Merry Christmas. This is my present to you, my devoted readers. It's been a long journey for our favorite two characters. Thank you for your support and let us see the end of their journey!

Bioware and Telltale own Mass Effect and The Walking Dead game series.

A New Future Chapter 19

Shepard's POV:

Jane waited for Garrus's reaction. She had told him everything about what she had gone through, wanting to adopt Clementine, and the pregnancy. He'd been sitting there for 5 minutes, mouth agape, like he was broken. Having enough, Jane kissed him until he started moving again.

Pulling away smiling, she heard him ask "You're not joking?"

She replied "No Garrus, I'm not. I'm telling the pure black-and-white truth. Are you upset?"

Turning her face towards him, he said, without a shred of doubt in his voice, "I couldn't be happier."

Her smile returning to her face, she lunged at him and hugged him lightly. He snuggled into her neck and said "Wouldn't trade this for the galaxy."

Then, they were interrupted by knocking and a voice at the door that sounded like her mother. Garrus pulled away and said "Perhaps you should talk to your mother. She's been worried and please don't mention the pregnancy yet. My throat is threatened enough as it is."

Jane's smile widened and as she walked to the door, she said "We'll see where this was going when I get back."

Garrus's POV:

Garrus watched with a slack jaw as his mate walked out of the room with her hips swaying. He thought in his head "That woman will be the death of me... and she knows it."

When he thought it was safe, he walked out of the cabin and into the elevator. As he scrolled along his Omni-tool, the door opened and revealed "Clementine." As he walked out of the elevator, she asked "Where's Jane?"

He replied "With her mother. Hannah has been worried about her and hasn't seen her in 3 years. Once they're done, Jane will find you."

She asked "Are you Garrus?"

Puzzled, he asked "How do you know that?"

Clementine replied "Jane told me about you."

Garrus smiled and said "Well, I have a feeling that she didn't fill you in on the whole thing. Especially the awesome parts about me saving her from insurmountable odds."

Laughing, Clementine nodded, sat down, and got comfortable. He grabbed a drink, sat down, and asked "Where to begin?"

Clementine replied "Maybe the beginning?

Chuckling, he told her about how he met Jane, their encounters while hunting Saren, the Normandy being destroyed, then being rebuilt by Cerberus, and then them taking down the Collectors. Though he tweaked some gruesome facts due to her age.

Clementine's POV:

Clementine listened to Garrus as he told her about giant battles, close calls, and other things. Before she went to see Jane, she had asked other people on the ship, but they knew nothing about walkers except for "husks". Other than that, no one seemed to know anything about the walkers except Jane and her group. Nothing about the hell she endured.

Once Garrus was done, he asked about her. Surprisingly, he knew to stay away from personal topics when he didn't know her that well. As she confided in the "turian", she couldn't help but like the sarcastic comments. Once they were done, he introduced her to the rest of the crew. She liked "Grunt" the most. He was funny in a child-like way. They were finally heading up to the bridge to meet the pilots.

As they walked onto the bridge, she heard "Welcome to the domain of the Supreme Commander of the Normandy, the Obliterator of the Reapers, the one, the only, Flight Lieutenant Jeff Moreau of the Systems Alliance."

Garrus chuckled and said "Don't listen to him, Clementine. He likes to show off and tends to exaggerate. Just call him Joker, we all do."

Joker huffed indignantly and said "I do not."

Garrus laughed and said "Oh, really? What about the time at that bar where you were trying to convince the bartender that you deserved free drinks after you helped us save the Citadel by hopping in an Atlas and single-handedly, stopped the Cerberus assault force? Wasn't there a "It's Joking time" line in there?"

Joker paled as he asked "Shepard told you about that?"

EDI, while rolling her eyes, announced "Jeff, we're approaching the Earth we know."

Joker turned back around and said "Copy that, EDI. Clementine, you're in for a treat."

As the view in front of her cleared of blue waves, Clementine saw something she never thought she would. There was Earth, but it looked alive. As it came in closer, she could see thousands, if not millions of people reconstructing buildings and ships bigger than the one she was on! As the Normandy SR2 came in for a landing, she could see the buildings stretched across the horizon.

Days later

Jane's POV:

Clementine and the rest of the group were treated medically and put through therapy, due to their experience, and had reported no problems. Jane had met Garrus's father, Castis, and his sister, Solana. They'd welcomed her, though she could tell Castis was cautious and slightly mad due to her Spectre status. Guess Garrus hadn't been kidding back when he said his father wouldn't have liked her back on the Saren mission.

She told her mother about Clementine and Hannah fully understood and supported Jane in whatever she decided. So, today was the day. When Clementine and Kenny met her at a recently repaired park, they sat down and Jane said "Clem, I've been doing some thinking and I wanted to ask you. Do you want to be a part of my family? I understand that this may be going too fast and I'll never try to replace your parents or... Lee, but I'll do anything to protect you."

Looking down, waiting for an answer, she was surprised when she felt Clementine embrace her! She heard Clementine say "Thank you, Jane! Thank you so much!"

Jane smiled and comforted the child when she heard Kenny clear his throats and say "Thanks Jane. For giving her a family."

Jane grinned and said "Come on, Kenny. You're her family too. You can be the grumpy grandpa."

Kenny laughed and replied "No thanks. Molly already calls me that."

Jane laughed and she closed her eyes in Clementine's arms.

Clementine's POV:

Clementine couldn't believe it. It was over! She was safe! She had a family again! No walkers or anything else to take it away. As she opened her eyes, she saw something she couldn't believe! Her parents smiling and waving at her and before they faded, her mother blew her a kiss and they both disappeared.

Then when her eyes drifted to the right, she saw Lee smiling as he watched the scene. He was wearing the same clothes he always did, but clean and no tears. She heard "Goodbye Clem. Don't forget me and keep that hair short okay? It suits you."

Smiling, she nodded through her tears as she watched him turn around, start walking, and disappear into the sunlight. In her head, she whispered "I promise Lee. Thank you."

8 years later

James had completed his N7 training and was given a ship of his own command. He had a practically perfect record. He married Ashley 5 years later.

Javik was approached by multiple companies for movie deals and interviews, but instead he worked with Liara on a book until finally returning to the military where his true calling was.

Samara left for Thessia, and with her position as Justicar, started to rebuild Thessia's government and order. After that, she and her daughter, Falere, started to rebuild the Ardhat Yakshi monastery.

Jacob worked with Hackett to rebuild the fleets and stations that were destroyed by the Reaper Invasion. He and Brynn had a daughter and left for Ilium.

Jack and Miranda surprisingly got together due to the similar attitudes. Miranda and Oriana worked with Jack and rebuilt Grissom Academy and Freedom's Progress, which was now a real refugee camp for those whose homes were destroyed or are uninhabitable.

Grunt went home to Tuchanka with Wrex to find multiple females outside of his home. Let's just say he traded a shotgun for a stroller and a lot of binkies, but he always meets Wrex for an annual Thresher Maw hunt.

Wrex married Bakara, Garrus was the best man and the ceremony was short but beautiful. They had a daughter who, as they promised, named after Mordin in some way, but for obvious reasons, Wrex vetoed "Mordin" just as Bakara vetoed "Ass-Kicker."

Steve Cortez stuck to flying as long as he was able to. He went back to Earth after 3 more tours of duty and retired. He now works as an engineer in California.

Samantha Traynor was on the Normandy for 4 more years until she left and met Kelly Chambers. They settled down in Kansas, bought an old farm, adopted two kids, got a dog, and enjoyed life together.

Gabby and Donnelly stayed on the Normandy with Adams. They dated for four years until Donnelly got the courage to propose.

Kasumi disappeared, telling no one where she was going or if she was coming back.

Zaheed decided to retire after 7 more years of shooting and close calls. He now lives on a tropical world where he can relax for once in his life.

Liara left for Ilium and started to rebuild her information network. After she and Javik finished the book, she studied Synthesis, the Reapers, and their knowledge.

Tali returned to Rannoch and became a representative of the Quarians and the Geth. She married a Quarian named Rator'Sarrell vas Rorah and had a son named Raen'Zorah.

Luke and Molly got to know each other, dated for 3 years, which at the end of, he got the chance to propose.

Kenny was put through more therapy after several restless nights. He asked to be given custody of AJ and now, Kenny works as a merchant in Florida. He goes fishing from time to time and takes AJ with him.

AJ is now in 1st grade and is passing with flying colors. He considers Kenny to be his dad and Clementine as his sister.

Lilly joined the Alliance in hope for some closure. She worked through flight school and now works as a professional pilot.

Ashley went on to other assignments for 5 years. She then decided to take it easy and became a Spectre instructor. She enjoys teasing and playing with the candidates. She and James dated for 2 years until finally marrying.

Vince, Shel, Becca, Wyatt, and Russell decided to stick together and started a garage on Earth, fixing whatever they could, while Bonnie decided to stay on the Normandy to explore the galaxy.

Anderson soon retired after he left the hospital and settled down on Eden Prime with Kahlee Sanders.

Hackett stayed on as Admiral, where he spent the rest of his life.

Joker and EDI stayed together and with certain adjustments, Joker's bone strength was increased. EDI and Joker spent the rest of their lives together, though they had no idea what Synthesis did to their life span.

After Primarch Victus left the position, Garrus was offered the position. He refused and decided to stay on as military advisor. As he and Clementine got to know each other, they turned into strong friends.

When Jane had come back and recovered, she was offered the position of Councilor on the Citadel, but refused. After asking Joker, she had the Normandy to continue her career. She and Garrus were surprised when they discovered she was carrying twins after they went to see the doctor on her condition.

Cambius was the younger twin and looked almost turian, except his shorter fringe and softer skin. He had his mother's eyes and his father's ferocity.

The older twin was Isabella. She had her father's eyes and her mother's biotics. She looked more human with her dark red hair, but she also had scales along her body and talons at the end of her fingertips. After 3 years of being born, she earned the nickname "Trix" after getting Garrus to pick her up only to get an ball stuffed in his mouth. She first showed biotic talent at the age of four, when she pulled her toys to her instead of crawling over to them.

Clementine loved her new family, but could never forget her experiences from the past. She attended school and soon after elementary, she breezed through high school. At age 15, she graduated high school and college at 18. Soon after graduating, she enlisted and was placed under Hackett's command. She was soon approached by leadership and was enlisted into a new Council program. She was trained as an Infiltrator. Now, eight years after she'd been rescued from a fate unknown, she was part of a group who would change everything.


As Clementine sat in the chamber, she scanned the other people in the room. Before she did though, she looked down at her outfit. She wore black armor with areas of blue and outlines of red. To keep her family close.

One was a krogan named Torn who always, as long as she had known him, carried a weapon wherever he went. Today it was a krogan bowie knife, though it looked more like a giant cleaver in his hands. He had dark grey armor accented by green.

The next was a female turian Clementine had met in elementary school, Juvetia Opinus. She had black marks on her face, wore simple white and blue armor, had a similar skin tone to Garrus's, and was skilled in tactics. Clementine was also aware of the crush Javetia seemed to have on her.

A salarian named Cornum Zazel was a scientist at heart. He was always shaking, both in anticipation or nervousness. He wore a scientist outfit and was always typing away at his Omni-Tool.

A Quarian was sitting nervously to the right of Torn. Raen'Zorah had his mother's talent for technology. Clementine wasn't sure, but she had a feeling that he had a crush on her as well. He wore red armor accented by blue.

The next one was an Asari only know as Tamia. Tamia seemed more like a trickster than a scientist due to the fact that she had been smiling mischievously ever since she entered the room. She had a small tattoos on both sides of her face that looked like claw marks, had a deep blue skin tone, and wore simple clothes.

There was a human girl named Victoria or Vic, as she preferred. With strong biotics and language, she was very strong-willed. With her short white hair, near black eyes, and cold expressions, she was able to pull off a frightening appearance.

A drell named Thalek Siot had an impressive record. With perfect accuracy and tech skills, he was a great asset. He had aquamarine skin and the traditional drell jacket.

Then finally, there was a Geth who was nicknamed "Knight". He was a talented driver, pilot, and combat specialist. He could learn any fighting style and he was a prototype of a new Geth platform, meaning he was faster, stronger, and smarter. Hacker extraordinaire.

When she was done, she noticed a man entering the room. Straightening up, she watched as he announced "11 years ago, this galaxy was attacked by a threat we called the Reapers. Their agents attacked us before they finally invaded 8 years ago. One woman and her crew stood up to them and united the galaxy. With the Crucible, we ended the Reaper threat. That can never be allowed to happen again. Today, we've invited a special guest. The captain of the Normandy SR2, Commander Jane Shepard."

Jane looked the same as she did 8 years ago. When they noticed it, Liara found out that synthesis had reduced the aging process to barely a crawl. It allowed infants to mature, but once they got old enough, it would slow.

Jane cleared her throat and said "Thank you for the introduction, but as you said, I didn't do it alone. My friends helped me and some of them, I like to think of them as family. Unfortunately, some of my friends lost their lives in the war and they'll never be forgotten. But that's not why we are here. You're not here because you're the best of the best. Not because you're the smartest, strongest, or bravest. No, you're here because you want to be. Because you want the next challenge, the next battle, the next horizon. Now, as you know, a new threat has emerged. 200 years ago, humans realized Earth was too small. All of our species realized this at one time. Asari, Salarians, Turians, all of us decided to expand. To find a new place to grow and prosper. Now, we need to do that again. You will be the first of many groups to lead us. The Pathfinder teams. If you accept, you'll be given a new ship, top of the line weapons and supplies. A year will be given to you to set your affairs in order and to say your goodbyes. Your mission will last 5 years and once that time is up, you are to return to the Milky Way. So, who wants to go?"

Clementine was the first to raise her hand and one by one, the others raised theirs.

One year later

Clementine looked in awe at the ship in front of her. Designed like Jane's Normandy, but faster and it had deep-scanning technology. She looked back and went to say goodbye. Jane, with tears in her eyes, took her into an embrace and said "You come back. Please."

Clementine released her and said "The moment the 5 years are up, I'll come back. I promise."

She then hugged Garrus who said "Good luck Clem. Stay safe."

She turned to her siblings and said "Take care of Mom and Dad, okay? I'll come back soon."

She hugged everyone goodbye until only Kenny was left. He took her in her arms and said "I always knew you'd do something great. Lee would be proud."

Nodding, she turned, secured her pack onto her back, and boarded the ship. Turning back, she waved goodbye and heard a symphony of goodbyes. As the last of the crew came aboard, Knight activated the engines. Clementine smiled as she heard and felt the familiar roar of the engines of a starship as they shot into the sky and into space.

She watched as planets blurred by and when it stopped, they were on the edge of the Milky Way. She heard Juvetia say "Are you sure about this, Clem? This may be something none of us signed up for."

Clementine replied "I know Juvie. That's why we need to. I don't want to sit back and watch it happen. I want to be there. I want to see it. If that comes with a few bullets and plans that get torn apart, I'm okay with that. Because I know what I'm doing it for."

Juvetia nodded and went to her station. Clementine looked at the stars beyond, looked to Knight, and said "Engage the Dark Space Drive."

The next thing they knew, the ship was was covered in electricity and biotic energy and they rocketed into the black hole. When they cleared of the singularity, they were on the edge of the Andromeda galaxy. Smiling, Clementine took it all in and said quietly "Show me that horizon."

The End.

Endings are hard. No question about it. Any asshole with a keyboard can type out a beginning, but endings are really hard. You try to tie it all up as best you can, but you always miss something and then the fans complain. I'm telling you, they're a raging pain in the ass. Then again, nothing really ends does it?- Chuck, Supernatural, 5th season, Swan Song. More or less exact quote.

The End?

With what's happened, I hope you enjoyed this and a Merry Christmas to you all. This story was dedicated to the lost souls of Mass Effect and The Walking Dead. Now I'd like to request that all of you think of your favorite moments with these characters with your favorite song. The official song of this story is Carry on Wayward Son: Lullaby Female Version. I want to know who did that, so if you know, please tell me? Hope you enjoyed.