It was as if he had never left her side. Overwhelming their opposition with combined force made Garrus remember just how much he had missed Alex Shepard. They fell easily into old routines, bad blood forgotten or ignored for now.

He had set up his visor to her squad's comm channel so he could hear her whoops as mercs perished. Her biotics seemed as though they were on overdrive. She and her companion, Miranda, were launching foes left and right and Shepard was having a fantastic time doing so.

His father would call her childish, irresponsible. Shepard applied her own system to the extensive training she received in the Alliance military. She was always organized. Each movement had a purpose; it just took an experienced eye to see. When you thought she had missed something – regenerating shields on an opponent or a precarious explosive container – she would turn around and use it to her advantage. It was like watching a life-sized game of chess, shrouded in dark energy.

Shepard worked best with clusters. She used her biotics and gunfire to force foes to gather in one area and then dispensed of them in one sweep. When in a squad, she left pockets of enemies for others to pick off. This often required a lot of movement. He watched her bouncing around the base's lower level, effortlessly light on her feet. It's what made her a great commander; Garrus appreciated how much she strived to make sure everyone was working efficiently.

Her favorite weapon, a simple heavy pistol, came in and out of view as she switched between it and using both hands for biotic throws. Hooked into the holster on her back were a shotgun and a grenade launcher. Whoever had let her have a grenade launcher didn't know her very well.

An all too familiar frustration was causing him a bit of a headache. What Shepard couldn't see were the smarter freelancers further down the bridge taking cover. From his vantage point he could see there were five mercs lined up behind a low wall. Only one of them was shooting, however, giving the illusion that he was back there alone. Whether Shepard was aware of this or not, she didn't mention it. Instead she crept forward to investigate on her own.

"You could ask me, you know. I can see pretty much everything up here," he said.

"What?" she asked sharply. "No, no, I got it."

He wasn't going to let her jump into an ambush. Garrus couldn't get a good shot on any of the freelancers without causing one of them needless pain so he opted for a feint. He aimed just beyond where they were sitting and pulled the trigger.

It worked; they dove out of cover, frightened an onslaught was going to rain on them from above. Shepard was there to pick them off as they cowered away. Two ran right back up the bridge, raising their guns in surrender. Though he planned to let them go, Garrus saw them drop before making it to the barrier. Someone on the other side had killed them for their cowardice.

"Watch it, Commander, there's only so much ass-covering I can do for you up here," he said into the comm for the whole squad to hear.

"You just keep taking the easy pickings from your hiding spot while I get the real work done," Shepard muttered.

Ah, the casual shit talking. It truly did feel as though they were never apart. When he had heard of her death, the grief struck him to the bone for months. There hadn't been anyone who he had synced up so well with in combat and he had wondered if he would ever get to experience that euphoria again. Now, it was as if the strain of the last few days was something his brain had cooked up for variety.

He had hope. Garrus could hope to see the next day instead of dreading it.

Garrus blinked rapidly to clear his mind and focus on the data flowing across the feed in his visor. The bodies of his crew were still unharmed but he had forgotten them momentarily. He had to concentrate and remember why they were there in the first place. He was Archangel and his crew lay dead below him because of his carelessness. Shepard's presence didn't change that.

"How are you holding up, Garrus?" Shepard asked breathlessly.

"Doing just fine, but it looks like they're sending in the heavy artillery."

A YMIR was marching its way down the bridge. Its movements seemed jerkier than typical.

"Mech not a problem," said Mordin. "Security systems overwritten. Chances of it firing on us unlikely."

Sure enough the mech started blasting away at its companions. The mercs were trying to dodge out of cover to avoid it, leaving themselves open to biotic throws from Shepard.

Garrus fired at the YMIR's head. It wobbled for a moment as sparks started flying out of the hole. With a crash, it toppled over.

"Take cover," he said to Shepard's squad. He ducked behind the ledge and waited for the eventual explosion. Mercenaries were calling for their team members to run, but it didn't seem like they were getting the message in time.

The giant mech burst into piece, shaking the building as it crumbled. Slowly rising, Garrus checked to see what the carnage was. The few mercs still alive were suffering from massive injuries. These were easily picked off. Mordin had incendiary rounds and was calling out, "Wound cauterized!" as he fired them.

A nightmarish war cry came from across the bridge. Spindly limbs dashing toward the base, Jaroth, leader of Eclipse, was making a suicide run for their position. Miranda took him out promptly with a biotic wave to the chest. He went flying off the bridge, screaming bloody murder as he went.

"All clear," Miranda called. "Any ideas as to how we get out of here?"

Shepard, who was making her way up to Garrus, said, "I was thinking we could just kill every last one of them. Sound good?"

He was pretty sure she was joking. "If we make a big enough dent, we can get across the bridge and make our way out." He turned to look down the bridge at the barrier. "They're setting up reinforcements. Lots of them. None are coming, though. Do you know how many are back there?"

"It's a constant flow, they've set up a recruitment operation in Afterlife." She leaned against the door frame with her arms crossed. "You're pretty special to them. I don't think they'll be letting up anytime soon. Also, the krogan mentioned something about some bombs."

Just then, the building shook, rocked from a blast from below.

"That'd be them..."

Garrus groaned. "I blocked off another entrance in the basement, but it was a matter of time before they got through it."

"We'll take care of them. What needs to get done down there?"

Garrus explained the series of doors that needed to be hacked closed to keep the mercs out. Shepard seemed to get it, though her tone was little skeptical as she said, "That's going to take some time." She turned to her squad members. "Miranda, do you mind staying behind with Garrus?"

He scoffed. "Shepard, I'll be fine."

"Good, then she can entertain you with lively conversation. C'mon, Mordin." She hurried away with the salarian, leaving the other human behind.

Miranda didn't seem all that pleased about it, but Garrus got the feeling there were few things that did please her. She made no verbal complaints, though.

They both took position against the ledge and prepared for another assault. Shepard's voice came through his earpiece as a new set of mercs were appearing on the bridge. "I'm at the first shutter. Blood Pack's here."

"Make sure there's no one in the way," he instructed. "They won't close if there's something under them."

Shepard snorted. "I was so looking forward to seeing a vorcha get crushed by this."

Miranda was shooting down thugs on their end of the building with ease. Her movement was structured, practiced. The way she reloaded her weapon made it seem like she could do it in her sleep - like she enjoyed doing it in her sleep. There was something just too perfect about her.

Garrus had never seen quite so many well-proportioned curves on a female human before, at least not one carrying so much artillery. He was used to the softer look humans had in general but this one had a particularity to her.

"You're welcome to keep staring, just as long as you're shooting as well," she muttered.

He had forgotten he wasn't wearing his helmet anymore. Garrus shifted his eye back to his scope hurriedly. "Sorry. You're really well...trained."

"I appreciate it."

Garrus never thought he would see Shepard ordering Cerberus around, let alone willingly working with them. She wasn't one to forgive easily. It had once been a personal mission of hers to destroy as many Cerberus outposts as possible, right down to the grunts working in their labs.

What's changed? He thought, glancing over at Miranda again.

Perhaps, he considered, this woman wasn't an active Cerberus member. Mordin had come with them, and he couldn't have been a part of the human-centric organization. It looked as though Shepard was collecting another unlikely group to stop the Reapers. Her crews had always been diverse. Recalling this, Miranda's presence didn't seem so improbable.

"I'm at the last shutter, Garrus," Shepard said in his ear. "These shitheads must really hate you. They brought fucking varren with them."

Garrus chuckled. "Yeah, that sounds like Garm."

Miranda suddenly turned and looked behind them at another door. "Someone's trying to get through."

A metallic scraping was coming from another one of the entrances Garrus had sealed earlier. Somehow, someone had found a way to force their way in.

Shit.

"Hurry up, Shepard, we're expecting more uninvited guests."

"Shutter sealed, on our way back."

Miranda focused on the bridge as Garrus moved to the back of their location, aiming at the door. He could hear a familiar voice barking orders behind it.

Garm, Blood Pack leader. He knew the krogan all too well. Despite his significant lack of intelligence, he was one of Omega's worst criminal commanders. Civilians were shown the brunt of his barbarity, pitting wards against each other to win the right to be left alone. For months, Garrus had been working to keep his seemingly endless supply of vorcha recruits in check.

It was with great displeasure that the turian didn't get a chance to kill him the last time they met. With Shepard and her team here now, though, he was more than confident he could take him out.

The door burst open and a couple shotgun toting vorcha appeared. Garm pushed passed his lackeys and pointed up at their vantage point. "Tear them to shreds!" he hollered.

Garrus shot the closest thug in the forehead. The krogan coward momentarily, but recovered, angrier still.

"Sonofabitch, cover me! I've got Archangel."

Shepard made her grand reappearance just then and started raining fire on the intruders. Garm was storming up the stairs, his shields holding up against the onslaught. He was truly making a beeline for Garrus.

"Company!" Miranda called. She rolled into cover behind a couch and started firing on the krogan as he approach. It barely fazed him.

Forgetting about his gun, Garm ran straight at Garrus who dodged out of the way just in time, a feat not easily achieved with his rifle in hand. The Blood Pack leader crashed into a shelving unit to slow himself down.

"I'm gonna snap you in half and eat your guts, you turian piece of shit!" He rounded on them and charged again. Miranda flung herself over the couch and Garrus rolled in the opposite direction behind some storage crates.

Garm was more determined than the last time they met. His charges were forcing them toward the back window. He seemed to be ignoring everything else going on around him just to get to Garrus.

"C'mon, Garm, you're getting careless." He tossed a crate at the krogran's head. There wasn't enough to time to reload his rifle. He needed to stall. "That redundant nervous system isn't going to hold up much longer."

"Shudup!" Garm roared.

He kicked the crate out of the way before charging once more. Garrus hopped on the containers and leaped over his head.

Miranda was firing rounds into Garm's back but was making little progress. "Shepard! A little help!"

"I'm trying! Once again, fucking varren!"

"Domesticated attack creatures particularly attracted to me," quipped Mordin. "Diet rich in salarian flesh, most probable."

Garm finally lifted his shotgun from his side. "Quit running and fight me!" He pulled the trigger but the shot went wide. His rage was affecting his aim.

Shepard came tearing up the hall. "Coming!" she screamed.

She was placing her pistol back in its holster with one hand and summoning her biotics in the other. Miranda did the same. They were preparing a combined attack. Garrus hurried behind them and began reloading as fast as he could.

He pulled the trigger, firing a concussive shot right between the two humans. It got Garm in the chest and pushed him back from the shock. His shield shattered. Miranda blasted him with an energy wave that lifted him in the air and Shepard followed up with one that tossed him over the ledge. Mordin fired on him as he fell to the ground. Garm struggled for a moment where he landed, but eventually he choked out a final scream and then collapsed.

"Area secured," said Mordin. "Excellently done."

Shepard took a few deep breaths as her biotics settled away. She took a seat on what was left of the couch. "That one wanted you dead pretty bad. You two have history?"

"I have history with all of them, but I guess my time with Garm was especially important to him." He checked his omnitool to look for any more signs of intrusion in the basement. "The lower levels are clear; no one's going to be sneaking up behind us. Think we can make a break across the bridge?"

Shepard waved a hand at him nonchalantly. "No problem, it's just the Blue Suns left, right?"

The back window shattered as a hail of gunfire crashed into the room. A gunship was hovering just outside. Inside sat three Blue Suns mercs. Garrus, Shepard and Miranda dove into cover.

"Are you timing this stuff for comedic effect?" Garrus shouted to Shepard over the rattling roar of the machine gun. "'Cause I'm not laughing!"

"Sorry, not everyone can be as hilarious as you, Vakarian!"

"More Blue Suns approaching from below!" Mordin called.

"Think you can handle the gunship for a bit?" Shepard asked Garrus.

"Go, I got it."

Shepard raced away, crouching to avoid the gunfire. Miranda remained. She replaced Shepard behind the couch and started tossing energy balls over it.

Mercs were pouring in through the window. They were getting in the way of getting a good shot of the gunship, which was swerving in and out of view. This was the toughest group, mostly because they had better funding. Their shields held up better to concussive shots and biotic blast so taking them out took more time. Garrus was getting frustrated.

Miranda also seemed to be tired of whittling down their defenses so she came up with a better idea. Instead of firing on them, she waited for the mercs to move out of cover and then threw them with her biotics, tossing them out the window. It was working. Garrus set up shots to disable them so she had more time to draw up the energy for the blasts.

The mercs were cleared but the gunship was still out there. Garrus stepped out of cover to get a better firing position, eye still trained down his scope.

"Here it comes!" Miranda shouted, but the gunship had already started firing.

Searing pain flooded his chest as Garrus took several direct shots that blasted away his shields. He was knocked to the floor by the impact, but was able to crawl into cover. Tarak was screaming at him over the comm in the gunship, but he could barely understand what he was saying. All he could hear was his own heartbeat pounding in his skull. He looked down. A hole in his armor was smoking slightly. He was hit, but not badly. If anything there would be some damage to the plating on his chest.

To his left, just below him, Shepard and Mordin were still busy with the mercs rappelling down the side of the building. Miranda was taking cover behind a far wall as the couch was now in several fluffy pieces strewn all over the area. Tarak was not letting up. Every few seconds a new hail of gunfire came through the window and he was still screaming intangibly, mostly profanities.

From his location, Garrus couldn't get a clear shot and no one else was in a position to take down the airship before it started causing more damage. He knew just behind him was a crate with enough side cover to give him the ability to properly aim and perhaps hit the pilot. They were so close to getting out. Taking the chance was worth it.

He made a break for the better cover when the next barrage ended. The world seemed shrouded by an invisible blanket. The gunfire from below seemed distant and distorted. Tarak's shouting was even more indiscernible. Now he was out in the open.

Garrus took a step. Suddenly all the sound rushed back in like an airlock had been opened in deep space.

Miranda started to warn him to stay back. The explosion cut her off.

Swept up in a wave of heat and smoke, Garrus felt his body lift up off the ground and then fall again hard. The wind was immediately knocked out of it. At the same moment, his lungs demanded air, but all he could suck in was fire. An incredible pain tore into his face and neck. He saw white spots burst in front of his eyes and blood started pouring into his mouth.

His body screamed for oxygen but his throat had completely shut. Every gasp granted him more blood, choking him over and over. His lungs began filling with fluid. The room was going blue as more blood poured into his eye.

He could hear Shepard's voice calling his name, again cloudy. There was great deal of heavy clattering going on next to him and then several loud blasts.

Suddenly, silence. Everything went dark. His lungs were no longer desperate to expand.

Almost. Almost made it.