[ WP ] You and your Arch Nemesis are forced to save the world together .

The Illusive Man appeared on the hologram one final time before Commander Shepard. 
 
 `` Shepard, I'm telling you, we can *control* the Reapers! Are you willing to pass up the opportunity to control the most powerful beings in the universe? Imagine what we could learn! What we could do with it! Humanity could rule this galaxy with an iron fist!'' 
 
 `` And what if you're wrong? What if there is no way to control the Reapers? What if they've been indoctrinating you this entire time and you have n't even realized it?'' Shepard asked rebelliously. 
 
 `` What if? There is no what-if! We know it will work! We've tested this in labs hundreds of times-'' 
 
 `` At the cost of how many lives?'' 
 
 `` That's unimportant right now. What I do know is that the results point to my hypothesis being correct: there is a way to control them.'' 
 
 `` Do you want me to tell you something I learned on Thessia in my search for the Crucible? I found a VI constructed by the Protheans; you should know about that. After all, your men stole it from me. But before you did, that Virtual Intelligence told me that during the last extinction cycle, there was a splinter group of Protheans that thought there was a way of controlling the Reapers.'' 
 
 `` What are you saying Shepard?'' 
 
 `` They were indoctrinated. The Protheans discovered that the rebels were indoctrinated. Illusive Man, you're indoctrinated, no doubt in my mind. But you can fight this. You may be one of the most evil, sociopathic people I know, but I also know that you're one of the most thick-headed, stubborn people I know. And above that, you know that the Reapers would try to do something like this. You're smart, you know that this is exactly something the Reapers would do. But what you did n't think was that you'd be the one it happened to. Well guess what? You're wrong.'' 
 
 With that, the Illusive Man looked dumbfounded in disbelief. He could n't believe that himself, of all people, could be indoctrinated. It never even crossed his mind until Shepard suggested such a possibility. 
 
 `` I-I... Dammit Shepard, I think you're right. What can I do about it? I think it's overpowered me already. What if it's too late to reverse the effects?'' 
 
 `` I'm not giving up on you that easily. Maybe it's not too late. You're in control of your thoughts right now are n't you? They clearly have n't gotten all of you. Is there any Reaper technology near you? Around you?'' 
 
 `` Are you kidding me? I'm cybernetically enhanced with Reaper technology.'' 
 
 `` *WHAT*? You know Illusive Man, you're making this really difficult. I do n't know what to do about this. Here's an idea: I'll send a team of researchers to your base to take you in and see if they can reverse the effects of the cybernetics. If it works and you're still you, we can work together to stop the Reapers. If it does n't... I'm sorry.'' 
 
 `` I do n't like it, but I'd rather be on your side than the Reapers. Shepard, I do n't like you and I certainly do n't agree with you, but right now you're humanity's best hope to survive this apocalypse. I may be stubborn, but I'm not an idiot. Send a ship, I'll go peacefully.'' 
 
 `` That's a relief. Shepard out.'' 
 
 With that, Shepard shut off the hologram and walked out of the war room. Did he just do what he thought he did? The Illusive Man was one of the most powerful humans in the galaxy, and a former ally of Shepard's, and now he submitted peacefully to Shepard. As he walked past the control map towards the elevator, he thought of his history with the Illusive Man. Just 6 months prior he as being employed by him to help stop the Collectors, but after that was over, he'd admitted his disgust in working with Cerberus. Now it looked like he'd be in a similar situation. If the Illusive Man made a recovery, he'd have all of Cerberus' forces at his disposal, a very powerful force indeed, but also one cybernetically enhanced with Reaper technology, which may have been a problem going forward. But for now, Shepard was just glad he talked the Illusive Man down before he could do anything that would jeopardize the galaxy's chances of survival any more than he already had. 
 
 Shepard took the elevator up to his quarters. He walked into the room and sat down to write an email to Admiral Hackett detailing his conversation with the Illusive Man. Before he could send a message, one of his unread emails caught his attention. It was n't a message from any of his galactic allies, but one from his old friend. Anderson. 
 
 He'd been on Earth fighting alongside his fellow troops for the past few months while Shepard ran around the galaxy building up a galactic fleet. Shepard had video and holo-chatted with Anderson a few times over the course of the invasion, but nothing substantial. Anderson was Shepard's mentor going back for years before the Reapers, and they were as close as father and son. 
 
 *Shepard, * 
 
 *This is Anderson. Look, I know you blame yourself for all of this. I could see it in your eyes the moment the Reapers touched down on Earth. But let me tell you something: There was nothing more you can do. You alerted the council, you stopped Saren and the Geth, you stopped the Collector, but nobody believed you. As much as it killed me to see you lose time and time again because of political BS, I knew you'd pull through in the end. * 
 
 *This is the end, and right now we need you. Humanity needs. Hell, the entire goddamned galaxy needs you. You're more than just a hero Shepard. Now you're a paragon for hope in a galaxy that desperately needs some. I just wanted to let you know that whatever happens from here on out... I'm proud of you. * 
 
 *Anderson* 
 
 Shepard read and reread that letter a half dozen times, thinking. He thought back to his days chasing down Saren, the rogue Spectre with his army of artificially intelligent robots. He thought about attacking the collector base with his army of professional killers and mercenaries. His best friend Garrus had been with him throughout the entire journey, thick and thin. The best friend a soldier could ask for, Shepard thought. 
 
 He got back to what he was doing: write a letter to Hackett. It did n't take long and he just wrote the important details of the conversation along with sending him the audio file and requesting a pickup, though he also warned him to be weary of the Illusive Man lying or changing his mind. 
 
 A few days later, Shepard got word from Specialist Traynor that the Alliance's capture of the Illusive Man went off without a hitch and they were working to surgically remove the cybernetics. Along with that, the doctors were forced to work in short intervals so they could n't be infected by the Reaper technology. 
 
 Eventually, after going to a few more worlds and helping militia after militia fight off hordes of reapers, Shepard finally got word from Hackett through a hologram. 
 
 `` Shepard, it's Hackett. The surgery went off without a hitch. We expect the Illusive Man to make a full recovery. Of course, that's not our only problem. A lot of soldiers and citizens would like to see the Illusive Man's head on a plate for what he did at Horizon and the Citadel.'' 
 
 `` Heh, I would n't mind seeing that either truthfully. But right now we're in a bind Hackett. You and I both know that we ca n't win the war without the support of Cerberus and the Illusive Man. Do what it takes to silence the crowds. Tell them that he'll be tried after we win.'' 
 
 `` Are you giving *me* orders Commander?'' 
 
 `` Eh, just think of it more as a suggestion that you should probably listen to.'' 
 
 Hackett cracked the first grin that Shepard had seen out of him since the days before he became a Spectre. It had been years. 
 
 `` Will do Shepard. Hackett out.'' 
 
 The Illusive Man was still surprisingly able to control his army of cybernetically enhanced soldiers to fight with the Reapers, though there were many instances of the Reapers indoctrinating them to fight for them instead. To combat this, the alliance researched anti-indoctrination barriers that all Cerberus personnel had to equip before they could be sent into battle. With the help of those soldiers around the galaxy, the battles started to even out and turn the tide a bit. It would be a long, gruesome war that had no end in sight, but with Shepard at the helm and the Illusive Man at his back, they'd find a way to win. 
 

