AN: For every review, I will donate 50 credits to the Kepral's Syndrome Awareness organization. Do it for Thane, people ;)

Shattered

The balcony was close; about a dozen meters away. But there was no way Donnelly could slow the Kodiak without cutting the engines completely, marooning himself on Gemini Beta.

"Getting close..." the engineer-turned-pilot said through gritted teeth.

"Take us a bit lower," Garrus said, shouting to be heard over the rush of wind. He was standing right at the edge of the shuttle, holding on to a rail above the door. Kaidan was a little further back, ready to jump at Garrus's command.

"This might be the best you're gonna get," Donnelly called to them. They cleared the edge of the Gemini Beta balcony and below them, Garrus saw various patio furniture and luxury lounge paraphenalia scattered about.

"It's not good enough! Find another landing zone!" Kaidan said, panicking.

"Not gonna happen. You have ten seconds to get your arses off this shuttle before I smash into the tower," Donnelly informed him, peppering his statement with an assortment of colorful vocabulary.

Shit. They were still going too fast. Even with Kaidan's biotics acting as a cushion, they could potentially break a limb, unavoidably leading to mission failure and Shepard's death. Faced with the increasing chances of his commander's death, Garrus found the inspiration he needed to come up with an exit strategy.

"Donnelly: on my signal, bank hard left and get the hell out of here," Garrus ordered. The pilot nodded his affirmation. Kaidan looked at him, confused. Was it possible that Garrus had decided not to land on the balcony? That would mean leaving Shepard to die. No, the turian had a plan, and if Kaidan had learned anything about Garrus in all the time they'd known each other, it was that whatever they were about to do would be incredibly risky and would involve either one or both of them dodging bullets as they sprinted for all they were worth. He couldn't really complain, since those same risky plans were the only reason they were still alive to make more reckless decisions. It was a vicious cycle that wasn't going to stop anytime soon.

Garrus met Kaidan's gaze. "When I tell you, jump into that pool and throw your weapon into the nearest row of plants." Kaidan followed Garrus's finger to the target he was pointing at. Ahead of them was an enormous infinity edge pool that faced Gemini Alpha. Right behind the pool was a long row of leafy plants that lined a retaining wall.

He looked back at Garrus, who was focused on the agents of the Shadow Broker that were pouring out of the main penthouse complex. The opposition would prove to be troublesome, but they essentially did not change Garrus' plan. He and Kaidan would toss their weapons into the plants, where they'd hopefully come to a nice stop, a split second before they jumped off the shuttle and into the pool. Garrus was unwilling to risk neither him nor Kaidan being injured; they had too little time, and the mission was too important to jeopardize. If they lost a few seconds climbing out of the pool, so be it. Once they collected their weapons, they'd sprint the remaining distance to the penthouse building, avoiding hostiles as much as they could until they were inside.

They had almost reached the pool. The time had come to jump. Kaidan stood in the shuttle doorway, side-by-side with Garrus. As they removed their guns from their holsters and prepared to throw them, Kaidan spoke up. "There's something you should know," he yelled over the rush of the wind.

Garrus gave him a sideways glance, blinking one avian eye at him. Of all the things in the world that Kaidan could say, he had probably chosen the absolute worst time to say it. "What?" he called back anyway.

"I can't swi -" But Garrus never heard what Kaidan was trying to tell him, because they were ten meters away from the edge of the pool, about to miss their slim window of opportunity. So Garrus shouted, "Now!" Donnelly yanked at the manual controls, jerking the shuttle abruptly. Kaidan and Garrus hurled their weapons forward and a half second later, flung themselves into the air.

Kaidan tried to keep his feet underneath him to minimize impact area with the surface of the water, but at the speed they were going, it felt like his entire body was getting slapped by a massive hand. He gasped at the sudden, pervasive shock, and water rushed in to fill his mouth and lungs. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he registered the black-clad figures approaching from behind, but presently, he was more worried about whether or not he was going to drown. He flailed around, desperately trying to coax his body into not sinking. But his armor was too heavy. It felt like he was being dragged deeper into the clear teal water by his ankles. Bubbles of air escaped his lungs, exited through his mouth, and formed a trail to the surface. He was running out of breath.

Garrus was already pulling himself out of the water and rolling onto the pool deck. Bullets whizzed by, surrounding him on all sides except for the one that the pool overlooked. Dripping wet and about ten pounds heavier from water weight, Garrus sprinted towards the retaining wall and where his weapons were hopefully waiting. The wall offered a little cover from the agents who had swarmed from the penthouse, but that still left the ones who were advancing from behind. Bastards think they're going to flank us. Well, I say th-... where the hell is my assault rifle? In the bushes, all he saw was the grenade launcher and his laser sight Phalanx heavy pistol. Oh Spirits. They'd have to do. He whirled around. "Kaidan, let's -" The human wasn't next to him. Garrus looked back at the pool. There was a dark shape, presumaby Kaidan, floundering in the watery depths. More dark shapes gathering at the opposite end of the pool, shooting into the water.

Garrus whipped out the grenade launcher and let loose a few rounds, the explosive projectiles finding their targets easily. He heard the anguished cries of the Shadow Broker's agents, plus the sound of concrete and polished stone being blown apart and splashing into the water. Then, faintly, the sound of glass spiderwebbing and cracking. The entire contents of the infinity pool were about to be emptied onto the city below. Whether or not Kaidan was included in that depended entirely upon Garrus.

Panting, Garrus cleared the immediate area with the grenade launcher as he approached the the pool, whose waters were in complete turmoil. Debris from the explosions, overturned sun umbrellas, Shadow Broker agents both dead and alive, and... Kaidan. His head barely bobbing above the surface, Garrus realized that back on the shuttle, he'd probably been trying to say that he couldn't swim. Nothing to do about that now. Garrus slid to the side of the pool and held onto the metal ladder with one hand, reached out with the other to grab Kaidan. Say what you want, but damn, I got reach. His fingertips had just brushed the back of his armor when the glass edge of the pool finally shattered.

Instantly Kaidan was sucked out of range. But Garrus was determined not to lose him; who would watch his back going into the penthouse? He lunged forward, barely keeping grip on the dry surface by digging his knees into a grated drain. Garrus's hand closed around Kaidan's arm just before he was about to be lost to the water once more.

Garrus hauled his teammate out of the water, wrenching him back onto the deck. Still spluttering and coughing water out of his lungs, Kaidan swayed to his feet, using the metal pool ladder for support. From the corner of his eye, he noticed one of the Shadow Broker's agents clinging to the lip of the pool, trying desperately to pull himself up and out. Kaidan hit him with a small throw field. It was enough force for the agent's head to bash against the pool wall, surprising him into letting go. The soldier let out a strangled yelp as he was swept away by the waterfall rushing over the side of the building.

Next to him, Garrus grinned. Kaidan was ready to go. The two of them turned their backs on the now-empty pool and went to search the shrubbery for Kaidan's guns.

They were able to locate Kaidan's assault rifle and his machine pistol. He handed the pistol off to Garrus, deciding that he'd have more use for it. The turian nodded his thanks. Crouched behind the retaining wall, the two of them could hear troops advancing and flashbangs priming. "You ready?" Garrus asked.

Kaidan banged a thermal clip into place, then gave a curt nod. "Let's get the commander back."

Time to go save the princess from the evil pink dragon.

As the krogan tore yet another scream from Shepard's unwilling throat, she couldn't help but worry about her team. Garrus had pretty blatantly shot down Varick's warning to stop searching for her. Even though she feared for their lives, she wanted her team to rescue her. There was nothing that would have made her happier than seeing her team burst through the doors and kill everyone in tin sight. The battle would be bloodier than Torfan, bodies everywhere...

Shepard was surprised to find that she was losing herself inside her memories once more, returning to her safe haven. She realized that the only memories Kamala had tainted were the happy ones. Torfan was definitely not a happy moment, but there was something comforting about being able to remember what life was like before she had been locked up in that awful place. There had been a certain grim satisfaction that came with wiping out all those batarians; not to mention the astronomical amount of fear and respect that forged the foundation of her formidable reputation. It was a nice reminder that at some point, she'd been something greater than the howling shell that she found herself being turned into.

Letting her eyes close, Shepard's thoughts, predictably, drifted back to her team. What if they were all killed? There would be no one left to fight the Reapers, no one pick up the torch she'd dropped and carry it into battle. She was selfish for wanting to be rescued. After all, she was just one woman; her life was nowhere near as important as the survival of her entire team.

So she'd succumb to the Shadow Broker. Lay down and die like a dog, with her tail between her legs and her loyalty still bound to the ones she loved. The others would fight on in her absence. Garrus could become captain of the Normandy, Miranda his commander. A sharp breath hissed through her teeth as a hot poker grazed her oozing, bloody flesh. Tayir was determined not to let Shepard's focus stray, it seemed.

It would be hard on Garrus, though. He'd already lost so much. Just when he thought he'd found a small piece of the galaxy that he could protect, one that was worth fighting for, it was snatched away from him. But he had worn his scars well. Garrus was Garrus, even after she'd died the first time. Shepard smiled a little deliriously. It was a comforting thought, knowing that everyone had moved on after her first death. It would probably even be easier the second time around. Shepard tasted salt and metal in her mouth. The only thing she wished was that she'd taken the opportunity to tell Garrus that she loved him, and that she needed him, more than ever, to carry out her one final mission.