The Bureau of Multiverse Affairs

Chapter 23 Mind and Will

Running hard and fast, Shepard ascended the polished metal stairs, slamming a fresh thermal clip into his Revenant assault rifle along the way. At his sides, Garrus and Tali did the same. The front of the Council Chamber was awash with blue lights that were seeping through the large windows that looked out onto the void.

"Shepard!"
Shepard swung his rifle around, lowering it quickly when he saw that the shout had come from Booker, Elizabeth following close behind him. The man was sporting a bruised face and torn clothes, but was still standing.
"You look like hell," Shepard remarked.
"I feel like hell," Booker replied, pressing a hand against his cheek, "But at least Comstock won't be giving us any more trouble."

"Good. The Illusive Man's down as well. You seen Sherlock?"
"You'll be pleased to know that Moriarty won't be giving us any more trouble," announced the detective, vaulting over a plant box to join them, along with Watson and Lestrade. Like Booker, the three looked as if they had been run through the mill, and Shepard guessed he was not much better.

"What now?" asked Elizabeth, glancing toward the front of the Council Chamber.
"We've gotta finish off the Intelligence," said Shepard, "Everyone make sure your weapons are fully loaded. We can't afford to lose this one."
There was a series of mechanical clicks as guns were checked.
"Right," Shepard continued, "I'll take point with Tali and Garrus. Sherlock, you cover our left flank. Booker, you and Elizabeth take the right. Once we're in sight of the Intelligence we hit it with everything we've got. Understood?"

The team members nodded.
"Right, move out."
The three teams spread out across the chamber, sticking to any cover they could find. Peeking through the remains of a bush, Shepard could see the great glowing orb of the Intelligence. As he had noticed before, it was awash with a blue light emanating from outside. Shepard now realised it was coming from a portal out in the void. Did that mean they were too late?
"Impressive, isn't it?" the deep rumbling voice of the Intelligence boomed out.

Shepard ducked behind a plant box, but the Intelligence just laughed.
"You think you are safe from me there? Come out Commander. Face me, if you dare."
Shepard looked at Tali and Garrus who were kneeling beside him. Both shook their heads.
The Intelligence laughed again.

"Do you really think those three bumbling oaths were my only defence here?"
A screech split the air and Shepard just had time to jump to one side before a laser bolt struck the plant box, blowing it to pieces.
"GUN TURRETS!" Garrus cried out.
"MOVE!" Shepard yelled, "DON'T LET IT GET A FIX ON YOU!"

Clambering to his feet and dodging back and forth, he fired his assault rifle into the ceiling, searching for the gun turret that had shot at his team. There was an eruption of flames as he hit something, only for more lasers to come streaking down, burning holes in the floors and walls around him.
"GET UP THE STAIRS!"

With bolts of red light zipping past, Shepard's team ran as fast as they could toward the front of the chamber. From his flanks came Booker and Sherlock's teams, laser blasts driving them forward. Taking the stairs two at a time, Shepard kept firing into the air, trying to give the others some protection from the storm of laser blasts. His foot abruptly made contact with a level surface and he almost lost his balance. Stumbling wildly, he managed to right himself and took aim, only to find that the laser turrets had stopped shooting, and soon saw why.

He had reached the final landing before the podium where the councillors deliberated, the space now taken up by the vast sphere filled with swirling clouds. He raised his gun when the Intelligence's voice boomed out.
"Come now Shepard, you really think I am not shielded from attack?"

Shepard pulled the trigger, firing a stream of mass effect slugs at the sphere until the thermal clip ejected from the gun, glowing with heat. A kinetic barrier pulsed and rippled around the sphere, but did not break. At his side Garrus and Tali did the same, the sounds of their guns echoing around the chamber. Booker and Sherlock's teams arrived seconds later, unleashing a storm of punishment. The shields began to flicker.

"ENOUGH!"
Streams of light shot out from the sphere. One caught Shepard around the chest and drove him to the floor. Others grabbed Tali and Garrus, pinning them as well. There was a frantic series of gunshots which cut off just before Shepard saw one of the streams wrap itself around Booker and Elizabeth, slamming them against a wall. Sherlock meanwhile was able to fire a few bolts of electricity before another stream of light grabbed him and his team, holding them firmly in place.
The chamber fell silent.

"You fools," said the Intelligence. "Did you really think your little army had any chance of beating me? I have already achieved power beyond anything your small minds could ever dream of. And once my forces have crossed over into reality, I shall become the most powerful being ever to exist!"
Shepard felt himself being dragged into a standing position and was forced to look into the swirling clouds of the sphere.

"Behold," the Intelligence proclaimed.
The clouds within the sphere began to dissipate, allowing for an uninterrupted view of the large windows. Beyond was the void, but it was no longer white.
In the distance was a large, ragged oval, its edge flickering with blue sparks. Through it, Shepard could see the darkness of space, and a planet of brilliant greens and blues. Earth.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" remarked the Intelligence, "On that planet are 8 billion minds. Minds that shall soon be mine to command."
As he watched, Shepard saw the fleet of Reapers fly across the window and head for the portal. Objects too small to make out were swarming around them, firing bolts of energy. A few of the machines broke apart and burst into flames, but the rest kept going.
"How poetic that humanity should imagine its own masters of destruction into existence," the Intelligence said smugly.

"You won't... you won't get away with this..." hissed Shepard.
"Oh, but I have Commander. Your friends cannot stop me, you cannot stop me. All you can do is stand there and watch humanity burn."
A tremendous explosion shook the chamber. The cables around them that had been glowing a deep blue suddenly went dark and there was a screech of metal.
"What!?" exclaimed the Intelligence, "What is-"

Before it could finish, a flaming mass of wreckage came crashing down on the sphere. A shock wave struck Shepard with the force of a small bomb and he felt himself go crashing to the floor, ears ringing. Whatever had hit the Intelligence had disoriented the being, causing it to release his team. Now the others were sprawled out on the floor, looking just as confused as he felt.

There were more heavy bangs and he looked up to see a large round object come crashing down from above, catching on cables as it fell. Knowing they were right in its path, Shepard scrambled to his feet and grabbed Tali, who lay just a few feet from him.
"MOVE EVERYONE! MOVE!" he bellowed, trying to make himself heard over the sounds of chaos, "IT'S COMING DOWN!"

He seized Garrus by the arm and ran like hell. Heeding his warning, Sherlock and Booker's teams dashed for the sides of the chamber, just managing to escape the round object as it smashed against the Intelligence's sphere before hitting the floor. The whole room shook from the impact, and Shepard was thrown into a cluster of trees and bushes, his fall somewhat lessened by the soil.

"Urrgh...." was the only sound that passed his lips.
With a dull pain spreading through his body, Shepard raised himself up. Garrus was kneeling on the Earth beside him, while Tali was holding her head, groaning softly.
"Are you two alright?" he asked.
"No..." groaned Tali, "Everything hurts."
"You need help?"
She sat up and racked her shotgun.
"Not yet."

"I'm alright too, thanks for asking," Garrus grumbled in mock annoyance.
Shepard turned to his Turian friend, who had suffered a large cut on his forehead.
"Here, let me patch that up," he said.
"Don't worry Shepard, It's nothing," Garrus tried to say before the Commander slapped a blob of Medi-gel on the wound.

"We can't have you bleeding all over the place. The council will complain otherwise."
Garrus chuckled.
"Always thinking of the big picture."
There was a rumble as something large collapsed nearby. Shepard looked around the front of the hall. Several of the large cables had fallen down, and fires were spreading across the walls. The sphere of the Intelligence was still there, but was now surrounded by pieces of broken machinery and sported several large cracks across its surface. There were a few clouds moving within, but they appeared to be little more than a thin vapor.

"What fell on it?" asked Garrus.
"It must have been the power plant Benton's team was looking for," Tali replied.
Realising this, Shepard keyed his radio.
"Shepard to Benton, do you copy?"
The radio crackled but there was no reply.
"Shepard to Benton, do you read?"
Still there was only static.

"Maybe they're out of range," Tali suggested, "Or this place jams radio transmissions."
"Whatever the case, we should check on the Intelligence," said Garrus, looking toward the front of the chamber. "I'm not sure dropping a power plant on it is enough to kill that thing."
"Just this once I hope you're wrong," Shepard replied.

Picking up his rifle he led the other two back up the stairs. Pieces of the power plant were scattered about the floor or embedded in it. As they got closer, they saw the large round object that had fallen after the power plant. It looked like a massively oversized golf ball, with wires trailing across its surface. He was about to take a closer look, when the voice of Sherlock reached his ears.

"Shepard, you've gotta be one of the luckiest people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting."
The Detective poked his head around a column, along with Watson and Lestrade.
"I could say the same about you," Shepard replied with a grin.
"Lucky?" You call this lucky?!" exclaimed Booker as he clambered over a heap of badly damaged metal with Elizabeth, her blue dress badly torn.
"Seeing as we're still alive I'd say we've been very lucky," Watson countered.

Booker opened his mouth for an angry reply when a bang from the round object stole all his attention. He swung around, taking aim with his shotgun.
"What is this thing?" he asked.
"It's the computer core from Sevastopol!" A muffled voice shouted in reply.
Shepard, who had also taken aim at the bang, lowered his assault rifle, blinking in amazement.

"Doctor?" he called out, "Is that you?"
"And the rest of us," Benton's muffled voice replied.
"What the hell are you doing in a computer?"
"Could you give us a hand first?" Xena's voice called out as well, "There ain't a lot of room in this thing!"
"Where are you?"

A bang of a fist against metal was his reply.
"Give me a hand!" Shepard called out to the other team members, "We've gotta open this thing up!"
Climbing up onto the rounded computer, he began searching for an entrance point, trying to follow the sounds of banging from within. Tali and Garrus climbed up with him, while Sherlock and Booker's teams searched on the ground level. The core had suffered a great deal of damage during its fall, with panels buckled or torn off. It was amazing that anyone could have survived.

"Over here!" Elizabeth called out after a few moments.
Jumping back down, Sheperd hurried to where the young woman was standing. On the computer's curved surface was a rectangular-shaped section, currently forced slightly inward.
"Doctor!" Shepard called out, "I think we found the entrance hatch!"
"Good man!" he replied, "Now get it open!"

Shepard tried to work his fingers around the edge of the door, but could not get a purchase.
"It's jammed!" he snapped in annoyance.
"Please Commander," said Watson as he arrived with Sherlock and Lestrade, "Allow me."
"You're welcome to it," Shepard replied, stepping back.
Nodding politely, Watson went to the doorway. Like Shepard, he first tried to get his fingers around the frame, but soon realised this was impossible. He then pulled away a few of the panels around the edge of the doorframe, trying to make room for his arm to reach inside.

"Do be careful not to hurt yourself," Sherlock said tentatively.
Watson chuckled.
"I'm made of metal Holmes. I'll be quite alright I assure you."
There was a flash of sparks and Watson pulled his hand back suddenly.
"Though that doesn't mean I can't be surprised."
Being much more cautious, he reached back into the core, removing wires and pieces of metal until finally he found the edge of the doorframe. Still working slowly, he edged his fingers around the door and gave it an almighty heave. There was a groan of protesting metal and it lifted slightly.

"One more go!" Watson muttered.
With a whirl of gears, he gripped the door tightly and pulled upward. There was a brief creaking sound followed by a sudden bang and the door flew open with a great deal of force. At once a crumpled form dragged itself out of the computer, followed by another. It was Benton and Xena. Both collapsed to the floor, coughing and spluttering.
"My friends!" said Watson in alarm, "Do you need medical help?"
"No, no..." Benton managed to reply, "I think... I think we're okay."

"Speak for yourself," Amanda wheezed as she stumbled out of the core, sporting a lump on her forehead.
Sarah and Gabrielle exited next, both looking the worse for wear, but still able to walk. They were closely followed by the Doctor, who brushed a few specks of dust off his fedora.
"Ah, Shepard, glad to see you," he said, placing the hat back on his head.
"Likewise," the commander replied, "Now can you explain to me how you ended up in this computer?"

The Doctor gave him a brief explanation of what they found on the floor above and the destruction of the power plant.
"Did it work?" Elizabeth asked once he was finished.
"I don't know," Shepard began before realising something. "The window!"
He hurried around the pieces of wrecked machinery and looked through the large windows at the front of the Council Chamber. The void beyond was an endless plain of white once again, broken only by flashes of lasers from the now scattered Reaper fleet and Old Ones.

"Shepard to Normandy," he said, keying his radio, "Joker, can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear Commander," the pilot replied, "I don't know what you did but it must have worked. That portal to Earth just closed."
"Great, keep those Reapers pinned, I've gotta contact the others."
"Roger that."
He began hurrying back to the rest of the team when a roar resonated through the chamber. The force was so strong that he lost his footing and fell to the floor.

"YOU FOOLS!"
The voice was louder than anything he had heard before, seeming to drive steel needles into his ears. Shepard clutched his head, trying desperately to block out the sounds that now caused the whole chamber to shake.
"Idiot!" screamed a voice in his head, "You didn't check to see if the Intelligence was dead!"
There was a sensation of a hand on his chest and Shepard looked up to find Tali leaning over him, terror in her silvery eyes.

"Run!" he tried to say, but was unable to force the words out.
There was a sound like air being drawn into a large pipe and the great sphere at the front of the Council Chamber began to fill with clouds once again. The lightning returned as well, crackling even more violently than before.
The rest of the team hurried to where Shepard and Tali knelt, weapons drawn, but all of them came to a halt on seeing the sphere.

"Give it up Intelligence!" the Doctor demanded, his voice firm, "Your portal is destroyed and your army has been decimated.
A hurricane-like force swept through the chamber, knocking the team to the floor.
"DO YOU REALLY THINK I WOULD JUST GIVE UP? THAT YOU COULD DEFEAT ME SO EASILY?"

Shepard grabbed his assault rifle and was about to open fire when a shockwave burst from the sphere. It struck him full in the chest and a wave of sickness took over his body. He tried to stand but all the strength seemed to have been sapped from his body. Tali collapsed against him, while the other team members fell where they stood.
"What... what's happening?" Xena choked out.
An evil laugh filled the air.
"I AM DISMANTLING YOU!"

Confused, Shepard looked down at his hands and saw to his horror that they were splitting apart, becoming a mess of red, green and blue. He tried clenching his fist, hoping his will was enough to draw them back together, but the sickly feeling only increased.
"AMAZING WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH FICTION!" the Intelligence said, "EVEN SHRED IT DOWN TO NOTHINGNESS!"
"Shepard..." Tali breathed.

Shepard looked at the Quarian. She had gone limp against him, helmet splitting into fragments of red, green and blue.
"Tali... hold on..." he said.
He wrapped an arm around her, a horrible pain spreading across his whole body.
"DON'T WORRY COMMANDER," the Intelligence mocked, "SOON YOU'LL BOTH FEEL NOTHING AT ALL."

Another shockwave washed over the team and the chamber began to sway. Benton was on all fours, feeling as if he had to vomit. His hand began to fragment into primary colours.
"Benton... Benton..." breathed a strained voice.
With a tremendous effort, the sergeant turned to see it was the Doctor who had spoken. The Timelord was lying on his front, colours seeming to bleed from his body. In his hand was the sonic screwdriver.
"Pistol..." he choked, "The sphere... Be ready..."

Benton did not know what the Doctor meant, but reached for his sidearm all the same. By now his limbs felt as if they were made of stone and were almost as stiff. With all the effort he could muster, he drew the Browning pistol from its holster and managed to chamber a round. While he did this, the Doctor adjusted the settings on his screwdriver.
"STILL FIGHTING DOCTOR?" the Intelligence bellowed, "PERHAPS I HAVE NOT BEEN CLEAR!"

Another shockwave erupted from the sphere. Caught in its path, the Doctor cried out and for a moment split into three segments, red, blue, and green.
"DOCTOR!" Sarah yelled.
She dragged herself across the floor, trying to reach him, but he threw out a hand to stop her.
"No! Stay back!"
"WATCH ME DESTROY THIS MAN!"

The three colour segments of the Doctor split further apart. As this happened, he became transparent, fading into nothingness.
"Doctor..." Sarah choked, still trying to reach him.
Barely able to breathe, Benton saw the three figures of the Doctor raise the hand holding the sonic screwdriver. He depressed the button and sparks spluttered out from a nearby machine. There was a flash and crackle of electricity around the sphere.

"Benton... now... the shields are down!" the Doctor shouted, each word sounding painful, "Shoot... shoot the Intelligence!"
Drawing on all his remaining strength, Benton levelled his pistol, aiming at the sphere.
"WAIT!" cried the Intelligence, sounding scared for the first time, "IF YOU DESTROY ME THIS UNIVERSE WILL COLLAPSE! YOU WILL ALL DIE WITH ME!"
For the briefest moment, Benton hesitated. There were thousands of soldiers below, and millions of Old Ones flying around the Citadel, he could not condemn them to death.

He looked to the Doctor, his physical form faded to almost nothing. He looked the sergeant in the eye, mouthing two words.
"You must."
Benton knew he was right. No matter who was here, they could not let the Intelligence threaten the multiverse or reality. He turned back to the sphere, now flashing violently.

"Fair trade."
He pulled the trigger and for a split second saw the bullet speed through the air before crashing into the sphere.
"NOOOOOOO!"

With a scream that shook the room to its foundations, the Intelligence's sphere shattered like fine glass. Blinding white light shot up from below, obliterating the clouds before washing over the team. A fearsome wind rushed through the chamber, and the walls began to be pulled apart. Benton blinked, but could see nothing but whiteness all around.
"Sarah? Doctor?" he called out, "Where are you?"
Only the howl of wind replied.