Outside of the Citadel, on the other hand, still raged with war; the Reapers holding the upper hand in the battle. Turians, Salarians, Krogans, Geth.. all the forces Shepard had gathered together with sheer determination just didn't seem like it was going to be enough; the Reapers were just too strong.
Several Turian gunners circled one of the massive squid-like machines, firing rapidly at it's weak points in attempt to destroy it, though that attempt ended with a light show; the Turian ships exploding upon contact with it's fierce red laser.
The fight didn't feel like it was going to end at this point. They had only managed to destroy three Reapers. Unfortunately, the in all count was only five; the one Shepard and company -and Kalros- destroyed on Tuchanka and the other they blew away with the help of the Normandy's upgrades. And, if you want to get technical, Sovergien. So six, in total. But hey, it was a great accomplishment especially since Sovergien was ten times bigger than the ones they were currently fighting.
Just as the battle was at it's climax, everything seemed to take a turn for the better. The massive machines started to twitch sparatically, unable to function properly. Their red beams died out and then they were still, for the moment anyhow.
The Alliance's attention was soon grabbed by the sudden orb of light gathering at the tip of the citadel. "What's happening?" Chatter beginning to sound throughout the com links. No one knew what was happening and was certainly unaware of the happenings within the Citadel; what Shepard had chosen to do.
The Allied forces stilled, unsure of how to react to the situation. "Admiral Hackett, what are your orders?"
But before the man in charge could utter a word, the ball of orange light expanded outward, engulfing the citadel and surrounding Reapers, causing them to burst into a kamizee mass of fire and shrapnel.
"All forces pull back!" The commands were simple and clear; all forces Turian, Krogan, Batarian, Quarian, Salarian, Vorcha.. all of them pulled back. Some just managed to escape the consecative explosions while others were caught up in them; the Geth, unfortunately, dying off with the Reapers. All synthetics were wiped out, EDI included.
The light force collected around the relay, the dual metal rings growing in speed, collecting the light, before sending it off to the next relay and then to the next; a chain reaction like dominos falling over. One after another exploded, shrapnel flying through space and stopping any left over Alliance ships from any kind of escape.
The Normandy, Shepard's loyal ship and team, were fighting against the current the wave of light was making, pulling them backwards and threatening to take them out. It was thanks to Joker's piloting skills that they were able to get away safetly without too much damage, landing on a nearby planet. It wasn't until they were safetly on the ground, tucked away in a canopy of lucious greenery, the crew gathered outside, looking towards the sky and watching as explosions continued, the darkness of space being lite up with, what looked like fireworks, flames and smoke.
'Shepard...' Saddened blue eyes starred painfully up at the sky, heartbroken by the knowledge of what their loyal Commander had done. He had sacrificed his own life for many. Again, she was to mourn her lose... again.. she had lost him. She knew there was no way he was coming back this time, even if she did find the body again. It was probably wrecked far beyond what it was the first time, something even Cerberus couldn't fix, but she couldn't just leave him. She needed to be there for him.. he needed to know she'd never forgot him. No one would.
She just needed to see him one last time... just once more..
"I'm taking a shuttle." She spoked, turning, leaving Garrus' supporting shoulder, and limped her way into the ship, the rest watching with sadness in their eyes. They knew what Liara was planning to do and well, the others just couldn't let her do it. Not alone anyways. Garrus and Grunt took off after her, catching up to her wasn't hard as she was pretty injured from the earlier rush to the beam.
"We're coming with you."
Liara only looked at the two, arm clutched to her side. She knew she couldn't do it alone, but that wasn't going to stop her from doing it. This was Shepard.. she'd do anything or him. "Thank you."
The three shared a soft smile before Garrus returned to her side, helping her to the shuttle; Grunt following along behind. They got settled inside, Garrus sitting in the pilot seat while Grunt and Liara, having been forced, sat in the back.
"Hatch is open.." Joker buzzed in over the comm link. "..Bring him home."
"Will do." Garrus returned, taking off out of the open hatch.
Debre filled the dark abyss around them, pieces of ships and reapers floating past them. Everything was calm despite what had just happened moments prior to their retrieval mission.
It wasn't long until they team of three found the remains of the Citadel, still somewhat intact compared to the other masses of metal around it; the Reapers had been blown to hell and back.
Garrus guided the shuttle the best he could onto the Citadel. It was still a butcher's pit; lifeless bodies scattered everywhere. The smell far worse now that some of the bodies within had caught fire in the blast.
The three stepped out of the shuttle, stopping cold at the site. "This is.. "
"..Any body else hungry?"
Liara didn't even bother glancing back at Grunt despite his rude comment. She was more concerned and focused on finding Shepard, Garrus the same. The two stayed together, the Turian supporting her along the way as Grunt trailed behind, looking curiously at their surrounding. Yes, they were on the Citadel, but everything looked.. off. The only thing that was the same was the Keepers who were still at their consoles working as if there weren't millions of dead bodies laying around.
The trio moved through the halls, stepping over bodies and god knows what else when they stumbled upon the control room Shepard and Anderson had ran into the Illusive man in. Liara left Garrus' aid, making her way towards the still figure leaning against the wall. "Anderson." She spoke, her tone soft as she crouched beside him, placing a hand on his cheek, slowly moving it to his neck to check for a pulse. Nothing. "Grunt.."
"Yeah, yeah, I got him." He spoke, picking the Admiral up with ease, craddling him in his arms. "I'll take him back to the shuttle." With that, he turned and headed back to the vessle they arrived in.
The two remained in the room for a moment longer, finding the Illusive man's body laying not far from where Liara had discovered Anderson's body. There was a bullet in his head and piercing blue eye's starring up at them. "He was indoctrinated just as Saren was." Liara spoke, investigating the man's eyes further. They were quite unique, but she'd never forget where she had first seen them; Saren.
"Wonder why he did it.. He must've know that the Reapers were just going to throw him away after they got what they wanted."
"I suppose it was too late when he came to realize.."
The two didn't waste anymore time after the control room, heading further into the Citadel they all called home or had called home. Now it was a crypt; a far cry from anything to be considered home again. Even after being in there for so long, searching, the sight was never easy to get use to nor the smell. It haunted you, forcing you to look at the lifelessness of it all. The walk was silent, Liara and Garrus walking side by side with determination. They needed to find Shepard. He needed to be found and rescued no matter what was left of him. He was their Commander, a friend.. a loved one. He held everything together, hell, managed to bring every race together to overcome the biggest threat to all organic life; the Reapers. He'd be remembered forever, known as a Hero and probably even a god to some.
Liara soon came to a stop just infront of what appeared to be an elevator drop zone, the platform fitting into it missing. "He must be this way.." Liara spoke, holding onto any and every piece of hope left in her body. She knew she shouldn't get worked up over the possibility of him surviving. She knew... but it was just so hard not to hold onto that hope.
Garrus moved to the small orange screen, pressing the call button and backing away a bit, rejoining Liara at her side.
The platform slowly made it's way down, making it feel like an eternity for the two awaiting it. Garrus and Liara, once it set into position, stepped onto the slim platform and hit another button to ascend; the trip up no faster. Liara fidgeted anxiously while all Garrus could do was stand in silence. He didn't know what to expect, but he too, like Liara, held tightly onto all the hope in the world that Shepard was alive. But despite wanting it to be true, the thoughts of the worst case having happened kept nagging at him.