"She waited for you, Shepard?"

Yes, of course she did. God…she was so wonderful. And I was such a fool…for waiting.

"Do you have…regrets?"

Before he could respond, the VI flickered.

What was that?

"A power fluctuation. I fear our time is almost at an end."

On cue, the power icon appeared again on the right side of Shepard's vision. It was flashing red now.

I take it that that's not good.

"No Shepard. It is not good."

What are my options?

"There are two: the first is that you remain in this place and die. It will be painless, and most likely relatively pleasant."

And the second?

"You are awakened, returning you to full consciousness with your body in its current state. According to our estimates, it will be…unpleasant. The pain alone will likely send you into shock. You will most likely die…painfully."

Those are some shitty options.

I guess I don't have much of a choice. Awaken me.

Besides, I've known pain before.

Putting out its virtual cigarette by rubbing it into the palm of its hand, it acquiesced.

"Very well, Shepard. Cerberus thanks you for your service. Good luck."

As the red lines faded to a complete darkness, the memories swirled around him as he rose from the black and murky depths of his mind.

"Shepard-Commander"

Images of the Geth known as "Legion", the moniker of the unit chosen to speak on the race's behalf. The unit that would sacrifice itself so that all Geth would become sentient.

A sacrifice that Shepard would render ineffectual.

"Someone else might've gotten it wrong."

Mordin Solus, the former STG agent, doctor, part-time singer, and scientist. Some would say "mad scientist". He helped to enhance the genophage, then was instrumental in its eradication.

"I'm proud of you, son."

Captain Anderson. The first commander for whom Shepard was XO. The man instrumental in setting his life on track. His only ally on the Citadel. His friend. A father.

Garrus. His friend, his compatriot. One of two souls that was there for him when all others were not.

"I'm Garrus Vakarian, and this is my favorite spot on the Citadel!"

Tali'zorah. His serya. His soulmate. The reason he was trying to come back in the first place.

"Don't leave me behind…"

"Come back to me…"

That's what I'm going to try to do. I love you, ser –

Shepard's eyes fluttered open, and he felt nothing but

PAIN.

OHMYFUCKINGGODEVERYTHINGHURTS

ICAN'TBREATHEICAN'TBREATHEICAN'T-

"BREATHE!"

Shepard saw only white - the brightest white he could imagine – when his eyes flashed open, bulging, bloodshot and strained. Immediately, his vision started to falter as his head swam closer to unconsciousness. He wheezed and coughed heavily. His vision was laced with shadow at the edges, and he felt his resolve soften, then –

"Tali…" His voice croaked as he tried to force his eyes to focus. Failing that, he centered himself on the image of her: laying beneath him and smiling beautifully up at him. Her pearl eyes, her delicate skin. Her voice, her laugh. Her lips graze against his.

"Are you going to get up from there or not, serya?"

In his mind, he could see the smile on her face. It was warm and full of love for him. Her voice - that soft and sweet voice - rang in his ears. The angel was calling for him.

His angel.

"Tali, I'm coming…"

Still wheezing, he took a few deep breaths to calm himself.

"C'mon Shepard! Focus!"

Anderson's voice was less of a suggestion, and much more the command of his superior officer.

Finally, through sheer strength of will, he was able to focus his eyes and start to assess his situation.

The white that he saw that had flooded his vision, turned out to be active lighting. It flickered and wavered, but it remained active.

Okay, wherever I am, there's power.

He breathed deeply.

And life support.

But he also felt a burning in his chest.

That can't be good. And that might explain the coughing.

At that thought, Shepard looked at himself. What he saw made him nauseous. It also matched what he was feeling.

For starters, he was laying on a pile of rubble with his left foot pinned underneath some debris. He was covered in dust, dirt and blood. Instinctively, he reached forward to try to remove it and was introduced to a new shock of pain in his shoulder and a duller ache under his left breast.

I wonder if they tried to repair a pierced lung. Because, fuck me, that hurts.

Not like there's a part of me that doesn't.

"Shit," he muttered as he reached with his relatively undamaged right arm. Grunting with the effort and the newfound pain in his lower back (how many vertebrae? he wondered), the commander managed to dislodge the piece of rubble that had pinned his foot down. After three attempts, he was able to throw it off of himself. To his dismay, he found that his left foot was facing the wrong way.

"Fuck…that's not good either."

His mind raced as he tried to determine how he was going to get off of his ass and into gear. Shepard took a more measured view of his surroundings then. Smoke and dust were everywhere, but he also saw the remnants of –

"Is that the ridiculous mass relay monument?"

Shepard grunted again, trying to get a better look.

"Yup. It sure is," he deadpanned. "Or at least, what's let of it." He took a breath to refocus, coughing as a result.

Okay, that means that I'm on the Presidium. That means the Embassies and C-Sec. I need to find a working console. Don't worry about the 'how you got here.' It doesn't matter. Although I'm curious - how did even that much of that fucking monument survive?

He shook his head involuntarily to clear the thought from his head. He immediately regretted it.

Crying out in the pain that had shot into his neck like a railroad spike, his vision wavered again.

Okay, Shep. Slow it down. She'll still be there for you.

You'd better be good to her.

Much to his surprise, Kasumi's voice had invaded his thoughts.

Ha, even now, my crew is still here for me.

Can I roll off this thing…?

Shepard tried to do just that. He started to shift his weight from his left to his right side, but as soon as he shifted left, that entire side of his body screamed at him in protest. He was quickly overwhelmed by its intensity, rolling again onto his back. He ignored the searing pain in his chest as he gulped air down into his battered lungs, which forced another coughing spell.

Shepard wasn't sure how long he laid there after that first failed attempt.

God damn it I need water.

Still lying there, his body had been rendered temporarily useless. A thought occurred to him. Maybe an epiphany.

What if…I wonder if this still works?

Forcing his mind to focus, he ignored the growing pounding in his head as he created a small mass effect field in the palm of his right hand. He held it in place for a full second before he exhaled and it dissipated. He wondered if he had enough strength to try again.

He and Tali are on Rannoch. Shepard looks out over the vast expanse as Ticcun sets. He favors his left side as the injuries have piled up.

"It really is beautiful, Tali."

"I know, serya. It's a nice place to live."

She extends her own hand. In it she is holding what Shepard immediately recognizes as a biotic implant. He grasps it and takes it into his own hand. The touch of her invigorates him. This beautiful woman smiles at him as she speaks.

"It's a -"

"Start," he finished as his eyes flash open again. With fresh resolve, he willed the implant and amp to do his bidding. From a tiny point of blue light, the mass effect field grew in both size and strength. It engulfed first his hand, then his arm. Breathing deeply but rhythmically, he had finally willed the field to envelop him. He marveled at the sensation of weightlessness as the mass effect field lightened him. Slowly, Shepard began to pull his own body off of the pile.

Okay Shepard. This is just like using "Lift" but you're the target. Now do this gently…

He heard those thoughts in Liara's voice. He had relied on her to help to fine-tune his abilities when she wasn't busy being the Shadow Broker. Despite telling her on more than one occasion that she should be resting; that being the Broker was more than a full-time job, she had persisted in her quiet and determined way. Her resolve was evident in the blue fire of her eyes.

"Shepard, I promise you that I am okay. Glyph can handle much of the day-to-day while we practice. Besides, if all goes well, I will have another nine centuries to catch up on any rest."

"But Liara-"

She brushed his protests aside.

"Do not 'but' me, Shepard. You need all of the help you can get. And if you need a bit more motivation, I believe a certain Miss vas Normandy would be quite thankful if some of this is the reason that you – we – survive."

He had relented at the mention of Tali's name then, and he was immeasurably grateful for doing so now.

With the biotic strength of an asari but the finesse of a charging krogan, Shepard lifted himself from the bed of rubble. The commander occasionally grunted in pain as his imperfect mass effect field fluctuated around him, exposing his strained and broken body to varying degrees of stress. Resolutely, he floated forward within his biotic bubble.

As he cleared the pile of smoldering debris, his will faltered – he simply didn't have the stamina that asari were able to command. He thought of Samara when they infiltrated the Collector base; it was by her will alone that they had passed through the swarms of seekers. His own mass effect field flickered and finally eked out of existence, dropping Shepard ungracefully onto the floor.

"Ah…fuck," he grunted as the unforgiving floor met his battered body. He had tried to force his right side – the less-injured side of him – to take the brunt of the fall. With a sharp thud, he landed hard on his left shoulder anyway, hearing it crack a bit more. Thankfully, he had thought to guide his right leg under his left ankle in an attempt to protect it from further damage.

Yeah, that shoulder is definitely fucked…with practically everything else.

Broken and weary, he laid there simply trying to regain a measure of control over his body. Shepard laid on his side and watched curiously as a mixture of dirt, sweat, and his own blood ran down his arm and coalesced into a steadily growing pool.

What fragile creatures we are. Just a bit of flesh and bone, and I'm watching it pour out of me. Tali, I'm trying here, serya. But…I'm getting tired.

"John, please come back to me. I promise I'll make it worth your while."

It'll be worth it?

"Totally."

He marveled for a moment at the sound of her voice in his head. It sounded so real, like she was right there. He could almost feel her breath on his ear. It was enough to refocus him.

A few deep breaths later, he rolled over and was able to find purchase enough on a nearby handrail to raise himself up from the cold and unforgiving floor.

On one foot, but now more or less erect, Shepard again surveyed the situation.

Jesus, what a fucking mess.

What was left of the Presidium was shrouded in smoke and ash. Fires had popped up here and there, and the piles of rubble were accented by the more than a few charred and broken bodies of the poor souls that were unfortunate enough to had still been on the giant station when the Crucible fired.

It was a disaster. The smell was atrocious.

Well, these must be the bodies of those that hadn't been 'collected' – was that the right word? – by the keepers. God, there was so much death. I'll weep for them – all of them – later.

"Shepard-Commander"

Christ, Legion. I'm so sorry…

Can I even weep for them? Do they just become numbers on a screen?

"Ten billion here so another twenty billion there can survive."

Such ruthless calculus.

That's when he noticed the stuttering, flashing visage of the Citadel VI – Avina.

"Right where you're supposed to be, you bosh'tet." He chuckled hoarsely at his own use of Tali's favorite expletive.

He slid along the handrail, using it for support. He left a trail of blood and dirt in his wake as he shuffled along. Slowly, numbly, he made his way to the interface.

Avina greeted him, flickering but still functional.

"Wel-welcome to …-sidium. I am…vina."

"Hi, Avina. I don't need you, but I do need your network," he grunted to the VI distractedly.

Opening his omnitool (which was still operational - a happy development for which he was eternally grateful) he got to work using a trick that Tali and Kasumi had shown him once. It was one that even a relative novice engineer could learn.

"Okay, now to access the root menu…"

When he was finished, he slumped his body against the glass of the handrail. Completely spent, he waited.

Okay Tali, I did what I could. Please come bring me home…