Even before she fully awoke and opened her eyes, Liara's hand was questing out for what she knew she'd find. Barely had it moved than warm fingers were sliding into hers, lifting her hand and holding it as a kiss was pressed against her knuckles.

"Li?"

"Sam," she said, and was surprised at how weak and heavy her voice felt. Her chest was distant and numb, but it felt as if someone sat upon it.

"Shh, don't talk. Try not to move," Sam said gently, her other hand resting with reassuring warmth on Liara's forehead. "You were badly hurt, Li, but you're going to be ok."

Liara managed to crack her eyes open, a thin blur of light all she could see. The light itself seemed so dull and colorless, compared to the memory that was still sharp in her mind.

It was no dream. Whatever happened, it was real…far more real than here, than this reality we are used too.

Yet, at the end of it, just before she was swept away back into the darkness and then waking here, another had been with her on the beach, besides Shepard. Another had appeared-

Alarm filled her, and she blinked rapidly, trying to focus. Her hand trembled as it gripped tighter to Sam's, and she felt something hot slip down her cheek from the corner of her eye as she fought to focus on her bondmate.

"Irie?" she gasped, ignoring the heavy ache it produced to speak. "Irie-?"

"Shh," Sam said. Liara could not yet see her features, just a blurry shape, but she saw the motion as Sam glanced up at someone out of view- possibly a medic- then back down at her. "Irie's ok. Liara, Irie is ok."

"Doctor, it is all right," a new voice said, a new blur appearing in her view. She tried to focus on it instead. By the colors and general shape, it was another asari. "Try and hold still-"

"Irie is all right?" Liara asked thinly. "But-"

"Irie's fine," Sam said again. "She's a little shaken but she's not hurt. She saved your life, Liara."

"She did, though unwisely," the medic said. "She initiated a support connection bond in order to keep your vitals going. She was very lucky…as were you."

Irie was not hurt, but she was on that beach. I saw her there. Is it possible it really all was a dream after all? No. No, I know that is not true. Something about the bond pulled her there, just for a moment…

Then the words really sank in past the fuzz of unconsciousness that still didn't quite want to let go. Irie had initiated a support bond in order to save Liara's life?

Grief again filled her, as well as shock and anger. Irie was her daughter and more, she knew how dangerous such a thing could be without years of proper training. She could have gotten herself killed as well, or could have lost her mind to madness. Liara could face her own death a million times over, but she would not- could not- accept the deaths of any of her children. Most certainly not if it was in exchange for her own life!

"You are…sure she's…"

Every word was still a painful effort, and she felt Sam squeeze her hand again, hushing her.

"Dr. T'Soni, I understand your concern but you really should not speak any more," the medic said. "Your daughter is being evaluated but from what I understand, mentally and physically she is sound. What she did was extremely dangerous but it seems she was lucky. I promise you, you shall be informed of everything, and we will arrange for her to come and visit you so that you can see for yourself she is all right, but please. If you continue to attempt to speak we will have to sedate you again."

Weary and half-awake as it was, Liara managed to give the asari shaped blur a derisive look, but she did not attempt to speak again even though hundreds of questions were spinning through her mind. Was Mel all right? What was that strange device Athena had been using to hurt her? She had not seen Mel in her experience but that did not mean Mel was safe or unharmed. Liara still wasn't sure what to make of what had happened. Every fiber of her felt intrinsically that the experience was real, but the logical mind of a scientist and the terror of getting her heart broken yet again was already trying to make her doubt it.

She felt Sam's lips on her hand again but the drugs and her exhaustion was too much to fight against, especially with all the questions pulling her down further like an anchor. Part of her hoping to find herself back on that beach, she slipped down into quiet sleep.

Eír stood with her hands braced on the console of their small ship, facing away from the shimmering, soft-light hologram standing solemnly behind her. Gau Weeks was a silent statue withdrawn back against his small science station, eyes unblinking. Zyara stood beside her and though she was not touching Eír, she could still feel her bondmate's energy- a low, sad, desperately controlled vibration.

"I am sorry," the turian holograph said in a low voice. Eír did not know Vina well, but what she did know about the woman was that she was highly professional. It was probably closer to her nature to remain professional and silent until the conversation resumed, staying clinically detached. That she had broken that detachment to offer condolences to someone she barely knew, over someone she didn't have the slightest reason to like, spoke volumes.

"What was this device?" Eír heard herself ask. Her eyes were fixed on the console before her, on her own hands gripping its sides. She could see her knuckles flushing a pale blue with the pressure. As she imagined the slightest tremor, she gripped even harder to stop it.

"It is still under examination, but the Pio suggest it is an indoctrination device- the first true form of indoctrination that was developed. A way to control the hive mind of the Jabberwockies for strict obedience."

"Melara is all right?" she asked.

"As far as what happened with that device, she has neither reported nor demonstrated any lingering ill effect."

"Liara?"

"Suffered a very serious wound, however she is now stable and the doctors believe she will fully recover."

Eír closed her eyes as she took in that news, and felt heat run down her cheeks. "This is my fault," she said softly.

When she felt the displaced air of Zyara reaching toward her arm she recoiled as if her bondmate meant to stab her, eyes snapping open to fix on her face in a look of unadulterated fury. "Do not touch me! Do not placate me! This is my fault."

The three were silent, the tension in the air thick. Eír did not dare look at her bondmate again, and after a moment, swiped a hand over her face, collecting herself. "Thank you for letting us know."

Vina inclined her head gently in acknowledgement, then looked at her again. "However, this is not the only reason for my communication," she said softly. "Captain Shepard has requested that you return through the Citadel relay immediately and join us here on Kallini. She also requests that you bring your Cinch, if it is still in your possession."

Eír straightened. "Why is she not making this request personally?"

"She is in contact right now with Alliance Command and the Council. She has not told me specifics but it is my belief she has a theory or a plan to address the incoming Brasa weapon, or dark energy itself. I do not dare speculate, but she was most urgent that you come as quickly as possible, with your Cinch."

Eír slowly nodded. "Then we are on our way," she said. As if at their own volition, her fingers moved out and idly tapped the console, cutting off communication. Vina's form vanished.

"Allowing us back into home space will require opening the Citadel relay," Weeks said. "The Brasa are too close. If they open it to let us and the Fleet back in, they will be offering an open door for that weapon."

"Melara would have considered that," Eír said, already heading to the back of the small CIC. "Inform Grunt and put us on course."

"But we still don't know if-"

"Put us on course, salarian!" Her voice was a furious snarl, a tone she had not taken in decades, if not centuries. Without waiting to see if he obeyed she continued on her path, slipping down the short ladder that lead to the tiny berth on the lower deck that she shared with the Wolf. Striding the length of the room, she then strode back, hands clenching and unclenching as she fought to control herself. Grief and pain won out, however, and halfway back the other way she collapsed down to her knees, letting out a howl of misery before folding forward, sobbing.

Then Zyara was there, as if she had simply materialized in place. The Wolf went down to her knees beside Eír, arms winding around her. Eír twisted and clung to her, her very heart feeling as if it were being torn free from its roots. Zyara held her just as tightly, and Eír could feel the soft shudders passing through her body as well. Feeling Zyara lose hold of her emotional control only seemed to tear at Eír all the more.

They cried until exhaustion would allow no more. Weary, wrung out, drained of all feeling, they lay in the middle of the berth, not even bothering to get up off the floor. Eír's face was buried in her bondmate's chest when she finally spoke.

"It is good that she's gone," she said slowly.

"Eír-"

She lifted her head, looking at Zyara. "No," she said. "It is good that she's gone. Her whole life was suffering. Suffering from this torment that she got from me, and that suffering lead to her hurting too many others. It is my fault-"

"It is Gellian's fault!" Zyara said firmly, her hands catching around Eír's face.

Eír shook her head weakly. "No. I knew what Gellian had done to me. I knew it was genetic, in my very DNA. But I let my ego get the better of me, my need. I foolishly thought that my child would be all right, that she would be different. That love would be enough to-"

Zyara leaned up and kissed her hard, shutting her up before hugging her tightly again. "She was good, too," she said roughly in her ear. "She was good too, and she loved us. She did good too, Eír. Without her, we would not have even known about this. We would not even have this chance. She did horrible things, caused much pain…but she was good, too."

Melara had the tense, hollow-eyed look of someone who had not slept in far too long as she stood before the tiny image of Karina V'Dess. In truth, she had not slept at all since Athena had opened that Fold and gone darting through to the Solver's base- an event that had happened nearly two solar days before.

Within, she did not feel the exhaustion or need for sleep. Every molecule of her body seemed wired up with tension, pure frenetic energy…and there was far too much still to do.

"You are certain of this?" Karina asked. "Once we put this in motion we cannot halt it. We will be committed."

"I am certain of only one thing, Karina," Melara replied. "I am certain this is our only chance, and we have to take it."

"Yes," the Head Councilor agreed with a heavy sigh. "Once again, Mel, this galaxy is putting all its effort, hope, and faith into a Shepard. I know you will not let us down."

Melara heard the door behind her open, and nodded. "I will keep you informed. Shepard out."

She turned to head toward Vina, who stood in the door. Though the turian hardly had to report for Mel to know why she was there, she did so anyway.

"They have landed and are on their way into the meeting room at the monastery."

"Is everyone else assembled?" Mel asked, not pausing in her stride as she headed out of the prefab and across the grass to the waiting shuttle. Vina smoothly turned to walk at her side.

"They should be on site or arriving as we speak."

They stepped aboard the shuttle, which swiftly rose from the Normandy crash site and headed toward the mountains and the monastery. The flight only took a few minutes, and during it the pair said not a word. Melara sat, elbows on her knees, hands almost rhythmically rubbing over her face. Her exhaustion battled with her tension until she felt spread thin and drawn as tight as a wire.

Is this how you felt, Father? She wondered. On that last day, joining the Fleets you had assembled, about to hit the relay for the final assault on Earth…is this how you felt? Goddess, be with us. Goddess, let me be right. Goddess, let me be even half as strong as my father was…

Then the shuttle was lowering and landing.

Cold mountain air, still sharp and crisp with snow, slapped them in the face as they stepped down to the tarmac and headed inside. Most of the monastery had been released, allowing the Ardat-Yakshi to move around and resume their daily lives with little interference. One small wing was still secured however, and it was there that the conference room they'd been granted was housed.

The room had a small gathering as Melara stepped within- half were seated, the others on their feet, talking in quiet knots. Mel tried not to look at Eír and Zyara, who stood speaking softly with Irie beside an unfamiliar salarian that was probably Gau Weeks. Grunt and his daughter Nessa were nearby.

The moment Melara came in the others seemed to instantly hush. She went to the head of the table and without preamble she said, "I need to know if each of you is willing to give up your life to save this galaxy, and countless realities alongside it."

There was shifting in the silence as some of those standing took a seat, but for the most part no one moved.

"You know we will. Some of us have done it once before," Grunt said, folding his arms.

Melara nodded. "Good. Now, are you willing to give up your worlds? Your people? Are you in fact willing to give up this galaxy to save countless more, and all those realities?"

"Do you think that's going to happen?" Daenys asked.

"I think I intend to do whatever I can so that it doesn't, but it is a very real and very strong possibility. If it comes down to it, we may end up sacrificing this galaxy to save the rest of everything. It's not just us laying our lives on the line…we are laying our peoples, our cultures, everything down."

"How is this different than before?" Sokka asked. At Melara's request, the rakir Ubuuta had come to Kallini as well, joining Sihra and those with her with another dozen of the One Hundred. "From my understanding- and I admit, there is still much about this greater universe that I still do not fully comprehend- if this weapon somehow makes it to the galactic core, it will destroy all of us anyway. We are already facing that risk."

"It is different because this time, it will be us that is pulling the trigger," Mel said. "And we will have to pull it knowing full well that doing so will likely destroy everything."

"What is your plan?" Liara asked, her voice tinny. She was still weak and recovering, and was not physically present, but they had set up a communication link to her infirmary room. She and Sam were listening over secure QEC…audio only.

Mel was silent a few heartbeats, looking around the room.

"We still have scientists examining exobiotics," she said at last. "Scientists across two realities, and the preliminary findings are all the same. Exobiotics- whether accidentally or intentionally created by the Inusannon- are far more stable than the biotics we know and utilize today. I do not understand all the science involved, and I won't bore you with what I only half-comprehend myself. Suffice it to say, the artificial isotope that transforms element zero and biotics into the far more stable version of the element is highly transferrable. Dr. Williams got it from the Inusannon artifacts. Mama got it from Dr. Williams-though for reasons still unknown Mama seems to be an 'asymptomatic carrier' of it, able to 'infuse' others but showing no signs of change herself. There is a theory that her having two asari parents instead of one may be a contributing cause, but that is all theoretical…and at this juncture, unimportant. Ashely got it from Mama, and most recently, both my sister and my niece now display exobiotics attained from her as well.

"It is my theory," she continued. "That exobiotics is a way to stabilize the dark energy accumulating in our galaxy- and in the other quarantined galaxies. I believe- and the scientists tentatively agree- that a massive out flux of exobiotic energy into our galaxy will swiftly and drastically reduce the build-up of dark energy and prevent more from being drawn here from the foundation levels where it originated. If I am correct, given a large enough dispersal of exobiotic energy throughout the Milky Way, we can halt and potentially even reverse the damage being caused within a matter of days or even hours."

There was a burst of incredulous chatter. Grunt's deep, booming voice lifted above the din. "So you're saying we can actually fix this with these 'exobiotics', and these bugs with the planet-sized galaxy-buster won't have any reason to blow us up."

"That is my hope," Melara said. "If we succeed, then our solution can be taken to the other quarantined galaxies as well. We can break their Cycles, stabilize their dark energy output, and put a halt to the Senate's 'solution' once and for all."

"How are you going to get that much exobiotic energy and disperse it in a short amount of time?" Weeks asked.

Before Melara could answer, Eír lifted her eyes. She had been listening quietly, standing silently beside Weeks, Zyara, and Grunt.

"I believe that is where I come in," she said. All eyes fixed to her, and Melara nodded.

"Yes," she said. "Provided the Cinch can be charged with exobiotic energy the same as biotic energy, this is our plan and our solution. Eír is the strongest biotic in existence. If her biotics can be changed into exobiotics, she can infuse the Cinch with a supercharge of exobiotic energy…a charge perhaps on par with the biotic charge that caused the Anadius phenomenon. I have already arranged with the Council and Alliance command to have the Citadel opened, and the Crucible removed from Earth and redocked with it. Using the Crucible and the supercharged Cinch, it is our hope that we can send a massive exobiotic charge through the relay system and to every quadrant of the galaxy that the relays touch. The exobiotics in the Crucible will change the biotic cores that the relays run on into the more stable form. This effect will create a chain reaction that will spread across the galaxy, stabilizing all element zero that it comes into contact with. It may take a few months for the effect to cover all the eezo in the galaxy, but in the short term the amount of dark energy that is threatening to tear a hole through the multiverse will drop drastically and significantly. Within hours levels should be where they were five hundred years ago. Within days, five thousand years ago. We will no longer be in danger of imminent collapse and therefore the Brasa will no longer have need to detonate their super weapon and eliminate us."

"And if it fails?" Grunt asked.

Mel's eyes were dark. "If it fails, then we will have been the ones to have pulled the trigger on our own galaxy's destruction. Not the Brasa and their super weapon, not the Reapers. A Cinch once detonated with so much force and energy it caused a black hole, by accident. I am proposing we do the same thing, detonate a Cinch with the same accumulation of energy, but this time in the heart of the Citadel, connected directly to the hub of the entire relay system. If it fails, the Sol system will collapse in a matter of moments. Sol will go nova, and it could very likely create a chain reaction that will cascade through the relays and lead to the supernova of every single sun and system in the Milky Way. There will be a gun pointed toward our head, ladies and gentlemen, and make no mistake. Pulling the trigger could mean salvation or it could mean death, but in either case it will be our fingers on the trigger. Not the Brasa. Not the Solvers. Not the Reapers. Ours. But even if we die, we will be buying the chance for the other quarantined galaxies and multiverse realities to live on, time to find a true solution. So I ask you again. Are you willing to give up not only your lives, but your worlds? Your people? Your children? Are you in fact willing to give up all that you know, everyone that you love? Are you willing for your finger to be on that trigger?"