CHAPTER 1: LEFT BEHIND

Alliance Command was beginning to receive reports from Earth via the quantum entanglement. The worst was over. The Reapers were in fact destroyed, killed. Alliance ships exit out of FTL and approach Earth and the Citadel to access the damage and begin the restoration of Earth.

Hackett stands on the bridge of his command ship's looking out the view ports at the damaged arms of the citadel. Pieces of the Citadel arms had broken in half. "Damn…"

"Sir, an Asari dreadnaught has offered us assistance while they search for their own survivors. Two class-F private fighter jets are in orbit near the center ring of the Citadel."

He stood there thinking for a moment with his fingers near his mouth. He knew what he had to do.

"I want search and rescue teams assembled and sent out within the half hour. I want to know what the hell happened at the impact center at the Citadel tower. Find out if Shepard's body can be salvaged. Do it quickly. We owe him this… His sacrifice today will not be forgotten!"

The two Alliance security detail salute Admiral Hackett and depart at once.

CITADEL

Parts of the Citadel wings were damaged at filled with ash. While other parts remained intact and functional. Lights of buildings remained. It was unclear how many people perished on the Citadel. Smoke continues to rise off several burned out buildings. The atmospheric shielding protecting the inner wings of the Citadel were holding, for now, but it was unclear if they'd fail completely. Time was of the essences. The Asari dreadnaught had small crafts landing in areas where the shield integrity was intact. The Asari commandos and medic rushed to help those still alive or wounded from the blast.

The Alliance sent out search and rescue teams in and around the ring and tower where the beam and crucible merged. Time was running short for anyone still alive. Every minute counted.

"No way, anyone survived this." The alliance soldiers scope the debris looking for anyone.

Shepard had to do it. Had to end the Reapers once and for all… Anderson, EDI and Miranda were in his thoughts as he fired his pistol. The explosion had thrown him backwards. The floor all around him buckled under the pressure of the explosion. Commander Shepard remained motionless surrounded by debris all around him. His back propped up against a solid cold piece of metal beam. His armor remained scorched, burned, from the blast from Harbinger. His left leg pinned under heavy beams. He was bleeding and remained unconscious.

"Commander Shepard. Do you read me?" Miranda calls out trying to get an answer hoping his communication device was still active and if by chance, he was still alive.

The dead silence on the other end was wearing thin on her nerves. She was beginning to fear the worst. She couldn't stand by and wait for word of his death. She had to find him. Miranda had little faith in the Alliance or anyone else to give a damn about him, except maybe Liara but the chances of that were slim. The Normandy had departed the system when the beam activated and hasn't returned since.

"Damn it, Shepard. Where the hell are you? You promised me, damn it!" Miranda said over her audio comms hoping he'd hear her. Miranda activates her Omni-tool bringing up scans of the nearby area while she carefully combed through the extremely weakened citadel tower. The last known location she was made aware of.

"Anyone out there?" The other alliance officer yells out loud hoping to find someone, anyone.

Miranda continues walking through corridor's littered with dead bodies. She was repulsed with how much death had occurred. She watches as one of the keepers within the corridor examines the dead. Miranda turns her head quickly looking at what seemed to be a flash of light. She wasn't alone. Miranda taps on her Omni tool pulling up the grid map of her location. She thought to herself. She had to be getting close to the heart of the tower.

Shepard's subconscious

White smoke surrounded Shepard as he tries to find his way. He walks slowly looking around. "Shepard…" The voice of Miranda echoed in the distance. "Shepard… Find me…"

"Miranda?" Shepard begins to pick up pace looking everywhere but all he could see was white smoke. "Where are you?"

"Finish this… and find me." Miranda's echoes become louder and Shepard's anxiety was beginning to set in. "Miranda! Where are you?"

Shepard breathes in sharply. His head barely moves to the side as he gasps for more air to fill his lungs. "Aaah!" He tries to move but the pain was too intense. He was pinned and couldn't move.

In the distance, Alliance teams pan out and search the area near the edge of the Citadel tower and what was once the beams location. The environmental shielding was holding but not for long as various sections were giving way to the pressures to the emptiness of deep space.

Shepard breathing becomes labored, struggling to breathe, to move, to do anything to stay alive. He tries to talk, to yell out but he wasn't loud enough. "Mir… anda!" His arm barely moves to try to get up but again he screams out in pain. "Aaah!" He felt like he was on the losing end of this.

"I… promised." Shepard struggles to open his eyes. He barely sees Earth, he felt like he was going blind. A lonely tear runs down the side of his face looking into the stars to find the strength to hold on. "You can do this! Hold on. I'm not done yet."

He couldn't give up hope that someone would come and find him. Search for him. Memories from the last time he died didn't give him much comfort. The Alliance gave up on him. Didn't search for him. Liara. She wouldn't let him go. "Liara…"

Thoughts of Ashley flood his mind… "I need to know someone gets out of this alive." He couldn't let her die… No more deaths. It had to stop. He knew what she wanted to tell him… those three little words she had once said to him. He couldn't. "Take care, Ash."

Shepard tries to move but fails miserable. His breathing continues to be labored and intensive almost feeling he'd pass out. He coughs and moans in extreme pain. Long before the explosion, his heavy skin weaves were saturating his body with enough medi-gel to keep him alive, working to regenerate and promote healing at least until helped arrived. He turns his head trying to stay awake. Shepard moans. "Aahh."

The Alliance soldier turns his head sharply to the left. "Over here… I heard something." They rush over only to find Miranda pointing her gun at them. She lowered it.

"What are you doing here?" One of the Alliance spouts back at her.

"I could ask you the same idiotic question." Miranda said with coldness towards them.

"You don't look hurt…"

"What keen observation skills you have." She remarks with sarcasm.

"I don't have time for your games, lady."

"Neither do I..." Miranda pushes past him and stands at the exit to the corridor seeing a large open area with a long path up ahead. As Miranda approaches, she could hear more people talking. It had to be the Alliance and hopefully news about Commander Shepard. She braced herself.

HACKETT'S ALLIANCE FLAGSHIP

On board Hackett's flag ship, an Alliance officer approaches Hackett's position and salutes him. "Admiral."

"Report."

"They found Admiral Anderson. He didn't make it. Dead sir."

"Well, that's a damn shame."

The Alliance officer hands Hackett a data pad. "We found this man near him…"

He looks at the image and the level of reaper tech over his face and neck. The Illusive man. He questions. "And Commander Shepard?" Hackett inquires lowering the data pad.

"We've set up a perimeter wide search from the epic center and outwards. It's a huge place but we've got a lot of Alliance soldiers combing the place. Some have reported finding unknown areas of the Citadel, hallways and caverns full of dead people. It doesn't look good."

"Keep me posted."

The Alliance soldier salutes and departs.

CITADEL

Miranda reaches the top of the walkway finding a large circular room before her. Two Alliance guards walk over towards her denying her access to the room.

"You're not allowed in here."

Miranda watched an alliance soldier zip up a blue body bag. A pang of anxiety ran through her body. "Is… Is that Commander Shepard?" She ask trying to contain her emotions when she spoke his name.

"We haven't found him. Anderson's dead."

Miranda let out a sigh of relief.

"You still haven't told me who you are?"

"Miranda Lawson. I'm searching for Commander Shepard."

"Aren't we all! Son-of-a-bitch defeated the Reapers. He's a damn hero."

NEARBY LOCATION

Several alliance soldiers walk carefully over the rubble near what had to have been the explosion site from up above. "Anyone there?"

Shepard moans. He could hear the voice of some unknown person. Shepard moans again having little strength to yell out.

An Alliance soldier turns his head towards the direction of the moaning. "Hawkins… over here. Going to check it out." As the Alliance soldier comes closer he begins to make out the shape of a body. "Found someone! Could be a survivor!" He calls out as another Alliance soldier rushes over to his location.

They reach Shepard's body and see the N7 dog tag hanging down the side of his chest.

"My god… Commander Shepard?" The Alliance soldier carefully examines Shepard's slightly bruised face, cuts and dried blood stains and burned armor. Large chucks of metal surrounded Shepard's body.

"He's pinned down!" The Alliance soldier carefully accesses the area around Commander Shepard.

"Careful, we don't want those concrete blocks crushing his leg any further." They examine the area trying to find a way to slip him out unharmed.

Shepard opens his eyes only to be blinded by the head gear's flashlights, so he thought. "Help me… please." Shepard pleads trying to stay conscience.

"Hang on, Commander!"

"Find me something to brace up this part so we can release him and get him out from under there." Two more alliance soldiers rush over to help lift and stabilize the heavy blocks of metal.

One of the Alliance medics tries to assess his condition. "He might become paralyzed, if we move him." He places a breathing mask over Shepard's face for him to breathe and to calm him down.

"We don't have a lot of options here! He needs to be moved before this section of the Citadel becomes unstable and loses containment fields!"

The alliance soldier in-charge of the search and rescue contacts his superior. "Admiral Hackett! We found Commander Shepard!"

"Is he alive?"

"Barely…"

"Get him back here, ASAP!"

The medic places a neck brace around his neck. "God only knows what we're dealing with here."

Two Alliance soldiers reach down to pick up and pull Commander Shepard out of the debris. Shepard moans and tries to speak and breathe at the same time. "Find… Mir… anda."

"We're taking you to Hackett's flag ship. Hold on Commander." They place Shepard's body down on an alliance medic stretcher.

"Bring me to…" He gasps. "Miranda Lawson…" He groans. "That's an order!" Shepard tries to stay conscience as they loaded him into one of the Alliance shuttle. "I need… to find her!"

The medic begins taking readings and accessing Commander Shepard's internal injuries. "He's lost a lot of blood. Burns and internal injuries. We need to hurry!" The medic places a lot of medi-gel into the wounds on the side and top shoulder.

"We'll relay the message Commander." The Alliance shoulder looks at Commander Shepard's body.

"Find her… please. Tell her… I…" Shepard closes his eyes and becomes silent. Shepard… Miranda echoes those words in the darkness of Commander Shepard's mind.

Commander Shepard had made Miranda Lawson a promise. He could never make throughout his journey to stop the Reapers until the very end. The point of no return had happened. Miranda was saying goodbye him, on Earth. He didn't want to say goodbye. He couldn't say goodbye.

Miranda gazes upon his face as he comes close to her holographic image. "Finish this Shepard… And find me."

"I will. I promise."

That was the last words he ever spoke to her.

CITADEL INNER CHAMBER

Miranda watched as two Alliance soldiers walked by her with the blue body back holding Admiral Anderson. She walks closer into the room only to find the Illusive man dead on the floor close by. She knew it was him the moment she saw him.

The alliance soldier zipped up the blue body bag but not without noticing Miranda's reaction to him. "Know the guy?"

"Obviously indoctrinated by the looks of it."

"Yeah, no kidding…"

Miranda turns around feeling upset to her stomach. She closed her eyes to calm herself.

"GOD DAMN! WHOO!" An Alliance soldier yells out rushing in to the room. "They found him! They found Commander Shepard body!"

Miranda turned her head towards the Alliance soldier. "Where?" Miranda walks over to the man without another thought. "Where is he? TELL ME NOW!"

"Calm down, lady!" He could see the fierce look in her eyes. "They've taken him on board Hackett's flag ship."

Miranda almost forgot to breath. "Shepard… You promised me, damn it." Miranda turns her head sideways away from the Alliance soldier preparing for the worst possible news. "Is he…?"

"It wasn't good." The Alliance soldier walks past her.