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Was the ending a hallucination? - Indoctrination Theory
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, mars 10 2012 12:46
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#46802
Posté 29 avril 2012 - 12:05
Arian Dynas
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Raistlin Majare 1992 wrote...
Rosewind wrote...
MaximizedAction wrote...
Arian Dynas wrote...
schneeland wrote...
Arian Dynas wrote...
[...]
Also, almost finished with my revised script... let me know if there are any logical or technical errors. It's late here and I wanna finish before I hit the sack, but I'm kind of ****ed up right now so...
Guess, you'll need to let us know where we can find it, then
Oh that answer is easy. Right here. Get ready for a big fat wall of text in, oh say about 20 minutes.
You know we love your walls!
I personally like Doors of text.....
I like ceilings of text, then I can lie down on my back and read them.
Well then attach your monitor to your ceiling and read this from bed, because here comes a doozy.
#46803
Posté 29 avril 2012 - 12:05
Arian Dynas
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- Members
- 3 799 messages
A brand new re-write, just for you people.
Here's with all my love to you guys. Credit to Rastlin and BatmanTurian for ideas.
[Shepard Breath Scene, Shepard breathes in, camera pans out further to see Reapers fighting the Hammer ground forces and Sword fleet, Harbinger steps into the shot, camera zooms into his eyes, a brief montage of the last several minutes playes backwards, images flashing across the screen. we see Shepard standing up again, only this time, the background is clear, we can see Destroyers marching along, tracer rounds being fired, the war is still going strong, surrounding Shepard is a collection of Husks and Maruaders, three Husks charge forward, Shepard dispatches them with three shots, his reflexes fast, despite his injuries, a Marauder steps in, but it's shield suddenly drops as Harbinger directs his attention at it. Shepard finishes the Maurader with a shot to the head, then collapses, Harbinger looks down and his eyes flash. as Shepard looks up at the beam and begins to walk slowly toward it, muttering to himself "I feel like Death, but I'm moving", Harbinger just stares, camera pans out to see Hammer regrouping for another push, no one sees Shepard, whom by this point is only a slowly moving black dot, slowly approaching the beam. Go to 1]
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1 - Desperate Times
[Camera cuts to Commander Bailey fighting off a horde of Husks, C-Sec officers at his side, civilians running into a heavy door behind him, he fires off his avenger, taking the head off a Husk, we see a Maruader stop, kneel and take a few shots, spinning and killing the Turian officer standing next to Bailey, the Commander turns and fires at it full auto, shredding it's torso. The last of Bailey's officers and the civillians get in before his gun jams and he drops it, running into the shelter, closing the door behind him, pulling out his pistol as he does so. One of the Council members approaches him, the Asari, if she survived.]
COUNCILOR TEVOS: Commander Bailey, what is the suitation?
BAILEY: It's like a nightmare out there, the biggest ****storm you ever saw, it makes Sovereign's attack look like a damn walk in the park by comparison.
[Several of the Civillians seem frightened, huddling in fear with one another, a baby can be heard crying, some of the women and girls too. The Salarian Councilor [or if he is dead, his dialogue is skipped entirely] turns to Bailey, after watching a human father trying to comfort his wife and child. We also (if he survived) hear a man trying to comfort a frightened woman.]
CONRAD VERNER: There there now... it's alright... I'm sure we'll be just fine... it's not like they can get in here...
[loud bang, door buckles slightly, woman looks at Conrad with venom.]
COUNCILOR VALERN [appearing unusually nervous and jumpy, even for a Salarian]: What do you recommend we do then, Commander?
COUNCILOR SPARATUS: We can't just stay here. If we do, this shelter will become our tomb.
[A C-Sec officer steps up to Bailey, Turian, possibly one of the two whom was standing outside of Purgatory earlier on]
C-SEC OFFICER [saluting]: Commander, the door is sealed, we're safe, for the moment. They aren't getting in that way.
BAILEY: Good. That buys us some time, at least.
OFFICER: Commander, if I may ask, what is this place?
[Bailey turns his head to the asari councilor, as if making sure that it's alright to say, she nods.]
BAILEY[walking along the row of cowering civillians, stopping in front of a QEC]: Emergency shelter, we had them built in a while ago, after Sovereign's attack, in case something like this happened again... hoped never to have to use 'em...
[A C-Sec officer is standing in front of the console, woman, human, dark skinned.]
HUMAN C-SEC OFFICER: Commander, we're getting something on the comm channel, but I can't get a fix on it.
BAILEY[shakes his head and steps up to the panel, pressing a few buttons and clearing up the static, revealing Admiral Hackett]: Do I have to run everything around here?
HACKETT: H-H-H-H-Hello! C-C-C-C-Can anyone hEAR me on this this channNEL? Is is anyone al-l-l-llive out t-there?
BAILEY: Admiral Hackett?
HACKETT[feed gradually clearing up]: Commander... Bailey? Citadel Security?
BAILEY: Yes, we're here Admiral.
HACKETT: Commander, Y-y-yyou have no id-d-dea how good it is to hear from the Citadel. What's the suitation there?
BAILEY: Grim. We've managed to save the council, as well as some civillians, but right now we're holed up in a bunker and we've got the bastards banging on our door, and they aren't looking to sell cookies.
[Scene changes to Hackett's perspective, we see him looking out at the fight from his war-room on his flagship, before the camera pans back to Bailey.]
HACKETT [resting his chin on his hand]: Have you heard from any Aliance forces down there Commander? We haven't received any recent word, but we sent down a force to try and make their way into the Citadel.
BAILEY: Well, if you're planning on taking the Citadel back, there won't be much point. The place is packed with the bastards like a can of sardines.
HACKETT: We need the arms open.
BAILEY: You're out of your everloving mind.
[Bailey pauses for a moment, as if thinking.]
BAILEY: What on Earth for?
HACKETT[brief pause, as if considering how much to tell him]: You've probably heard rumors about a superweapon we've been working on Commander, it's designed to hook onto the Citadel, we can't activate it with the arms closed.
BAILEY: Seems like a pretty stupid idea, putting all of your eggs in one basket, Admiral.
HACKETT: It's the best hope we have Commander. If we don't get those arms open, we all get to be sitting on top of one massive grave.
[Suddenly a C-sec officer comes running over, the same woman as before]
OFFICER: Commander Bailey! Commander! We've got radio chatter coming in on our comms, it's the Alliance sir, a small striketeam has made their way into the Citadel, but they're about to be overrun!
HACKETT: Commander, you have to help them, it's the only way any of us are getting out of this.
BAILEY: Hell... I'm getting too damn old for this. Tell them we're coming, and that we've been updated on what the hell is going on.
[Bailey turns to leave as the council approaches the QEC to be updated on the suitation by Hackett. Bailey pauses only to pick up an assault rifle and gather a few of his officers, a few civvies from the CDF join in, pistols in their hands.]
BAILEY: Alright boys and girls. We've just got orders from Alliance command. Fighting a war might not be our job, but today we're all military. We need to get the the arms open so the soldier-boys can do their thing. Now, load up and let's move out.
[Pan to the outside of the door, where a Brute is pounding on it to no avail, trying to batter it down. the door lifts up a crack, there's a soft, metallic tinkling sound. The Brute looks down just as a grenade rolls into shot and explodes. Bailey steps out the doorway, guns blazing, flanked by C-Sec officers and armed Citadel Defense Force civillians as they push their way toward where we can see another firefight brewing. After a minute or two of action scenes, the camera pans to Anderson finishing off a Husk with his omni-blade, covered from head to toe in blood, several Alliance soldiers flanking him, Major Coates bringing up the rear, all of the soldiers look worse for wear, as though they've just been through hell and back.]
[Bailey walks up to Anderson and adresses him as either Councilor, or as Captain, we'll assume councilor here.]
BAILEY: Councilor Anderson!
ANDERSON: It's admiral now, just admiral.
[Anderson streches his arm out to shake hands with Bailey]
ANDERSON: It's damned good to see you alive Bailey.
BAILEY: Likewise Counc-Admiral. What's the suitation?
ANDERSON [looks at Coates]: Did anyone else make it to the beam?
COATES: Negative. Our entire force was decimated. We're all that's left of Hammer Team, anyone else is still stuck on the ground, we're on our own from here on in.
ANDERSON: There's your answer. I've been informed you already know what our mission is, so let's not waste time.
BAILEY: Agreed. Let's go.
[Go to 2.]
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2 - Assayed In the Heat of the Crucible
[Cut back to Shepard, still crawling on the ground toward the beam, Harbinger looking down, Husks and Mauraders still fighting off the remnants of Hammer Team, lead at the forefront by any old squadmates and friends you saw before, Kirrahe, Jack, Grunt, Wrex/Wreav ect. a brief cutscene showing all of them together, with the ones missing, merely not shown.]
[Shepard collapses a few hundred feet from the beam, face pressed into the dirt, we look down at him, close up bird's eye veiw, flashes of the scene between TIM and Anderson flash over the screen, the dialogue plays, nearly a whisper.]
HARBINGER: YOU ARE WEAK, SHEPARD. SURRENDER YOUR FORM TO ME. WE SHALL PERFECT YOUR SPECIES.
ANDERSON [echoing]: You're... indoctrinated....indoctrinated....
[Shepard lifts his gun slightly and squeezes the trigger once, firing a shot that ricochets and cuts a cable on the reciving part of the Reaper Beam, causing it to break and short, hanging down low. Electricty arching between the ends. Shepard crawls forward, nearly to the beam, gasping, the same gasping and grunting heard as he crawls to the panel for the citadel controls, just before collapsing. Harbinger's eyes flash and Shepard stands up.]
[The Guardian scene flashes again before our eyes as Harbinger begins to take off, Reaper forces slowly pushing the remainder of Hammer back from the beam.]
If you chose either Synthesis or Control, and saved the Rachni Queen in ME1, and saved her again in ME3, go to 3.
If you did NOT save the Rachni queen, either in ME1, or during the mission, but you did manage to save Eve and chose either Synthesis or Control, go to 4.
if you chose Synthesis and did NOT save either Eve or the Rachni queen, go to 5.
If you chose Control and did NOT save either Eve or the Rachni queen, go to 6.
If you chose Destroy, go to 7.
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3 - Our Voices Shall Mingle With Yours
[Shepard struggles, to stand, starting to walk toward either the Beam, or the to hanging cables. his pistol, a gun that Anderson dropped on the mad dash to the Citadel, in his hand, shaking. He slowly approaches the beam, dropping the gun as he does so, when a shrill note breaks into his mind, akin to a scream.]
RACHNI QUEEN: SPECTRE!
[Shepard screams and collapses. An unearthly music begins to play.]
RACHNI QUEEN: SOUR MUSIC IS UPON YOU! A FOUL NOTE CLOUDS YOUR MIND! YOU MUST FIGHT! AS PROMISED, WE ADD OUR VOICES TO YOURS TO DROWN OUT THE VOICE OF THE MACHINES!
[Shepard screams again, clawing at the ground, forcing himself into a semi sitting position, his neck arches backwards as the whole scene is slowly permeated by a low, sickly sounding hum which slowly gets louder and louder, then suddenly, it ceases, the unearthly Rachni music, which Shepard now realizes comes pouring from the collective throats of an entire species fills the air with beautiful tones, harmonizing and drowning out the hum. Go to 7.]
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4 - Your Darkest Hour
[Shepard struggles to walk toward the beam or downed cables, his pistol shaking in his hand as he slowly approaches it. Shepard trips over a rock as he walks toward either the beam or the cables. Shepard does a faceplant in the sandy dirt, something bouncing out of an (amazingly) still intact pouch. Urdnot Bakara's crystal. It's nothing more than a crystal with a light source installed, hung on a chain, a simple gift... and yet so much more. Shepard stares at the little light, enraptured, Vigil starts playing, a short flash of all the faces of our friends and companions, Grunt, Joker, Liara, Ashley, Kaiden, Hackett, Anderson, all of them plays by at high speed, superimposed over the image of Shepard staring down at the crystal, the light reflected in his eyes, which are now filled with tears, he crawls over to a pile of rubble, resting his back against a rock. Shepard calmly reaches down to the dropped Carnifex and places the barrel under his chin. Cut to black, gunshot. Go to 9.]
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5 - Harmony of Man and Machine
[Shepard stands up tall, and drops his gun, running straight for the beam, there's a flash of white. Shepard is suspended in the beam for a moment, the whole thing slowly starting to lift him when it suddenly shuts down and Shepard thrown into a wall with considerable force, lying collapsed in a pile of concrete, an approaching Maurader levels it's weapon at him, but there is no need, he's one of theirs now, focus in on Shep's eyes as we see they're just like TIM's, and just like Saren's, they gradually close as Shepard falls back into unconciousness. Go to 8.]
________________________________________________________________________________________
6 - A Blaze of Glory
[Shepard slowly crawls to the "control" panel, grasping the cables when he comes close, electricty burning through his body, revealing his cybernetics, as his eyes slowly change to match TIM's, the electricity has done nothing for his indoctrination, but the fact that Control was the choice he made damns him. Sad music plays. Fade to black. Go to 8.]
________________________________________________________________________________________
7 - A Fight Still to Win
[Shepard stands up, tall, bleeding mostly stemmed and strides confidently toward a large piece of Reaper equipment suituated next to the beam reciver, gun in his hand, focus on his eyes as gunshots ring out, a flash of light and the sound of an explosion. The Beam shuts down with a loud crack, a large contingient of Reaper forces bound for the inside of the Citadel being left stranded where they stand as an errant Mass Acellerator shot lands in the middle of the enemy collumn, obliterating it. The Shepard breath scene plays again as we see him thrown into the rubble, this time having the full context of the scene, triumphant music plays throughout. Go to 8.]
________________________________________________________________________________________
8 - Bailey
[Shot fades back into focus as we see Anderson looking down the barrel of a sniper rifle, lining up a shot, before taking a Husk's head clean off.]
BAILEY: Nice shot.
ANDERSON: Heh, you should have seen me when I was 20 years younger.
[Suddenly, a Maurauder comes whilring around the corner, blasting away at both Anderson and Bailey, the rest of their squad too far away to help them, Bailey keeps calm, levels his pistol at the Maurauder and perforates it's forehead.]
ANDERSON: Nice shot.
BAILEY [grins]: You should have seen me 20 years ago.
[Coates comes running up, bleeding profusely.]
COATES: Admiral! Admiral, we've cleared a path to the Citadel tower, but we can't hold it for long. We can't afford to send more than half our group up there, the other half will have to stay down here and keep your back covered.
[Anderson strokes his chin for a moment, Bailey chimes in]
BAILEY: Fine, Council-ADMIRAL, you stay here and keep your people alive, I'll take some of my boys and see about opening those arms.
ANDERSON: Bailey, I Insist, take some of my men, they'll-
BAILEY [interrupting]: No, I insist Admiral, we'll make sure we take care of this. Protecting the Citadel is our job. You just keep those bastards off of our backsides.
[Anderson nods once, Coates following behind as the two of them prepare a defensive perimeter, Bailey and several of his officers pile into the elevator and ride it up, giving us a sweeping, panoramic of the burning Presidum ring.]
[Bailey and his men pile out, rushing the enemy forces, some blasting shotguns and kicking down husks, others pausing, lining up a shot with police sniper rifles, and then seperating Maurauders from their heads.]
[Bailey charges to reach the console at the far end of the Council chambers. Only to have a sudden burst of light stop him, a Banshee diving in close and picking him up. Bailey snarls in it's face, holding a grenade in one hand.]
[Now, this is where things change. If your Citadel Defense asset was high enough, Bailey has more men, and you get to watch as several of them blast the Banshee with several shots, causing her to scream and drop the commander, who drops his grenade, which we see roll and bounce into a nest of Cannibals, giving Bailey just enough time to rush the control console and open the arms, which then cuts to a cinematic of the arms opening and the Crucible approaching, just like before.]
[If your Citadel defense asset was NOT high enough, Bailey lets the grenade go off, killing the Banshee and shredding most of his own body in the process, we can hear Hackett on Bailey's radio shouting; "Bailey! Commander!" as Bailey crawls to the panel, opens the arms, and expires,]
BAILEY [muttered]: I did get to see it again...
[Camera cuts to outside the Citadel, watching as the arms open, the Crucible attached. Harbinger watches and gives out a long, low Reaper horn, immediately, all Reapers currently engaged pull out, taking off from Earth if need be, the fight just became too costly to endanger their perfection, Harbinger, being a canny general, knows that one fight lost, does not mean a lost war, and will not exhaust more resources in a fight he can't win. We see the Reapers rushing through the fleet, several are killed, but some manage to toss ships aside, destroying some, the Charon relay activates and the Reapers flee through it, Harbinger pulling up the rear, firing his beam with a parting shot just before going into the relay. Harbinger himself never sees the shot hit the Crucible, but it does, causing a massive explosion and rocking the entire Citadel, but not destroying either.]
If you chose Control with low EMS, chose Destroy with any EMS, or commited suicide go to 9.
If you chose Control with high EMS, go to 11.
If you Chose Synthesis, go to 10.
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9 - Left For Dead
[Star Child appears before Shepard, looking down at him and shaking his head]
SC: Shepard, you disappoint me. It seems there is little point in devoting any further effort to you.
[SC changes into a hologram of Harbinger]
HARBINGER: RELEASING CONTROL.
[Hologram disappears, Harbinger leaving Shepard to die, moves either to cutscene 12 if your EMS was low enough that you only had one option, chose Control, or commited suicide, or go to 13 if it was over 2000 and you chose Destroy or were saved by the Rachni Queen.]
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10 - A Pawn in a Larger Game
[Fade in, looking down at Shepard, lying in the rubble]
[Star Child appears before Shepard, looking down at him. and grinning wickedly before disappearing]
[Shepard begins to crawl out from the rubble, attracting the attention of Garrus and Liara whom are running a search and rescue op to find Shepard.]
LIARA: Shepard!
[Shepard turns, looking none the worse for wear, much the same as we last saw him, only he seems to be standing taller and straighter now.]
SHEPARD: Liara, Garrus! What are you two doing down here?
GARRUS: Looking for you, you look rough. Are you holding up alright?
HARBINGER [whispering only to Shepard]: KILL THEM, THEY ARE A THREAT.
SHEPARD[Reaching down to pick up a pistol from the ground, it's the same Carnifex from his earlier]: Yeah... I'm fine.
GARRUS: Good, we'll get an evac team in as soon as possible then.
SHEPARD: You do that.
LIARA: Shepard... are you alright?
SHEPARD: Yeah, fine, just a bit messed up, the fight took alot out of me.
GARRUS[turning his back to Shepard Liara standing beside him]: Well the shuttle should be coming in any moment now, then we'll get you back to HQ and brief you on the suitation.
SHEPARD [Leveling his pistol to the back of Garrus' head, bringing to mind imagery of Saren and Nihlius]: Sounds good.
[Cut to black, pistol shots, Liara screams and there's the sound of two bodies hitting the ground.]
ALLIANCE MARINE [on radio]: ...oing on? Repeat, we need a sitrep. What's going on down there?
SHEPARD [picking up the radio]: Situation under control soldier.
AM: Commander Shepard, it's good to hear you, what happened sir?
SHEPARD[pretending to hold back tears]: Reaper attack, it's dealt with but... they got two of my team, Garrus and Liara.
AM [audibly distressed]: I'm sorry to hear that sir. We'll see to it they get proper burials once we can secure the LZ.
SHEPARD: Thank you, soldier.
[Audio fades to sad music, zoom out to see shuttle landing, Shepard carrying Liara's body to it, a marine stepping out and talking to him/her. Cut to Reaper ground troops approaching the LZ rapidly, Shepard loads on with Liara's body, several of the marines climb out to hold off the enemy so Shepard can escape. Camera cuts to Shepard watching the squad getting wiped out, then he turns to the player, looks out the screen and smiles wickedly as his eyes flash yellow. Cue credits.]
________________________________________________________________
11 - Self Sacrifice
[Star Child appears before Shepard's body, covered in rubble, looks slightly... off. Star Child grins, eyes flash yellow and he disappears]
[Shepard crawls from the rubble, his synthetics EXTREMELY noticeable now, wires running across his skin, ect, in fact, he looks rather like the hybrids from the Synthesis ending]
[Cut to a sniper scope lining up on Shepard's head, cut and spin 180 to reveal Garrus is the one lining up the shot, he pulls his eye back from the scope in shock, his mandibles (or, whatever the hell you call those things on the sides of his cheeks) click in suprise. He throws his head foreward, looking into the scope again, lining up Shepard again, or so we think, but instead nailing a Husk that was about to throw itself at his back, Shepard turns to Garrus' post and looks suprised.]
GARRUS: Still needing me to get you out of trouble, eh Shepard?
SHEPARD[moaning in pain and clutching his temples]: G-Garrus...
GARRUS: What did they do to you Shepard?
SHEPARD: I d-don't know.... AUGH! G-GO! GET AWAY FROM ME!
[Shepard swings at Garrus, who doges the blow. Several other people climb up over a hill to see the scene before them, Liara, Vega, and several Alliance Marines backing them.]
LIARA: Garrus what's goin... Goddess...
[Shepard turns to face Liara, looking at her, his face contorted with pain.]
SHEPARD: Liara! Get out of here, get everyone out of here! They're trying to HAAAAAAAAAA!
[Shepard collapses with a scream, his body convulsing like electricity is being jolted through it.]
VEGA: Carumba... what's happening to him? What did those sons of ****es do to him?
GARRUS: Get back! He's indoctrinated. We saw the same thing with Saren.
[Shepard reaches out, clawing the ground with one hand, still trying to fight off Reaper influence one way or another, still trying to resist, but being slowly broken down, Garrus approaches with his pistol to finish the commander off, intending to end his suffering with a single bullet, a mercy kill.]
GARRUS[visibly upset]: I'm sorry commander... that it.. had to end this way.
[If your EMS was below 3000, then Garrus just shoots Shepard through the head, bang, cut to black and we see them leaving in the shuttles, sans crater and heroic death scene.]
[A large impact shakes the ground and several husks, ravagers, mauraders and cannibals climb up over the hill as everyone dives for cover. Shepard still claws the ground and sees an abandoned assault rifle lying near him.]
[The cannibals kill several of the marines, whom are spun by the impact of the bullets, the squad still desperately tries to fight off the enemy, Shepard suddenly stands up behind where Garrus, Vega and Liara are taking cover, clutching an assult rifle in his hands, standing tall now.]
GARRUS: Commander!
LIARA: Shepard!
SHEPARD[running into the enemy horde, firing the rifle the whole way]: Get out of here! I'll hold them off
LIARA: We're not leaving you commander!
SHEPARD [ducking as a grenade explodes near him]: Just go! I'm dead already!
VEGA: The hell you are Loco!
SHEPARD: Get out of here! That's an order!
[Shepard stands up and charges into the horde firing the whole way, bullets richocheting off what's left of his armor, some striking into his flesh, blood flies, shepard grabs a bandolier of grenades off the ground and pulls the pin off one, diving into a mass of Brutes, Banshees, Marauders ect. There's a huge explosion, cut to a shuttle taking off, Vega and Liara watch from inside, Garrus just looks distraught, sad piano music plays. Then go to cutscene 15.]
_________________________________________________________________
12 - Death of a Soldier
[Shepard lies there in the rubble, moaning softly in pain, he hears shouts in the distance. "Shepard! Shepard!" but he can't identify the source. Sad piano music plays, a soft white light slowly fills the screen. fade back in to Liara, Garrus, Vega, EDI, perhaps even Javik finding Shepard's body, everyone but Javik is visibly upset, Javik merely kneels and touches Shepard's body. No dialogue. Camera pans up to see the sunrise, showing a badly damaged Crucible (to be explored more in a later sequel) in orbit hanging off the back of the Citadel, Reaper bodies slowly falling to Earth. Fade to black, go to cutscene 15.]
________________________________________________________________
13 - Lost and Found
[Camera pans out from Shepard's body mostly covered in rubble and recognizable only from the dogtags sticking out and the charred armor.]
HACKETT [on radio]: ..pard, has anyone caught sight of Shepard?
[squadmates looking for you, Garrus and and Liara] GARRUS: No sign, the approach got totaled after Harbinger's bombardment.
LIARA [whispered to herself]: Not again Shepard, please tell me, not again...
[Garrus turns and lays a hand on her shoulder, giving an encouraging nod. Go to cutscene 14 if you saw the "Shepard Alive" video, or go to cutscene 16 if you did not.]
________________________________________________________________
14 - Standing Triumphant
[Shepard manages to shift the rubble, just barely, Garrus and Liara turn to see Shepard pull just enough of himself from the rubble to weakly prop himself up. Liara turns and her face brightens, Garrus' eyebrows raise in shock, then he runs over to start helping you out, radioing to Hackett]
GARRUS: Alliance Command!, We have Shepard, repeat, we have Shepard!
HACKETT: Thank God. Garrus, we're sending a medical and extraction team, hold your ground until they get there.
[the rest of your squad, any and all living members comment via radio, they're all running search and rescue teams of their own.]
VEGA[on radio]: Hey Loco, good to hear from ya, pendejo sons of ****es couldn't manage to kill you yet huh?
JAVIK[also on radio]: Commander, it is good to hear you are alive. It would be unfortunate to lose an ally now.
EDI [also on radio]: Commander Shepard, it is good to see you are alive. Jeff hasn't been at his best since you disappeared. He is certain that the damage the Normandy took when it crashed will be repaired easily enough.
[Shepard makes a face similar to the one he made about EDI's joke concerning oxygen levels and her absorption in a task.]
EDI: That is a joke.
[A few shots come zipping by, fired by a cannibal, Garrus turns and pops the cannibal through the head, before taking cover, Liara helps prop shepard up against a chunk of rubble dispensing medi-gel. Then a conversation begins, Shepard may choose to investigate several options, including "What happened?" "Where's Harbinger?" "What happened to the Crucible?" and then you can end the conversation by commenting either that you are glad that they found you rather than some husk, or that you're pissed about the state of things.
Answers to each investigate go as follows;
"What happened?"
SHEPARD [Weakly]: What's the suituation?
GARRUS [taking cover from more Cannibal fire]: It's been two days since the seige started, most of Hammer team got wiped out, some made it into the Citadel, we assumed you were dead.
SHEPARD [sarcastically] : Well that's comforting.
[Garrus chuckles]
LIARA: After Hammer was nearly destroyed, we nearly gave up,
GARRUS [interrupting, still in cover, stands up to fire a few shots from his sniper rifle, blasts a Husk through the head]: Ha! [Satisfied smirk, nod.] We did.
SHEPARD: What changed?
GARRUS: Well, we found out after the fact that Anderson managed to get a team in, well, and Bailey helped too, then yesterday, the Reapers started acting strange, no real explanation why, their ground forces were acting uncoordinated and almost... feral. More so than usual I mean. It was almost like they were focusing on something, We figured that something was you.
SHEPARD [sudden moan of pain, clutches his temples]: Agh... mm... I think you might be right.
"Where's Harbinger?"
SHEPARD: So, what happened to Harbinger? Last I saw him was on the approach.
GARRUS: Harbinger's been a non issue the past day or so. We're lucky, it gave us some time to recover, and to bring the Crucible in, they ran off with their tails... tentacles, whatever, between their legs.
LIARA: Before that though, It was as though they were distracted, focusing on something. Ignoring everything else.
GARRUS: We figured that something was you.
"What happened to the Crucible?"
SHEPARD: What about the Crucible? Last thing I can remember, it wasn't firing.
GARRUS [turns, and looks at Shepard, suprised.]: You heard wrong, The Crucible never even showed up,
SHEPARD [look of confusion]: What?
LIARA: The Crucible arrived this morning, it was still in dry dock the whole time.
[Camera pans to the Crucible device, hanging in high orbit above the planet, a large chunk visibly damaged.]
GARRUS:They took one look at the thing and half the fleet just left. Withdrew. Like they knew something would happen. One of them, Harbinger I think, got a parting shot as they were pulling out through the Charon Relay, huge damage to the thing. They're working on repairs now.
SHEPARD: Damn it!
GARRUS [stands, sights a target and nails a Marauder though the eye]: We're holding our own though, the lull for the past two days has been giving us time to recover. We still have a chance.
SHEPARD: "You have hope, more than you know"
LIARA [A look of concern for Shepard]: What?
SHEPARD: Nothing.
"I'm glad you found me." [PARAGON]
SHEPARD: I'm glad it's you two who found me, getting turned into a husk wasn't what I was really planning for my retirement.
[Garrus chuckles, Liara smiles]
"Sons of ****es." [RENEGADE]
SHEPARD: Damn it, don't they ever give up?
GARRUS: Would you?
SHEPARD [watches an Alliance squad being assaulted by a number of Husks in the distance.]: No.
[Both Paragon and Renegade options lead to the same scene, a horde of Reaper ground forces start to come up the hill, Garrus blasts the heads off a few as they approach, Shepard tries to stand up, Liara forces him/her to sit down, turns and blasts the Reapers with a Singularity. After a moment or two of watching the combat, a shuttle, flanked by two gunships comes in close, the gunships blasting away at the encroaching ground forces before the shuttle lands, two EMTs climb out and ask where Shepard is, Liara points out his location and they load him into the shuttle, one distributing more medi-gel as he's loaded on, Garrus and Liara climbing in after.
EMT: Sir, if we try to take off now we'll be wide open, we need something to draw their fire.
[Go to cutscene 17 if the player saw the breath scene and managed to sit up enough to get their attention, or go to cutscene 16 if they did not.]
___________________________________________________________________
15 - Buried With Honors
[If Shepard died at any point here, then the scene cuts to here, Shepard's memorial service standing in the ruins of London, in front of the bombed out Big Ben, rubble mostly cleared away for the ceremony. Admiral Hackett, still looking worse for wear, scar still slashing across his face, it has yet to heal, standing in front of a podium, Anderson to his left, Vega, Kaiden (if he's alive) Cortez (if he's alive) Ashley (If she's alive) Privates Campbell and Westmoreland
(better known as "those two soldiers guarding the war room"), and Traynor (if she's alive) standing to his right, a casket with the N7 iconography in front of him. Everyone is visibly upset.]
[Sad piano music plays, no dialogue, Hackett says something, Vega, Vermire Survivor, Chakwas, everyone takes a turn at the podium, nothing is heard but the music, Liara is sitting in the crowd, crying, Garrus and Tali (if she lived) next to her, Javik is nowhere to be found, his seat, empty, the Prothean has disappeared. Grunt (if he survived) roars into the distance, Wrex and a horde of Krogan behind them. Joker just sits, staring distraught at the casket, before turning and sobbing into EDI's shoulder, his humor having abandoned him. EDI herself gently holds him, rubbing his back, careful not to cause any damage.The Geth (if they weren't wiped out of course), appear, all seeming out of place. The Quarians wail and tear at their suits, The Rachni queen watches through the eyes of the Asari from the second game, the Turian military, led by Primarch Victus give a 21 gun salute as Vega, VS, and all the servicemen from the Normandy load the casket into the grave. Camera tilts down to look into the grave, dirt is slowly shoveled on, covering the N7 symbol as the screen slowly fades to black. Go to cutscene 18.]
__________________________________________________________________
16 - Snatched From the Jaws of Victory
[This cutscene plays out identically to 6 with a few minor differences, Shepard does not manage to shift the rubble, only to make noise, forcing Liara and Garrus to dig him out.
They prop him up, allowing the same conversation as before . When the shuttles arrive, the cutscene below takes place]
[Reaper forces slowly make their way up the hill, bullets richoceting off the armor of the shuttles, Garrus and Liara climb off the shuttle to buy them time, several Alliance Marines joining them, a cutscene follows,
Garrus pops off a few shots, killing some Husks, Liara warps a Banshee's barrier, causing her to flinch.]
SHEPARD: Garrus, what the hell are you doing?
GARRUS[banging his fist against the side of the door, mimicking the soldier doing the same to a shuttle at the beginning of the game.]: Buying you time commander.
SHEPARD: Get back on here! That's an order!
GARRUS: Sorry Shepard, going to have to refuse that order. We're getting you out of here alive, one way or another.
[Shepard tries to gather the strength to tell them not to throw their lives away, but we only get to watch helplessly as Garrus' position is overrun by Husks, Liara is killed by a blast from a Ravager, and one of the two gunships escorting you gets shot down. Go to cutscene 17.]
________________________________________________________________
17 - A Hero's Welcome
[If you did NOT see cutscene 16, a Reaper collumn starts making their way in, but a number of ships from the fleet strafe them and the shuttle takes off with Shepard, Liara and Garrus on board.]
[Shepard is taken to an Alliance Field hospital, Anderson is there to greet them off the shuttle. If Liara and Garrus died, then he offers his condolences, especially if Liara was a LI, if not then the scene plays out like this;]
[Shuttle and Gunship/s touch down at a field hospital. Anderson walks up the the landing pad as Shepard is rushed out on a gurney. He motions for the EMTs to stop for a moment]
ANDERSON: You look good son.
SHEPARD [smiles weakly]: Liar.
ANDERSON [smiles back.]: Sometimes a little self-delusion is good for you. It's damn good to see you alive.
SHEPARD: You too sir, you helped alot.
ANDERSON [watches Shepard get hauled away by the EMTs]: I did?
[Garrus and Liara come up and greet Anderson as you're hauled away, no dialogue as you watch, an EMT looks down at you, you look through Shepard's eyes and watch as a breath mask is fitted over your mouth and nose, the EMT commenting about how this should help you sleep comfortably. You begin to black out.]
[Shepard begins to wake up, your vision swimming into focus, pan out to Shepard lying clean and bandaged in bed, it looks like Huerta Memorial. s/he's surrounded by flowers, gifts, a few "Get well Shepard" cards and you can see several of your squad talking to the doctors on the other side of the glass, you can't move at this point, but you can look around the room and read the cards/ look at the flowers, Shepard comments about each, some items appear based off of whom you've helped throughout the game, last two games, ect. Things like packages of display replicas of your N7 armor from Conrad Verner if he's alive, with his usual hero worship notes, a joke book from EDI and Joker, boxes of chocolates and flowers from Kaiden, a book of Tennyson poems from Ash, model shuttle from Cortez, a Haiku from Kasumi, stuffed Cannibal head from Grunt, a copy of Fornax, along with a note from Aria, things of that nature. After you've interacted with everything you can , your LI notices Shepard's awake, in this case, let's assume Ash.]
ASHLEY[pushes the doctor aside and opens the door, looks over, and smiles.]: Hey Skipper.
SHEPARD: Ash!
ASHLEY [smiles]: It's good to see you awake. [sits down on a bench next to your bed.]
SHEPARD [the realization of where he is setting in]: What's going on? Didn't something happen to the Citadel? Where's the Reapers?
ASHLEY: Woah, slow down Commander. It's ok, the front is lighyears away. For now.
SHEPARD: For now?
ASHLEY [sighs, not wanting to talk about the subject when you've just woken up from your coma.]: We've pushed the Reapers off of Earth. But we haven't won the war yet. But we have a chance now. Harbinger is still out there, but now we've got time to rebuild. And at least we've got you around to help.
SHEPARD [lies back, mulling it over.]: I'm just... so tired...
ASHLEY [smiles, leans over, kisses Shepard and gently pushes him back into his pillows]: "Rest now, brave soldier."
SHEPARD [smiles]: The soldier in question is dying in that poem you know.
ASHLEY [smiles]: You ass, it's the thought that counts.
[Fade to black. Go to cutscene 18]
______________________________________________________________________
18 - Pre-Credits
[Text crawl, changes based off of descisions, lets assume you saved the Krogan, made peace between Geth and Quarians]
In the year 2187 AD, soldiers of the Earth Systems Alliance fought a desperate war against an overwhelming enemy. Earth was left to burn as these machines, called Reapers by the galaxy at large spread like a cancer across the Milky Way. One soldier faced them. Brokering peace between forces considered unreconcileable,he forged a navy unlike any seen before and returned to take back his home. The war was not without it's sacrifices and his story has ended. Though the tide may have turned, with the enemy either dead or in retreat, fleeing back into Dark Space to lick their wounds, they remain implacable, patient and not without resources.
The war is not over.
[Stars appear as text fades, camera pans 180 degrees to face Harbinger, who lets out a metallic scream as his eyes flash.]
[If Shepard lived, then he says the following:]
HARBINGER: SHEPARD. YOU HAVE MERELY DELAYED THE INEVITABLE. WE SHALL RETURN, AND YOU SHALL NOT STOP US. YOUR CONTINUED EXISTENCE IS INMAETERIAL, YOU ARE NOT SUITED FOR ASCENSION.WE WILL FIND ANOTHER.
[If Shepard died, then Harbinger says this line instead:]
HARBINGER: WE HAVE BEEN STOPPED FOR NOW. YOU HAVE MERELY DELAYED THE INEVITABLE. WE SHALL RETURN, AND YOU SHALL BE DESTROYED. WE WILL FIND ANOTHER.
[ Harbinger leads the remainder of the Reaper Fleet into dark space to lick their wounds. Cue credits]
_____________________________________________________________________
19 - Post Credits
[The Child and the Stargazer appear again, still standing as they were before.]
CHILD: That was a good story.
STARGAZER: I'm glad you liked it. I'm very fond of it too.
CHILD: So... what happened after?
STARGAZER [laugh]: That's another story my sweet, and one not related to The Shepard.
CHILD: Well.. what happened to him? And his friends?
STARGAZER: Well...
[cut to text crawl ala Throne of Bhaal, blue background, Vigil playing in the background. Text crawl next to each character's picture, including all squad mates, Wrex, Aria, Joker/EDI, Grissom Academy, Earth, Cerberus, TIM ect.]
[Example;]
Clan Urdnot
Wrex went on to lead the Krogan people into a new golden age.
Despite the fears of a galxy wide war, the mighty Clan Urdnot, it's dominance sealed by the twin leadership of Urdnot Wrex and Urdnot Bakara managed to keep a firm grasp on the other clans, keeping bad sentiments low, and slowly building Tchanka into a superpower.
The council, weak spined sots that they are, are now afraid the Krogan may be bucking for membership.
Wrex's thoughts on the subject?
"It'll do those cowards well to have a real leader in their ranks."
MESSAGE FROM EA:
Thank you for enjoying Mass Effect 3. While Shepard's journey may be over, there are far more many adventures to be found in the Milky Way!
Adventures you can take part in, but, until then, that is, as they say, another story...
Here's with all my love to you guys. Credit to Rastlin and BatmanTurian for ideas.
[Shepard Breath Scene, Shepard breathes in, camera pans out further to see Reapers fighting the Hammer ground forces and Sword fleet, Harbinger steps into the shot, camera zooms into his eyes, a brief montage of the last several minutes playes backwards, images flashing across the screen. we see Shepard standing up again, only this time, the background is clear, we can see Destroyers marching along, tracer rounds being fired, the war is still going strong, surrounding Shepard is a collection of Husks and Maruaders, three Husks charge forward, Shepard dispatches them with three shots, his reflexes fast, despite his injuries, a Marauder steps in, but it's shield suddenly drops as Harbinger directs his attention at it. Shepard finishes the Maurader with a shot to the head, then collapses, Harbinger looks down and his eyes flash. as Shepard looks up at the beam and begins to walk slowly toward it, muttering to himself "I feel like Death, but I'm moving", Harbinger just stares, camera pans out to see Hammer regrouping for another push, no one sees Shepard, whom by this point is only a slowly moving black dot, slowly approaching the beam. Go to 1]
__________________________________________________________________________________________
1 - Desperate Times
[Camera cuts to Commander Bailey fighting off a horde of Husks, C-Sec officers at his side, civilians running into a heavy door behind him, he fires off his avenger, taking the head off a Husk, we see a Maruader stop, kneel and take a few shots, spinning and killing the Turian officer standing next to Bailey, the Commander turns and fires at it full auto, shredding it's torso. The last of Bailey's officers and the civillians get in before his gun jams and he drops it, running into the shelter, closing the door behind him, pulling out his pistol as he does so. One of the Council members approaches him, the Asari, if she survived.]
COUNCILOR TEVOS: Commander Bailey, what is the suitation?
BAILEY: It's like a nightmare out there, the biggest ****storm you ever saw, it makes Sovereign's attack look like a damn walk in the park by comparison.
[Several of the Civillians seem frightened, huddling in fear with one another, a baby can be heard crying, some of the women and girls too. The Salarian Councilor [or if he is dead, his dialogue is skipped entirely] turns to Bailey, after watching a human father trying to comfort his wife and child. We also (if he survived) hear a man trying to comfort a frightened woman.]
CONRAD VERNER: There there now... it's alright... I'm sure we'll be just fine... it's not like they can get in here...
[loud bang, door buckles slightly, woman looks at Conrad with venom.]
COUNCILOR VALERN [appearing unusually nervous and jumpy, even for a Salarian]: What do you recommend we do then, Commander?
COUNCILOR SPARATUS: We can't just stay here. If we do, this shelter will become our tomb.
[A C-Sec officer steps up to Bailey, Turian, possibly one of the two whom was standing outside of Purgatory earlier on]
C-SEC OFFICER [saluting]: Commander, the door is sealed, we're safe, for the moment. They aren't getting in that way.
BAILEY: Good. That buys us some time, at least.
OFFICER: Commander, if I may ask, what is this place?
[Bailey turns his head to the asari councilor, as if making sure that it's alright to say, she nods.]
BAILEY[walking along the row of cowering civillians, stopping in front of a QEC]: Emergency shelter, we had them built in a while ago, after Sovereign's attack, in case something like this happened again... hoped never to have to use 'em...
[A C-Sec officer is standing in front of the console, woman, human, dark skinned.]
HUMAN C-SEC OFFICER: Commander, we're getting something on the comm channel, but I can't get a fix on it.
BAILEY[shakes his head and steps up to the panel, pressing a few buttons and clearing up the static, revealing Admiral Hackett]: Do I have to run everything around here?
HACKETT: H-H-H-H-Hello! C-C-C-C-Can anyone hEAR me on this this channNEL? Is is anyone al-l-l-llive out t-there?
BAILEY: Admiral Hackett?
HACKETT[feed gradually clearing up]: Commander... Bailey? Citadel Security?
BAILEY: Yes, we're here Admiral.
HACKETT: Commander, Y-y-yyou have no id-d-dea how good it is to hear from the Citadel. What's the suitation there?
BAILEY: Grim. We've managed to save the council, as well as some civillians, but right now we're holed up in a bunker and we've got the bastards banging on our door, and they aren't looking to sell cookies.
[Scene changes to Hackett's perspective, we see him looking out at the fight from his war-room on his flagship, before the camera pans back to Bailey.]
HACKETT [resting his chin on his hand]: Have you heard from any Aliance forces down there Commander? We haven't received any recent word, but we sent down a force to try and make their way into the Citadel.
BAILEY: Well, if you're planning on taking the Citadel back, there won't be much point. The place is packed with the bastards like a can of sardines.
HACKETT: We need the arms open.
BAILEY: You're out of your everloving mind.
[Bailey pauses for a moment, as if thinking.]
BAILEY: What on Earth for?
HACKETT[brief pause, as if considering how much to tell him]: You've probably heard rumors about a superweapon we've been working on Commander, it's designed to hook onto the Citadel, we can't activate it with the arms closed.
BAILEY: Seems like a pretty stupid idea, putting all of your eggs in one basket, Admiral.
HACKETT: It's the best hope we have Commander. If we don't get those arms open, we all get to be sitting on top of one massive grave.
[Suddenly a C-sec officer comes running over, the same woman as before]
OFFICER: Commander Bailey! Commander! We've got radio chatter coming in on our comms, it's the Alliance sir, a small striketeam has made their way into the Citadel, but they're about to be overrun!
HACKETT: Commander, you have to help them, it's the only way any of us are getting out of this.
BAILEY: Hell... I'm getting too damn old for this. Tell them we're coming, and that we've been updated on what the hell is going on.
[Bailey turns to leave as the council approaches the QEC to be updated on the suitation by Hackett. Bailey pauses only to pick up an assault rifle and gather a few of his officers, a few civvies from the CDF join in, pistols in their hands.]
BAILEY: Alright boys and girls. We've just got orders from Alliance command. Fighting a war might not be our job, but today we're all military. We need to get the the arms open so the soldier-boys can do their thing. Now, load up and let's move out.
[Pan to the outside of the door, where a Brute is pounding on it to no avail, trying to batter it down. the door lifts up a crack, there's a soft, metallic tinkling sound. The Brute looks down just as a grenade rolls into shot and explodes. Bailey steps out the doorway, guns blazing, flanked by C-Sec officers and armed Citadel Defense Force civillians as they push their way toward where we can see another firefight brewing. After a minute or two of action scenes, the camera pans to Anderson finishing off a Husk with his omni-blade, covered from head to toe in blood, several Alliance soldiers flanking him, Major Coates bringing up the rear, all of the soldiers look worse for wear, as though they've just been through hell and back.]
[Bailey walks up to Anderson and adresses him as either Councilor, or as Captain, we'll assume councilor here.]
BAILEY: Councilor Anderson!
ANDERSON: It's admiral now, just admiral.
[Anderson streches his arm out to shake hands with Bailey]
ANDERSON: It's damned good to see you alive Bailey.
BAILEY: Likewise Counc-Admiral. What's the suitation?
ANDERSON [looks at Coates]: Did anyone else make it to the beam?
COATES: Negative. Our entire force was decimated. We're all that's left of Hammer Team, anyone else is still stuck on the ground, we're on our own from here on in.
ANDERSON: There's your answer. I've been informed you already know what our mission is, so let's not waste time.
BAILEY: Agreed. Let's go.
[Go to 2.]
__________________________________________________________________________________________
2 - Assayed In the Heat of the Crucible
[Cut back to Shepard, still crawling on the ground toward the beam, Harbinger looking down, Husks and Mauraders still fighting off the remnants of Hammer Team, lead at the forefront by any old squadmates and friends you saw before, Kirrahe, Jack, Grunt, Wrex/Wreav ect. a brief cutscene showing all of them together, with the ones missing, merely not shown.]
[Shepard collapses a few hundred feet from the beam, face pressed into the dirt, we look down at him, close up bird's eye veiw, flashes of the scene between TIM and Anderson flash over the screen, the dialogue plays, nearly a whisper.]
HARBINGER: YOU ARE WEAK, SHEPARD. SURRENDER YOUR FORM TO ME. WE SHALL PERFECT YOUR SPECIES.
ANDERSON [echoing]: You're... indoctrinated....indoctrinated....
[Shepard lifts his gun slightly and squeezes the trigger once, firing a shot that ricochets and cuts a cable on the reciving part of the Reaper Beam, causing it to break and short, hanging down low. Electricty arching between the ends. Shepard crawls forward, nearly to the beam, gasping, the same gasping and grunting heard as he crawls to the panel for the citadel controls, just before collapsing. Harbinger's eyes flash and Shepard stands up.]
[The Guardian scene flashes again before our eyes as Harbinger begins to take off, Reaper forces slowly pushing the remainder of Hammer back from the beam.]
If you chose either Synthesis or Control, and saved the Rachni Queen in ME1, and saved her again in ME3, go to 3.
If you did NOT save the Rachni queen, either in ME1, or during the mission, but you did manage to save Eve and chose either Synthesis or Control, go to 4.
if you chose Synthesis and did NOT save either Eve or the Rachni queen, go to 5.
If you chose Control and did NOT save either Eve or the Rachni queen, go to 6.
If you chose Destroy, go to 7.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
3 - Our Voices Shall Mingle With Yours
[Shepard struggles, to stand, starting to walk toward either the Beam, or the to hanging cables. his pistol, a gun that Anderson dropped on the mad dash to the Citadel, in his hand, shaking. He slowly approaches the beam, dropping the gun as he does so, when a shrill note breaks into his mind, akin to a scream.]
RACHNI QUEEN: SPECTRE!
[Shepard screams and collapses. An unearthly music begins to play.]
RACHNI QUEEN: SOUR MUSIC IS UPON YOU! A FOUL NOTE CLOUDS YOUR MIND! YOU MUST FIGHT! AS PROMISED, WE ADD OUR VOICES TO YOURS TO DROWN OUT THE VOICE OF THE MACHINES!
[Shepard screams again, clawing at the ground, forcing himself into a semi sitting position, his neck arches backwards as the whole scene is slowly permeated by a low, sickly sounding hum which slowly gets louder and louder, then suddenly, it ceases, the unearthly Rachni music, which Shepard now realizes comes pouring from the collective throats of an entire species fills the air with beautiful tones, harmonizing and drowning out the hum. Go to 7.]
________________________________________________________________________________________
4 - Your Darkest Hour
[Shepard struggles to walk toward the beam or downed cables, his pistol shaking in his hand as he slowly approaches it. Shepard trips over a rock as he walks toward either the beam or the cables. Shepard does a faceplant in the sandy dirt, something bouncing out of an (amazingly) still intact pouch. Urdnot Bakara's crystal. It's nothing more than a crystal with a light source installed, hung on a chain, a simple gift... and yet so much more. Shepard stares at the little light, enraptured, Vigil starts playing, a short flash of all the faces of our friends and companions, Grunt, Joker, Liara, Ashley, Kaiden, Hackett, Anderson, all of them plays by at high speed, superimposed over the image of Shepard staring down at the crystal, the light reflected in his eyes, which are now filled with tears, he crawls over to a pile of rubble, resting his back against a rock. Shepard calmly reaches down to the dropped Carnifex and places the barrel under his chin. Cut to black, gunshot. Go to 9.]
_________________________________________________________________________________________
5 - Harmony of Man and Machine
[Shepard stands up tall, and drops his gun, running straight for the beam, there's a flash of white. Shepard is suspended in the beam for a moment, the whole thing slowly starting to lift him when it suddenly shuts down and Shepard thrown into a wall with considerable force, lying collapsed in a pile of concrete, an approaching Maurader levels it's weapon at him, but there is no need, he's one of theirs now, focus in on Shep's eyes as we see they're just like TIM's, and just like Saren's, they gradually close as Shepard falls back into unconciousness. Go to 8.]
________________________________________________________________________________________
6 - A Blaze of Glory
[Shepard slowly crawls to the "control" panel, grasping the cables when he comes close, electricty burning through his body, revealing his cybernetics, as his eyes slowly change to match TIM's, the electricity has done nothing for his indoctrination, but the fact that Control was the choice he made damns him. Sad music plays. Fade to black. Go to 8.]
________________________________________________________________________________________
7 - A Fight Still to Win
[Shepard stands up, tall, bleeding mostly stemmed and strides confidently toward a large piece of Reaper equipment suituated next to the beam reciver, gun in his hand, focus on his eyes as gunshots ring out, a flash of light and the sound of an explosion. The Beam shuts down with a loud crack, a large contingient of Reaper forces bound for the inside of the Citadel being left stranded where they stand as an errant Mass Acellerator shot lands in the middle of the enemy collumn, obliterating it. The Shepard breath scene plays again as we see him thrown into the rubble, this time having the full context of the scene, triumphant music plays throughout. Go to 8.]
________________________________________________________________________________________
8 - Bailey
[Shot fades back into focus as we see Anderson looking down the barrel of a sniper rifle, lining up a shot, before taking a Husk's head clean off.]
BAILEY: Nice shot.
ANDERSON: Heh, you should have seen me when I was 20 years younger.
[Suddenly, a Maurauder comes whilring around the corner, blasting away at both Anderson and Bailey, the rest of their squad too far away to help them, Bailey keeps calm, levels his pistol at the Maurauder and perforates it's forehead.]
ANDERSON: Nice shot.
BAILEY [grins]: You should have seen me 20 years ago.
[Coates comes running up, bleeding profusely.]
COATES: Admiral! Admiral, we've cleared a path to the Citadel tower, but we can't hold it for long. We can't afford to send more than half our group up there, the other half will have to stay down here and keep your back covered.
[Anderson strokes his chin for a moment, Bailey chimes in]
BAILEY: Fine, Council-ADMIRAL, you stay here and keep your people alive, I'll take some of my boys and see about opening those arms.
ANDERSON: Bailey, I Insist, take some of my men, they'll-
BAILEY [interrupting]: No, I insist Admiral, we'll make sure we take care of this. Protecting the Citadel is our job. You just keep those bastards off of our backsides.
[Anderson nods once, Coates following behind as the two of them prepare a defensive perimeter, Bailey and several of his officers pile into the elevator and ride it up, giving us a sweeping, panoramic of the burning Presidum ring.]
[Bailey and his men pile out, rushing the enemy forces, some blasting shotguns and kicking down husks, others pausing, lining up a shot with police sniper rifles, and then seperating Maurauders from their heads.]
[Bailey charges to reach the console at the far end of the Council chambers. Only to have a sudden burst of light stop him, a Banshee diving in close and picking him up. Bailey snarls in it's face, holding a grenade in one hand.]
[Now, this is where things change. If your Citadel Defense asset was high enough, Bailey has more men, and you get to watch as several of them blast the Banshee with several shots, causing her to scream and drop the commander, who drops his grenade, which we see roll and bounce into a nest of Cannibals, giving Bailey just enough time to rush the control console and open the arms, which then cuts to a cinematic of the arms opening and the Crucible approaching, just like before.]
[If your Citadel defense asset was NOT high enough, Bailey lets the grenade go off, killing the Banshee and shredding most of his own body in the process, we can hear Hackett on Bailey's radio shouting; "Bailey! Commander!" as Bailey crawls to the panel, opens the arms, and expires,]
BAILEY [muttered]: I did get to see it again...
[Camera cuts to outside the Citadel, watching as the arms open, the Crucible attached. Harbinger watches and gives out a long, low Reaper horn, immediately, all Reapers currently engaged pull out, taking off from Earth if need be, the fight just became too costly to endanger their perfection, Harbinger, being a canny general, knows that one fight lost, does not mean a lost war, and will not exhaust more resources in a fight he can't win. We see the Reapers rushing through the fleet, several are killed, but some manage to toss ships aside, destroying some, the Charon relay activates and the Reapers flee through it, Harbinger pulling up the rear, firing his beam with a parting shot just before going into the relay. Harbinger himself never sees the shot hit the Crucible, but it does, causing a massive explosion and rocking the entire Citadel, but not destroying either.]
If you chose Control with low EMS, chose Destroy with any EMS, or commited suicide go to 9.
If you chose Control with high EMS, go to 11.
If you Chose Synthesis, go to 10.
________________________________________________________________________________________
9 - Left For Dead
[Star Child appears before Shepard, looking down at him and shaking his head]
SC: Shepard, you disappoint me. It seems there is little point in devoting any further effort to you.
[SC changes into a hologram of Harbinger]
HARBINGER: RELEASING CONTROL.
[Hologram disappears, Harbinger leaving Shepard to die, moves either to cutscene 12 if your EMS was low enough that you only had one option, chose Control, or commited suicide, or go to 13 if it was over 2000 and you chose Destroy or were saved by the Rachni Queen.]
______________________________________________________________
10 - A Pawn in a Larger Game
[Fade in, looking down at Shepard, lying in the rubble]
[Star Child appears before Shepard, looking down at him. and grinning wickedly before disappearing]
[Shepard begins to crawl out from the rubble, attracting the attention of Garrus and Liara whom are running a search and rescue op to find Shepard.]
LIARA: Shepard!
[Shepard turns, looking none the worse for wear, much the same as we last saw him, only he seems to be standing taller and straighter now.]
SHEPARD: Liara, Garrus! What are you two doing down here?
GARRUS: Looking for you, you look rough. Are you holding up alright?
HARBINGER [whispering only to Shepard]: KILL THEM, THEY ARE A THREAT.
SHEPARD[Reaching down to pick up a pistol from the ground, it's the same Carnifex from his earlier]: Yeah... I'm fine.
GARRUS: Good, we'll get an evac team in as soon as possible then.
SHEPARD: You do that.
LIARA: Shepard... are you alright?
SHEPARD: Yeah, fine, just a bit messed up, the fight took alot out of me.
GARRUS[turning his back to Shepard Liara standing beside him]: Well the shuttle should be coming in any moment now, then we'll get you back to HQ and brief you on the suitation.
SHEPARD [Leveling his pistol to the back of Garrus' head, bringing to mind imagery of Saren and Nihlius]: Sounds good.
[Cut to black, pistol shots, Liara screams and there's the sound of two bodies hitting the ground.]
ALLIANCE MARINE [on radio]: ...oing on? Repeat, we need a sitrep. What's going on down there?
SHEPARD [picking up the radio]: Situation under control soldier.
AM: Commander Shepard, it's good to hear you, what happened sir?
SHEPARD[pretending to hold back tears]: Reaper attack, it's dealt with but... they got two of my team, Garrus and Liara.
AM [audibly distressed]: I'm sorry to hear that sir. We'll see to it they get proper burials once we can secure the LZ.
SHEPARD: Thank you, soldier.
[Audio fades to sad music, zoom out to see shuttle landing, Shepard carrying Liara's body to it, a marine stepping out and talking to him/her. Cut to Reaper ground troops approaching the LZ rapidly, Shepard loads on with Liara's body, several of the marines climb out to hold off the enemy so Shepard can escape. Camera cuts to Shepard watching the squad getting wiped out, then he turns to the player, looks out the screen and smiles wickedly as his eyes flash yellow. Cue credits.]
________________________________________________________________
11 - Self Sacrifice
[Star Child appears before Shepard's body, covered in rubble, looks slightly... off. Star Child grins, eyes flash yellow and he disappears]
[Shepard crawls from the rubble, his synthetics EXTREMELY noticeable now, wires running across his skin, ect, in fact, he looks rather like the hybrids from the Synthesis ending]
[Cut to a sniper scope lining up on Shepard's head, cut and spin 180 to reveal Garrus is the one lining up the shot, he pulls his eye back from the scope in shock, his mandibles (or, whatever the hell you call those things on the sides of his cheeks) click in suprise. He throws his head foreward, looking into the scope again, lining up Shepard again, or so we think, but instead nailing a Husk that was about to throw itself at his back, Shepard turns to Garrus' post and looks suprised.]
GARRUS: Still needing me to get you out of trouble, eh Shepard?
SHEPARD[moaning in pain and clutching his temples]: G-Garrus...
GARRUS: What did they do to you Shepard?
SHEPARD: I d-don't know.... AUGH! G-GO! GET AWAY FROM ME!
[Shepard swings at Garrus, who doges the blow. Several other people climb up over a hill to see the scene before them, Liara, Vega, and several Alliance Marines backing them.]
LIARA: Garrus what's goin... Goddess...
[Shepard turns to face Liara, looking at her, his face contorted with pain.]
SHEPARD: Liara! Get out of here, get everyone out of here! They're trying to HAAAAAAAAAA!
[Shepard collapses with a scream, his body convulsing like electricity is being jolted through it.]
VEGA: Carumba... what's happening to him? What did those sons of ****es do to him?
GARRUS: Get back! He's indoctrinated. We saw the same thing with Saren.
[Shepard reaches out, clawing the ground with one hand, still trying to fight off Reaper influence one way or another, still trying to resist, but being slowly broken down, Garrus approaches with his pistol to finish the commander off, intending to end his suffering with a single bullet, a mercy kill.]
GARRUS[visibly upset]: I'm sorry commander... that it.. had to end this way.
[If your EMS was below 3000, then Garrus just shoots Shepard through the head, bang, cut to black and we see them leaving in the shuttles, sans crater and heroic death scene.]
[A large impact shakes the ground and several husks, ravagers, mauraders and cannibals climb up over the hill as everyone dives for cover. Shepard still claws the ground and sees an abandoned assault rifle lying near him.]
[The cannibals kill several of the marines, whom are spun by the impact of the bullets, the squad still desperately tries to fight off the enemy, Shepard suddenly stands up behind where Garrus, Vega and Liara are taking cover, clutching an assult rifle in his hands, standing tall now.]
GARRUS: Commander!
LIARA: Shepard!
SHEPARD[running into the enemy horde, firing the rifle the whole way]: Get out of here! I'll hold them off
LIARA: We're not leaving you commander!
SHEPARD [ducking as a grenade explodes near him]: Just go! I'm dead already!
VEGA: The hell you are Loco!
SHEPARD: Get out of here! That's an order!
[Shepard stands up and charges into the horde firing the whole way, bullets richocheting off what's left of his armor, some striking into his flesh, blood flies, shepard grabs a bandolier of grenades off the ground and pulls the pin off one, diving into a mass of Brutes, Banshees, Marauders ect. There's a huge explosion, cut to a shuttle taking off, Vega and Liara watch from inside, Garrus just looks distraught, sad piano music plays. Then go to cutscene 15.]
_________________________________________________________________
12 - Death of a Soldier
[Shepard lies there in the rubble, moaning softly in pain, he hears shouts in the distance. "Shepard! Shepard!" but he can't identify the source. Sad piano music plays, a soft white light slowly fills the screen. fade back in to Liara, Garrus, Vega, EDI, perhaps even Javik finding Shepard's body, everyone but Javik is visibly upset, Javik merely kneels and touches Shepard's body. No dialogue. Camera pans up to see the sunrise, showing a badly damaged Crucible (to be explored more in a later sequel) in orbit hanging off the back of the Citadel, Reaper bodies slowly falling to Earth. Fade to black, go to cutscene 15.]
________________________________________________________________
13 - Lost and Found
[Camera pans out from Shepard's body mostly covered in rubble and recognizable only from the dogtags sticking out and the charred armor.]
HACKETT [on radio]: ..pard, has anyone caught sight of Shepard?
[squadmates looking for you, Garrus and and Liara] GARRUS: No sign, the approach got totaled after Harbinger's bombardment.
LIARA [whispered to herself]: Not again Shepard, please tell me, not again...
[Garrus turns and lays a hand on her shoulder, giving an encouraging nod. Go to cutscene 14 if you saw the "Shepard Alive" video, or go to cutscene 16 if you did not.]
________________________________________________________________
14 - Standing Triumphant
[Shepard manages to shift the rubble, just barely, Garrus and Liara turn to see Shepard pull just enough of himself from the rubble to weakly prop himself up. Liara turns and her face brightens, Garrus' eyebrows raise in shock, then he runs over to start helping you out, radioing to Hackett]
GARRUS: Alliance Command!, We have Shepard, repeat, we have Shepard!
HACKETT: Thank God. Garrus, we're sending a medical and extraction team, hold your ground until they get there.
[the rest of your squad, any and all living members comment via radio, they're all running search and rescue teams of their own.]
VEGA[on radio]: Hey Loco, good to hear from ya, pendejo sons of ****es couldn't manage to kill you yet huh?
JAVIK[also on radio]: Commander, it is good to hear you are alive. It would be unfortunate to lose an ally now.
EDI [also on radio]: Commander Shepard, it is good to see you are alive. Jeff hasn't been at his best since you disappeared. He is certain that the damage the Normandy took when it crashed will be repaired easily enough.
[Shepard makes a face similar to the one he made about EDI's joke concerning oxygen levels and her absorption in a task.]
EDI: That is a joke.
[A few shots come zipping by, fired by a cannibal, Garrus turns and pops the cannibal through the head, before taking cover, Liara helps prop shepard up against a chunk of rubble dispensing medi-gel. Then a conversation begins, Shepard may choose to investigate several options, including "What happened?" "Where's Harbinger?" "What happened to the Crucible?" and then you can end the conversation by commenting either that you are glad that they found you rather than some husk, or that you're pissed about the state of things.
Answers to each investigate go as follows;
"What happened?"
SHEPARD [Weakly]: What's the suituation?
GARRUS [taking cover from more Cannibal fire]: It's been two days since the seige started, most of Hammer team got wiped out, some made it into the Citadel, we assumed you were dead.
SHEPARD [sarcastically] : Well that's comforting.
[Garrus chuckles]
LIARA: After Hammer was nearly destroyed, we nearly gave up,
GARRUS [interrupting, still in cover, stands up to fire a few shots from his sniper rifle, blasts a Husk through the head]: Ha! [Satisfied smirk, nod.] We did.
SHEPARD: What changed?
GARRUS: Well, we found out after the fact that Anderson managed to get a team in, well, and Bailey helped too, then yesterday, the Reapers started acting strange, no real explanation why, their ground forces were acting uncoordinated and almost... feral. More so than usual I mean. It was almost like they were focusing on something, We figured that something was you.
SHEPARD [sudden moan of pain, clutches his temples]: Agh... mm... I think you might be right.
"Where's Harbinger?"
SHEPARD: So, what happened to Harbinger? Last I saw him was on the approach.
GARRUS: Harbinger's been a non issue the past day or so. We're lucky, it gave us some time to recover, and to bring the Crucible in, they ran off with their tails... tentacles, whatever, between their legs.
LIARA: Before that though, It was as though they were distracted, focusing on something. Ignoring everything else.
GARRUS: We figured that something was you.
"What happened to the Crucible?"
SHEPARD: What about the Crucible? Last thing I can remember, it wasn't firing.
GARRUS [turns, and looks at Shepard, suprised.]: You heard wrong, The Crucible never even showed up,
SHEPARD [look of confusion]: What?
LIARA: The Crucible arrived this morning, it was still in dry dock the whole time.
[Camera pans to the Crucible device, hanging in high orbit above the planet, a large chunk visibly damaged.]
GARRUS:They took one look at the thing and half the fleet just left. Withdrew. Like they knew something would happen. One of them, Harbinger I think, got a parting shot as they were pulling out through the Charon Relay, huge damage to the thing. They're working on repairs now.
SHEPARD: Damn it!
GARRUS [stands, sights a target and nails a Marauder though the eye]: We're holding our own though, the lull for the past two days has been giving us time to recover. We still have a chance.
SHEPARD: "You have hope, more than you know"
LIARA [A look of concern for Shepard]: What?
SHEPARD: Nothing.
"I'm glad you found me." [PARAGON]
SHEPARD: I'm glad it's you two who found me, getting turned into a husk wasn't what I was really planning for my retirement.
[Garrus chuckles, Liara smiles]
"Sons of ****es." [RENEGADE]
SHEPARD: Damn it, don't they ever give up?
GARRUS: Would you?
SHEPARD [watches an Alliance squad being assaulted by a number of Husks in the distance.]: No.
[Both Paragon and Renegade options lead to the same scene, a horde of Reaper ground forces start to come up the hill, Garrus blasts the heads off a few as they approach, Shepard tries to stand up, Liara forces him/her to sit down, turns and blasts the Reapers with a Singularity. After a moment or two of watching the combat, a shuttle, flanked by two gunships comes in close, the gunships blasting away at the encroaching ground forces before the shuttle lands, two EMTs climb out and ask where Shepard is, Liara points out his location and they load him into the shuttle, one distributing more medi-gel as he's loaded on, Garrus and Liara climbing in after.
EMT: Sir, if we try to take off now we'll be wide open, we need something to draw their fire.
[Go to cutscene 17 if the player saw the breath scene and managed to sit up enough to get their attention, or go to cutscene 16 if they did not.]
___________________________________________________________________
15 - Buried With Honors
[If Shepard died at any point here, then the scene cuts to here, Shepard's memorial service standing in the ruins of London, in front of the bombed out Big Ben, rubble mostly cleared away for the ceremony. Admiral Hackett, still looking worse for wear, scar still slashing across his face, it has yet to heal, standing in front of a podium, Anderson to his left, Vega, Kaiden (if he's alive) Cortez (if he's alive) Ashley (If she's alive) Privates Campbell and Westmoreland
(better known as "those two soldiers guarding the war room"), and Traynor (if she's alive) standing to his right, a casket with the N7 iconography in front of him. Everyone is visibly upset.]
[Sad piano music plays, no dialogue, Hackett says something, Vega, Vermire Survivor, Chakwas, everyone takes a turn at the podium, nothing is heard but the music, Liara is sitting in the crowd, crying, Garrus and Tali (if she lived) next to her, Javik is nowhere to be found, his seat, empty, the Prothean has disappeared. Grunt (if he survived) roars into the distance, Wrex and a horde of Krogan behind them. Joker just sits, staring distraught at the casket, before turning and sobbing into EDI's shoulder, his humor having abandoned him. EDI herself gently holds him, rubbing his back, careful not to cause any damage.The Geth (if they weren't wiped out of course), appear, all seeming out of place. The Quarians wail and tear at their suits, The Rachni queen watches through the eyes of the Asari from the second game, the Turian military, led by Primarch Victus give a 21 gun salute as Vega, VS, and all the servicemen from the Normandy load the casket into the grave. Camera tilts down to look into the grave, dirt is slowly shoveled on, covering the N7 symbol as the screen slowly fades to black. Go to cutscene 18.]
__________________________________________________________________
16 - Snatched From the Jaws of Victory
[This cutscene plays out identically to 6 with a few minor differences, Shepard does not manage to shift the rubble, only to make noise, forcing Liara and Garrus to dig him out.
They prop him up, allowing the same conversation as before . When the shuttles arrive, the cutscene below takes place]
[Reaper forces slowly make their way up the hill, bullets richoceting off the armor of the shuttles, Garrus and Liara climb off the shuttle to buy them time, several Alliance Marines joining them, a cutscene follows,
Garrus pops off a few shots, killing some Husks, Liara warps a Banshee's barrier, causing her to flinch.]
SHEPARD: Garrus, what the hell are you doing?
GARRUS[banging his fist against the side of the door, mimicking the soldier doing the same to a shuttle at the beginning of the game.]: Buying you time commander.
SHEPARD: Get back on here! That's an order!
GARRUS: Sorry Shepard, going to have to refuse that order. We're getting you out of here alive, one way or another.
[Shepard tries to gather the strength to tell them not to throw their lives away, but we only get to watch helplessly as Garrus' position is overrun by Husks, Liara is killed by a blast from a Ravager, and one of the two gunships escorting you gets shot down. Go to cutscene 17.]
________________________________________________________________
17 - A Hero's Welcome
[If you did NOT see cutscene 16, a Reaper collumn starts making their way in, but a number of ships from the fleet strafe them and the shuttle takes off with Shepard, Liara and Garrus on board.]
[Shepard is taken to an Alliance Field hospital, Anderson is there to greet them off the shuttle. If Liara and Garrus died, then he offers his condolences, especially if Liara was a LI, if not then the scene plays out like this;]
[Shuttle and Gunship/s touch down at a field hospital. Anderson walks up the the landing pad as Shepard is rushed out on a gurney. He motions for the EMTs to stop for a moment]
ANDERSON: You look good son.
SHEPARD [smiles weakly]: Liar.
ANDERSON [smiles back.]: Sometimes a little self-delusion is good for you. It's damn good to see you alive.
SHEPARD: You too sir, you helped alot.
ANDERSON [watches Shepard get hauled away by the EMTs]: I did?
[Garrus and Liara come up and greet Anderson as you're hauled away, no dialogue as you watch, an EMT looks down at you, you look through Shepard's eyes and watch as a breath mask is fitted over your mouth and nose, the EMT commenting about how this should help you sleep comfortably. You begin to black out.]
[Shepard begins to wake up, your vision swimming into focus, pan out to Shepard lying clean and bandaged in bed, it looks like Huerta Memorial. s/he's surrounded by flowers, gifts, a few "Get well Shepard" cards and you can see several of your squad talking to the doctors on the other side of the glass, you can't move at this point, but you can look around the room and read the cards/ look at the flowers, Shepard comments about each, some items appear based off of whom you've helped throughout the game, last two games, ect. Things like packages of display replicas of your N7 armor from Conrad Verner if he's alive, with his usual hero worship notes, a joke book from EDI and Joker, boxes of chocolates and flowers from Kaiden, a book of Tennyson poems from Ash, model shuttle from Cortez, a Haiku from Kasumi, stuffed Cannibal head from Grunt, a copy of Fornax, along with a note from Aria, things of that nature. After you've interacted with everything you can , your LI notices Shepard's awake, in this case, let's assume Ash.]
ASHLEY[pushes the doctor aside and opens the door, looks over, and smiles.]: Hey Skipper.
SHEPARD: Ash!
ASHLEY [smiles]: It's good to see you awake. [sits down on a bench next to your bed.]
SHEPARD [the realization of where he is setting in]: What's going on? Didn't something happen to the Citadel? Where's the Reapers?
ASHLEY: Woah, slow down Commander. It's ok, the front is lighyears away. For now.
SHEPARD: For now?
ASHLEY [sighs, not wanting to talk about the subject when you've just woken up from your coma.]: We've pushed the Reapers off of Earth. But we haven't won the war yet. But we have a chance now. Harbinger is still out there, but now we've got time to rebuild. And at least we've got you around to help.
SHEPARD [lies back, mulling it over.]: I'm just... so tired...
ASHLEY [smiles, leans over, kisses Shepard and gently pushes him back into his pillows]: "Rest now, brave soldier."
SHEPARD [smiles]: The soldier in question is dying in that poem you know.
ASHLEY [smiles]: You ass, it's the thought that counts.
[Fade to black. Go to cutscene 18]
______________________________________________________________________
18 - Pre-Credits
[Text crawl, changes based off of descisions, lets assume you saved the Krogan, made peace between Geth and Quarians]
In the year 2187 AD, soldiers of the Earth Systems Alliance fought a desperate war against an overwhelming enemy. Earth was left to burn as these machines, called Reapers by the galaxy at large spread like a cancer across the Milky Way. One soldier faced them. Brokering peace between forces considered unreconcileable,he forged a navy unlike any seen before and returned to take back his home. The war was not without it's sacrifices and his story has ended. Though the tide may have turned, with the enemy either dead or in retreat, fleeing back into Dark Space to lick their wounds, they remain implacable, patient and not without resources.
The war is not over.
[Stars appear as text fades, camera pans 180 degrees to face Harbinger, who lets out a metallic scream as his eyes flash.]
[If Shepard lived, then he says the following:]
HARBINGER: SHEPARD. YOU HAVE MERELY DELAYED THE INEVITABLE. WE SHALL RETURN, AND YOU SHALL NOT STOP US. YOUR CONTINUED EXISTENCE IS INMAETERIAL, YOU ARE NOT SUITED FOR ASCENSION.WE WILL FIND ANOTHER.
[If Shepard died, then Harbinger says this line instead:]
HARBINGER: WE HAVE BEEN STOPPED FOR NOW. YOU HAVE MERELY DELAYED THE INEVITABLE. WE SHALL RETURN, AND YOU SHALL BE DESTROYED. WE WILL FIND ANOTHER.
[ Harbinger leads the remainder of the Reaper Fleet into dark space to lick their wounds. Cue credits]
_____________________________________________________________________
19 - Post Credits
[The Child and the Stargazer appear again, still standing as they were before.]
CHILD: That was a good story.
STARGAZER: I'm glad you liked it. I'm very fond of it too.
CHILD: So... what happened after?
STARGAZER [laugh]: That's another story my sweet, and one not related to The Shepard.
CHILD: Well.. what happened to him? And his friends?
STARGAZER: Well...
[cut to text crawl ala Throne of Bhaal, blue background, Vigil playing in the background. Text crawl next to each character's picture, including all squad mates, Wrex, Aria, Joker/EDI, Grissom Academy, Earth, Cerberus, TIM ect.]
[Example;]
Clan Urdnot
Wrex went on to lead the Krogan people into a new golden age.
Despite the fears of a galxy wide war, the mighty Clan Urdnot, it's dominance sealed by the twin leadership of Urdnot Wrex and Urdnot Bakara managed to keep a firm grasp on the other clans, keeping bad sentiments low, and slowly building Tchanka into a superpower.
The council, weak spined sots that they are, are now afraid the Krogan may be bucking for membership.
Wrex's thoughts on the subject?
"It'll do those cowards well to have a real leader in their ranks."
MESSAGE FROM EA:
Thank you for enjoying Mass Effect 3. While Shepard's journey may be over, there are far more many adventures to be found in the Milky Way!
Adventures you can take part in, but, until then, that is, as they say, another story...
Modifié par Arian Dynas, 29 avril 2012 - 09:54 .
#46804
Posté 29 avril 2012 - 12:08
DJBare
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Before entering the section where Anderson is, let Shepard stand around, don't touch the controls, occasionally Shepard will clutch at his side, it does not happen with high frequency but it does happen.gunslinger_ruiz wrote...
The only time I saw Shepard definitivley clutching his/her side is after the TIM encounter. Before that his/her left arm appears limp as they move about. Although, it does look like the left arm is trying to clutch at the left side but falls short. I'll play through this again to be sure, but when I'm feeling more awake.
#46805
Posté 29 avril 2012 - 12:18
arc_gabriel_
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#1 fav: HACKETT [on radio]: ..pard, has anyone caught sight of Shepard?
#2 fav: [Shepard makes a face similar to the one he made about EDI's joke concerning oxygen levels and her absorption in a task.]
haha good one I actually like what you did here as this would of been a game I'd probably like far more than the actual game! XD
#2 fav: [Shepard makes a face similar to the one he made about EDI's joke concerning oxygen levels and her absorption in a task.]
haha good one I actually like what you did here as this would of been a game I'd probably like far more than the actual game! XD
#46806
Posté 29 avril 2012 - 12:24
Raistlin Majare 1992
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Arian Dynas:
Nice write up and is it safe to assume you got the Rachni part from my idea?
But as for the rest the only thing that bothered me is that the Crucible never actually activated or we get anything on what it does. Might be for the best in keeping the Crucible´s effect unkown, but i would personally prefer it was activated and the Reapers pull abck after suffering losses caused by the crucible effect.
I do agree that the Reapers should in some measure survive to allow further exploration of what they are in later games. They should not have been around for millions of years only to be wiped out to the last in a single battle.
Nice write up and is it safe to assume you got the Rachni part from my idea?
But as for the rest the only thing that bothered me is that the Crucible never actually activated or we get anything on what it does. Might be for the best in keeping the Crucible´s effect unkown, but i would personally prefer it was activated and the Reapers pull abck after suffering losses caused by the crucible effect.
I do agree that the Reapers should in some measure survive to allow further exploration of what they are in later games. They should not have been around for millions of years only to be wiped out to the last in a single battle.
#46807
Posté 29 avril 2012 - 12:27
Arian Dynas
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Raistlin Majare 1992 wrote...
Arian Dynas:
Nice write up and is it safe to assume you got the Rachni part from my idea?
But as for the rest the only thing that bothered me is that the Crucible never actually activated or we get anything on what it does. Might be for the best in keeping the Crucible´s effect unkown, but i would personally prefer it was activated and the Reapers pull abck after suffering losses caused by the crucible effect.
I do agree that the Reapers should in some measure survive to allow further exploration of what they are in later games. They should not have been around for millions of years only to be wiped out to the last in a single battle.
Yes, yes I did. And I liked it.
I did consider it, but to be entirely honest, why I didn't is quite simply because I have no idea myself what the damn thing does.
Agreed, hence why I let them live. They're far too good of a villian to just wipe out here. They deserve more exploration into their origins than a simple 5 minute cutscene can give them.
Anywho, it's 4 AM here, I am dead tired and have to shade a still life/ write a paper about Diogenes of Sinope tomorrow, so I am gonna get some sack time. Night folks.
Modifié par Arian Dynas, 29 avril 2012 - 12:28 .
#46808
Posté 29 avril 2012 - 12:30
Raistlin Majare 1992
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Arian Dynas wrote...
Raistlin Majare 1992 wrote...
Arian Dynas:
Nice write up and is it safe to assume you got the Rachni part from my idea?
But as for the rest the only thing that bothered me is that the Crucible never actually activated or we get anything on what it does. Might be for the best in keeping the Crucible´s effect unkown, but i would personally prefer it was activated and the Reapers pull abck after suffering losses caused by the crucible effect.
I do agree that the Reapers should in some measure survive to allow further exploration of what they are in later games. They should not have been around for millions of years only to be wiped out to the last in a single battle.
Yes, yes I did. And I liked it.
I did consider it, but to be entirely honest, why I didn't is quite simply because I have no idea myself what the damn thing does.
Agreed, hence why I let them live. They're far too good of a villian to just wipe out here. They deserve more exploration into their origins than a simple 5 minute cutscene can give them.
Anywho, it's 4 AM here, I am dead tired and have to shade a still life/ write a paper about Diogenes of Sinope tomorrow, so I am gonna get some sack time. Night folks.
Understandable, the Crucible effect is really an X in this entire equation. Have a few ideas myself which I have presented, but nothing solid.
#46809
Posté 29 avril 2012 - 12:34
zyntifox
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I think there is another way for Bioware to fix the ending besides IT, just by changing the dialogue with the Godchild, Monty Python style!
Godchild: What is your name?
Shepard: Shepard
Godchild: What is your quest?
Shepard: To save the galaxy from the reapers
Godchild: What... is your favourite color?
Shepard: Blue.... no reeeeeeeeeeeed....
Then queue the blue explosion ending.
Godchild: What is your name?
Shepard: Shepard
Godchild: What is your quest?
Shepard: To save the galaxy from the reapers
Godchild: What... is your favourite color?
Shepard: Blue.... no reeeeeeeeeeeed....
Then queue the blue explosion ending.
#46810
Posté 29 avril 2012 - 12:35
Arian Dynas
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Cstaf wrote...
I think there is another way for Bioware to fix the ending besides IT, just by changing the dialogue with the Godchild, Monty Python style!
Godchild: What is your name?
Shepard: Shepard
Godchild: What is your quest?
Shepard: To save the galaxy from the reapers
Godchild: What... is your favourite color?
Shepard: Blue.... no reeeeeeeeeeeed....
Then queue the blue explosion ending.
,,,
uh... huh... ooookayyy...
#46811
Posté 29 avril 2012 - 12:39
DirtyPhoenix
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Guys, has anyone come up with a logical explanation as to why in the endings, Shepard is limping, but as soon as she gets to the business end she stands straight (or start running) as if all the injuries suddenly disappeared? The transition from limping to marathon run is just too abrupt to believe they did that to make the ending look good. If they wanted to set up an epic ending they could have done that without magic-healing shepard's injuries.
#46812
Posté 29 avril 2012 - 12:41
Rifneno
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Arian Dynas wrote...
Seconded. I hated that fight. It was pure hell.
Seriously. Hardest fight in the game IMO. Only harder fight in the series for me is the cluster**** in the last area of Horizon on ME2. I hate scions so much it hurts.
Arian Dynas wrote...
-snip stuff about Shepard's damaged armor in the indoctrination or incredibly bad ending sequence-
BTW, I noticed that the debug option for the armor settings lets you use the damaged armor anytime. Here's a couple screenshots in case anyone's ever wanted a clearer look for whatever reason.
Pretty crappy low resolution stuff, but not much can be done about that. As you can see in the second shot, there is a break-through in the shoulder where the marauder shot her. But it looks more like a wear-through hole than a gunshot. There's another hole in the stomach area that does look more like a gunshot. But again, it's too low resolution to be definitive about anything. There's also a much larger one in the thigh. Not sure on that. She's cleared bloodied up like she just got home from a date with Steve Austin (I'm sorry, I can't help myself) but it generally looks very superficial. Not enough to cause pooling around the stomach for some reason and then passing out. But, once again, resolution sucks too much to call it evidence.
Rosewind wrote...
pirate1802 wrote...
Too bad I sound like someone half my age..
Sound like a 10 year old lol?
Look on the bright side. At least you don't sound like Mike Tyson. That douche's voice isn't even low enough to voice a Disney princess.
#46813
Posté 29 avril 2012 - 12:50
Ch1m3Ra
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Thank god I wasn't drinking when I read the part where Bailey and the Reapers selling cookies. Ha. Love how you incorporated humor. Very nice improvement over your old script. I disagree with some points, but I won't be able to write that well anyway.
#46814
Posté 29 avril 2012 - 12:53
Rosewind
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Oh yeah forgot about Bailey you can add him to my list of sexy man voices lol
#46815
Posté 29 avril 2012 - 01:00
estebanus
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You know Arian, your story is really well-written, and it just gave me a thought.
In your story, the reapers never really die, they are routed, meaning the war isn't over. This alludes to a possible Mass Effect 4, or a full-blown expansion pack, like Dragon Age: awakening was.
My suggestion would be, that in the expansion pack (Or mass Effect 4) you could still choose to be Shepard.
I mean. in the character creation screen, you could either choose to make a new character, like an asari, Turian, or human fot that matter, or you could import your own Shepard and continue playing with him/her and finish the war!
What do you think?
Anyway, extremely well-written script, and thank you for making it!
In your story, the reapers never really die, they are routed, meaning the war isn't over. This alludes to a possible Mass Effect 4, or a full-blown expansion pack, like Dragon Age: awakening was.
My suggestion would be, that in the expansion pack (Or mass Effect 4) you could still choose to be Shepard.
I mean. in the character creation screen, you could either choose to make a new character, like an asari, Turian, or human fot that matter, or you could import your own Shepard and continue playing with him/her and finish the war!
What do you think?
Anyway, extremely well-written script, and thank you for making it!
#46816
Posté 29 avril 2012 - 01:02
MaximizedAction
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Rosewind wrote...
Oh yeah forgot about Bailey you can add him to my list of sexy man voices lol
Michael Hogan, or Colonel Tigh as probably most of us know him - at least I can't help myself wondering why Bioware didn't make Baley wear an eyepatch after the Citadel attack.
Modifié par MaximizedAction, 29 avril 2012 - 01:02 .
#46817
Posté 29 avril 2012 - 01:06
DirtyPhoenix
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Why does femshep's hands look terribly thin in that burned armour? I believe body proportions remain the same in all outfits but it only looks so thin in this dress particularly.
#46818
Posté 29 avril 2012 - 01:07
Big G13
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@Arian Dynas - BRILLIANT! I don't like MP having an affect on SP, but, I would play MP just to get my EMS high enough to make sure I got a stuffed Cannibal head from Grunt.
#46819
Posté 29 avril 2012 - 01:10
PSUHammer
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Arian Dynas wrote...
Cstaf wrote...
I think there is another way for Bioware to fix the ending besides IT, just by changing the dialogue with the Godchild, Monty Python style!
Godchild: What is your name?
Shepard: Shepard
Godchild: What is your quest?
Shepard: To save the galaxy from the reapers
Godchild: What... is your favourite color?
Shepard: Blue.... no reeeeeeeeeeeed....
Then queue the blue explosion ending.
,,,
uh... huh... ooookayyy...
Clearly you missed the Holy Grail reference.
#46820
Posté 29 avril 2012 - 01:14
NeoDobby
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Arian Dynas wrote...
A brand new re-write
Nice! I hope my expectations for the EC-Endings are not too high now... I didn't want to read this, but couldn't resist. A few comments though:
Arian Dynas wrote...
[If your Citadel defense asset was NOT high enough, Bailey lets the grenade go off, killing the Banshee and shredding most of his own body in the process, we can hear Hackett on Bailey's radio shouting; "Bailey! Commander!" as Bailey crawls to the panel, opens the arms, and expires,]
BAILEY [muttered]: I did get to see it again...
The Banshee dies but Bailey survives? Bit of a stretch, but once is ok.
Arian Dynas wrote...
[If your Citadel Defense Asset was insultingly low, like, less than 10 kind of low, then Bailey dies the moment his grenade explodes and the Reapers win, standard game over, you suck as a player, do not pass go, do not collect $200.]
You mean "standard game over" as in "Critical Mission Failure", reload last save? I think that doesn't work here. The Player basically has to replay a major part of the game to "retry", so he could at least get a negative epilogue and credits with a message in the end: "That could have gone better... (Hint: The Citadel was too weak)" or something. I'm sure you'd come up with something better for that than I. Basically to show the player "These are the consequence of your decisions".
As for the reapers: I think it would be better if they were almost completely wiped out instead of just fleeing. I'm not saying there couldn't be the odd rogue reaper in a future game, but I'd say the reaper story should be finished along with Shepard's. And as you said earlier, there's enough potential for problems and conflicts in sequels.
Modifié par NeoDobby, 29 avril 2012 - 01:15 .
#46821
Posté 29 avril 2012 - 01:21
DirtyPhoenix
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pirate1802 wrote...
Guys, has anyone come up with a logical explanation as to why in the endings, Shepard is limping, but as soon as she gets to the business end she stands straight (or start running) as if all the injuries suddenly disappeared? The transition from limping to marathon run is just too abrupt to believe they did that to make the ending look good. If they wanted to set up an epic ending they could have done that without magic-healing shepard's injuries.
Bump :|
#46822
Posté 29 avril 2012 - 01:28
Rosewind
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MaximizedAction wrote...
Rosewind wrote...
Oh yeah forgot about Bailey you can add him to my list of sexy man voices lol
Michael Hogan, or Colonel Tigh as probably most of us know him - at least I can't help myself wondering why Bioware didn't make Baley wear an eyepatch after the Citadel attack.
Oh is that why i been seeing fanart with him with an eyepatch that was confusing me lol.
Edit:I just googled that actor and now i know who he is lol
Modifié par Rosewind, 29 avril 2012 - 01:31 .
#46823
Posté 29 avril 2012 - 01:29
Rifneno
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pirate1802 wrote...
pirate1802 wrote...
Guys, has anyone come up with a logical explanation as to why in the endings, Shepard is limping, but as soon as she gets to the business end she stands straight (or start running) as if all the injuries suddenly disappeared? The transition from limping to marathon run is just too abrupt to believe they did that to make the ending look good. If they wanted to set up an epic ending they could have done that without magic-healing shepard's injuries.
Bump :|
Ahh, I see what you're getting at. You're right, this game needed way more Legion.
#46824
Posté 29 avril 2012 - 01:32
NeoDobby
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pirate1802 wrote...
Guys, has anyone come up with a logical explanation as to why in the endings, Shepard is limping, but as soon as she gets to the business end she stands straight (or start running) as if all the injuries suddenly disappeared? The transition from limping to marathon run is just too abrupt to believe they did that to make the ending look good. If they wanted to set up an epic ending they could have done that without magic-healing shepard's injuries.
I think this happens in the Synthesis and Destroy endings, right? In Control, s/he pretty much limps all the time, and then s/he touches those handles and... you, you know what happens.
The Destroy ending is pretty easy to explain with the IT: As soon as enough shots hit to cause an explosion, the Indoctrination stops working and his mind is free again. The timing there is very telling, I think.
I don't know about Synthesis though ...
Modifié par NeoDobby, 29 avril 2012 - 01:33 .
#46825
Posté 29 avril 2012 - 01:33
Rosewind
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Rifneno wrote...
pirate1802 wrote...
pirate1802 wrote...
Guys, has anyone come up with a logical explanation as to why in the endings, Shepard is limping, but as soon as she gets to the business end she stands straight (or start running) as if all the injuries suddenly disappeared? The transition from limping to marathon run is just too abrupt to believe they did that to make the ending look good. If they wanted to set up an epic ending they could have done that without magic-healing shepard's injuries.
Bump :|
Ahh, I see what you're getting at. You're right, this game needed way more Legion.
Needs way more Grunt and Wrex imo that laugh Grunt dose makes me giddy I miss my Krogan puppy
