, hoping it would work but not actually believing it would. "Not sure if you can read me up there. Looks like I've finished the major descent. Can't see much from here. Shutting down all noncritical systems to preserve remaining power." She couldn't afford for the mech to run out of juice before she had accomplished her task, and she had no idea how much charge would be needed for the emergency thrusters to get her back to the surface.

Ahead of her, she could see the blinking light of the probe they had sent ahead. Something was there, according to the readings. Something—it had to be Leviathan. It had to be. Nothing else was acceptable.

And then, in front of her, just as she was reaching the edge of a massive underwater ravine, she saw bubbles, as if something was breathing down here. They were rising, and behind them came a massive creature, bigger than a Reaper, unless her vision was distorted by the water.

It spoke in her mind, somehow, and her pulse leaped even as she gave a sigh of relief. It was Leviathan. She had found him.

"You have come too far," he said to her.

"I had to find you."

"This is not your domain. You have breached the darkness."

"You killed a Reaper. I need to know why. And how."

"They are the enemy," Leviathan said simply. "One that seeks our extermination."

"But … I thought you were a Reaper."

"They are only echoes. We existed long before."

"Then what are you?" Shepard asked, straining to see him better in the dim light. She had to know.

"Something more."

And then somehow she was standing outside the mech, on some kind of flat surface, the water gone. Disoriented, she fell onto her hands and knees.

A familiar voice spoke in front of her. "Your mind belongs to me."

Shepard looked up, frowning in confusion as she recognized Ann Bryson. "Ann?"

"Your memories give voice to our words. Your nature will be revealed to us."

As she got to her feet, Shepard realized that somehow this was a projection into her mind, that her body was still inside the mech, but Leviathan was speaking to her here as Ann Bryson in order to be understood. Later, she would resent the unasked intrusion into her mind. Now she leapt at the chance to communicate with this creature. "The galaxy is at war with the Reapers. You defeated one. Why aren't you fighting back?" she asked urgently.

"There is no war," Leviathan in Ann Bryson's form told her. "There is only the harvest."

"Then help us to stop it!"

"None have possessed the strength in past cycles. Your own species could be destroyed with a single thought." Leviathan studied Shepard intently. "But you are different. I have witnessed your actions in this cycle: the destruction of Sovereign; the fall of the Collectors. The Reapers perceive you as a threat."

It was disconcerting to know that this being she had never heard of before had been watching her from its watery hiding place. "Then you know I can do this! With your help, I can defeat the Reapers."

"No."

"Then tell me why not!"

Leviathan nodded. "Before the cycles, our kind was the apex of life in the galaxy. The lesser species were in our thrall, serving our needs. We grew more powerful, and they were cared for. But we could not protect them from themselves. Over time, other species built machines that then destroyed them. Tribute does not flow from a dead race."

Shepard blinked in surprise. This had all been over payment? All this time, all the souls dead, cycle after cycle? Later, she would be enraged by this. For now, she still had to know how to get Leviathan on her side.

"To solve this problem," Leviathan went on, "we created an intelligence with the mandate to preserve life at any cost. As the intelligence evolved, it studied the development of civilizations. Its understanding grew until it found a solution. In that instant … it betrayed us."

"How?"

"It chose our kind as the first harvest. From our essence, the first Reaper was created. You call it Harbinger."

"From your essence?"

"Yes. Each harvest ends with the birth of a Reaper. Perfect in its design. Each formed in Harbinger's image; in our image."

Shepard remembered with horror the gray sludge that had once been human beings flowing into the Reaper under construction at the Collector base. Every Reaper was the essence of what had once been a civilization. The thought sickened her. "But why?" she asked. "I thought the intelligence was meant to preserve life."

"It does," Leviathan told her. "It preserves organic life as it develops, in the form of a Reaper. As organic life continues to develop and evolve, the harvests will continue."

"How have you remained hidden all this time?"

"Our extermination was not complete. Some survived and found refuge in the dark corners of the galaxy. I am their progeny. Today, we reach out through the fragments and watch for discovery."

The artifacts, Shepard realized. That was how Leviathan remained aware of what was happening in the galaxy. "What do you know about the Crucible?" she asked.

The eyes of Ann Bryson, as used by Leviathan, dropped before Shepard's gaze. Without looking at Shepard, Leviathan answered, "We have watched its construction before. It has never been completed."

"Do you know what the Catalyst is?"

"No."

Shepard stepped closer to the image of Ann Bryson. "Will you help me stop the cycle?"

"I have searched your mind. You are an anomaly," Leviathan told her. "But that is not enough." It turned away as if to go, and Shepard reached for it.

"Wait!"

"The cycle will continue," Leviathan said emotionlessly.

"No! It doesn't have to be that way. You said you've been watching me; you know this cycle is different. You know I can end this—but I need your help!"

"We will survive. You will remain here as a servant to our needs. The Reapers will harvest the rest."

"I am no good to anyone here serving your needs. You know that. But if you release me, no one else has to be harvested."

Leviathan hesitated, and Shepard pressed her advantage.

"The Reapers know where you are. You can't just watch anymore—you have to pick a side. Help me! Fight with me. Let's stop them together. We have a chance to end this once and for all."

Suddenly Leviathan was gone, and Shepard stood alone. She felt sick. Had she lost? Had she failed to convince him of what was possible?

And then he was back, still in the shape of Ann Bryson, studying Shepard's face closely. "Your confidence is singular."

"I've earned it out there fighting, where you should be," Shepard said hotly, the anger and adrenaline still pounding through her body.

"It is clear why the Reapers perceive you as a threat," Leviathan agreed. "Your victories are more than a product of chance." It nodded. "We will fight. But not for you, or any lesser race. We were the first, the apex race. We will survive."

Shepard didn't frankly care who Leviathan fought for, as long as it fought on her side.

She found herself suddenly back inside the mech. Leviathan had disappeared from in front of her. Shepard's vision was dim; the oxygen in the mech was failing. With the last of her consciousness, she hit the emergency thrusters and felt the mech beginning to rise.

And then everything went black.