Shepard marched towards the energy source and started firing at the tank, as the forth bullet ripped through the glass, flames begun to flare and stroke her face, her arms, her torso- as she fired the last bullet, a massive energy blast shattered the tank and everything and suddenly everything stood still. She drew her last breath as her heart stopped beating and the flames swallowed her, her last thought before a certain death circled around hope. She had done what any other soldier would have done; she had chosen to stop the war. Her last thoughts as her skin turned into crisps was to never let go of hope.
And then she felt no more.
It felt as if she was stuck in a haze, an never ending loop that was meant to go on for eternity, a loop of misery, haze and delusion. Shepard's lungs screamed of the lack of oxygen, so she drew a deep, sharp breath she came to regret as much as she needed it. She welcomed the pain as an old friend because it meant that she was alive, somehow, in some miraculous way, she hadn't descended in that massive blast that was to deploit the entire galaxy of species. Stop the reapers, the thought that had been going on in Shepard's mind since the day they had discovered that beacon on Virmire. Every nerve in Shepard's body told her to stop, to just give up, she felt so weak, she could barely breathe without feeling chills radiate from her lungs towards her inner chest. But then there was Shepard's mind, which yelled at her to be a worthy soldier and rise from the ground and to suck it up, because she's been way worse, way worse as in dead. So her body didn't get to complain about lacking oxygen or every inch of her body radiating paralyzing pain. She was going to force her eyes open, and then she was going to stand up, because as long as she was alive, there was no giving up, she had to keep fighting, until the moment her heart gives up on her. With her last effort and with a surprising strength, she cracked her eyes open. Everything was dizzy at first; all she saw was blurry dark silhouettes, but as her eyes finally started to focus, she could distinguish the sky and fallen buildings in the periphery of her vision. She groaned as she turned her head towards the buildings that looked to belong in London. Her mind was still an untangled mess, hadn't she just been in citadel nevertheless in the control panel with Anderson? And the Illusive man that she had shot? Her mind was puzzled, and she decided to sit up, it took all the strength that was left in her already weak body, and she looked around to see that she still in London, she had never left. But she didn't understand, how? She wrapped her arm around her stomach and tried to keep herself from screaming out loud, because if she showed them how weak she truly was, she would be an easy prey, never show them your vulnerability. Past these seconds her vision regained its focus, and she now looked around the ruins. The laser beam was still intact, glowing in blue in its purest form, and the reapers still kept floating in the air, but they now seemed to retreat. What exactly had happened? Shepard's mind was still a blur, a daze, puzzled. Shepard looked around to see all the fallen soldiers lay around, all of them risked their lives in order for Shepard to enter the beam, but hadn't she done that already? Hadn't she destroyed the core of it all and died in the process? She was supposed to be dead. Even though her body protested against it with aching and tensed muscles, she rose from the ground, with one arm over her stomach and a hovered posture, one leg in front of the other, she stood up to get a better sight of the scenery.
"Shepard!" she turned around towards the sound, and took a sharp breath as her eyes fell on the silhouettei.

Everything was dizzy at first; all she saw was blurry dark silhouettes, but as her eyes finally adjusted, she could distinguish the sky and fallen buildings in the periphery of her vision. She groaned as she turned her head towards the buildings that looked to belong in London. Her mind was still an untangled mess, hadn't she just been in citadel, nerveless in the control panel with Anderson? And the Illusive man that she had shot? Her mind was puzzled, and she decided to sit up. It took her all the strength she had left in her already weakened body, and she looked around to see that she was still in London.
She had never left. But she didn't understand how? She wrapped her arm around her stomach and tried to keep herself from screaming out loud, because if she showed them how truly weak she was, she would become an easy prey, never show your vulnerability. Past these seconds her vision regained its focus, and she now looked around the ruins. The laser beam was still intact, glowing blue in its purest form, and the reapers kept floating in the air, but they now seemed to retreat.
What exactly had happened? Shepard's mind was still a blur, a daze, puzzled. Shepard looked around to see all the fallen soldiers lay around, all of them risked their lives in order for Shepard to enter the beam, but hadn't she done that already? Hadn't she destroyed the core of it all and died in the process? She was supposed to be dead. Even though her body protested against it with aching and tensed muscles, she rose from the ground, with one arm over her stomach and a hovered posture, one leg in front of the other, she stood up to get a better sight of the scenery.
"Shepard!" it was if someone was trying to claw inside her mind, only that she now had built this wall of steel. She slowly started to process the thoughts of what if all she had just witnessed was all a dream, what if the Harpenger had tried to indoctrinate her-and succeeded? What if all the things she had witness had really just been a reaper trying to delude her weakened mind? In that case she must have broken the indoctrination through destroying that container.
"Anderson! Hackett!" she yelled into the cold, dusty air. Her radio had crumbled to a worthless piece of metal as that beam had hit her, some part of the armor had even melted into her arm.
"Garrus! Liara! Tali! Kaidan!-" she cried into the wind that grasped her hair, falling over her eyes, making it hard to see as someone suddenly gripped her upper arms.
"Shepard!" she stroked away the hair strands that laid misplace over her face.
"Shepard! Are you alright?!" the voice, she recognized it. The person started to lightly shake her.
"You scared us as hell! We thought that the beam had ripped you apart!" Shepard's eyes gained focus and she took a breath of relief as she saw Garrus, scared and injured, but still alive, standing in front of her.
"Garrus?"
"Okay, good, I thought for a second that you had gone brain dead."
"Yeah, hurts like hell but I'm still kicking, what happened?" Garrus looks out to the unknown, the fallen landscapes and shattered ruins.
"You were gone, when that beam hit you, we couldn't find you, the rest of the squad said that it was too late, so they went ahead into the beam. No. Garrus let go of Shepard as she seemed to be able to stand by herself.
"No they can't, I have to get inside there!"
"Shepard, you can barely walk-"
"Since when has that stopped me before?" Garrus shrugged as if he was to say "true".
"How long was I out?"
"Not that I have a watch, but I'd say an hour."