Garrus had his Avenger rifle out with a small light shinning from it. It was a powerful light illuminating some of the cavern he was in. Stitch was right next to him as he began to approach a small tunnel. Stitch went ahead of him and he said to the small alien dog, "Hey! Don't go too far ahead."

Stitch snapped his head back at Garrus with a snarl and a mean jeer from his black-pearled eyes. He went ahead anyway leaving Garrus behind. The expert turian agent caught up with the experiment swiftly, slamming his foot down in front of the disobedient alien. "Alright, that does it! Look, I don't care what happens to you. You can stay in this cave and rot for all I care but Shepard seems to care an awful lot about you and I guess, that means, now so do I."

Stitch raised one of his clawed hands in anger either to punch Garrus or take a chunk right out of his already disfigured face. Garrus leaned down with a content look on his face, saying, "Go right ahead little guy, take your best shot. I've already taken a gunship rocket to one side. I need something on the other side to even it out."

With a growl, Stitch lowered his hand and made a sound of annoyance.

A slight smile came over Garrus's face as he said, "We're getting out of here together, whether you like it or not." He walked off with Stitch tagging close behind.

He passed a few tunnels as he came to a small chamber with four tunnels ahead leading off to somewhere. Garrus shinned his light down the last one to the right. He didn't really see anything but he heard a slight noise. Stitch took a couple of steps ahead of the weary turian and sniffed the air. He also heard the noise too but a lot better than Garrus could. Smelling something in the air he growled with anger. He could also see a lot better as well being able to see in the dark. Growling at whatever it was saying, "Don't like it!"

Pondering, Garrus asked, "Don't like what?"

Suddenly gunfire came down the tunnel at Garrus as he took cover behind a boulder just a ways in front of the four tunnels. Stitch stayed at the tunnel entrance and prepared to attack. His black claws extended standing on two feet with a snarl on his face.

He jumped into the darkness and attack the two enemies while Garrus aimed into the tunnel with his battle rifle. He heard a few shot and then nothing. Slowly, he got up from the boulder with the light on his gun shinning on Stitch coming back out saying, "Go this way. It clear now."

Stepping into the tunnel, Garrus caught sight of a brown lump in the tunnel. He approached with his light on it curiously. There where two objects making the brown mass as Stitch had easily disposed of them quickly. Garrus used his foot to kick over one of the brown objects and saw that it was what he thought it might have been, a collector.

"Shepard! Come in, Shepard!"

"What is it Garrus? Where are you?"

"About a quarter of a click away from the hole. You're not going to believe this, we got Collectors down here!"

"What?! We haven't seen any up here! Why would they be down there?!"

"I don't know Shepard but be on your guard."

"Be careful Vakarrian."

"Aren't I always."

With that, Garrus readied his rifle and looked down at Stitch. "You took care of them pretty quickly."

Stitch looked back up at Garrus with a weak smile, "Just want to see ohana again."

Hefting his rifle with a military expertise, Garrus just commented, "Me too." Referring to Shepard.

The two made some progress down the tunnel as they entered a large room. They saw at least ten collectors all gathered around a small object of some kind. It was a shinny orb. It hovered up and they circled around it much like the geth had on Zhu's Hope.

Garrus took cover with Stitch close to his side. He talked quietly into his communicator. "Shepard come in. Come in Shepard!"

I looked at my omni-tool hearing Garrus voice. I was staring into a giant cave mouth about to go inside. "What'd you got? I think we're about to meet you."

"I hope so. I got collectors here. At least ten or so."

Not hearing gunfire, I asked, "Where are you?"

"I'm hidden from them for now but I don't think that's going to last."

"Alright Garrus, just hold on." I looked at Samara and took up my weapon, "Come on, we've got to find them and fast." The asari justicar and me headed into the gapping mouth of the cave into total darkness.

Garrus inched his head out of cover and saw the orb starting to rotate hovering into the air. "What are they doing?"

Suddenly, a quake began to shake the planet again and Stitch actually held onto Garrus's leg for protection. Garrus just grabbed Stitch's back and clung to him. He kept his rifle out folding up in a small ball.

The sphere in the middle of the collectors hovered down and the quaking stopped. Garrus unfurled form his ball as Stitch let go of his armor. He had left six large holes in Garrus's armor piercing through the metal and kinetic barriers. The turian ex-C-Sec officer looked down at his blue-furred companion asking, "You alright?"

"Stitch fine. What happened?"

Tilting his head form cover, Garrus contacted me again. "Shepard, come in."

"What have you got for me Garrus?" I said on the other line, me and Samara finding are way through the blackness. We had our lights but even then everything was so dark. I was starting to lose hope of ever finding my good friend or the lost, alien kola.

"These collectors got something new. It looks like a prothean relic but its causing all these quakes. Get here!"

"Just hold on Garrus, we're coming to you."

Nodding his head, Garrus stayed behind cover as Stitch took a few steps out to look at the collectors. He asked Garrus, "Why they do this?"

Garrus eyes were of stone as he said, "I don't know, little guy. I really don't know." Peering out from cover again.

The two had pushed their luck though as a collector caught sight of them. It raised its rifle getting the attention of the others.

Garrus just snorted at them saying with despair, "Oh crap." He readied the Avenger and took aim as they did the same.

A gunfight broke out and Garrus started firing at them, dodging backwards, not sure if he could take on ten Collectors by himself. Stitch raced in at them and took the first one down hopping to the second. Garrus kept on firing not afraid of hitting the little guy. Not because his slugs wouldn't have an effect but because he knew he was probably the best shot in the galaxy and wasn't even worried about missing.

Taking careful shots, Garurs had brought down three of them when he started becoming overwhelmed. One had a beam that ripped through the rock and tore after him. He dodged to some more cover but that was suddenly taken away from him being decimated by the collector beam weapon.

Charging back in the tunnel, Garrus was ashamed for not staying and fighting some more but he had to get away from the yellow power beam The collector beam hit Stitch as the blue-furred alien jumped for the one holding it. It kept the beam trained as Garrus shot at the collectors gathering around the wounded Stitch. He fired like a maniac, yelling, out, "You leave him alone!"

The collectors backed away a step but as soon as the one with the beam had a shot, it went for it. Garrus put back the Avenger and revealed his Viper sniper rifle. He breathed in heavily, "Let's see how good you really are with that thing?!"

Spinning out of cover, Garrus was shot at by the remaining Collectors and that yellow destructive beam followed right behind him Not even looking through the scope, Garrus aimed his rifle carefully while running and pulled the trigger. The slug expelled from the barrel as Garrus was behind the only cover left in the room.

The beam was cut and Garrus had nailed the collector right in the head. It dropped the beam weapon falling down dead. Garrus roared out, "And that's why you don't mess with Garrus Vakarian!"

The collectors took cover of their own as Stitch was still grounded from the overwhelming firepower he had encountered earlier. His fur smoldered with smoke and he crawled to get to cover. The beam being a lot for him even with his supposed invincibility. Garrus saw it and wanted to help him but he was pinned down by heavy fire from the remaining collectors. Not sure what to do for him, all Garrus could do was watch in sorrow. One collector fired several shot right into Stitch's face stopping him from crawling. It continued to fire as Garrus saw a horrible sight.

A praetorian came around the corner behind the collectors. In a desperate state of survival and knowing death was coming to him, Garrus charged out to get Stitch as the large, insect-like monster looked right at him as itwas going to destroy him with its own beam weapon.

Garrus took wide-angled shots making the collectors go for cover. They all hid from him as he got over to Stitch and picked him up, running him away from the praetorian's beam just as it smacked the ground with force. It tore through the rock floor and followed Garrus behind his last remain cover, vaporizing it. He held onto Stitch as the little, blue creature hugged him for cover. Garrus held Stitch tight, firing up at the praetorian as more shots came his way. The praetorian was getting ready to fire again. Garrus was out of options heading for the tunnels again. He had no choice but to retreat back.

That was when I came in with Samara behind the collectors and she blasted them away with a biotic push so large and fierce it almost brought the praetorian out of the air. We both headed for Garrus, sprinting under the praetorian and finishing off most of the collectors as we did.

Samara was the one who finished off the last sending out a biotic charge that blew the collectors' heads right off their shoulders. We both went into the tunnel and I saw Stitch clinging to Garrus. I saw the smoke coming off his blue fur. Kneeling down, I asked, "How is he Garrus?"

Trying to show me more of him, Garrus opened his arms as Stitch barely had his eyes open looking up at me. "Shepard not forget Stitch? Not leave Stitch behind?"

I touched his blue, little check as I could tell he was hurt, "Never!"

The praetorian was still a problem as I looked coldly and determinedly at it. It was hovering our direction and I stared it down. "Samara - you think you could create a biotic barrier around that thing?"

She nodded her head, "I know I can. What are you going to do?"

I looked at her with hate in my eyes for what the collector force had done to Stitch, "Get its attention."

Running out with my rifle, I stared down the monster as it hovered towards me. Making that horrible whistling sound. Samara surround the thing in biotic energy and it tried to destroy me with its beam of energy. It failed. Samara struggling to keep the barrier up. It shook in the air coming down for its ground-pound attack.

"Yeah, go for it!" I said to the monster. My eyes locked on the mechanical demon. A snarl curling up on my face feeling as natural as the rifle I held in my hands.

It slammed down and its energy had only one place to go. Samara lost control of the shield as the following explosion knocked all of us off our feet. The praetorian had murdered itself. I fell onto a rock and hit my head hard seeing a lot of red in my eye sight. Then I saw Garrus. His face invaded what little of the world I could see. "Come on Shepard, I'm not losing another one." I watched as he hauled me onto his shoulder and ran with me.

As I was hauled away, I looked for Samara or Stitch. I murmured out, "Stitch?"

Garrus sat me down in the shuttle, "With Samara. You need checked out!"

Samara got on holding the small, blue alien and pounded on the door to leave. The Kodiak shuttle rose into the air blasting off for the Normandy. I faded out right there not having much in the way of consciousness left.