|Date: 11/23/2184|

|Location: Omega Nebula/Sahrabarik System/Omega Space Station|

…

…

…

"Hello…?" A slow and sleepy whisper answered the call.

"Garrus." The caller replied, "He's alive."

When the turian's brow plates rose, the caller hung up.

He held the phone for a moment longer, placed it back onto the dock, and drew in a breath.

John was alive. And the look on Garrus' face grew dark and grim.

It didn't do well to know that the caller was, if he had forgotten to mention, Liara.

He was under Cerberus colors now.

"Spirits." He murmured as he brought up a hand to cover his eyes. Sleep wasn't going to find him tonight if news like this kept popping up. And now was when he needed it most.

Damnit.

It wasn't too long until he thought about how long it would take for Tali to catch up to all this. If she found out he was alive again? How would she even handle that?

The room started to spin and he fought to bring the sudden wave of rage under control. This was a shit show waiting to happen and it was because Liara wanted to handle it this way.

"Why can't you just fucking tell her," Garrus muttered to his lonesome, "You goddamn bastard."

He wiped the sleep from his eyes and stood up from bed before pacing the floor.

You know, just the other month he tried to get caught up with Liara. They hardly talked anymore, if at all. He brought up Tali and their visit on the Citadel. The most he got after his insistent prodding was the argument they got into. She didn't even tell him the specifics. Not very forthcoming (as almost anything at this point.)

And just as if she had read Garrus' mind, she made him promise that he wouldn't spill a word about John. The days turned into weeks, and he was beginning to hate himself for it. And frankly? He was beginning to hate Liara for it too.

He took his glass of water, finished whatever was left, and put it down with a little more force than necessary.

It was eating him from the inside out. Killing him even. Knowing that he was holding back something from someone he considered a part of his family?

Unforgivable.

But, the rational piece of him rumbled and he sat back down on his bed.

There was always a reason for the way Liara did things. Not always in a way everyone could understand... but in a way to keep everyone safe. Or, maybe yet, ignorant.

It was because John was with Cerberus now. And at this point, he wasn't sure if Tali would hug the man, or shoot him on sight for what John was now.

Whatever he was now.

|Two Months Later|

|Date: 01/22/2185|

|Location: Unknown|

"Miranda," He said quietly between a slow sip of bourbon, "How is he?"

"Better. His psyche is improving and opens up when he exercises. More so with Jacob."

"They share similar history, both being in the Alliance." The Illusive Man intoned.

Miranda nodded and kept her stare fixed on her boss. "He's coping, given the circumstances. Beyond voicing his basic necessities, he's quiet."

Miranda didn't need to guess that this conversation was about Freedom's Progress; the latest city to go dark. Just faintly, she could read a sprawled out roster and timetable of anything and everything about the place. Just below that was a projected forecast of what the geopolitical climate would look like in several days' time, given its disappearance.

"You're aware that Freedom's Progress has gone dark." The Illusive Man finally said, "How much time do you need exactly to get him operational?"

She was really hoping that he wouldn't ask that. She was proud of her work and proud of the people who'd gotten them this far. But they needed more time than what TIM wanted to hear.

"I'm not sure. He needs to come to terms with his new life."

"How much time, Miranda." He asked again between a drag of his cigarette.

She took a calculated breath. "He's ready. But I'm not sure how cooperative he's going to be when he gets his gun and gear."

"He knows we're Cerberus, and from what we've gathered, he accepts that." TIM said before finally meeting Miranda's stare for the first time since their conversation started, "I will debrief him tomorrow, personally, at 1100 hours. Our purpose was to bring him back. If he doesn't want to stay with us, then we'll part ways. But he needs to be informed of what we're willing to do if he chooses to accept our proposal."

The Illusive Man gave Miranda a simple grin. One that told her all that she needed to know. He wasn't giving Shepard a choice. He was giving him an ultimatum.

"I'll begin the preparations."

The next day…

A nice set of fatigues adorned Shepard's chiseled body. The physical therapy did wonders for him. And, as promised, he beat Miranda's two mile score.

It was surprising, really. He had never seen a woman who could be on par with most of the guys in ICT at Rio de Janeiro.

But it was trivial. He was more worried about what these people stood for. His gaze faltered to stare at his chest emblazoned with a Cerberus insignia.

It was all in his head, but it almost felt like it burned where it touched his chest. It made him realize how much had changed.

He was no longer a Lieutenant Commander anymore in the Alliance Navy. (No matter how much he wished to be.)

He wasn't a spectre either.

And, as far as the galaxy was concerned, Shepard was a hero turned legend.

Hopefully it was something he could rectify.

But with everything gone…

He gaze faltered.

After minutes of silently sulking at how piss poor his luck had been, he turned to face the window at his left and avoided eye contact with the three heads of the lazarus cell.

What may have looked like stargazing was anything but. He was staring at the glowing scars shining faintly under his skin. Late at night sometimes, he'd stare at the mirror and wonder how much of a monster he'd become. It made him feel insecure.

"So. The Illusive Man wants to debrief me?"

"Yeah." Wilson motioned with an idle gesture while silently slipping the data pad he held into Miranda's relaxed grip, "We'll be docking in a minute with a frigate to take us to the next QEC.

"What happened to the one on Lazarus?"

Jacob gave an easy scoff before shaking his head. "Techs at Lazarus said it's down for repair and couldn't fix it in time for your debrief. We decided to take you the next closest one."

"Okay." John said simply.

They all nodded in unison before leveling their attention elsewhere.

His gaze returned to the glossy glass next to him.

Soonest chance he got, he'd find Tali and Garrus.

And get out of this shit mess.

"Ugh. I—damn." He threw the cards down in huffed sigh before taking another sip of his turian wine. Good stuff, he would add if it weren't for the idea of being totally owned by Tali.

"Another game, bud?" Tali said softly with a smile. She collected the cards for another round.

"What? So you can steal my bed too? You just won the last of my turian chocolate."

"Yup. And it's delicious." She said before biting into a chocolaty morsel, "After all that food I bought for us, you never shared these with me? How dare you. Serves you right, losing them all like this."

She bit off more than she could chew. "Ie meanth, houw cud ue? Selfuss basturd."

He rolled his eyes and leaned in to get his new pair of cards.

"Eating the damn chocolate before I could win it all back. Not cool." The serious tone he kept finally dropped when she coughed hoarsely.

"Choking there?"

"Keelah. I swallowed wrong." She slapped her chest and shook her head, "I guess that's fair after making fun of you."

Juel rubbed his helmet in indifference before looking to his cards.

"Another bad hand?" Tali asked.

"No." He put in his ante, which consisted of a bolt. "I'm just misleading you."

"You mean 'trying' to." She tossed her own set of small washers, "You're losing."

He pet his small pile of chips with love. "Size don't mean nothing."

"Dear god, Juel. Really?" Olasie said from behind him.

"What?" Juel said, turning around and facing her with a dumb grin, "It was a good joke."

Olasie took a seat next to them. "What're you guys playing?"

"Poker."

"I figured that."

"When are we leaving?" Tali was too busy studying her cards to look up at her.

"Soon. Should probably wrap up your game."

"Last round. Promise."

Olasie nodded and bounced her leg. "I'm here because there's some new intel, apparently. Systems Alliance hasn't even announced an estimated response time. We really might be the first ones there. You gonna be okay?"

Tali sighed. "Yeah."

"So it's confirmed dark, then?" Juel rose his brows, "You really think it could be the collectors, Tali?"

"I-I don't know." Tali said, "I have no idea."

"I guess we'll find out soon enough, won't we?" She said before standing up and leaving, "I'll see you on the ship, guys."

Tali cards went limp and tried to hide the knot she had in her gut.

"Ready to show, Tali?"

"Yeah."

He put his cards down. "Three of a kind. Pay up. I want that last piece of chocolate you tried to hide."

She stared sheepishly at her empty hand before showing off the useless numbers. Shepard's old deck of cards slid from her fingers onto the table.

"Fine." She muttered before handing over the last piece of candy, "You hoarding tet'shuct. Have it."