"Go to h-," Garrus began to raise his sniper rifle. The assassin noticed the movement and started to draw his arm across Liara's throat.
"Hell!", Shepard finished, the overload signal lept from the omni-tool. It was mere seconds before his attack landed but it felt like an eternity. He wasn't going to wait for the results though, he was already moving.
As soon as Liara saw Garrus move, she fought to bring her hands up. Part of the sword bit into her neck again and she could feel the hot blood oozing out. The overload blast finally hit. The assassin yelped and her arms were free. His blood-stained sword past her field of vision. She clamped onto his sword arm, pushing it to right, away from her throat. Maybe she was going to live after all. Her ears rung, the deafening report of the sniper rifle reverberating throughout the temple. Suddenly she was on the ground, face down, laying on top of his sword arm. She let go and reached back for the device that was still fixed to the back of her head.
Garrus took aim, and held his breath, the white flash from the overload attack confirmed the assassin's barriers had been drained away. Liara was still in the way, but he read the momentum. He lightly squeezed the trigger.
Shepard heard the report of gunfire. The next moment his shoulder had crashed into the Leng's torso, driving the assassin hard into the unforgiving concrete. During their fall, he had turned his head to find Liara. She was alive still and apparently had a death grip on Leng's sword arm since she was falling with them. Shepard landed with grunt, Liara was a short distance away pinning down Leng's sword arm. Relief washed over him, they were going to be okay. His gambled had paid off. Damn, he was proud of his team. Shepard looked up expecting to see the ruined remains of what had been the assassin's face. Instead, he was greeted with a sinister smile. "How the hell..." A harrowing scream cut him off.
Liara sat up and reached for the device that had been attached to the back of her head. With a tug, the small, squat rectangular object came free. She held it between her thumb and forefinger and examined the thing with intense curiosity. It looked so benign that she could hardly believe it was as threatening as the Illusive Man had claimed. No sooner then she had dismissed the thing, it began to glow a baleful yellow color. Liara tried to drop the object but she couldn't. Pain at a level she never knew existed enveloped her. All she could do was scream.
The scream drew Shepard's attention instantly and he froze when he realized it was coming from Liara. Panic and rage flooded him as he watched his love's body violently twitch and convulse, biotics flaring. Leng saw his opportunity. Before Shepard could recover his senses, the assassin flung him across the temple with a powerful biotic blast.
Garrus had been so proud of himself. The biggest grin he could manage was stuck on his face. That had to have been the shot of the millennium, heck the whole damn cycle. He had caught the assassin squarely between the eyes the moment Liara was out the way. He couldn't have timed it any better. He was moving towards Liara to check on her when he noticed a flicker over the assassin's prone body. Garrus could have sworn it was the same flicker that happened when a soldier's shields had been restored to full power. It was impossible though, biotic barriers and kinetic shields didn't mix. A yellow glow drew his attention and then suddenly Liara was screaming, convulsing. He had nearly jumped. Surveying her situation he quickly spotted an odd, glowing object in her hand and presumed it was the source of the trouble. So he did the only thing he could, he shot the damn thing.
She was burning...from the inside, at least that's how it felt. The pain assaulting her brain was ebbing away at her consciousness. Tears poured from her eyes and stained her cheeks. Liara couldn't control anything, her muscle contracted violently, randomly. Her biotics manifested themselves and their arrival made Liara feel like a thousand razor sharp knives had suddenly pierced her. She was certain she was being...unmade. Then as suddenly as the trauma began, it ceased. Liara collapsed to the ground with a thud.
Shepard slammed against a wall and fell face first back to the unforgiving ground. The air had been knocked from his lungs and his body roared in protest as he struggled to pick himself up. There was no time, he could not feel pain. By sheer will he managed to regain is feet quickly. The screaming had stopped and he didn't know what to make of it. Shepard cast his eyes about the temple and spotted Kai Leng and Garrus locked in close quarters combat. He aimed his omni-tool and launched his combat drone so it was behind Leng. Shepard automatically reached for his pistol holster but the weapon wasn't there. "Damn it!"
Garrus had to admit it, Kai Leng was fast. He had been fortunate enough to knock the deadly sword from the assassin with a well placed concussive shot. Now they were trading blows, Garrus' heavy armor gave Leng few places to land punches that would have any effect. Though if he wreathed his fist in biotic energy the armor wouldn't matter. It was these attacks that Garrus watched for and made sure he avoided. His visor helped him detect when the assassin was readying a biotic attack and he was sure this advantage was the only reason he was holding his own. Garrus' endurance was fading though. Kai Leng was merely wearing him down. He wished Shepard would hurry up.
Leng unleashed a vicious leg sweep and sent the turian crashing to the ground. He summoned his biotics and his fist glowed as he slammed it towards Garrus' face. The turian rolled left just in time and felt the concrete buckle up under him. Sitting up, Garrus twisted around to right and drove his elbow into Leng's back. The assassin grunted but did not fall flat to the ground as Garrus had hoped. The human rolled away from him and sprang to feet. The combat drone plagued the assassin with shocks and rocket fire, which gave the slower turian time to recover. Garrus pulled out his sniper rifle and smiled at the incineration blast he saw angling for the unaware assassin. Apparently Shepard was back in the fight.
Shepard was the embodiment of rage. His adversary had dove out the way of the blast at the last possible second and was already back on his feet. Leng raised his hand, the small cannon flared to life but Shepard continued to charge. The blasts chewed through his shields, the next one would not be absorbed but it didn't matter. He dove at the assassin and locked his hands around the throat. "You're finished," Shepard roared. Their momentum carried them to the floor and the commander pinned the assassin's sprawled out arms. Leng struggled to breath, victory was close. Pain flared in Shepard's left side. He bit it back. He would not let go. He would not falter. Leng's hand cannon hits him a second time, a third time. The fourth blow did him in. It was suddenly hard to breath, like he couldn't get enough air in. He was suffocating...again. His strength gone, Leng tossed him into Garrus who had been looking for a shot with his sniper rifle. The turian didn't move fast enough and they both tumbled to the ground.
"Leng, I've got it. The gunship is here, ready to extract you," The Illusive man announced.
They had all forgotten about him. So focused on Leng that they didn't see the little blue orb hover over to the beacon's console. They hadn't notice it initiate a download of the VI. Leng had been a distraction, Shepard suddenly realized, while fumbling through his omni-tool commands for the medi-gel application. His vision was becoming fuzzy and everything felt distant, surreal. His lungs screamed for oxygen and his throat burned, familiar sensations. He found the hole in his side and applied the medi-gel, the pain ebbed a little. Shepard could feel himself being dragged across the floor, a trail of red left in his wake. An idea surged forward, it was desperate but the only thing that might work. He feverishly typed commands to his combat drone. Shepard sent the final command and prayed as his world went dark.
"Understood," Leng responded. The hologram faded and the little orb returned to him while his barrier absorbed Garrus' assault rifle burst.
Garrus found cover just in time. A rain of bullets sailed over his head as the gunship sought to pin him down. He had to do something! Leng could not escape. Garrus thought about the last time he had fought against a gunship. The result had not been good. He hailed the Normandy. "Normandy, come in!"
"I read you, Garrus," came EDI's response.
"I need to disable a gunship. We are at the temple and Cerberus is attempting to escape with the data we need," he relayed. Garrus risked a glance from his cover to see Leng starting to board the gun ship. He quickly aimed his sniper rifle but there wasn't enough time. His target disappeared into the hull of the gunship.
"Target located, we are closing to attack range, standby," Joker transmitted.
"Reaper lock detected! Evasive maneuvers required," EDI alerted.
"Damn it, hold on everyone," was Joker's response. A few beats later, Joker transmitting again, "Shit that was close! EDI, do we still have fix on that gunship? I've lost the way point."
"Negative, Reaper jamming signals are interfering with my tracking. I am attempting to extrapolate possible positions from the last known location. There are numerous possibilities, however," her voice almost sounded defeated.
"What's the order, Shepard?" Joker's voice crackled in Garrus' ear. He looked over at the commander who was now unconscious. He could hear a rasp each time Shepard took a breath. That was not a good sign.
"Shepard is badly wounded and so is Liara," he stopped to compose himself, the conditions of his close friends settling in, "we need immediate evac," he finished. "I guess Cerberus wins this round." Garrus slumped against the low benches, refusing to stand up and to give pictures to what he was hearing. The menacing roar of the Reaper's, that ground-shaking growl, which proceeded that distinctive ping followed by a thrum of energy assaulted his ears. Small arms fire chattered away and the occasional explosion from heavy weapons going off chimed in. Interspersed in this symphony of noise was the desperate com chatter of the remaining asari military. There was cries for reinforcements, evacuation and some times the simple uttering of "Goddess". For the time since this war began, Garrus felt they might actually lose.