"You sure that's what you want? You're taking a hell of a risk, Shepard."

"I don't think so. I'm going to stop the Reapers, but I won't sacrifice the soul of our species to do it."

...And so the setting was set.

Shepard had no doubt in his mind that The Illusive Man would come for him. "Betrayal" does that, sometimes. However, Shepard's act of betrayal was dwarfed by the many times the Illusive Man sought to do the same, or outright get him killed.

But it didn't matter now. The threat of Cerberus paled in comparison to the now approaching Reaper fleet.

James made his way down to engineering, where repairs were being made from the fight with the oculi. Stepping over a few loose cables, the commander would make his down the room, nearly bumping in Thane, in the process. A quick nod was forwarded the drell's way, before James stepped to the right, allowing Krios to pass. A few steps would bring him halfway into the hangar, where Garrus, Grunt, and Joker had been, assisting with the repairs. A hole burned into the hangar by the oculus served as a window to the dark void, to which James had stared into, halfway expecting the "vanguards of their destruction" to appear. Perfect time to annihilate their enemy, if there ever was one. Shepard's gaze was broken by Joker, who had lent the schematics of an unknown Reaper to him. Another nod was given, and James began to look over what he believed to be Harbinger.

In less than a second, something hit him. Shepard had passed damn near everyone on this ship. Keywords "Damn near everyone." Someone had been missing. And he had already known who was. Shepard had set the schematics on the edge of a crate, and had exited the hangar.

With each step he took down those stairs, a metallic thump sounded off. Shepard's entire being had been encased by the hue of the red lights leading down them, up until he cleared the steps, altogether. When he did, he had found the one that was missing. Shepard had squinted his eyes, and folded his arms. The usual was about to happen.

"Jack." Shepard had called out.

But she did not answer. She didn't even make the effort to acknowledge the fact that he was standing there.

"I'm talking to you." Shepard had said, losing his temper.

"FUCK OFF!" Jack retorted. She still did not look at him; she closed her eyes to prevent herself from doing so.

"I'm not going anywhere." Shepard had said, taking a step further. "So all of a sudden, you're like this, again? Didn't you say you were going to take this seriously?"

"I..."

Whatever she wanted to say, had been unable to come out, once she attempted to speak. After a while, her hands had run up against her head.

"Leave me alone." Jack said.

"No, Jack." Shepard replied, still in the same position as before. "This little cycle you're going though needs to stop."

"You could have DIED, Shepard!" Jack shouted, finally getting the gall to look him in the eye. "You could have fucking died, and left me here! I told you this wouldn't work - this never works. It's a waste of godamned ti-"

"Jack." Shepard had said, walking towards her. "I'm still here."

As he approached, Jack turned away. His hands would come up, gently nudging Jack's face back towards his own. Blue hues would meet with dark brown hues as Shepard repeated.

"I'm still here."

Jack's arms had flung around Shepard's neck, and she began to cry. Shepard had returned the hug.

"Shit..How did I let you talk me into this.." Jack had said, her head lying against Shepard's.

"I'm not supposed to care..."