Only to one mortal,

has the Stygian darkness

become light,

and Cerberus has howled

to find himself dragged off

against the will of Dis…

-Propertius, Elegies

The elevator was more cramped than usual as it moved at an incredibly slow rate of speed down to the cargo bay. It groaned under the combined weight of Shepard, Garrus and their four new found friends: two Cerberus shock troops, a centurion and a guardian by their sides, watching their every move.

Shepard wracked her brain for a way to get out of their current predicament, but every single one she thought up risked at least one casualty, one more than she was willing to suffer. It was already more complicated than she would have preferred, given her present state. Had she been in even remotely decent fighting shape, she and Garrus would have been able to take these four morons out fairly easily. Shepard knew, however, that Garrus would be unwilling to jeopardize any situation that might have the potential to get her hurt, no matter the severity of the circumstances.

And so, she continued to rage to herself in silence, with Garrus remaining quite still in the corner opposite her, arms crossed in front of his chest as he kept an ever watchful eye on her and their captors. How could it have all come down to this? How could Miranda, of all people, betray them? Then again... Orianna's safety had always been Miranda's first priority... even in the face of extreme danger... but there were always more options than the ones given by terrorist organizations; one just needed a little creativity and imagination. Miranda could have at least gone to the Alliance. Hell, she could have gone directly to Hackett himself, asked him for help. If anyone knew the necessity of a need to know basis, it was Hackett. Miranda could have also contacted any number of merc groups out there, had she been willing to spend a pretty credit. She could have hunted down Zaaed Massani into whatever dark underworld he was holed up in, and gained his support. As hard as he came off, he probably would have agreed to help. When it came down to it, the damn bastard had a soft spot for kids.

And the fact that she was still having a difficult time piecing together the rest of her shattered memories certainly didn't help matters very much. They came and went, flitting through her mind like dark smoke through hands, there, but not quite. It was all very aggravating. She didn't care much for being in such a debilitated state.

Reapers… Catalyst… Dark… Indoctrination…

In a moment of weakness, when she probably should have kept her mouth shut, her frustration getting the better of her, Shepard hissed at the guard closest to her, "You're all gonna burn for what you've done."

A cacophony of jeering laughs answered her as they looked at one another like she was some half crazed lunatic.

The centurion sauntered over to her, and bent his head low, so he was just inches away from her face. From the corner of her eye, Shepard watched as Garrus shifted, uncrossing his arms and standing up straight, his eyes narrowing dangerously. Archangel was among them.

"When this is all over," the centurion breathed. "You and your friends are going to be mere stains on the wall. Look at you… You're pathetic, you're nothing, you're washed up…"

The tiny elevator cabin was silent. The tension could have been cut with an omni-blade. And all Shepard could do, was laugh, "Spare me your idle threats! You're forgetting one thing…"

"Oh? Please enlighten us with your everlasting wisdom…," he scoffed, flourishing his hands dramatically.

"I'm the real Commander Shepard. When this is over, it will be under my terms, my conditions, and Cerberus will be nothing more than a sour footnote. I will personally see to it that-" she never finished. The Centurion hit her in the ribs so swiftly and so unexpectedly that she was on all fours, gasping for air before she realized what had happened.

Shepard heard Garrus shouting and growling as the three other guards struggled to restrain him against the wall. She watched through bleary eyes to see one of the shock troopers press his pistol into the soft flesh under Garrus' jaw. It wasn't until Shepard gasped, "I'm alright," did he finally stop resisting.

It was a lie however.

Being… Lazarus… Cerberus… Light… Energy…

The voices inside her head continued to scream at her, torturing her, and she wanted desperately to claw at her own ears to make them stop.

But she resisted them, as she always managed to do, for Garrus… to keep him from worrying more than he already was. She pushed aside the voices that were not her own, even if just for a moment, because she knew they'd be back.

She stood up, clutching her left side, certain that at least two more ribs were cracked. The centurion pulled his arm back for another blow, but just as he did, the elevator door slid open, revealing the cargo bay.

The four guards roughly pushed Shepard and Garrus from the elevator and disappeared back inside. Another six had secured the hold, armed with heavy Geth Spitfires, while the remaining crew members huddled together behind storage containers. Garrus had thrown Shepard's arm around his shoulder and was already hauling her to Vega's main post.

Shepard winced as he set her down gently against a crate, away from the prying eyes of the Cerberus troops.

"Spirits, Shepard," Garrus said softly, his subharmonics trembling, busying himself by shuffling with her deteriorating bandages. "I- I didn't know… You were… I thought I'd never see you again..."

His voice trailed off as she put her finger to his mouth, making him pause. She found his gaze and gave him a weak smile. Oh how she had missed him! Her darling turian, her rock, her love, her better half… her everything. He had been the last thing she remembered before the Crucible fired, and the first thing she recalled upon waking up in a Cerberus cell. When needles and scalpels, poking and prodding, electricity and torture had become too much for her to bear, it was his face, his voice that shown through the darkness and brought her back from the brink. He was the reason she fought, for months on end, to not lose her mind completely.

Shepard leaned her forehead against his, closing her eyes and taking in his familiar, metallic scent. Garrus returned the gesture by cupping her face in his shaking hands. He shook his head, fumbling to find words. Without saying anything, he kissed her fully on the mouth. The kiss took her breath away, something she had longed for in the blackness of her nightmares and hallucinations.

Reapers… Catalyst… Dark… Indoctrination…

"As soon as we sort this mess out," Garrus said, pulling away slowly, unable to take his eyes off her. "We're done. Done with the military, with the politics, with war… We'll go someplace tropical and retire."

Shepard laughed, her first genuine laugh in months, and replied, "And live off the royalties?"

Garrus kissed her again, "Yes… from the vids…"

Their moment was cut short when Shepard heard someone yell, "Garrus?" and they were brought back to the present. Garrus stood up to look for who had called his name, but not before saying, "Don't go anywhere."

"Does it look like I could get very far?" Shepard said looking up at him, a hint of amusement still on her voice. He flicked a mandible at her, smiling and said, "Damn, I've missed you..."

"Garrus!" Shepard recognized the voice immediately. Liara rounded the corner, panting slightly. Shepard noticed the blood on the side of her head and face. "What's going on? We were sabotaged! They must have entered through the cargo bay door and came up that way! We… I…,"

Garrus cut her off, "Liara… calm down… Everything will be alright now."

The asari threw her hands wildly into the air, biotic sparks flying everywhere, "How can you say everything be alright, Garrus?! Cerberus has the Normandy!"

He shifted slightly to one side with Liara finally catching sight of Shepard, her face still devoid of recognition, "And isn't that the woman from the medbay? I don't think she should be awake… just… just… y- yet…"

Her voice trailed off as her eyes grew larger, the blue draining from her cheeks, and her mouth agape.

"S-Shepard?!" she whispered, bewildered.

"Hi Liara,"

"We… I… never thought… How did you-" Liara said, tripping over every word she uttered like a nervous child.

"It's good to see you too," Shepard replied, chuckling. The asari's eyes glittered with tears and she no longer looked to be a battle hardened information broker, instead, she appeared as the young, innocent archeologist she was when they first rescued her from that dig site on Therum. Liara swiftly knelt down and said, "I'd hug you, but goddess, you look as if you'd break…"

Shepard ran her good hand over the red peach fuzz on top of her head, "Yeah, I suppose I've seen better days…"

Garrus dropped to his knees once more, saying, "We need to get you further away from that elevator and the guards. Knowing you, you've already come up with a plan to get us out of this mess."

She groaned in pain as Garrus and Liara lifted her to her feet.

"Not yet… but I'm working on it."

Reapers… Light… Dark… Catalyst… Energy… LIES…

Like awkward contestants in four legged race, they helped Shepard over to where the rest of the crew, her friends, were gathered together. She was greeted with silence and looks of irrelevance, though several members did do a double take upon their approach. It was the same reaction Liara had given; first indifference, followed slowly by sharp intakes of breath, and then finally with overwhelming shouts of joy.

"Shepard!"

"You look like hell,"

"Commander?!"

"Lola!"

"Oh my God!"

These were just a few of the acknowledgments she received, each becoming more colorful than the next, each making her beam more and more, until her face and her ribs hurt from the constant laughing. The voices in her head once again retreated to a dark corner, subsiding until they were tolerable.

Updated 6/7/14