This is one of the many Mass Effect endings rattling around in my head since I finished the game, which left me feeling like I had been punched in the gut…multiple times.
Bioware owns the Mass Effect universe, all of its wonderful characters and the terrible ending.
A Promise Kept
"Shepard, can you hear me? Shepard! SHEPARD!"
Liara was crouched in the rubble near the beam, her throat sore and her voice hoarse from screaming into her comm unit. The beam's blue light was rising upwards to the Citadel…to Shepard. Tali was at her side with a death grip on her arm to keep her from rushing to the beam. When they started the mad run towards the beam, Shepard quickly outpaced them. After one of Harbinger's beams nearly hit Shepard, she activated her comm unit and ordered Tali and Liara to stay put. Reluctantly, Liara agreed. Moments later, everything around them exploded sending Liara and Tali flying backwards to crash against the unyielding ground. Liara didn't know how long they were out. Tali came to first and roused her. They were surrounded by debris and body parts. After patching themselves up with medi-gel, they started searching the area for Shepard. It was hard to see through the smoke and dust but they slowly made their way towards the beam, Liara screaming Shepard's name into her comm unit. Eventually, the smoke started to clear and they could finally get a full view of the devastation around them. There were bodies, some whole and some not, scattering the area. It was then that Liara saw a blood covered hunched form, barely able to walk, limping into the beam. She screamed Shepard's name but before she could run after Shepard, Tali grabbed her arm to stop her, yelling at her that Shepard didn't want her in the Citadel, reminding her of her conversation with Shepard and the promise she made to her. Liara stopped fighting Tali and settled back down behind the rubble, her body shaking and her heart pounding in her chest. She kept replaying the conversation with Shepard in her mind terrified that it would be their last.
"Tali. Liara. I want you two to stay where you are…don't get any closer."
"Shepard, I'm going with you."
"No, Liara. I need you to wait here. Tali don't let her follow me."
"Damn it, Shepard. You need us with you."
"Listen to me Liara. I need to know you're safe, as safe as possible anyway. I can't do what I need to do if my focus is on your safety. Promise me you'll wait here for me."
"Shepard, I can't lose you again."
"I'll be back…just promise you'll wait here for me. Please Liara."
"I'll wait here…I love you Shepard."
"I love you too. Stay safe."
TTTTTTTTTT
Shepard's body screamed in pain when she finally managed to get to her feet. Everyone around her was dead. There was smoke filling the air making it difficult to see more than a few feet in any direction. Her first thought was of Liara and Tali, hoping they had stayed further back like she asked them. She tried to reach them on her comm unit but there was too much interference. They pain at the thought of losing Liara dwarfed the physical pain she was feeling and she almost turned around to search for her. Then she saw the beam directly in front of her, cutting through the dust and smoke and providing her with a direct path to the Citadel. She had to get to the Citadel if she wanted to end this…end the Reapers. Holding her side, she limped slowly toward the beam. Just as she stepped into the light, she thought she heard Liara call her name. She turned but it was too late, the beam had her and she could feel herself being lifted before she lost consciousness.
When she woke, she was on the Citadel. At least she thought it was the Citadel. There was nothing familiar about it. She was in a long hallway and there were piles of bodies on either side of her lining the corridor. She started to slowly move forward when her comm unit came to life. It was Anderson. He had seen her enter the beam and followed. They managed to find each other, locate the console to open the Citadel's arms and finally defeat the Illusive Man. Shepard sat staring out at the battle raging, waiting for the crucible to dock with the Citadel. Anderson was beside her. He had taken his last breath after telling her that he was proud of her. Tears stung Shepard's eyes at losing him and all the others that had been lost in the fight against the Reapers. She was beginning to doubt that she would make it out alive. She was bleeding heavily and fighting to stay conscious. She tried to reach Liara on her comm unit but there was no response, no response from anyone. She was utterly alone and more than anything wanted to tell Liara goodbye, tell her that she tried her best to come back to her. She could feel herself slipping further away until the comm unit on the console startled her back to consciousness. Hackett needed something from her. Determined, she crawled to the console but couldn't manage to pull herself up. The Crucible couldn't dock with the Citadel and they expected her to fix it. Once again, everything was on her shoulders and she didn't know if she had the strength to carry the weight anymore. Fighting the pain and the red haze obscuring her vision, Shepard pulled herself to her feet. She switched the console's comm channel to her team's channel. She needed to hear Liara's voice one last time, tell her goodbye.
"Liara…can you hear me?"
"Shepard! I'm here, Shepard."
"You okay? Tali?"
"I'm okay now that I hear your voice. Tali and I are still near the beam. We're waiting for you Shepard."
Shepard's heart was breaking. "Liara, get back to the Normandy. Call joker…he'll send a shuttle."
"I am not leaving here without you so either you get down here or I am coming to get you."
"Liara, it's…it's too late. You promised not to follow me."
"AND YOU PROMISED TO ALWAYS COME BACK, TO NEVER LEAVE ME AGAIN! YOU LIED!" Liara couldn't contain the pain of losing Shepard again and immediately regretted lashing out at her.
Liara's words hurt worse than any wound, any physical pain. "Anderson was with me. He didn't make it. I don't think I'll be able to make it back either Liara. I'm sorry. I tried. I tried so hard. I don't want to leave you."
Liara collapsed against Tali who held onto her and lowered her to the ground, her body shaking in grief at what was happening. "Don't leave me. Please. Please come back."
Liara could hear the tear's in Shepard's voice. "I can't. If I don't do this, we're all dead anyway. The Reapers will destroy everything; humanity, the Asari; everyone will be gone. I have to do it. There's no one else left Liara…there's just me."
"Shepard…"
"You gave me everything I ever wanted or needed Liara. My only regret is that we won't have more time together, that we won't have a future with those little blue babies."
Liara understood that Shepard was right, that there was no one else and that Shepard would come back to her if she could. Oh Goddess, she's really not going to make it. She's going to die all alone. We should have been together. "Shepard, I am sorry. I didn't mean what I said. I know that you have to do this. I have to tell you something. The gift I gave you was more than I told you. We will have a daughter, Shepard. I am sorry I did it without your knowledge. After seeing Earth, I knew that you would willingly die to stop what was happening. The thought of you being gone forever was too much. I wanted to have a part of you with me. It was wrong and selfish and I am sorry."
Shepard was stunned and could feel some of the ache lifting from her heart.
"Shepard. Shepard…are you still there?"
"I'm here. Other than you, that is the greatest gift anyone has ever given me. Thank you."
"I won't tell you goodbye, Shepard. You always keep your promises. I know you'll come back to me so I'm not leaving. I'll wait here for you."
"I love you."
"I love you too Shepard."
TTTTTTTTTT
Liara pulled her knees to her chest and started sobbing when Shepard cut the communication. Tali immediately contacted Joker to request a pick up.
"Liara, Cortez is on his way to get us. The rest of the team will rendezvous with us here."
"I'm not leaving, Tali. She is coming back."
"Liara, she wants you to get to safety. I want her back too but we have to leave."
Liara kept her eyes on the beam praying to see Shepard appear there. She didn't even realize it when Ash and Garrus arrived.
"Liara…Liara?"
"Ashley, I will not leave her. I know she is coming back. She promised."
"Liara, no matter how much she wants to keep her promise, she may not be able to keep it."
Before Liara could reply, they heard a crackling noise overhead and looked up to see a red ball of light rushing towards Earth.
"By the Goddess, she did it." Liara was up and moving towards the beam without hesitation.
Garrus grabbed Liara from behind and pulled her back behind the rubble where they were crouched. The red light originating from the Citadel was expanding in all directions. Liara saw the terror in the faces around her when the team realized that there was no way to fight it and no way to outrun it. When the light reached them, bathing them in eerie shades of red, Liara could feel her skin tingle. As it moved past them and washed over the Reapers, they collapsed where they stood and came crashing to earth as they fell from the sky. Liara could hear cheers erupting when the realization that the Reapers were defeated penetrated the consciousness of those who had been fighting and expecting death at any moment. All she felt was emptiness and despair. When she told Shepard that she would wait for her, Liara was honest enough to admit to herself that the chance Shepard would return was less than slim. She hoped that her refusal to accept Shepard's imminent death and the news that they had created a new life would make Shepard even more determined to live, give her the will to keep her promise to come back. Liara's eyes were fastened on the beam of light, willing Shepard to appear.
TTTTTTTTTT
For Shepard, there was never a choice to be made. The Reapers had to be destroyed. She had pushed her body beyond its limits but as she got closer to her destination, closer to the means to destroy the Reapers, she felt invincible. Her mind was filled with images of Liara and the daughter she wanted to see, wanted to hold in her arms more than anything. She was angry. Angry that everyone depended on her, angry that she was expected to sacrifice everything. As she fired her gun, her anger became a raging inferno inside her, forging her resolve to keep her promise to Liara. When her vision was filled with the red ball of light spreading outward from the Citadel, the light that would mean the death of the Reapers, Shepard turned and ran back towards the beam. If she didn't make it, it wouldn't be because she gave up. It wouldn't be because she didn't try to keep her promise. Liara believed in her and she wasn't about to disappoint her.
TTTTTTTTTT
Liara had surrounded herself with a biotic field. When Cortez arrived and she refused to be swayed by Ashley's arguments and Tali's pleading, they had tried to physically get her to the shuttle. Now, they were waiting for her to tire but she was determined to hold the field until they gave up and left her alone. She would leave with Shepard or she wouldn't leave at all. All around them, people were cheering the victory over the Reapers, a victory that might have cost her everything that mattered to her…everything but the life growing inside her. She blocked out the voices around her, begging her to leave and lost herself in memories of Shepard. She snapped back to the present when she heard the panicked voices calling her name. There was rubble falling all around her. She looked towards the beam which was now a fading, wavering light with a growing mound of debris around it. Keeping her shield in place, she ran to the beam and started searching the debris. She could hear the others coming up behind her as she frantically used her biotics to throw aside the rubble. She knew Shepard was here, could feel her presence. Her heart stopped when she saw a hand. Moving aside more rubble, she saw Shepard just ahead of her, lying motionless and covered in blood. Liara ran to her and pulled her into her arms, begging her to stay with her. The others reached her and helped her get Shepard to the shuttle. Liara insisted on holding Shepard in her arms as Tali provided the basic medical care she was capable of providing. As the shuttle lifted off, Shepard opened her eyes to see Liara's tear streaked face inches from her own.
Liara closed her eyes in relief. "Goddess, thank you."
Shepard found Liara's hand, gripped it and said, "I promised." Her voice was barely above a whisper and Liara could see that just speaking caused her pain."
"Shh, I've got you, baby. I've got you and I'll never let you go."
Liara tightened her hold on Shepard as they raced toward the Normandy and their future.