*Earlier*

"You mean to tell me… You really don't remember a thing..?" Garrus questioned.

Jane nodded her head. "Not a thing. It's a side effect of resurrection. Only way I knew your name was thanks to some degraded audio message I found on this thing in my arm."

After he had calmed down, Garrus and Jane Doe, had laid down their weapons and started to talk with one another. Garrus himself could not believe what was going on. Jane Doe, the mysterious soldier who attacked C-Sec in an attempt to rescue her comrade, was in fact, Jane Shepard. Commander of the Normandy. Legendary Reaper War Hero. The love of Garrus' life. She was alive. And she had come back. Garrus thought this was another dream he was having.

Though now… It was starting to feel like another nightmare…

All the hope he felt within him upon seeing her had vanished, replaced by despair yet again. Shepard had no recollection of him whatsoever. Not her own past. Not how they met. Their adventures together… Their love for one another. All she knew was his name. It was as though the universe were playing some kind of sick game with his life.

He got back the woman he loved… Only to lose her all over again. How was this fair?

"I said your name a lot in it." Jane pointed out. "Were you and I close?"

Close? Was she really asking that? Garrus felt as though someone had poured acid onto his organs. Every breath felt like he was inhaling burning sulfur. It took all he had to answer her.

"We… You and I…" Garrus' hand covered his mouth. He exhaled through his nose ridges.

"Garrus?"

He reached into the pocket of his armor and pulled out a small object. It looked to be a necklace. A lace of metal beads with a broken tag at the end of it. It had the name "Shepard" engraved in it. Military dog-tags. Jane's eyes went wide. She reached into her own pouch. In her hand, a broken tage piece. The name "Jane" engraved.

"You… Your name was… is Jane Shepard. You were my superior officer. My mentor… and my best friend."

"I was?" She questioned.

Garrus nodded. If she really didn't remember anything from her past. Remember… their time together. Garrus thought that it would be better that he'd not tell her until the time was right. Otherwise, he would only frighten her. And he didn't want that.

Garrus noticed a smile slowly creeping onto Jane's mouth. She immediately jumped up in joy.

"Yes!" She squealed. "I finally found a lead on my past! It only took five freaking years!"

Her Ghost suddenly appeared next to her. "That's awesome, Jane! Luck's finally on our side!" Beeped Edith.

Garrus tilted his head to the side. Five years? It took Shepard five years to find out her past? Would someone have recognized her at one point? She saved the whole galaxy.

"Five years? You've really been searching that long? Couldn't you have just looked up your biography? On the extranet?" He questioned.

Jane looked down at the turian confused. "The what?"

"Uh… The extranet? The galaxy-wide web?"

"Web..? Oh. You mean like the internet. That information highway that humanity invented before the Golden Age."

"Golden Age..?"

Jane paused. She turned to Edith, who blinked at her. She came to a realization.

"Shit, right. Forgot what Osiris talked about. The whole alternate reality bullshit or something."

Garrus stood back up onto his feet. He was unsure as to what Jane was talking about. She was making less sense than Mordin used to.

"Okay, Shepard. The turian is lost here." He stated. "I know you have some questions that you want to ask me, but so do I."

Walking up to his amnesic, probably brainwashed for all he knew lover, Garrus grabbed hold of her arm with a firm hand.

"Such as where you've been all this time? If you were dead… again… then how were you brought back? Who are you working with? What are those powers you have? And what's the deal with that robot that looks like EDI? You answer me, and I'll contemplate for you. Do we have a deal?"

Before she could respond, Jane pondered in her thoughts momentarily. She wasn't quite sure how to explain most of what he's asking, nor did she want to. But this man. This turian was someone from her past. A dear friend at that. Even though she had no recollection of him, she owed Garrus something, at the very least.

"Shepard… Jane… Please."

She thought it over. She decided.

"Alright Garrus, I'll talk." Jane agreed. "For starters-"

"FREEZE!"

Right before she could even get out a full sentence, Garrus and Jane found themselves surrounded. Dozens of C-Sec officers swarmed them from all angles. They were armed with heavy duty weapons, such as ML-77 Missile Launchers, M-100 Grenade Launchers, and M-451 Firestorm flamethrowers.

It was clear they were aware of just how dangerous Jane was and took the liberty to arm themselves as if they were facing a Reaper. Jane quickly put her helmet back on and summoned her Khvostov. Edith went back into hiding.

"Drop your weapon and keep your hands where we can see them! I don't think you wanna know what getting hit with a rocket feels like!"

"I do, and it's not pleasant." Garrus whispered to Jane.

"Commander Vakarian, I would suggest you move, sir. We don't want you caught in the blast if things get ugly." One officer said.

This was bad. These officers were ready to blast Shepard at a moment's notice. They were completely unaware of who she was. Maybe if Garrus got her to take off her helmet, then maybe they would listen to reason. They would hurt the famed Commander Shepard-

Wait. No… No..! That would be the worst thing to do! Despite her efforts in the war, Shepard was as infamous as she was renowned. She betrayed the Alliance for Cerberus when the Collectors attacked human colonies in the Terminus Systems. And the charges against her for destroying that batarian colony were never dropped. By all rights, Shepard should have still been locked up, had it not been for Anderson and the arrival of the Reapers.

Shepard was both a hero and a mass murderer. And if the Alliance learns that she was responsible for a terror attack? Spirits know what would happen to her. And Garrus could let that happen again.

So then, what? What should he do? How could he help her in a situation like this?

"Drop the damn gun!" An officer ordered.

"Not gonna happen!" Jane responded hostilly.

"You can't honestly think you'll get out of this. You're totally surrounded!"

"That just makes it more interesting."

Damnit, they were going to kill her. Garrus felt his heart beating at a million miles an hour. Sweat was pouring down his face plates. Something had to be done to stop this. Garrus had only just gotten Shepard back. She didn't recognize him, but she was here. Alive. And they were going to take her away again. No. No! They can't! Not after all this time! Not after all his suffering!

Garrus made a promise to her. That no matter what, he would always have her back, even if the whole galaxy would turn against them. No Shepard without Vakarian. The only way they would go together out is in a blaze of glory.

"Last chance!" They warned her.

Damnit! Damnit! Damnit!

Not again! NOT AGAIN! THE UNIVERSE WON'T DO THIS TO HIM AGAIN!

In a swift act of panic, Garrus grabbed hold of the hand cannon strapped to Jane's back and pointed it directly at one the commanding officer. The CO's eyes widened in shock. The turian's face scrunched into an enraged scowl. Garrus knew damn well that there was no going back from this now. No second chances this time. He had already lost Shepard twice already.

Life was like a trigger after all. One that, when you pull it, things will never be the same again…

And so, he pulled it.

A single bullet cut through the air. It soared straight towards the CO faster than he could react. The world around Garrus slowed down almost to a complete halt. Adrenaline coursing through his veins. His senses were kicked into overdrive. At that moment, it felt like years were passing by instead of seconds. It were as though the bullet would never reach its target.

But then, it did. The led fragment pierced through the officer's skull and drilled into his brain. His vision went black. All function in his body ceased. His heart and breathing stopped. His limbs went numb. But that wasn't all that happened. The officer's head suddenly started to glow a bright orange, getting brighter and brighter until finally.

*BLAM*

The CO's head exploded in a fireball before his body fell to the ground. Vakarian gasped. Did that bullet cause someone's head to explode?! Spirits almighty! If Jane had shot him with this thing!

"Chief!" The other officers exclaimed.

Grief stricken and infuriated, they pointed their weapons at their CO's murder. Garrus snapped back to reality and jumped in front of Jane Doe while activating his Shield Boost. He had to protect her.

"SHEPARD, RUN!"

"Vakarian's lost his mind! Take him out!"

But it was too late. The men fired off their weapons. Rockets, grenades, and streams of fire raced towards them. There was no way Garrus could survive this. But he didn't care. He would protect the woman he loved.

"Garrus!"

However, Jane grabbed hold of Garrus by his arm and pulled him backwards. She dashed out in front and purple energy began to form around her arm.

*SENTINEL SHIELD*

A shield of pure energy was conjured. Jane tucked in her shoulder and the shield in her arms started generating a large barrier of energy around itself, as if the shield had grown in size. The projectiles all made contact with the forcefield and exploded immediately. However, they were constant, so Jane was having a tough time holding up the barrier. Garrus was in complete amazement at Jane's technique.

"How are you doing this?!"

Though Jane didn't hear him. She was far too busy keeping her barrier up as long as possible, but the C-Sec officers were firing off round after round of ordinance. The Sentinel Shield can only last for so long. They needed an edge, and they needed one now!

"Garrus, fire the Ace of Spades through the shield!" She ordered.

The turian tilted his head in confusion. "The what of whats?"

"The bigass pistol in your hands! Shoot it through the barrier!"

Garrus looked down at the gun in his hand, then at the shield. How was that going to help? Garrus had always trusted Shepard's judgment before and it got them out of some bad spots. He may as well give it a shot.

Garrus raised his weapon and fired. The bullet seemed to pass right through the barrier as though it wasn't even there. It was like a two-way mirror of force fields. The bullet was coated in the energy upon passing and, once it hit a soldier's chest plate, they were knocked back several feet and were rendered unconscious from landing on his head.

The turian was stunned yet again. The barrier seemed to enhance the power of the shots that passed through. Impressive. Now wasn't the time to be left in amazement though. Garrus continued to fire off non-lethal rounds through the energy. One by one, the officers were knocked out. The volley of explosives and flames soon died down. Once the last soldier was down, Jane could finally drop her barrier. She huffed in exhaustion from overexerting her powers, while Garrus ejected the hand cannon's magazine.

"Well, that was different." Garrus said. "You okay?"

Jane holstered her auto rifle behind her back. "I'm good. That took more out of me than it should have, though. Guess I'm still carrying around some Dawning weight."

Garrus looked over at one of the downed soldiers. The one he had killed, among the many rendered unconscious. Blood was flowing out from the body's open neck, forming a pool of red on the floor. His gaze diverted from the corpse to the weapon in his hand. The mysterious, head-exploding gun.

This officer's blood was now on his hands. Murder, aiding and embedding a terrorist, treason against the Systems Alliance. These were the crimes Vakarian was guilty of for what he had done. Garrus' eyes managed to catch a faint blinking light on the corpse's right arm. The Omni-Tool was recording. Video evidence. Once the Alliance recovers that footage, he's finished.

But in the truth of it all. He didn't care. Not at all.

"You didn't have to kill him." Jane pointed out.

She placed a hand on his shoulder. Garrus couldn't help but flinch at the act. He calmed himself upon remembering who the hand belonged to. His grip on his gun tightened slightly.

"They were going to kill you." Argued Garrus. "I wasn't going let that happen again."

Unbeknownst to him, a still conscious soldier had rolled onto his back and took aim at Garrus with a rocket launcher from behind him. Jane managed to spot the incoming threat. She grabbed hold of Garrus by his carapace and used herself to shield him right before the soldier fired off his weapon. The missile struck them directly and detonated, generating a large explosion.

Both Jane and Garrus were blown away by the explosion, harshly hitting a wall. Garrus was in pain from the blow, but he managed to fire a stun round at the officer who shot them, knocking him out cold.

"You okay..?" Grunted Jane.

"Not the first time I got hit with a missle." Garrus reassured.

The two rolled up off the floor. Garrus cracked his neck and checked himself over for wounds. He seemed fine. Jane however…

"Spirits! You're arm!"

"What?"

Blood was spewing out from the area where the Titan's right arm was supposed to be. Jane looked down at her missing limb, unusually calm, and groaned in irritation. "Ah crap…"

"You… don't seem that bothered by the fact that your arm's been blown off." Said Garrus, unsure as to why there was little to know reaction.

"Oh, don't worry about that. I've got REALLY good medical coverage." Jane proceeded to whistle. That was when Edith reappeared.

"The doctor is in!"

Edith immediately got to work. She began scanning over Jane's wound, then proceeded with firing off a beam of light from her eye at the exposed flesh. Within seconds, new bone and muscle tissues were beginning to grow at a rapid pace. Garrus watched in utter amazement and disbelief as Edith was practically growing Jane a new arm. Even her armor was being repaired. It wasn't long before the entire arm was magically restored. Jane flexed the limb. Good as new.

"Do I get a lollipop for being a good patient?" Joked the Titan in a childish voice.

"You wish." Replied Edith with a giggle.

Garrus was utterly speechless. He just saw Edith grow Jane an entirely new arm out of nothing. Not even krogan had regenerative abilities that advanced. He wondered if the people who resurrected Shepard this time gave her starfish DNA or something.

"Wha… How…"

A beeping sound could be heard inside Jane's helmet. She was receiving a transmission.

"Hey, shut up a sec." She told Garrus as she answered her comms. "Jane Doe here."

"Boss, it's Whiskey. I made it outside the buildin'. Think I'm around the second floor entrance. Can tell the others have been around here. Looks like they're causin' a helluva stir here."

"No better distraction than a grand entrance, Whiskey. You know that." She stated with a hint of pride in her voice. "Stay wherever you are. I'll contact the others and tell them to regroup at your location."

"Roger that. Whiskey out."

Jane switched off her comms. She switched to the group channel for her whole fireteam.

"Fireteam November, this is Doe. Whiskey's free and outside the building. All Guardians regroup the second floor entrance. Sending you guys a nav point now."

After hanging up her comm, Jane looked back over at Garrus. She heavily sighed underneath her helmet.

"I'm sorry, Garrus. I wish I could talk more with you, but I have to go." She spoke sadly. "My team takes priority and I need to make sure they get home safely. I hope you understand."

"You're leaving?" Questioned Garrus, snapping out of his shock and awe.

"I'll come back someday and find you again. Then we'll both get the answers we deserve. I promise. But right now, my fireteam needs me."

Jane turned around, ready to walk away. She didn't want to, but duty and loyalty came first. That was the Titan's creed.

"Goodbye Garrus."

However, grabbing hold of her large arm, the turian stopped her. Jane turned her view to Garrus, who had a look of determination in his gaze. It was clear that he wasn't going to let her go so easily.

"Like hell you're turning tail on me, Shepard."

Garrus could feel the muscles beneath the maneuverable parts of her armor. They were like steel. Almost like Wrex or James' muscles. This surprised him as Jane had never felt this muscular before. Doe tried to shake Garrus off her, but his talons allowed him to keep his grip.

"Hey! Get your claws off me! And the name is Jane Doe!" Demanded the female Titan.

"So you can walk away from me? After all we've been through together?"

Jane exerted more strength, she managed to finally shake off Garrus' talons. She angrily got up right in his face.

"I don't know what you and I have been through! You already forget about the whole amnesia thing?"

"And did you forget that you spent five years looking for me to learn about where you came from?"

Garrus was not intimidated by Jane's aggression one bit, as he had seen just how ferocious she can get in the past so many times. Even with these freakish new powers, he refused to show fear.

"Shep-" Garrus halted his words. Perhaps she would be more comfortable if he refers to her by her first name. "…Jane, listen to me. I know you're loyal to your comrades. That's one of the reasons that you're who I respect more than anyone else. But I was one of your comrades as well. You don't remember that. I understand. But know that you and I went through hell together on multiple occasions."

"That was YOU'RE Jane!" She corrected him aggressively. "Look, whoever this Commander Shepard was that you fought beside… It's not me. Or at least not anymore…"

Jane huffed. She backed away from Garrus, who did not break eye contact with her. "I'm different now…"

His talons balled into a fist. Her words were like daggers to his heart. But even so, he would not falter. Garrus stepped closer to his former lover.

"No to me, you're not."

Two clawed hands took hold of Jane's gloved ones. The human couldn't help but blush at this act. Garrus however, kept his composure to a T.

"You say you're different now, this "Jane Doe.", or something. But I still see the amazing woman who I fought beside for years against galaxy-ending threats. I still see the soldier who clawed her way off Mindoir after a batarian raiding party killed her family. The woman who killed a thresher maw after it wiped out her whole unit on Akuze.

You're my best friend. Hell, the only one I've got left in this messed up galaxy. I mourned you for so long, and now… I don't know how, but you've come back, better than you've ever been before. So say that you're different as much as you want, but you're always going to be Jane Hanna Shepard to me.

And that's why I can't let you get away from me again."

Hearing the turian's heartfelt words caused Jane's whole face to turn read. Thank the Traveler for the helmet. Garrus definitely knew how to charm a lady, that was for sure. She wondered if he had ever flirted with her in her past life.

"I, uh… Wow. That was… intense." She admitted, still flabbergasted by this man's sudden monologue. "I'm assuming a lot of girls fall head over heels for that kind of talk.

Garrus smirked. "You have no idea. Plus, you know… This voice."

Jane chuckled in humor. But restrained her serious demeanor and withdrew her hands from Garrus'.

"Okay, I guess that means I won't be able to shake you then… So you're gonna try and arrest me or something to keep me from leaving?"

"No, the opposite… I'm coming with you."

Coming with her? Jane was surprised at Vakarian's decision.

"What?"

Turning to the wall where they were sitting by earlier, Garrus spotted his assault rifle. He walked over to it while continuing to talk.

"It's a better option than locking you away. Besides, I'm a ship commander who's killed a C-Sec officer without probable cause, and the footage taken is likely already downloading to their mainframe as we speak. That officially makes me a traitor to the Systems Alliance. So I may as well get out of here, or I'm gonna get locked up myself."

He knelt down. The assault rifle was badly burnt. Most of its inner software was fried. It must have been caught in the middle blast earlier. The turian cursed.

"Damn. My gun's fried." Standing up, Garrus turned back to Jane Doe, holding up the Ace of Spades in his grasp. "Hope you don't mind if I borrow this little monster. I'm gonna need a weapon if we're going in guns blazing."

The sheer casualty that Garrus was showing in this situation was astonishing. He was willing to turn his back on his home. Everything he believed in… for her? Jane was left to wonder just exactly how close they were back in her old life that this strange man would go renegade for her in a heartbeat.

"Whoa, hold on a minute, Garrus. Are you being serious right now?" Jane needed to make sure that this wasn't some ploy.

Garrus nodded. "As serious as a heart attack. Principles and duty be damned. I'll always have your six, Shepard. No matter whose side you're on." He stated as a fact. "Besides, this way, we both get the answers we need from each other. It's a win-win situation, if you ask me."

The blue, scarfaced space bird did have a point. Jane looked over at her Ghost for an opinion.

"I mean, five years, Jane. I don't think you'll ever get an opportunity like this again."

Even Edith was with Garrus on this. Jane was still unsure, however. She would practically be kidnapping him. That would be rather hard to explain to her crew… or to the Vanguard. Light forbid a certain someone would probably rip her head off, rather than merely bite it.

"You sure about this?" Jane asked Garrus once more.

The turian gave her a reaffirming nod. He wasn't going to back down. Guess that settles it then.

"Then do me a favor and don't lose that gun." She ordered. "It… means a lot to me."

Garrus smiled in relief. She was letting him come with her. His heart sang. Now wasn't the time to get emotional again. He gave his former commander a salute out of reflex.

"Ay ay, mam!" He found himself saying. "…Sorry. Old habits."

Laughing gently, Jane reloaded her Khvostov and refreshed her armor's shields. "Don't worry about it. Just stick close."

With all said and done, Garrus and Jane Doe proceeded through the lower levels of C-Sec. They passed over the knocked out soldiers, being careful not to accidentally stir them back to the waking world and get blasted again. Upon bypassing their obstacle is when Edith flew over to Garrus excitedly.

"Hi!" Greeted the small machine. "I didn't get the chance to properly introduce myself. I'm Edith, Jane's Ghost! It's nice to meet the mysterious Garrus Vakarian!"

The little robot's voice was rather high and squeelish, and she was as giddy as a small child. Garrus probably would have swatted Edith away had she not looked so much like EDI, the Normandy's late onboard AI.

"Ghost?" Garrus questioned.

"It's hard to explain right now. But I'll keep it short and simple, and say that I wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for that little chatterbot." Jane replied to the turian.

"Guilty as charged!"

Garrus looked at Edith with a complexed reaction. This little robot is what saved her? Then again, it did restore Shepard's whole arm not too long ago. Such healing capabilities were completely unheard of, even among the krogan. This really left Garrus with more questions than any real answers. But he would get all the answers he would want once they make it out of this.

"I won't lie, Garrus. I'm honestly amazed at your loyalty towards me, even if I don't remember you. I must have been damn good to you back in my old life." Jane said to the turian.

Her words hitting his ear holes, Garrus felt his heart hurting again. He knew that she didn't remember their true relationship, but that didn't make it any less painful. It made him think back to the past again.

Last he checked, this wasn't the protocol on reunions that he remembered. The turian sighed and mumbled under his breath.

"More than you know…"

…

Some time had passed by. Garrus and Jane were still traversing through the halls of C-Sec HQ. So far, they had been lucky enough not to encounter any resistance.

Part of Vakarian still thought he was dreaming this night up. Because, let's be honest here. Commander Shepard coming back from the dead AGAIN, after five years, not having any memory of her past, wearing a holographic loincloth, and now has superpowers. That prospect was utterly ridiculous… Yet, here she was. Superpowers and everything.

Though, those were not the only things different about her now. Garrus didn't notice it before, but even Jane's personality was different.

Jane Shepard was always a serious, stoic, and honorable woman. Someone a soldier could depend on to lead them into battle and survive. Jane Doe however…

"So what exactly are you, Garrus? You part of some race of space-raptors or something? Because if you are… Well, I'm not gonna lie, but that would be totally fucking awesome. Oh! Please tell me that there are t-rex versions of you guys that are the size of houses! I would wanna ride one so bad!"

The complete opposite. From what Garrus could tell, she was rather unprofessional, asking somewhat odd and ludicrous questions. Act over dramatic over the most minuscule of things. Heck, out of the blue, she told the turian about one time where she tried to light a cigarette with a handgun. With the cigarette in her mouth! It were as though Grunt's brain had been implanted into Jane's body.

It would be pretty fitting to call her a 'musclehead'.

Garrus rolled his eyes and groaned in annoyance. This was possibly the eighth stupid question she had asked him.

"I'm a turian. And no, we don't have giant versions of ourselves running around Palaven… If we did, I think we would have to kill them because of how terrified we would be." He responded in an irritated tone.

"Aw man… Well, can't blame me for asking. Though, I can see you guys doing that. Turian kind, banding together to prevent their impending extinction against the giant, bloodthirsty Turiannosaurus threat! They would construct specialized gear that's designed to help them kill these super-sized threats- *gasp* Oh my god… I just realized, that's the exact plot to 'Attack On Titan'! I can already see it! 'Turian Attack On Titan'! 'Attack On Palaven'! Or should it be 'Attack On Turian'? 'Attack On T-Rex'? Meh, any one of 'em's a million glimmer idea. Am I right, Garrus? Huh? Huuuuuh??? ;D"

"Shepard, please! Stay focused here!"

"Well, excuse me for trying to bring more joy to the world."

Not just unprofessional… She was chatty. It was like that time the whole crew got locked inside an iridium vault at the Citadel Archives by Shepard's evil clone and Brooks, and Shepard was going on about the way she says; "I should go", after hearing how her clone says it.

Only now, it was constant. He wondered if, whatever Edith did to Shepard, had somehow shrunken her brain.

"Anyway, you sure you know where you're going?" Jane asked.

Garrus gave her a reassuring nod. "Yes. I used to work for C-Sec, back in the day. I know this building inside and out. Every little nook and cranny you can think… of…"

What stood in front of them was not an exit, but a solid metal wall. No doors. No windows. Not even a vent. Just a wall.

"You were saying?" Jane asked rhetorically.

"Uh… There was supposed to be a door here… They must have swapped them around during the reconstruction." Said Garrus, scratching his head fringe.

Jane grunted in frustration. She knew letting him lead was a mistake, and she didn't listen to her better judgment. She lightly smacked Garrus upside the head, making the turian yelp.

"Bird brain!"

"OW! Easy on the fringe! It's sensitive." Vakarian practically squawked like a parrot. "Fine, fine. I was wrong. Let's just circle back and find another way."

As Garrus turned around, Jane looked at her in HUD radar. She was picking up three Light signatures on the other side of the wall. Her fireteam.

"Nuh uh. No time. My team's on the other side of this wall, so I'm taking a shortcut." She stated.

"And just how are you planning to do that?" Asked Garrus, stopping and turning back around.

"Simple. I'm gonna Kool-Aid Man us the hell outta here!"

"Wait, you're gonna what now..?"

Her entire body started to glow purple and the floor beneath her shook. Doe tucked in her arm and braced her shoulder. Her legs tensed up. And then…

*BURST*

"OH YEEEEEAH!"

Jane tore right through the metal wall as though it were weak paper, leaving behind a hole in her EXACT shape. Garrus was in so much shock that he thought his mandible would fall right off. If turians laid eggs, he was sure one would fall out of him.

Now outside the building, Doe followed her radar to locate her team. Her head tilted to the right. There were Whiskey, Shinazu, and Crow, all of them being held in place by a strong biotic field. Stand above them were Jacob, Bailey, Miranda, and Javik; a small squirming object in the prothean's hand. A Ghost. And not just any.

Glint.

Jane quickly drew her rifle on the four soldiers.

"Drop the lightbulb."

…

Javik screamed. Searing pain shot through his thigh and he collapsed. Glint was freed from his warden's crushing grip. The Ghost gasping in relief from finally being let go.

The three human's could not believe what they had just seen. Garrus shot Javik! The disbelief and shock was so great that none of them even thought to raise their weapon. They were utterly petrified.

"Garrus, what are you doing?!" Exclaimed Jacob.

The biotic field faded. Freed from Javik's power, Crow sprung to his feet. Using lightning fast agility, he struck Jacob, Miranda, and Bailey in pressure points within the sides of their necks and rendered them all unconscious.

"And just to make sure you don't get back up…"

Crow closed his eyes and slowly begun to wave his hands around. Purple flames manifested in his palms. Bringing them together, Crow squeezed his hands shut, brought them close together, and then pulled them apart. A rod of condensed purple fire was beginning to form within the widening gap between his hands, soon taking shape into a dark purple bow of pure energy.

The Hunter drew back the line of the bow, aiming it straight down at the floor. Upon releasing, an arrow of dark energy was fired at the floor by his own feet.

*SHADOWSHOT: DEADFALL*

The arrow broke up on contact, transforming into a blob of purple matter. Four tethers of energy shot out from the mass, hooking themselves to Jacob, Miranda, Bailey, and Javik. The bow in Crow's hands immediately vanished upon firing. Javik tried to get up and fight back, but he found himself unable to move a single inch.

"What trickery?!" He exclaimed.

"These Void tethers should keep you bound up nicely." Explained the hooded Guardian. "Don't worry, though. They're only temporary. You'll regain movement soon."

Javik grunted in frustration. He was utterly immobile because of that tether. Glint flew back over to his partner, now hovering above Crow's open palm.

"You okay?" Crow asked his little mechanical companion.

Glint nuzzled against his Guardian's hand. "A little offended, but I'll live."

"What in tarnation is goin' on here?" Asked Whiskey.

They were all completely unaware as to the situation. This turian, who was out for Whiskey's blood not a few moments ago, is now aiding them.

"It's alright, guys. Garrus is with me."

The turian waved his hand. Shinazu couldn't help but go wide eyed upon hearing his leader introduce her new ally.

"Wait. THE Garrus?! The one you've been searching for?!"

"One and only." Garrus confirmed.

Whiskey approached Vakarian cautiously, firmly gripping the golden hand cannon on his side. The turian angrily glared back at the Exo.

"Just remember that I didn't do this for you." Garrus looked over at Jane. "I'm doing it for her."

There was tension between them. One of resentment. Garrus rumbling a low growl towards Whiskey. 21 averted his eyes shamefully. Garrus saw the guilt within him. Though he was still antagonistic towards Whiskey for what happened with Reaka, Garrus knew that, if he held onto this grudge, he would perhaps do something he would regret in the future. Even so, that didn't mean he had to like this hunk of bolts.

Stepping in between them, Crow pushed Garrus and Whiskey apart. "C'mon, you two. We're on the same side now. We have to work together if we want to get out of here."

"He's right. Mission's a success." Jane stated. "Now we go home."

Crow nodded in agreement. He placed his finger against his ear to activate his comms.

"Holiday, this is Crow. We've got Whiskey." The Hunter said into his earpiece.

"Roger that. I got the bird parked over at the dockin' bay. Lucky for me, the guards just think I'm a tourist with a funny lookin' ship. I'll start up the engines and it's off we go."

"Got it. Crow out." He hung up and turned to Jane. "Amanda's waiting for us at the docks. If we go now, we'll be there before reinforcements arrive."

The Titan nodded her head. "You heard the man, people. Let's hop to it. Garrus, stick close."

Their destination set, the fireteam moved out. As Garrus began walking, he felt something grab hold of his ankle. He looked down. Javik's hand grasped it tightly.

"Turian! Why are you helping them?!"

Garrus could only stare at his comrade with an apologetic expression. He wanted to explain this to Javik. Truly. But he knew this would be a bad idea. If anyone, even the crew of the Normandy, were to find out that one of the terrorists attacking was Shepard, they would try to arrest her. Garrus knew how much everyone loved and cared about Shepard. But unlike him, they would attempt at getting Shepard to surrender. With no memory of her friends and this new and rather violent personality, she would most definitely resist and fight them, despite his pleas to either party not to.

In his heart, Garrus knew that it was better to keep his reasons, and Shepard's identity a secret. He wouldn't lose her, yet he did not wish to see his friends get hurt or worse by the one they cared for and respected more than anything. It would just end up becoming a chaotic mess. So Garrus kicked away Javik's hand and walked off with the fireteam, resisting the screaming urge to look back.

"Commander!" Javik called out. "Garrus! It is not too late."

His attempts at reason fell on deaf ears. Garrus turned the corner. He was gone.

"…Now it is too late."

Finally, the tether vanished and Javik was free, though still in pain from being shot in the leg by a larger than usual bullet. In his field of view, he noticed Liara and Wrex running up towards him. Now that the smoke had cleared, they could safely drop their barrier and rush to the rescue.

"Javik! Are you alright?" Liara asked worriedly as she knelt down.

"Of course not! The commander just shot me and walked off with the enemy!"

The asari and krogan were now both in shock. The information hitting them like a flaming freight train.

"Garrus..? He did this to you..?" Liara dared not ask.

Wrex shook his head no, refusing to believe what Javik had just told them. "What are you talking about? That's ridiculous!"

"He's not kidding…"

Everyone turned their heads to Miranda. She was finally regaining consciousness. Her eyes clouded over with disbelief.

"I saw him before I blacked out… Garrus Vakarian just went rogue…"