The last few hours had been utter hell, and if anyone Shepard definitely had a few past experiences to use as comparison. It all flashed briefly in front of her, the chaos and madness it had taken to reach this point. Destroying the anti-air gun and then fighting tooth and nail to the forward operations base upon hitting the ground in London. The somber goodbyes with all those she had come to know, love, and trust; not a one of them knowing if any one amongst them would make it out of this mess alive. The ones whom had been missing that she could no longer offer any petty words of comfort to as a parting, and the one absence in particular that stung more than the rest. Drawing up the courage for her final rallying speech, an effort to offer what little hope she could to her ever loyal companions. The long walk and insane battles leading to the transport beam, and the sheer lunacy that ensued after the final run down that hill. It was all too surreal. If she weren't standing here, now, in this place herself, she was certain she wouldn't have believed any of it either.

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

Shepard didn't even know why she let that damned VI go through its entire speech. Once it had pointed out the pathway to the right and explained what it represented, what it did, her choice was concretely made. The idea that she could destroy the Reapers so simply now from this place, after all the pain, loss, and suffering all had endured; that it could finally be over after everything that had brought her to this point… it was virtually unfathomable. Standing there on that desolate walkway, battered, bruised, and bleeding, forced to watch, powerless and unable to take action, while war stormed all above and around her across the space surrounding Earth. Forced to watch while the same people she had always sought to protect now fought and died so for her, so that she might stand in this very spot… there was no other option.

The so-called 'catalyst' had secondly revealed a way in which Shepard could control the Reapers instead of destroy them. While the idea of bending the great race of sentient machines to her will was ambitious and supremely tantalizing in abstract, she had seen what attempting to control the Reapers had done to the Illusive Man. It had turned all that he was, the prodigious and intellectual if extremely misguided man, and sapped him of all that greatness. Taken his intelligence through indoctrination and replaced it with a puppet in a shell of a man who had once possessed the potential to have become a god amongst the masses.

There had been a third choice given, but Saren had once become the avatar of the supposed synthesis option she had been presented with. The projection of the child made it sound like the best option of the three, but Shepard knew better. She had seen Saren's devolution first-hand, tries to talk him down from his madness more than once. And the final time she had actually succeeded; the spectre had put his pistol to his jaw and taken his own life in shame. Shame that he had lost himself and allowed Sovereign to use him in such a way as to endanger those he had been trusted to protect. Thanks to the Reapers, however, he had gotten back up, a crazed mechanical corpse, and Shepard had been forced to put him down a second time herself.

She had come to this place to do one thing, and she would be damned if that wasn't exactly what she would do.

Shepard stumbled forward toward her goal, clutching at her side in pain. She had managed to stop the bleeding for the most part, but the lingering ache tore through her muscles with every movement, every step. It felt as though there were fingers entangled in her ribs, threatening to rip her apart piece by piece. I've been through worse. This too shall pass. The pain will become a scar and a dull ache to supplement a memory. Her steps were heavy, the effects of the loss of blood becoming increasingly evident as she moved. Her head spun, and her limbs felt like lead. It was on sheer will alone she made it up the ramp to the platform that harbored her goal.

Shepard stood hunched over, staring at the structure on the opposite end of the walkway. So… this is it. Now or never. This unseemly object allegedly spelled the end of all this struggle and heartache for her. For her crew. For the entire galaxy. Peace at last incarnate in a structure of glass and metal. All she had to do was set the charges so to speak. She lifted her gun as best she could manage while doubled over and took another meek step forward, not entirely sure she believed it all.

.

I love you.

.

A faint whisper graced her ears, and she almost tripped in shock. She couldn't tell at first if it was memory or otherwise… She shook it off momentarily and aimed as best she could, squeezing her finger down on the trigger.

BANG

.

If all else whispers back into the tide, know this for fact.

.

Thane.

His final words he'd left for her; the ones never to fade. His final profession of devotion. His goodbye.

Shepard closed her eyes for a moment. She could see him behind the veil of her eyelids; flashes and flickers of times gone by and reminiscences past. A spectrum of passions and a tidal wave of emotion crashing down on her all at once. The high points, the low moments, and everything in between. Their first meeting, their budding friendship, and the whirlwind romance it had all culminated to. The love they shared, unwavering to the bitter end and beyond. She breathed deeply and lifted her chin as her eyes slowly fluttered open again, her resolved renewed. Her body straightened to stand tall and her armed hand rose to aiming height coolly, eyes sighting down the top of the pistol with finger ready on the trigger.

Now or never. It's time to end this, once and for all.

BANG

.

By grace given me by the Goddess Arashu, I bid her divine protection to you, my warrior-angel, my siha, to succeed in your destiny.

.

BANG

Her shots bounced off the glass in front of her, barely leaving a crack. Closer. She ignored the red caution lights surrounding the tank and moved forward anyways, placing one foot in front of the other; step after step, pace quickening along with the beat of her heart.

BANG BANG

.

To light your path through the coming darkness.

.

BANG

Shepard bobbed to the side and steadied her gun with both hands, avoiding leaping flames and sparks as her bullets hit their mark. She continued to empty her clip into the tube in a frenzy, her damage increasing with proximity to her intended target. There was little to no protection in this place, she noted the openness of the area idly. If the reaction to her shots was any indicator, destroying this tube likely meant causing a chain reaction of destruction, and likely meant being caught in it. Probably meant getting spaced again.

BANG

She didn't care; she would gladly face her worst fear with dignity if it meant the end to this insanity. This was what she came to do. This was what she was meant to do. Even if she was forced to sacrifice herself, it would all be worth it. The end was more than justification for the means. She kept her purpose, kept moving.

BANG BANG

.

To give you hope, when all seems lost.

.

BANG

Spider web cracks snaked their way across the surface of the glass, fracturing further with the impact of each shot. The sparks and miniature explosions were getting harder to dodge. They singed her mangled armor beyond the charred disaster it had become, the heat searing against her skin. Shepard no longer even flinched; she refused to quail in her purpose, even for a second.

BANG

Everyone who had died, they had died to see her here safely as they could; they had given their chance at a tomorrow so that she might pass that same kindness on to everyone else in her own turn. She would not dishonor their sacrifices, would not shame their memories now.

BANG BANG

.

I will await you across the sea.

.

BANG

One final shot and Shepard could see the fireball and explosion coming in the split second before it happened. She ducked futilely, shielding her face from the fire behind her hands as it consumed her and the platform. Her mind flashed back to the attack on the Normandy as she tumbled across the platform from the force of the knockback. Blazing eruptions and deafening roars rattled the metal beneath her. She fought to push herself up from the ground, but as her hands found purchase it gave way. She fell. There was nothing below to catch her, yanked by the artificial gravity of the level to certain doom. Her mind screamed and she kicked and flailed involuntarily, but there no helping what was coming.

She was soon outside the protective atmosphere of the station, unprotected by her ruined armor. Bared to the vacuum of space. This was it, and cruel fate had decided to kill her twice in the exact same manner. Force her to literally relive her torturous memories as her life faded once more.

She was suffocating. There was nothing that could be done now, she knew it. She struggled out of instinct, but she had already accepted her death inside.

Her world disappeared around her, stars dissolving into nothing as she plummeted into the void of space once again.

Her mission was complete; she'd done what she came to do. This was her time, she could go in peace.

A final solace at last from all her endless agony.

.

.

.

She was suffocating.

She was drowning, tumbling and struggling all over again.

Her mouth screamed soundlessly and it filled with saline liquid; her lungs burned like they were bursting with acid.

Nothing made sense. Her world was blue and green, light and dark. Swirling madness. Water. She was in water. Not just any water, salt water. Hadn't she just been falling through space…?

An ocean.

Shepard was suddenly thrown by the current that had dragged her, landing roughly on some sort of ground. She choked and coughed breath back into her body, pushing to raise her face from the land beneath her person. Stubborn grains stuck to her skin. Sand. A wave rushed up the shore to meet her, smothering her mouth and nose once more. She wildly pushed against the ground again in an effort to escape the tide, desiring to continue breathing air as opposed to water once more.

A pair of slight hands grasped her side, rolling and guiding Shepard to lie on her back gently. The light from the sun above was blinding and her vision was still blurry from her underwater excursion. She squinted and then shut her eyes to shield them from the intensity. She had been unable to discern who exactly her would-be savior was, but suddenly her face was shaded from the light. The figure delicately pulled Shepard's head into their lap, and in one swift motion bent to her face and their lips met. The feeling was unfamiliar but the kiss had no lacking of passion, and Shepard found herself reciprocating; her own mouth working into the unexpected kiss before the shock of the situation could fully register. She shuddered, breathless as they parted and slowly opened her eyes, quite a bit more curious now as to the identity of this brazen individual.

Sunset-colored eyes.

Irikah?

The name rolled off her lips and tongue like the most saccharine music. Though Shepard had never had the privilege of knowing the woman in life, but from all she had heard there was no doubt in her mind that her supposition was accurate.

Her laugh was like silver bells and the songs of angels. Irikah beamed down at her, long fingers delicately stroking through Shepard's hair like the sweetest of lovers.

You certainly took your time in returning to this place, Shepard. I was almost beginning to believe Thane when he said you'd be too stubborn to ever die.

Shepard's eyes widened. She fought to rise and meet her at eye level, but Irikah's hands on her shoulders held her down, firmly in place at rest on her lap.

Thane? Wh—where? How?

Irikah placed a slender finger to Shepard's lips, silencing her confusion.

Shhhh… There will be time for all your questions. You will attain the answers you seek, I assure you. Though I suppose I should answer the first one you would want to ask of myself. Why did I choose to meet you here?

Shepard nodded slightly, eyes fixated on the woman above her. She truthfully was beautiful in every facet, astoundingly so. Try as he may have, no description Thane ever could have given would have done her ethereal loveliness justice.

I wanted to thank you personally, Shepard.

Shepard began to open her mouth again, mind perplexed at what had just been spoken. What would she want to thank me for? I replaced her in Thane and Kolyat's lives. Shouldn't she resent me? She was hushed once more before the words could form sound in her throat.

When I met you last time you crossed the sea, you knew not what was to come. I did, but I didn't yet understand just what precisely it was you would do. What exactly you were capable of. You crossed the sea only to be pulled back and away again, specifically to play your part as the martyr. The vanguard to protect the galaxy and all within from the greatest danger it has ever faced. You paid the ultimate sacrifice; not just once, but twice. All for the greater good, and never asking or expecting your own in return.

Irikah smiled softly, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks.

But more importantly, I suppose… You not only saved everyone, but you found the time along the way to specifically save that which is most important to me. You took my family into your heart and made it your own. Loved my husband and my son in life as I no longer was able to do.

You kept Kolyat from a dark path and set him back towards the light so that he might have the most brilliant of futures awaiting him once again. That he might retain the privilege that was stolen from him when my death shattered our already broken family.

And you also taught Thane to live once more, when he had forgotten the beauty of the world. You helped him find redemption for his sins and solace for his soul. Helped him forgive himself for the happenings of his past he could not change, and showed him he was not alone in the world. You allowed him to love again and spend his final days and moments in unconditional bliss under the wing of his beloved siha. And you were there for him until his final breath when battle brought him to the tide, never wavering even in the face of such loss.

Thank you, Shepard.

Shepard was completely speechless. This woman truly was an angel, and she was so lucky as to receive her blessings and gratitude. She struggled to sit up and weakly gathered Irikah into her arms, unable to form thought or words to reply. All she could do was hold onto this perfect woman, this beautiful being as dear to her as a friend or lover she'd known her whole life. The memories of before, from her first death, came back to her like a gentle tide; Irikah pulling her from the water and sitting beside her on the sand. They had talked forever, Irikah listening with a knowing grin to the stories of Shepard's adventures and friends until she had been called back to the land of the living. Smiling and nodding without spoiling what was yet to come.

Irikah raised her hands to Shepard's shoulders and pushed their bodies apart, smiling as ever.

I have said my piece, though, and it is now time for me to depart. There is someone else expecting you.

She rose to her feet, helping Shepard to hers as well. Irikah's hold on her hands lingered, and she patted them fondly between her own before finally reluctantly parting.

Don't worry, Shepard. We will see each other again soon enough. There is naught but time for such things now.

Shepard watched Irikah's slim back as she strode away across the sand, longing for her to stay. She didn't want to be alone just yet in this strange place. She was still afraid that it might all be a cruel trick her mind was playing on her as it died. A calm image as an anesthetic to shield her mind from the pain.

Her misgivings dissipated quickly as a warm hand curled into her own from behind, fingers threading with hers in that familiar awkward fashion she knew oh so well. They squeezed hers gently, a thumb caressing her skin so slow the feeling of the motion alone gave off an air of fondness. A low voice she'd recognize anywhere chuckled amusement against her ear, the breath causing her skin to tingle.

I believe this means that I have kept my promise to you, siha.