If you haven't read my story Shadow Fox it would be best to read that first so your not completely lost. It's not finished yet but it will give enough background details so that you're not completely lost. I decided to jump ahead and write this part of the story because I'm in a rut and I hope this will help me pull me out. I have a series of stories that are currently in the works and they will be connected eventually. So I hope you guys and gals enjoy this new entry.

The M-080 troop transport shook as it traversed the rocky remains of the great city called London. The Reapers really did a number on the city. A scowl was plastered on my face even as my body was jostled around.

It's a shame really; I wished I could have seen it before. Funny thing though, it wasn't too difficult for me to travel to Earth. The first time I did it was to bust Shepard out from the lockdown that the Alliance had him under, which was extremely difficult to do even with me using my Specter status. As with everything that has to do with Shepard it took a major event to get him out. The second time I came to Earth it's like this. Nothing but rubble and covered with Reaper forces.

'It won't always be like this,' Light, the fox spirit that lives in me, said, 'After all of this is over you and the Normandy crew will have all the time to explore the galaxy.'

I snorted which caused the Alliance Marine beside me to look at me before he looked back to the floor of the APC.

'Do you really think we will get that freedom?' I asked the spirit cynically, 'It will be years before we get any kind of time off. We'll be too busy with the rebuilding and being hoisted as the saviors of the galaxy.'

'That doesn't sound too bad right?' Light said with a little upbeat tone.

'Maybe,' I conceded, 'but first Daro'Xen must pay for what she did to me.'

I felt Light's worry before she spoke again, 'I…,' she became lost for words for a moment but then found them again, 'I wish things were like they were before.'

I didn't answer her. Didn't need to all my thoughts were open to her. She knew that I would never become that naïve child again. Swooping around like a moron with a childish sense of justice. I guess I should thank Daro. If she hadn't spaced my ass, I wouldn't have been picked by the Blue Suns which opened my eyes showed me how to truly save people.

By showing no mercy to those that spread evil, and having those that do shake to the very core with fear at the very mention of your name.

I felt someone's eyes on me and I looked up to see that it was a Krogan that bore the colors of Wrex's clan was the one. "What," I said as I stared at the Krogan's poison green eyes.

The Krogan grunted before he answered, "I know you," his voice rough like stones shifting together, "your Shadow Fox. I've heard great stories about your battles." The Krogan than punched his fist together, "I can be able to tell my children and grandchildren that I fought alongside the great Shadow Fox," his lips pulled back into a toothy smile, "or has his enemies called him…" Everyone in turned to look at me has the name rolled off his tongue.

"…the Crimson Fox."

Suddenly M-080 came to a screech filled halt and as soon as it came to a complete stop I was immediately up, "Driver Sitrep!" I called out.

"Convoy stopped sir," the Alliance drive said.

With a low growled I opened the door and stepped out into the wet evening. Once my feet touched the muddy ground I straighten out my trench coat and pulled my hood up. The sound of the rain that struck my modified Nightmare Armor was muffled as I walked towards the front of the caravan where Shepard and his team were at.

What a fitting name for my armor. During my six months before the Reaper invasion began, I traveled the galaxy in the name of the Council and Alliance to prepare for said for invasion. I didn't have the full support of the Council, of course, even though I thrusted the evidence in their faces. It was enough, however, for them to give me intel and get the ball rolling for the upcoming war. I was doing a raid on a Cerberus facility I came across the Nightmare Armor and took a liking to it, especially when I saw it in action during my fight with the Phantoms that were training at the facility. When the battle was over I helped myself to the armor.

The gold was repainted to a dark red except for the helmet which was painted black where I put two glowing red eyes and a smile filled with sharp pointed teeth. The Cerberus emblem was removed, obviously. I extended and connected the shrapnel skirt so that it covered the back of my knees. My armor's 'fingernails' were made out of the same material that the Cerberus uses to make their monomolecular blades, and as an added bonus I could retract them. Propulsion Packs, acquired from the Turian's, were attached in various place to help me get airborne and after a few adjustments, I could maintain altitude for a time. Other adjustments and upgrades were put in place to turn my armor into the perfect piece of equipment in my arsenal.

By the time I reached where Shepard, Garrus, and Ashely the rain had stopped but I could still feel the wet mist in the air, the cold kissed my cheeks and I pulled my face mask up to keep me warm as well to keep my helmet from fogging up when it covers my head.

"Vigilant," I called out to the Geth that was in my suits system, "Get me a status report of the space battle."

"On it Fox-Specter," Vigilant responded, "Requesting, processing, processing…"

While he was doing that I told my suit's AI, Ed, to do one last system check, "Already done, all systems are green and ready to go."

"Fox-Specter, the battle in space is at a stalemate, with 1,453…"

"I don't need the details Vigilant," I told the Geth. I had picked him up after we liberated Rannoch from the Reapers. Vigilant was one of the thousands of Geth that volunteer to integrate into Non-Quarian combat suits. With the help of Ed, Vigilant was able to assimilate with the suit and help him run my armor's higher functions and calculations while Ed was able to concentrate on more core applications of my armor.

I looked over to Shepard's M-080 to see that it was on fire and the front end had crashed into some debris so hard the front was crushed. I snorted, "This is why I didn't ride with you," I said with a wave to APC, "Everything explodes when you're evolved."

Shepard looked turned around to look at me, "Name one time," he said before he turned back to face the conduit over a hill of dirt and debris, our only way to get to the Citadel that was currently parked in the Earth's atmosphere surrounded by Reapers.

"Virmire," Ashley said

"Collector's base," Garrus chimed in

"Cerberus's base," I said

"Don't forget the first Normandy," Garrus said gesturing with his clawed hands

"And the Shroud," Ashley pointed out.

"And now that," I said pointed at the M-080

Shepard looked at and gave us the bird, "Fuck all of you," he said.

"Did that already," Ashley said with a smug smirk.

Garrus let out a chuckle, "Damn," was all I said before I turned around to see that the last of our army had gathered behind us. Nearly every species was gathered from all walks of life. Some looked determined others looked tired. I looked ahead at the conduit just in time to see Harbinger land. The ground shook a bit as the leader of the Reapers moved into position as its ominous yellow eyes aimed right at us. Yet it made no move to attack and neither did any other Reapers appear.

I guess they were confident enough to believe that they could stop us.

'With those reinforcements coming from the Conduit I wouldn't doubt it,' Light chimed in.

I looked down to see as per Light's word hundreds, if not thousands, of mismatched Reaper ground troopers, came spilling out of the beam of light. Not just the minor grunts either but the big ones like Brutes and even a few Banshees. Thankfully there were no Enhanced Reapers.

-o-

"Well that puts a wrinkle in our plans," Ash stated as the ground troopers got into position to protect the door into the sky.

Garrus shifted from his spot to lean over to Shepard, "We could use one of you motivating speeches," the Turian said to the Specter.

The human male meanwhile looked to the field ahead of him then to the troops behind him. Many of them had defeat written all over their faces, a few even looked like they were ready to bolt. "Not sure if there is anything I could say that could help," he said as he looked to his friend.

"Activate: Full Charge protocol," Shepard heard Sean say next to him. The Specter was slowly walking forward. Orange Omni Tech Armor surrounded his jacket and a glow of overcharged kinetic barrier began to shimmer in existence.

"What are you doing?" Shepard asked just Sean stood on top of the mound of dirt and over the sounds of muffled battle he heard the kid take a deep breath before he turned around. When he got a look of Fox's eyes he could a see a small twinkle of determination along with a smirk underneath his mask.

That was the last time he would see Sean's face.

A whirl of moving parts was heard as the boy's face was covered by a helmet. Chills went down Shepard's spine as he looked into the eyes of the helmet.

Sean turned back around and took a deep breath as a monomolecular sword, Harrier X, and a Scimitar X materialized on his back. "Gotta love the classics" he always said when he was asked about why he integrated older omni-tools. Seeing the kid in action and using the older tech to the max, Shepard was inclined to believe the merit of such words.

Slowly Fox drew the sword, the sound of metal scrapping metal drew the attention of everyone on the battlefield. The world was silent as they watched the boy.

Fox said nothing as he raised his sword to the sky. "DEATH!" he roared and charged.

A Krogan bellowed a great laugh. "I like it, short and to the point" with a battle cry, the Krogan followed.

"Hmph, as if I'm going to be outdone by him," Garrus said as he gave chase.

Shepard smile and charged as well with a scream of death flying out of his lips.

-o-

This is it. The final charge. Our final stand. Everything I've been doing for the last two and half years has accumulated for the grand climax. The success, the failures, the gains, the losses everything leading to this final run.

I couldn't help but smile.

Adrenalin coursed through my veins as my inner predator howled for the hunt. Tanks ran past me and with a quick glance back I saw that I wasn't alone. What was left of our ground troops ran down the hill with Shepard leading the way as always.

Bullets flew past my head as I ran towards the Conduit. 'No,' Light said with pride, 'Today you are leading them.' I pulled out my prototype pistol the Sidewinder Mk 0, my contribution to the Andromeda Initiative. Finger on the trigger I released a volley of fire. 'I can't be more proud of you right now. You had your ups and downs.' I jumped to the side in order to dodge a Reaper Beam. Without missing a beat I ran forward. 'But you kept on moving forward. Never stopping, never giving up.' A tank blew up and began to flip in the air. I paid it no mind I as I slide down to my knees as it flew over me. 'No matter what happens today just know…'

The tank crashed behind me and I heard my name.

'…I love you.'

I turned around and ran back to the down tank to see that Ash was on the ground clutching her sides. "ASHLEY!" I yelled as I sat down next to the human ready to apply medi-gel.

"Save it," she said, "I'll be okay."

"I've already called in the Normandy for medic-vac," I heard Shepard say over the sounds of battle. The sounds of said ship roared above me and I looked up to see our ship, no our home, landing near us. With a few swipes of my omni tool, I pulled out a large omni-shield and held it in front of me. Ed rerouted the suit power from the FC protocol to power the shield from my omni tool.

"I'll cover you, go!" I yelled out as a few mass accelerated rounds began to bounce off the shield. As Garrus carried Ashley, Shepard provided cover fire and I blocked any incoming fire. Soon we reached the Normandy and its fire team gave a hail of bullets.

This is it.

'It's time…'

I turned to Shepard who looked at the battlefield before Ashley began to say something. I continued Shepard's gaze at the battle. I watched as tanks were blown up, as our soldiers were slaughtered. I took a deep breath and turned around to see the back of Shepard's head. Quietly I made way so that I was right behind him.

I slung my arm over his shoulders and said, "This is it, Shepard."

"I know, one final push," he turned to me with a confident smirk as if this war had not weighed him down so much, as if the voices of the fallen didn't bother him, "You ready to go win a war?"

In the face of advisory, he was still strong like a beacon, a beacon of hope for the hopeless in the galaxy. I couldn't help but smile, "Yes, but it won't come without a cost."

Shepard couldn't help but nodded his head. "I thought we brought you out of that negativity?"

"You did, I was just thinking out loud. Oh, by the way, I'm sorry."

"Sorry?"

Without warning, I slammed my fist into his stomach. His armor around hand gave way and with a gasp of surprise, Shepard fell to the ground with me clutching him. I set him down and said my final words to him, "Watch over her for me will you."

A member of the fire team looked at me and I yelled, "MAN DOWN!" he ran over and helped takes Shepard into the ship. I stood up and began to walk to the edge of the ship. "Joker get the ship out of here. Shepard's down."

"On it."

The door to the hanger began to close and I ran but not before I gave one last glance to Garrus who's eyes began to widen as he realized my plan. "SEAN DON'T!"

"Take care of Shili you hear!" I yelled as I ran and jumped off the ship. I landed on the ground with a muddy splash and I turned around to see the Normandy fly off. "Be safe you guys."

With a deep breath, I face the Conduit. "Let's rock."

Jennifer Saunders, I Need a Hero began to play through my suits speakers.

"Seems appropriate," Ed said.

A playful scoff escaped my lips before I ran down the hill dodging Reaper death beams and accelerated rounds from the opposing ground. "We're going to have a talk about your taste in music later." I then changed the song to Shell Shocked. "This is appropriate."

"Tsh asshole."

A tank front of me blew up and I watched its carcass flail through the air. With an idea, I leaped into the air and with my monomolecular, I sliced an open door off. I spun in the air and my boots magnetized to the door. With my impromptu board, I landed on the wet ground. Like a pro snowboarder, I slid down the hill and with my Harrier I took pot shots at any Reaper forces that I came across.

After a sharp turn that leads to the death of a Marauder I straighten out saw a Son of Trigon, Greed to be precise. I snorted at the ridiculousness of the scene in front of me. A red skin humanoid dress in a two-piece black suit in the middle of the mass of Reapers the glow of his bright crimson eyes stared me down. I lowered my body mass and picked up speed. Out of all of the remaining Sons, this one is the one stand before me to try and stop me.

"Tsh."

I expected better like Suge, Wrath or, hell, Lust would be better than this chump. I guess he wants to die.

Well, let me give it to him.

'Yes…let's.'

I tapped into the power of the Nine-tail spirit that resides in me and used the fire to heat up the door under my foot.

Greed's smug smile began to change into a frown before his four eyes widen.

'Die you demonic scum!'

"Too late now bastard," I said kicked my board and with my hand hurled the door like a frisbee. When I landed on my feet I didn't even bother to spare the two-part corpse that fell to the ground. I ran with everything I had and not even the Brute that jumped in front of me slowed me down. In fact, it only helps me clear the way as I used its body as a battering ram.

Finally, I reached the Conduit with a roar jumped into the beam of light. The next thing I knew I was in a room. The emergency light gave the room an eerily glow to match the bodies. That's right…

…bodies.

Piles upon piles of corpses so many that I'm glad that my helmet blocked out any smells as I would have most likely been on the ground choking as the stench assaulted my enhanced senses. Rage began to boil in my veins.

So much loss of life. So many innocents dead. I failed them.

At the end of the room, the door opened letting in two Cerberus Troopers as they hauled another corpse. A young Turian boy who couldn't be any more than fifteen. Too young to lose his life.

A snarl formed on my face and bloodlust growl escaped from my lips. My grappling hooks slithered from my arms and hit the grown with a clang.

The troopers dropped the body they were carrying and unholster their guns. "Oh shit it's the Crimson Fox," the one on the left said as he slowly began to back away.

"I'm going to gut you all," I said before I began my slaughter.

-0-

"Damn it," Jack cursed as he stood in front of a console. He was so close to finally control the Reapers. This is all he had left. His main Cerberus headquarters was destroyed by Shepard, all of his assets were gone thanks to Fox. This is all he had left. To save the humanity and the galaxy he had to control the Reapers. He had to do it now.

The sound of gunfire erupted behind him and The Illusive Man turned around to see what the commotion was about. His guards moved to stand between him and the only way in or out. The gunfire stopped and the sound of heavy breathing and fast footsteps echoed the quiet room. The guards took aim at the entrance while Jack cursed for not bringing a gun with him during his mad rush to get to the Citadel.

A lone Cerberus trooper came into view, and although his helmet covered his face Jack knew fear was etched on it. "Help its…" the trooper didn't have a chance to finished as a pair of wires appeared from behind him and wrapped around him and yanked him into the darkness with a scream. The scream was silenced by the sound of rips and tears. The two guards looked at each other before the opened fire in the area.

"Damn it," Jack cursed as the troopers unleashed bullet hell down the hallway. He knew who it was. The leader of the terrorist group for the first time regretted a decision. He always thought of every angle and only made a move when it would absolutely benefit him. In his defense, he never knew that the boy would shift so far so quickly.

The troopers went to reload but were interrupted by the sound of something flying through the air. The next thing Jack knew his guard's heads exploded. He winced as the mist sprayed around. The corpses fell to the ground with a thud, Jack looked up to see Fox walking towards him in a quick yet relaxed pace as if he was just out on a quick walk.

'Well let's hope I can try to talk to sense into him,' Jack thought and opened his mouth only for everything to go black with a bang.

-0-

"You can fuck right off," I said as I went up to the console. The body of Jack Harper stumbled backward and fell into zero gravity and floated. I have no time to deal with some asshat's deluded monolog. Besides I've waiting to do that for a long time.

"This is Admiral Hackett, does anyone copy?" my comm. went off. "Did anyone make it into the Conduit? Damn it! Someone pick up!"

I tapped the side of my head to open communication with the admiral. "Hackett, it's me, Fox."

"Fox thank Christ someone made it through."

"The ground force?"

"Decimated. So far no word on survivors."

I paused in my work to momentarily mourn the loss of lives. "Let's make their sacrifice worth it then. Let's shove this thing so far down the Reaper's throats their past will feel it." I returned to my work with rage in my veins. That rage fueled my fingers to move faster than ever before. My work was disturbed by the platform beneath me shifting as it moved upwards. "Almost done."

'Here we go.'

'You got this.'

"Shepard got a hold of me," Hackett said, "He's pissed by the way and wants to give you a piece of his mind so you better come back 'that's an order'." There was a silence that settled in the environment I could still hear Hackett but everything around me seemed to move and reacted without any sound. It was like watching a silent movie.

"That sounds like him."

"Any particular reason why?"

"When this war ends the people will need a beacon to rally behind. Something to guide them as the galaxy moves forward, to heal. Shepard has to be that beacon. No one else could unite so many races, an entire galaxy like he could. The people know him and revere him."

"And you?"

I let out a chuckle as the platform stopped moving and I was greeted by the Star Child. "I'm just some punk kid trying to be a superhero. A broken shell of a kid." I cut the feed as the Star Child began his or its triad about the necessity of the Reapers. I let it go to give Ed time to do his thing. While I did so I thought back on this whole adventure. To think three years ago the only thing I had to worry about was whether or not I had split personalities and homework.

'I remember those times,' Light chimed in, 'those were difficult times.'

'Nothing compared to all of this. Compared to what we're doing now it seems childish.'

'Not childish, that helped make you into the man you are today.'

'Even though I killed, even though I did it without mercy and in such a brutal manner.' Outside I watched as a Turian capital ship was destroyed by a Reaper dreadnought. More lives lost. I hope she is okay. The Normandy shouldn't be out there but knowing Joker he wants to be in his element.

'Your actions are shaped by the world around you.'

'Only because I let it.'

'Would you change it through?'

'To be honest, not really. The only thing I would change would be my failures in this universe.'

'Sean please, don't…'

'I know, it wouldn't do them justice if wallowed in self-pity. It would be an insult to their memory.'

There was another long silence as I watch as a Reaper was taken down. 'I'm proud of you.'

'Thank you, I hope your next host has a better luck in life than I.'

'I say you're pretty lucky.'

'Yea I had a partner like you in my life watching over me.'

"Sean, its time." Ed chimed through the suit's internal speaker.

"The download is complete then?"

"Yes."

"Then let's do this then," I pulled up my omni-tool and went into the inventory to pull out a very special grenade. In a moment a bright blue sphere formed just above the palm of my hand. With a thud, it landed and I grasped it as if was a child. A sense of peace swept over me, I was content with the choice I made.

"You have made your choice then?" the Star Child asked.

"So I either have to choose option A, which controls the Reapers the price of that is that I lose my body," I stepped around the console so that I was in front of it. Leaning against it my helmet became undone and was stored away. "Then there's option B which is I destroy the Reapers along with all synthetic life in the galaxy which includes the Geth." I began to bounce the grenade in my hand as I motion said choice. "And let's not forget option C which is that I fuse all organic and synthetic life together and create some kind of hybrid creation like a two-year-old with an easy bake oven."

"Yes," was the two-tone answer.

"But you forgot a few things in your 'calculations'," I made air quotes. I watch in amusement as the Star Child cocked its head in confusion. "Let me break it down for you."

"When Reapers indoctrinate people there is a constant signal that is driven into the mind of the subject. It's also the same signal that Harbinger uses to 'Assume direct control' of the Collectors, and funny enough the same signal that all the Reapers use to communicate with each other. The same signal that I was able to harness and create enough blockers for High Command," I pulled my lips back and showed a few of my canine teeth, "Including the Normandy Crew."

I think the Star Child actually twitch, "After a very long and grueling with the help of my partners I was able to create a program that I kept secret from everyone." I leaned down so that I hovered over the apparition. "Can you guess what that program does?"

Silence.

"No? Then let me tell you," I leaned back on to the console, "It locks on to that signal and sends out a pulse and kills everything connected to it."

"No…"

"Oh yes, I'll tell you though once the Geth took the Reaper upgrade it was really hard to work around it thanks to Vigilant I was able to do so just in the nick of time. The only drawback is that it requires a lot of power and signal strength for it to be effective." I waved my arms around to the room we're in. "And would you look at that you have given me exactly what I needed."

"So how 'bout I choose option D! I BLOW YOU FUCKERS SKY HIGH!"

"Impossible!" the Star Child screamed, "There is no conceivable way for you to break the code."

"BITCH I'M THE CRIMSON FOX! I DO THE IMPOSSIBLE EVERY. FUCKING. DAY!"

I reached down and slammed the button on the console that would activate the program.

"NOO!" the Star Child yelled as it grew an extra pair of eyes and grew an extra ten feet. I didn't bother to react or study the thing any further. I just ran to the power conduit and threw the grenade. As it left my fingertips it began to glow blue and hum. With a satisfying *stick* the grenade stuck to the conduit and glow as bright as the sun and hummed.

I spun around and with a blast of fox fire I propelled forward and slammed into the four eye beast as it tried to reach the grenade. The beast stumbled backward and I back flipped backward to gain some distance. When I landed I pulled out my pistols and unleashed hell on Trigon's avatar. It didn't do any damage but then again I didn't have to kill it just delay it for a bit.

When the humming reached its peak I stood up and holstered my guns. "Time's up."

The Star Child let out a roar of fury as the grenade went off which caused an explosive chain reaction. The entire station began shuttered as it prepared to fire.

"It's been an honor to fight by your side," Ed said

"Fox even though my sentience has been short I am…glad that it was with you. My only regret is that I never got the chance to what the galaxy looked like," Vigilance commented.

Star Child turned its head to me and I got ready to fight, "The feelings mutual guys. Now let's make this end, such an end." With a battle cry, I ran towards my prey for the final greatest fight. The fight for the future of the galaxy, for the future of the love of my life and our unborn child.

"YOU'LL PAY FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE BOY!" the Star Child said as he pulled its fist back, but before our fight could begin the Star Child exploded into dust. I landed on my feet and looked around to see what caused my opponent's sudden disappearance. My eyes widen in shock as I saw that everything at a standstill.

"My my I'm impressed." A voice said behind me and I turned around and saw that there was a man in a black cloak. "Let's not waste time with all of the minor details like names and explanations shall we."

"What are-?"

"Oi what did I just say!" the man sighed, "Look I know you have questions and I do have the answers but they will have to come at another time. To shorten things up I'm the man who made sure you arrived safe and equipped for your journey and perhaps gave you a shove here and there." The Man clasped his hands together, "Now I'm going to take you to the DC verse like you were supposed to be. Any questions comments or concerns?"

"Yes-"

"Good off we go!" he clapped his hands and light shined my world before nothing.

-0-

"The war is over."

On the planet, Eden Prime, hundreds were gathered and many more were watching.

"The Reapers have been defeated. Against all odds, and in the face of the greatest threat this galaxy has ever known, we survived. We suffered many losses. The relays are severely damaged, but we won. This victory belongs to each of us... every man, woman, and child. Every civilization, on every world. Now, as we take our first steps toward restoring what we lost, we must remember what it took to win. This wasn't a victory by a single fleet, a single army, or even a single species."

In one of its many grassy fields was a gathering of every head of state of each species as well as other important figures, but none as important as the crew of the Normandy.

"If this war has taught us anything, it is that we are at our strongest when we work together. And if we can put down our grievances long enough to stop something as powerful as the Reapers, imagine what we can achieve now that they are defeated. It will take time, but we can rebuild everything that was destroyed. Our homes, our worlds, our fleets and defenses. All of this - and more. Together, we can build a future greater than any one of us could imagine. A future paid for by the sacrifices of those who fought and died alongside us. A future that many will never see. And while we still have many challenges ahead of us... We can face them together. And we will honor those who died to give us that future…"

"To do so we commemorate this monument to them."

On stage, Admiral Hackett finished his speech as a curtain was dropped to reveal a statue that towered over all. Beneath that statue were planks full of names. Names of all who had fallen during the Reaper War. The statue depicted soldiers of every race that had fought against the Reapers. These soldiers charged forwards guns raised, and leading the charge was none other than Shadow Fox.

The reveal was met with a round of applause by all who were there. Only when Admiral Hackett raised his hands did the applause died. "Although we never truly repay the debt we owe to these men and women who fought and died so that we could live. We can make sure that their sacrifices were not in vain. Therefore all proceeds that the Freedom Monument will go towards all who made the ultimate sacrifice…"

-0-

"I thought it would be bigger," Garrus said as he sat at the table in one of the local pubs. "How come we don't get our own statue?"

"Because you're not dead," Wrex commented as he downed the cup.

Garrus scoffed, "Well I think I prefer that then dealing with all the paperwork."

"You still do that?" Shepard asked with a grin, "I order someone to do that for me."

Wrex let out a bark of laughter as the Turian's face slouch in disdain. "Not everyone is an Admiral," Garrus spat good heartily.

"Not all autographs and pictures then?" Garrus just groaned in response.

"I can't believe it's been two fucking years," Jack droned as she ordered another round for the table. "Two years since we kicked the Reapers ass."

"I'm sorry I'm still stuck on the fact that Garrus still does paperwork," Joker snickered, "I mean come on don't you get the 'I save the galaxy' card or something."

"Bet the Turian lost his when he lost his quad to the Qurian," Grunt said mentioning the fact that Garrus and Shili got hitched a few months back. The table opened up in a loud roar of laughter and jeers at the newly married couple.

"Where's Shili by the way," Ashley asked as she came down from her own laughter.

Garrus grumbles, "She's still at the monument." The Turian glanced off, "They were close you know like brother and sister." Archangel looks to Shepard, "What about her? I thought she would be here you all things considering."

Shepard let out a deep breath as he sat back in his chair, "She's still working at the Citadel cleanup. How she does it and takes care of Kit at the same time is beyond me."

"Well you always brought together strong people Shepard," Wrex said, "Normal people would have given up looking a long time ago."

"Do you think he's still alive after all this time?" Ashley asked, "I know he's…different but even still."

"Trust my Ashley," Joker said as he leaned forward, "If Shepard can come back from the dead after two years then I'm sure something like this would be a cakewalk from him."

"Eh… let him be someone's headache," Garrus said as he rubbed his front plate. "You remember the time his arm was cut off."

Joker snorted, "Do I? I still get nightmares from that, 'Don't worry just stick back in it be alright' Honestly do you even think he knew it would work?"

"I'm just glad I don't have to deal with his dumbass self jumping out of my ship," Shepard commented.

Grunt gave a gravelly chuckle, "Those were always fun."

"But damn I miss him," Shepard said as he raised his glass.

"To Fox. The biggest pain in the ass the galaxy has ever known."

"To Fox!"

"My all who worship evil's might tremble at his presence."

-0-

I took a deep grasping breath and sat up. After a few moments of blinking my eyes to adjust to the blinding light, I was able to get started on understanding my surroundings.

Sand.

Sand everywhere.

That fucker dropped off in a desert. First an alley, now a desert.

I'm going to kill him.