When the Reaper falls, Anderson will arrive to launch an assault on the Citadel Beam. In space, the Crucible will begin its trek towards the Citadel. The Reapers will have no choice but to take notice of what you are doing now. If you can’t make it to the Citadel Beam in time, the Crucible will surely be destroyed, and with it, all of the organic species in the galaxy. The Reapers will currently be swarming towards your position, though, as the fact that you were actually able to take down a Reaper on the surface will have been enough to get their attention.

As you near the Citadel Beam, all hell will break loose. The Reapers will begin to indiscriminately fire their laser cannons into the mass of charging Alliance soldiers. When the Beam is in sight, sprint directly towards it. Don’t worry about the laser fire raining down around you; it will never actually hit you. Keep charging forward as soldiers and vehicles alike explode on all sides around you. You will never run out of sprint in this section, so just make a run for it.

When you finally reach the beam, a laser blast will hit you and knock you to the ground. With just yards to go to the Beam, stand back up and limp forward. A wave of three Husks will emerge from the wreckage to the right and charge at you. The game will enter into slow motion. Go for headshots on the Husks with your pistol, as if you miss too much, the Husks can still kill you. Wipe them out and keep moving slowly forward. As you near the wreckage of a vehicle, a Marauder will jump out to the left and shoot at you. Again, go right for the head.

When you finally reach the beam, it will suck you up to the Citadel. You will awake, bloodied and bruised and with nothing but your pistol, in a hallway surrounded by corpses. The Citadel Beam has transported you to an area of the Citadel that you will never have visited before. Through the radio static, Anderson will confirm that he was able to make it to the Citadel as well. The rest of the troops unfortunately weren’t so lucky. For all intents and purposes, you have just beaten Mass Effect 3. The only thing left to do is to determine which ending you will get.