Chapter 2

The haze of smoke that had thickened the air on Earth was absent on the Citadel. Though parts of it's sleek walls laid crumbled, there were no raging fires - just remnants of the Reapers quick arrival, the citizens quicker evacuation and now an eerie silence. The abandoned docking bay that Kaidan had cut the hammerhead's power on sent a chill up James' had passed through a large, misshapen hole to get inside the Citadel - most likely from a Reaper armature brutally forcing it's way inside. The crunch of rubble under their feet echoed as they moved deeper into the Citadel into what seemed to be the emergency exit for the Tower.

Kaidan had to jog to keep up with his comrade's monstrous steps, even though James was limping. The haunting silence started gnawing at them both, and Kaidan opened his mouth to speak, attempting to fill it. But he slammed his mouth closed as James raised his fist in the air. They both froze, listening. A hum now filled the room, vibrating the loose rubble pieces slightly. Kaidan's eyes flicked over to James - watching him out of the corner of his eye. All of James's instincts were on full alert - his fingers tapped the edge of his assault rifle, eyes wide, knees bent ready to move. Suddenly a bright light flashed overhead through the glass ceiling. Both men instinctually rolled to cover. Kaidan heard James wince as the crouched behind the half-destroyed column. Glancing over, he saw James's clenched jaw and knuckles wrapped around his leg.

The bright light slowly vanished, allowing darkness to consume their shadows - leaving them with only the faint light from the stars above. Checking over his shoulder first, Kaidan stepped out; staying low. Keeping his biotics charged in one hand, he used the blue glow to direct them as they crept forward in the darkness.

An archway was revealed in the dim, blue light. With a silent nod, they both flanked either side of it before peering in. They were looking at a circular room, complete with glass walls and ceiling with a series of flickering lights on it's edges.

"It's the Council's comm room." Kaidan stepped out of his cover, directly into the room. "This is the heart of the Citadel." He breathed.

James followed him in, checking over his shoulder at the archway over and over. He stopped just in front of a podium, it's hologram screen dim and slowly powering down. He reached his hand over it, reactivating it. The bright light casted an aura around him, and a shimmer on the ground caught his eye.

He felt his stomach drop as he looked down at a large puddle of sticky blood.

"Oh my god." James stepped out of it, his boots spreading the blood into a smear on the sleek concrete floor. Kaidan whipped around, hearing his comrade's gasp. The glow of his biotics spread more light onto the puddle, revealing a small trail.

Clenching his jaw together, James's lips trembled as he followed the trail. It lead to a now vacant spot, but just to the left sat a blurry figure. Stepping closer he saw black combat boots, causing his heart to almost leap with relief. Shepard had been in her full white N7 armor - it wasn't her. But almost immediately, he lowered his eyes to the ground - not believing his eyes.

"No.." Kaidan's voice was a whisper. James heard the clank of metal, as Kaidan dropped down to his knees next to Admiral Anderson. He was clearly dead - his chest unmoving, hand limply covering the bloody mess on his stomach, and head hanging to the side. But his face looked peaceful.

James moved next to Kaidan, placing a hand on his shoulder. Neither of them said anything, both of their eyes remained on Anderson. In a silent agreement, both men then began to pick the Admiral up. Swallowing James looked away from the body in his hands, praying that all of the blood on the floor was Anderson's. But a lingering feeling in his stomach knew that it wasn't.

The two men stumbled slightly from the weight until they found their balance. Moving over the rubble, they took Anderson's body back to the hammerhead - strapping him into the stretcher pushed to the side of one of the shuttle walls. Taking one of the blankets from the emergency kit, Kaidan draped it over the body - covering it.

"Fuck." James breathed, as he fumbled in the dark. He didn't like how this was going, not at all. His fingers tips finally found his flashlight attachment, laying next to his helmet and chair. Kaidan barely even noticed James crawl out, as he slid into the pilot's chair and began flicking the console's comm on.

Without the glow of Kaidan's biotics it was hard for James to tell the difference between the room he stood in and the insides of his eyelids. It was getting hard for him to keep it together. As every moment of silence passed, more dark thoughts began to slip into his mind and more trembles began to spread to his lips and hands. He stood alone in the emergency docking bay now. The static of a comm filled the room, as Kaidan attempted to inform Hackett of Anderson's death.

Clicking his flashlight attachment onto his assault rifle, James gripped it hard. He shined it on several different patches of rubble, before he began to creep around the vast room. He had never been in the Citadel Tower before. He had always tried to avoid all of it - the politics. Though before joining the Normandy he was never bothered with it, just instead handed a gun and a colony's name to protect.

Shifting his weight clumsily, he attempted to walk on his limping leg. "Agh." He grunted, but his voice seemed to catch in his throat as he heard a familiar sound. A muffled gunshot pierced the air, followed by another, then another.

James's heart seemed to rise to his throat - Please be her gunshots. Plegue a dios. Scrambling forward, he attempted to pinpoint where the gun shots were coming from.

"What the hell is that?" Kaidan cried, crawling out of the shuttle.

"Gunshots!" James shouted, his voice husky. His ears were perked up, eyes scanning frantically. It seemed like whoever was firing was using their entire clip, and fast.

Suddenly from the corner of his eye, James saw a warm glow pour in from behind him. Craning his neck, he watched as an explosion of fire stretched over the glass ceiling before it abruptly cracked - sending shards of glass down like rain. His armored shoulders moved up over his head, attempting to cover his bare face. A sound escaped him as he was aggressively pressed to the floor, his forehead and nose crumbling under the force.

But it wasn't the explosion that had knocked him down. Squinting James saw an aura of blue swallowing him whole. At it's center stood Kaidan, arms stretched high above his head, face contorted in pure concentration. James watched in awe as the shards of glass and rubble falling from the ceiling deflected off of the barrier, falling and shattering onto the ground behind them. But his open mouth quickly moved from wonder to horror as a large dark object began to crash through the remaining ramp. Scrambling up, James's armor screeched as the metal scraped the concrete floor.

A shout ripped from his lungs again as he was suddenly lifted off of the ground and thrown helplessly against a broken column, landing awkwardly on his leg. His grunt was muffled by the overpowering sound of the falling object finally crashing. Dust filled the air, but it was plain to see that it was a large slab of concrete that had most likely been used as a pathway or sidewalk.

Blinking at the dust from the rubble, James fumbled for his assault rifle. He found it under a mound of rubble that the flashlight had been shining through dully. "Kaidan?" His breath was heavy and shallow. "Kaidan?" He asked again, his voice a little more frantic.

A cough came from across the room, echoing loudly against the walls. "Yeah, yeah. I'm ok." There was the sound of clanking metal against metal then a glow of lights poured out of the hammerhead, making it seem like a beacon in the distance. "You?"

James hesitated. "Yeah. I'm okay." He lied through gritted teeth. He felt a warm sensation trickling down his face. Licking his lips he tasted it. Blood.

A cascade of rubble caught James's eyes from the half broken path. A part of it laid on the ground, already lost in the piles of rubble that sat here before. But the other half was caught on the frame of the ceiling, making an awkward angle and deep drop to the floor. The cascade of rubble was coming from the side, making a tiny pile onto the ground below. A feeling began to develop in the pit of James's stomach, as he reached for his rifle to shine some light onto the almost ramp that had formed.

His breath was a wheeze now, hissing through his clenched teeth. Blood was still trickling down his nose, warming his lips. Fatigue seemed to have suddenly hit him like a punch to the face, making him move at a sluggish pace up the ramp. But James ignored it all - the blood, his leg screaming in agony, his shortened breath. "Que dios me ayude." He whispered to himself, over and over, his eyes darting in the darkness for any sign of her - anything.

Painfully drawing in another breath, James stopped himself short. He watched as another cascade of rubble came rolling down, some of them clanking against his boot. But he took no notice. A glimmer of shiny white had caught his eye, making his heart falter. He knew what it was, he knew it anywhere. It was what he was looking for constantly during missions, his eyes never moving from it. Throwing his assault rifle to the side, James scrambled forward before falling to his knees. His hands reached for his face first - his fingers running through his hair, his palm tugging his eyebrow up.

Swallowing hard, his finally placed his hands onto Shepard's armor. It was cracked, and covered in scorch marks turning some of the shiny material dull. Her right arm was completely exposed, and blood was trickling out of a long gash up her forearm. James ran his hands up her chest piece, feeling it bend and dent in awkward places that made his stomach whirl. His breath caught in his throat as his hands stopped short of her face.

Her eyes were closed. Eyelashes brushing her cheeks, hair stuck to her forehead in a mixture of dried blood and cold sweat. A road rash was littered across the left side of her face, with little pinpricks of blood coming out. But she was not moving. Her lips didn't purse, or eyes flutter.

James stared blankly down at the rubble, blinking. He felt his chest starting to cave in - overpowering any of the pain he felt in his leg as he knelt down. "Shep-" His voice cracked. "Fuck!" His hand clenched into a fist, as his voice echoed off of the bare walls. In the distance he heard Kaidan call out, but James ignored it. Gritting his teeth, James let out a sound before he placed his bare forehead to hers. "Kayla." Her name on his lips was a croak. He felt like a seventeen year old again sitting on the beach with his Uncle in San Diego. His heart stuck in his throat, knuckles white, trying to keep it together.

A soft flutter brushed across his cheeks, causing his eyes to flicker open. Through his lashes he could see a blur of blue. A sound escaped James as he moved his head back. One of her eyes was fluttering open, her lips slowly opening. "Kayla?" His hands grabbed the side of her face gently. A raspy gasp tore ripped out of Kayla, her armored fingers curling into a fist.

James felt his heart start pounding in his chest as he pulled her gently onto his lap. His fingers fumbled as he tried to activate his omni-tool. But it merely gave a hiss, before powering down. "Shit!" He watched as her eyes started to slowly close again, her head dipping back farther into his lap. Panic tore through James, tightening his chest. Scooping her up, he gritted his teeth as he stood up - his leg shaking underneath him.

He was breathless as he began walking down the ramp, limping towards the hammerhead. But Kayla's limp head hanging over his arms was enough motivation to overcome the searing pain. His eyes were on her as he limped them to the vehicle, merely stepping over the mounds of rubble and glass in the dark.

"Kaidan!" James cried out, his voice echoed in the room. Suddenly the dome light from the hammerhead was casted on him, the room now erupting in light. There was a crunch of footsteps, before Kaidan appeared in front of him. The Major stumbled forward, clearly exhausted.

"Oh my god." Kaidan's eyes scanned Kayla over quickly. His lips pursed together as he calculated. "Here let me, um." His breath quickened, and he blinked fast. "Get her inside." Turning on his heels, Kaidan darted back into the hammerhead.

Grunting, James stepped into the vehicle. The lights inside were blaring compared to the darkness outside, and there was a steady hum that made James' ears ring. Kneeling down, he placed Kayla onto the ground carefully - gently bracing her head from the hard metal with his hand. His hands started shaking now that he could see her clearly. Blood was now slowly seeping from out of her armor, pooling onto the floor. Stretching his arm forward, James reached for the medkit next to the evac door. He threw it open, rummaging through it until he found the portable v. reading. Powering it on, he sat it right next to her chest. James eyed it before glancing to Kaidan.

He was sitting in the pilot's chair - his hands wildly moving over the console as he multitasked. While waiting for the engine's to come online, he was still attempting to come in contact with anyone. "Come on!" Kaidan yelled, grabbing his face in his hands. A small beep sounded after him, causing both men to turn their attention towards the small device sitting next to Shepard. They watched the tiny screen. There was a white strobe light, flashing at a sluggish pace. It represented Kayla's heartbeat.

"We need to get her out of her." Kaidan said, mostly to himself. Flicking a few switches on the console with his fingertips, he began to force start the hammerhead before reversing it out of the collapsing docking bay.

James was now ripping open medi gel packets with his teeth, applying them onto any place that was exposed on Kayla. He was so tempted to rip off her armor, find the source of the bleeding and check her vitals more successfully. But he knew that could be catastrophic. The only thing keeping his leg from breaking fully was his armor tightening around it - keeping it in place. But still he moved his hands gently across her chest and arms, concentrating as hard as he can to not pass out or cry out in terror.

The stars were a blur of white as the hammerhead began zooming closer and closer to London. James' attention was caught by the glimmer of reflection from the window, causing him to stare at it for a moment. He could see himself - blood staining the bottom half of his face, dirt and sweat covering his forehead, his eyes were wide like a deer's in headlights. And next to him, was Kayla's crumbled body - her arm twisted, hair sprawled out beside her, the ends of it falling into the small pool of blood forming just under her.

But suddenly, a glow was casted upon the image - turning everything red. His eyebrows pushed together, forming a wrinkle as he watched what seemed like a huge force field near them at a quick speed. "Kaidan?" James croaked moments before they were engulfed by it. The force of the red force field shook the hammerhead, causing James and Kayla to be sent sliding over to a corner of it. James grabbed onto Kayla, wrapping himself around her, giving her unconscious body protection.

The sudden push caused Kaidan to lose control of the vehicle, making him let out a gasp. "Oh fuck. Brace for impa-." He didn't finish his sentence before they suddenly crashed into the corner of a half-destructed concrete skyscraper in downtown London.

The impact caused James to be thrown once again, this time up against the roof of the hammerhead. His head hit the hard metal, before he came crashing back down onto the ground. But he kept his body and arms curled around Kayla, swallowing her whole into his huge, muscular body. As he laid on the ground, the ringing was still clear in his ear. As was the sensation of hot liquid pouring over his lips again, and the tickle of Kayla's hair on his stubble. He tasted the blood in his mouth, before darkness devoured his vision.