Chapter 1: Strange Visions
"I've survived worse than this. Come on Shepard, get up, move your arms, blink, something!" the commander thought to himself as the overwhelming stench of burning flesh and metal filled his nostrils. He had no idea where he was, unable to move and nothing but the sound of fire crackling in the distance. Shepard's mind was racing, trying to think, trying to remember, trying to stand, to get back to his team, to help, anything. He thought of Garrus, and Grunt, and Tali, and most of all Liara. Had she survived the dash to the beam? Did the Normandy make it off the ground? Was there even still a Normandy?
The exchange between himself and the ghostly child on the Citadel raced through his mind. How he tried in vain to explain that using synthetics to exterminate organic life in order to prevent synthetics from exterminating organic life didn't make any sense. Had he made the right choice? Was it, should he….. what is that sound? A loud groan pierced the near silence; "were those girders creaking?" he thought. Was he still on the Citadel? Shepard tried again to open his eyes, but to no avail. Wherever he was, he was going to be there for a while.
In his mind, Shepard was screaming at the top of his lungs, but he knew no one could hear him. Left unable to move, all he could do was imagine, and hope. Suddenly from overhead, there was a bright white light, the sound of a breeze rushing through the trees and… birds chirping? Unsure of his surroundings, and with a strange sensation washing over him, he tried again to open his eyes, and much to his surprise Shepard found himself staring up at a bright blue sky, and what appeared to be a midday sun. His Alliance training kicked in, and he immediately started trying to get his bearings. He sat up, and looked down at himself, his Hahne-Kedar chest plate, much to his surprise, was completely undamaged, the red and black paint even had that "fresh off the line" glint to it. Looking around, Shepard found himself sitting in the middle of a field, surrounded by tall green grass, bending under the force of the wind. He stood up, and astonishingly there were no signs of a battle, no crashed ships, no bodies, not so much as an ejected thermal clip.
Was he dreaming? Even worse, was he dead? He could feel the sun on his face, and smell the grass, but was this real? Unsure of where he was, and nothing but calm, open field in seemingly any direction, Shepard was confused. "Where am I?" he thought, and considered looking for someone, anyone else, who might be able to help him find his way back. He had nothing with him except his armor, no omni-tool, no weapons, not even a flashlight. His training told him to stay put, set up camp, and wait for help to come. But there was something off about this place, it didn't remind him of any world he had been on, and he doubted that anyone would know where to look for him. Shepard weighed his options, and after several minutes, he decided to start walking, hoping to find a town or a settlement, or even a hill he could use to survey the area. Not certain of which way to go, and every path seeming to be no different than any other, he started off towards, what he hoped, would be help. Wherever he was, it didn't appear to be civilized, and certainly didn't appear to be under Reaper control.
As Shepard walked, thirsty, and with the sun beating down on him, he wondered about what was happening back In London. He grew angry that he wasn't there, and worried that he wouldn't make it back there in time. He remembered being on the Citadel now, and Admiral Anderson, knowing what the Illusive Man did to him, and how he let himself be tricked by the Reapers. "What a waste" Shepard thought to himself. Making his way across this peaceful garden planet, thoughts of his old crew, Traynor, Gabby and Ken, Dr. Chakwas, and Engineer Adams kept him going. Unable to get to any of them, all he could do was hope they were alright. Feeling fatigued, Shepard stumbled slightly as he walked, but he refused to stop, he had to get off this world, had to get back there, to London, to Earth, if only he could just keep going.
After what felt like hours, and still nothing but a glaring sun, and a forceful wind to break up the endless fields of grass, he grew angry. "This is getting me nowhere", Shepard said aloud, "There has to be something, a clue, a way out, just, something". He sat down, and stared up at the sky, the sun seemingly in the same place as when he set out. Putting his head in his hands, Commander Shepard began racking his brain, trying to figure out a new plan, when suddenly there was a thunderous crash; the seemingly unending plain began to explode around him. He heard shouting, coming from the distance, "Don't give up men! We have to hold this hill!" Shepard searched frantically for the source of the shouting, he looked back to see a platoon of Alliance Marines rushing towards him, guns drawn and firing, when suddenly another explosion rocked the ground next to him, covering him in dirt and debris.
Searching frantically for cover, Shepard found himself standing between two Mako tanks, appearing out of nowhere, that were firing in tandem at something he couldn't see. Following close behind, a small force of soldiers was marching, straight past him, not even acknowledging that he was there. Calling out to the first Marine who came by, "My name is Commander Shepard, Alliance Navy, what is going on here Marine?" but the soldier kept moving, without saying a word, "Soldier, who is in charge here?!" he shouted again, but still got no response. Searching around for a platoon leader, or even someone with a radio, he saw a handful of men standing behind one of the tanks. As he ran over to them, he demanded, "Sergeant! Where is your commanding officer?!" it wasn't until one of the troops turned towards him and began to fire, inches away from his face, that Shepard had the cold realization that nobody could see or hear him. Without warning, one of the Mako tanks exploded, and engulfed several troops in flames, the blast sending them flying into the air. Suddenly, a loud wail from overhead drowned out all the commotion. His mouth agape, Commander Shepard looked up to see a Harvester, swirling overhead, dropping several pods onto the ground in the distance. Red flashes begin whizzing past him, as over a dozen Marauders appeared to his right, leading what seemed like hundreds of Cannibals, and an unknown number of Husks.
The remaining squad of roughly thirty Marines was overwhelmingly outnumbered, and in the middle of this grassy field with no cover, they were sitting ducks. Not sure what to do, Shepard searched for a weapon, as one soldier after another dropped around him. Finding an Avenger rifle, and unsure of what would happen, he pointed it at the nearest Marauder and opened fire. He soon realized that it was having no effect as the rounds just bounced off the oncoming Reaper ground troops. Looking around at the smoldering tanks, and the bodies of the fallen soldiers, Shepard realized he was the only one left. He knelt down, and continued to fire in vain, the advancing force unfazed by his defense, when a grenade exploded about ten feet in front of him. He doubled over onto his stomach, and covered his face to shield himself from the blast. As he lifted his head, he could see that he was completely surrounded; the hundreds of troopers had stopped firing, and just stood there, motionless. Holding up the rifle, knowing it would not do any good, he scanned the line of Reapers that now encircled him, "come on you cowards!" he shouted, "it's just you and me, let's end this right now!" Shepard couldn't believe the words that were coming out of his mouth, but none of the troops moved, or even made a sound. Trying desperately to take down as many of them as he could, Shepard grabbed whatever weapons he could find. Pistols, rifles, shotguns, none of them had any effect on the force standing before him. Becoming desperate, he began to throw things, whatever was small enough, but solid enough to hopefully do some damage, but nothing happened. Realizing his efforts were futile, Shepard stopped, and clutched another rifle that lay at his feet. Still, even after his display, not one of the Reapers had moved an inch, standing in place, seeming to stare at him with piercing eyes.
A loud, deafening shriek pierced the silence. It was so loud it brought Shepard to his knees. He tucked his head into his arm, in an attempt to block out the sound. Struggling to regain his footing, a chill ran up his spine as he realized the only thing that could produce such a sound. As the wailing continued, he writhed in pain and began to see flickers of smoldering buildings in is mind, a dark sky in contrast to the sunny plain turned battlefield he currently found himself in. He shook his head, trying to regain his focus over the ear splitting shriek that only seemed to get louder. He turned quickly, looking to his left, then to his right, and then as he turned completely around, a lone Banshee towered over him. Shepard looked up at the beast, grey and cold, horribly disfigured. These things were truly something out of a nightmare. Wailing again, in what seemed like agony, the Banshee thrust its claw squarely into Shepard's chest, his arms dropped to his sides, his rifle falling pitifully to the ground as the Banshee lifted him up. It stared into Shepard's eyes, seeming to look right into his soul; the mutated Asari began to speak with a terrifyingly familiar voice: "You think you can win this war, Commander Shepard?" the voice of Harbinger sent shockwaves through him, his body now feeling as if it were on fire. "You cannot defeat us Commander, no matter how many of our kind you kill, there are always more of us, and we will always find you" The visions began again, flashing all around him, the pain was immense. Struggling to get free of the Banshee, Harbinger spoke again "Your cause is lost, humanity will fall, your galaxy will fall and everyone you care about will be destroyed!"
"Where are you Shepard?!"
There was another voice, coming from somewhere he could not see. Shepard could feel himself drifting away, as the images became more frequent. "Do not think you have stopped us, simply by reaching the catalyst!" the voice of Harbinger demanded, as the Banshee slung him to the ground. It turned its head to the sky in one final shriek, as it, along with the rest of the Reaper force dissolved into the air. Now able only to move his arms, Shepard clutched at his sides, the pain was unimaginable. As the grassy plain flashed in front of him, transforming itself into images of a fiery wasteland, sudden jolts of pain ran from his chest. Panic and confusion swept over Shepard, unable to discern what was real, and what was not.
He could feel his eyes flickering as he clung to the last bit of life he had in him. The sunny sky was now a smoky blackness, the grass replaced by hundreds of bodies all around him. Shepard's Armor, now charred and almost unrecognizable, was covered in thick black soot, and any number of other things that he didn't want to imagine. A familiar voice cried out, "Over here! Quick! I've found something!" as slowly, an almost comforting warmth washed over Commander Shepard. He could feel his heart beating very faintly, though his whole body was in excruciating pain. "Garrus?" he thought, recognizing the voice. "Hang in there Shepard; you're going to be alright. Just hold on!" He felt his eyes flutter again as a blinding light appeared overhead, the shriek of the banshee replaced with the familiar hum of a small shuttle's engine. "Goddess Tell me he's still alive!" he heard the sweetest voice he could have imagined. "Liara" he felt the name fall out of his mouth, as his eyes closed again, a hand tightly clenching his "I will not lose you again Shepard!" he heard Liara exclaim. He tried to call out to her, but the pain was overwhelming. Commander Shepard, "Hero of The Citadel", "Vanquisher of Saren", "and Destroyer of the Collectors" prayed to himself at that moment, only to see his love again. A single tear rolled down his cheek, as he felt himself drift back into unconsciousness.