My eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness of the main battery. I blinked a few times to focus my gaze, but it was still blurry. With a silent groan I rolled over on my right side, letting the left arm hang limply over the side of the bed. I shifted again, searching for a colder spot on my pillow. It's too warm in here… Languidly, I reached for my omni-tool. Huh. It's still too early to get up. My heart rate is a bit high. A click and the orange screen vanished from view. What now?

I could no longer ignore these… these 'dreams'. They are too real. Too vivid. But what could I do with them? If Thane was right, Iris is still alive and I might have a chance to save them. There are too many unknowns. How do I even begin to comprehend this? But what if this is all just a joke? A trick that my broken mind is pulling on me? What if they were right about me going crazy? Imagine their faces if I told them about what I see every night. Good thing that Javik isn't here to throw me out of the airlock.

Javik…

That's right. He didn't make it. Or, I should say, he chose not to make it. Just before we stepped into our final battle, Iris took me aside for a few minutes.

"I know that it is his decision, Garrus. But I just can't bear the thought of letting him blow his head off. I can't." She told me then, eyes focused on something in the distance before she let them slide over my face, taking in my reaction. "I just keep telling myself that maybe it will be for the better if he finally finds his peace. The universe, I imagine, is damn lonely when you are the only living Prothean."

"And he won't be threatening to involve us in any if his culinary activities, too." I tried to lighten up the mood, and my hand instinctively rested on her shoulder.

A faint glimmer returned to her eyes as she smiled. We stood side by side as the world fell down.

We all were still recovering from shock, adrenaline and emotions when the Reapers were destroyed. Some have begun their mourning, others were still gathering their wits. So it was not a huge surprise that no one had noticed that one of the escape pods has vanished. It was only when Cortez informed the crew of its disappearance did we began our search. Javik was not often seen in the upper decks, so many thought that he was simply too lost in thought. But I had that sinking feeling that he did what he had told Shepard about.

I shared my suspicions with the rest of the crew, and when me and James stepped into port cargo, we knew for sure. To put our minds at a complete rest, Javik had left a datapad with a simple letter addressed to all of us. It began with his annoyance that he had to type it all out, setting a lighter note upon the whole matter. Javik wrote about honor that he didn't think he would see in such 'primitives' as us, and that he was grateful to have been given the chance to settle the score with the Reapers. He even admitted that he admired us, most of all Shepard. Javik spoke of living on borrowed time and that he must join his fellow Protheans. 'The galaxy has seen the last Prothean fight. The history is now complete.' were his last words. However, I couldn't help but notice another datapad, slightly hidden from view. The contents were addressed to Liara. I refrained from reading it and handed it to her. She quickly skimmed through the text and smiled. Apparently, as she told me later, Javik put down whatever he knew about the Prothean culture and history. He wrote that she should thank Shepard, because if it weren't for her, he would have never disturbed the memories contained in that odd looking shard.

And that was it. We didn't hear about him or from him ever since. Honestly, we never even looked. Something in his words rang with firmness and determination. That he was sure of what he wanted, and we honored his decision.

What about Iris? 'No one gets left behind'. That's what she used to tell us. Was she so sure of her own decision? It must have taken great strength to do what she did. I always knew my girl had it in her…

My senses returned to the present as I slowly sat up, taking my face in my hands. I didn't want to get up – lying back down and drifting off to sleep seemed like a reasonable idea now. At least it has a higher chance of providing me with some answers. There's got to be something left behind for me to figure out. Even Javik left some information for Liara to piece together and fill the missing gaps of Prothean history.

Then it hit me.

Telling someone about my dreams would definitely classify me as crazy. But showing them is a whole other idea. And it so happens that we have a very skilled asari on board.

Without a second thought, I grabbed my clothes and dressed haphazardly, not really caring how disheveled I looked. I burst through the door and stalked down to the mess hall. Only when I stood inches from entering Liara's office did I realize that she must be sleeping. If I barge in on her, I will probably give the wrong impression.

I was about to turn around and walk away, when the door opened with a silent whoosh.

"Come in, Garrus. I was up and could hear your footsteps." Liara called from her desk, her eyes still glued to the screens that occupied most of the left wall. Some of them were dark, while others occasionally whirred and flashed.

I walked towards Liara, feeling a bit foolish that I acted so impulsively. Just how exactly am I supposed to go through the first couple of sentences without sounding like a lunatic?

But, it appears, Liara was in the mood to talk. She beckoned me to sit next to her, while she still looked at the screens, chin on top of her entwined hands. Moments passed before she sighed and turned fully to me.

"I miss her, Garrus." She began, voice barely above a whisper. "I cannot even begin to imagine how you must feel. Goddess, I was such a fool to suggest that we find a new captain."

I opened my mouth to speak, to tell her that it's alright, however, she had not yet finished. There was nothing really to forgive, but I felt like she wanted to say it anyways.

"We will never move on, will we?" She glanced at me for a moment, before burying her face in her palms.

Voice muffled, she continued. "How does one go about living on? She shone during the darkest times, and kept us together when nothing else seemed to matter. We achieved more than anyone else could have ever wanted." I saw a tear seep through her fingers, glinting on her skin.

Liara swiveled around in her chair and stood up, her back turned to me.

"The victory feels like a far away memory now. She's not here and the world seems bitter." She hung her head a bit, then faced me again, tears all dried up.

"Why did her luck ran out at that very moment, Garrus?"

A lump formed in my throat. Maybe she still has some left, Liara…

She sat back down, a shuddering sigh escaping her.

"What if she's still alive?" I began. Better choose the right words. How about I just cut to the chase. "There's something crazy I must show you." Did I have to use the word 'crazy'?

I don't know what it was, but when Liara looked at me, I saw that she actually wanted to believe. Something in those blue eyes caught at my words like they were the last slimmer of hope.

"I don't exactly know how this works, so you'll have to lead the way." I said.

"I'm not sure what you are trying to say, Garrus…" She furrowed her eyebrows.

My shoulders slumped, I leaned a bit forward. "Remember those times when you mind melded with Shepard? Well, I've been having some weird…dreams lately."

"So you want me to see them by forming a mental connection with you?"

"Exactly."

Liara seemed to be contemplating; her gaze became distant as she weighed her thoughts. Then, her hands dropped to her sides and she stood up.

"I didn't want to listen to you, the last time you talked about the chance of Shepard being alive. I was afraid that the hope would cling to me and I will never move on." Liara motioned me to stand up. "But now I know that I will never do so anyways."

"Are you ready, Garrus?"

"Are you kidding? Of course I am." I was slightly nervous, though. I hope this is a good idea.

Liara half-smiled before she looked me dead in the eye and the world seemed to slow to a stop. Her eyes shifted from blue to black, the dark color swallowing her pupils and whites.

"Relax and… Embrace eternity."

For a moment, it felt something like blacking out after a hard blow to the head. But as the dizzying feeling faded away, I was aware of the thoughts and memories that buzzed by, leaving behind trails of laughter, anguish, rage filled screams, and eventually silence. Likewise, the images pooled into one and I could barely recognize them myself. My mind felt like a mess, each memory trying to grab at me and pull me closer. It was simply overwhelming.

I guessed that Liara was working somewhere in there, as I couldn't see her. As moments passed, I felt her dig in deeper and I bit back a yelp at her invasive maneuvers. It was almost like she was frantic, tossing around all that lied in my head with feverish motions. I was thrown into my days as a C-Sec officer, only to be pulled back into the memories of my childhood – mother's hand on my head after I showed her the great results of the first few weeks of my training.

In a split second, everything slowed down again, the view in front of me darkened. I shook my head to clear my vision and found myself in the dream that haunted me each and every night.

I was about to shout to Liara, that this is what she was looking for, but, apparently she already knew. It felt like she was fast forwarding through the whole collection, stopping for a split second to take in a few details, lingering on the parts where Iris appeared, and taking her time to take in what Thane had said.

Abruptly, I was thrown back into reality. We both swayed on our feet and collapsed on the chairs. Liara panted like she had run a marathon, while I noticed that my hands were shaking. She gazed at me in a silent apology that didn't last long.

"She's alive."


Aaaand there we have it! Will they tell the other crew members about it? Knowing that Shepard is alive is one thing, but where is she?