Once Shepard and his team had left the base and were headed in the right direction, it was easy to see how the Reapers were transporting people up to the Citadel. A massive beam of energy loomed over them, so much so to the extent that the Reaper guarding it actually looked small in comparison.

Hammer had split into three teams, all of which took a different route through the ravaged city to reach the beam. Each group had two vehicles loaded to the breaking point with the strongest, nastiest, ground to air missiles that the Alliance could get their hands on. Everybody knew it would be enough to destroy the Reaper; the issue was being able to fire them. Each pair of vehicles was accompanied by makos, hammerheads, and a wide array of ground troops.

Shepard's whole team was divided as well. He, Tali, and Garrus all headed straight down the middle, lagging slightly behind with a few other soldiers to watch the back and make sure the vehicles didn't get flanked. Liara, EDI, and Kaidan went down the left path; and Javik and Vega used the right.

The middle turned out to be the easiest route. While the combat wasn't necessarily easy, they were able to fight all the way to be in range of the protecting Reaper. Both other sides, left and right, were being held back by strongly entrenched forces. It was difficult for the Reapers to be entrenched in the center, since there were more buildings and debris in the main parts of the city than the outskirts. They had relied mainly on rear assaults and flanking attempts, which were consistently dealt with by Shepard's squad.

But the Reapers had made up for their lack of solid defense by preparing an all out assault in an open square when the Alliance vehicles and soldiers streamed in. They were utterly obliterated. As per usual, their bodies were hauled off to the Citadel. This had just finished when Shepard, Tali, Garrus, and the few remaining Alliance soldiers arrived, after having to deal with a pair of brutes. All they had found were deserted vehicles and scorched asphalt, hearing the distant screams of the soldiers unfortunate enough to have survived. Luckily, all of the missiles were still there, and Shepard promptly fired off a vehicle's worth at the Reaper.

Only for them to crash anti climatically into buildings a ways down the street. The targeting systems had been fried, seemingly by point blank gunfire. The other vehicle was in the same condition. They contacted Joker, who assured them that he could get the system hooked up to the Normandy if he had some time. The only thing he needed was the coordinates, which were easily acquired by Alliance strategists.

However, the useless first round of missiles hadn't been so useless for the Reapers. They threw everything they could at Shepard and his companions. The full spectrum of enemy forces were there, and in overwhelming numbers. By the time the missiles were ready to launch, only Shepard, Tali, and Garrus were left alive, holding out in a ransacked grocery store. They had made a mad dash for the vehicle, miraculously either missed or ignored by the Reaper destroyer that had been shaking the building they had been in with vicious attacks.

The last laser the Reaper had ever fired was at one of the deadly projectiles heading straight for it. One was taken out in midair, but all of the others made it to their destination. The massive machine lost one of its legs, and then took a hit square in its recharging eye. It went dim instantly.

With the Reaper dealt with, shuttles and other small aircraft had been able to launch from the base towards the beam. Shepard and his team only had to wait a short while before friendlies arrived in force. They took out the remaining Reaper ground troops, and got back the abounded Alliance vehicles. Both of the left and right teams were still slowly pushing forward, but the middle group was now closing in on the beam. Except for a small number designated to assist other forces, all of the aircraft were headed to said beam. Their forces were close to original strength, even though only three of the original members remained.

Shepard, Tali, and Garrus all now stood in a shuttle, resting after having been extracted. They were all breathing heavily, face or faceplate covered in dust and soot. The mood had been grim during the previous fight, and it stayed grim now. Updates from Alliance personnel came in saying another Reaper, the biggest one out of all of them, had left the fray above Earth. The space combat going on was intense, so the Reapers only spared what they thought was enough. Shepard's gut told him which it was instantly: Harbinger. The strongest enemy Shepard had ever faced; the leader of the Reapers. Even with a renewed force, Shepard and his team knew they were jumping from one impossible situation to the next.

But they had survived the last one, so it wasn't actually impossible. It just like felt like it. They would have no missiles to launch at Harbinger, so the impromptu plan was to make a beeline for the beam. Ground forces would be dropped off a ways back, so they could split up and have a better chance of making it. It wasn't the best idea, but they had no other options. It was now or never.

The people in the shuttle were dead quiet. Everybody had said their goodbyes some time ago, they knew the plan, and this was not a situation for banter. There was nothing to say, but Shepard and Tali didn't need words. As soon as they knew everything that was going on, they had embraced. Their arms slowly snaked around each other's body, and they held on tightly. Tali immediately buried her face in her companion's neck, and Shepard closed his eyes while bowing his head. And then they waited. A few people averted their eyes from the couple's display of love, but most didn't. There was no point; they might as well die after seeing something good for a change.

They ended the embrace instinctively as the shuttle descended. The time had come. But they couldn't bring themselves to part completely. Their fingers stayed linked, and they looked deeply into each other's eyes for what might be the last time. There were no smiles, so winks, no words, as the shuttle came to a stop on the ground. One pair of hands broke apart, but the other stayed. They stepped out of the shuttle, which left again as soon as everybody was off. Shepard, Tali, and Garrus now all stood near the middle of a large assembly oriented in a horizontal line.

Anderson's order to charge was overpowered by a deafening, well known but still not accustomed to, sound. A Reaper horn. Everyone watched in awestruck terror as Harbinger itself landed next to the beam. The beam they had to run to. Harbinger was absolutely gigantic, they biggest sentient being any of them had ever seen. Plates near the middle of the Reaper slid open, exposing an ominous red eye.

It started to glow. Shepard was the first to snap back to reality. "RUN!" he shouted as he took off sprinting. The entire group followed suit as quickly as they could manage.

Tali and Shepard probably would have gotten separated even if Harbinger's attack weren't raining down on everybody. The panic and confusion rapidly led to chaos, people ran randomly and dove out of the way as supposedly friendly vehicles zoomed by. The vehicles and aircraft quickly became Harbinger's priority. Shrapnel fell from the sky, and vehicles erupted in flames as the Reaper systematically blasted them apart.

Tali tried to continue to run, but was forced to drop to the ground as a piece of tank armor flew over her. She looked back at it, relieved, only to see an all too familiar Turian take the blow. "Garrus!" she exclaimed before fighting against the flow of soldiers to make her way back to her friend.

The chunk hadn't impacted him directly, but he had still sustained a pretty bad injury. The armor on his right leg was sliced open, showing a gruesome gash on his bony thigh. Garrus was too shocked to say anything; he just lay limp as Tali dragged him over behind a mako that had taken fairly minor damage. Tali kneeled down and tore a piece of cloth from the decorative part of her suit, using it soak up the blood that was covering his limb before coating the wound with her medi gel.

Garrus was breathing heavily, and his eyes had been closed this whole time, but when he felt the material from Tali's suit as she applied the soothing gel, he opened them. He looked down his body. His leg was going to be fine. He looked up at Tali. She was fine. He looked to her sides. "Where's Shepard?"

She was standing and looking around the corner of the mako in a flash. The sight was not pleasant. Every single vehicle was stopped, either having exploded or crashed, and only a handful of people were still up and running. Even at this distance, she could recognize Shepard from his distinctive armor. Harbinger made a sweeping laser strike, hitting them all in an uneventful, almost casual way. Tali dropped to her knees again, too distressed to say anything.

Garrus had been slowly standing himself up and testing his leg. The medi gel was very quick, and he barely felt the wound. Especially after he stood by Tali and saw the same thing she did. It felt like his whole body went numb.

Tali was looking down at the ground, but after a short while, Garrus tapped her on the shoulder. "Look." Tali didn't want to, but for some reason, she did anyway. A single person off in the distance, who had been lying on the ground, sat up.

Tali felt a massive surge of adrenaline fueled by hope. Garrus offered to help her up with his hand, but she didn't need it. She was already running as fast as she could.

Shepard sat up, his head spinning after being blasted back by Harbinger. The right side of his body was screaming at him, his leg and arm had taken the majority of the attack. He finally managed to orient himself, only to see the enormous Reaper looking down at him, charging its eye.

Adrenaline started coursing through his veins. He tried to stand, but his legs were too injured. He was down on his hands and knees with a grunt after barely a second. He clenched his teeth and pushed, giving everything he had to try and stand, or move, or do something. Anything.

His eyes squeezed shut when he heard Harbinger finish its charge. It wasn't really flashing, but Shepard saw his life go past his eyes. Running away from the orphanage on Earth. Joining a gang. Leaving said gang to enlist in the Alliance. The thresher maw on Akuze. The Normandy. Taking out Fist with Garrus and Wrex. Tali. Losing Ashley on Virmire. Fighting the Thorian. Killing Saren, and watching as Sovereign was destroyed. His death, and then resurrection by Cerberus. Seeing Tali again on Freedom's Progress, and realizing how he felt about her when he saw how hurt she still was after losing him, and how much he couldn't stand it. Shepard knew it was incredibly selfish, but he wished Tali was there with him. He wanted the last thing he saw to be her uncovered, glowing eyes looking into his.

He sighed deeply, and went slack to accept his fate. But his body didn't fall. He was being held up by something, and he also realized that he was moving. Definitely not by his own accord. Was he dead? No, he couldn't be, he heard Harbinger's beam fire right then.

He opened his eyes to see his arms draped around the shoulders of Tali and Garrus, who were running him off to cover. Shepard tried to put together a question. "What…how did…I don't…"

They laid his back against the remnants of a crumbled building, and Tali brought a finger to his lips. Shepard stopped his mild rambling, and Tali pulled out the rest of her medi gel. "Garrus took a hit a ways back. Minor. I stopped to help him," she explained as she gradually worked her way down Shepard's body, coating him in gel. She held a hand up when she was running low, and Garrus stood to pull out his supply of medi gel. He placed it in her palm so she could keep going.

"We saw you sit up, so we came to get you," Garrus added. "There was no way we'd just leave you out there."

Shepard watched Tali's eyes as she continued her work. They weren't uncovered, and it probably wouldn't be the last thing he saw, but was still immensely happy to be looking at them. To be looking at her. "Thank you," he said in a murmur, only loud enough for Tali to hear.

Harbinger let out an ear shattering horn blast, almost as if reminding them it was still there. "I will find you, Shepard," it said in its low, synthesized voice. "You cannot run."

"Well, looks like our only option is fight," Garrus said as Tali helped Shepard to stand, both so he could recover faster and so she could put the gel on his back.

"How?" she asked.

Shepard thought back to the Hades cannon. "Cain gun," he suggested in a still labored, but much stronger voice. "There had to be some shuttles with them."

"Are you sure you can fire them?" Tali asked in response as she finished covering his body in gel, which was depleted anyway.

"I don't have a choice."

Tali was still hesitant, but Garrus nodded. "I'll go look for one," he informed them, and was already sneaking away before the other two could argue.

Luckily, Harbinger was still just waiting. The field of debris was in the center of an even larger area. There really was no way for them to run. Just blindly blasting would be inefficient, and Harbinger didn't exactly grow tired or lose patience.

Shepard tested his arms while Garrus was away. "Thank you, Tali," he said again, not sure she had heard him the first time.

"You would have done the same for me," she responded with a small smile. She actually had heard him the first time, but was too worried about taking care of him to answer. Him saying it twice, just to show his appreciation, especially at a time like this, was sweet.

It was a common act for him to be sweet to her, but she still enjoyed it every time. "I'm just glad I didn't have to," Shepard replied.

They heard quiet and strained breathing a ways off. Looking to the source, they found Garrus carrying a huge yellow gun while still trying to stay crouched behind cover. It appeared to be difficult. Shepard met him halfway, and they carried it much more easily to the point in cover where they could stand. "There was another one out there," Garrus informed them through his panting. "And I'll bet there are a few more in the other direction," he added, rearing his head.

"I'll check around," Shepard said. "You two go get the one you saw." Tali followed Garrus in the direction he had just come from, and Shepard left the other way, staying hidden. It didn't take too long to find one, and soon they had all met back at the start, now with three Cains lined up next to each other against the wall.

"Think three is enough?" Garrus asked.

"Let's find out," Shepard answered, hoisting one of them up in his arms. It felt heavier than before. Not a good sign. "I need a distraction though."

Tali prepared a carnage blast on her shotgun. "Got it."

They parted ways again, after Garrus loaned Shepard his earpiece, since Commander's was totally fried. The new piece was uncomfortable, not made for humans at all, but he didn't complain. It was necessary if they wanted to communicate. Tali and Garrus were in position first, since they were carrying much lighter equipment. Shepard heard Tali's voice as he approached his own position. "Ready when you are, love."

Shepard smiled briefly at her last word as he decided on a suitable spot, and gave the order to go. A large fireball flew through the air, sizzling away when it hit Harbinger's hull. It really didn't do anything, except for draw the Reaper's attention. Shepard knew his team was already hidden and moving, so he didn't need to worry any more than usual when a red laser was fired at the origin of the blast. He stood and braced himself as the Cain charged. "Your attacks are futile, Shepard," Harbinger bellowed.

"That wasn't me," he muttered as a massive ball of energy exploded from the gun and sailed through the air. The Cain shot back violently in Shepard's arms, and he had the breath knocked out of him. He was much weaker than when he had fired the gun before. Regardless, he was hugely satisfied to see the projectile detonate on Harbinger, causing it to take a staggered step backwards.

Shepard was already moving back to the makeshift base before Harbinger could recover. It let out a ground shaking horn blast, in what Shepard imagined was pain or anger, or both.

Garrus and Tali were already there when he arrived. "What next?" Garrus asked quickly. "I doubt Harbinger will fall for that again."

Shepard stooped down and tossed a rock up to Garrus. "Wedge the trigger on one of these and put it in plain sight. You'll have to run to get away in time."

They went off in a similar fashion to before, making their way to new positions. They were ready at a similar time, since now they both had to lug a Cain around. The plan went off without a hitch. Garrus lifted the gun onto a fallen wall while Tali stuck the rock against the trigger before they took off. As soon as it was bright enough, Harbinger noticed it instantly. The Reaper fired at the Cain, causing the sphere inside to explode where it sat. Another similar detonation occurred immediately afterwards, right in Harbinger's eye. Its horn sounded as it collapsed to the ground.

But it managed to pull itself up again. Shepard hurriedly looked for another Cain. "I have already called more Reapers," Harbinger said. "Even if you defeat me, you will never make it to the catalyst." Shepard found a Cain, and started charging it, not aiming it at Harbinger just yet. "We will destroy you. We will destroy the Quarian. We-"

"Like hell you will!" Shepard yelled as he stood and trained his gun on Harbinger just before the ball of red energy left the barrel with a thump. There was no way the Reaper could charge in time. Shepard was blasted off his feet, flying backwards from the sudden recoil. He was in a lot better state than his enemy, though. Harbinger had fallen onto its side, unable to support itself any longer.

The Reaper's attack missed Shepard completely, hitting a mako a ways off. There was a large explosion there. Shepard stood back up with a grunt, and let out a huge sigh when he saw Harbinger on the ground, its eye growing dim. He put a finger to his ear. "You guys ok?"

There was no answer. Shepard's heart dropped. "Tali?" he asked more urgently. He took off running rapidly, ignoring the pain that shot through his body. He got to them as quickly as he could. Garrus was kneeled down, armor burnt and somehow coated in even more soot. But he appeared generally unharmed.

When he saw Tali, he felt sick to his stomach. She was propped up against a disabled hammerhead, and had splotches of blood all over her suit, which had various holes. Garrus was attempting to cover them using cloth from the unnecessary sections, more as a coping mechanism than to make her better. The skin he could see was scorched, and she was breathing dangerously slowly and heavily. Shepard dropped to his knees next to her and delicately took her hand. She looked over at him. "Shepard," she greeted, strain clear in her voice.

"I'm here," he responded softly. He felt helpless; there was nothing he could do to help her. Tali released a sigh of relief and leaned her head back. "How's she doing?" he asked Garrus.

"The explosion did a lot of damage," Garrus answered. "And we're out of medi gel." Shepard checked his own pouch, but it had basically been blown off from Harbinger's earlier attack.

Shepard jammed his fingers against his ear hard, forgetting about the pain as the foreign earpiece put pressure at awkward angles. "Joker. We need evac. Now."

"On my way," Joker answered, much to Shepard's relief. "By the way, there are three Reapers following me. Might want to make this fast."

They only had to wait a little longer before the Normandy came flying overhead. Shepard insisted on carrying Tali, much to Garrus' concern. He gingerly took her in his arms, and she hissed from the pain. "I'm sorry, beautiful," Shepard whispered as they all went as fast as they could to the ship as it descended and opened its docking hatch.

When they reached the ramp, Shepard carefully put Tali on her feet. "Take her," he said to Garrus. "I'm going back out there," he explained as the Turian supported Tali.

"What?" she exclaimed. "You can't!"

"Someone has to get into that beam, Tali," he responded sorrowfully. He wanted nothing more than to be with her, to make sure she was okay. But it wasn't about what he wanted.

"Then I'm going with you," she said, trying to walk away from Garrus, but too weak to do it.

Shepard shook his head fiercely. "You have to get out of here."

Tali was still desperately pushing against Garrus, even though he wasn't restraining her. "I can't stay behind."

"I need you to make it out of here alive, Tali," Shepard responded, resting a hand on the side of her helmet.

He could tell tears were forming in her eyes when she spoke her next sentence. "I can't lose you again, Shepard."

The word 'again' pierced Shepard's heart like a dagger. He couldn't stand the idea of putting her through what she had experienced the first time for a second time. He felt tears of his own welling now too. "Get back to Rannoch," he whispered. "Get yourself a home."

Tali leaned forward and tilted her forehead against Shepard's. "I have a home," she whispered back.

Shepard gently unlatched her faceplate. She was already exposed to the air from punctures in her suit; it wouldn't be any worse from this. He brought his lips to hers, and they kissed softly and tenderly. Shepard wiped the tears from underneath her eyes when it ended. "I'll always love you," he told her as he reattached her mask and slowly started to back away.

Tali reached her arm out towards him. "Come back to me," she pleaded once more.

Shepard almost stopped, but then he heard the unmistakable sound of a Reaper behind him. He turned slightly to see three of them, just like Joker had said, descending from the sky.

He spared one last look at Tali before sprinting off to the beam.