'Where am I? It hurts. What hurts? Everything… I think. Why does everything hurt? It feels… it feels like I'm on fire… Why fire? What am I doing here?'

Those were just a snippet of the thoughts running through Shepard's mind as she lay there, the entire world white and ringing as her hearts drummed in her ears.

"God…" The voice of Major Coats breathed in horror. "They're all gone…"

"Did anyone make it to the beam?" A different voice asked.

'Oh, the beam… did everyone in my team make it out okay?'

"Negative." Coats denied. "Our entire force was decimated. It's too much, we need to regroup! Fall back to the buildings…"

'Wait… Anderson said not to do that. Hold on… pessimistic attitude, going against express orders as soon as Chain of Command breaks down… shit, I think Coats is indoctrinated.'

Slowly, the world around Shepard returned to form. The glowing blue light of the Conduit saturated the area, and the wind kicked up as Harbinger took off.

"Hammer's been wiped out, all forces, retreat!"

Oh no, she wasn't going to let one indoctrinated Major ruin all they'd worked to accomplish.

Shepard grunted as she grasped for the pistol near her, and she staggered to her feet. Shepard winced-her entire body felt like it had been blistered, a persistent stinging sensation prickling at the skin exposed to the air. Shepard looked down, taking in the state of herself.

Her entire armor was charred away, what little shield emitter lights were left sparked and flickered. Both sleeves were missing, and she was caked in enough blood to look like she'd taken a dip in the stuff. Most of her weapons had been knocked off her back and charred beyond recognition, save for the aforementioned pistol, and the De-mat gun River had built laying nearby, looking no worse for wear. Shepard picked up the De-mat gun, and placed it on her back in the only working slot, continuing forward.

Shepard winced as her hand began to burn, only the sensation seemed to be coming from inside her body, rather than from her wounds. Shepard looked down at the hand in question, and inhaled.

Her blood vessels were glowing a bioluminescent orange, as her wounds began to stitch themselves up. Slowly, the feeling began to spread, and Shepard began to feel like a weight was pressing down on her chest.

Remembering the Doctor's cryptic warnings, she began to breathe deeply, as she walked along. Slowly, her shuffling movements became a proper walk once more, as the fractured bones in her legs stitched themselves up.

Shepard wiped at her face, as it seemed to become completely dry, her skin completely unblemished. So too, was the skin on her arms, looking completely fine and healthy.

Three Husks came around the corner, as the deep breaths Shepard was taking seemed to be pulling her along for the ride against her will.

It was starting.

'No… no!' Shepard shouted to herself as she took down the Husks with her pistol. 'I can't let it happen now… I can't become a completely different person while in the middle of a battle…"

Shepard held her breath, and the itchy burning sensation spreading throughout her died down to a mild heat.

A Marauder popped out from behind a bit of rubble, taking a potshot at Shepard. The moment it landed, the wound sealed with an orange slow, and Shepard returned fire with three shots to the head, killing the Marauder.

Shepard stepped past the Marauder's corpse and began running up the ramp towards the beam. Shepard charged straight into it, and white light overtook her, as she shot up the beam like a bullet.

**DW**

Deep within the Citadel, where no living thing stirred for millennia, the Keepers crawled around inside a hellish red chamber. Corpses, exclusively human corpses were piled up against the walls, as the Keepers worked to transport them around the processing facilities.

At the core of that chamber, was a strange, tipi-like structure, comprised of six metal spikes coming out of a circular pad in the floor.

The pad suddenly lit up blue, and Shepard came flying out of it, rolling across the dusty, ancient floor.

"Ow…" Shepard groaned, feeling like the wind was knocked out of her.

"Shepard?" A voice suddenly radioed her, as Shepard got to her feet.

"Anderson?" Shepard replied, not quite being able to think through the dreamy haze in her mind. "You're up here too?"

"I followed you up." He explained. "But we didn't come out in the same place… at least, I don't think we did. What's your surroundings look like?"

"It's dark…" Shepard reported, looking around at the chamber. Cables hung from the ceiling, pulsating as if they were blood vessels, and grey goo dripped from the ceiling. The burning itching stabbed at Shepard suddenly, and she grunted in pain.

"You okay?" Anderson inquired.

Now really wasn't the best time to explain regeneration… "I feel like I'm dying." She settled. "But I'm moving." She replied, walking forward. "There's… human remains scattered around here." She reported, as a Keeper removed a helmet from a dead soldier.

"Sounds familiar. I'm in a dark hallway… It reminds me of your description of the Collector base."

Shepard inhaled. "Makes sense."

"You think they're building a Reaper here?"

"Sure." Shepard forced out, past the budding nausea. "Round up the bodies on Earth, then send them here to be processed."

"Goddamn abomination." Anderson spat. "I'm going to keep moving. The sooner we blow these bastards to hell, the better."

Shepard silently agreed and continued moving as well.

"The tubes don't go on forever." Anderson reported. "But where the hell are we?"

"It's got to be the core…" Shepard grunted, fighting the pressure building like fire in her body. "I can't think of anywhere else that hasn't been explored."

"Whoa."

"Anderson?"

"One of the walls just realigned itself." Anderson explained. "This place is… shifting. Changing."

Shepard was beginning to feel even more uneasy than before. Inside Rassilon's tomb, and the internal architecture was reinventing itself? Not a good sign.

"There's a chasm up here." The Admiral reported. "And more hallways like the one I was in."

"I think I'm near an exit." Shepard said, as a door opened to allow her purchase.

Shepard entered into a large, curved chamber, trapezoidal panels hanging from the ceiling and floor of the room, sparking. A deep pit, like the one Anderson described, ran the length of the room, and a series of bridges connected the side Shepard entered from to the other.

"I see something up ahead. Might be a way to cross over."

"Careful…" Shepard gasped. "Don't get too far ahead of me." She crossed the bridge, as the trapezoidal segments and parts of the walls began to move.

"Where do you think you're at?"

"Just found that chasm you were talking about."

"Hold on… I see something. A door." Anderson's voice began to grow laden with static. "I'm just going to take a look…"

"Anderson?" Shepard questioned, as she ascended the ramp. "Damn it." Shepard emerged into a circular room, the wall one massive window looking out onto the Citadel's Wards. The Seal of Rassilon was emblazoned proudly on the ceiling and floor, and on the other side from where Shepard had entered was a console, with Gallifreyan text flashing across the screen

Anderson stood in front of the console and didn't seem to register Shepard's approach.

"Anderson…"

Anderson turned away from the console, moving in a jittery, yet at the same time stiff, manner.

"Shepard…" Anderson grunted. "I can't…"

'What the hell?' Shepard wondered to herself. It looked like the mere act of turning around was a struggle for Anderson. He didn't look injured or show any other reasons why he'd be struggling, so why was he acting like that?

Oily shadows began to prickle and intrude at the edge of her vision, and through the fiery sting of the regeneration energy boiling inside her, Shepard began to feel numb, kind of like when a limb falls asleep, only it was her entire body, and Shepard found that she couldn't move either.

"I underestimated you, Shepard." The Illusive Man almost tauntingly stated from behind, and he soon crossed the threshold into her vision, causing Shepard to instinctively recoil. His skin looked cracked and charred, almost scabbed over, with Reaper tech that ran up his neck and the sides of his face, and his veins pulsed a necrotic black.

"What have-" Shepard began to demand in horror, before the words coming out of her mouth were plugged, like putting a cork in a wine bottle.

She couldn't move, she couldn't talk… She and Anderson were sitting ducks.

"I warned you." The Illusive Man stated lowly, walking around her. "Control is the means to survival. Control of the Reapers… and control of you, if necessary."

Anderson let out a pained grunt. "They're controlling you!"

Shepard clenched her fist, as her skin briefly flashed orange, before dying down once more. "Controlling me is a lot different than controlling a Reaper!" She tried to drive into his skull.

"Shepard…"The Illusive Man tilted his head, and fixed her with a look of impatience. "Have a little faith. According to you, they're already being controlled. All it is, is a matter of giving that control to us."

"You think Rassilon's going to give control to you!?" Shepard demanded incredulously. "Look, I knew the monster, personally, he's not going to be persuaded by you!" 'Especially not with the fate of Gallifrey at stake.' "We have to destroy the Reapers, there's no other option."

The Illusive Man shook his head almost disappointedly. "When humanity discovered the Mass Relays… When we learned there was more to the galaxy than we imagined… There were some who argued that the Relays should be destroyed. They were scared of what we might find, terrified of what we might let in."

"Given that Earth is being besieged by the same creators of those Relays, I'd argue that their caution was warranted." Shepard fired back.

"But look at what we have achieved!" The Illusive Man vehemently pointed out onto the Citadel. "Since that discovery we have advanced more than the past ten-thousand years combined! And the Reapers can do the same for us again, a thousand-fold. But…"

An invisible spike drove itself into Shepard's head as the shadows at the edges of her vision darkened, and her hearts went wild, as her arms raised her pistol in Anderson's direction without Shepard's consent.

"Only if we can harness that ability to control." The Illusive Man finished.

"Bullshit." Anderson called, holding out a hand towards Shepard. "We destroy them, or they destroy us."

"And waste this opportunity?" The Illusive Man demanded. "Never!"

"Listen to me…" Shepard pleaded. "This is power beyond anything any of us should ever be able to use. When humanity first invented nuclear weapons, you know what happened. The Cold War kicked off, and the world was constantly poised on the brink of annihilation, all it took was one miscommunication, and it was over, then and there. In trying to save us, you'd be condemning us to extinction!"

"I…" The Illusive Man began. Shepard smiled in her own mind. It sounded like she was beginning to get through to him. "I don't believe that. If we can control it, why shouldn't it be ours?"

"We're not ready for this kind of power." Shepard argued.

"No." The Illusive Man replied. "This is the way humanity must evolve."

"There's," Anderson forced out, "Always another way."

"I've dedicated my life to understanding the Reapers," The Illusive Man began, "I know that the Moment will allow me to control them."

"And then what?" Shepard demanded.

"Look at the power they wield!" The Illusive Man clenched a fist, as the shadows began to lengthen. "Look at what they can do!"

Against Shepard's will, a shot fired from the pistol, directed straight at Anderson's gut.

Shepard shook her head. "I see what they did to you."

"I took what I wanted from them!" The Illusive Man insisted. "Made it my own! This isn't about me or you. It's about things so much bigger than all of us!"

"He's wrong." Anderson gasped. "Don't listen to him."

"And who will you listen to, Shepard?" The Illusive Man demanded. "An old soldier, stuck in his ways, only able to see the world down the barrel of a gun?" He turned back to her. "And what if he's wrong? What is controlling the Reapers is the answer?"

"If we destroy them, this ends here and now, and you can still get your research out of them." Shepard stated. "But if you can't control them… All the sacrifices you've made, everything you've given up to study them… it's all for nothing if you can't control them!"

"But I can!" The Illusive Man insisted, desperately gesturing.

"Are you willing to bet humanity's entire existence on it?" Shepard demanded.

"I…" The Illusive Man put his head in his hands. "Know it will work!"

"You can't, can you?" Shepard asked. "They won't let you."

"No!" The Illusive Man screamed. "I'm in control! No one is telling me what to do!"

"Listen to yourself." Anderson pleaded. "You're… indoctrinated."

"No. No!" The Illusive Man insisted. "Listen to the two of you, so self-righteous! Do you think power like this comes easy? There are sacrifices-"

"You've sacrificed too much." Shepard laid down the law.

"Shepard, I…" He began to pace around the room, almost lost. "I only wanted to protect humanity. The Moment can allow me to control them, I know it. I just…"

"It isn't too late." Shepard softly said, fighting back another burst of energy from within. "Let us go… We can do the rest."

""I…" The Illusive Man struggled. "I can't do that, Commander."

"Of course you can't." Anderson shook his head. "They own you now."

The Illusive Man marched behind Anderson, taking the other man's pistol.

"You'd… You'd undo everything I have accomplished." The Illusive Man examined the pistol, before walking back into the center of the room. "I won't let that happen."

Shepard shook her head. "Because of you, humanity is already undone."

"That's not true!" The Illusive Man desperately gestured.

"They have the Citadel!" Shepard yelled back. "They have us fighting each other instead of them!"

"I just need to-"

"You've done exactly what the Reapers wanted!" Shepard continued, cutting the Illusive Man off. "You're still doing it because they control you!"

"I…" The Illusive Man grasped his head. "They're too strong!"

"You're stronger!" Shepard insisted. "You're a human being, with a life, history, friends… Are you going to let them take that from you!?"

"No… No!" The Illusive Man resolved. "I tried… Shepard."

The Illusive Man produced the pistol he'd taken from Anderson and pressed the barrel against his temple. He pulled the trigger once, and the other side exploded out with blood and viscera, as the Illusive Man's corpse fell to the floor.

Instantly, the shadows receded, and Anderson fell as well.

Wasting no time as all her faculties returned, Shepard marched over to the control panel, and typed in the command to open the arms. Outside, the arms separated, allowing a view of Earth, and the battle raging above the planet.

The entire place suddenly shook, as the Moment finally docked.

The master control console flickered and vanished, as Shepard could hear movement behind her.

Shepard turned around, seeing Anderson pushing himself up against a raised-up section of the floor.

Shepard walked over, and sat down next to him, fighting off another burst of energy. She could regenerate now, it was over, finished…

But something within her said she'd need all the energy she could muster for something else. So there, she just sat, looking out into space.

"Commander." Anderson said, as he too looked out into the vacuum.

Shepard turned to him with a giant smile. "We did it."

"Yes…" Anderson agreed. "We did. It's… quite a view."

Shepard chuckled, even though the pain of breathing. "Best seats in the house."

"You ever wonder…" Anderson began. "How things would be different? If none of this… never happened?"

Shepard nodded slowly. "Sure."

"I… never had a family, Shepard. Never had children."

"Trust me… it's simultaneously the best and worst thing a sapient being could subject themselves to." Shepard chuckled. "And there'll be time enough for that now."

Anderson laughed. "I think that ship has sailed. But what about you? Ever think of settling down?"

"…Sometimes." She replied. "Way back when, before the Loom… I had a family. It… didn't work out the way I had hoped. I might give it another try…" Shepard held up her hand to look at the ambient glow. "But I might not be so good at it the next go around."

"Sure you would." Anderson replied. "I think you'd make a great mother. Think how… proud your kids would be, telling everyone their mom is the woman who saved the galaxy…"

"I don't know about that…" Shepard looked out. "Not everything I've done is something to be proud of."

"God…" Anderson grunted. "Feels like years since I've just… sat down."

Shepard nodded. "You've more than earned it."

"Mmm." Anderson looked like he was about to drift away.

"Stay with me." Shepard tried to keep him going. "We're almost through this."

"You did good, Shepard." Anderson said. "You did good… I'm… proud of you."

"Thank you, sir." Shepard turned to him. He was slumped back, eyes closed. "…Anderson?"

Shepard looked down at her hand and began to breathe again, the glow returning in response.

"Shepard?" Hackett radioed. "Commander!"

"I-" Shepard staggered to her feet. "What do you need me to do?" She asked, trying to push the energy away.

"Nothing's happening. The Moment isn't firing! It's got to be something on your end!"

Shepard's legs suddenly gave out, and she fell, pulling herself over to the control panel.

"I don't…" She replied. "I don't see…"

Shepard collapsed to the floor.

Hours, or minutes, or seconds passed.

Shepard didn't know precisely when she had begun moving, or why, but she could feel the floor beneath her begin moving down, as the air became stuffier and older.

The platform stopped and settled, but Shepard remained still. It wouldn't be long, and she would succumb to the regeneration.

"Wake up." A voice commanded her, and Shepard looked up. Her hearts practically stopped when she saw the figure standing there.

Rassilon, in gold-accented red robes, looked down on Shepard with… was that anticipation? Was he expecting her?

"At long last, we gather here… for the end." Rassilon turned away.

"I should've known…" Shepard grunted as she pushed herself up. "You're the reason why the Moment isn't firing, aren't you?"

"I've spent billions of years waiting for this moment." Rassilon growled, the staff he carried serving to make him look even more intimidating. "I shall not have it squandered. I wish to receive your answer in person."

"My answer…" Shepard growled in response. "To the choice you gave me? Sentence the rest of the galaxy to death to save one species that'll be killed the next go-around? No…" Shepard let out a humorless laugh. "I may be young, but I'm not stupid. You and I both know, even though it wouldn't be the Reapers killing them, humanity would suddenly and violently be stamped out, wouldn't they?"

"Perhaps…" Rassilon granted. "If humanity is not worthy of survival, they will not survive. It is as simple as that."

"God… what happened to you, Rassilon?" Shepard questioned. "To the man who hunted Tecteun to the ends of the universe for experimenting on a child? To the man who chose to name the child after a rose because she, like the rose, was one of the most precious things you'd ever seen? To the man who would come for me to help because you had no clue how to raise that child? You used to be such a good man, one I was proud to count as my friend, my brother… What happened, Rassilon?"

Rassilon held out his arms theatrically. "I followed my destiny."

"And you let yourself be turned into an egotistical megalomaniac in the process." Shepard shook her head.

"I achieved greatness." Rassilon retorted. "A planet, an entire society, the single most powerful society in the universe worships me as a god."

"They only do that, because you falsified the records." Shepard shot back. "Half of 'your' achievements were made by me, Omega, and a whole slew of other people whose names you've forgotten."

"And what, if anything, have you achieved?"

"I brought the galaxy together." Shepard retorted. "I cured the genophage, stopped the Collectors, stopped Saren two years before that, brought the Daleks and the Time Lords into this war. And now, I'm going to stop you."

"Take care, Shepard." Rassilon warned, raising the hand with the silver gauntlet on it threateningly. "Since you have elected not to join me, there is nothing preventing me from destroying you, and your precious little human race."

"That's where you're wrong." Shepard shot back, pulling the cobbled together De-mat gun off her back. "Humanity is anything but little. We- …they, have survived countless wars inflected on themselves. Natural disasters that would kill any other species. They've been to the edges of the galaxy and back. If there's one thing that can't be said about humanity, is that they're little… And I'm proud to have been raised by one."

"You will not shoot me." Rassilon snarled. "Even when we were young, you were pacifistic to a fault."

"There's a difference between being a pacifist and letting words be your preferred method of dealing with problems." Shepard retorted. "I like to offer my enemies a way out, to change… But I do recognize that, sometimes, the only way to win is through weapons."

"You are only making a point to yourself." Rassilon narrowed his eyes. "You do not have the resolve."

"I had the resolve to make it here." Shepard replied. "So, to you, I only have one last question to ask. Wanna bet?"

Rassilon snarled, and his gauntlet began to glow blue. Shepard, at the same time, pulled the trigger on the gun. A red beam shot out from the barrel, enveloping Rassilon, as a blue field encircled Shepard.

Suddenly, Rassilon began to scream as he faded away, the Time Vortex itself screeching around him.

"Ah!" Shepard fell to the ground, spasming. Whatever Rassilon did…

It stopped her from Regenerating. She could feel her own hearts stopping, and her breathing begin to slow, as her cells died off, one by one.

Shepard closed her eyes.

If this was death… then so be it.

"Shepard." Kaidan's voice echoed in her mind, an image of him in the Normandy's cockpit next to Joker flashing in her mind.

"Shepard." Ashley said, standing in front of the arms lockers on the Normandy.

"Shepard." Wrex rumbled.

"Shepard…" Garrus turned around from the main battery control.

"Shepard." Liara nodded.

"Shepard." Tali nervously jittered in front of the drive core.

"Shep." Kasumi grinned.

"Shepard." Zaeed coughed.

"Shepard-Commander." Legion clicked.

"Shepard." Samara serenely noted.

"Shepard." Mordin smiled.

"Shepard." Miranda put her arms behind her back.

"Shepard." Jacob leaned against the table in the Normandy's armory.

"Shepard." Grunt boomed.

"Shepard." Thane blinked.

"Shepard." Jack crossed her arms.

"Shepard." EDI smiled.

"Shepard." James winked.

"Shepard." The Doctor called.

"Shepard!" A new voice screamed.

Shepard's eyes snapped open, and she took in a breath like she'd been submerged in water for far too long.

There were hands grasping her shoulders, and Shepard looked up in confusion.

The Usher smiled gently back at her. The Usher's face and hands began to glow, and Shepard's entire body began to feel like she was on fire.

Shepard inhaled once she realized what was happening. The Usher sacrificed a little bit of her own dormant regeneration energy to restart Shepard's regeneration. A little push, to get the ball rolling.

"Thank…" Shepard struggled to her feet.

"Don't thank me just yet." The Usher shot back. She placed a blue disc on Shepard's chest.

"What…"

"You'll need it, trust me. Be seeing you. Or rather… you'll be seeing me." The Usher winked as she ran into her TARDIS, taking off.

"Wait!" Shepard called. "Don't leave me here… Don't…"

Shepard looked down at her hands, as the regeneration energy began to flow from her skin like water.

Shepard's muscles began to stiffen, and she got the uncontrollable compulsion to hold her arms out to her side. With a sharp breath, Shepard threw her head back…

And walked into the hurricane.

**DW**

High above Earth, the Citadel's arms kept extending, opening widely like the station was a massive metal flower.

"All ships, the Moment is armed. Disengage, and head to the rendezvous point!" Hackett ordered.

The Normandy flew around the joined Moment and Citadel, Joker frantically tapping at the controls.

Garrus, standing on the bridge with Traynor, tried to grab the pilot's attention.

"I repeat: Disengage and get the hell out of here!"

"Joker," Garrus grabbed his arm gently, yet firmly. "We have to go."

Joker stopped his movements and clutched his dog tags. "Damn it."

The Normandy broke off just as the red pulse from the Moment fired. All around the Earth, the assorted fleets began to jump away in unison, as the violent red-orange wave of energy from the Moment enveloped the planet.

The Reapers hanging in orbit remained still, until the wave enveloped them, and they sparked and spluttered, shutting down.

Down on the planet below, teams of soldier frantically fought the Reaper troops that seemed to just keep coming from nowhere. The situation looked hopeless, as more troop pods fell from the sky, as more actual Reapers descended from the sky.

The wave from the Moment, like a great wall of fire blasted past the buildings and through the battlefield like a shockwave. The towering Reapers, which had been firing down on the battlefield below, stopped, and sparked, toppling over, while the smaller foot soldiers that had been created from modified organics simply vaporized.

Back up in orbit, the wave suddenly receded back, before the presidium tower began to glow red, shooting a beam out towards the edge of the solar system.

The beam hit the core of the Mass Relay, causing it to shift from the calm blue to the angry red, as the containment rings began to spin faster and faster. The rings suddenly locked up, and the relay fired off a pulse out of the system. To the next relay in sequence.

And the next.

And the next.

And the next.

Across the entire galaxy, every relay connected to the main Mass Relay network exploded into red fire, sending the pulse further and further along.

On Thessia, in one of the many ruined cities scattered across the planet, the Reapers suddenly sparked and toppled over dead, the Asari warriors on the planet cheering out in unison.

On Tuchanka, the story was much of the same, as the Krogan troops fired off celebratory shots wildly into the air.

On the Normandy, the galaxy map flashed wildly as each relay blew apart. On the bridge, the klaxons screamed as the FTL corridor around the ship began to warp and collapse, despite Joker doing all he could to keep the ship moving forward.

Joker shot a look back into the CIC, making sure everyone was in their safety harnesses, as the wave finally caught up to the ship.

And the Normandy went down.

**DW**

"…We're receiving reports from all over the galaxy." Hackett's hologram flickered in the QEC. "It's the same story everywhere. Reaper ground forces all simultaneously vaporized, with the Reapers themselves becoming inert."

The Doctor, standing with some difficulty, and his arm in a sling, raised an eyebrow. "They just keeled over and died?"

"Not the phrase many would use, but it looks that way." Hackett nodded.

"A bit anticlimactic, but a tremendous relief." The Doctor smiled. "How's everyone holding up?"

"It's… going to be difficult going ahead." Hackett stated. "But things are already moving ahead fairly quickly. People are already grouping together to aid in cleanup and rebuilding."

"That's humans for you." The Doctor grinned. "Suffer horrible tragedies, and you bounce right back better than ever. Indomitable! But… you are giving those dead Reapers a wide berth, yes?"

Hackett nodded. "We aren't detecting any emissions coming from them, but we won't be taking any chances any time soon."

"Glad to hear it." The Doctor approved. "What about the others stuck in the Sol System?"

"The Time Lords still in system are helping get the non-native fleets back to their own systems." The Admiral reported. "It's going to be tough going without the relays but, in time, we should be able to repair them as well. How is the Normandy's crew doing?"

"Good. Good…" The Doctor slowly nodded. "Anxious to get back home. I offered them a ride in the TARDIS, but they're bound and determined to get the Normandy back up and running. There is, one thing… Shepard?"

Hackett sighed. "After Anderson and Shepard disappeared into the Conduit, we lost all contact. We haven't heard anything from either of them since. There are search parties coming every last area we know the Citadel's debris fell to, but nothing's been found so far."

"Damn…" The Doctor looked down despondently. "The crew's going to be sad to hear that."

"It's not a death sentence." Hackett responded.

"No, it isn't." The Doctor agreed. "And as soon as I get back up to one hundred percent, I'll find her. I promise."

"I wish you the best of luck." He nodded. "Hackett out."

The Doctor sighed as the hologram faded, and the Doctor stepped out into the war room.

Garrus was leaning against the holoprojector. "Anything?"

The Doctor shook his head.

"Damn." Garrus cursed. "We could use her right about now."

"Yeah." The Doctor agreed, as they both moved through the Normandy. They stepped into the elevator, and the Doctor pressed the button to send them down.

"So…" Garrus turned to the Doctor. "You're heading out?"

The Doctor nodded. "The Reapers are gone, the galaxy's rebuilding… You lot don't need me anymore."

"Shepard would be heartbroken to know you left without saying goodbye." Garrus remarked, as the elevator came to a stop, and they stepped out into the shuttle bay.

"This isn't goodbye." The Doctor replied. "Shepard's family now… I'll pop in from time to time, you can count on that." He came to a stop in front of the TARDIS. "Well then… This looks like it."

Garrus nodded. "Goodbye, Doctor."

The Doctor returned it with a nod and stepped into the TARDIS.

Susan and River stood vigilantly by the controls, watching as the Doctor entered.

"So, that's it?" River inquired. "The Reapers are dead?"

The Doctor nodded. "It's over, finished. We can go."

"What about grandmother?" Susan asked, as the Doctor began to set the controls with his free hand.

"She's fine, I should think." The Doctor answered.

"So, we're just going to leave her?" Susan questioned.

"Don't worry," The Doctor told her. "She'll be fine. I saw one of her later faces in the Death Zone. I have full confidence she'll make it out just fine. So," He tried to clap his hands, wincing. "Retirement…" He paced around the console, and set it to dematerialize, leaving the Normandy behind for good.

**DW**

The first thing I remember when I was born was screaming. Not the screaming of people around me, but my own screaming. So loud and for so long that my throat felt raw by the end of it.

And I was falling. The Citadel blew apart around me, and the disc the Usher put on my chest acted as a sort of heat shield, keeping me safe as I plunged through the atmosphere, down to Earth.

The light that was blinding me died down as I slammed into the ground, and I groaned as my injuries healed themselves.

I staggered to my feet and looked around. Over on a hill, a man in a tartan kilt looked on with amazement.

"Hello!" I called, my own voice sounding wrong to my ears. It had an odd sort of… lilt to it. "It might sound silly, but… where are we?"

"Scotland!" The man replied. "You don't remember your own homeland, lass?"

Oh, apparently, I sounded Scottish. Huh. Well, if I was in Scotland, that explained the kilt he was wearing at least.

"Scotland, good…" I muttered to myself. "I've always wanted to visit." I looked back to the man. "So, Scotland… There were Reapers in Scotland, right? Did it work?"

The man frowned in confusion. "Reapers? What in Heaven's name are ye going on about?"

"You know, the Reapers!" I repeated. "Giant death robots from the dawn of time!"

"Lassie, I don't know about any Reapers or Robutts, or anything like that." The man replied.

"Did they not land here?" I looked around in confusion. The landscape did look pretty pristine. "Where am I exactly?"

"Culloden Moor." The man answered.

I frowned. Culloden Moor? This place should be a memorial site, but it looked positively untouched… Unless…

"What year is this?"

"What?"

"Just answer my question!" I snapped.

"Lady, it's the year of our Lord, 1746."

I inhaled.

Oh, shit.

**DW**

Yes, yes, before you all go clamoring about how the account ends there, about how there was still so much unexplained, I'd like to take the time to point out that, as most of these accounts are coming from Shepard themselves, there are points of their life they really don't like to reflect on.

The tale of the Reaper War itself was one of those, and I had a hard enough time prying what I could out of Shepard, and I had to get the rest of it out of the Doctor. It's not a perfect account, I know, but I'm mostly satisfied with how it turned out. To all of you, who assisted with my research and offered constructive criticism to boot, thank you. I cannot stress that enough.

For now, this is where the story of the Shepard ends.

But, I do have one last gift for you all.

Don't say I didn't do anything nice.

-Professor River Song, PhD.

**DW**

So… there you have it. The slightly abridged tale of the Reaper war. Looking back on it now, there were a lot of things I wished I did differently. Not trust Cerberus, for a start. Maybe finish up some things with a few people I hadn't seen for a while before that. But, while hindsight is twenty-twenty, as they say, I managed to get out of it with few, if any regrets. That's not something a lot can say.

The Reaper War was… Well, it was hell. I've only heard tales of the Great Time War, but I think if anything began to come close, it was our conflict with the Reapers. But I made it out alive, in the end.

Few others can say that, I'm afraid. And I don't think I ever truly realized just how bad it was until I came back.

My future self, the device she gave me was an energy shield, to keep me alive while I was falling back to Earth.

Only, there was a slight problem.

The Moment, to some extent, fired into the Time Vortex. That wasn't surprising, the Doctor said it was designed to do that way back when, but when it did that, I got pulled along for the ride.

I crash landed in Scotland, just before the Battle of Culloden Moor. I met a Highlander named Jamie, and with his help, I managed to make it out of the battle safely.

But I was stranded. I wandered around aimlessly for days, losing any hope for a way back.

Until I found it.

A metal cylinder, about as tall as a vending machine, just sitting there in the middle of a field. It called to me, and I could hear it. A TARDIS… My TARDIS… The TARDIS my brother stole to hide me away on Earth.

It may sound a bit convenient, and you'd be right, but… To some extent, I think he left it there for me to find one day.

With that TARDIS by my side, I was able to make it out of there. I did have some regrets, leaving Jamie to the battle, but I think he turned out fine. I hope.

Anyway, with that TARDIS, I knew what had to be done.

I started setting things up along the way it went before. I'll spare you all the details (who knows, I might regale you all with some of those stories later wink, wink, nudge, nudge) but everything turned out alright in the end.

The Doctor retired to a small little part of Shoreditch with River and Susan. I don't really know precisely all what happened, but apparently, they kidnapped a couple of schoolteachers, and started back up with the adventuring.

Oh, and Susan herself has a baby now. I may publish that account later, but… It gets DARK.

As for the Normandy crew, Joker and EDI (with EDI inhabiting an actual organic body) were able to mostly settle down without any hassle.

Kaidan served proudly in the Alliance for some time. Eventually, he hooked up properly with Rahna, and retired to Vancouver.

Liara, with my urging (it's a long story) disseminated the Shadow Broker network and went back to archaeology. She's a Professor now, too, I think.

Tali, with what little Quarians were left, brokered peace with the Geth. Their immune systems are now working better than they ever have, and they've begun resettling Rannoch. I'm so proud of her.

Garrus… Well, I wasn't expecting this one to happen, but he and Zaeed actually joined forces once the New Citadel was constructed. They co-ran C-Sec for some time, before Zaeed died in a blaze of glory with six F-16s doing barrel rolls overhead (read: he died in his sleep and he wanted to sound like a badass).

Javik, he kept his word about leading the Awakened Collectors. He struggles a lot, some days, forgetting sometimes that they're not his people, but he's doing good.

Kasumi dropped completely off the map after the end of the war. I would try to track her down, but… She deserves her peace. That graybox creates enough problems for her without me adding to the pile.

Grunt, I believe, took leadership of Clan Urdnot after Wrex stepped down, Wrex himself getting too old to headbutt the other clan leaders back into line. He's doing great, tough, but fair, and diplomatic. Oh, and if you ever visit Tuchanka, make sure to look for Solus Plaza. It should be near the old Shroud site.

Now as far as Samara is concerned, the life of a Justicar isn't something that can be given up. As far as I know, she's still traveling around the galaxy, righting wrongs, delivering punishment to the wicked.

Miranda… When she learned the Illusive Man essentially commissioned her creation, it was like a timebomb went off. I don't blame her. But, after she cooled down, she finally found it within herself to just… stop caring. Her past with her 'father,' with Cerberus, she didn't let it weigh her down anymore.

Jack is… as colorful as ever. Still kind of a sarcastic bitch, but she's warmed up a lot, to all of us. The oddest thing about her that's happened in recent years that I can remember, is the laser tattoo removal. Yeah, I know. God knows what made her do that. Shame, cause I liked the tattoos too.

Jacob is… good. He and a woman named Brynn Cole got married. And even though they're on the third child now, every time he calls me, I still have to remind Jacob that he's a better man than his father was.

James, dropped out of the military before making N7. I don't blame him, we've all seen our fair share of horrors He did open up a tattoo parlor afterward. Apparently, the reason why Jack got rid of all hers was so she could have first go.

Cortez founded a flight school, and he and Joker are still fiercely competing for the title of best pilot in the galaxy.

Traynor is… Traynor. Jittery, awkward, and damn smart. I don't really know what happened to her either. Like Kasumi, she kind of just… vanished.

And as for me… I've changed a lot since the war ended. I've been traveling around the universe, seeing the sights, meeting new and exciting people. Pushing the boundaries of exploration farther than they ever have been…

Don't go around thinking this is my final communication, though. I've got a lot more stories to tell, and this is just the start of it.

But for now, this is Commander Shepard…

Signing off.