34 réponses à ce sujet

[Arian Dynas]

Ok, due to the sheer size of this thing, and the lack of space, I have broken the thing into two posts. See the bottom of the page.

Modifié par Arian Dynas, 06 juillet 2012 - 03:54 .

[lj437]

After shepard takes the breath, why not get to play as your LI and search for him/her in the rubble. You have to search and dig moving things out of the way and looking into different holes and building. I feel like this would be more emotional and personal.

[Arian Dynas]

It's a possibility, but originally this script was written to prove a point that the ending could play out entirely in cutscenes, but depending on how people feel about it, I may write that in.

[Dwailing]

Arian, you already know I love this, but I figure I should post my support for this piece. I really hope BW does something similar to this if they don't add any gameplay in the EC.

[Arian Dynas]

Thanks for the support.

[JasonSic]

lj437 wrote...

After shepard takes the breath, why not get to play as your LI and search for him/her in the rubble. You have to search and dig moving things out of the way and looking into different holes and building. I feel like this would be more emotional and personal.

Could be possible. It's not like we haven't done something similar before. We controlled Joker in ME2.

[Steelcan]

Does this hypothetical ending take place after the Star Child's supposed "conversation" with Shepard? I realize the IT says it never happens but in the context of this thread did the conversation happen?

Also anyone else feel like the crucible was a terrible idea. I can see how the reapers would be seen as
invincible but I would rather fight them conventionally then use alien blueprints that we just magically found.

[Arian Dynas]

Steelcan wrote...

Does this hypothetical ending take place after the Star Child's supposed "conversation" with Shepard? I realize the IT says it never happens but in the context of this thread did the conversation happen?

Also anyone else feel like the crucible was a terrible idea. I can see how the reapers would be seen as
invincible but I would rather fight them conventionally then use alien blueprints that we just magically found.

It starts when the after the choice is made.

As for the Crucible... well, revelation will come in my next re-write, which I will work on... the next time I get bored and have enough energy from fighting off the depressions to do so.

[Arian Dynas]

Original post updated. I have finished what I think will be the last re-write before the EC comes out.

And in writing this, I realized a few things. Creating subtle little "nod-nod wink wink" hints and symbolism is alot easier to write in than people think it is.

[lex0r11]

I haven't come up with another way to show my support yet, but know this:



You got it.

[Arian Dynas]

Jaysus.

Hmm. Vici vi Veri universum vivus?

By the power of truth, I while living, have conquered the universe?

[lex0r11]

Oh. Hope I didn't confuse with that one, just wanted to stamp a seal of approval.

Ever read Faust by Goethe?

Truth will right the wrongs of the ME3 ending. ;D

[Arian Dynas]

Well Faust isn't the only thing the phrase shows up in. Good choice though. I'm personally amazed I knew enough Latin to understand it.

[Rosewind]

I am Rose Von Wind and this is my favourite script on the citadel....

[dirtdiver32318]

This is tattoo worthy lol

lex0r11 wrote...

I haven't come up with another way to show my support yet, but know this:



You got it.

[paxxton]

lex0r11 wrote...

I haven't come up with another way to show my support yet, but know this:



You got it.

Wow. That's cool. You make those pics yourself?

Modifié par paxxton, 04 juin 2012 - 09:03 .

[estebanus]

Snake salutes you!

As does Shepard!

[Arian Dynas]

Your snake is saluting? Ick.... too much info

[lex0r11]

paxxton wrote...

[...]

Wow. That's cool. You make those pics yourself?

No, this one is not my work.
I only make about half of the pictures I'm posting around here.

[Arian Dynas]

Original post updated.

Before anyone says anything, I know the EC has come out, but one way or another, the ending remains strange and out of place, and fails to answer many questions. I am now confident something like this here is no longer the direction things will go, but seeing as one way or another, with the Breath Scene, the game clearly ends of a cliffhanger.

One way or another, enjoy.

[Arian Dynas]

Ok I'll get right into the good stuff, savvy?

Originally posted in the IDT thread, and I am a firm beleiver in IDT for a number of reasons I won't go into here, so don't argue with me on the subject, there are other places for that, and don't spam, flame or otherwise act like a immature jerkoff to anyone in this thread, capisce?

[quote]Arian Dynas wrote...
Another brand new re-write, just for you people.
Here's with all my love to you guys. Credit to Rastlin, Salient Archer, Rifneno and BatmanTurian for ideas. Also note, the Reaper Heart and Brain are mentioned several times, depending on which you have, just note that any dialogue or scenes relating to them, any differences are primarily cosmetic.

[The script begins when Shepard makes his choice. Where normally we would see the scenes where the Crucible charges up and fires, instead we see the 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 plays 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 Marauders, 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 Marauder 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 – His Terrible Swift Sword

[Camera zooms out from Shepard, showing all of London under attack, then the UK burning, then the Earth burning, then the battle between Sword and the Reaper Fleet. If your EMS is high, the battle is going well, with several Reapers adrift and slowly crashing. If not, then Sword is barely holding off the Reapers, with a goodly sized chunk crashing and being destroyed. Pan to Reapers and several dreadnoughts trading shots, cut to Hackett]

HACKETT: Admiral Todoh, we’re getting hammered on our left flank, I need someone to do something about that.

ALLIANCE ADMIRAL: Sir, I barely can hold the enemy where I am now, they’re trying to break our battle line.

[What Hackett says changes here, depending on what EMS and War Assets you have.]

HACKETT: I’ll send in re-enforcement, the Geth/Migrant Fleet/ Salarians/ Elcor are still fresh, I’ll pull them from the rear and have them sent in to act as support, we can’t afford to let the enemy through, Shield and the Crucible haven’t arrived yet./ We don’t have enough men to support you Admiral, you’ll just have to make do.

ALLIANCE ADMIRAL: Yes sir.

SHIP VI: Admiral Hackett needed in the war-room, Hackett to war-room.

HACKETT: *sigh* What now?

[Hackett hotfoots it to the war-room, the doors open to admit him, several Alliance soldiers are moving around, collating combat data, making communiques, and updating the strategic display.]

HACKETT: What’s the situation?

ALLIANCE OFFICER: Admiral, Shield Fleet Is being held up, there’s apparently a problem with the Crucible.

HACKETT: Did they give details?

AO: No sir, they just said they were being held up before the feed went all… weird.

HACKETT: Is that a technical term, officer?

AO: Sir, no sir.

HACKETT: At ease. See if you can get another feed up and running, we need to keep updated on the situation with Shield.

AO: Yes sir.

[A second Alliance Officer comes running up to Hackett as quickly as she can, stopping abruptly in front of him and holding herself up by her knees as she catches her breath.]

ALLIANCE OFFICER 2: Sir. *gasp* We’ve been trying to get the Citadel *gasp* on QEC, see if we can get in contact with any survivors, we *gasp* think we’ve got something, we’re getting a response from inside

HACKETT: I’ll get right to the Comms room then.

AO2: Sir, aren’t you needed here?

HACKETT: If we don’t get those arms open, this fight won’t matter. With Hammer out of contact, this could be our only chance.

[Hackett runs off, cut to him entering a QEC which is projecting a blurry, fragmented image.]
________________________________________________________

2 - 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 Marauder 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 civilians 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 situation?

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 Civilians 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 civilians, one of whom is curled up in a fetal position if she survived, rocking back and forth, upon closer examination, it’s Kelly Chambers, Bailey looks at her and shakes his head sadly before 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 situation there?

BAILEY: Grim. We've managed to save the council, as well as some civilians, 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 Alliance 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 situation 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 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 civilians 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 addresses him as either Councilor, or as Captain, we'll assume councilor here.]

BAILEY: Councilor Anderson!

ANDERSON: It's admiral now, just admiral.

[Anderson stretches 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 situation? How many of you are left?

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, we're on our own from here on in.

ANDERSON[A number of Hammer soldiers walking up to flank 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 3.]
_____________________________________________________________

3 – It’s a Trap!

[Cut back to Hackett, stepping back from the QEC, having finished briefing the Council.]

HACKETT: It’s in Bailey’s hands now…

ALLIANCE OFFICER: Admiral Hackett!

[Cut to an Alliance Officer rushing into the Comms Room, holding a datapad.]

ALLIANCE OFFICER: Admiral, we’ve gotten word from Shield, they’re here.

HACKETT: Damn it! They’re too early, the arms are still closed.

ALLIANCE OFFICER: They’re aware of that sir, but they needed to inform you about a situation.

HACKETT: What’s going on at their end?

ALLIANCE OFFICER [Handing Hackett the datapad, walking alongside him into the war-room, stopping in front of the strategic display]: They say it’s an issue with the Crucible sir. The Reaper Brain/Heart that we integrated is activating without our commands, and the Crucible team has been cut off from operational control, we can’t get into the computers.

HACKETT: Damn it! I knew it was a bad idea putting that thing in, get me the Crucible team on vidcomm, I want an update from the man in charge.

[Go to 4.]
_________________________________________________________

4 - 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 Marauder comes whirling 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 Marauder and perforates its 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.]

ANDERSON: Commander, we have to split our force, half will cover your back, the other half goes up.

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 Presidium 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 separating Marauders 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 its 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, Shield appears through the Charon Relay, pushing forward, knocking Destroyers aside as several Dreadnoughts gun down a few Sovereign class ships. Though for some reason, the Reapers don’t seem to be putting up much resistance, and in fact have pulled their fleet away from the Citadel, letting the Allied forces surround it, circling it with the majority of both Shield and Sword. Zoom in on the Crucible coming into dock with the Citadel, attaching to the underside. Go to 5.]
_____________________________________________________________

5 – Beyond Our Control

[Cut to Anderson, accompanied by the CDF and the remains of Hammer as they attempt to hold the base of Citadel tower, they’re slowly being ground to pieces by sheer weight of numbers.]

ANDERSON: Corporal! Throw me that box of grenades!

ALLIANCE MARINE[pitching a box of grenades to him and lining up a shot]: Yes sir!

ANDERSON[tossing a grenade over the barricade, hastily constructed from a piece of landscaping]: We can’t hold out much longer, we’ve got to hope Bailey can-

[The arms open at that moment, flooding the previously dark Presidium, which was illuminated only by fires and red warning lights, with natural sunlight.]

ANDERSON[to himself]: Perfect timing.

ALLIANCE MARINE: Admiral! We’re getting a message from Alliance command!

ANDERSON[laying down a suppressive fire with his assault rifle]: Can it wait? Tell Hackett this isn’t a good time.

ALLIANCE MARINE: Sorry sir, no! He says it’s a problem with the Crucible!

ANDERSON: Damn it… Patch him through.

[Anderson crawls over, staying in cover as the Marine patches Hackett through by radio.]

HACKETT[on radio]: A-a-a-a-admiral, g-ggggggOOD t-t-tto see you alive and well.

ANDERSON[flinching from an explosion far off to his left]: That may be an overstatement Admiral. What’s the situation with the Crucible?

HACKETT: It’s not firing, and according to our tech experts, it’s not going to.

ANDERSON: What?

HACKETT: According to the Crucible engineers, something we should have seen coming happened. The Crucible won’t work. It was never intended to. I've been informed that, now with the Crucible attached to the Citadel, we can get a clear idea of what it was designed for. It's not a superweapon.

ANDERSON: What do you mean?

HACKETT: Admiral, you're aware that the Citadel is a gigantic mass relay the Reapers intended to use to start off their invasion?

ANDERSON: Of course, I was there for Shepard's debreifing after the Citadel attack.

HACKETT: We had been surprised to find this out, seeing as there was nothing to indicate there was a Mass Relay of any kind. The major indicator was the complete lack of a power source for the relay system itself.

ANDERSON: Which the Crucible provides.

HACKETT: Exactly. As our engineers understand it, the Crucible was never meant to fall into our hands, but the Reapers never bothered to stop us since there was nothing to gain.

ANDERSON: Then... what are our options?

HACKETT: The situation looks bad, but I've been informed we have a plan. It's a long shot, but it might work. According to the Crucible team, we may be able to disable one of the safety protocols built into the Citadel Relay, which means they can force it to act like a short range relay, turning it into a massive Mass Accelerator.

ANDERSON: Admiral, that's insane.

HACKETT: It's our best chance David. Thankfully, we have something the Reapers didn't expect us to get our hands on.

ANDERSON: “Something they didn’t expect us to get our hands on”?

HACKETT: A Reaper’s “Heart”/”Brain”. Just enough to deactivate one of the requirements in the safety protocols.

ANDERSON:
Hackett, have you gone mad?

HACKETT: At the time we figured we could use it to boost efficiency. The Crucible team says it should be sufficient for what we need, but right now unless we can unhook it… it’s sending out a massive indoctrination signal. The Reapers have us right where they want us. If we leave, we lose our shot to use the Crucible, we lose the war, we stay where we are...

ANDERSON: We lose the war…

HACKETT[nods grimly]: The Crucible team informs me that unless we can re-wire the Reaper Heart/ Brain, the Crucible will keep pumping out that signal, taking us with it. You’re our only hope David, you and Hammer. No one else is close enough.

ANDERSON: Looks like we don’t have much choice then. Where do we need to go?

HACKETT: I’ll have the command post download the data you'll need into your omni-tool. Good luck. Hackett out.

[Anderson turns to Coates, camera pans out, we can see an Alliance soldier shouting to the rest of Hammer to pull out, leaving any remaining C-Sec who haven’t made their way downstairs (Bailey, badly wounded, among the number who made it down already, if he survived.) to their fate, Anderson is crouched down behind some cover, contemplating something on his omni-tool, planning out their way onto the Crucible, seeing how they can cut power to the Reaper core, we zoom in on his tool, which shows a series of Keeper tunnels that lead to the areas below the Citadel Tower, right where the Crucible hooks in. Short scene, pans out as the strike team makes a fighting withdrawal from their position, the left behind C-Sec acting as a rearguard and distraction, causing a massive explosion with a detonated booby trap as Bailey watches, pained by the scene, Anderson, flanked by Coates leading them into the dark unknowns of the Keeper tunnels. Go to 6.]
______________________________________________________________

6 – The Belly of the Whale

[Pan to the outside of the Citadel to see the Crucible attached. Harbinger watches, his yellow eyes glowing. If he could seem smug or satisfied, he would right now, as Shepard is slowly succumbing to his will, and soon the entire Allied fleet will as well, for, while they may have a method of firing the Crucible, they no longer have the will, for he can tell, by happy accident, they integrated the one part that could make the Crucible work… and simultaneously doom them all. Harbinger’s eyes flash as he stretches out his mind through the Crucible to begin the indoctrination of the fleet. We see several servicemen from each fleet collapse, some clutching their heads in pain, some simply grabbing their pistols and blowing their own brains out, others scrabbling for their control panels, as though reaching them will give them back control of themselves. Go to 7.]
_______________________________________________________________

7 - Assayed In the Heat of the Crucible

[Cut back to Shepard, still crawling on the ground toward the beam, Harbinger looking down, Husks and Marauders still fighting off the remnants of Hammer Team, lead at the forefront by any old squadmates and friends you saw before, Kirrahe gunning down Husks, Jack and her kids blasting apart columns of Marauders, Grunt crashing through enemy lines, leading Aralakh company to glory and death, Wrex/Wreav bringing down a Krogan charge, 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 view, 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 receiving part of the Reaper Beam, causing it to break and short, hanging down low. Electricity 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 8.

If you did NOT save the Rachni queen in ME1, but you did manage to save Eve and chose either Synthesis or Control, go to 9.

if you chose Synthesis and did NOT save either Eve or the Rachni queen, go to 10.

If you chose Control and did NOT save either Eve or the Rachni queen, go to 11.

If you chose Reject and had an EMS of less than 3000, go to 12.

If you chose Reject and had an EMS of more than 3000, go to 13.

If you chose Destroy, go to 14.
_______________________________________________________

8 - 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 14.]
_____________________________________________________

9 - 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 15.]
______________________________________________________

10 - 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 Marauder 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 unconsciousness. Go to 15.]
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11 - A Blaze of Glory

[Shepard slowly crawls to the "control" panel, grasping the cables when he comes close, electricity 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 15.]
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12 - A Fight Still to Win

[Shepard stands up, tall, bleeding mostly stemmed and strides confidently toward a large piece of Reaper equipment situated next to the beam receiver, 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 contingent of Reaper forces bound for the inside of the Citadel being left stranded where they stand as an errant Mass Accelerator shot lands in the middle of the enemy column, 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 15.]
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13 - Feeble Convictions

[Shepard struggles to stand and trips, landing on the hard ground, muttering under his breath the same speech he gave the starchild, but his voice is weak, like he's lost all energy.Fade slowly to black. His eyes snap open only to see Harbinger standing over him. Harbinger raises a tentacle, cut to black, scream of pain,the sound of Harbinger's tentacle hitting the ground. Go to 15.]
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14 - Not Just a River in Eygpt

[Shepard struggles to stand, eventually pulling himself into a standng position, giving his speech to the starchild the whole while, triumphant music playing. Shepard looks up, Harbinger in the skies above slowly begins to touch down and lets out a Reaper Horn.]

HARBINGER: SO BE IT!

[Shepard snaps to attention, his body twitches as though electricity is shooting through it and he collapses, crawling along the ground to a Mako he sees nearby. Harbinger begins blasting at the remains of Hammer, enraged by Shepard's rejection, for while he has failed to break free of the haze of indoctrination, the Commander has refused to give in. We see Shepard climbing into a partially ruined Mako, pulling out the dead tank driver and tossing him aside, climbing in and turning over the engine after several tries, muttering to himself the whole while about how he must reach the Conduit and stop Saren. He looks through the broken windshield and sees Harbinger standing in front of the Beam, the whole scene flashes and for a split second, we see the Conduit from ME1 in place of Harbinger, London suddenly morphing into Illos before Shepard begins driving the Mako forward, gaining speed, going faster and faster, Shepard lets out an animal scream of fury just as Harbinger turns to address this new threat, powering up a beam to blast Shepard to hell. At about that same moment, the scene slows down and Shepard swerves the Mako, running over a ramp, shooting into the air and crashing into Harbinger at high speed, the Mako explodes and Harbinger lets out a metallic scream collapsing backward, knocked over by the explosion as a stray shot from above comes screaming down through the atmosphere and finishing him off in a massive conflagration as the soldiers of Hammer start to cheer. Go to 15]
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15 – The Dogs of Hades

[Camera zooms in to an Alliance Marine charges forward, drops to one knee and signals with his hand an all clear. The rest of the Hammer striketeam comes up behind him, accompanied by the remains of C-Sec and the CDF. The place seems devoid of Keepers, as though they all made a disappearing act. Or they’re otherwise occupied.]

ANDERSON: We’re coming up on the Crucible hook up. According to the plans we got from Alliance Command, there should be a access shaft that will take us straight to the core.

COATES: Sir, are you sure about this? We’re walking right into the enemy’s hands.

ANDERSON: Major, if we don’t walk “right into the enemy’s hands” we won’t be walking away at all.

COATES: But sir, this is suicidal. I’ve followed you this long because with you I figured there was a chance, but there is no way we can help. Let’s just go home.

ANDERSON: Major, what’s gotten into…

[An Alliance marine in front of then raises his fist in a gesture and the entire team comes to a halt.]

CERBERUS TROOPER: Sir, according to the Crucible plans; we should be nearing the access shaft.

THE ILLUSIVE MAN: Good. It was kind of Shepard to pave our way here. I’ll have to remember to thank Admiral Hackett for taking the trouble to complete the Crucible for us.

[Anderson looks down at the Illusive Man, pan into TIM’s face to see it just as he was when we saw him on Chronos Station, whole and entirely human, his mouth curled in distaste. He signals the men of Hammer to surround the Cerberus squad and ambush them.]

THE ILLUSIVE MAN: There’s no need to hide Admiral. We can discuss this civilly.

[The whole of Hammer stands up, Coates and Anderson with their weapons trained on TIM, the rest of the team pointing at the Cerberus squad, with the Cerberus troops pointing back.]

ANDERSON: The Illusive Man…

THE ILLUSIVE MAN: In the flesh. I won’t deny I’m not surprised to see you here. It was very accommodating of you to open the arms for us however.

ANDERSON: What do you want with the Crucible?

THE ILLUSIVE MAN: I don’t need to explain my motives to you. Fire!

[The keeper tunnels burst into a raging firefight, Cerberus troops against Alliance Marines, in the confusion, TIM disappears, Coates and Anderson look around frantically for him, before Coates spies an open hatch, if Bailey survived, Anderson signals to him to keep the Cerberus striketeam busy, Bailey acknowledges and Coates and Anderson climb up the hatch.]

[Cut to Coates and Anderson climbing out the hatch, TIM is nowhere to be seen Coates is covering the admiral as he approaches a control panel, right in front of the Reaper Heart/Brain, suddenly, shots ring out, Anderson dives for cover as TIM aims down at him from a gangway above, Anderson lines up a shot from his vantage point, ricocheting off the wall and TIM dives for cover.]

THE ILLUSIVE MAN: So Self-righteous, Admiral. Come so far and yet you understand so little.

ANDERSON[Lining up a shot at a pipe behind TIM]: I don’t have to understand them. I just need to kill them!

THE ILLUSIVE MAN: Really? I’ve good reason to be firm in my convictions, Admiral.

[TIM stands up, gun leveled at Anderson]

THE ILLUSIVE MAN: How about you?

[TIM fires the gun, hitting Anderson in the shoulder, Anderson fires simultaneously, hitting the pipe and causing an explosion. We see both men hitting the ground and hear a scream of pain. Anderson sits up, a length of metal frame puncturing his outer thigh, TIM crawls out looking worse for wear, his suit shredded and torn, his body and face covered with cuts and scrapes and a few minor burns. A few fires have started; some cables are sparking electricity,]

ANDERSON[trying to stand himself up]: We don’t have time for this…

THE ILLUSIVE MAN: I think we have nothing but time.

[TIM dives forward, grappling with Anderson and forcing him to drop his gun.]

ANDERSON: What in the Hell are you doing?

THE ILLUSIVE MAN: I don’t need to win, just stop you. I have more men, and only need to wait for them to arrive.

ANDERSON: Over my dead body.

[With one last burst of strength Anderson pushes TIM off him, standing up slowly before tackling him and throwing him against a railing. TIM tries to fight back, rolling to one side but Anderson, despite his wounds, is still quick as he grabs TIM and pushes him over the railing, grabbing his legs and lifting him over, we hear TIM scream and land with a crack, camera pans down to see TIM’s lifeless body sprawled out on the decks below. Anderson collapses against the railing.]

[Coates walks in suddenly, with next to no warning at all. He looks rough, his armor shredded his face covered in burns and scrapes, yet they all look off for some reason, and then it comes to you, none of them, even the ones that should be mortal, are bleeding, and the Major is walking tall. When he speaks his voice sounds strange, like Coates’ voice slightly dubbed over with a deeper, lower registering one. A familiar and disturbing voice.]

COATES: Admiral! Sir!

ANDERSON: Major!

COATES: Sir, the men, they’re all dead. You led us here! You led us to our deaths!

ANDERSON[weakly]: What? Major, what happened?

COATES[drawing his pistol and lining it up with Anderson’s head]: Give up admiral We’ve lost. And it’s your fault.
[Pan in to see the pistol lining up with Anderson’s temple as he lies collapsed against the railing.]

COATES: Goodbye Admiral.

[Admiral Anderson looks pained and betrayed for a moment, while an image of Shepard being shot by Harbinger is superimposed over the close-up of Anderson’s face. Anderson closes his eyes as we hear whispering underneath the sad music. Then we see Shepard again, depending on his choice, in one of the scenes described in sections 9-14, either being electrocuted, pulled into the beam, committing suicide, blowing apart the Conduit or killing Harbinger. Anderson’s eyes snap open and triumphant music begins to play as he uses the bar to climb up, pushing Coates aside and shuffling forward, pan around to a pair of cables set into the ceiling and floor, crossed over eachother in an x pattern. Anderson begins to shuffle towards it, then limp, gaining speed, Coates spins around and fires several shots at Anderson, which ricochet off the floor and walls, Anderson is nearly running now, as best as his punctured thigh will allow, as we watch him running toward the cables we see images of Shepard, smiling and whole, flashbacks from Shepard’s trial playing superimposed over the scene, Anderson dives forward and grabs the cables, ripping them from their moorings, he screams in pain, electricity arching over his body, we see him grabbing one and plugging it in, then turning to the other and plugging it in, before collapsing as we hear the Crucible charging up.]

[Camera pans in on Anderson’s face, which is covered in electrical burns, we see his eyebrows twitch as he is assaulted by images. We see flashbacks of every time we saw Coates, yet something’s different, in every one of those scenes he’s missing. If he shot an enemy, we just see it twisting and dropping for no apparent reason or a generic Alliance Marine was responsible. He’s no longer standing beside Anderson as they lead hammer into the Keeper Tunnels, instead being nowhere to be seen. In the scene we just saw, Coates never approached Anderson, or leveled a gun at his head, in fact he was absent entirely, Anderson just seemed to give up for a moment, then charge forward to the cables with no explanation. We see one last shot, the bottom of the beam this time, the twisted and broken form of the real Major Coates, lying dead at the base of the Hades Cannon, briefly we see Shepard running as fast as he and his squad can for the shuttle, just as Coates is shot through the forehead by a Reaper soldier, falling from the shuttle to the ground below. He never even made it to the forward base.]

[Cut to the outside of the Crucible, we see the Citadel opening wider and wider, the Crucible stretching and compressing to accommodate, we then see two of the arms pulled back like a Starfish, yet three are nearly closed together. Then we see bright blue lightning, like the sparks seen from a charging Mass Relay, arching between the closed arms, blue lights along the back of the arms light up and flash, the completed Crucible and Catalyst then stops with a loud locking sound. The sparks start arching again and we see a destroyed Reaper being engulfed with them, as though it were going through a Relay, then it shoots forward toward another Capital ship at light speed, crashing into the side and causing a massive explosion.]

[Harbinger watches and gives out a long, low Reaper horn (or if he was killed, a generic Reaper does it.), immediately, all Reapers currently engaged pull out, taking off from Earth if need be as the men on the ground cheer in the same cinematic from the ending before, devoid of any superimposed color this time, the men cheer, 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. The Crucible fires several more times, destroying a large number of Capital ships. If you had the Reaper Heart, it fires fewer times, but causes larger explosions, unfortunately catching some of the allied forces in the blasts, if you had the Reaper Brain, it fires many more times, ripping holes in the Reapers with pinpoint shots. If you recruited them, in the background we see Geth frigates running bombing runs on some of the fleeing Sovereign class ships, Rachni in a swarm gush forward and shred a Destroyer, disassembling it and leaving the scrap to float, Turian fighters blasting down Oculi, we hear the bang of mass accelerators colliding with the backs of the fleeing ships, shredding their backsides. 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.]

[The scene changes here based on EMS. If your EMS was above 3000, you saved Anderson in the hallucination AND chose Destroy, then we cut back to the Crucible to see several Alliance Marines, CDF and C-Sec officers, led by Bailey coming up through the access shaft, one running over to Anderson and administering medi-gel while the others secure the area. If you do not meet the criteria, then we merely pan out from Anderson’s body as sad music plays. Either way, the camera pans down to where The Illusive Man’s body was, but looking at it now, his body is nowhere to be seen.]

If you chose Reject with any EMS, go to 22
If you chose Control with low EMS, chose Destroy with any EMS, or committed suicide go to 16.
If you chose Control with high EMS, go to 17.
If you chose Synthesis, go to 18.
__________________________________________________________

[Arian Dynas]

16 - 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 19 if your EMS was low enough that you only had one option, chose Control, or committed suicide, or go to 20 if it was over 2000 and you chose Destroy or were saved by the Rachni Queen.]
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17 - 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 situation.

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. Cut to credits.]
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18 - 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 surprise. He throws his head forward, 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 surprised.]

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, marauders 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 assault 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 ricocheting 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 22.]
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19 - 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 22.]
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20 - 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 Liara] GARRUS: No sign, the approach got totaled after the 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 21 if your EMS was above 3000, or go to cutscene 23 if it was not.]
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21 - 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 situation? I thought I told you to evacuate.

GARRUS [taking cover from more Cannibal fire, then turns and gives Shepard a strange look]: It's been two days since the siege started. You did say something about an evac order, but, well you weren't making much sense. 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: So Hammer's alright?

GARRUS: We had the time to airlift most of the force out. They're a tough bunch, they managed to take it pretty well.

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, surprised.]: You heard wrong, The Crucible never even showed up,

SHEPARD [look of confusion]: What?

LIARA: The Crucible arrived late last night. it was still in dry dock this 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. It managed to get a few shots off first, took out some Reaper ships with their own wrecks. One of them, Harbinger I think, got a parting shot as they were pulling out through the Charon Relay, lots of damage. They're working on repairs now. Personally… I would give half my face to be up there working on that thing…

[Shepard grins]

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 24.]
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22 - 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, Kaidan (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 25.]
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21 - Snatched From the Jaws of Victory

[This cutscene plays out identically to 21 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 ricocheting 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 24.]
________________________________________________________________

24 - A Hero's Welcome

[If you did NOT see cutscene 23, a Reaper column 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, if he survived, Anderson is there to greet them off the shuttle. If he died, then his scene is skipped. 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 landing pad as Shepard is rushed out on a gurney. He motions for the EMTs to stop for a moment, he looks down at his former XO and smiles, his scabbed electrical burns cracking slightly.]

ANDERSON: You look good son.

SHEPARD [smiles weakly]: Liar.

ANDERSON [smiles back while rubbing his own injuries]: 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]: So did you son. So did you.

[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 move at this point, but you’re only able to look around the room and read the cards/ look at the flowers, Shepard comments about each.]
(Example;)
SHEPARD: Hmm. From Miranda. “For the man who has everything, except good taste in fashion.” A set of cufflinks. Cute.
[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 bouquet from Kelly, a joke book from EDI and Joker, boxes of chocolates and flowers from Kaidan, 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, you climb back into your hospital bed and your LI notices Shepard's awake, in this case, let's assume Ashley.]

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: What's going on? Didn't something happen to the Citadel? Where are the Reapers?

ASHLEY: Woah, slow down Commander. It's ok, the front is lightyears 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.]: Good. It’s just… I'm just... I’m 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 that poem is dying you know.

ASHLEY [smiles]: You ass, it's the thought that counts.

[Fade to black. Go to 25.]
___________________________________________________

25 - Reaper Farewell

[Text crawl, white text on a black background, just like the opening of every ME game thus far.]

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 unreconcilable, he forged a navy unlike any seen before and returned to take back his home. The war was not without its sacrifices and his story has ended. Though the tide may have turned, with the enemy either dead or in retreat, forced into fleeing the field 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 Harbinger was killed, a conglomeration of Reaper voices say the following:]

REAPERS: THE HARBINGER IS DEAD. THEY HAVE MERELY DELAYED THE INEVITABLE. WE SHALL RETURN, AND NONE SHALL STOP US. THE CYCLE WILL CONTINUE. YOU WILL SHARE IN OUR PERFECTION.

[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 through a relay off to parts unknown to lick their wounds. Go to 26]
_____________________________________________________________________

26 - Pre-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 the ending slides, some of which are the same, some have changed to reflect reality, all the references to Synthesis hybrids are gone, the whole thing is narrated by the Codex narrator, quotes from characters are read by the characters themselves.]

[Examples;]

THE ILLUSIVE MAN
After the Siege of Earth and the attack on Chronos Station, the Illusive Man, and by extension Cerberus itself nearly disappeared from Citadel politics entirely.

While plenty have claimed that with the supposed death of its leader, despite his body never having been located, the destruction of its headquarters and the loss of most of their resources, that Cerberus would never appear again.

Far wiser heads knew that even if reports of his death were true, Cerberus maintained more than enough assets to be a considerable danger, and much like the mythic beast from which it derived its name, the heads of Cerberus were many.

CLAN URDNOT

Under the leadership of Urdnot Wrex, the Krogan people marched forward into a golden age.

Despite the fears of a galaxy wide war, the mighty Clan Urdnot, its dominance sealed by the twin leadership of Urdnot Wrex and Urdnot Bakara managed to keep a firm grasp on the other clans, though exceptions do exist, 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?

“Ha! I hope they keep a seat that can fit a Krogan, they’re going to need it soon.”

[After all the slides have played through, cut to credits. After the credits are done, the timecapsule scene plays, panning out from Liara's capsule, showing a human archaeologist if the ending chosen was NOT Synthesis. If Synthesis was chosen, a dark, clearly inhuman form strokes it's chin thoughtfully. Cut to black.]

CLOSING MESSAGE FROM BIOWARE

[Beliar86]

The entire the citadel isn't actually a relay thing is a no go

[Arian Dynas]

Beliar86 wrote...

The entire the citadel isn't actually a relay thing is a no go

The Story of Vigil

Would you like to try again? Or admit you apparently did not play Mass Effect 1 and thus have no idea what you are talking about?

Modifié par Arian Dynas, 06 juillet 2012 - 03:59 .

[Beliar86]

Your reading comprehension sucks.