"This isn't about me or you. It's about things so much bigger than all of us!"

Shepard's eyes rolled up to the back of his head as he collapsed, cheek hitting the metal floor of the Citadel hard. He groaned in pain as his monumental headache emptied and smoothed out. Spots were dotting his vision as he lay on the ground, clutching his side from which the bullet wound from the marauder burned in agony. Flecks of drool elicited from his mouth as he relaxed in his position, grateful for the slight reprieve.

"Shepard…" he heard a voice gasp, tinged with suffering. "He's wrong…don't listen to him."

He couldn't bring himself up in this state, even if he wanted to. He was just too tired. There was a soft click as polished shoes tramped over to where he lay. He could smell a touch of tobacco in the air, overpowering the ozone that flared from the electricity sparking all around them.

"Get up, Shepard," the Illusive Man growled. "How have you done this?"

Shepard rolled onto his back as he saw a pair of blue eyes gazing fiercely at him. He let out a low laugh as he regarded the man's intensity, "Attempt…failed. You…lost…"

The Illusive Man scowled as his head tilted in confusion. Snarling he reached down and grasped the deformed chestplate of the fallen marine as he hauled him to his knees, fist glowing azure as he tried to simplify the process further.

"Why?" the deformed man hissed. "What did you do? Why can't I control you?"

"You can't control me," Shepard said slowly. "Just like you can't control the Reapers."

"That's impossible! The Crucible is the answer! The answer to controlling the Reapers, I know it can be done!"

Shepard laughed, "That's all they want you to know…"

"You're a liar," the Illusive Man gritted. "Why are you now so assured? What happened?" He shook Shepard's body in a strong grip until a thought struck him. His mouth fell open as his gaze rose in disbelief. He shook his head slowly, as if he did not want to comprehend what he had just deduced.

"They…" he whispered. "They got to you…gave you the choice…indoctrination." He rose, releasing the marine's armor as he ran a hand through his thinning hair. "You fought it…broke their hold…"

"Shepard," Anderson grunted, sounding sleepy. "What's going on?"

The Illusive Man roared as he savagely brought a knee to Shepard's face, impacting on the soft cartilage of his nose. There was a snapping sound and Shepard was propelled to the floor as blood poured down his face in rivulets. He yelled at the discomfort but soon felt his face numb as adrenaline began to take hold from the abuse.

With a wave of the Illusive Man's hand, Anderson dropped to the floor as the grip on his body faded. Unable to support his own weight, the admiral clutched his stomach as he wheezed silently. Scowling, the well-dressed man bent over to pick up the admiral's fallen pistol as it clattered to the side. Checking to see if it had a fresh clip loaded, he slowly advanced on Shepard's hapless form.

"You would not make the choice that would protect humanity, Shepard. That right now belongs to me as the Reapers left you here to die, by my hand."

Shepard spoke around a mouthful of blood, "Then, it's already too late…you are theirs to control now."

"I'm the one in control!" the man screamed, aiming the pistol at Shepard's head. "I act of my own will and the Reapers have forsaken their claim to you, leaving me to finish the job!"

"He was already claimed first," a new voice piped up from near the entrance. The Illusive Man spun around, pistol leveling down as he was forcefully flung backwards, towards the console, as a burst tore into his torso, sending bits of flesh and suit flying in the air.

Shepard, still lying on his back, slowly blinked his eyes as he spat the salty, iron taste out of his mouth. He had only time to discern the man standing above him for a second before he simply vanished from view, propelled away by an unseen force that loudly echoed throughout the chamber. He lolled his head to the left, peering at the source of the outside interruption. Before he could fully comprehend his surroundings, a smoking shotgun was thrown next to him as a form gently lifted him up so that he was leaning back on someone. A hand gently smoothed over his face as he recognized the pattern on the glove, colored a dark purple, covering three, perfect digits.

"Oh, John," Tali hugged him as her voice wavered in a mixture of sadness and elation. "You stupid, stupid, bosh'tet. This is the last time I let you out of my sight again."

Shepard had no words for the lithe quarian that was embracing him as though her life depended on it. He uttered a weak laugh as he surrendered his body as she held him, "Are you really here, Tali?" He reached out with a hand to brush her visor, "Are you real?"

"Of course I am," she breathed. "And so are you. My captain, my friend, my love. This is real."

A tear rolled from one of Shepard's eyes as he closed them in satisfaction. He relaxed in her arms but tensed as he heard an inhuman moan sound from a body in the corner.

Tali gently lowered him to the ground as she picked her shotgun back up, racking the slide as a clip clattered away. The body of the Illusive Man was stirring, limbs twitching as it slowly started to sit up. When it reached its terminus, it gazed at the two figures seated across from it. The flesh from the former human had slid away at this point, revealing a tangle of blue circuitry embedded underneath blackened, rotting flesh. The man's tongue rolled lazily out of his mouth as he gaped, all motor functions severed. The hair on his head was now falling out in clumps as his muscles seized and jerked in response to a new presence. Tendons popped out of his arms as the wiring glowed red, the blue eyes turning a shade of orange. From out of his mouth spoke a voice tinged with bass, the sound a hellish clamor.

"Assuming control of this form."

"Tali," Shepard groaned. "You have to run. Get out of here before he-"

"As if I'm actually going to listen to you!" she interrupted, leveling her shotgun as she rose to face the creature. What had previously been the Illusive Man sprung towards the young quarian but another blast caught it in the shoulder as it was pushed aside. Tali advanced, laying into it with determination and fearlessness. Shepard could only admire her tenaciousness, her devotion to his safety.

"Your attacks cannot hurt me," the husk growled as it raked a clawed hand across. The appendage caught Tali's shotgun and knocked it out of her grip. Weaponless, she leaped backward as the thing came to its feet.

Without a word, Tali knelt down to produce the knife she always kept sheathed in her boot. Holding it in a reverse grip, she lowered her stance as the two squared off. The husk, oblivious to such maneuvers, charged the quarian but she sidestepped and simultaneously swung. The knife entered the creature's side and tore away, trailing black ichor and wiring as it exited. The husk now advanced more cautiously before it started swinging its clawed hands like a madman. Tali ducked and weaved and slashed once more, nearly severing an arm as the sharp blade bit into the diseased skin.

As she was doing this, Shepard started to crawl to the console, still unable to utilize his full strength. He was looking for a weapon as he did so but there was nothing in the surrounding area that he could use without wandering into the fray. Such a concern was secondary; he needed to activate the Crucible, now.

"Bosh'tet!" Tali screamed as she slammed her knife into the monster's eye, causing it to explode as the point neatly severed the organ. The Reaper manning the Illusive Man was correct in saying that an assault would leave no damage on the temporary tenant as it only growled and attempted to claw her some more.

Reaching for a pistol at her side, Tali unloaded a few clips worth of ammunition into it as what passed for blood spurted out with each impact. The husk was starting to wilt from the assault, her attacks were working. She ducked a nasty blow and raked her knife across the thing's stomach. Black fluid and bits of grey tubing poured out as it was disemboweled, the organs dripping in a brief wash.

Shepard made the last few feet as he struggled to lift himself up by his arms on the front of the display, gritting his teeth from the burning sensation in his ankle. Rather than the complex diagram that he had seen in his nightmare, there was only one icon left. It was slowly blinking, awaiting a command that would order the station to change the fate of the galaxy as he knew it.

As he ascended, he looked backward briefly to assure himself that Tali was all right. She was still fighting Harbinger's avatar, leaping away from each attack as she continued to slash at it with her knife. He couldn't help but feel extremely proud of her in that moment. She had come a long way from being a naïve pilgrim, seeing the galaxy for the first time. She truly was his warrior now.

Midway through a charge, the husk stopped as it finally spotted Shepard on the edge of the platform. Shepard gave a cruel smile as he stood, finger poised over the icon. The thing's expression dropped in a universal expression for shock as he lowered his arm, depressing the symbol as the entire display vanished with a wink. The whole station started to vibrate as it now prepared to issue the surge of energy into the cosmos and beyond.

Before he could word a clever retort, the husk let out an unearthly scream as it charged at Shepard, knocking Tali to the side in the process. He was still too weak to defend against the assault and he grunted as the thing barreled into him, sending him to the ground. He felt a sharp pain as he landed on his bad side, where the gunshot wound was located. He dazedly tried to sit up but the thing planted a foot on his chest and forcefully put him down. Seconds later, Shepard screamed as a sharp nail lacerated his skin, stabbing him through the shoulder as it leaned down for one last word.

"You cannot comprehend what you've just done, animal."

Shepard could only move his eyes as the ex-Illusive Man raised its other arm for the killing blow. His world went blurry as he only focused on the lifted appendage. There was nothing else he could focus on.

Suddenly, the husk's head exploded as something tore into it, the impact continuing on to blast through the raised arm, severing it and sending it flopping to the ground. Shepard was suddenly covered in gore and brains as the remainder of the blast settled and the stump of the neck ceased its pumping of whatever fluid was encased in that body. He grunted as he pried the thing's clawed finger from his shoulder, sending a rush of red hot blood bursting forth.

Tali stood only feet away, shotgun still aimed down, barrel smoking, as she approached the scene. Shepard was grateful that whatever god's favor he had incurred had blessed him with the welcome presence of his quarian girlfriend. He felt relief and love swell inside him, eager to burst out in jubilation.

There was, all of a sudden, a brief flitter in his mind. Shepard frowned for a brief second at the irritation, his eyes widening as he now comprehended the meaning. He shut his eyes as he tried to wipe the offending presence from his thoughts once again as the flitter grew into an itch. Tali wavered nearby, anxious at Shepard's behavior.

Shepard!

The voice was loud and rough as it screamed, with more fury than he had ever heard before.

You will never be fully rid of us!

Shepard watched in horror as his hand moved to the headless corpse of the Illusive Man on its own accord. He reached for a second and withdrew as his hand now held a pistol that had been appropriated. He could feel a chant start to build up the back of his head, rolling with the voice, tireless in its intonation.

"Shepard," the voices were saying, repeating it, as if were a daily prayer.

"John?" Tali asked nervously. "What is it?"

Shepard's hand twitched as the pistol jerked in his grip, slowly sliding forward to rest its sights on the quarian. His jaw worked furiously as he tried to make a sound, trying to override the Reaper's control.

Shepard

"What are you doing?" Tali gasped, starting to back away as the pistol was still aimed at her in his hand. "John…talk to me!"

Get the Lieutenant, you know it's the right choice…

"Tali," he mustered. "I…I can't…"

Shepard

Shoot her.

His arm jerked as his muscles strained to bend. The pistol was still pointed at Tali, resting towards the center of mass.

Had to be me, someone else might have gotten it wrong…

"No…John," she started to cry, falling to her knees. "You know me. You can fight them. You've been fighting them this whole time. Listen to my voice. Follow it."

His finger was hovering over the trigger, trembling as it slowly inched towards the cold plastic. It was taking all of Shepard's concentration and might to not allow it to go one inch further.

Kalahira, mistress of inscrutable depths, I ask forgiveness…

He squeezed his eyes shut as tears began to fall, sickened by the quarian's begging and his inability to make a difference. He opened his mouth to start to roar as his limbs quaked in response to drive the gun away from Tali.

Does this unit have a soul?

"John..." Tali whimpered. "I love you."

A rushing filled his ears, the presence withdrew slightly as a warmth tingled his body. Harbinger was still there and Shepard was unable to shake him. Muttering under his breath, he concentrated and the gun slowly withdrew as he gradually aimed it up towards the ceiling.

Tali sighed in relief but jolted as she now understood where the gun was pointing. Shepard, body and mind calm, had pushed the barrel of the gun to the side of his head. His manner was entirely relaxed, this was the only way out. There would be no other opportunity for Harbinger and his cohorts to control him. He could still be redeemed.

Shepard

"Oh, John…" she moaned. "No…"

Shepard

He slowly breathed in and out, finger on the trigger as the voices fluttered. He could feel the Reaper in his mind, slowly gaining energy for another mental attack. He needed to move soon.

Shepard

"Goodbye, Tali," he whispered, preparing to make the final move, for his final act to be in defiance of the Reapers. He would never hurt her, she would understand in the end. She had to understand.

SHEPARD!

"NO!" Tali screamed and sprinted at him, hurling her body the last few meters as she tackled him. The gun was knocked out his grasp and clattered off the edge, tumbling into the heart of the station. His brain was a torrent of disjointed thoughts and was all rattled when Tali fiercely punched him in the jaw, desperate to drive the invading demon away.

"Come back to me!" she shrieked. "I know you're in there, John! Don't let them win!" She grabbed his head and shook it forcefully, as if the action would send him back to normal. "Fight, John! Fight!"

Her hands, despite their rough actions, were frightfully hot to him. There was a searing sensation every time she touched him but he felt no pain. In fact, he could feel life flooding back to him. The fog in his head was now starting to dissipate, his limbs twitched in response. He could control his breathing now as it steadied. The chanting subsided as it lowered in volume. He gave a small smile as he reached into the back of his mind and pushed.

RRRRRRRAAAAAGGGGGHHHH!

The voice that screamed was a cacophony that gave sound to his worst fears but he steeled himself and felt the wraith depart the company of his head. He gasped as his headache vanished along with the Reaper, everything suddenly got quiet and still, except for the quiet sobbing of the quarian who was currently cradling his body.

"Tali," he said, voice hoarse. "I won."

High above Earth's orbit, pilot Jeff "Joker" Moreau frowned as the reports flooded his screen, weary at the overall tone. The bottom line was that the shit was about to hit the fan. The volus fleet had been completely extinguished, the turians had lost half their vessels, the asari capital ship Destiny Ascension had been badly hit and had retreated and Earth's forces were now operating at a quarter of their original strength. And between evading all of the debris caused from battling the Reapers in space combined with dodging the lasers of doom, he was astounded that he hadn't been killed already.

It's not like Joker could have left at any time. He had a duty to his home, his commander, to stay until the end. He needed to know if they would win this war or not. From the looks of things as he glanced over at a nearby screen, it was not going to end up well on their end. Dozens of Reapers had been destroyed but there were still thousands milling about in the background, waiting to join the fight.

A nearby explosion buffeted the Normandy and he jerked the ship to the side to avoid the shockwave. He was about to radio a call for assistance when all of a sudden the comm burst open on all channels as Admiral Hackett's voice spoke rapidly.

"All ships, this is Admiral Hackett. The Crucible has been activated. Proceed to a safe distance at the edge of the system and await further orders. Repeat, the Crucible is about to fire. Retreat from the planet at once."

Joker could scarcely believe it. The commander had come through in the end. He always did. He vowed to himself to never doubt the man again as long as he lived.

Standing behind him, Liara T'Soni cocked her head, "Wait, Joker. What about Shepard?"

"We have received no transmissions from the commander," EDI said in Joker's stead, seated beside him in Dr. Coré's body. "It is possible that Tali'Zorah managed to extract him."

"But then we should have heard from either of them by now," Jeff said. Another look at his visual display saw that the center of the Citadel was starting to glow red as a ball of energy was expanding from where the Crucible was docked. Their allotted time was running out fast.

"I don't know…" he muttered to himself. "Maybe, we can swing by…try to see if they can-"

"Normandy!" a voice burst through the static. "This is Tali! Do you read!"

Joker lunged for the controls as EDI's dexterous fingers worked to clear up the signal, "Yes, Tali! Normandy standing by. Is Shepard with you?"

"He is-" she started before a burst cut her off. EDI frowned and worked the console until Tali's voice filtered through cleanly again. "-the shuttle en route. Where are you?"

"A few hundred thousand klicks away from the station."

"That…" her voice faltered. "That doesn't give us enough time, Joker."

Joker frowned, "Are there any other ships in the area that can pick you up?"

"N-no. It's just us…"

Joker shook his head in indignation before Tali spoke again, "Joker, just get out of her-...-be fine, what matters is that you get to safety."

"Are…are you sure, Tali?" Joker asked cautiously.

"Not really," came a self-depreciating laugh. "But it's the right choice."

"It doesn't feel right." He winced as yet another explosion grazed the Normandy's hull. Liara was glancing in all directions in worry. Even EDI was starting to shift in her seat.

"It's the only way," Tali said firmly. "We'll see each other soon."

Joker only nodded as he adjusted the controls as the ship veered away from the planet. "Dammit," he mumbled quietly. No one else was talking to him, they understood the stakes as perfectly as he did. He maneuvered the ship towards the massive structure at the edge of the solar system and relaxed as the purplish light enveloped the windows above him.

Something was different this time, the controls were reporting vibrations all over the ship. When they were in the middle of a jump, this kind of transition was seamless. Sensors were picking up a large anomaly headed their way. Joker's hands flew over his controls as he fought to adjust the heading of his ship. Some were starting to spark as they overloaded. A rattle was now being emitted from between the bulkheads.

Joker growled as the light outside his windows began to turn red and closed his eyes as the ship bucked and rolled as something washed over it.

Shepard coughed beside Tali as she switched the comm off in the shuttle. Seated in the front, he looked back to see the limp body of David Anderson positioned on one of the benches in the center of the craft, body rolling from side to side as it banked.

Shepard's body was a mess but his wounds had been cleaned up by Tali on the station. Medi-gel had been applied to his more ghastly injuries and the result was that he felt much better. She was certainly a guardian angel.

Tali adjusted a button and the Kodiak tilted so that the bright orb of the planet Earth was in its sights. She let out a small laugh at their success which quickly turned into a cry of horror as everything sparked and zapped as a sea of red filtered their vision and passed as the electric sensation moved on.

"Was that…" Shepard said weakly. "The Crucible?"

Tali banged the console with her fist, "Stupid bosh'tet!" She turned her head towards the human sitting next to her, "John…we just lost power for the Kodiak."

He could now feel that the craft was trembling more than normal. This meant that the motion dampeners had been disabled. "What…all of it?"

"Auxiliary systems are back online but I don't have control anymore," she slumped. "We're just going to keep on going until we crash, I guess."

"Just have to hope that the heat shields hold, I guess," Shepard sighed.

"It's so cruel," she gasped. "It shouldn't have to end like this."

She glanced around nervously as the craft shuddered more violently this time, the glow intensifying from the windows.

Shepard closed his eyes and beckoned to the quarian, "Come here."

Tali immediately got up from the chair to sit on Shepard's lap, arms wrapped around his head as she brought her visor to his forehead, nuzzling.

"I'm so proud of you, John," she whispered, even though there was no one else who could hear them.

"I'm just glad that I could spend the end with you, Tali."

The quarian sighed as she hugged him, "I always knew you could do it…"

Shepard closed his eyes as Tali's warmth spread across him, "I am so lucky to have met a woman like you, Tali." He could feel her start to withdraw as she positioned herself to look at him straight in the eyes. "When this is over, do you know what I'm going to do next?"

Despite the terrible noises the Kodiak was making in response to entering the Earth's atmosphere, her fears were allayed as she shook her head in confusion. "No, why?"

He smiled as he brushed the side of her visor with his hand, "I'm going to Rannoch and I will build you that home. Our home."

Her hands shot up to her face in a blur so quick that he didn't have time to register the movement before her mask suddenly came off, her hands tossing it aside. She peeled off her hood and back of her helmet, allowing her shoulder-length, silver hair to flow down. Her blue eyes were shining and she lifted her grey head to Shepard's, mouth opening as the two brought their lips together for a kiss.

The kiss was wild, passionate, and reassuring as both forcefully shut their eyes, only concentrating on the one point of contact. Their hands wrapped around the other as they firmly squeezed, their lips mashed together as they allowed their tongues to meet, movements quick and deliberate, their lust unbridled and raw.

The Kodiak was now shaking horribly but Shepard and Tali continued to kiss, frozen in that point in time where nothing else in the universe mattered to them. They were no longer afraid. Afraid of dying or losing the other. Wherever they would go, they would be together.

Bright light was now streaming into the craft as it bucked and shook as it was now fully in the atmosphere. Friction was heating the craft, making the interior warm. Gravity was pulling down on the object as it plummeted to Earth. Skimming through the air, the powerless Kodiak sliced across the expanse as its slight angle aimed them towards the ground.

The occupants did not care as they deeply inhaled, taking in the other's scent. Still locked in their kiss, Tali and Shepard stopped all movement as they held each other, clutching their bodies together in protection as the sensors pinged multiple warnings at them, the craft shaking in all directions, rattling them.

There was a moment of absolute stillness and then came an awful grinding sound as metal was wrenched away, debris flying as the world turned around them. There was a good ten seconds of the bottom of the craft scraping along the ground as the Kodiak started to disintegrate. The friction finally slowing its velocity, the shuttle eventually came to rest as the surrounding landscape came to enjoy the silence once again.