Character(s): Commander Nolan Shepard and Tali'Zorah vas Normandy.
Disclaimer: As always, I own nothing. The Mass Effect trilogy belongs solely to BioWare and EA.
Hi, everyone! I guess the only thing I can really say about this fic is that I wanted to try something new. It's an idea that's probably already been done, and I don't yet know where I intend to go with this one (Maybe a Romeo and Juliet knock-off? I really dunno), but I was inspired by "The Way (Instrumental)," as composed by Zack Hemsey, and that's all that really matters. I began to write, and decided to publish it so someone out there might enjoy my drabble. That, and I'm just a regular ace at writing tragedy, apparently. So, sue me.
Constructive criticism is, as always, welcome and appreciated. No flames, if you please.
Lost Along The Way :
Chapter One
oOoOo
For whatever reason, time itself seemed to have slowed to a definite crawl.
Tali stopped, and stared in horrified fascination as the beam approached. It accelerated, rapidly, towards her, and, even standing some distance away, she could still feel its intense heat. She knew, inexplicably, that there would be no time to evade this fast-approaching source of death. It was moving too quickly, its destructive radius was simply too massive, and she felt terribly helpless as she stood in its unobstructed path.
As if to say good-bye, she then turned and locked eyes with Shepard, who had stopped a few meters ahead of her and whose stricken expression seemed utterly horrified as he belatedly realized that which she had only just discovered herself: She had outlasted Garrus, only to die here.
She knew better than to hope that Harbinger would stop there, with her death, but she still hoped, anyway. She hoped that he — it — would just leave Shepard alone so he could finally finish what needed to be done. She hoped that Shepard would understand why her sacrifice was necessary, that he would have the strength to carry on without her, to see his strategy through. For everyone. For her sake, and his.
She hoped that he already knew about the things she had always meant to say, but never did. That she loved him, possibly more than life itself, that she was infinitely proud of him, and that his heart was the best gift she had ever been given. She could only hope that they would be enough to fuel his resolve.
Truly, it wasn't the dying that frightened her; it was what he might do without her. It wasn't such a bad way to go, anyway. He'd be the last thing that she would ever see.
She would have liked to grow old with him on Rannoch . . . but that just wasn't possible anymore. The Reapers had made sure of that. Still, she wanted to tell him how much she adored his lopsided smile, which had grown more and more elusive over time. More than anything, she wanted him to be happy. Because, after everything, he was the one who most deserved to be happy . . . wasn't he?
"TALI!"
At that moment, Shepard turned away from the Conduit and began to sprint towards her, his every stride carrying him closer in a lethal race against time. She was annoyed at him, briefly; How could he throw away his one and only chance for her? Didn't he know that hers was a necessary sacrifice? It was terribly selfish of him, and yet . . . she was oddly grateful. It did not appear that he would reach her in time.
But she was wrong. Like so many other things.
Just as the beam closed in upon their position, Shepard launched himself at Tali, curling his heavily-armored body around hers, protectively, his back to the beam. He closed his eyes, tightly, and his face was the very last thing Tali saw before her world erupted in flames.
