The Altruistic Futurist

This is insane.

Tali clasped her shotgun, the same weapon she has been wielding for years-fighting with everything she had. Each one of those mass accelerated particles that spit out of the barrel encased in tongues of flame-landing in her foes-was for a cause that towered over her; a cause that made her feel like a mote of vapor-the finest particle of dew in a galactic ocean. Thinking about the Reapers and the war rocked her very thoughts and understanding about everything she ever knew. She remembers laying in bed at night, thinking about the definition of infinity. How does something never end? How does one put it into context and understand it fully? This war was almost as big as that definition, yet it has a limit. There is a limit to everything, Shepard is the brick wall these machines of destruction have to tear through. Even if they do tear through him, they have to kick down every last standing brick-the different species supporting him-and scrape off every single lip of mortar that held that brick wall together-his companions. Tali stared at her shotgun. The heft proved she was not gone-had not lost hope and was still a living, breathing, fighting force. She wiped off blood that freckled the ceramic from the waves of Reapers Shepard, Garrus, and her cleaved their way through. The sky was darkening, but a great white eye stared back at her which burnt into the clouds. The smell of death was overwhelming yet it gave her something to fight for.

"Tali, are you ready for this?"

Anderson's hand lightly touched her shoulder. His smile was genuine, igniting yet another flame of hope in the deepest recesses of her body.

"Just catching a breath. We... we just survived overwhelming odds back there defending those damn missiles."

"Strategically, you just made all of Hammer stand up after a one-two punch by that damn Reaper. Round two is just beginning."

"Yeah, well," Tali licked her lips and slurped more air in. It tasted sour and burnt. "That is the fifth one Shepard has killed and my fourth that I have seen go down."

"I think you all are pissing them off."

"Good."

Both of them stared at the sky at the beam of light that burnt into the anthracite clouds. Tali laughed at the shouldering Reaper splayed out in front of them-it looked like a dead cockroach sprawled on its back in the center of a burnt piece of toast smeared with death-marmalade.

"So... you and Shepard?" Anderson asked, hefting a rifle over his shoulder.

"Yes. It's been a while now, actually."

"He told me back on Earth all those months ago. I am happy for you two. You know, I have always liked you, Tali."

"Why thanks," she said sarcastically.

"No, seriously."

"Is it because I got you evidence against Saren?"

"No jokes now, I think I broke a rib. Laughing is going to be that last thing that takes me out of this fight," he chuckled, voice rough as sandpaper. She could tell he was thirsty and had been yelling all this time. His voice reminded Tali of her hand-to-hand combat specialist before hitting her pilgrimage.

"Hey you two. Enjoying the view without me, are you?" Garrus approached from behind and sat on a fallen concrete pillar in the parking garage overlooking the teleportation devise of some sort before the final assault. "Damn good shooting, Tali."

"I saw you struggling to keep up with me, Garrus," she quipped.

"I know for a fact my kill count is higher than yours."

"Do you want to bet?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure. Once we get back to the Normandy, we will look over our footage and count each kill. Whoever wins gets the rest of my dextro-chocolate."

"You have more?" Tali asked, spinning to look at him.

"I... lied about eating it all."

"I've only ever had chocolate once in my life."

"I hope to keep it that way," said Garrus, leaning his head against his rifle.

"Do you always have to one-up me?"

"I am like your big brother, so yeah. It is my duty." He lightly punched her in the arm. "Also, I could hear you two a couple of hours ago."

"Huh?"

"You know..."

Tali's face went ablaze. Anderson smirked and kicked a rock with his half melted boot.

"He had reach-" Tali started.

"You had flexibility," Garrus finished.

"I really hope we make it through this," said Tali peering out at the clouds.

"Yeah, me too." Garrus leaned forward to see Anderson on the other side of Tali. "That goes for you, Boss."

"I've been waiting for this assault for months," said Anderson.

A voice from behind the three of them detonated.

Shepard.

"The Reapers have pulled back their forces."

Shepard sat down heavily next to the trio, cradling his rifle with the utmost care-it was the tool that chiseled his legacy into the pages of the Milky Way. Tali peered at her shotgun. The barrel smoked and the Reaper's burnt blood speckled it and the dried lips where the heat sink pops out of the firearm.

"Do you know why, Shepard?" asked Anderson.

"Winding up that haymaker to start off round two with a bang," finished Tali. Shepard gave Tali an awkward look. "Hey, blame Zaeed. He introduced me to krogan boxing vids." She bit her lower lip. "It is a guilty pleasure of mine..."

Garrus gave Anderson a nod. Tali purposely ignored the notion while both Garrus and Anderson got up from the concrete pillar leaving Tali and Shepard sitting there alone.

"Be ready for anything, Shepard."

"I got it, Anderson."

Both sat on the column for a minute, not speaking. Staccato gunfire prickled Tali's ears and she could hear the cry of wounded men and women. The sound was horrific beyond belief. Her right hand wouldn't stop trembling. She purposely fasted for a day, hoping that if she got shot in the torso she wouldn't bleed out due to use of blood for digestion.

"So this is the end," Shepard said.

"Not yet, Shepard. We still have a little bit to go. Whatever happens, I will be by your side." Tali gripped Shepard's armored hand, squeezing it reassuringly. They already said their goodbyes and Tali didn't want to go through it again. Her heart is already sore as it is. This very well could be the last time they see each other.

Keelah, I pray for luck, nothing else.

"Tali?"

"Yes, Shepard?"

"I know."

It took her a second to process his delayed comment.

"My god."

"What?"

Shepard stood up and stared into the distance, dropping his rifle. Tali's eyes traced his outline then followed his line of sight past the mysterious teleporting device.

"Shepard!"

Garrus and Anderson sprinted from behind and stared with awe at the sight unfold like an origami cube creased with destruction.

"That is Harbinger, isn't it?" asked Shepard.

"Reports have said it is him, or it. Whatever you call that thing!" Anderson's mouth dropped and Tali could see him shaking. Beyond the spire of light, Harbinger had wrapped its arms around a turian cruiser and were wreathed in flame from entering the atmosphere at high speeds. Tali staggered back, stunned at his size-bigger than a Sovereign class Reaper. Harbinger impacted the ground and the cruiser detonated in a blue flash. Tali stood in awe, waiting to hear the bang and feel the concussion of the near nuclear explosion tear the air from her lungs.

"That explosion and impact might have killed that thing," Anderson said, right as the dust popped from the ground and the concussion pushed them all back. Spittle flung from Tali's mouth as she went reeling backwards. She wheezed for air and searched the ground for her shotgun. Her breath was lost-seized by Harbinger.

"She-Shepard," she coughed getting a hold of her weapon.

"Right here!"

An arm pulled Tali to her feet. The sound of the explosion arced through the air with power not even Tali realized existed. The mere sound of the bang scared her. Through her helmet which was linked to the com-channel, Admiral Hackett's voice chirped to life.

"Shepard, we are taking heavy casualties. What is your status on getting to the Crucible?" Tali could hear his ship moaning in pain through her headset. It was the eerie sound of whales crying for help-these big majestic creatures being torn apart by predators.

"We are on the move now," he shouted.

Tali, for the first time since they landed on Earth and were fighting to take it back, she saw the creases in his face knit the look of concern and fear. Keelah, she was scared, too. All of the men from the rear moved forwards, rifles at the ready. It was a black phalanx of men ready to die for a small chance to live. Tali looked into their faces-the faces of men and women whose families have been vaporized, lives destroyed through a crusade of fire, and have been fighting against odds all of them knew were unsurpassable. Harbinger's fog horn rippled through the air and Tali could feel the reverberations in her chest. Something from Harbinger had touched her and she still stood. It could be beaten.

"Shepard," she yelled over the horn.

"We've got this, Tali. Garrus, Anderson, are you ready?"

"We have your six," said Garrus, his voice hesitant while looking across the field leading towards the tower of light. Tali felt like throwing up and clenched her teeth ready for the final assault.

"Hackett reporting in, Shepard, you need to get to that damn beacon, we are getting chewed up out here!"

This was it. This very moment is what was going to change the outcome of the war and of the trillions of lives at stake. Shepard stood at the ready, muscles in his neck bulging and veins pulsating under his skin. He was nervous as hell, Tali could see it.

"You three... Tali, stay close!"

Tali's head snapped to where Shepard last stood and saw him running down the slope towards the light. His silhouette dappled the beams light as he ran towards it.

Keelah, this is it, isn't it?

Without thinking, Tali followed in his wake. Fear left her as she knew Death was staring her in the face somewhere in the shadows. If it comes to her, let it be-right now though, nothing was going to stop her from losing Shepard. All of the adrenaline her glands could muster was dumped into her veins as her foot landed in the boot prints of her Captain. A unison chant from the men and women of all races behind her discharged-it was louder than Harbinger's horn. Suddenly, the Reaper's voice came through in deep gurgles.

"Shepard, your time has come." It bellowed. "The taking back the quarian home world proved nothing. Tali'Zorah will parish in a cloud of dust. Garrus Vakarian, there is no need to follow your commander. The counterattack at Palaven was a mere prick compared to the bullet wound our forces have given you. You are an insignificant virus facing incomprehensive annihilation. Your numbers are but a mote of dust carried by the galactic winds beyond your own organic, limited comprehension."

Tali pushed harder and saw a molten red glow materialize through Harbinger's cowl of black, toxic smoke. It was about to fire a precisely aim shot at the lot of them. She was ready to die for this cause her life has been devoted towards.

"Your love of the quarian has no meaning. It is merely a mistake in your organic coding-infinitesimal sparks of electricity through your elementary processing system. You will soon be hollow of this meaningless devotion towards Tali'Zorah-of whom is part of a race which have created the beginning of your end. You will be a husk void of emotion. We will grind you into the earth."

Tali closed her eyes as everything went red and blistering heat pushed through her suit. She screamed and lost footing, sliding into the muddied earth face first. The ringing in her ears were unlike anything she has ever heard in her whole years of living. The blast was immense.

Pain. That means you are alive. Get up!

Scrapping off her visor, Tali used the stock of her shotgun to heave herself to both feet. Blistered bodies scattered around her. Tali thought she woke up in a mannequin warehouse where everyone just dumps broken, shattered avatars of people, but she was wrong. These were the scattered remains of human, asari, turian, and krogan. A sickening feeling swirled and coalesced into bestial rage in seeing the destruction of Harbinger's weapon. The ringing in her hears swallowed the screams of dismembered, swollen people.

"You missed me you bosh'tet! Is that all you have?"

An hand wrapped around Tali's left arm. It was Garrus.

"Don't piss it off anymore!" he yelled over Harbinger's horn.

"I can't wait to drop a thirty kiloton payload right into its shtupid mouth!"

"Get to the damn beam you two!" Shepard came from the light, an inky mass materializing from nowhere. Maybe he was Death, coming to take her. "Half way there!" he yelled, leaping over the tangled mass.

Tali could see his face had been peppered by gravel, maybe even fragments of bone.

"Your resistance is pointless and trivial."

Harbinger this time emerged from the smoke and the sight of its yellow eyes gave Tali even more reason to run for her damn life. They colored the smoke a sickly sulfuric yellow, then its weapons charged up yet again painting the ground in the distance and the particles clinging to the thick wet air a volcanic red.

"It is scared, Shepard. It doesn't want us to go into the light!"

"I know Tali, which is why we need to move!"

"The trees will be dusted with the ashes of your friends, Shepard. You fear this-losing your companions is what hurts the most. Tali'Zorah, we will aim for you next if Shepard does not seize the attack."

"Give me your best shot!"

To Tali's utter shock, it responded to her remark.

"As you wish. Your death shall not be significant but to a very few. Nothing about your disintegration will merely shift the well lubricated cogs that run the galaxy oiled by your blood. It will affect the one you love the most-the one you fight for, Tali'Zorah. Defeat is imminent, both emotional and physical. The memories organics hold of you shall parish like the civilizations of old-without a trace of a whisper hanging in the vast galactic dark."

"I told you that you would piss it off," screamed Garrus.

"Keelah!"

"Tali, Garrus, run!"

Garrus followed the direct order and Tali trailed in his wake, her big brother leaving her behind.

"Garrus!" she cried out, stretching an arm out for the turian silhouette in the distance. Her legs burned with acid and the faces around her were desperate-ghosts of faces, knowing Death was going to slit their throats as that red beam of light accelerated towards them.

"Tali, grab my hand!"

Garrus, stood at the lip of the beam, hand outstretched for Tali to reach. Her hand slipped into his and turning around, Tali noticed Anderson falling into the beam. It crackled and he disappeared.

"Shepard," Tali pleaded, yelling into the mass of faces sprinting towards them. She spotted him in the thick crowd of hundreds, climbing through swaths of bodies. The white light of the beam behind them lit all their faces up. They all looked like ghosts. A red beam landed in the mass of the group and the pale skin of the humans and aliens were painted in red light-all baptized by the mechanized superheated tongues of flame. It engulfed the entirety of them.

"Shepard!"

The blast ripped through Tali and Garrus' bodies, throwing them into the beam of light.

Air caressing skin. Gulls singing tunes to the setting sun over an ocean of water.

Waves swell at the ankles.

Tide pulls sand from under the feet.

She sinks deeper.

All breath was torn from her lungs as Tali impacted a hard surface. Metal, by the feel of it. Something soft also partly cushioned the blow, but what was it?

Who is groping me? Only Shepard is allowed to do that.

Shepard...

"Shepard?" she screamed as her senses came to.

"Nope, not Shepard. You're stuck with good old Garrus, which is even better."

Tali's eyes fired open. A deep red light palled the walls and floor, both were marred with stains of red blood.

"Am... I alive?" asked Tali.

"Unless I am an angel, then no."

Tali, still dazed, jokingly said, "Archangel." She poked Garrus on the nose.

"Come on, get up out of that pile." His powerful arm pulled her to her feet. He was stronger than she realized he was.

"Pile of what?"

Her stupor was slapped away when she realized she stood on top of a mound of people, all of whom were dead.

"Keelah."

"I think we found our way into the wrong end of whatever is after death," Garrus said. "Do you have a weapon?"

Tali looked to her hands and found nothing but singed and bubbling armor of which still glowed pink from the heat of the blas-

"Shepard, where is he?"

"I don't know."

"He was in the center of the blast, wasn't he?" Tali asked, hoping for a positive answer. Tali stared into her turian friend's face, remember this is Garrus she is asking. The answer will be brutally honest.

"To tell you the truth, it looked like... the beam hit him."

There was no shock, anger, or surprise-just angst.

"He made it."

"I-"

"He made it."

Garrus decided it was better not to argue. He wanted to believe it too, did believe it.

"Where is everyone else, then? Shouldn't Anderson be here and everyone else?"

"Yeah, they should." Tali looked around. "Shepard, Anderson!"

"Shhhhhh, quiet!"

"Sorry." Tali weaved around the bodies, walking towards the dot of light at the end of the vast tunnel. The sheer amount of bodies that laced the floor was sickening, yet Tali had become numb. There was an objective that had be completed at all costs. Shepard, wherever he was, knew this too.

"This is Tali'Zorah, anyone copy, over?" Static tap-danced back into her ear.

"I have nothing on my radio, either," said Garrus.

"Keelah, this isn't good."

"We need to fire the Catalyst and get the hell out of here. If the Commander is alive, he will be at the Catalyst. Now, we just need to figure out where we are."

"You mean you do not recognize where we are?" Tali asked Garrus.

"Not in the slightest."

"Didn't you work here for years, though?"

"I know this place inside and out. I have never been here, in this graveyard."

"Maybe secret Keeper tunnels?"

"Has to be." Garrus glowered at the death around him. "Let's get out of here and fast. We are going to need luck on our side as of this very moment."

"Are you always so optimistic, Garrus."

Through the hissing static, Tali heard a voice.

"Garrus?"

"Yeah, I got that. Commander, come in!"

"Shepard, can you hear us? Shepard? Please... please answer."

Tali could hear Anderson speak.

"Keelah, at least he made it through."

Then, Shepard spoke. His voice sounded hurt, wounded.

"Shepard!"

"Keep it down, Tali," Garrus spat. "We know he is alive, that is a good thing. We are just separated-"

"With no radio contact. We have to move, now."

Tali listened to Anderson and Shepard speak-wondering how badly wounded they were. There was going to be no way she was going to lose Shepard in this forsaken crucible of mechanized death. The way the Reapers handled the humans were horrific.

"I wonder how bad the protheans had it after hundreds of years," asked Garrus.

"I don't even want to theenk about it."

Tali could feel her right ankle was sprained and her suit had to have a puncture in it after the beating they just took. Her heads-up-display read nothing but she knew that even her suit couldn't hold up after that. Time was ticking towards her death and the annihilation of everyone in the galaxy.

"Damn it, I know where we are," said Garrus.

"You don't sound too happy."

"Look ahead."

Tali followed his command and saw the Presidium miles off in the distance.

"Are we... on the tip of the Citadel?"

"That we are. I can see my old apartment building from here-or, what used to be it. I hated that place anyways."

"Wait, hold on." Tali held up her hand and both of them listened to the radio chatter. Shepard said something about the Illusive Man.

"That can't be."

"Shhh, listen Garrus!"

In the background, Tali could hear the Cerberus leader's voice.

"That bosh'tet!"

"Tali, we have to get over there now."

"You don't think I know that?" she screamed. "But how?"

"There is a maglev train about half a mile down that way."

Tali scanned the Citadel. Unlike the last time it was closed during Sovereign's attack, the city was not ablaze in orange, but was dark, lit only by the fires of Earth. It was an apocalyptic red where the ring of the Presidium gapped, allowing the blood of Earth to swell into the Citadel, illuminating it only slightly. This city excreted death.

"Is that the only way?"

"That I can think of, yes."

She looked around, desperately searching for something that might help. Dead bodies, shattered pieces of buildings, clothing, garbage, and blood.

"If we walk down there unarmed, we will be killed by Reaper troops," she said.

Shepard sounded as if he was in pain through the radio. His words were mumbled, but it sounded like he was trying to talk the Illusive Man out of something.

"We have got to go now! He won't make it, Garrus!"

"The only thing we have to do is try and get to that train."

Tali growled in frustration ran towards the street followed by Garrus. There was going to be no way of making up there in time. Whatever the Illusive Man was doing to her Shepard didn't sound good. Shepard for once was not in control of a situation he did not want to be in.

"How many people did they take into the Citadel. It looks like thousands."

Tali ignored Garrus. The fact of seeing all of these people, children and women, decimated and laying naked, pooled in blood, was heartbreaking-soul crushing.

"Tali, why don't we just stay here. Shepard doesn't need our help," said Garrus, stopping from full sprint.

"Stop joking, Garrus. Move, now!"

"No, really. Let's take a break."

Tali turned around and saw Garrus sit on the blood spattered ground. Behind Garrus, a broken holographic advertisement selling fishcakes sitting inside of a restaurant flashed.

Husks filled the restaurants.

They all turned to stare.

"Garrus, move!"

"Let them take me, I am tired."

"Wha? Get up!"

Tali kicked Garrus in the side, then again-harder.

"Leave me."

"No! Are you crazy?"

Tali looked to the husks. She could see the spinning blue gears in their throats and rice paper thin skin peeling at the corners of their mouths as they opened to scream. Those poor people are now out to kill the ones so save them from further pain.

"Garrus, you are coming with me. I will drag you to this train if I have to."

"Don't... fight, no. Can't..."

"You are not making sense. Get off your ass your bosh'tet!"

The husks began to charge Tali and Garrus, spilling into the street in haphazard running patterns. The light flashed from the sign and the horde grew twice in size. They were coming up from the sewer system, cascading out of apartment windows with the need to kill. Tali stared at Garrus who wasn't moving.

"Tali... gah... indo... move."

Tali decided to leave him behind. Hot tears brimmed on her lids as his hand slipped from hers. He had been by her side through all of these years. Tali could even say she loved him as a brother but it is either leave Garrus behind or risk killing everyone in the galaxy. Tali didn't know what was going on with her companion-her friend. His fighting spirit against the Reapers had been crushed, unable to fight for the small chance of success.

"I am so sooorry, Garrus."

"Don't..."

"I have to save Shepard."

Tali ran away, yelling at the husks and waving her hands.

"Over here! Garrus, I will give you some extra time." He said nothing but in his eyes were sapped in unadulterated pain and anger. Everyone has to make sacrifices, now was the time she had to make hers. "Sorry, Garrus," she whispered and ran towards the train. Garrus might have a minute to live. Tali wished he would survive.

Never in her life has she ran as fast as she did, even on a sprained ankle and a half melted suit. She was breathless, but in the distance, she saw something that sucked all of the fight from her soul that sparked with electricity and passion. The maglev track was destroyed by a collapsed building. Not knowing the Citadel other than the parts she visited with Shepard and on her pilgrimage, she was lost.

"Bosh'tet!" Tali spun around. "Come on, come on, what can I use." The husk's screams chilled her, like an icy scalpel scraping against bone. They were closing on her fast. "Where is my luck? I need some luck, come on, come on! I cannot go out like this." Tali ran away from the husks and into an alleyway. An electrical cord snapped in the dark at the end of the alleyway. A brute lay in wait, melting back into the darkness as the light was swallowed.

It saw her.

"No luck here!"

There was another alleyway to her left and she beamed towards it, away from the brute. Shadows from the husks swam on the walls, chasing her.

Run run run!

Something caught her leg and she felt face first into the ground. She looked at what dropped her and saw an arm sleeved in a white coat with a red cross embroidered on it. A dead asari body was handing out of a vehicle.

An ambulance.

Tali had found her luck.

Getting to her feet, Tali tore open the sliding door to the vehicle and looked around noticing no hidden husks inside of the vehicle. This was her time to make a move-this piece of luck just might have saved the galaxy. Tali was in the process of closing the door when a gray arm snaked into the parted door.

"Keelah!"

The husk feverishly fought to get a fistful of Tali in order to yank her out into the street for its friends to finish off. Tali slammed the door on the arm and she heard a snap. The husk screamed, pushing itself deeper into the ambulance. The thing hit her in the chest with its flailing appendage and she was shocked by its supernatural power as she slammed on her back. Clenching her teeth, she kicked the husk in the head with her legs powered by high-octane adrenaline. To her pleasant surprise, its neck broke and its head knocked against its back. Tali could see servos and synthetic-organic hybrid muscles like hair sprout out of its gaping neck. It fell backwards, all the skin on its arm peeling off onto the lip of the door. Tali shut the door as fast as she could. More husks began knocking on the outside shell of the large vehicle.

"Too...close."

Now, she had an upper hand on these Reaper bosh'tets. Time to get even. Suddenly, Tali at the wheel of the ambulance felt eternally tired. She started up the vehicle and got the basic gist of the controls. They were simple enough, but... what was the goal of hers again? She has to save... who from what?

Tali yawned.

"I feel like sitting here," she told herself. Suddenly, Tali got it.

Garrus was getting indoctrinated!

I am getting indoctrinated!

"Keelah, I have got to go back and get him." Tali pulled the ambulance up and felt something scrape the bottom of the vehicle. It bucked and hit a wall yet she maintained control. The brute passed under her, almost taking her out.

Eyelids so heavy.

Fight it!

The Reapers... or even the Illusive Man, were taking its toll on her. Tali pushed the thruster forwards and rocketed towards Garrus' last location.

"Garrus, I am coming."

Tali could see him dragging himself into a corner, away from five husks who cleaved towards him.

"Vega, I am going to have one hell of a story to tell you when I get back," she said to herself through clenched teeth and shut eyes. Tali punched it and landed right in the middle of the crowd of husks, saving Garrus from being torn apart. The impact hurt and her head went crashing into the dashboard. Airbags detonated, slapping her in the face. Through the adrenaline, she went for her seatbelt to unhook it, then remembering that it was not attached to her in the first place.

"I will be feeling that in about five minutes."

Tali went to the back where the gurney was and tore open the door.

"Garrus, if that didn't impress you to the point of not coming, then I don't know what will, now get the hell up!"

His face was stunned.

"Break through the indoctrination, fight the sleep. Harbinger wants you to give up, don't you see? Fight it for Shepard, fight it for me, fight it for Palaven."

"Give me a hand, I think it is loosening its grip."

"Here, take both of them for all I care!"

"Reaper paste."

"Huh?"

"Tali, you made those husks into Reaper paste."

"Good, now get in here, I am driving!"

"Oh hell no. Don't push aside the Vakraian when he has the opportunity to driv-"

Tali shoved him into the passenger seat, cut the airbag off with her knife and shut the door.

"I am driving."

"Okay." He put on his seatbelt. "I think I might be needing this."

Through the radio, Tali heard a gunshot and a human male gasp. Tali looked towards Garrus.

"I heard that, now take off. They are in trouble."

Without wasting a breath, Tali rocketed into the air and zoomed towards the Presidium. Out the window, Tali saw hundreds of husks swarm where Garrus once was/

"We are so close to the end."

"Don't say that Tali, you will jinx us again. Let's just say we have a tactical advantage."

"Sorry."

"It is fine," he said.

"No, about leaving you to die back there."

"Again, that was the smartest possible maneuver you could have done. Shepard is more important than me. You can't have two studs like us walking around the galaxy. It just isn't fair to the other men."

"You tell jokes at the worst possible moments, you know that?"

"Hmmm-yeah, I know."

The Citadel was dark and Tali laid eyes on the Crucible for the first time. It was massive and she just couldn't understand what it was going to do.

"We have company, Tali!"

Tali looked in the monitor showing what was behind her. An Oculus tailed them, its red eye growing brighter.

"I jinxed us!"

"No, you just drive. Show me what you are made of, Tali."

Tali dipped and a red tongue licked the top of the ambulance, tearing it off.

"Bosh'tet!"

"That son-of-a-bitch! That hole isn't going to do us any good!"

"It weakened the vehicle's integrity, too!"

"Stay close to the ground where there is some atmosphere, Tali!"

"Can't do that!"

"What in the hell am I supposed to do without a helmet?"

"Hold your breath?"

"Not funny!"

"That wasn't a joke, Garrus!" His mandibles flared. "There should be a respirator in the back. Use it!"

Tali saw that there were now two of the Reaper fighters inbound. Garrus climbed in the back as Tali made a beeline for the sky, towards the Presidium where Shepard must be.

"Are there any guns in here, Tali?"

"This is an ambulance you incompetent bosh'tet! Open the rear door and throw whatever is in the back at them for all I care." Tali made a dive for the buildings as she saw red light becoming brighter. Suddenly, air rippled through the cabin of the vehicle. For a split second, Tali turned around in her seat to see what in the hell was going on. Garrus had tied a rope to his waist and opened the rear doors.

"What are you doing?" she screamed.

"Throwing stuff at them!"

"That was a joke!"

"Well how in the hell do I know when you are serious or not?"

He lobbed the gurney out the rear door and Tali actually saw it hit the Oculus as it spat out its beamed weapon. Somehow, a lens or something opens up when it is about to fire, allowing the inside of the fighter to be exposed for a split second. The leg prodded it as it fired and the fighter went up in a glorious fireball.

"You see that?" Garrus screamed.

"Do that again, and I can bet the stars are aligned over Palaven!"

"I am just a good shot, Tali!"

The Presidium was closing in fast. This ambulance was not going to be able to take another hit. No shields and no armor. This is strictly a civilian craft.

"I will take out the next craft," yelled Tali. As Wrex would put it, Tali grabbed her quads and did a ballsy move. Ahead was a building with a hole drilled right through the center of it-probably by Reaper weapons. It was just wide enough to squeeze through... at least she though.

"Tali, are you about to-"

"Yes, so deal with it!"

"You are too cocky, you won't make it!"

"So is the bosh'tet behind us if he follows me!"

"I am saying-oh, never mind!"

"Shut up! Just! Shut! Up!"

"I trust you," screamed Garrus, gripping onto her armrest.

"I don't!"

"Who, me?"

"No, me!"

"By the spirits..."

Tali gunned it towards the hole and the Oculus followed, charging up its beam, prepared to fire.

"Go go go faster!"

"I am going as fast as I can," screamed Tali.

The red light darkened as the face of the ambulance glided through the hole. She screamed as did Garrus. Chairs, beds, tables, and furniture flashed by them followed by a shattering explosion. In the monitor, Tali could see the Oculus clip an I-beam and spiral into the walls, detonating into a river of flames with the current chasing them through the craggy tunnel. They flung out of the inside of the building and a fist of flame followed them, failing to even touch them.

"Did you see that?" Tali screamed into Garrus' face.

"It wasn't that bad."

"Ten out of ten, just say it!"

"Okay, that was pretty damn impressive," admitted Garrus.

The Presidium was now a kilometer away. Shepard was so close to Tali.

"You will slingshot yourself through anything to get your Captain back, won't you?"

Tali shot him a look and he got the answer.

"Go to the tip, right where the Crucible meets the Presidium. I bet that is where they are."

The adrenaline still pulsed through Tali's body, but the closer they approached she could feel the indoctrinating effects growing stronger. They had to get there and fast. Who knows what has happened to Shepard. No matter what, she was going to save him even if that meant endangering her life and Garrus', though Garrus wouldn't mind one bit-just a little bit of extra fun and danger into the equation for him.

"Tali, I can feel it inside of... my... head."

"Fight it. You must fight it!"

"It wants me to take the wheel and crash us."

"We are almost there!"

Her arms were not hers-just avatars for the Reapers to end all chance for organics surviving. Tali felt the sudden urge to slit Garrus' neck. She wanted to see his blue blood wash the windshield from the inside of the ambulance. Keelah she wanted to kill him.

"Fight it Tali."

"I.. am."

The light from the Crucible was so close to them. Failing here, to indoctrination was not an option. A voice, not from her radio, but from inside her brain whispered to her. It was familiar, all too familiar. The Illusive Man spoke.

"Tali'Zorah, your Commander is in trouble. I have him about to blow his brains out. You will lose him if you come any closer. If you do approach, I will personally seek it out that you watch him die from that vehicle window, then I will have you take out your knife and kill Vakarian, then make you slit your own throat. This is your last warning. I am in control. There is no plan B. Turn around now."

"G-Garrus, did you hear that?"

"Yes." Both hands were reaching for his oxygen mask. "You know what must be done." The way he said it sounded like it was going to be the last time they ever spoke alive.

"If you can hear me, Mr. Universe, I am coming for you!"

"That was a mistake."

"You are the one making a mistake!"

Tali could see the three of them now. Anderson was clenching his stomach and Shepard had the lips of a pistol firmly pressed to his head. The Illusive Man stood between both of them, something very wrong with the way he looked. Tali pointed the car right towards him. There was no way this was going to happen.

"Garrus, hold on!"

Tali shattered the indoctrination and leaned into the thrusters, screaming. She could see Shepard look up at the vehicle and they locked eyes. He was battered but still very much alive. A smile broke across his lips as he saw the shuttle hurdling towards them.

"I love you, Shepard," she whispered and shut her eyes, letting the indoctrination swell over her. Tali just let physics take over-she had faith those trusty equations would lead her to the correct path and right down the throat of the Illusive Man. Before closing her eyes though, Tali saw his face, the Illusive Man's face. It was riddled with rage and terror before the bumper of the ambulance carved into him. Sable waves crushed Tali's vision as they impacted and she could feel the crunch and wet pop of the Illusive Man being dragged under the shuttle as it skidded for a short distance then stopped-as did the itchy, painful claws of indoctrination. Tali rested her head on the dashboard, breathing heavily.

"Garrus, are you okay?" She turned around to see where her friend was.

"Tali, you are one crazy son-of-a-bitch."

With a wave of her hand, she said," Thanks," then collapsed, laughing.

"Tali, are you okay?"

Tali answered Shepard's voice, "Yes, I only just squashed the Illusive Man, a main enemy of ours and saved Commander Shepard's life, I am more than okay." The driver-side door was pulled open and Shepard stood there. Tali gasped as she saw the state he was in. The first thing Tali thought he looked like was melted candle wax dusted with soot and blood.

"Shepard!"

"I thought I lost you, Tali!"

Tali tore the seatbelt off and clasped his head in both her hands.

"Are you okay? What happened? Do you need medical attention?"

"Garrus, seek attention to Anderson. He has a bullet wound!"

"Roger that, Commander."

"Tali, god I thought-"

Tali pressed a finger against his lips. "Your girlfriend just saved your little bosh." Tali grabbed Shepard's pistol and walked to the front of the vehicle. "Is he under here? I want to make sure he is dead." Tali looked at Shepard. "Where is the Illusive Man?"

Both of them heard a grunt and the car moved slightly, shifting over the deflating body of the Illusive Man. Tali saw his head right under the left blinker, of which were flashing yellow because of the hazard lights. His face was a monstrosity.

"Shep-Shepard, you," he said, coughing up blood. "You must-" Tali shot him in the face twice.

"Everything okay?" asked Garrus, more towards the gunshots.

"Unfinished business," said Tali, and walked towards Anderson who clasped an exit wound on his back.

"I've never been shot in the torso before. Goddamn does it hurt," he wheezed, sounding quite squeaky.

"I think he has a collapsed lung," informed Garrus. "Luckily, Tali hijacked this ambulance."

"How did you manage that?" asked Shepard.

"Long story, Commander." said Tali. "We'll tell it to you after we fire this thing."

"This should make you happy, Anderson."

"Morphine, Garrus?"

"Yes sir."

"Stick it in me." The needle bit through his pants leg. "Oh yeah."

"We need to fire the Crucible and now." Shepard walked towards the console. "Let's hope this thing works."

"Do you have any idea of what it is going to do?" asked Tali, checking Anderson from a distance.

"He'll make it, don't worry about him. Anderson is a tough son of a gun."

"Shepard, get the Crucible operational now, we are losing ships," said Anderson.

Tali watched Shepard limp towards the console and she just had to stare-take a breather for a moment. The past ten minutes of her life have been some of the toughest in her life. Each second carved a new scar into her emotionally and each minute that ticked by aged her by a year. As for Shepard, Keelah she cannot even imagine what he was going through. Once they get out of here, if they get out of here, Tali was going to spoil her Captain for the rest of his life but first, he needed to be patched up. The blast nearly took Garrus and her out, but Shepard took the direct hit. The only thing that had to have been holding him together were the cybernetics Cerberus rebuilt him with. The thought crossed her mind of thanking Cerberus for what they have done, but was gone as fast as it appeared. Tali turned around to look at the blue luminescent smear the Illusive Man left on the metal platform. The light from his blood was fading and quickly going black.

"Okay, it is operational."

Tali heart flashed at what Shepard said.

"This is it. All we have fought for, all of the casualties we have taken, all of the scars carved into us have been for this very moment," whispered Tali. Shepard grabbed Tali's hand and they sat down next to Garrus and Anderson. The Crucible hummed-charging up, ready to take down all of the Reapers.

"Commander?"

"Yes, Anderson."

"We did good." Anderson's brown eyes scanned Garrus and Tali's. "You two are the true heroes today. Without your undoubtedly ballsy flying, Tali, we would all be dead." Anderson looked at the Illusive Man's top half hanging out from under the vehicle. His hand was curled up like a dead tarantula. "How in the hell did he get so powerful?"

"Does it really matter anymore? A two ton vehicle and a double tap took out the Reaper's agent. He wasn't that tough," said Tali.

"He almost got us." Anderson coughed. "Where did you learn to fly like that, Tali?"

"Vega and Joker. They are a bad influence to hang out with."

"I figured."

"Just a forewarning," said Garrus, "Don't ever let a quarian fly if she is angry. The inside of the lower portion of my suit is, well... let's just say warm and wet."

The four of them laughed and waited for the Crucible to fire. The humming stopped at a certain pitch, then something heavy and metallic clanked above them. It was going to happen soon, Tali was certain. She thought of all the lost faces. Mordin and Thane came to mind, followed by Legion. His voice before he died had emotion. A robot. What they created all those years ago was something special-disturbing yet unequivocally beautiful. Everything they have done, every action, has blazed a path in history. They carved their own path with every decision every made. Now, it was time to make the last blow to these Reapers once and for all. Shepard leaned over and gave her a light kiss on the mask. Tali stared at the ring of blood caked on her smoked veil and finally, I lifelong question had been answered: how can someone measure the length of infinity? Tali stared at Shepard and knew that she would go at any length to save Shepard powered by the machine of love. Maybe... just maybe the infinite is not a measure of the physical but of something one feels and cannot see. Tali gripped his hand harder, reassuring him that everything was going to work. The Crucible was going to fire. The Reapers were all going to die. They were going to be picked up. Everything they strived for was going to work out.

"Shepard, Commander!"

They all pause at Admiral Hackett's voice, listening in anticipation.

This is it. This is the end.

"Nothing's happening. The Crucible's not firing."

Okay guys/gals, I know I have said this before, but I will say it again. I thought this was going to be a one shot, but look at how that turned out! This will consist of multiple chapters, so hang on tight. I will admit, after writing humor/romance over the past year, getting to do suspense was fun again. For those Snake in the Mud and Deception followers, I hope you enjoyed. I am thinking a couple more chapters will do until I hit the true end the way I would have liked it to happen. This is my first time breaking canon and boy, does it feel good after what BioWare put us through! For those who liked my mushy-facemelting stories, stay with me. More coming soon since spring break at college has begun. Also, once my editor finishes the game, there should be less mistakes. The machine writer is coming back out...

-RAGE