'He was ruthless'… 'Idealistic'… 'Trying to make a difference'

Archangel started to sound a lot like her old friend... Could it actually be Garrus here on Omega? The Illusive Man did say that he disappeared and was completely untraceable. Which could mean a few different things… It wouldn't be the most ridiculous thing if he was there on Omega living the dream of a vigilante would it? Thinking that it could be him everyone had been so unsuccessfully trying to kill both made her hopeful and scared. If Garrus was this Archangel, it seems he wasn't doing that well… He could even be dead before they even reached him with everything thats going on. If this Archangel was Garrus, then that would mean he had given up. It would mean that he gave into his compulsions, regardless of the way he was steering it. If this was really Garrus, would she even be met with the same man?

It had been two years for Garrus… Would he even still… Want her? Miss her? Follow her into hell?

As nice as it was to imagine, she couldn't let herself get her hopes up. Even given all of the similarities between Archangel and Garrus, what were the chances of it actually being him? Turian was a very common race. Many people use snipers… Or want to change the world. She tried to push the feeling of hope that grew in her stomach away. Shepard couldn't deal with the disappointment of Archangel not being who she wanted. The idea of him still being out there, alone. Living his life without her.

Along the way towards Archangels hideout, they did their best to sabotage the mercs tech and equipment, going as far as to hack their Mech- that should be a lovely surprise for them… The closer they got to the main assault on his base, the more anxious she grew. Shepard felt her heart pounding in her chest, the sound booming in her ears. That feeling of hope slipped back into her lower stomach. No matter how hard she kept telling herself to stop, that it wouldn't be Garrus- she couldn't. Trying her best to push it aside, it was time for the assault.

She, her crew and the mercs all made their way over a narrow bridge ready to finish off Archangel. They sure would be in for a surprise once they started killing them instead of Archangel. She stepped ahead looking past the mercs, seeing a flash blue and silver. The figure gazing through a black sniper riffle, directly at her. Shepard stood in the middle of the bridge, slowing walking towards the building, towards the figure her gun wasn't even drawn. She bit her lip, hard enough that she could taste the cool metallic blood. She watched as the turian reacted, shooting every one around them besides her. She was lost for a moment, zoning out in the middle of an assault.

She was transported to before her death… Before Garrus went back to C-Sec. They had been off dealing with a derelict freighter. It was full of husks and geth and it hadn't been an easy mission despite the way it would seem. This mission had been just the two of them, so it proved a little difficult given the set up of the room. At one point they climbed high up the crates that made the room a maze, deciding to pick them off one by one from up top. Garrus had always been a fantastic shot. She loved watching him use his sniper. Damn, he really needed a new one…

They lay on the crates shooting husk after husk from cover. One by one they fell, and she watched the way he held his gun. Garrus had always been the one to study Shepard, but this time she was the predator. Learning him. Figuring out what made him tick. Garrus had this effortless grip when holding his sniper. It looked almost like it was a part of him…

They way Archangel moved… The way he held that riffle. It was so familiar. She had seen that before, she was sure of it.

That armor… That gun… that… this… No. It's not him… Stop.

The sound of Miranda speaking combined with being shot by concussive round brought her back to the moment. Back to the bridge and back to her mission.

"Shepard! What the hell are you doing?" Miranda yelled over com from behind cover.

A concussive round?

Shepard felt the buzz of her shield popping back up, nodded to Miranda finally pulling her gun out. She held her fist up signaling the time for action. From behind the mercs, they opened fire.

"Shit! They're with Archangel!" One of the Eclipse mercs yelled around them.

One by one the mercs fell as the three of them made their way through the building, up the stairs and to Archangel's hiding spot. After shooting the last two krogan trying to bypass his locks, they continued inside. The mechanical buzzing opened to reveal a tall, lean turian standing. Archangel stood with his back facing them. He still held his gun pointed over the ledge towards the bridge. She thought about how familiar his stance was. Shepard took a slow step forward beginning to speak. Feeling herself growing warm as anxiety filled her.

"Archangel?" She stepped a little closer feeling her heart start to pound.

It's not going to be him. It's not going to be him. It's not going to be him…

The turian turned looking at her. She once again admired the metallic blue, and silver of the heavy armor. She scanned each plate noticing a symbol she hadn't seen before. Shepard slowly brought her eyes to the turians face, but only saw her own reflection in the helmet. She did look like herself… But different. She noticed the light glow of her scars, but forced the thought away. Shepard couldn't afford to think about what she looked like right now so she lowered her gaze to his hands. Archangel stood stiffly holding a sleek black Spectre requisition sniper riffle. Shepard looked back to his face not speaking, as the turian removed his helmet.

"Shepard?" The voice breathed out lightly looking at her as if he'd seen a ghost. Under the circumstances, he sorta had been hadn't he? He could hardly believe this was more than a hallucination- only this time she had her own heat signature. He saw her stats trickling by on his visor and unless his psychosis had escalated- she was really there. Shepard stepped closer to him and his eyes grew wider. Garrus reached a hand out touching her face. "I… I thought you were dead." His voice purred softly letting the riffle and helmet slip from his hands onto the nearby couch.

"Garrus?" After a moment she looked up at him, her eyes grew wide filling with tears. In a flash they grabbed each other tightly. Their armor' clashing in an elegant crash. Garrus was squeezing her tightly, actually feeling her. He buried his face into her neck and hair. Lavender… Shepard… He pulled back after a minute placing both hands on either side of her face. Garrus looked down at her, feeling her fresh scars under his fingers.

"Are you really here, Jane?" He looked desperately into her eyes, seeing her vitals trickling in front of him.

"Are you?" Shepard laughed lightly leaning her forehead to his shutting her eyes.

This was it. It really was him… All of her feelings and imagination turned into reality. She had no idea how, but they were together again. She wasn't going to be alone anymore. The last 24 hours had been unbearable, but the second she saw that it was him she knew she could do it. She could take on the Collectors, she could work with Cerberus… She could do it all. She pulled back studying his face. Shepard could see how tired he must he. He had been locked up there without sleep or food for god knows how long. But behind his desperation was hope. The look they shared spoke volumes, and even though no words left their lips they had an unspoken conversation. Shepard could see the pain in his eyes, that had weighed down on him for these last 2 years. She could see the desperation in them as he held her face lightly in his hands.

God, the way he felt was incredible. Shepard hadn't realized how much she really missed him until he was with her. How much she missed the crystal shade of his eyes, the deep reverb of his voice. She missed the way he said her name, and the way he watched her back. All of it. Shepard wanted to ask him where he'd been, what he'd been doing. How did he manage to piss everyone off on Omega? Was he happy? Had he met someone? 'Archangel'?

This wasn't the time though. They were together, and they had time to catch up. It may have only been a few months for Shepard, but it had been a whole 2 years for Garrus. Who knew what he had been up to? Clearly he had been busy.

"Excuse me… I don't mean to interrupt the reunion but we've still got a mission to finish, Commander." Miranda said stepping closer interrupting their moment.

"Right. We can play catch up once we get you out of here." Shepard tried letting go of him but he still just held her close to him. "Garrus, I'm here. It's really me." She looked into his eyes and smiled.

His smile.