I did say that the next chapter would be out the next day, so here it is! If you haven't read chapter 20, go and do that right away! I did post it yesterday, so there's a chance that of you may not have seen it!

This is Garrus' loyalty mission, and with it some things have been changed around; not a lot of action, but a lot of story to further the plot. The ending is also a bit of a shocker and a tease, but that'll be something that you have to read for yourself.

Review Time:

Blaze: It was moody, yes, but that was to further Tyler's character and to give you all his backstory. As for Shepard, his VI's, and having a new figurine of himself, don't give the man ideas! He may just go and listen to the song as he is riding in the Hammerhead, after all...

Chapter Twenty-One: Vengeance with a Side of Surprise

Devin had just finished throwing up yet again, wiping the contaminated bile from his mouth with yet another rag that was soon going to be torched, as he climbs back into his small bed all the while heaving and gasping for air.

It felt as if rustlung had settled into his system and was currently suffocating him, his insides were on fire, and there was nothing he could do about it; he had taken a few immuno-boosters that Chakwas supplied him with, a bunch of antibiotics, and even began taking cold showers to lower his body temperature.

All in all, he was a mess to look at: his eyes were bloodshot, he was sweating profusely, every muscle within his body was in pain, he felt as if he was going to break a rib from coughing, he probably smelled like death, and then there was the deep, rattling, cough that happened every few minutes, then if he ate something he'd just throw it back up and almost always it had a tiny film of imulsion coating it.

He had taken off all of his armor, all of his clothes, and stood in the nude with his omni-tool activated and scanning his body's systems for what was wrong.

In short: everything in his torso was absolutely covered with imulsion.

He knew that it was simply lying dormant within his system, remaining hidden and seeping into the furthest depths of his organs while he was out and about. He should've seen it coming too, all of the signs were there and he just ignored it in favor of living a peaceful life… comparatively peaceful, that is.

He was starting to think about a future with Tulma, maybe adopting a kid or two and settling down with them as they finally got married.

'Mom would've loved to meet her, dad too. Anthony, Benjamin, Clayton… hell even Elizabeth, even though I don't know her. Tulma would've received the customary and traditional celebration of joining a Tyran family: a large cookout with fruits and vegetables sourced from the local farmer's market, meat from the local butcher shop, all the family members from the Tyran side would be there to accept the bride or groom into their name, alcohol and cake would be served, and last but is certainly the best, a night of consummating the marriage.' That last part caused Devin to chuckle, ignoring the pain within his chest as he looked at a picture of him and Tulma together at the Presidium Park, laughing and smiling as they had a great time that day, as they spent it with one another.

He then looked to the picture of his family, his small smile turning into the opposite as he closed his eyes, still refusing that his family was dead and that it really has been nearly thirty years since he went missing from Sera.

He knew it was the truth, and he truly does appreciate Jay for telling him the truth, but he just couldn't believe it.

He needed to rest just for a little bit, maybe even sleep until he's needed; hopefully they would have EDI contact him instead of getting him in person, that way he can get his clothes and armor on before they see him like this.

Yeah, maybe he'll go and do just that.

"Shepard, over here!" Shepard heard, causing the man to stop and look around the area as he heard someone call his name.

Upon turning around, Shepard found that Garrus was sitting down at a booth, a plate of food lying on the surface of the table as he beckoned him over with a wave of his arm, causing the man to shrug and walk over to where his friend currently sat.

Upon sitting down, a drell waitress came by and sat a menu in front of him, causing Shepard to raise an eyebrow at the sudden appearance of the waitress and a menu, but he decided to go with it and placed an order of a medium-well steak with a loaded baked potato, a side of stuffed jalapeños, and a pint of light-alcoholic brandy.

Ever since his conversation with Elias Kelham yesterday, he's been wanting a brandy.

With his order taken, the waitress nodding and typing the information down on a data pad and leaving, Shepard leans back into the cushioned booth, resting his right arm on the table as he looks at Garrus with a raised eyebrow.

"What's the matter Garrus? You look like you were ready to start preaching your problems to me if I didn't come over." He asked the man, watching as his friend currently took a bite from his plate and a small salad that stood off to the side, before taking a drink from a glass that had a purple liquid within it.

"Well," he started, swallowing his food after he was done chewing it to explain why he had garnered Shepard's attention, "as you know my team on Omega was betrayed by a turian named Sidonis. After searching for the past few weeks, a few contacts had gathered information on the whereabouts of the man but not the exact location."

Shepard raised an eyebrow, leaning forward in his seat as he brings both of his hands up and places them underneath his chin.

"Yeah, I remember you telling me about this, but if they don't know his exact whereabouts, then how does that help us?"

"They found out that he went to some forger who's calling themselves Fade, terrible codename I know, and through them, he disappeared from the radar. However, Fade is very good at making people disappear, but that doesn't mean that they themselves are good at disappearing. A few friends in C-Sec, Chellik and Lamont, gave me a lead on to one of the locations where a meeting takes place with Fade and the person who is wanting to disappear, which is in a warehouse near the Neon Markets, down on Zekera Ward. It just so happens that one Castis Andronucus wants to disappear," Garrus told him, bringing an image of himself up, except with red colony markings instead of his normal blue ones, "and as with the case, a meeting has been scheduled with the man and Fade to arrange his disappearance… Know where we can find this Castis Andronocus?" Garrus asks rhetorically, taking another bite from his food and takes another drink from his glass as he looked at Shepard, waiting for the man's response.

Shepard could only smirk.

"I think I know where we could find this man, but I'd like to eat and drink my meal first. Moving on from that, have you noticed how… sick Devin has been lately? I was talking to Chakwas about it recently and she told me that it seems as if he's getting the flu virus; a type of illness that humans can get from time to time." Shepard asked him, watching as Garrus nodded his head at his question, telling him that he did see him throwing up in a bucket before throwing it into the incinerator the other day.

"I just hope he's well enough to help us on this task." Garrus told him, cupping his talons under his chin as Shepard looked at him funny.

When asked why he had the look, Shepard explained since Devin was sick and currently under a lot of medication, he doesn't think that he'd be combat capable for this mission and instead asked he wanted Tulma to join instead, considering that she was there as well when they were being attacked.

"Shepard…"

"Garrus, Devin is literally running a 104-degree temperature right now, in humans that is a sign that they are very sick, and in that state, he's probably not feeling too good and is currently probably throwing up. Hell, everyone on the ship has avoided the cargo bay just to avoid catching it! Even Tyler is avoiding it, and he sleeps there too! I know that human illnesses can't infect other species, but you all can still get adverse reactions to it. I understand that you want him with you on this mission, but what I can't understand is why you don't want Tulma."

"I don't want Tulma because of what could happen if she uses her biotics in public, Shepard; as the niece of Councilor Sparatus, not only her credibility, but her entire family's credibility and their name will be damaged if it were to come out that she killed him. I don't want Tulma going through that, because she already gets enough shit from her uncle about her becoming a vigilante. Please… I need this John; all three of us needs to do this. Besides, Devin wouldn't let an illness get in the way of fighting; it's not his style to do it."

When Garrus used Shepard's first name, Shepard really knew that he was desperate and serious: no one calls him by his first name unless it was very important to them.

Sighing to himself and rubbing his forehead, Shepard opens his eyes and calmly, but sternly, responds.

"Fine Garrus, if it means that much to you, then I'll see if I can't have Chakwas give him a fever reducer, some painkillers, and a booster shot. BUT only if Devin agrees to come along."

"Thank you, Shepard."

Nodding at the response, Shepard leaned back and waited as the drell waitress came back with his order, reading the menu back to the man just make sure that it was for him, before setting it down in front of him, handing him the bill before leaving the two of them alone.

"How much?"

"Eh… fifty credits with tax added, forty-three without."

"Nice, smells good too."

"It really is. I would offer some, but your insides will liquefy if you eat this." Shepard told him, cutting a piece of his steak off and eating it as Garrus nodded.

"What is that you're eating?" He asked him, finishing his bite as he pointed at Garrus' plates with the steak knife.

"A finiks steak, kerim salad, and a nice glass of raysone; it's very good, and offers a good balance of vitamins, minerals, and proteins for turians and quarians."

"Hmm."

"Hey Chakwas, can I have some immuno-booster shots, a couple of painkillers, and a fever reducer? It's for Devin and I'm headed down there to talk with the man, but considering his condition, he might need these but isn't able to move more than a few feet before relieving his stomach." Shepard asks the woman, walking into the med bay as Chakwas was taking inventory of the medicine cabinet.

Turning to look at the man, Chakwas raises an eyebrow at first before conceding with his request, giving the man exactly what he asked for before speaking up.

"Commander, as you know he does have flu-like symptoms and is most likely contagious: as your friend, but more importantly your doctor, I advise you to wear your helmet and make sure that your filters are properly fitted and in working order; I don't want to put you on medical leave and bar you from the ground team whenever they are out on a mission, just because you weren't cautious." She warns him, staring directly into the man's eyes as he nodded at her order, not wanting to make the woman displeased as he took her minor threat seriously.

After Nihlus had been shot and was put into a medically-induced coma so that they could save his life, the Spectre had awoken shortly after they left Feros and tried to go on a mission while they were at Noveria, but Chakwas had his gear taken away, his armor locked up, and had Jenkins follow the turian everywhere to ensure that he didn't get into a situation that was more than what he was physically capable of at the time.

Nihlus was more than a little upset, and Shepard could still hear the argument that took place.

"Doctor Chakwas, I am a Council Spectre and as such, I can go out into the field whenever I want, despite whatever injury that may have been incurred to me."

"With all due respect, Nihlus, as the head doctor of the Normandy, I was merely only suggesting that you not go on any mission that the ground team is on. Now I'm ordering you to stay here, and with me being the senior and lead doctor, I am well within my capabilities of ordering you to stand down and stay within the ship. Do I make myself clear, Nihlus?"

Nihlus could only stare at the woman in open-mouthed shock.

"Nihlus?"

"Yes ma'am." He relented, climbing back into the bed and lying down on it as Chakwas smiled to herself, knowing full well that she won the battle and the war.

(So Nihlus is alive too, because I genuinely liked the man and his character. Shame that he got killed within the first twenty minutes of the game. So, at least he and Jenkins will make an appearance in ME3, spoilers for that!)

"That's why I have it right here," Shepard told her, lifting his death mask helmet (best helmet in ME2, hands down) to show her that he had it nearby and ready to be equipped, "and trust me, I've already made sure that everything was up to code on it before coming here."

With that being said to her, Chakwas nodded her head and motioned for him to move along, knowing full well that the man was being honest with her and knew that it was unwise to mislead the woman.

She ordered Spectres around and still does so... when the situation calls for it.

Upon the elevator door opening, Shepard took a step out and made a left turn, seeing a sight that would forever be burned into his memory.

Now, he knew that the man might've been doing something to help relieve himself of being sick, but being completely ass naked and uncovered was something that he never wished to see in all of human history.

Shepard wasn't a "little guy" by any chance, but compared to the sleeping, naked, and sick mass of muscle that was in front of him sure made him feel like it.

With this in mind, he turns around and closes his eyes, trying to burn the image from his mind while he loudly and forcefully clears his throat, which successfully wakes the sleeping man up from his rest.

"Uh… sorry to bother you Devin, but… Garrus and I wanted you to come with us so that we can find Sidonis and deal with him. Now, I have a few meds for you to take before we go, but before we do anything; for the love of god, please cover yourself." He told the man, still cringing at the image in his mind as Devin laughs a little bit before violently coughing.

"Ye- yeah, right away Commander. I wasn't expecting anyone to come down here and figured that EDI would be the one to alert me of anything that needed to be done." He told him, grabbing his under armor and his boxers before putting them both on, followed by the rest of his gear.

"Sorry you had to see what my momma gave me, but where are those meds?"

Shepard, with his back still turned, only held up his left hand, letting go of the medication as Devin grabbed it and promptly took it, sighing in satisfaction as he felt the shots working almost immediately.

"So, you found Sidonis? Where is he?"

"Somewhere on the Citadel, but we're hot on his trail. Honestly, killing him isn't something that I'm comfortable with Garrus doing, seeing as how he's my friend, but what Sidonis did to you, him, and Tulma, I'm worried that he won't think reasonably when the time comes… and then there's you: if you were to confront him, what would you do?" Shepard asked him, turning his head so that he can look Devin in the eyes to see his reaction.

Devin's eyes seemed to grow darker for a moment, no doubt thinking about what he would do to the turian if he caught him, his facial features growing grim as a frown takes hold, finally looking at Shepard as his mouth opens to answer his question.

Shepard, Devin, and Garrus entered the meeting area where Fade would be waiting for them, seeing that there were two krogan leaning against the crates before standing upright as they now grew aware of who entered the room.

Upon coming to a stop in the middle, a volus came around a corner and stepped right in front of them, looking up at the three of them as Shepard and the others shared a look of slight confusion between themselves.

"Fade? You're not quite how I imagined." Shepard commented, looking the volus up and down as he mentally prepared himself for the worst to happen.

The volus took a deep breath, as is customary with their species, shifting from foot to foot as he looked and inspected the three of them.

"So," he started, coming up to Garrus as he looked the turian from all sides, "you must be Castis? I assume that these two here are your armed guards? Well then, what can I do for you, Castis?"

Garrus, already not liking the fact that he used his father's name and a different colony marking, decided to end the conversation right then and there.

"I'd rather you make someone reappear."

The volus was taken back by this response, stumbling over his words as he was taken by surprise from the request that he was in no way able to accomplish.

"Uh… we- we don't- that's service that we don't provide. I'm sorry, Castis-"

"It's Garrus, Castis is my father's name. Now Fade, tell me where I can find a turian by the name of Lantar Sidonis, or else we'll have a bad time on our hands, and I'm not sure if you or those krogan there could handle such a thing." Garrus told him, pulling his pistol out and aiming at the volus.

"Damn it… Quick! Shoot them! Shoot them, you lumbering mountains!" He tries to order, stepping back and almost falling to the ground as the three of them all looked at the two krogan, who in turn looked between them and the volus, before shrugging at each other, walking away from the confrontation as the volus could only sigh in both resignation and defeat.

"Why do I even bother? What's the point of hiring protection if they won't even protect you?" He angrily questions himself, now left to fend for himself against a armed human, an armed turian, and a giant of a human who now had an extremely fearsome looking rifle pointed directly at his face.

Shepard calmly walks to the volus, questioning about a client that he made disappear a while back, and that they were only after him. He took this as a chance to explain that he himself was only a client of Fade's, not Fade himself, and that he works as a middle man for both parties whenever a job comes to surface.

Devin had commented that he was basically useless to them and that they should data mine his omni-tool for any information worthwhile to their mission.

"Not yet, but maybe he'd like to us where we can find the real Fade?"

"Yes, yes of course I will! Fade is a human, Harkin I think was his name, but he works out in the old factory district, where all the old prefabs were built at the foundry located there. He's got a lot of Blue Suns working for him, acting as armed guards along with sever mechs of varying models, YMIR included, but he thinks that they're protecting him." The volus readily answered, sending them the finer details to their omni-tools so that they can confirm that he is telling them the truth.

Shepard gives Garrus a nod, confirming that it was indeed the truth before questioning the volus even more.

"How in the hell did Harkin, of all people, become Fade? Last I seen him, he was wasting away in Chora's Den as a failure of a cop." Shepard asked, scowling at having to interact with the man yet again.

Oh how he wanted to hit him right in the face.

"Well," he started, wringing his hands together as he tried to summarize the events as best he can, "he was fired from C-Sec a while back, but with his knowledge and experience of the systems, he knew how to avoid their probing eyes, made a few people disappear by using said knowledge to aide them. Afterwards, he made himself disappear, and soon after Fade was born… so to speak."

The three of them took a moment to process the information that was freely given to them, with them nodding in silent agreement with each other, before Garrus spoke up.

"As interesting as that is, I'm afraid that it still changes nothing: we still need to find him before we find Sidonis."

"I'm looking forward to seeing Harkin again."

"Don't know who that is, but I can be your henchman; you know, that way neither of you two has to do the dirty deeds." Devin spoke up, and for a moment the two of them really thought about letting him do exactly that, but ultimately decided against it.

After all, watching an event isn't nearly as fun as taking part in it.

At this point does the volus speak up once again, gathering the attention of all of them as he wringed his hands in nervousness.

"So… does this mean I can go?"

"Sure, but if we don't find what we're looking for, we'll be coming back for you."

"Oh…"

The three of them stepped out of the sky car, their weapons ready and fully loaded to deal with the inevitable conflict that they'll have with the Blue Suns at any moment.

"There he is, the bald one Devin." Shepard spoke up, pointing at the stunned Harkin as Garrus felt anger flare up within him.

"Shepard?! Garrus?! Don't just stand there," he told the three guards, nearly tripping over himself as he pointed at the three heavily armed and armored people that stood before them, stop them! Stop them!"

With that order going out, Harking turns and sprints through the door behind him, Garrus screaming at the man that he could run as long as he wants and that they'll still find him.

"Shit, it looks like he locked the doors." Shepard told them, ducking behind a crate as the three mercs opened fire at them.

"Dammit, it'll take a few minutes for me to get through-"

Garrus is interrupted by Devin throwing a couple of grenades at the door, the three mercs diving out of the way as the grenades detonated and blew it open, the three mercs leaning out of cover slightly to see if there were any other surprises waiting for them.

All they could see was a large, black armored human with a rifle that had a chainsaw attached to it standing out in the open, not caring if he were to get shot.

He then spoke up.

"Listen you three and listen closely: I'm sicker than a fucking dog right now, I have a splitting headache, my chest is hurting right now, I have to cough and I might throw up any second now. Because of this, I'm not in the mood to deal with anyone's bullshit today. That's why you three and you three only will receive this one-time offer: get the fuck out of my way, or else I'll use my rifle here to renovate your insides. Deal?"

The three mercs ducked behind cover, whispering harshly to each other as Devin waited for their response.

"Is that a fucking chainsaw?!" The first merc whisper/screamed to his partners, currently freaking out over what is standing less than twenty feet from them

"I don't see the big deal about it, I mean we can handle him, right? After all, he is sick." Came the response from the turian, leaning out for a second to get a peak at the human yet again.

"It's a fucking chainsaw! On Earth, Lavernion, they were used to basically cut trees apart, vehicles and metal apart, and even stone! Have you never seen Texas Chainsaw Massacre?" The third merc told him, trying to change his friend's mind about going up against the sociopath who nonchalantly threw two grenades at a door that was less than forty feet from him.

Two high explosive grenades at that.

"No… Is it really that big of a deal?"

"Of course it's a big deal; turians don't have to fear this thing on a battlefield, so that's why you're confused! Um, sir? We came to an agreement that we would like to leave, if you are still willing to do that? We won't shoot and will drop our weapons to the ground." The first merc asked, wanting to know if the offer still stood, which he received a thumbs up in response from the man as his two colleagues stood beside him, causing him to throw his rifle and pistol on the ground and come out from cover, with his two friends doing the same.

"Go on, get out of here."

"Will do."

With the three of them gone, Shepard shaking his head, and Garrus shrugging at what happened, they each enter through the remains of the door, weapons raised and firing at the Blue Suns who still remained within the large warehouse and were currently shooting at them in return.

Devin was a man of his word; he gave them three a chance to leave and let them do so, but with many more mercs within the warehouse, he couldn't give that option to anyone else here, as they had a significantly higher manpower than they did.

At least they had superior experience and skill in comparison.

"We've got mechs in the shipping containers!" Garrus called out, alerting Shepard and Devin to the new threat as a few of the containers opened up and released roughly ten LOKI mechs onto the battlefield, raising the enemy count from seven to seventeen.

Devin really, really, really wanted to go back to sleep, take even more meds to get the pain to go away, and then try to find something to eat that wouldn't make him throw up.

He's sure that rustlung and gut rot, when working in tandem, kills in only three months, which is more than enough time to get finished with everything here and find a way to discreetly have surgery done to him and get it removed from his system.

(Gut rot is something that isn't in the Gears universe, or at least not that I know of, and made it up to explain why Devin has imulsion in his stomach along with his lungs.)

About halfway through the fight is when he feels another coughing fit start to flare up, causing him to take his helmet off and grab a bag from one of his pouches and put it to his mouth, almost immediately beginning to violently cough and spit into it as soon as it made contact with his mouth. With this happening, he had to holster his rifle and equip his boltok, firing it blindly as he tried to regain control over his chest's actions.

"Devin are you okay?" Shepard called out, noticing that Devin is yet again having another fit at the worst time possible, with him holding a bag to his mouth to prevent anything from escaping out into the open.

When he was finished, he looked inside of it and nodded to himself, promptly setting the bag inside of a small container and placing it off to the side before activating his omni-tool and firing a carnage shot at said container, completely incinerating the bag and the small container in one fell swoop.

Putting his helmet back on, Devin could only take a few breaths as he leaned his head up against the wall of a shipping container as Garrus fired at the mercs and the mechs with his sniper rifle in the background, holding up a finger to Shepard for him to give him a moment.

After the moment was over, Devin looked at Shepard and slowly nodded, reloading his lancer and boltok as Shepard could only look on with slight concern.

"No Shepard, I'm not okay; I'm sick, I've got a nasty cough, my head is killing me, my chest hurts, and I'm pretty sure Garrus is done killing these fuckers. Let's try to get through these fuckers as fast as humanly possible; I want to get out of this armor and back in my bed asap."

Shepard could only nod at his response, patting the man on the shoulder to give him slight comfort before turning to Garrus, asking the man about the situation and if there's anything that they needed to be aware of.

"Well, we've got another loading area that we need to pass through and with it comes roughly fifteen maybe sixteen mercs, and that's not including mechs. No sign of any YMIRs though, so be wary of these containers. Other than that, area's clear and we can move on up. As long as Devin is able to do so." He told them, hopping down from his perch and looking at the man with concern in his eyes.

He wanted to get revenge for everyone who died back on Omega, but he also didn't want his friend having to suffer because of it, and from the looks of it, he's suffering a lot right now and it doesn't seem as if his Crimson Omen gene is helping that much either.

He hopes that they can get through with this sooner than what he initially wanted so that he could receive medical attention from Chakwas and Mordin; the two of them would be able to get him fixed up no time, better than before. But when he was shooting the Blue Suns, he took a quick glance at Devin and noticed that the bag had blood and some strange yellow substance within it.

Could it be that thing that Grellik found within his system a long time ago?

Could that be what's causing his illness?

With Devin using his longshot to take out the YMIR, Shepard dealing with the other mechs, and Garrus taking care of everyone else, the three of them stepped through yet another doorway, this one leading into a room that appeared to be some form of office with windows that had their shutters activated. Upon activation, Shepard couldn't help but roll his eyes at the irony of his thoughts, voicing them to Garrus and Devin as he told them that he knew Harkin was a bad cop, but led him to find both Tali and Garrus.

He was now going to lead them to finding Sidonis.

Who would've thought?

"Yeah, he was always a pain in the ass. But this time, with no C-Sec rules and regulations to stop me, if he doesn't give us what we want, I'll beat him within an inch of his life." Garrus growled out, staring out of the windows as Shepard opened the shutters to them so that he can see what lies ahead of them.

It seems as if there were few Blue Suns mercs and a lot of mechs. And one Harkin sitting at the top of the control room.

"You seem to be getting a bit tense, Garrus. Are you okay?" Shepard asked him, looking at his friend with an eyebrow raised.

"Harkin may know why Sidonis wanted to disappear. If that's the case then I don't want him tipping Sidonis off and telling him that I'm here. If he does that, then I'll lose Sidonis for a long while."

"Are you still planning on killing Sidonis?" Shepard asked, causing Garrus to look at him, before explaining that he still intends to do so, especially after his betrayal caused the deaths of ten of his friends.

"It'll be quick and painless, something that the others weren't fortunate enough to get, and something that he doesn't deserve. Unlike everyone he caused to die, he'll be spared the agony of a slow death." He explained, reloading his rifle as he looks at both Shepard and Devin as Shepard could only shake his head.

When all was said and done, the three of them enters the rooms and immediately begins firing at any unfortunate merc that couldn't get to cover fast enough, being sure to take aim at the crates that were flying above as EDI told them they were rigged to explode once they drop, but soon more of the overhead drones appeared, carrying more LOKI mechs and one YMIR mech that were promptly dropped into the battlefield from above.

With Devin seeing the large mech, he equips his longshot and begins firing at it, having to shot three to four rounds so that the heavy shielding that it has equipped would fall before sending his last two shots through its head, causing the thing to erupt in an explosion as shrapnel and metal fragments fly in all directions, some shredding containers that we nearby, other embedding themselves in various parts of any unlucky merc's bodies, and a few even managed to hit Shepard and Garrus, much to their surprise.

"Jesus Christ man, I get that you want to get through this sooner rather than later, but at least give a danger close before you cause an YMIR to detonate." Shepard told him, wiping off any fragments that embedded themselves into his armor as Garrus done the same.

"Sorry Commander, but the plus side is that we only have a dozen hostiles to take out instead of twenty."

With that said and done, the three of them vaults over their cover, their rifles equipped and firing at any merc who was on the ground from the explosion, behind flimsy cover, or even out in the open. There were still a few mechs strewn about the place, but with Devin solely focusing on them, they stood no chance against the high-velocity, lead spewing, machine gun that he wielded with deadly efficiency, taking out the flimsy mechs with only a few shots to the chest area of each one.

Garrus had been calling Harkin out the entire time too, taking his time in between shots and kills to either threaten the man or to curse him, before he reloaded his rifle and continued where he left off, wanting to reach the man as soon as they could before he could warn Sidonis and/or call for reinforcements.

Either way, they were going to stop him from doing either of those things, that he was sure of.

Shepard was getting worried about Garrus, watching as he pushed forward with Devin as the two of them practically took it upon themselves to deal as much damage as they could muster, leaving Shepard to deal with the stragglers, so that they could push through the last remaining line of offence that stood in between them and Harkin.

Garrus was obsessing over this and it was starting to get unhealthy; he knew he felt bad for leaving his squad vulnerable and it ultimately got most of them killed, but to become what he has is honestly too far in his opinion. Garrus would've never let himself get to this level, even if something as bad as his old team getting killed by mercs because of a betrayal.

Did he act like this when he died?

Did he become a ruthless tactician only to stop and realize what he had become?

That, Shepard didn't know, but what he did know was that he hoped that he had enough sense to realize that this wouldn't get him anywhere.

He knows that more than anyone else…

"You were close," Harkin started, backing up to a door that lead to an escape route as he stared at Garrus and Shepard, "but not close-"

Harking had no idea on how strong this human was, but to lift him in the air with a single arm, smack him across the face with his free hand, and proceeded to throw him more than ten feet into a wall was nothing to scoff at.

To him, that was krogan levels of strength.

Garrus ran up to Harkin just as he was getting up, kicking him in the stomach to keep him on the ground, before talking to the downed man.

"So, Fade… couldn't make yourself disappear, huh?"

Harkin, now backed into a corner both figuratively and literally, decided that now wasn't the time for him insulting the man or deceiving him, especially with the human that threw him around like a ragdoll was now cradling a very large and very dangerous looking magnum within his right hand, seemingly ready to be used at a moment's notice.

"Come on Garrus, we can work this out right? What do you need from me?"

"You know damn well why I'm here and who I'm looking for; if you don't give me what I want, Devin here will unload a single round into each of your limbs, one in both arms and legs, your chest, and finally your head if you don't give me what I want: Sidonis. Where is he? And before you open your damn mouth to give a smartass remark, I have absolutely no problems killing you." He threatened, with him pulling his own pistol out and taking aim at the man.

Just as Harkin was about to open his mouth, Devin merely punched him right in the stomach, causing the man to double over and dry heave and his breathing to become labored and uneven.

"I just hit you right at the base of your sternum, what that means is that I just partially paralyzed your diaphragm, which is the thing that causes your lungs to expand and contract; that's why you're breathing like that. Well, you'll be breathing like that for the next five minutes, but if you don't me to start breaking ribs, then I suggest you answer the fucking question. I'm not in the mood right now to play your stupid games." Devin told the man, lifting him off the ground and shoving him against the wall as the others drew in closer.

"O… okay… okay… just stop with the beatings. I'll arrange a meeting near the 800 Blocks." Harkin tells them, limping over to the terminal as he takes a moment to try and steady his breathing.

"We don't have all day, Harkin." Shepard tells him, causing the man to grumble beneath his breath as he activates the terminal.

"Hey, it's me. Listen, I have to brief, but the reason why I'm calling is because of something happening at one of our meeting spots… yeah C-Sec raided the place. They found some data and your identity may have been on it… What I'm trying to tell you is that identity may have been exposed, now I've got an agent that you can meet with near the 800 Blocks, right next to Orbital Lounge, to be exact. Meet him there and he'll take care of the rest, got it?"

Upon finishing the sentence, Harkin turned around and seen that Garrus had a gun trained on him and ready to fire, but before he could do so, Devin merely walked past the man and grabbed the pistol from his talons without breaking stride nor looking back.

"We don't have all day to do this Garrus; let's get out of here." He told him, waving his hand forward as Shepard could only shrug at what happened.

Garrus decided that the man was right about that, knowing that they couldn't be here forever and ultimately decided that it was time to leave, but not before breaking Harkin's nose.

He did deserve that much, at least.

He sees Shepard talking to him, keeping his attention, making him feel safe.

He can see right through it.

He sees Garrus lining up a shot on one of the maintenance walkways, his modified sniper rifle equipped with a suppressor to reduce his noise output.

He can't believe that Shepard had caved in to Garrus' demand.

He'll piss Garrus off by doing this, but he'll be saving him from being branded a murderer.

"Garrus says hell-"

"Sidonis, whatever you do, don't fucking move."

Sidonis went rigid at the addition of the new voice and the person it belonged to saying his name out loud.

"Devin…" Sidonis breathlessly mutters, his eyes wide open as he turns around and sees the man he thought dead standing there right before him, looking down at him with that spirit's forsaken helmet of his, like he was some spirit of death and vengeance who came back to haunt him.

Before he could say anything, Devin had slid in between him and Shepard just in time for his shield to flare, signifying that he had just been shot.

The three of them were quiet at what had just transpired: Shepard not believing that Devin had lied to him about him wanting Sidonis dead when he asked him about his opinion on the matter, Sidonis not believing that after everything that he had done, Devin took a shot for him, Devin thanking god and the allfathers that his shields held up, and Garrus who couldn't believe that he took a shot for him.

"Sidonis, the only thing keeping you from getting a fucking bullet in the head is me; stand in front of me at all times, move when I move, and follow the exact same gestures as I do. If I lean, you lean, if I bend over, you bend over, I fall, you fall. I'm trying to keep you alive, believe me, and I don't care how much it pisses Garrus off, but I want to hear your side of this. I know our side, but I want to know why you did what you did." Devin tells him, carefully walking over to a bench and sitting down on it, looking over at the turian as he followed the same movements as him.

Shepard was upset, but he too was curious as to what Sidonis had to say, so he wanted to listen as well.

"I… I had no choice; they got to me and said that they were going to kill me if I didn't do as they say, helped them out with finding our hideout. They wanted to know our troop count, our specialties, our weaknesses, everything! I… I didn't want to die, what was I supposed to do Devin?!" Sidonis begged him, his eyes wide and showing full remorse for what happened.

But there was something else in them that Devin was trained to see; no matter the species, the gender, or age, your eyes could always tell someone who was experienced enough to see exactly how you're feeling and/or thinking.

He was lying.

"You did it to save yourself? Sidonis, I know you; if that really was the truth then I'd have move to the side and let Garrus take the shot, but we both know that wasn't the truth. Please tell me the truth, Sidonis. Please." Devin asks him, looking at the crestfallen turian as he seemed to deflate right then and there at having been called out on his bluff.

At having been called out, Sidonis' head lowers, his eyes now brimming with tears as he tried to explain what really happened, but his voice was hitching the entire time, seemingly being the only thing that's keeping him from actually telling the truth.

And then-

"Tulma and Glaz are alive; I carried them all the way to Mordin's Clinic. They don't know we're here, but trust me, they're alive and well."

After Devin told him that did Sidonis finally break, with him holding his head with both arms as he finally came out with the truth.

"They… they took my wife and my son, threatened to kill them if I didn't cooperate; I didn't want to betray you all but they had my family. I did what they wanted me to do, and they… they ju- they just killed her anyways, right in front of me because they thought I was lying, thought I was holding something back from them. They wanted to know who you were, what you looked like, what your schedule was and everything else in between. I gave them everything, and they gave me my son. I had to run; I didn't want them to find me after they were done. I didn't want you to find me, because I knew that you would be the only one who would be able to figure out that I was lying about my reasoning. Every night the dreams return to haunt, I see all of their faces looking back at me, judging me, all of theirs: Jathor, Grellik, Mayenda, Mitchell, Butler, and Mirand. All of their faces. I seen yours, Tulma's and Glaz's too, but now that I know that you're alive, well that doesn't matter." Sidonis finished, growing quiet as Devin soaked up all information that he could from the turian's explanation, silently reviewing it over and over within his mind as he starts nodding his head.

"I thought I saw a picture of your family in your locker." Devin commented, seeing that Sidonis could only huff at the comment, telling him that he left his son in the care of his brother so that he knew that he would be safe, while he tried to find a place to settle down again.

"I believe you Sidonis, I do. Now come on, if Garrus still wants you dead, well I guess there's only one way to-"

Devin is interrupted when he begins to cough, his eyes widening in shock and alarm as he desperately tried to pry his helmet off and grab another bag.

He only managed to fall to the ground after removing his helmet, with him coughing up imulsion and blood as he begins retching right there on the floor in the middle of the street, catching the attention of everyone around. Shepard was stock still as he watched the man as he began vomiting both whatever he had to eat and blood right on the ground.

That wasn't natural, but what else wasn't natural was the sickly yellow substance that was mixed within the blood.

It seemed as if it was pulsating, almost as if it was alive.

Sidonis was crouched down beside Devin, frantically asking him if he was alright and if he should call an ambulance, which made Shepard look at the man with incredulity as the answer was obvious.

"No shit we should call an ambulance! Garrus! Garrus, get down here right now; Devin needs immediate medical attention!" Shepard radioed the man, trying to get him to come down and forget about his plan to kill Sidonis.

"What the hell is happening to him Shepard?! Why is he throwing up blood!" Garrus screamed, jumping down from the railing and running over to where Devin currently was at and inspecting the man for any signs of him being poisoned recently.

"Garrus… I- I don't what to do." Sidonis said, staring down at Devin as the man was wheezing while face down on the ground and in the puddle of his blood-laden vomit.

"Call an ambulance and… and… Shepard he needs help right now." Garrus told him, beginning to panic at seeing his friend being reduced to this state.

"On it." Shepard said, activating his omni-tool and calling for an ambulance as Garrus stayed by his side, watching helplessly as the man vomited yet again with more blood and the unknown substance now covering his armor, face, and neck in its sickly and pungent appearance.

"It's going to be okay, Devin; just hang in there." Garrus told him, only receiving a weakened wheeze in return from the man as he slowly drifted into unconsciousness.

Needless to say, this was not how their day was supposed to end; it was supposed to be one dead turian, not a dying friend.

Wow, it seems as if the imulsion came back to bite Devin in the ass huh? In all serious though, you can probably see what the next chapter will be about.

So it seems that Sidonis gets to live after all, and the reason he gave us in the game is not the truth after all; let's hope that he lives long enough to see Devin get better... or worse. (Better) Tulma and Glaz are going to be in the next chapter, and boy you can probably imagine how that will turn out, especially since our resident dextro female has feelings for the man who is currently throwing his guts and blood up.

I'll see you all next chapter!

Have a merry Christmas!