(This story is set during the final mission of ME3, based on the audemus happy ending mod and my playthrough, paragon femshep, romanced Kaidan)

Kaidan knew he should consider himself lucky. Incredibly so. Not many could claim to have survived an encounter with Harbinger, the biggest, oldest and meanest reaper in the entire fleet. Though that didn't make it any less frustrating, being taken out of the battle during the final charge.

Him, Shepard and the rest of strike force Hammer were rushing towards the conduit beam to board the citadel while Harbinger himself was unleashing blast after blast to stop them. They had almost reached the conduit when one of Harbingers' attacks struck a MAKO tank mere meters from Kaidan. The tank burst into flames, was flung into the air and barely missed Kaidan by inches. He was badly injured, by the feeling of it a few broken ribs, some prices of shrapnel and minor burn wounds. And probably a bunch more for Dr Chakwas to figure out. Shepard, ever the kind, caring woman she was, instantly rushed to his side, dragged him to cover and called for an immediate field evacuation. As the Normandy touched down in the midst of the skirmish and Liara, who was also injured by Harbingers’ attack, maneuvered him inside, Shepard came in close to him, gently caressing his cheek and reaffirmed her love for him. Promising that no matter what her feelings for him would never change. Perhaps her final goodbye before turning back to face down the impossible. While Kaidan drew comfort from her words and his own heart burst with love for this amazing woman, this reaffirmation of their mutual feelings only made his inability to stand by her side and face this final, most crucial mission together even more painful.

As Kaidan was laying in the Normandy's medbay, Dr Chakwas picking pieces of shrapnel from his torso, his thoughts trailed back to the first time he had lost Shepard.

Back when the collectors destroyed the original Normandy almost 3 years ago. The ship was burning and actively falling apart, the remaining crew was scrambling to the evac shuttles while Joker was desperately trying to keep the ship together. Shepard told Kaidan to get the crew to safety while she went back to pull Joker from the cockpit before the ship broke apart completely. Kaidan wanted to stay with her, make sure she got out safely above everything else, but his commander had given him an order and there was no time to lose.

He trusted that Shepard would make it out, that the woman who destroyed Sovereign and survived countless battles would pull off the impossible like he'd seen many times before. But not this time. Just as she helped Joker into the final evac shuttle and moved to get in herself, an explosion knocked her back and triggered the shuttle to eject. Shepard was left on the exploding Normandy and exposed to the vacuum of space, wearing only a damaged exo-suit, with Kaidan and the rest of the crew helplessly watching from their shuttles as their commander, the woman they would all give their lives for, and who would do the same for them, died.

The guilt nearly tore Kaidan apart. It wasn't the first time he felt this kind of guilt either. During their mission on the way planet Virmire Shepard had been forced to choose whether to save Kaidan or Ashley Williams, this decision, Shepard later confessed, was influenced more by personal feelings than strategy. Kaidan was experienced enough to know that sometimes not everyone could be saved and that Ashley's death was neither his nor Shepard's fault. He still couldn't help but feel guilty about it. But after Shepard's death his survivor's guilt worsened a hundred fold. For months he kept replaying the scenario in his head, wondering what he could've done differently. Whether he should've argued that Shepard should evacuate the crew while he got Joker, or even if they should've left Joker altogether. But then he remembered the promise Shepard and him made the night before Ilos, the night they first bunked together. That they wouldn't let their feelings for each other get in the way of their duty or put their crew at risk. They held up this promise. Kaidan had done his duty by following his commanders’ order and evacuating the crew, and Shepard had done her duty by going back to rescue a crew member at risk of her own life. A risk she was always willing to take to do what's right. After this realization he finally allowed himself to start healing. He sought counseling, reconnected with old friends, even went for a night out with Dr. Michel on the citadel, even though it didn't lead to anything. He was beginning to live again.

Then rumors of Shepard's return began to spread. At first he didn't believe any of it, dismissing it as typical sensationalist gossip, especially since the rumors claimed that Shepard was now working with the humanocentric terror organisation Cerberus, which he knew she would never do. This would soon change however, as he was sent to the colony world Horizon to help defend it against the unknown forces preying on remote human colonies which some suspected to be Cerberus themselves. That much proved untrue however, as Kaidan witnessed and fought the actual culprits, the enigmatic alien race known as the Collectors and afterwards came face to face with the very much alive Commander Shepard… accompanied by Cerberus agents. At first he was overjoyed to see her alive and embraced her, but his joy soon turned to anger and confusion over her working with Cerberus and not reaching out to him to let him know she was alive.

Shepard had attempted to explain herself, even asked him to rejoin her squad to take on the Collectors, but Kaidan refused, insisting that he'd never work with Cerberus, even accusing her of betraying everything she stood for. They argued and parted ways disamicably, and Kaidan started feeling worse than the whole previous year. Seeing Shepard again like this had torn open wounds that had almost healed by then. He sent Shepard a message, apologising for the things he said, explaining how things had been for him following her death, reminiscing about their relationship and once again warning her that Cerberus even as the lesser of two evils was too dangerous to be trusted. He closed the message expressing hope that after things had settled down, they might eventually reconnect.

While things did most certainly not settle down his hopes were answered as the two reunited during the reaper invasion of earth. They had been forced to flee earth aboard the Normandy during the reapers initial attack to go to the citadel and get aid from the council. But before they could do that Admiral Hackett sent them to an alliance outpost on mars in order to retrieve a set of blueprints of an ancient prothean database, the schematics for the crucible, the very weapon all their hope rested upon and Shepard was now desperately trying to activate.

Said outpost was under attack from Cerberus who were also looking for the crucible plans. While Shepard had cut ties with Cerberus months before Kaidan was still weary of her past with the organisation, even questioning whether she still was the original commander Shepard or just a copy Cerberus created. Despite Shepards’ reassurances that she was still very much herself, that neither her personality nor her feelings for Kaidan had changed in any way, Kaidan remained unconvinced and distrustful.

But his outlook should change soon. During the same mission he was attacked by a Cerberus android and critically injured before Shepard could disable it. Shepard immediately rushed him to the Normandy medbay to get him stabilised and as soon as they reached the citadel had him admitted into huerta memorial hospital. Before undergoing surgery there, when Shepard didn't know if he could hear her, she implored him to fight, to survive. She said that the alliance needed him… that she needed him. Though he was barely conscious enough to understand, he began to rethink his concerns regarding her. This change of heart was strengthened when Liara sent him a message the following day, telling him that Shepard barely slept all night worrying about him. When the doctors deemed him ready for visitors Shepard came by immediately following a crucial mission. She'd brought him a bottle of peruvian whiskey and they talked for a while about their past experiences and the bond they shared. How Kaidan opened up to her about the events at BaAT, how they worked through Ashleys’ death together, with Shepard repeatedly expressing concern about his condition, feeling guilty he got injured on her watch. It were these small acts of kindness, encouraging him while unconscious, losing sleep over him, bringing him a bottle of his favorite whiskey, this inherent empathy proved how wrong he'd been. That Shepard was still the woman he served under and fell in love with. He said as much to her and the two finally reconciled.

This newly restored trust proved crucial during Cerberus’ coup attempt, when Kaidan was charged with protecting the council while Shepard, having found out councillor Udina was working for Cerberus, was rushing to confront the traitor. This led to a standoff between them that could've proved fatal if Kaidan hadn't chosen to trust Shepard, leading to them stopping Udina together.

After rejoining the Normandy's crew in the wake of the coup attempt Kaidan had invited Shepard to a café on the presidium for a sanity check, as he called it, after the insanity of the past months. There they had an honest heart to heart about the emotional state they were in and their past relationship, ending with them both reconfessing their love for each other and rekindling their romance after nearly 3 years. This made Kaidan happier than he'd ever been, despite the Reapers, Cerberus and numerous other threats out there, he just knew that together they could take on anything. That day he vowed to himself that he would stand by Shepard’s side until the very end, no matter what. This, he bitterly thought to himself, was a vow he'd already managed to break. He didn't know what he'd do if he lost her again…

“There, that was the last of them”, Dr Chakwas’ voice snapped him back to reality as she put the final piece of shrapnel on the table next to them. “Some scarring might remain”, she added as she put medigel on his wounds, “but you'll fully recover if you rest for the next few days. You got luckier than last time.” “Thank you Doc”, Kaidan groaned, talking and breathing was still fairly painful. “Do we have any news from the ground team? From Shepard or Anderson?”. Dr Chakwas gave him a sympathetic look “We were forced to take off right after picking up you and Dr T’Soni and we haven't picked up any transmission from earth”. Kaidan sank back in the bed and let out a long, heavy sigh. Dr Chakwas put a hand on his shoulder “I won't say we shouldn't worry, but if anyone can pull this off and come out alive it's Shepard”, she said in a comforting tone before turning to check on Liara who had sustained less substantial injuries. “Thanks, I'm sure she's gonna…“, Kaidan responded when suddenly the ship shook violently “Goddess!” Liara gasped, the sudden tremor had bonked her head against Dr Chakwas’. “What was that?” As if to answer her question Joker's voice cracked through the intercom “Guys, we got a big problem, there's a reaper on our ass and he barely just missed us, I'll try to shake him!”. This seemed strange, Kaidan thought, the reapers were supposed to hold their formation, not break off to chase one ship, what reaper would do that? Like she read his mind, EDIs voice now came through the intercom “I've identified our pursuer as Harbinger, it seems he left his position in London to follow us shortly after we took off.”

Kaidans heart sank in an instant. Harbinger was here? But this meant that Shepard and the entirety of strike force Hammer had been wiped out. There could be no other explanation. Or maybe… Maybe the appearance of the Normandy, the ship that foiled him one too many times had distracted Harbinger, made him get sloppy, leave the job unfinished and abandon his position. In that case… “if Shepard is alive…” Liara broke the silence “then the way is clear now”, Kaidan finished the thought, desperately holding onto this final kernel of hope. Hope, not only for Shepard, but for all life in the galaxy. As Joker was maneuvering the Normandy through the debris, skillfully avoiding Harbingers attacks the battle was taking a turn for the worse. Even the United fleets of all races in the galaxy couldn't stand against the might of the reaper armada for long. This had been expected, the reapers couldn't be defeated by conventional warfare. All the galaxy's hopes now rested on the crucible… And somebody to reach the citadel and open it so the crucible could dock. It was a desperate plan with barely any chance of success, but Kaidan knew if anybody could make it work it was commander Shepard. For her the impossible was merely a challenge.

Suddenly the intercom came alive again, this time with Admiral Hackett's voice broadcasting to the entire fleet “This is the admiral, we've got reports that someone made it to the citadel. We need to give them time to get those arms open. All fleets converge on the crucible. Protect it at all costs”. Kaidan instantly sat up straight in his bed “She made it, it must be her! She…”, Dr Chakwas gently pushed him back down into the pillows. “I hope so too Kaidan”, she said “but you have to rest now, there's nothing we can do to help her. The best you can do for her now is survive.” Kaidan sighed again. “Yea. That's about all I'm good for.”

The next minutes were deathly silent as the crucible approached the battle surrounded by shield fleet with sword fleet joining the defensive formation on the way towards the citadel while Joker and EDI were pushing the Normandy to its limits to keep Harbinger away from the crucible. Kaidan couldn't stop thinking about Shepard and imagining what she'd have to face on the citadel. He was confident she could take anything the reapers threw at her, but once again not standing by her side as she risked her life, just like when she led the suicide mission against the collector base, made him feel incredibly guilty and useless. Then finally, before his anxiety could drive him over the edge of insanity, Hacketts voice once again boomed through the intercom “This is it everyone, the arms are opening. All fleets, protect the crucible! Hold on just a few more seconds…”. Everyone in the medbay and presumably the entire fleet was holding their breath in a mix of anxiety and anticipation. “That's it! The crucible is docked” the admiral concluded, the relief in his voice was unmistakable.

Kaidan had already halfway stood up when he noticed what he was doing “I need to see what's happening!” he explained, expecting Dr Chakwas to throw him back into the bed, but to his shock she offered him her arm and helped him to his feet “So do I.” she agreed, putting his arm around her shoulder. “Me as well.” Liara said, already opening up the medbay doors. The three made their way to the observation viewport remarkably quickly, where many of the crew were already gathered, their eyes fixed on the citadel. The enormous station had unfolded wider than Kaidan had ever seen before, taking the form of a five pointed star with the comparably tiny stub that was the crucible attached to its middle section. EDIs voice came through the intercom again “Harbinger has stopped his pursuit of us and is now heading towards the citadel. I'm picking up massive energy readings coming from it.” as she was saying this a bright orange light began to glow at the point the citadel and crucible connected, flashing and pulsating with tremendous energy. Hacketts voice sounded once again “All fleets, the crucible is armed! Disengage and get to the rendezvous point!”. Kaidan stared, his mouth agape, at the rapidly growing ball of energy that had formed at the citadel control tower, the reapers descending on it, knowing their survival was at stake. Then the outer sections of the citadel started glowing in the same orange light… “I repeat, disengage and get the hell out of here!” Hackett repeated his order to the entire fleet. Kaidan rushed to the intercom and punched the button to communicate with the cockpit “We can't leave, Shepard’s still on there!” was what he wanted to yell but the words got stuck in his throat as he remembered his and Shepards promise all those years ago that their love would never come at the detriment of the crew. The orange light had now engulfed the entire Central ring of the citadel and looked like it was about to burst. With a pained grimace Kaidan said “Do it Joker. There's no other way.” It was only then that he noticed that tears were running down his face. He turned around to see Liara and Dr Chakwas in a similar state to himself and the three shared a tight embrace as the Normandy turned and rushed towards the charon relay while behind them the orange light from the crucible started to expand outwards, the reapers, including Harbinger, that were approaching it were fried by its energy, their lights extinguishing, leaving them drifting lifelessly in space. The energy expanded further, soon engulfing all of earth, cleansing it off the reapers and their pawns, before contracting back into the center of the citadel and firing a concentrated beam towards the charon relay. The Normandy was racing through the mass corridor between the charon relay and the rendezvous point, the crucible blast following close in their wake. Joker was pushing the engines to their limits while Dr Chakwas was walking Kaidan back to the medbay. He didn't resist, couldn't. He was feeling numb since he gave Joker the order to retreat. He knew it was the right choice, the one Shepard would've made. But leaving Shepard behind like this had reopened wounds they had spent so much time healing. And he didn't know whether he could heal this time. The Normandy dropped out of the mass corridor just meters ahead of the beam, and as the ship rejoined the fleet. The orange energy beam hit the mass relay and spread out throughout the mass corridors across the entire network, finally liberating the galaxy of the reapers.

Half an hour later the first reports from across the galaxy came in, confirming the deaths of the reapers and their husks on various battle fields in various systems. You actually did it Shepard Kaidan thought to himself as he made his way to the comms room. You broke a cycle that's been going on for millions of years. Your name will live on forever… Even if it cost you your life… He reached the comms room and stood in the spot Shepard had been in so many times. ”Patch the admiral through, Joker. We're leaving right afterwards.” “Aye, comman… Major”. Joker responded and the holographic image of Admiral Hackett came alive before him. “Major Alenko, it's good to see you. Are you holding up?” the old man asked with genuine concern in his voice. “We're alright admiral. I called to let you know, we're jumping back to the citadel to look for commander Shepard.” “Major Alenko…” Hackett began but Kaidan cut him off “Admiral, if there's even a one percent chance that Shepard is alive we have to go immediately! We owe her that much.” “Major Alenko…” Hackett tried again but Kaidan continued “With all due respect admiral, I'm not asking for permission, I'm informing you that we're going.” “MAJOR ALENKO!” Hackett shouted, stopping Kaidan in his tracks. “I was going to suggest you do that. We're bogged down here until all reports are through but as a spectre you can go on an early search and rescue mission. Let us hope we'll be granted a second miracle today.” “Thank you Admiral. We'll leave at once.” Kaidan answered, relieved. “Find her, major. That's an order. Hackett out”. The Admirals' image vanished.

“Make the jump, Joker” Kaidan said through the intercom “me and the team will be in the shuttle bay. ” he added, leaving the comms room… And ran straight into Dr Chakwas outside. “There you are, Kaidan. EDI said you'd be here. Do I have to sedate you for you to stay in bed?”, “I'm sorry, Doc” Kaidan responded “but I have to get to the shuttle bay. Me and the others are going to the citadel to look for Shepard”. “So that's where Dr T’Soni went.” Dr Chakwas said and sighed. “But do I have to remind you that you shouldn't even be standing in your condition? I've already let you overexert yourself too much, you still have four broken ribs! ” “Yeah, I feel that.” Kaidan admitted, looking pained, “But Doc… Karin, I have to do this. I need to be there for her… just this once. When we've found her I'll stay in the medbay as long as you want. Please, I owe it to her!”.

Karin looked down, tears forming in the corners of her eyes “Yes I… I understand, Kaidan.” she wiped the tears away “You'll find her. I know you will.” Kaidan sighed with relief and gave her a salute “Yes ma'am. I will.”

Down in the shuttle bay he united with the rest of the team, Liara who had snuck out of the medbay earlier, Tali who looked severely shaken up, clinging to Garrus’ arm, who didn't look much better himself. EDI and James looked the most composed of the bunch, but Kaidan knew they were just putting on a brave face. “Are you alright?” he asked once he stood next to Tali. “I… I'm fine, thank you.” she answered, sounding close to tears. “I should be asking you that. You're closer to her than any of us.” ”I'm still running. Barely. I'm just itching to get back out there and find her.” Kaidan said, sounding nearly as tired as he was. “It is this uncertainty. To be unsure if we should start mourning or hold onto hope…” Garrus said grimly and put his arm around Tali. “A most unpleasant and uncomfortable feeling” EDI agreed, trying to sound analytical “however it will not last much longer, our arrival to the sol system is imminent now.”

The Normandy dropped out of the mass corridor at the edges of the debrid field left from the battle, Joker maneuvered thr ship through the remains of the fleets towards the citadel at the center of it all. The team started a shuttle and took off towards the citadel control tower where Shepard must've been just before the crucible fired. On the way they passed several derelict reapers, drifting through space lifelessly. Kaidan noticed Harbinger among them who seemed to have taken the brunt of the blast, his six glowing eyes were extinguished. The shuttle docked on the citadel tower and the group exited, quickly making their way through the tower, looking for anything that was still alive. As they were searching through the rubble Liara was the first to find something “There's someone buried here!”, she shoved the bits of debris aside and gasped “It's… By the goddess it's the illusive man! But what happened to him?” Kaidan was nearby and turned to see what she found. He'd only seen the illusive man a few times via hologram but it was unmistakably him, the figurative head of Cerberus, even though his face had been gruesomely changed. His eyes were still those piercing blue augments, staring ahead even in death, but around those eyes spread out over his face all the way down to his throat was a black metallic substance that seemed to have grown from under his skin, making him look decisively inhuman. “For a guy who loves humanity so much you'd think he'd value his own humanity at least a little bit.” Kaidan said, disgusted with what he saw. He'd hated Cerberus long before they became pawns of the reapers. He'd seen on mars what kind of modifications their soldiers underwent but it seemed like their boss had turned it up to eleven. “This is reaper technology” Liara examined, “but look at his wound and the gun in his hand. This was self-inflicted”. This made Kaidan reflect. Had Shepard gotten through to him? Made him realise what he had become, leading him to stop himself in the only way that was left? Kaidan had seen that before, with Saren Arterius. He'd been completely under Sovereigns control, a fact that Shepard convinced him of, leading him to shoot himself as a desperate act of defiance against his reaper overlord. This was one of the things he loved most about Shepard. She could find the good in anyone and bring it to the surface. Maybe the illusive man had been a good man once, before his human supremacist ideology and later the reapers indoctrination corrupted him. “No use to dwell on it, let's keep moving.” he said, turning back towards the rubble. “Over here!” James shouted across the room “it's Anderson! I'll see if…” “I detect no vital signs.” EDI interjected “I offer my condolences”.

This was a gut punch. David Anderson had been his and Shepards commanding officer long before the whole reaper mess had begun. He'd been a man of great intelligence, integrity and good old fashioned decency. He'd singlehandedly lead the resistance against the reapers on earth for months while Shepard and Hackett were gathering strength for this final attack. His death was a devastating loss for the alliance and it made Kaidan afraid of what they'd find once they located Shepard.

They kept searching through the debris, calling Shepards name, Kaidan had nearly given up all hope when he spotted something. A pair of N7 dogtags, the ones Anderson had given back to Shepard the day the reapers attacked, wedged between two rocks. “She's here!” he shouted, frantically digging the debris away. By the time the others reached them he'd already cleared away the rubble from her face and torso. While Liara, Garrus, Tali, James and EDI quickly uncovered the rest of their commander Kaidan was checking for vital signs, and with a relief as if the weight of a black hole was lifted off him, heard that she was still breathing, albeit barely. By all accounts she looked terrible, her face and arms were covered in dirt, bruises and dried blood, her bright scarlet hair was partly scorched and crusted with blood, but to Kaidans eyes she was more beautiful than ever. In his thoughts he was thanking god, the stars or whatever authority was responsible for granting miracles while he and the others lifted Shepard up from the rubble and carried her back to the shuttle, most of them looking almost as relieved as Kaidan himself. For the first time since the battle for earth had begun, Kaidan smiled. He'd finally been by her side when it really mattered.

Back on the Normandy they rushed Shepard to the medbay and the immensely relieved Dr Chakwas, who then sentenced Kaidan to an eternity of bed rest until she said otherwise. Kaidan who had been pushing through his pain this whole time and was happy about any excuse to be close to Shepard didn't complain. Shepard was immediately hooked up to various injections and breathing tubes, Dr Chakwas making sure she got everything she needed. Though Shepard remained unconscious for the next two days, Kaidan kept talking to her, reaffirming his love for her, recounting old stories and relaying news of the post-reaper cleanups he received on his omni tool. Basically every member of the crew came by to check on Shepard and bring all sorts of gifts from flowers to spaceship models. Even Admiral Hackett took the time to see her, congratulated Kaidan on the successful rescue operation and expressed his condolences for the death of Anderson. He then briefed the unconscious commander about the beginning rebuilding process on earth and various other planets the reapers devastated, before thanking her for ending the reaper menace and leaving with his signature “Hackett out”.

Shepard finally awoke as Kaidan was in the middle of a story of how he demonstrated his biotic abilities to corporal Jenkins some years ago. “So since he wouldn't stop asking I tried to gently push him, but it ended up way harder than I intended and he flew across the room. Everyone thought he was really hurt, but then he just jumped up and yelled…” “...That was awesome!” she faintly whispered with a smile “I heard that one before”. “Shepard!” he instantly jumped upright in his bed “You're awake, how are you feeling, is everything okay?” came out in one incoherent mess. Shepard let out a slight laugh “Relax Kaidan, I was dead once, compared this was a cakewalk. Well, except having to listen to your babbling for a week. That was excruciating.” she replied, her smile getting brighter. Kaidan blushed, slightly embarrassed “I wasn't sure you could hear me. I hope I wasn't too repetitive. And it's only been two days.” “Well, it felt like a week. At least I can talk back now. And Kaidan…” she stretched and leaned out of her bed towards him “I love you too”. Over the next hour Shepard told Kaidan everything that happened after he was taken out of the battle. That she herself was knocked out by Harbinger but recovered, made her way to the citadel teleportation beam and crossed the corpse-filled keeper tunnels. How she and Anderson came face to face with the illusive man and his new reaper indoctrination abilities that forced her to shoot Anderson in the gut. A revelation that briefly made Kaidan speechless before overwhelming her with assurances that it wasn't her fault, expressing his sympathy and consolation multiple times and doubling down on his hatred for Cerberus in general and the illusive man specifically. After he'd calmed down Shepard continued, how she convinced the illusive man to stop himself before dooming the galaxy, her opening the citadel arms and her final conversation with Anderson. “He asked me if I ever thought about how things would have been if none of this ever happened”, she tilted her head and fixed eyes with him “and whether I'd ever considered settling down after the war is over… Starting a family…” her voice grew quiet and Kaidans eyes grew wide. He hadn't expected this topic. “And… what did you say?” he asked, careful not to reveal his own feelings on the matter yet. “... Yes. I've been thinking about it for a while now. Since before the reapers came…” she looked in his eyes, searching for some clue of what he was thinking. Kaidan smiled “I guess dying, coming back to life and fighting a war for the survival of the galaxy would make anyone crave some normality.” he said in an enigmatic tone. “Not immediately I mean!” she added, seeming flustered “I'm sure we're still needed, but some day down the line… If that's what you want too…” “Shepard”, Kaidan gently interrupted, his smile getting warmer “nothing could make me happier than settling down with you and starting a family”. His expression became a bit pained “I couldn't always be by your side during this war… but I hope I'll manage to be there during peace.” Shepards expression turned from relief to concern “Kaidan, you've always been there when it mattered” she said slowly and carefully. Kaidan looked away, seeming ashamed. “That's kind of you to say, but it's not true. Take the attack on the collector base. Impossible odds, the galaxy at stake, but when you offered me a place on your crew I threw it in your face. Hell, just a few days ago when I left you to save the galaxy by yourself while I took a nap.” Shepard leaned towards him, looking directly in his eyes “do you know what I did right before the attack on the collector base?” Kaidan looked confused, “No, you never told me what happened before.” he said cautiously. “I was looking at a picture of you. Remembering our time together, hoping I'll get to see you again, to reconcile. The thought of you keeps me going, whether you're physically there or not. Now, stop beating yourself up, will you?”, she said in a sincere voice, maintaining eye contact. “Wow, thank you Shepard” now Kaidan looked flustered “Just thank you for being the way you are”. She chuckled, “I can't help it. Let's also not forget that you led the search party and pulled me from the rubble just hours after you were injured. Speaking of, how are you holding up? You looked pretty battered when Harbinger got you” “Well…” Kaidan said, suddenly remembering how much pain he was in “Dr Chakwas warned me to not overexert myself. I might have to stay a few days longer because of that, but I'll be okay. She also said I'll keep some of those scars” he motioned at his chest area that was partly covered in scar tissue. “But Garrus came by earlier and told me not to worry, said the ladies would love it” he said looking almost mischievous. Shepard smirked, her gaze wandering up and down Kaidans torso. “He sure knows what he's talking about” she said in a seductive tone, making Kaidan blush again. “Oh, speaking of Garrus” she added, sounding excited “did you know about him and Tali?”

They spent the next couple days talking about everything imaginable ranging from casual gossip to the state of the galaxy post war until Dr Chakwas deemed them both fit enough to be released. Almost everyone in the crew had been awarded multiple commendations, two dozens in Shepards case, and many were in talks for promotions, but before any of that there was one more thing they had to do. They were all assembled on the crew deck in front of the Normandy memorial wall, wearing formal black uniforms. Shepard stood ahead of the group, holding a plaque with Andersons name on it in her hands, looking down at it, solemnly. David Anderson had been the Normandys commanding officer before passing the ship on to her. He'd been her friend and mentor and the closest thing she ever had to a father. And he'd had a similar effect on many others, even those who didn't know him personally knew enough to respect him. Carefully Shepard placed Andersons plaque in the center of the wall amongst the names of Richard Jenkins, Ashley Williams, Charles Pressly, Mordin Solus, Thane Krios, Legion and many others that had laid down their lives during this war, who had died so others could live. Speeches would have to wait for the official funeral ceremony, this honoring for the fallen was important for the Normandy crew nonetheless. With a final respectful glance she turned away from the memorial wall and towards the crew. Liara, Garrus, Tali, Joker, EDI, Javik, James, Samantha Traynor, Dr Chakwas and of course Kaidan were gathered there, all looking as solemnly as Shepard herself. They all exchanged earnest looks before Shepard stepped into the group towards Kaidan. Without a word the two embraced, giving comfort to each other by sheer proximity. In this moment they both knew that as long as they stood side by side, either physically or spiritually, they could take anything the galaxy could throw at them. And once that was all finished they'd have earned their chance for a normal, quiet life.

6 months later

The Normandy had been to a wide array of missions following the reapers defeat. From about a dozen ceremonies and various search and rescue missions to taking out Cerberus remnants. Shepard was reading a report about the new developments on the citadel council on her private terminal in the captains cabin when Kaidan stepped through the door. “Hey Shepard. How are you holding up?” he asked sounding almost as tired as Shepard felt. “I'm doing all right, but I don't think even the reapers kept us this busy.”, she sighed “are you here to relieve some of that stress?” she asked, sounding hopeful. “Unfortunately not”, he responded. “Hackett just radioed ahead that we can expect another mission briefing within the hour. But there should be time for… say a back massage while I relay what he said.”, he added with a smirk. “A massage, eh? Quite scandalous major Alenko. But my back has been aching for a while now and I could use a helping hand.” Shepard turned around on her chair and Kaidan started kneading in between her shoulder blades. “Mmmh, that's the spot. So, what's the admiral saying?”. “That's the councilor now”, Kaidan corrected “haven't you heard?” “Oh right, I was just reading about that, it's gonna take a while to get used to though. Appearantly it took months of convincing to get him to leave the fleet for the council.” Shepard remarked. Kaidan shrugged “Most of the time people that don't want a position are best candidates. Like with Anderson. And he's still the guy giving orders, so what's changed?” “not too much apparently" Shepard answered, sounding amused “so, what's the *councilor* saying?” she asked, making sure to pronounce the word extra clearly. Kaidan started recounting “so there's a new human supremacist organisation that seemingly wants to follow in Cerberus’ footsteps. They claim the victory over the reapers was purely won by humans and so humanity deserves to rule supreme above the rest.” Shepard remembered what the illusive man told her during the attack at cronos station, that Cerberus was an idea and could never be destroyed. She scoffed, “That's bullshit, everyone from the asari to the krogan did their part and paid the price”. “Well, no one said they're smart.” Kaidan conceded. “But Hackett said they're already preparing attacks to enforce their demands”. Shepard sighed. “You reckon they're dangerous?”, “Intel suggests they're not nearly as numerous or well funded as Cerberus was but from my experience a couple of fanatics with rifles can be more dangerous than anyone imagines.” Kaidan said grimly, but then his expression brightened “He also suggested this might be our last batch of missions before our… temporary leave of absence.” Shepard looked more relieved than she had felt in months. “And we're really gonna need it” she said, her eyes closed, with an expression of deep relaxation. “What do these guys call themselves anyway?” she asked after a few seconds. “I'll give you three guesses.” Kaidans smile looked pained. “Chimera” Shepard guessed confidently. “close but not quite.” “Hydra?”, “That's pretty good”, Kaidan laughed “but it's taken”. Shepard thought for a few seconds, ”Manticore?” she asked. “Exactly”. Kaidan still seemed to be in disbelief about it. “The uncreativity is staggering. To add to this, manticore literally means man eater. Ironic for human supremacists, don't you think?”. Shepard nearly laughed out loud “Let's hope their naming conventions reflect their general competence”. “Here's hoping.” Kaidan said half ironically as he finished the massage. “The briefings should be there now, are you coming down with me?” “Go ahead, I'll be there in a minute. Love you.”, Shepard answered, leaned back and gave Kaidan a quick kiss. He blushed, taken off guard “Oh, eh sure whenever you're ready, commander. I love you too.” he stuttered before leaving the cabin. Shepard stood up from her chair, yawned, stretched and thought to herself. Sometimes it seemed like her work would never end, the universe would just keep spawning new threats, new fires for her to put out with no end in sight. Sometimes it seemed almost pointless. But then she looked down and placed a hand on her slightly rounded belly. As long as there was hope for the future it was worth fighting for, she thought as she went to follow Kaidan to the bridge.

And this future, she decided, would be a bright one.

The End.

First three chapters are up, and I will be updating chapter four very soon. Miss Lawson gets thrown right back into the grinder without a chance to breathe, and there's still so much to take off before she gets to rest!

It's almost like things would be easier if she had two squadmates to order around.

Mass Effect: Perfection

I super appreciate any criticisms, questions, comments, concerns and thoughts! Hope you enjoy, and have a good day.

Three more chapters of Mass Effect – The Slow Unbreaking are now live on AO3!

This week takes us fully into Lair of the Shadow Broker—and then beyond it.

Shepard, Liara, and Jack continue the hunt across Illium and Hagalaz, pushing toward the Shadow Broker while questions of trust, loyalty, and what people are willing to justify in the name of a greater good keep colliding around them.

There’s plenty here that will feel familiar to anyone who knows the DLC, but I’ve also changed and expanded quite a bit to fit the versions of Shepard, Liara, Jack, and Garrus that have developed through this rewrite.

And once the familiar story reaches its end, the rest is mine.

I wanted to explore what happens when the fighting stops and the people involved are left with everything the battle didn’t solve.

For Shepard and Liara especially, that matters.

They have history. They have scars. They have spent a long time learning how to move toward each other—and how easily fear can still make that distance feel impossible.

I’m not saying anything else. 😂

Read on AO3:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/91256931

I’ve been waiting a long time to share these chapters. 💙

Two months after burning alive over Earth, John Shepard awakens inside a Reaper biogestation chamber. Reconstructed using Thorian cellular synthesis and Lazarus blueprints, he is not a cyborg or a synthetic. He is full human again. A third chance at a mortal life.

But there is no victory parade. A rogue Cerberus guerrilla cell has ambushed a Quarian diplomatic shuttle in the Terminus Systems and abducted the Admiralty Board—including Tali'Zorah.

Cerberus has perfected the Illusive Man's neural indoctrination tech. By brainwashing the Admiralty, they intend to indirectly subjugate the newly demilitarized Geth consensus. If Cerberus discovers Shepard survived, they will execute Tali immediately out of pure vengeance. Reapers cannot intervene without triggering galaxy-wide panic and the slaughter of the hostages.

To save Tali and keep the hard-won galactic peace from shattering, Shepard must become a masked mercenary operating off-grid in the shadows with the help of olf friends.

Link to the Visual Novel: https://caiotome.github.io/mass-effect-vn/

Well, we all deal with the news in various ways. For me and my wife, it was developing the idea for a brand new Fanfiction novel based on the premise of only Miranda Lawson surviving the events of ME2, and having to pick up the pieces after Shepard's death. She'll have to navigate a very different political reality, with less support, different faces, and different ways of tackling challenges.

I'm certain it'll take me a while to finish it, but I hope at least some of you come along for the ride and enjoy it, I'd love any comments, questions or feedback, of course. I'm doing my best to make it the best I can, but nobody's perfect.

Mass Effect: Perfection

The Recent Decision Of EA and It's Effect On Not Only Community, But on Neurodivergents.

Dear EA

The recent news of EA's decision to shut down bioware and the early development of mass effect has destroyed many. Although I may just be one person I hope EA reads this and sees how much this universe has meant to me, and many others.

I am a a 16 year old neurodivergent, diagnosed with Autism level 2 and a possibility of being ADHD. Mass Effect for me was everything, it was my hyperfixation, my comfort, what has kept me going everyday when the world threatens to break me. To others, it's simply just a game, a non real made up world. But to me... It was like having a safety blanket, a world I could escape to and simply just be myself, Ryder, or Shepard. With the absolute soul crushing news I've just heard about with Bioware shutting down, it broke me more than any other game I played. To know that the thing you relied on is all the sudden... Dead... Even though the games are still playable... The possibility of the next game has gone down. Practically zero at this point. I honestly have no idea what Im going to do now. The games I loved suddenly being cancelled... At this point Im Greifing this like a close person Ive lost. I think a lot of us knew this was coming with the unsuccessful launch of Dragon Age Veilguard... But there wasn't even a chance for the next 'Mass Effect Will Return' game to even see light. Now, I am a Mass Effect Andromeda fan, despite what others thinks of it. It was a great story, and left on a cliffhanger. And now, with no end, just void.

I really really do hope that EA reconsiders this decision. And even though I do agree that Bioware has been dead for years... To still continue on with the franchise would mean everything to not only me, but thousands of other eager and loyal fans. Even if it also means selling it to another studio. People like me, like us, are not left in the dark. Us humans have something to still look forward to. I urge EA reconsiders this not only just for money... For the actual people who games were made for.

- A heart broken person.

WE Need all of us to #saveMassEffect please!! 🙏🏼

As the title suggests, I want fics where the Systems Alliance is more "Humanity First" based. Where it's some form of dictatorship or just xenophobic. It would also be cool if they were isolationists. I'd like it if Shepard was also more like that too.

I don't really want it to be a story where it grows to be better either, it can be like that though. I'd prefer no crossovers or at least a very light one, just a few bits of tech or naming schemes.

I have three chapters up at the moment and am in the process of writing a fourth one. So far I have one on the Volus, Quarians and just a general one.

Its called "The Politics of Oppression on the Citadel." I'd love any questions or suggestion anyone has.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/89961436/chapters/239041041

Hey everyone!

As a longtime Mass Effect fan, I wanted to build an interactive tribute that captures the tension, companion dynamics, and moral choices of the universe, but adapted for a comfortable, cinematic reading experience right in your browser.

You can try the live demo here (no download needed):

• 🎮 Playable Demo: caiotome.github.io/mass-effect-vn
• 💻 GitHub Repository: github.com/CaioTome/mass-effect-vn

🌌 What is this project?

This is a fan-fiction Visual Novel prototype set months after the Control (Paragon) ending of Mass Effect 3.

Here are the key design choices I built into the engine:

• First-Person POV Camera: You experience everything through Commander Shepard's eyes. There is no fixed Shepard sprite on screen, so your own custom Shepard (male or female, scarred or pristine) remains your true canon.
• Baldur's Gate Style Dialogue List: Instead of compressing choices into tiny wheel snippets, options are presented as full spoken lines in a numbered list (clickable or selectable via keys 1–9). No colored spoilers telling you which option advances the scene—you decide based on the narrative context.
• Dynamic Voice Lighting (Light & Shadow):
• When talking one-on-one (e.g. Liara alone in her Sanctum), she is centered on screen.
• When Garrus arrives, the stage smoothly transitions to a dual layout.

• The character currently speaking steps into full illumination, while listening companions fade into the shadows. When Shepard speaks, both companions stay in the shadows listening.

• Lightweight & Open Source: Built 100% in pure Vanilla HTML5, modern CSS, and modular JavaScript, with procedural sci-fi audio effects generated directly via the Web Audio API.

🤖 Transparency & Acknowledgment

I am from Brazil and English is not my native language. I used AI to help me with:

• Translating and refining the English dialogue;
• Coding and styling the web engine;
• Generating the atmospheric sci-fi background art (Shadow Broker Sanctum).

This is a 100% non-commercial fan project. All rights, characters, and the incredible Mass Effect universe belong to BioWare and Electronic Arts. A huge thank you to the developers and writers who created this universe that we all love so dearly.

The engine code is completely free and open-source under CC BY-NC 4.0 for anyone who wants to adapt it or create their own stories.

I would love to hear your feedback on the pacing, dialogue, and mechanics! Let me know what you think. Keelah se'lai.

Three more chapters of Mass Effect – The Slow Unbreaking are now live on AO3!

This week takes Shepard from one kind of trust exercise straight into another.

Jack’s loyalty mission brings the team to Pragia, where returning to the place that shaped her forces Jack to confront memories she has spent years turning into anger. I’ve always loved Jack, so I wanted to give this mission room to breathe—and to make it personal for Shepard in a way that highlights some of the similarities between them.

From there, Shepard’s already-fragile relationship with Cerberus gets pushed even further. The Collector threat is escalating, the Illusive Man is still playing his own game, and Shepard is becoming increasingly certain that trust is something people either earn very carefully… or burn very quickly.

And then it’s back to Illium.

A new lead sends Shepard to Liara, opening the door to Lair of the Shadow Broker and the next stage of their story.

As usual, I’ve kept familiar ME2 dialogue and gameplay where it serves the story, while expanding the internal thoughts, quieter conversations, and character moments around them.

Read on AO3:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/91256931

I’ve been especially excited to reach this part of the story. 💙

Wo-hoo, update 🥳 aaand just about 5 chapters left.

The side effects of the beacon are... Unexpected.

A tale of Reapers, Love, Death - and Ivy : Covering ME2, ME3 and some beyond. Shakarian, 1st person, alternating POV. Adult tone (with all the stuff that encompasses) and truckloads of my deranged, uhh, special kind of humor. A pretty long story (currently 220k+). WIP, about 90% done.

Love to hear your feedback.

If you like, have a look at my companion story from jack's perspective 😉

~~ https://archiveofourown.org/users/GothicReaper/works https://www.fanfiction.net/u/4189519/GothicReaper

Three more chapters of Mass Effect – The Slow Unbreaking are now live on AO3!

These chapters bring Shepard’s time on Illium to a turning point.

The final recruitment missions are wrapped up, a few familiar side encounters make an appearance, and Shepard continues discovering that building a team means dealing with more than combat effectiveness. There are tensions aboard the Normandy, personal boundaries that need to be drawn, and a few people who are still trying to decide exactly what kind of commander Shepard really is.

But Illium was always going to mean more than recruitment.

For the first time since the Normandy was destroyed, Shepard and Liara finally have time to confront what two years of separation, resurrection, grief, and change have done to the relationship they left behind.

Some things are easier to talk about than others.

Some fears are harder to admit.

And sometimes the person standing in front of you is still the same person you loved—even when neither of you is entirely sure how to begin again.

There’s a mix of familiar ME2 material and quite a bit of original character work in these chapters. I kept and condensed gameplay where it served the story, then expanded the moments between the missions—the conversations, internal thoughts, and relationship beats the game didn’t have room to show.

Read on AO3:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/91256931

I’ve been looking forward to sharing these chapters. 💙

I've been re-reading some older fanfics, and I somewhat remember 1 I've been trying to find. The only things I remember is Geth and Quarians trying to make peace before the events of ME3 I think, and that the Geth built a monument for the Quarians who fell during the Morning War. I think it has more Diplomatic (taking) Geth platforms like Legion, and maybe a few Quarians and Shepard get to land on Rannoch early to verify things Planetside.

Maybe Daro'Xen is the "villain" in this section, trying to upload a virus or something, but I'm not 100% sure about that one. I thought it was a Shepard/Tali romance, but I couldn't find it looking under that criteria. Any help would be appreciated.

hi everyone! ive been working really hard on a big canon rewrite fic complete with body horror, imposter syndrome, unreliable narrator... i have a few great commentors but recently my comments are full of bots and its getting very discouraging. my friend recommended i post here! the series includes a ME1 rewrite (which i am currently REWRITING), a few side stories, a WIP ME2 write, and a Dune crossover AU! I try to post a chapter a day of at least one fic. If you decide to check it out, thank you!

https://archiveofourown.org/series/6352616

Chapter 38 of my novel-length fic set immediately after ME3, The Bells I Hear, has just gone up! This is one I've been both looking forward to posting, and nervous about posting, for a long time - it's the romantic climax of the story, and the precipice of what at first seems to be the final battle.

This story has two central romantic couples: Shepard and Liara, whose romance is mostly told in flashbacks, and Oriana Lawson and an OC, whose story is unfolding in the present, after ME3. I don't want to spoil the many twists and turns, so I won't say more, but will share the teaser summary for the whole fic, below. If it sounds interesting, give it a try! I'm really proud of it.

The Reapers have been destroyed, but to the survivors, the victory tastes like ashes. The Normandy wrecks on an uncharted planet, and a grieving crew must pull together to find a way home without their commander. At Sol, the shattered remains of the victorious allied forces struggle to survive, coexist, and reconnect to the rest of the galaxy. The greatest threat to peace comes not from without, but within. A heavy story of grief, perseverance, love, leadership, and hope in the face of devastation.

Three more chapters of Mass Effect – The Slow Unbreaking are now live on AO3!

This batch is all about trust, control, and the people Shepard is slowly allowing closer.

Chapter 15 — The Measure of Control

Garrus has unfinished business, Jack is still trying to understand the commander she’s agreed to follow, and Shepard is becoming increasingly aware that Cerberus’s idea of giving her command doesn’t necessarily include giving her privacy.

Some boundaries are about to be redrawn.

Chapter 16 — The Weight We Choose

Back on Illium, Liara knows Shepard is finally coming.

While she waits, old memories surface alongside questions about love, choice, and some words from Benezia that Liara may not have understood as well as she once believed.

Meanwhile, the Matriarchs on Thessia remain suspiciously well informed about a life Liara has worked very hard to keep her own.

Chapter 17 — The Knife You Let Close

Shepard finally reaches Illium.

There are familiar encounters here, but I’ve expanded the spaces between the game moments—what the characters notice, what they think, and how seemingly small interactions affect the choices that follow.

And when Miranda asks Shepard to help protect the one person she cannot afford to lose, the mission becomes more personal than either of them expected.

As always, I’m keeping the ME2 structure I love while digging into the character story happening underneath it.

Read on AO3:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/91256931

Hope you enjoy this batch! 💙

(Just a fun thought I've had rattling around the ol' noodle for a bit now and finally wrote out while listening to Vigil's Theme.)

Imagine for a moment. A decade after the Reaper War.

Javik is becoming an older man now. He's been helping Liara write her book and, perhaps most importantly. His own curiosity about the nature of the Prothean Empire before the harvest of his cycle, has begun to pique.

Years pass. He mourns, he reflects. He bears witness to the final stands of of his people. Even spread over hundreds of years across dozens of systems that had been isolated centuries before he himself had been born.

One Last voice to mourn his civilization, tattered though it had become by the time he was born into it.

But... On this latest world, in yet another dusty place full of the half fossilized remains of his species, he hears a familiar signal.

Faint through the hard bedrock and the interference of a harsher atmosphere a thin voice chimes in half forgotten tonal patterns.

"You, Are Prothean. You are not indoctrinated."

For a moment his breath catches.

But no, it's just a VI.

This isn't even the first time he's encountered one, on these many digs Liara undertakes.

Just another fading system reacting to the fading remnant of a dead people.

"Is it time to wake?"

And suddenly, everything it means to be Javik, changes.

the first chapter of my new kinky female/zaeed fic is live on AO3 ✨

this will be a fairly faithful retelling, just with a kinky romance with my favorite merc.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/93396021/chapters/249251466

Introduction

• This is an idea I've been thinking about ever since I realize how similar the two series, with my thoughts going something along these lines "If these two series were in the same universe, what could happened, what would change if such similar but different series were somehow in the same universe." So here are some of the ideas I came up with, after a bit of clarifying things.

Some Clarification

• To firstly explain who the First Ones for any non-B5 readers, are various races that were, well, the first races to developed both sentience and space travel. The first of them was Lorien, who by the start of B5, is roughly 7 billion years old whilst also being naturally immortal having long since transcended flesh for a transcendent state of being. Both he and his race would then nurture and guide fellow races to space travel and come to dominate the galaxy until they eventual reach transcendence as well.
• Among these First Ones to be nurtured by Lorien and his race were the Vorlons and Shadows, who came to dominate the Galaxy for potentially billions of years, but they into conflict with one another due to their radically different philosophies on what is the best way to help and to teach the younger races. The Vorlons believed through order and obedience can younger races prosper whilst the Shadows believed that through the chaos of war and destruction is the weak cull and the strong remain.
• And that leave the Reapers, how they can worked in such a crossover due to two key facts: The Leviathans, at least to my knowledge, only existed as far back as a billion years ago before they were wiped out by their creations, however their genocidal campaign of wiping out all space faring races goes against and interfere with both Vorlons and Shadows who fight back and probably win against the Reapers. Thus, to finally get some proposed ideas.

The First Ones and the Reapers

• The Leviathans were a First One who due to their natural telepathic powers that allowed them to enslave whole races, began to conquer the Galaxy until their arrogance grew so much that they sought to overthrow then dominant Vorlons and Shadows, and thus began a galactic spanning war with the Vorlons and Shadows fighting against the Leviathans and their enslaved races. Eventually, they were defeated and for their actions, were banished to Hyperspace, unable to influence the younger races again. However, two potential ideas open on how the Reapers come to factor into this:
  • 1.The Reapers were created by the Leviathans in the aftermath who were designed to harvest and purge the galaxy 50k years to spite the First Ones who defeated them and to hopefully return to power themselves, though this has the unintended side effect of both Shadows and Vorlons likely destroying the Mass Relays and Citadel to prevent the Reapers from quickly returning until their conflict with another one consumed each other.
  • 2. In the aftermath of the devastating war that lay waste to the Galaxy and trillions of younger races, Lorien would take the Leviathans greatest creation, the Catalyst, and reprogrammed it to prevent such a conflict between the First Ones again and serve their interests. However, in the coming millions of years, the Vorlons and Shadows would go to war over and over again, the Catalyst, wanting to prevent such devastating conflict, proposed a twisted solution. Each 50,000 years, the Vorlons and Shadows would nurture their respective younger races, with the Reapers created from the 'winners' of each cycle. If a race nurtured by either Vorlons or Shadows emerged triumphant over the Galaxy, they would be consider a 'winner' and point given to the winning First One, whilst the nurtured Race would be harvested and their knowledge and civilization preserved for all eternity whilst the remaining races would be wipe out. These cycles would continue until after 50,000 cycles, the First One with the higher points would be declared the winner and the loser would be forced to leave the Galaxy.
• Third Idea - The Reapers are not from this universe or even dimension, rather they come the eldritch dimension simply known as Thirdspace. Thirdspace is an unknown and strange dimension that orginated from Babylon 5: Thirdspace Movie, inhabited by an unknown race called simply the Thirdspace Aliens who devoured all life in their dimension whilst using their immense telepathic ability to enslave all other life to be their cultists. Thus instead of the Thirdspace Aliens, there was the Reapers, who origins are totally unknown but seeks harvest life every 50k years, emerging from their eldritch dimension to harvest the galaxy for an unknown purpose. The Shadows and Vorlons came into greater conflict over how to best beat this unknown threat, with them narrowing beating back the Reapers each cycle, but in the current cycle, they've become consume with who is more right on both guiding the younger races but also to permanently defeat the Reapers.

Closure

Given how long this post already is, I've decided to split my various ideas on this crossover into a series of posts, if I think people are at interested in such ideas. Also please let me know your thoughts on what I suggested, primarily in regard to the Reapers, because I'm unwilling to sacrifice either side due to how fundamentally they are to their respective series. Also I can answer any questions you might have on such a crossover is anyone is curious.

Three more chapters of Mass Effect – The Slow Unbreaking are now live on AO3!

This batch spends some time in both halves of the story.

Chapter 12 — Only the Living Wait

We return to Liara for another glimpse of the two years Shepard was gone—what she held on to, what she built for herself, and how those experiences helped shape the woman we meet on Illium in ME2.

Chapter 13 — The Measure of Mercy

The final recruits are coming aboard, but there’s little time for the new team to settle in before the Collectors strike Horizon.

I’ve expanded and adjusted a few things here, including one part of Horizon that has bothered me every time I’ve played the game. 😂

We also get a closer look at Shepard and Jack beginning to size each other up, while Miranda continues comparing the woman fighting beside her to everything she once knew only from files and reports.

Chapter 14 — No Looking Back

After Horizon, those observations continue.

Jack tests boundaries. Miranda watches. Shepard keeps doing what Shepard does.

But reputation only tells part of the story, and the more closely people watch her, the harder it becomes to ignore what’s underneath.

This rewrite continues to focus less on recreating every familiar mission beat and more on the people inside them—the things the game hints at, the thoughts we never hear, and the relationships forming beneath the surface.

Read on AO3:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/91256931

Hope you enjoy the new chapters! 💙

Can anyone give me some suggestions for fics where humanity uses AI and Senthetics long before they make First Contact with the Citadel, and it didn't blow up in their faces?

Or, Alternatively, where humanity died out and are survived the their AI they left behind?

Crossovers are also welcome. I remember 1 or 2 with Nier Automata that were good.

I'd like something that seriously derails from canon if AU. I read Battle Chicken recently and really like it, which inspired this post. I've also read Mythos Effect.

For crossover, I'd prefer crossovers between civilizations rather than just individuals. I'm not really interested in reading a story about Harry Potter on Shepard's crew, but a story about magical society integrating with humanity and that conjoined culture and magitek taking to the stars would be really cool, as an example of what I mean. To clarify, I'm not asking for Harry potter crossovers. This is just an example.

I've read Battle Chicken, Mythos Effect, and Technophiles already.

Thanks!