Chapter 1 – Prologue

The "child" gave her three choices. Well, technically there were four, but walking away from ending the Reapers once and for all was not an option. She wouldn't be that stubborn. Whatever she chose would mean the end of the war and her and she knew it. A lump settled in the back of her throat.

Forgive the insubordination, but your boyfriend has an order for you. Come back alive. It'd be an awfully empty galaxy without you.

"Garrus, I'm so sorry," she whispered. She never got overtly emotional during these past few years, but she noticed her eyes started to well up. She wasn't going to return to his arms and it tore her apart on the inside.

Get yourself together, Shepard, she thought to herself.

She took a moment to think about what was presented to her – she could control the Reapers, but that is what the Illusive Man would have wanted and she wasn't about to stoop down to his level. The second option would allow her to synthesize organics and inorganics. It seemed like a logical choice. It would put an end to any future, if not all, wars. However, she thought back to her final confrontation with Saren on the Citadel three years ago. She remembered the horrible abomination he transformed into and she couldn't let the entire galaxy turn into that.

It was decided. Her third option was the one that made the most sense. It would do exactly what she planned on doing to the Reapers from day one: destroy them. With her pistol in her right hand, she started to limp towards the giant piston, or at least that's what she thought it was. When she got a few meters away from it, she aimed her gun towards it and started shooting at the glass. With each shot and step, the glowing red energy within started to seep out.

She started to think about everyone who helped her get this far. Anderson was like a father to her after she lost hers on Mindoir. Thane was a good friend and his selfless sacrifice helped her save the Citadel from the Cerberus attack. But it was Garrus' image in her mind that meant the most to her and she made sure he was the last thing on her mind when she died.

The glass shattered and Shepard was swiftly consumed by the explosion.

Garrus was furious with Shepard's call. He would have jumped right out of the Normandy and remained with her had it not been for his armor being decimated beyond belief and James firmly holding him up/keeping him inside the ship. He wanted desperately to be at her six. He was always at her six. Her hand caressing his cheek and her final 'I love you' didn't make matters any better. The hatch started to close and all Garrus could do was hold his arm out towards her. The Normandy lifted off and Shepard drifted further and further away.

James dragged him down to the med-bay to have Dr. Chakwas heal his injuries. He helped Garrus up on the examining table. Garrus felt a few sharp pains jolt through his body but he didn't think the injuries weren't life threatening. He looked down at his armor. It was still smoldering from the Mako explosion. How pathetic was that? He'd dodged bullets, returned from a suicide mission from the Omega 4 Relay and taken out a few Reapers and his armor only got scuffed here and there. But a Mako explosion had destroyed his armor and nearly knocked him out. Now he had another reason to hate the Mako.

"We need to get you out of this armor now, before it burns you to death," Dr. Chakwas ordered.

The pieces unsnapped fairly easily. Some fell off on their own due to the disintegrated straps. His under armor had a few holes burnt into it, but it was still intact. Chakwas started applying MediGel immediately to his wounds.

"You've got third degree burns. Lie down and just try to relax. These Medi-gel applications will sting quite a bit," Dr. Chakwas said.

The Normandy was shaking violently whilst this and he could hear Admiral Hackett's order over the intercom system. All fleets, the Crucible is armed. Disengage and head to the rendezvous point. I repeat, disengage and get the hell out of here.

Then there was a sudden boom. It could have only come from the Citadel.

"No!" Garrus yelled as he jumped from the table. The shock of Hackett's orders hit him hard. They…he had to go back and get Shepard, now. "We can't leave her behind. We have to go back for her!" How could this be happening? Shepard was supposed to come back to the Normandy; to him. The Citadel was exploding and Shepard was in the middle of it. There wasn't a damn thing he could do to help her but he sure as hell would try.

"Get back on that table, Mr. Vakarian! You're in no shape to be moving around," Chakwas protested, "I will sedate you if I have to. James, please contain him!"

"You wouldn't dare," Garrus snapped at her. James grabbed onto him and Garrus mustered what strength he had left to throw the buff soldier off of him. When Garrus reached the med-bay door he was struck with a bout of dizziness. He turned around to Dr. Chakwas holding an empty syringe in her hand. He didn't actually think she would act on her threat.

"Shepard, please…," Garrus wearily muttered, his sentence unfinished. It only took a few moments for the drugs to take effect. The last thing Garrus saw was the floor.

When Garrus came to, the Normandy was shaking more violently that it was when they retreated from the Sol system. He looked around the med-bay and noticed Dr. Chakwas running around, trying to keep her medical equipment from falling over. He tried to get up but he noticed he was strapped down to the medical table. What the hell was going on?

Damn it! Garrus heard over the intercom. It was Joker. Brace for impact!

Brace for…? Garrus' thought was quickly interrupted as his body attempted to fling off the table. If not for the restraints, he would have been flown through the med-bay window and into the crew deck. His body snapped back onto the table, hitting his head against the hard, metal surface. The instant pain to his head placed him in a temporary daze. The Normandy finally stopped moving. Thank the spirits, Garrus thought.

After gaining full consciousness again, he heard moaning coming from near the AI Core door. Lifting his head up as much as he could, he saw Dr. Chakwas lying on the floor. She looked really beat up.

"Doctor, you ok?" he asked.

"Not really, but I'll live," she responded.

"Could you get me out of these restraints? I think I have some serious whiplash."

"Negative, Mr. Vakarian," she winced, "I think I broke my leg. I can't reach you to….damn it! I shouldn't have moved my leg like that. Sorry, but you and I are stuck right here until someone comes down here."

Luckily, minutes later, Liara walked into the med-bay with an injured crew member.

"By the Goddess! What happened?" she exclaimed. She sat the crew member down in a nearby chair.

"A little help here, Liara," Garrus requested, "I'm fine, but I can't get out of these restraints. Dr. Chakwas on the other hand will need some help. She broke her leg."

"Maybe both," Chakwas responded, "Hard to tell until I run some scans, but definitely one for sure."

Liara wasted no time in getting Garrus out of his restraints. He hopped off the table and rotated his head and rubbed his wrists to make sure he hadn't sustained any serious damage. He would probably have a few bruises and a sore neck for the next few weeks, but he would be okay. He rushed over to where Chakwas was lying and picked her up off the floor. She winced in pain as soon as her legs moved.

"Just set me on that table over here," Chakwas pointed to the table nearest to her and the door. He didn't have to be an expert on reading human faces to know she was in excruciating pain. "Those damned sedatives didn't last long at all. Remind me to pick up some stronger doses next time we're at a medical supply station."

"How long was I out for?" Garrus asked.

"A few minutes. Just enough time to restrain you on the table before the Normandy crashed."

Garrus turned to Liara for his next questions. "What the hell happened? Why did the Normandy crash? Where are we?"

"I honestly have no idea," Liara replied, her face somber, "but EDI suddenly went offline and the next thing we know, Joker lost control of the ship. We've landed on some tropical world, though I have no idea which one. We've lost all communications and the drive core is in a wreck right now. Tali, Adams, Donnelly, and Daniels are working on it right now to get it back online. But for the moment, we're stranded here." If communications were out, that meant the Shadow Broker was in the dark, and it wasn't a feeling Liara liked, Garrus figured.

"What in the world did Shepard do up there?" Chakwas asked. The thought of Shepard had temporarily been out of Garrus' mind, but Chakwas' mention of her name brought back that wretched feeling again. His head fell and his mandibles tightened, trying to hold back any emotion. He still didn't know the fate of Shepard and he started to worry again. It was quickly taken over by rage. The thought of Shepard left behind was intolerable for him. Dr. Chakwas took notice of the sudden change in the turian.

"Don't you dare go into another blood rage again, Mr. Vakarian. I understand you're upset about Shepard and having to leave her behind, but so are the rest of us," he suddenly felt a hand resting on his upper arm, "We'll find her."

"Will we?" Garrus doubted. He wanted nothing more than to know Shepard survived, to hold her tightly in his arms, and take her far away from these devastated planets and retire. But Garrus was a realist and he absolutely hated it. What were the odds of Shepard surviving an explosion like that? If Admiral Hackett had to order the whole fleet to retreat, the explosion must have been massive.

Without another word, he walked right out of the med-bay and right to the elevator. He pushed number one on the consol. Maybe a few minutes in her cabin would help him collect his thoughts, because right now, he just wanted to punch something, or even someone.

To his surprise, Shepard's cabin wasn't trashed from the crash. Her model ships were thrown across the floor as well as the other knick-knacks she had collected in the past year. The fish were astonishingly still alive, swimming around like nothing had ever happened.

He turned the corner, curious about the fate of her beloved space hamster. The cage was still perched on the shelf. Apparently, Shepard had the thing glued down or something. Garrus couldn't see the hamster. He tapped on the glass gently, and seconds later, the hamster popped his head outside of his little home. Garrus sighed in relief. At least he wouldn't get reprimanded by Shepard for getting her pets killed.

That is, if he saw her again.

Damn his reasoning! In his frustration, he sat down on the edge of the bed and buried his face into his hands. He tried to reason his anger. He was mad that they had to leave her behind, sure, but he was also furious at the prospect of her not returning to him. But was that anger? It really was anguish when he thought about it. A galaxy without her would truly be an empty one and that thought tore him apart inside and out.

He lay down on the bed. If he could cry, he would right now. The thought of losing her again was unbearable. The first time she had died, he took his frustration out on the mercs on Omega and nearly got himself killed in the process. But she had come for him, saving him from joining her in death. It was reminiscent to an ancient human story Shepard had explained to him once. He thought it was called Romero and Janet. Or maybe it was Robert and Julie. Either way, he remembered the ending to be tragic and a tragic ending was exactly the opposite of what Shepard would have ever wanted. If he met up with her at that bar they had talked about now, he would never hear the end of it from her.

Shepard has to be alive. She's been through worse before. This is nothing compared to the things we've been through together, he rationalized. It was the only thing that was going to quell his feelings for the moment.

And that was all he needed.

Before he knew it, Garrus was fast asleep.