There was silence in the shuttle, and I wasn't about to break it. Escaping the facility had been easy, once I picked up a gun. Everything had been a rush through the firefight but now everything was too quiet.

Cerberus.

The thought of them made me sick. How the hell did I get stuck with a terrorist organization? Not to mention the fact that I had been dead for TWO YEARS. And that they reconstructed my body and brought me back to life. I wouldn't have believed them but there was just something off about me. I felt less organic, like I could hear the 'click, click' of cybernetics running beneath my skin. Not to mention the scar…I had first caught sight of it about an hour ago.

I had just shot and killed a mech when I saw a flash of orange out of the corner of my eye. Finding a shard of glass on the ground, I look at my reflection for the first time. I looked the same, except smoother. All the stress lines were gone, replaced by younger looking skin. Any grey that had made an appearance in my hair was gone as well. I looked like I hadn't ever seen battle. The only imperfection was the scattering of scars on my left cheek. There was a slight glow to them like whatever technology they put inside me was trying to escape. I dropped the glass, picked up my gun, and moved on.

I wasn't Commander Jane Sheppard anymore. I was a Cerberus toy now. A hybrid of Alliance order and Cerberus chaos. Was there even any of Shepard left inside? Or was I all machine?

And now I was stuck here in a shuttle with two Cerberus lapdogs. Jacob didn't seem so bad. He was ex-Alliance. He seemed willing to cooperate with me and just oozed disciple. He was probably a phenomenal solider, but kept giving me worried glances that annoyed me. He looked at me like I was going to break. Miranda, on the other hand, screamed stuck up bitch. As soon as I saw her flashing memories came back to me of her face.

"It's not yet your time…"

I was her life project and experiment. She built me from scorched flesh and ash, and made me alive again. She kept acting like I was going to be so thankful towards her and do anything she asked. She didn't know me very well, neither of them did. So we sat in silence with a burning facility behind us and nothing but tension before us.

After arriving at the docking back, Miranda and Jacob insisted that I go speak with the "Illusive Man". What kind of name was that? I guess the brains behind Cerberus wasn't going to be called 'Michael' or anything nice and simple...but the 'Illusive Man'….really?

Stepping onto the platform I felt my body get scanned. Soon I was looking in to a vast dark room. The only light came from the dying star displayed in the background, and from the many screens running information so quickly it was unreadable. In front of me was a large leather chair with a rather unremarkable man sitting in it. He looked pretty insignificant, except for his bored smirk, and his cybernetic eyes. I instantly disliked him. Taking a large drag from his cigarette he blew smoke towards me and said, "Well Commander Shepard, welcome back to the living."

His eyes whirred at me, and I could see the machine hidden within the man. "Why aren't we meeting face to face?"

"Precaution. People of our importance and knowledge should always use such precaution."

I sensed that he was afraid of me, and that confused me even more. "Why did you bring me back? Why not leave me dead, and select humanities next big hero?"

"For the defense and preservation of humanity. I didn't spend two years and a billion credits to bring back a common solider."

Things started to click into place. There was only one reason someone would specifically choose to bring me back. "The Reapers. What has happened?"

"We are facing the greatest threat to our short existence. While you were being rebuilt entire human colonies have been disappearing. We don't think it's the Reapers themselves doing the abducting but a party working for them. Just like Saren and the Geth did. You are the only one to have bested all of them, and the only one that can save us. You are more than just one solider. You are the face of courage, and the one people remember saving the Citadel. You are the only one who can stop this threat."

"I'm going to need my team." That was the only thing I could think of. I needed my squad mates back. I couldn't have taken down Saren without them, and I sure as hell wouldn't be able to save the fucking universe without their help.

"Your team is scattered. After you died they all fell apart. I have created a dossier of the best there is. They will become your new team."

My heart sank and it must have shown on my face because the Illusive Man's smirk widened. "I think you'll like your pilot though." And with that comment he disconnected our conversation.

"Hey, Commander."

I turned around to see a familiar hunched frame in the doorway. "Joker!" My joy at seeing him again was cut short when I got closer. He looked like shit. The bags under his eyes were black enough to look like he had just gotten into a fight. His face was now lined with frown marks, giving him the perception of bitter anger.

"What did they do to you?" was all I was able to get out.

He just dropped his eyes to the floor and sighed.

"Has it really been two years?" I tried again.

"Yeah," he whispered looking back at me. I finally recognized the expression on his face: guilt. "After you died, everything just kinda went to hell. The Council stopped believing the Reapers were real and we tried to fight for it. They just ignored us and pushed everything under the rug. That was the end of our team, without you everything fell apart. Tali went back to the Migrant Fleet, Liara made a name for herself on Illium, Wrex went back to try and reunite the Krogan, Kaiden is still with the Alliance, and Garrus just fucking disappeared. I was grounded. They took away my wings. Cerberus were the only ones willing to give them back."

"Joker, I'm so sorry."

"Why are you sorry? I'm the one that got you killed."

Disbelief rocked me. Had he been living with this for the last two years? The guilt of killing his CO, breaking apart the team, and possibly dooming humanity? "No, you didn't. I have never thought that for a second." Walking up to him I pulled him into a tight but gentle hug. "You did everything you could to save us. It's not your fault we were ambushed."

"Sure, Commander." His voice was still heavy but at least the bitterness was gone.

"So, if you're my pilot…where's our ship? Don't tell me they brought the SR1 back to life too."

"Even better. Let me show you," he said with a cocky grin. I followed him out of the room and back into the docking bay. "This is my new baby."

The ship was HUGE. Much bigger than the SR1. "It looks faster."

Joker winked at me. "She runs like a dream."

"Take me aboard."

"Aye, aye Commander."

The ship really was beautiful. Everything was laid out so perfectly. The only thing I detested was my enormous quarters. I would prefer to be close to my crew, than be isolated from the rest of the ship. I had my own fucking floor, it was too quiet.

Freedom's Progress had been a disaster. The Illusive Man had us go as our first mission. A human colony had just gone missing and it was soon enough that there might have been a clue as to what was happening to the colonies. Upon arrival we found nothing. Everyone was gone, but it was like they had vanished. There was no sign of a struggle. In some houses tables were even set for dinner, as if the colonists had been in the process of dinner. The whole thing was frustrating and mysterious.

And then we had run into Tali. I had been so excited to see her, but she just stared at me coldly through her visor...Well as coldly as you can be for a Quarian. We helped her find Veetor, and stop the mechs he was controlling. That was when things had gotten a little weird. According to Veetor the colonists were taken by the Collectors. Which was always just a superstitious story to read to naughty children. What was going on here? If there really was such things as Collectors, then the Reapers were definitely involved. Tali's rejection to help us had stung, but I understood that she had other responsibilities now. I needed to remember that it had been 2 years for her, while it felt like moments for me.

Pulling up the dossier the Illusive Man had sent I looked at what our potential team could be. And tried to forget the giant hole that my old team had left behind. Everyone had moved on to pursue their own priorities, except for Joker and Garrus.

The fact that Garrus was missing worried me. The ex C-Sec officer had always had a higher view of justice, and hopefully he didn't piss off someone bigger than himself. He was supposed to be training to be a Spectre. What the hell had happened to him? Garrus was tough and one of the best fighters I'd ever seen, but he also had a soft side. It could be considered a weakness, but I saw it as the reason he was the best of us all. He saw things that people ignored. He took the time to help EVERYONE instead of the one person who needed it most…I just hoped he was alright wherever he was.

According to the dossier there were three people to recruit on Omega. A mercenary named Zaeed who sounded like a handful, a supposedly mad scientist named Mordin, and Archangel the vigilante whose methods seemed to be escalating into more brutality and violence. They all sounded useful but what was the price where I sacrifice my morals. Maybe I already sacrificed them by aligning with Cerberus, I thought of the worried eyes behind Tali's screen. All three listed were obviously dangerous, but I guess the whole galaxy was on the line, so no time to over analyze morals.

Landing on Omega I wasn't surprised to find it was a shithole. A place run without laws, just the iron fist of Aria. The place stunk of blood and deceit.

I went to find Zaeed first. Out of the three, he was the only one expecting me. And the only one already with a Cerberus contract. As long as they kept paying him, he wasn't going to disobey.

Where would I find a mercenary bounty-hunter? The bar of course.

I found the dirtiest and seediest bar I could, and looked in the darkest corner. There I found a scarred man with a really big gun. "Zaeed, I presume?"

"What do you want?" He looked bored but I wasn't stupid enough to miss the awareness in his eyes or the knife that had magically appeared in his hand.

Before I could open my mouth, Miranda stepped forward, hips seductively swaying. "We're with Cerberus."

"I can see that sweetheart, and as I said, what do you want?"

"You have a contract with us, remember? Or were you knocked on the head a few too many times?" Miranda replied, pissed that her tight suit didn't seem to faze him.

"Oh, I remember. I also remember that while I have been paid, you owe me something else too. A little retribut-"

"It will be done," Miranda quickly cut him off.

Irritation overwhelmed me. Why hadn't I been informed of any of this? If they expect me to run and recruit a crew, I need to know all the details. Miranda and I were going to have a nice long chat later. Jacob must have seen my predatory grin because one glance at me made him take a step back.

Meanwhile, it seemed like Zaeed and Miranda were locked in a staring contest. Finally, Zaeed stood up, gripped his gun, and looked at me. "Where to Commander?"

"Uh…Why don't you head back to the ship and get settled. We will talk in a little bit."

"Looking forward to it," he said with a wink and sauntered off.

"That wasn't so bad," I said looking at Miranda and Jacob. They both gave me an unexpressive look. "Let's find Aria and see if she knows anything about Mordin or Archangel."

They both nodded at me. God, I missed my team. While not everyone got along, at least there was conversation. "Do you know where she's located?"

"She owns the bar, Afterlife. She's probably there."

"Thank you," I said sweetly, with a smile at Jacob. He still gave me a blank stare, but his shoulders relaxed a little bit.

Afterlife was easy enough to find. It was the biggest and loudest bar, and it was also located smack in the center of Omega. An Elcor bouncer let us by without concern, much to the anger of a seedy, shouting human. Aria was also easy to find because she was surrounded by armed guards in the middle of the club.

She didn't even give me a second glance as she laid out the ground rules of Omega. "Don't fuck with Aria." That was easy enough for me to remember. Aria wasn't someone to cross but her rules were pretty clear cut. I wasn't too worried about pissing her off. She wasn't upstanding, but I found I liked her iron-fisted simplicity.

Mordin was a salarin located in a quarantine zone. He was running a health clinic trying to find a cure. He would be difficult to get too considering the quarantine made him cut off from outsiders. Plus, the Blue Suns were known to be running rampant raiding the place.

Archangel had apparently managed to piss off the three merc gangs on Omega. He was currently holed up somewhere slowly killing them off. Beside that not much was known about him besides his bold attacks on the gang leaders. "I say we get Archangel first. He has been holed up for a couple days. Who knows when they might actually overpower him."

"I agree." Said Miranda, "Plus he's easier to get to. Those gangs will hire anyone to try and take him out."

Getting hired onto one of the merc gangs was easy. Once we got there and they disclosed their plan of attack, I got pissed. Archangel was located across a narrow bridge, so the gangs were hiring people to go out on a suicide run. They needed people to run across the bridge to try reach Archangel from a frontal assault while the rest of the teams snuck in from behind. They basically just needed a distraction. The people they had hired were young, inexperienced, and getting slaughtered. It was time to put a stop to this massacre. I went to go find my 'team leader' so that we could get going, while also hacking into and sabotaging the heavy machinery along the way. No need to make it easy for them.

After what seemed like forever we headed across the bridge.

It was time to find Archangel.

Garrus picked up another heat sink and reloaded his gun. The indecision of this fight had cost him major ground. At first he had been uncertain on whether or not to give up. He had actually gone so far as to stand up and out in the open. But at that second, his knees had given out, saving his life. A bullet had swished over his head, and slammed into the opposite wall. Exhaustion rolled off him in waves. He had been up here for days now. But whenever he felt like giving up he always saw the same image in his head: Shepard standing on top of the rubble of the Citadel, Saren's body, ash at her feet, blood running freely down her face and arms, but she stood with the most beautiful and triumphant smirk on her face. In that moment she represented the best in humanity; with the sunlight behind her and the destruction before her. She was truly a miracle to behold and his reason to keep fighting.

"Exhaustion should never be an excuse. It should only be your motivation to move on."

And because of that Garrus kept reloading his gun, kept lining up his kills, and kept fighting. To preserve her memory and the perfection of that moment.

The next wave of mercs were coming. He could hear them stomping along the bridge. He felt guilty for killing them, they obviously had never seen a battle before. Their armor was a mix of heavy and light, and most of them had terrible aim. He shot three in the head and paused to reload. When he peaked back over his wall, he saw two more had been killed.

Either he was delusional or someone was helping him.

Scanning the end of the bridge he saw three well-armed and well trained mercs. Two of them wore the Cerberus logo, and that was enough for him to line up the headshot. But then he got a closer look at the third merc, in the red and black armor.

Shepard?

There was no way he wasn't hallucinating now. Garrus dropped his gun when his hands started to shake. Falling to his knees, he picked up his gun, and peered back through his scope at the three.

It was her. He could never forget the fluid way she moved or the precision of her aim. But she was dead. She was fucking dead. His heart started hammering in his chest. If she wasn't dead, where the fuck had she been the last two years? He was having a hard time breathing. This wasn't real.

Aiming carefully, he fired a shot into her shoulder. It would bring down her shield but not actually hurt her. The shot landed perfectly and he watched as she jerked back from the impact. She looked directly at him with determination and surprise.

Fuck. It was her.

And he just shot her. It was nothing to someone like her, but…still not the friendliest greeting.

Garrus watched her round the corner and listened as she pounded up the stairs. He took a seat on some crates and hoped she didn't see the constant shake of his hands.

He couldn't believe this was real.

It was just like her to show when he needed her most. To pop in after two years to save his life.

He worked to get his heart to stop racing and his breathing under control, and waited for her to enter the room.

He shot me. That bastard actually shot me. I helped take down the mercs aiming for his head and then he says 'thank you' by taking down my shields.

I started pounding up the stairs, ready to make some negotiations. Before me sat a turian, he was perched on a pile of crates. Exhaustion was palpable in the air around him, but he also exerted danger. He wasn't someone to play around with, he seemed like someone with nothing to lose. I was suddenly glad that he shot me on the shoulder instead of the head. He could have easily killed me.

"Archangel?" I asked cautiously. He just sat there looking at me through his helmet. I couldn't see his facial expression through the tinted front, but I watched as he slowly lowered his gun to the ground. His hands were shaking, almost uncontrollably. Was he that exhausted?

"I thought you were dead," he said as he lifted his helmet off.

"Garrus!"

I couldn't believe my luck! I should have known it was him, with the spectacular shots he was making.

My excitement and joy overwhelmed me and I threw my arms out to hug him. But I stopped short when I saw the look he was giving me. His face was lined with fatigue and stress. He looked like he had experienced a hell of a lot in the last two years. His eyes were weary and cold. I realized he didn't trust me. Gone was Garrus Vakarian, easy going C-Sec officer, ready to fight for justice and the good of the underdog. This was Archangel and he was someone to be feared.

"I thought you were dead," he repeated.

I put down my arms and stepped closer to him. "I was. I was dead for two years. Cerberus brought me back a couple of months ago. The Reapers are back, and they are using the Collectors to harvest humans. I could use your help."

He sighed and looked down at me. "Cerberus, Jane?" He gestured towards the two behind me.

I realized that this was the first time he had actually called me by name. Ever. Things had really changed for him. I felt my defenses go up when I realized that this wasn't Garrus anymore. He had grown up a hell of a lot. "This is bigger than that. We need to save the galaxy, and Cerberus is going to supply the resources and men to do it. Trust me, I don't like it either, but those two aren't so bad."

He brought up one hand and rested it on my shoulder. He was still shaking, but not nearly as bad. "I didn't think you were real," he whispered. His voice shook slightly and in it I could hear pain and fear.

I covered his hand with mine. "I'm real…well mostly. He did you end up here in this situation? How the hell did you manage to piss off EVERYBODY?"

"I really fucked up this time. But that's going to have to wait. There's another wave coming."

A shot rang out from behind us. "Uh…looks like they started getting smart. I'll do my best work covering our asses while you pick them off from the front. Jacob stay here and keep him safe." Garrus looked like he was about to protest but his exhaustion worried me. "That's an order." I smirked at him, as he cocked an eyebrow at me. He stayed silent but I could see the relief in his eyes.

"Just like old times?"

"Just like old times," I confirmed.

Faster than I could blink, he pulled up his gun and down a merc crawling across the bridge. "Well then, I'm winning."

"No fair, you've had two years to practice."

"Excuses, excuses…" He winked as he shooed me towards the back stairs.

It was good to have Garrus back.

Closing up the shutters took longer than I expected, especially when the vorcha showed up with fucking flamethrowers. The steady 'bang, thud' of Garrus dropping mercs kept me going. I wasn't going to lose to him this time. Keeping a running kill count had always been our way of distracting ourselves from the death and gore around us. Garrus always seem to win, but I was pretty sure he cheated.

Nearing the back staircase, Miranda and I got held up by some mercs that had slipped through our defenses.

"Shepard, hurry up!" Garrus yelled from upstairs. "I'm ready for a nap!"

"Coming! I'm pretty sure you're going to need a shower too. You stink."

"What? That's not a turn on?" his voice dropped to a purr. As he spoke a loud rumbling filled the air. Dropping down from above us a gunship appeared.

"WATCH OUT!" Even as the words left my mouth, I knew it was too late. Garrus had nowhere to take cover. He was moving too slowly from fatigue and the ship caught him easily. I tried to race across the room towards him, as the ship opened fire. Three shots pierced my armor knocking me down. Jacob grabbed my ankles and dragged me into cover. Blue blood fell like rain around us, and I watched as he hit the ground hard. Blood started to seep across the floor, but turian are warriors. I knew that as bad as it was, I could still see his chest moving up and down steadily.

He was fine.

Aw those thoughts crossed my mind, I saw the gunship release a rocket.

"NO!" I struggled to be free of Jacob's grip. Garrus heard my scream and tried to sit up. "DOWN! GARRUS LAY BACK DOWN!" He looked at me with confusion as the rocket slammed into the side of his face.

Now there really was blood everywhere.

Grabbing my grenade launcher, I screamed as I hurled grenade after grenade into the ship. I didn't stop until it was ash.

Running over to where Garrus had been thrown, I took stock of the damage. His blood covered the ground and his body. There was a thick musky scent in the air, instead of the metallic tang I was used to when smelling blood. I choked on it.

Kneeling down in his blood I look at his face. The whole lower right half of his cheek was gone. I slapped as many med-gels as I had directly onto his wound. I could see his bone and snapped tendons through the gaping hole. If he lived through this, he was going to be really fucking pissed.

"Where's the goddamned shuttle!?" I shouted at Miranda and Jacob.

"Almost here," was the only response I got. Jacob had the courtesy to look concerned, but Miranda just looked annoyed.

"Hold on Garrus. I didn't come back from the dead just to watch you die!"

He must have heard me because with a wheezing breath his eyes opened. His grip on his gun tightened as fear took over him. His eyes kept dilating, trying to find something to focus on. I moved closer so he could see my face. His eyes trained on me, his pupils were so large his blue eyes looked black. I watched as his eyes started to glaze over.

"Garrus stay with me!" I was losing him, but didn't know what to do. "Breathe with me. In and out. In and out. Don't think of anything else. In and out." I watched his chest move up and down with mine. I could hear the blood filing his lungs. He was slowly drowning in his own bodily fluids. We sat like that for what felt like hours, even though it wasn't more than minutes. I listened as his breathing got heavier and heavier, until finally his eyes started to close. "You can do this Garrus. Fight! We're supposed to be saving the universe. Don't give up now," I whispered in his ear.

The shuttle finally arrived and I rode with him until we were back on the Normandy with Dr. Chakwas.

She took one look at him and said, "Fuck. Get out, all of you." We all left as she went to work. I moved to the mess hall and watched through the window as she applies med-gel after med-gel to his wounds. Looking up, she caught me watching. With a flick of her arm the windows tinted out.

I was left to sit alone, covered in Garrus's blood, and wait to see if he would pull through. I couldn't get his face out of my mind. Something had happened to him in the last two years; something bad. He had always been my favorite. He was the easiest to fight with, talk to, laugh with, or even to just sit in silence with. He always had a different perspective to life and a good word to contribute. Seeing him again made me realize how much I missed him. If he didn't pull through…if he died…I didn't know how I was going to save everyone without him.

I put my head in my hands and waited. The musky smell of his blood mixing with the metallic scent of mine, making me nauseous.