On That Day…

A/N: This is my take on the ending of Mass Effect 3. WARNING, WILL ROBINSON! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

There will be no silly star-child to give us information that was lost millions of years ago. I think the game should end with the destruction of the Reapers and a brief look at which of Shepard's team survived and where they were. However, since this is a fanfic I will continue the story beyond that point.

Reviews are helpful and welcome.

Admiral David Anderson, Commander Emelia Shepard, Garrus Vakarian, MAJ Coats and Liara T'Soni were discussing the final plan to get to the Reaper beam and open the Citadel arms when the transport suddenly – and violently – stopped moving. They were all thrown around. Shepard found herself on top of Garrus with Liara slung across her legs.

"What happened?" Liara asked in a shaky voice as she leaned against the bulkhead to get her barrings.

"Is everyone…ugh…alright?" Shepard asked as Garrus helped her get up.

Everyone stated they were fine and they exited the vehicle only to find that it had barely missed being completely crushed by a large building that had crumbled in front of them.

"Damn it!" Anderson exclaimed as he surveyed the damage.

Shepard trotted over to climb up some debris to see how far they were from the beam and the others joined her. It was still a distance away, but not as far as when they started out. The worst part was that it was a straight shot to the beam with no cover and a Reaper landed next to the beam as they watched.

"Everyone, try to get to the beam. Hammer Squads, go! Go! Go!" Anderson shouted into the comm. and they all began running. Other soldiers from other transports were also running as the Reaper's beam shot again and again.

Shepard quickly lost sight of her companions as she ran and dodged the deadly beam and the debris it threw into the air. She was getting close now and tried to put on more speed. This was it. The Crucible was on its way and this was their last chance to defeat the Reapers and save multiple species in the galaxy. She wouldn't – couldn't – fail now. "This is it. This is it." She panted as she dodged and weaved.

Twenty yards from the beam the Reapers deadly light erupted in front of her and the ground exploded. Shepard slid to a stop and tried to decide which way to go. The heat, light and unbearable noise of the weapon stunned her and she found she was unable to move. She watched in horror as the beam made its way toward her in slow motion. Shepard managed a strangled cry of despair as the beam hit her and everything went black.

Noise. Pain. Excruciating pain. Shepard shifted slightly and screamed as the pain roared to impossible levels. She was pinned, badly wounded and panic began bubbling up within her.

"Commander," came a groan from her left.

"Uhhg," was the only sound she was able to make. She heard the sound of something dragging across the ground toward her and heard the pained grunts that accompanied it.

"Shepard," the voice was right above her now and Shepard managed to open her eyes. Well only one opened, but she could see a little. Anderson's face hovered above hers. He was battered and bleeding, but he was alive and looking down at her.

"An – Anderson," she managed to groan. "What…" she couldn't manage any more. It felt like an elephant was on her chest and her entire body felt burned and crushed.

"I…ah…can't get you out, Shepard. And the beam is gone," Anderson muttered between pained grunts as he looked her over.

Tears of pain and defeat fell from her eyes. "I'm…sorry, Sir."

"You did good, child. You did…good," Anderson said with conviction, but he was very pale. "I'm proud of you."

Shepard tried to answer, but instead she coughed and a weak cry tore through her as she blacked out from the pain.

Kaidan threw another marauder and got his barrier in place just in time to avoid an energy wave from a banshee. His head buzzed painfully at the site of his implant and he knew he was overdoing his biotics, but he couldn't stop.

"Take her out!" Kaidan shouted to the remaining members of his squad and the marines scattered around him.

A barrage of biotics and ballistics slammed into the monster and with a final scream she disintegrated.

Kaidan looked over the debris he was taking cover behind and did a quick scan for his next target, but there weren't any in sight. He was out of breath and could feel the migraine trying to tear his skull in half, but they weren't done yet. They were east of the beam and their job was to keep the Reaper forces from overwhelming Shepard's location so she and her team could get to the beam and open the Citadel.

"Any targets?" Kaidan panted into his comm..

"Negative," came Private Linton's reply.

"Shit," Kaidan moaned as he rubbed his temples. That meant the Reapers were converging on Shepard and her team. "We'll need to re-group and back up Hammer at the beam. The Reapers are probably storming them right now."

"God…they're all gone," Kaidan heard the words come through his comm unit and his heart felt like it fell out of his chest. He was dimly aware that it was Major Coats' voice.

A female marine's voice came through next. "Did we get anyone to the beam?"

"Negative. Our entire force was decimated," Major Coats replied in a harsh voice. Kaidan felt the air rush out of him and he couldn't seem to draw another breath in.

"Repeat that last message," Admiral Hackett's voice boomed over the comm. "Did anyone make it to the beam?"

"Negative, Sir," Coats replied in a ragged voice. "The Reapers took everyone out thirty yards from the beam. The beam has since disappeared. The mission failed, Admiral."

There was absolute silence on the comm and from around Kaidan as everyone tried to process the information that Shepard had failed. Humanity had failed.

"It's too much. We need to regroup. Fall back to the buildings…" Coats shouted the order into the comm., but Kaidan was unable to focus on the words.

"Em," he groaned as he put his head in his hands. "Not again…I can't…" Kaidan was overcome with grief at the realization that he had lost Emelia again, that she was dead.

"Hammer's wiped out. All forces…retreat. Pull back! Pull back!" came the female Marine's panicked voice.

"Major Alenko, should we regroup with Hammer?" Sergeant Klinger's voice seemed to come from a long distance even though he had squatted down next to Kaidan.

"Sir!" Klinger yelled when Kaidan didn't respond. With a hard shove against Kaidan's shoulder the young biotic managed to get Kaidan's attention. "We need to regroup with Hammer Squad."

Kaidan managed to nod and Klinger stood up and started shouting orders to the group. Once he saw everyone moving to comply he turned back to Kaidan and heaved him to his feet. Keeping an arm around Kaidan he began to move them away. "Just fight the migraine a little longer, Major," he said as he led the grief stricken man from the field.

"The Crucible is moving into position," came Hackett's voice over the comm. "Ten seconds…five seconds."

Kaidan fought down his despair and concentrated on getting his squad to the rendezvous point. He moved away from Klinger and shouted at some stragglers to catch up.

"The Citadel's arms are opening," Hackett said in surprise. "Crucible is docked. All ships move to your coordinates and protect the Crucible."

Kaidan almost ran into Klinger's back and started to yell at the Marine to get moving when the sight that had stopped all of the others caught his attention. There were no less than three Reapers on the ground in the area the beam had been located. The beam to the Citadel was gone, but the Reapers were firing at anything that moved. Kaidan wasn't sure how they were going to get to the rest of Hammer Squad without being fried.

"Oh, shit," Klinger breathed in an awed voice.

"Sir," PrivateLinton's voice quavered in fear. "What do we do?" She asked shakily as she moved beside Klinger and Kaidan.

Kaidan had no idea at this point and his vision was going dark at the edges from his migraine and the loss of Shepard. Before he could answer the scared Private a corona of red seemed to envelope everything in sight. It moved like a fast fog and within seconds it had covered the stunned Marines.

Everyone turned tense and frightened gazes at their neighbors wondering what this was and what to do. There was no where to run as the corona was everywhere. A flash of red lightening brought Kaidan's attention back to the Reapers and he could see flashes and arcs jumping across each gigantic machine.

A flicker of hope ignited within him as he watched one Reaper collapse to the ground. Before the seismic tremor of that one had ceased the other two also went down. The remaining husks suddenly slumped to the ground and didn't move.

Everyone seemed to hold their breath for a moment, but when the Reapers didn't rise a cheer slowly rose from the hundreds of fighters huddled amongst the rubble.

"It worked," Kaidan whispered. "The Crucible worked!" There was a high squeal of delight beside him and before he could blink Private Linton hugged Kaidan hard. She let go of him and hugged the next closest person. With a laugh Kaidan realized that everyone around them was cheering and hugging. He had told Shepard that this is what it would be like.

Shepard! Kaidan just stood there, numb and heartsick. He had lost Shepard again. She had come back to him from death once before, but…

"Coats!" Kaidan yelled in the comm. "Get to the impact site and look for survivors. Everyone," he gestured wildly at the ecstatic soldiers around him. "Let's go. Klinger, get medics and transports to the beam site. Now!"

Kaidan began running. There was almost no chance that Shepard had survived, but she made a habit of doing the impossible. He had witnessed her do it at least a dozen times. Kaidan held onto that slim bit of hope and ran. His life depended on it.

Dozens of Marines joined him as they searched the rubble and checked each body they came across. The dead bodies were mutilated by heat and shrapnel and Kaidan was barely aware of the horror as each body was not her.

"Admiral!" Coats' strangled yell came over Kaidan's earpiece. "I found Admiral Anderson…and Shepard."

Kaidan quickly located Coats on his omni-tool and ran the four hundred yards with his heart in his throat.

"Anderson's dead," Coats said quietly as Kaidan came within sight. Kaidan saw that Anderson had fallen face down at the edge of the debris covering Shepard. As Kaidan reached her side Coats gently turned the Admiral over and moved him a few feet away. Anderson's legs ended mid-thigh.

"Shepard," Kaidan yelled breathlessly as he slid to a stop and knelt beside her. He ran his hand down her bloody face and then grabbed her hand that was sticking out of the rubble.

Coats knelt down on her other side and ran his omni-tool over the pale, still body. "She's alive," Coats reported in an awed voice. "Barely, but she's alive."

Kaidan ignored Coats as the man barked orders for medics and leaned down to bring his face next to Shepard's. "Em! I'm here…I'm with you. Stay with me! You stay with me, Emelia!" He noticed a great deal of blood running along the pavement from her head.

Other Marines had already arrived and Kaidan joined them in moving debris off of Shepard as the medics began working on her. As soon as the Shepard was free Kaidan went back and knelt by her side.

"You're going to be fine, sweetheart," he rasped through tears. "Just hang in there and everything will be fine."

A/N: I would have liked the game to end with the epilogue scenes showing the beam shutting down the Reapers across the galaxy and scenes showing what happened to Shepard's teammates. Just like ME2, I would have preferred if your rating decided who lived and who died. The entire plot of all three games was to stop the Reapers, so that should have been the only option. No starchild – which the instant I saw it I felt it was meant to manipulate me and make my Shepard take down her guard. No synthesis or control option, why would that even be there? No omnipotent chatter from the starchild giving us information that was lost millions of years ago. Okay, I'm done with my rant. My AU version of the story continues….