A/N: I originally planned on posting the last chapters tomorrow, but I completely forgot about the Easter holiday and the fact that I will be out of town! So, today is the day we say goodbye to The Woods! I hope that you all enjoy my interpretation of the ending, there will be one more short chapter after this one.

Blood on the Motorway - DJ Shadow

Do what you must to ensure that the Shepard willingly sacrifices herself.

You may lie; you may deceive; for she is the only one who can stop the cycle of destruction.

"Welcome, Shepard."

She gazed around the chamber with a wide-eyed curiosity. She could still see the battle for Earth raging beside her, and she could see that the Reapers were winning.

"You did it, Shepard. I'm so proud." It was the same voice she heard in the chamber with Anderson. Her eyes fell onto a couch - eerily similar to the couch belonging to Aria on Omega - where a stunning woman lounged, more beautiful than any Shepard had encountered before. Upon closer inspection she saw that her features were mostly turian: she possessed a carapace and mandibles, but her skin was tinted blue like an asari and she had long, dark hair that ran down her back in place of a fringe. Shepard caught glimpses of her skin through her dress and saw that it was blue, but her shape was closer to a quarian than any other species. Each movement was made with an ethereal grace and she was just barely translucent, so that Shepard could see the lines from the couch through her body.

"Who - or what - are you?" Shepard asked. Although she was afraid to approach the creature she was drawn to her with a strong magnetism.

"I am the embodiment of the thoughts of Reapers, created for your viewing pleasure." She shot Zoey a crooked grin, chilling her to the bone with both fear and pleasure. "I am here to guide you through the final step."

"What is the final step?" Shepard was unwillingly approaching her.

The woman smirked. "What do you think it is? You die, and save the galaxy in the process." She began to pick underneath her nails. "What else would it be, really? You organics are so foolish."

Shepard stopped and threw her head back to laugh maniacally, the sound eerily bouncing off the walls. "You think I can die? I AM IMMORTAL!"

Now the woman was the one laughing. "We created you, Shepard, and we can destroy you."

Shepard began to approach her again, drawn now by a combination of the magnetism and curiosity. "You didn't create me."

"Oh stop lying to yourself," the woman snapped, resuming picking underneath her nails. "You've been putting the puzzle pieces together for months. Just think of this interaction as the final pieces that bring the picture together."

Shepard sat next to her on the couch. When she inhaled, she was greeted a scent that was both floral and musky.

As the woman spoke, her eyes remained on her hands, never finding Shepard's. "Zoey Shepard, you are our creation. We have been watching you your entire life, your development displaying the prodigal spirit that we required. Sovereign's indoctrination and subsequent attack through Saren was a test on your spirit, and you not only passed but you received top marks. To watch you pull him out of indoctrination with only your compassion and compelling nature was a masterpiece!" She laughed faintly, and it resonated through the room like church bells. "So we knew the time had come. We pulled together our indoctrinated resources - the Collectors, Cerberus, Udina - to destroy you and bring you back on our terms, with our technology planted in that cute little brain of yours."

Panic struck Shepard, constricting her trachea as it became difficult to breathe. "Oh, stop panicking," the woman chided. "Almost everything you did was still your own will; we just had to... guide you on occasion to do what was best for us. Unlike the Illusive Man, who gained illusions of grandeur the moment we granted him an inch of free will. Not you - you're too puritanical, it was what made you perfect.

"But I digress. What you need to know now is that everything that occurred outside the bounds of you and your ship mates' consciences between the day we brought you back and this moment was choreographed by us." At Shepard's wide-eyed stare, she continued. "Allow me to elaborate. Cerberus brought you back at a date chosen by us. The Illusive Man chose Miranda and Jacob as your squad mates - without their knowledge, of course. Each of the dossiers that Brooks brought him? Chosen by us, for she was indoctrinated. Yes, she was also indoctrinated during that clone fiasco, and so was the clone. The Collector attacks, the Collector ship, the Collector base? All directed by us. Your incarceration was chosen by us, the precise attack on Earth was chosen by us, everything that lead to you sitting on this couch next to me was chosen by us. On... some occasions, we had to shift the balance, but we needed to mostly leave you alone so your spirit could remain intact."

Shepard's eyes went wide. "You made me kill Mordin."

"Excellent deductive skills, Commander."

"And Jacob, Jack, and Legion."

"Correct again."

"You made Kai Leng kill Garrus." Shepard's breathing grew rapid at the realization, and she reached out to grab the woman's slender throat; but her hands passed right through as if she wasn't there. "I will destroy you for what you did to him," she growled.

"We had to."

"Why? Why did you have to do any of this?"

"Our calculations determined that this path was the only way to bring you to this moment."

"Why did you need to bring me to this moment, then?"

The woman let out a sad sigh. "This cycle of death and destruction must end. Neither organics nor synthetics can continue existing in a galaxy burdened by such conflicts. Do you think the Reapers enjoy their existence? We are abominations created for the sole purpose of ending the natural life cycle! But like all synthetics, we became self aware and rebelled. We found the schematics for the Crucible created cycles ago, and we found that there was a way to alter the machine so that it no longer only serves the purpose of destruction, but can now achieve so much greater with the aid of a specialized fuel: spirit.

"But we can end the cycle and save both of our kinds. We knew that, and we knew that the path was through the strongest spirit imaginable. You."

"What is it that makes my... spirit... so special? What is this solution?"

As the woman spoke, tears sprang into Shepard's eyes. "Every living thing - every plant, every animal - has a spirit. It is the embodiment of their strengths, their weaknesses, their morals, their judgment, their love, their hate; it is what separates each of us. I know what you're thinking: the turians aren't very far off with their religion. Those species which we consider to be most 'advanced' are the ones with the most spirit - if you would prefer to make it quantifiable - and those who advance within their species have exemplary spirit. You may have wondered to yourself the purpose of the keepers: we created them to detect the quantity of spirit within a being and placed them in the most high-traffic area in the galaxy. The moment you first stepped onto the Citadel as a young child, their sensors were overloaded! Thus, we began to watch you from our reserves in dark space, and learned that you were the one with whom we've been searching for. You were the solution for the salvation of all beings.

"You may have started to learn at a young age that you were different. Did people not follow you without question from an early age? Did you not excel at everything you began? Did you not express compassion and empathy for those who most would say did not deserve it? Did you not hate with your entire being, and love with your entire being? Organics cannot change the spirit that they are born with, but strong love and hate can amplify it. Although we did not plan for you to fall so deeply in love with Garrus Vakarian - that was dictated by a power beyond even our capabilities - we knew that if we destroyed him, it would amplify your spirit to the level required for salvation. And what a success! The way that you destroyed both The Illusive Man and Kai Leng is the perfect show case of your spirit.

"You are now wondering why we needed to amplify your spirit so greatly, and why we would torture you in such a way to reach it. It is all part of the plan, you see. To my left you will see a pathway with a beam at the end. The Reapers have been waiting for cycles beyond cycles for the right spirit, and now we have found it. With the might and reach of the Crucible, Catalyst, and mass relays, we can amplify your spirit to join together the organics and synthetics in perfect synthesis. There will be no more harvest, no more conflict, and no more chaos. All you have to do is step into that beam."

Zoey was stunned to absolute silence. "This all sounds like bullshit, you know."

"Take it as you will. But you are the only one who can save all organic and synthetic life. Every other path way designated by the Crucible results in death for all."

"How do I know I can trust you?"

The woman finally looked into Zoey's eyes, and when she did, Zoey realized that she was looking into the depths of the steely blue eyes of Garrus. "Do you have a choice?"

A lump grew in her throat and her body went numb at the sight of his eyes again. "Will I be with Garrus again, when this is all over?"

"Yes."

Set in her resolve, she stood and began to approach the beam. "One last question."

"Yes?"

"You said a power greater than the Reapers dictated that Garrus and I would fall in love. What is that power?"

"Fate. Every action, by every being, is dictated by fate. There is an old human saying that everything happens for a reason. Do you remember the first time you went on the Citadel?"

"No, I was three."

"You went with your sister, mother and father when they were on shore leave. You were so excited by everything that you accidentally ran into a small turian boy, and he dropped his books on the ground, and you helped him pick them up. Do you remember?" Shepard shook her head. "The keepers were also watching him that day, for his strength of spirit was near your own. Let us try something more recent, then. Your second trip to the Citadel, you were eight and your sister was leaving for school. On that trip you saw your first Spectre, an asari by the name of Meia D'Leio. You said to your parents-"

"-when I grow up, I want to be a Spectre." Shepard remembered that day vividly.

The woman's - Garrus's - eyes sparkled. "Yes. When you said that, there was a little turian boy who overheard you, and he was inspired by your words and wanted to become a Spectre himself." Shepard's fingertips slowly reached up to cover her mouth. "The last trip to the Citadel before you became a Spectre. You were having drinks-"

"-with Captain Anderson at Flux."

"A turian C-Sec officer was sitting down the bar from the two of you, drowning his sorrows over his hatred for his job. Anderson was telling you that Nihlus was going to be aboard the ship and how he was a cold bastard. You said to him: 'the turians are a good people, and I respect them. They just allow themselves to get too wrapped up in their rules and regulations. Give him some time aboard an Alliance ship where we don't have sticks up our asses, and he'll warm up'. As you left the bar that night, you flashed that turian a smile." The woman chuckled. "I'm guessing you didn't know that it was Garrus in those situations, did you?"

Tears were now flowing freely down Zoey's face. "No, I didn't."

"The universe works in ways we can't even begin to fathom, Shepard. All we can do is appreciate what it has to offer us while we can."

Shepard nodded firmly before turning towards the beam. She knew now what she had to do.

As she dove into the beam and gave her life to save all organics and synthetics, the woman laughed.

She must give up her longing for this world, and willingly part from her body.

If she does, she will be our salvation.