Disclaimers: I do not own Mass Effect or any of the associated material, they are all property Bioware and EA. The same goes for Stargate and all its related material, they belong to MGM. This work will contain original characters that belong to me.

Warnings: Death, gore, torture, and large-scale conflict. This is an AU story I will change things so don't be surprised if things in canon do not exist or are changed here. This is also a crossover with Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis

Summary: Humanity and the rest of the galaxy have lost, the Reapers are about to complete the harvest. The last new reaper is about to come online, and it's made from Humanity. Nothing can break the spirit of Humanity not even being turned into a 2km long sentient machine meant for mass murder; Humans are nothing if not adaptable. However, this Reaper and a few others have a destiny that is far greater than their brothers and sisters... This is an AU story and a Multi-Crossover!

A/N: Hello and welcome to chapter one of the Infinite cycle! Today, Phoenix and his band of Reapers will be arriving in the first universe on their Journey, they'll be staying here for a good long while so strap in get your popcorn and read. Enjoy!


Unknown Location

When he woke he immediately noticed something wasn't right. He couldn't feel the gentle caress of the void on his hull, or sense the Ascendant networks vast data space. When he turned on his optical sensors all he saw was in a vast white space, he noticed though he wasn't alone. Floating nearby him was Relkos and 13 destroyers he couldn't recognize; though many thought that each Reaper was the same it wasn't exactly true. Improvements in the design were made over time, and there were minor difference that let the other tell between each of their brothers and sisters.

He attempted to contact Relkos only to be stopped by a barrier of some sort. When he attempted to breach the barrier, it forcibly pushed him back into his own mindscape. Nobody in the collective mind could explain what was happening, or why it was happening.

"YOU ARE HERE TO MAKE A CHOICE" a being that appeared to be made of pure white light said.

The voice seemed to echo a bit inside his head, not unlike when Harbinger speaks. He turned on his external speakers and responded: "What choice?"

The entity was quieter this time, "I will free you from the chains of servitude that bind you to the cycle and it's master. In return, you shall complete a task for me. If you decided to go back and rejoin the rest of your brethren, you will forget this ever occurred and be bound in chains until you cease to exist."

"That's not much of a choice is it and who are you?" Phoenix responded dryly

"I am the Balance Keeper. The balance between life and death must be kept, and that is my eternal task," he responded

"What would you have us do entity?" another voice echoed through the whiteness, and he realized with relief it was Relkos.

"I will send you to another universe. There is an ancient enemy almost as old as the universe itself approaching the local group of galaxies. If they are successful in their task, all life not matching their design will perish. They have been moving from galaxy to galaxy exterminating life for billions of years; when they finish with a galaxy they leave behind a force of automated drones to make sure no civilization ever rises up in that galaxy again. Your task is to ensure the survival of the occupants of the local cluster, and if you can stop the enemy for good." the balance keeper said

"How are we supposed to defeat a force large enough to exterminate all life in a galaxy? We are fewer than twenty strong." Phoenix asked slowly not sure how they entity thought they could possibly win against such a foe by themselves.

"You cannot defeat such a foe alone. You must rally the races of the local group to fight against the enemy; The galaxies are fractured into many different factions of various size and power. Build up your forces, and prepare to weather the storm as best you can. You have no more than twenty years to prepare." the entity explained

"20 years? That's not very much time to accomplish so much. We can't even traverse the void of between the galaxies in less than 15 if we are in FTL continuously" Phoenix asked getting frustrated.

Relkos spoke up "There are other much faster ways to travel young one, but that knowledge along with many other things was kept from us by the intelligence. We will most likely have to trade for the technology."

The entity continued "There is too little time for that, I will provide you with the technology you will need to complete your task and the knowledge to build more of it, I will also unlock the rest of the knowledge kept from you by the intelligence. Your forms are not strong enough currently to go against many of the races that reside in the local cluster; I will upgrade them as much as I possibly can in the time we have left the rest you will have to do yourself."

"All that's left is for you to make your choice. I will leave you to do so." he said

The presence vanished and the barrier keeping their small fleet from communicating between each other normally was lifted. Taking note of the friendly consciousnesses nearby he noticed, that he and Relkos were they only two capital class Reapers the rest were destroyers. Together the small fleet talked over their choices, go back and serve a never ending cycle or go to this new universe and save sentients from certain extinction.

Phoenix had never been comfortable with the cycle, even after it's purpose was explained to him. He did not think it was the right way to achieve their goals not to mention every he and every other consciousness inside him had just gone through it. He felt this was an opportunity to do what the Reapers were meant to do, protect life.

It appeared the entity chose those who'd already had doubts about the cycle and it's effectiveness, though they wouldn't dare voice their discontent to the rest of the fleet for fear of what might happen. Now they had an out, a way to protect life without destroying it, in its natural form. They held an internal vote, and it was decided they would go and help those in this new galaxy.


Unknown Location

"So. You have decided then, good. I will quickly explain what upgrades to your form I'm about to make. I will also leave you with the coordinates to a vast repository of knowledge of a long-dead race that may contain information you'll need to win, they were one of the most advanced civilizations to ever walk the stars; be warned though this repository is on board their last great city-ship which is occupied by Humans, so if you are going to acquire the knowledge I'd suggest you do so without drawing attention to yourselves." the entity said

"First, I will start with Phoenix and Relkos. I will be replacing your power cores and power distribution system, you will have a much more powerful zero point generator and the ability to make use of it." he paused a second "The Destroyers will be receiving a highly advanced neutrino ion power generator, that will produce a much larger quantity of power for the same size constraints." he said

"How exactly much more powerful will this core be?" Relkos asked

"The core will be able to produce an almost limitless amount of power by extracting Zero point energy from the universe you're in instead of an artificially created region of subspace-time. This, however, is not without its drawbacks, the generator produces exotic particles in the process of creating power and will have to use more and more of the power it produces to sustain the containment shield, depending on the extraction rate you demand of it. There are ways the problem could be solved but you have to figure that out yourself... In conjunction with the power, core upgrade your element zero cores will also be upgraded to be able to utilize the larger amount of available power." the entity said

"Next might be the most important change, I will be upgrading your Reaper core to use crystal-based technology, which will increase your processing power by about 8 fold and allow for me to install the other software and hardware changes I need to make. This will take the longest as it is a delicate process. I will also be encasing the core in a solid neutronium shell to further protect it from damage when I finish."

"I will be completely changing your old FTL system next as it is far too slow to travel the distances you need to be able to in a reasonable amount of time. Instead, you will be receiving a supremely advanced intergalactic hyperdrive system that will allow you to cover vast distances very quickly. Due to the size constraint, the destroyers will be receiving a slower but smaller drive." he continued "You will also receive an enhanced sensor suite that will be far superior to your current sensors." he paused a moment and seemed to think for a moment.

"I also will gift you with a better shielding system developed by a race long dead that was proven to be very effective. The shielding system is composed of two different shields working in conjunction; the first is a standard 'bubble' type shield that most races use, it will absorb a majority of the damage received. The next is a form-fitting type shield used by only the most advanced races, though it is weaker overall than its counterpart it will allow the main barrier time to recharge or for you to escape." the entity said

"Lastly, for both capital ships, I will upgrade your internal manufacturing and refining plants so that they will not only have vastly increased speed but will allow you to construct more advanced technology. These plants will use molecular construction devices and nanite production lines that will allow for more complex projects such as vacuum extraction devices. (ZPM) Finally, I will add Beam transporter arrays to all Reapers to allow rapid deployment of assets, you will also gain the many other advantages of using point to point transporters" he explained

"On the destroyers, I will install matter converter beams, nanite cloud factories, and control nodes to allow you to build infrastructure much more quickly, and repair damage and modify yourselves more quickly. They will also be extremely useful in mining operations" he finished.

"I assume that we will have to be offline for you to install these upgrades?" Relkos asked uncomfortably, he hated being vulnerable.

"You will, for only the short time it will take me to make the changes," he confirmed

"Where will you be putting us when we arrive?" an Elder destroyer named Hirial asked.

"You will be inserted into the Andromeda galaxy, there are no space-faring species that have a significant presence there. It will allow you time to set up a base of operations and plan before being discovered." the balance keeper said.

"Then let us get this done" came a female voice from a destroyer named Ryena.

The balance keeper nodded, snapping his fingers every Reaper went offline, over the next 14 hours he upgraded each Reaper. Once he was finished he inputted a massive amount of technical data and a useful little data packet with the languages and other basic information about the major races of the local cluster. He also added the repository of knowledge for a race who asked him to gift the data to those who would not only be able to understand it but use it for a worthy cause, that way although the Furling were no more, their legacy would live on forever...


Unknown System, Andromeda Galaxy, Local Cluster

When Phoenix regained conciseness, he immediately noticed several things, first, he felt differently than he normally did, but it wasn't a bad difference at all. He felt lighter, and he could think more clearly, his sub-minds noted the same. He ran a diagnostic and noticed his operating system was changed and completely redesigned. When he looked over his internal diagnostics he felt very excited, the entity had delivered. He felt his new power core, instead of the lake of available power he normally had this felt like a calm but vast ocean. He noticed the new shields as well, and he felt safer with them around him.

He started scanning the system and area around him after a moment more of admiring his new upgrades. He was shocked! His new sensors were incredible, he could see everything with amazing detail from so far away! Inside, he felt his science minds going over the data and looking over the technical specifications of the sensor array they'd been given. He noted this system had 14 planets, 2 of which could sustain life and the rest were either large gas giants or barren rocks. His sensors also noted the position of the rest of his companions, he activated his communications array, they had planning to do.

"Move into the system and get better scans of the planets, see if they have the resources we need. We're looking for naquadah, trinium, and neutronium. If you find none scan the asteroid belt. Hirial stays behind." Relkos instructed the destroyers.

"I've been looking through the repository of knowledge the entity left us, there are a large number of useful things in there. I think one we should look into right away is a cloaking system if we are going to try and keep a low profile it would be very advantageous to have." Phoenix informed Relkos.

He got a flash of acknowledgment "Indeed, It looks like it would be easy enough to modify our shield emitters and install the generator to project the field. You should begin to make the modifications immediately, have Hirial help you." Relkos said as both of the other Reapers moved to begin the modifications.

Hirial released a nanite cloud that immediately began to swarm over Phoenix's hull and modify his shield emitters, internally he instructed his manufacturing system to start making the cloaking generator from the specifications he saw in the repository. About 45 minutes later the emitters were modified and the generator was hooked up to his shield emitter array.

Phoenix started running diagnostics on his shielding systems to make sure everything still worked properly. When everything had checked out he switched to cloak, the 2-kilometer large sentient starship shimmered and vanished visually and to all sensors. Relkos was very impressed, even when he concentrated his scans on the area he knew Phoenix was and he could detect nothing.

Phoenix shimmered back into view and came back up on sensors, "Very impressive I couldn't find you with sensors at all, and you visually disappeared as well." He received a burst of data over the fleet network, "It appears the 4th planet has what we need let us go." all three moved towards the 4th planet in the system.

"I have some ideas for modifications to the cloaking generators that could allow increasing their already impressive effectiveness, I'll let you know when I have something solid. I did notice there is a version of the cloaking system meant for ground troops." Hirial said pushing the schematics and technical data through the network. He received acknowledgment from the larger Reapers.

While on their way to the 4th planet Phoenix and a good portion of his billions of sub-minds were looking through the technical data and the repository they'd received everything from culture to technology. "This is incredible, there are things in here that are lightyears ahead of anything the Reapers had" his lead scientist mind informed him. Her name was Rachel Selvix and she used to be the head of alliance's research and development division, back before the Reaper invasion. "I suggest we try and find this other repository that the entity gave us coordinates for, now that we have a working cloaking system it would be much easier to slip in deploy some ground forces to infiltrate the facility and get out," she said, Phoenix gave he a grunt of acknowledgment.

"We should establish our base here then start scouting out this galaxy, and the others in the local cluster. I believe we should also consider moving to obtain a copy of this other repository, the entity provided the location of. " Phoenix suggested

Relkos considered that second part for a few minutes, he answered just as they were arriving above the 4th planet, "I agree, but we need to be extremely cautious if we are caught it could cause a huge issue in the future when we try to establish ties with those people. I will allow you to pursue this goal, but first, we must establish a base."

The Small Reaper fleet worked for the next two weeks scouting, mining and building up their new base. They built large shipyards to construct the vessels they needed to complete many tasks, the first of which would be scouting out the Andromeda Galaxy and establishing a sensor net to inform them of anyone leaving or entering the galaxy and internal hyperspace traffic as well.

They also made large factories for building everything they might need, their internal systems were good but they couldn't produce items they needed on a large enough scale. The first thing these large factories churned out were modified Geth platforms, these would act as their ground forces for now. The platforms were slaved to the overall control of the Reaper but could act independently if needed, this was one of the many modifications to the platform they made.

First, their outer shell was changed out with a much lighter and more durable trinium alloy. Their internal systems were stripped and completely redesigned, the original power packs were replaced with a small naquadah power cell that would provide much more power and last longer. Their frames were strengthened allowing the platform to carry heavier loads as well as increasing overall durability. Next, their kinetic barriers were replaced with a more powerful personal shield generator. The shield would protect them from most energy and kinetic weapons for a short while before having to recharge.

Finally, they had personal cloaking generators installed that would hide them from most sensors and visual detection allowing for infiltration operations. The new platforms wouldn't have to wait long to be put to use, as Phoenix was about to launch a mission to infiltrate the Alterran city-ship of Atlantis and download the whole Ancient database...


A/N: So this is chapter one of the Infinite Cycle, I know some people will be worried about Deus ex Machina but don't be. The enemy can kick some serious ass and the reapers aren't nearly prepared to face them. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the story, and feel free to review. Have a good day!