A/N: Hi all! Just to say thank you for checking out this story! This story runs parallel with my other Mass Effect fic, Heart to Heart. I would advise giving it a read, especially for the later chapters following the Citadel Coup. With all that said and done, thank you for reading and enjoy the story!

She looked out of the window, seeing the all too familiar city of Vancouver that she had grown accustomed to these past six months. While she had never been to Earth before, she found that, despite her confinement, that the place was as pretty as people described it. Granted, this was just one city, one single view, with even more hidden wonders out there.

And yet, it could all come crashing down any minute now.

It was a bleak outlook. But it was reality, as much as people wanted to avoid it. And it was becoming harder for her to ignore it. Three years of knowing it. Three years of worry, anger, frustration. And she was dead for two of those years.

When did it all spiral out of control?

She moved a strand of her ruby red hair out of her face, the glass so crystal clear she could see her own reflection staring back at her. Bright ruby red hair, bright sapphire eyes; she was as unusual as a human could be. She was always unusual. Always odd. Always stood out. Always an enigma.

Always roped into everyone's problems.

Always in trouble.

Always helping people. Always saving people.

That was Commander Kacey Shepard.

Or it was Commander. Her title was stripped six months ago. Not that she cared anymore. It hurt a bit at first, even though she knew what was going to happen thanks to Admiral Hackett. And if it weren't for him and Anderson…well, there were worse things out there. She assumed that it was partial bias that they had stood by her, Hackett especially. But as time went on, a part of her took the more cynical approach of the Alliance needing her around in case the Reapers showed up; she was, as Anderson once put it, they're only hope at this point.

And Kacey didn't know how to feel about that.

Since she had died two years prior, everything in her life had spiralled out of control. For all the good that it did, meeting new people, saving the galaxy again and surviving a suicide mission, the bad parts were the hardest pills to swallow. She lost a lot; any stability her life had was gone. And a lot of people no longer wanted anything to do with her anymore. And that was what hurt the most.

But she didn't want any of this.

As she looked out the window, her mind drifting to some very painful memories, the door to her room opened. A bulky Alliance marine entered, the same marine that was keeping a close eye on her the entire time she was here.

"Commander." James Vega saluted.

"You're not supposed to call me that anymore, James." Kacey corrected. It had felt a bit like he was rubbing salt in her wounds.

"Not supposed to salute you, either." James replied as his tone grew more serious, "We gotta go. The defence committee wants to see you."

"Sounds important." Kacey said as she followed James out of the room quickly.

James Vega was an interesting person to say the least. With how little she knew about the marine, she was surprised by the almost polite and kind nature he had. Most people in the building didn't even look at Kacey, and most had more nasty things to say about the Alliance's 'fallen hero', but James had simply treated Kacey well despite it all. She wasn't used to such things, but she welcomed it. Kacey had heard rumours that James apparently looked up to her, something that, over time, she hoped wasn't true. He could do with a better idol than her. She was, in her own words, a walking disaster.

Kacey did not anticipate the halls being as crowded or as loud as they were, with people rushing around, in deep conversation, worried tones and anxious faces. Kacey tried to ignore some of the scowls of those that walked past and focused on following James.

"What's going on?" Kacey asked.

"Couldn't say." James answered, "Just told me that they needed you…now."

It didn't bode well. Or at least that was what Kacey thought. Her grim expression had changed as she recognised a familiar face heading towards them.

"Anderson." Kacey said.

"Admiral." James added.

Anderson shook Kacey's hand as they kept walking, "You look good, Shepard. Maybe a little soft around the edges. How are you holding up since being relived from duty?"

She didn't know how to answer that. The truth was that she was barely coping. As it turns out, surviving a suicide mission, as well as all the other crazy stuff she had lived through six months ago had really taken its toll on her. She would never admit it, and she didn't want to now.

"It's not so bad. Still can't get used to the hot food and soft beds though." Kacey replied.

"Once Alliance, always Alliance." Anderson gave a small laugh, "We'll get it sorted out."

"What's going on?" Kacey asked as more Alliance staffers ran past, "Why's everyone in such a hurry?"

"Admiral Hackett's mobilising the fleets." Anderson replied, "I'm guessing word's made it to Alliance Command…something big's headed our way."

She hated being right. She already knew what it was.

"The Reapers?" Kacey stopped.

"We don't know. Not for certain." His answer irritated her.

"What else could it be?" Kacey asked with a little frustration in her voice.

"If I knew that…" Anderson trailed off.

"You know we're not ready if it is them. Not by a long shot." Kacey replied, her tone firm, "We should've prepared more."

"Tell that to the defence committee."

Kacey scoffed, "Unless we're planning to talk the Reapers to death, the committee is a waste of time."

"They're just scared." Anderson explained, "None of them have seen what you've seen. You've faced down a Reaper. Hell, you spoke to one…then blew the damn thing up! You've seen how they've harvest us, what they plan to do to us. You know more about this enemy than anyone."

And yet she was stuck in a room for six months. Kacey's frustrations were finding a voice, and she was more than willing to make it clear.

"That's why they grounded me?" Kacey snapped, "Took away my ship?"

"You know that's not true." Anderson stopped Kacey, "When you blew up the batarian Relay, hundreds of thousands of batarians died."

"It was that or let the Reapers walk through our back door." Kacey defended herself.

"I know that, Kacey." Anderson said, his voice only loud enough for Kacey to hear, "And so does the committee. If it wasn't for that, you'd have been court-martialled and left to rot in the brig."

"That, and your good word?"

"Yeah. I trust you, Shepard. And so does the committee."

"I'm just a solider, Anderson. I'm no politician."

"I don't need you to be either." Anderson said as he continued forward with Kacey and James behind him, "I just need you to do whatever the hell it takes to help us stop the Reapers."

They entered another room, where a woman walked over and addressed Anderson, "They're expecting you two, Admiral."

Kacey continued to follow, still pissed off. She continued to hold her tongue, however. She knew better than to argue when she was already in so much trouble. It was one thing firing off snarky remarks and arguing with the Illusive Man, who she detested, but it was another thing entirely when it came to Anderson; someone she respected and had done so much for her over the years.

"Good luck in there, Shepard." James said.

He offered his hand and Kacey shook it. She couldn't be angry at him; as angry as she was by her own situation. It could've been much worse.

"Anderson."

It just got worse.

Kacey didn't want to turn around. Not now. She would've preferred being stuck in a prison cell.

"Shepard."

Shit.

Kacey turned around, putting on a brave face, her 'commander face' as a close friend of hers once put it. She looked over at the person who called her name, a flood of different emotions flowed through as she tried to appear as normal as possible. She hadn't seen him in months, not since they met again on Horizon…

"Kaidan."

James had already walked away as Kacey had spoken up. The last time she saw Kaidan…they parted on bad terms. A shouting match with both of them being stubborn, Kaidan accusing Kacey of all sorts of stuff and Kacey getting frustrated to the point of lashing out. Their last exchange had hurt a lot, and Kacey still hadn't gotten over it.

But then again, it is hard to stop loving someone, isn't it?

She didn't even hate him for it; not one bit. He stood his ground, and he was right in the end. But it didn't matter anymore, the damage was done. She hated being at odds with him again, after everything that had happened. The feelings she had for him were complex, difficult for her to process. And now, it felt like the universe was trying to rub more salt in her wounds.

"How'd it go in there, Major?" Anderson asked Kaidan.

'Major? When did that happen?' Kacey thought to herself. Six months in house arrest really does mess with a person's perception of time.

"Okay, I think." Kaidan said, "Hard to know. I'm just waiting for orders now."

"Major?" Kacey questioned.

"You hadn't heard?" Anderson said surprised.

"No, I hadn't." Kacey said, "I assumed I wasn't supposed to know."

"Sorry, Shepard." Kaidan said, sounding slightly apologetic, "It's been…well…"

He trailed off. It seemed that the complex emotions Kacey was feeling appeared to be mutual.

"That's okay." Kacey said, deciding to speak up before things got more awkward, "I'm just…glad I bumped into you, Kaidan."

It was half true; she was a bit happy to see him okay, but another part of her was just that bit more anxious and upset by it.

"Yeah…me too." Kaidan replied.

And it hit her again.

The awkward atmosphere was suffocating. It was starting to drive her mad. Suddenly having to talk to the defence committee didn't seem like such a bad idea to Kacey.

"Admiral." The woman from before interrupted to which Kacey was silently grateful.

"Come on." Anderson said as he walked away. Kacey followed silently and gave Kaidan the smallest, meekest smile humanly possible as she went past.

…

"Admiral Anderson. Shepard." One of the committee members greeted them.

"What's the situation?" Kacey asked.

"We were hoping you would tell us."

Kacey nearly scoffed. Did they forget that she was under house arrest for six months? She was quickly handed a datapad and she scrolled through as the only woman on the committee continued.

"The reports coming in are unlike anything we've seen." She said, "Whole colonies have gone dark. We've lost contact with everything beyond the Sol Relay."

"Whatever this is," the first member said, "it's incomprehensibly powerful."

Kacey felt sick with dread. So, they are here. After three years of warnings, refusals, denials…

They are here.

"You brought me here to confirm what you already know." Kacey said with frustration, "The Reapers are here."

Audible gasps could be heard throughout the room. Kacey took a deep breath as the woman on the committee spoke up again.

"Then…how do we stop them?"

"Stop them?" Kacey questioned, "You are three years too late for that. This is no longer about strategy or tactics. This is about survival. The Reapers are more advanced than we are. More powerful. More intelligent. They don't fear us, and they won't take pity on us."

"But…there must be some way!"

"We stand together." Kacey replied, "If we are going to have any chance at surviving this, we have to stand together."

"That's it?" The first committee member scoffed, "That's our plan?"

"Admiral! We lost contact with Luna Base!"

Kacey's eyes widened upon hearing that. Adrenaline was starting to run through her. The invasion would start any second now.

"The moon?" Anderson said, "They can't be that close already…"

"How'd they get past our defences?" The female committee member asked.

"Sir! UK headquarters has a visual!"

She turned to look at the large screen behind them. It was static for a few minutes before a man's face appeared, trying to say something but no words were coming through. Then that sound, could be heard in the background. A sound that caused Kacey's heart to stop completely. Something large was see pounding into the ground as the signal was lost. Once it returned, Kacey's heart sank, and the pit in her stomach grew.

Images and videos of several Reaper capital ships, just like Sovereign and Harbinger appeared on screen, standing in the middle of cites as newscasters were reporting the sights. A singular image of the planet from space showed hundreds of ships heading directly for the planet. Videos of cities with large plumes of smoke rising over the skylines, husks running through the streets and Reapers everywhere. Kacey felt sick, sick with dread. The video was paused at the sight of a Reaper, and Kacey didn't know what to do.

"Why haven't we heard anything from Admiral Hackett?" Anderson asked, looking over at Kacey. He paused, as if expecting Kacey to have the answer. But no words left her lips. She had nothing.

"What do we do?" The first committee member asked in a desperate tone.

Kacey took a deep breath, collected herself and turned on her heel, taking a few steps towards the committee.

"The only thing we can!" she said, "We fight, or we die!"

The three committee members looked at each other, despondent. Kacey couldn't believe that, after three years of this, she was yet again having to spell it out again to people. Her dread was getting tangled up in her frustration, her anger. She felt as though she was going to blow a fuse before Anderson addressed her.

"We should get to the Normandy…"

He never finished. A large thundering, rumbling noise could be heard through the room. Everyone looked up, trying to find the source of the eerie, anxiety-inducing noise. Kacey looked out of the large window that sat behind the committee table, where outside the clouds turned dark, crimson lighting cackled through the sky and the familiar, metal tentacles of a Reaper descended onto the city, already firing its laser into the streets below.

"Oh my god…" The female member trailed off.

Kacey's flight or fight response immediately kicked in, adrenaline flooding her body as quick as lighting, her eyes widened as she backed away quickly, knowing exactly where the Reaper was going to fire its laser next.

"MOVE!" she shouted, "GO, GO, GO!"

Only Anderson turned to run alongside Kacey as the rest gawked at the giant red laser that blasted through the window, sending the table flying behind Kacey and Anderson. While Kacey avoided being wiped out by the table by sliding underneath it, her brief pause in movement meant that the second shot towards the Alliance building sent her flying, with her back smashing into a chair behind her at such a force she began to lose consciousness. The last thing she heard were the panicked screams and shouts of Alliance soldiers.

When did it all spiral out of control?