Hi everyone! Just wanted to say that this is my first time writing a fan fiction so please be kind. Feel free to leave a comment and note that all suggestions are welcome. Hope you enjoy the story.

My Shepard belongs to me and everything else belongs to Bioware.

Good news everyone, I'M ALIVE! I just started a new story and will soon be adding more chapters to this one. Also I finally got around to fixing this chapter so enjoy the new and improved Mass Effect: No Control

"The paths are open, but you have to choose."

Shepard looked at the Catalyst, the cause of death for trillions of lives starting all the way back with the Leviathans and coming up to the species of this cycle. As he looks into those heartless, cold, dammed eyes, he wanted nothing more than to shoot it.

He wants to; with all his heart, destroy the reapers. For everything they have done they deserve no less. It would be justice for all the lives they destroyed, but as he thinks this he remembers something, "Do we deserve death?" Legion, one of his friends. Someone who on more than one occasion saved his life and helped him to defeat the Collectors. He gave his life to bring sentience to the rest of the Geth, who are at this very minute fighting the Reapers beside the rest of galaxy.

Then there was EDI. She had saved Shepard, the Normandy and its crew more times than he could count. She had been a great friend and had just now begun to understand what it was to truly be alive. How could he rob her of that? No, he wouldn't destroy the Reapers if it also meant destroying so many innocent lives.

That left him with two other options; synthesis and control. Maybe synthesis was the final evolution for all life in the galaxy, but that didn't give him the right to force it on its inhabitants, no, they would reach it on their own when the time was right.

That left him with only one choice. He began the slow walk to path on his left. He dropped his gun, he wouldn't need it anymore. As he stood in front of the terminal he began to think about all the dissensions he had made up until that point. All the responsibility that he had been given.

He couldn't help but wonder "Did I do enough?" He placed his hand on the first handle. He knew there was no going back at this point. He grabbed the second handle.

Pain shoot though his entire body, like he had been hit with a bolt of lightning. He fell to his knees, the pain excoriating and he could smell his skin burning off.

His thoughts went to Anderson. He had been there for him from the beginning, when no one else believed in him Anderson was always there to support him. "Now he's dead, because I couldn't save him. "

Shepard reached up to grab the handles, he needed to finish this. He began to think about Thane and Mordin. They had been loyal friends, good friends. "Now they're dead because I wasn't good enough."

Shepard could feel the energy begin to break him down. Then his thoughts came to her. "Tali." He had failed her. He had promised that after the war he was going to build her a home on Rannoch. Now he couldn't. Now he would never see her again. Never hold her. Never hear her voice. Never have her hands in his or tell her just how much she meant to him. As his body started to completely disappear, he looked up to the stars one last time and with his last breath he said "Tali, I'm sorry."

Admiral Hackett's voice went over the comm. "All fleets! The Crucible is armed. Disengage and head to the rendezvous point."

Joker struggled to keep the Normandy out of harm's way. He heard what the Admiral said, but he refused to leave Shepard behind. He felt EDI's hand on his shoulder but he just shook her off.

"Shepard already died once because of me I won't let it happen again!" he yelled at her.

Hackett was back on the comm. "I repeat. Disengage and get the hell out of there!"

EDI grabbed Jokers arm, "We must leave the system."

Joker looked over to a visual of the Citadel; all he can think was that Shepard's was up there and they were about to leave him behind.

"Dam it." He toke one last look at the citadel as he put the Normandy on course for the relay.

Tali was running as fast as she could, she had to get to the flight deck. Dr. Michel was right behind her, telling her to stop, saying something about how sever her wounds were, she didn't care.

She realized that they're heading for the relay, she had to stop them. They couldn't leave him behind.

She reached the CIC, running faster than ever. She runs up behind Joker but it's too late. They made the jump.

Just then the doctor catches up to her and injects her with something. Before she collapses to the floor she whispers "Shepard…"