INTERMISSION: ARCHANGEL- 100 Days

Their team was growing faster than Garrus or Sidonis could keep up. Their first base was Garrus' shitty apartment in Zakera Wards, where he and Sidonis stayed. It only took a free drink for Garrus to get Lantar's story. Sidonis wanted to bite back because the Blue Suns used to use Ward kids to run errands, get info, sneak in where they couldn't. Like Citadel Rats, but much more dangerous. He was a homeless kid and they gave him perks and safehouses; he grew up in their system and never questioned it. That is, until they upgraded Sidonis to be a handler and then willingly sent all of his kids at a target to get killed. "Had to test their guns", they said. Most of his life, Sidonis just thought the danger was normal, that none of it was a big deal. But after none of his kids came back, he realized he was just one of the lucky ones.

He wanted to help make more lucky ones.

Worked for Garrus, and having a remorseful ex-informant gave them a lot more options on Omega. Garrus' name caught a little too much attention from the mercs who'd run into him and Shepard before, so they leaned on Sidonis' contacts to build up a team and get leads. And after a few duo missions to get the point across that they were serious, the locals started calling Garrus "Archangel".

It was a good enough code name for an ex-hero.

In only a few months, they picked up infamy and six other guys. Apparently, word of trying to strike back against the mercs traveled fast.

The first to join up were locals, like Ryel Eros, Jawth, and Nikolai Butler. Ryel used to work for Aria as a guard, but went underground when he found some of her practices unsavory. Jawth used to help the rich stay safe on Omega, but he got sick of how many cameras were high-priced residential, only. Reminded him a little too much of his fractured homeworld. And Nikolai spent all his life on Omega, even was a member of Eclipse for a long time. But then he fell in love with his wife, Nalah, and he couldn't make excuses for himself anymore. Especially not when Eclipse sacrificed her merc sister, Ezzi, in favor of some payday.

Oddball outcasts like Gibbon Allus, Ro'Wytte Vas Omega, and Danit Zol followed. Without their own homes anymore, they wanted to do some good in one of the worst places in the galaxy. Garrus could hardly say no to a Salarian explosives expert, a Quarian trap technician, or a Batarian tech genius. Especially since he was pretty sure Gibbon had been in the STG at one point and the guy applied to the team by blowing up a whole landing dock.

Everything they did started small; protecting a few local businesses, stealing some drop-offs to get in the gangs' way. They called themselves a merc group, but their money didn't come from people paying them for protection. That would make what they were doing pointless, a new band of thugs taking over. No, they stole from those same drop-offs and worked with that.

Back in the day, Shepard called that "Robin-Hood-style", when they took from bad guys. He finally bothered to look up the Earth story. He kinda liked the idea of it. It was just his style, too; breaking the rules to do the right thing.

Over time, Ryel and Sidonis' old connections started to net them serious jobs, and get them serious infamy along with it.

By the time they succeeded in their first big operation, breaking a nearby blackmailed mining colony out of the Blood Pack's grips, Garrus couldn't even take his guys out for drinks anymore. His gear was too recognizable. Instead, Butler's wife picked up the booze and they celebrated back in the dingy apartment.

It wasn't much space, but it was enough to fit eight guys and their gear, so for one night of celebration, it would do. And Garrus was finally feeling like a real person again, like the things he did mattered, so he was more than happy to drown himself in that, no matter how crowded it was.

Maybe he wouldn't have to drown himself at all if he still didn't think of Shepard each time Nikolai ordered vodka.

Even when things were going good, though, it was hard not to think about her sometimes. She would've loved this. At first, she'd just find it hilariously absurd, this sheer variety of misfits banding together to try to fight the merc presence on Omega of all places. But then Shepard would've admired it. Hell, she would've put everything she had into it. Maybe that's why he found himself so dedicated to pulling these guys together.

Yeah, he couldn't think about that too long or he'd be lost in a glass of ryncol again. And he avoided doing that nowadays.

Garrus just tried to enjoy what he had at the moment. Some good fighters, a good team, and they were doing some damn good.

And thank fucking spirits, they never asked him to make speeches.

Butler did like to get real talkative when he started drinking, though. Between his name and attitude, he was like the bizarre love child of Joker and Shepard, something both of them would find disgusting. Garrus had to admit, it made him like the guy more.

Standing on the damned table, Butler said, "To the asshole turian that brought us all together. I'd let you snipe me anyday, Garrus."

"Sounds like a pick-up line, but I'll take it."

Butler wasn't done. "I shot my first guy when he was trying to mug my friend, and Eclipse took me in. I thought they were saving me. But this? This is what's saving me."

Garrus wasn't sure what Nalah put in their drinks, but soon all of them were getting nostalgic. Across the room, Danit was fiddling with this handheld puzzle he always had with him. He didn't look up, but he added his own comments. "People don't expect Batarians to be much more than gun-toting mercs. I like proving them wrong, in every category."

Ro'Wytte started chuckling. "Hell, I enjoy being a good guy Quarian rebel. The Flotilla doesn't get to tell me how to make the galaxy a better place."

"I feel that way about STG."

Jawth chuckled from across the room. "It's the only reason why I like you, Salarian."

The constant troublemaker, Ryel, was the one sitting in the corner with his arms crossed. "Yeah, we all know each other's reasons for being here real well. Comes up in a cramped apartment. But what about you, Garrus? You've been pretty tight-lipped about what got you here."

Moments like these cut a little too close to the woman he was failing to run from. Luckily, Alliance military wasn't too keen on sharing Shepard's team dossiers and Sidonis was the only one with an obsession for battle vids. As far as they knew, he was just a skilled turian sniper who wanted to bite back.

Before he could say a word, though, Sidonis started talking. "Garrus has the best story, guys, he--"

Garrus cut the well-meaning loud-mouth off. "I'm no one. Just an ex-C-sec who got tired of the red tape. After the Battle of the Citadel, I... lost myself. Ended up here. Couldn't help but try to do some good."

Everyone else wasn't really paying attention or didn't really care that much, but Ryel smirked at him like he knew a secret. "Okay, Vakarian, keep your secrets."

Growing uncomfortable with the spotlight, Garrus was about ready to spin some bullshit about his childhood or a lost girlfriend. But Gibbon and Danit bored easily, so the second conversation lulled, they lured most everyone into some sort of card game. Only three people weren't playing: Butler ditched to go home to his wife, and he and Sidonis stuck to the sidelines. He could already feel the questions burning in Lantar's mouth before he said anything.

It only took all of thirty seconds for Sidonis to ask, "Why are you keeping your past a secret from them?"

"They don't need to know."

"I dunno, if I knew my squad leader helped take down a rogue Spectre I'd find that pretty inspiring."

He was trying not to get annoyed, he really was, but Sidonis just didn't get it. Everything about that time in his life was choked out by Shepard. He could share stories, ideas with them. But having them know he was close buddies with the now-dead Savior of the Citadel? He didn't want to go down that road with all their questions. His heart used to hemorrhage so much blood he could feel it every second of every day. Now, it just got weak sometimes. Garrus couldn't go back just because his team got curious.

Them falling in love with his "old hero days" with her would not help. Them, or him.

And he didn't want his team talking about her the way the vids did; it would be fucking unbearable.

Garrus just tried to keep his answer simple, though. "I don't want to make what we're doing about who I was then."

"Oh, I get it. You want them to see you as their leader, not Commander Shepard's lackey?"

The question was so self-centered, it stunned him. But did he really want to keep this line of conversation going, the kind that tiptoed around the awful truths of Anya Shepard and her long-gone ballet shoes? Yeah, thinking about that much longer felt much fucking worse than Sidonis not understanding him. With a wave, Garrus said, "Sure. That."

"Okay, so not that." Sidonis leaned against the wall next to him and said, "You know, you're not going to be able to keep it from them forever."

"Says who?"

"You really like leaning into this whole mysterious, masked vigilante thing, huh?" Sidonis laughed at him, but the more Garrus glared at him, he only seemed to find it funnier. "You're a regular turian Batman, scowl and all."

"Who the hell is Batman?"

Even though his mood was pretty soured, Sidonis had this nostalgic grin on his face that was kinda infectious. If Garrus wasn't so annoyed, he wouldn't hate it. "When I was a kid, one of the other Omega Rats had these old Earth comic books. They were filled with superheroes and we idolized them. One was a cranky guy named Batman, who was just a normal human, but with lots of tech, training, and dark hero-type convictions. You kinda remind me of him."

Garrus just stared at the guy, because everything that came out of his mouth sounded crazy. But he also didn't want to admit it sounded like some of the crazy human stories Shep used to share with him. He'd bought a couple James Bond vids on impulse, down at the shops. He didn't want to tell Sidnois that. Instead, he focused on the absurd hero part. "Why would anyone take a guy named Batman seriously."

"Coming from a guy code-named Archangel." Garrus growled, but Sidonis just kept on smirking. "You can glare and growl all you want, but you're a hero, backstory or not. Get used to the fact these guys just want to know you because they believe in you." Then, he bumped shoulders with him and added, "But if you want to remain a man of mystery, I got your back."

This time, Garrus stayed quiet, no growling or glaring. Because he didn't want to remember similar words coming out of his mouth only a few months ago, and where that got him. Or the woman he said them to.

Across the room, Danit and Ro started to argue about who was cheating, because of course one of them couldn't just lose. It was starting some chaos, and Sidonis went over to break it up.

However dumb it was, it was nice to be a part of something again; something that brought good, weird people together.

He hated to admit how much it reminded him of the Normandy.

Looking at his guys, maybe where he ended up after Shepard wasn't so bad, after all. If it didn't take losing her to get here, he wouldn't want to change anything, honestly.

But losing her was still going to be the hardest part of all this, no matter what.

The best he could do was enjoy what he had left. Walking over to the table, he asked, "Deal me in?"

Jawth tossed a hand of cards to him, ready to go. "Never thought you'd ask. We need another guy with the proper quads in on this."

No one took that very well, but Garrus was happy to play the game to the sweet sound of their bickering. He was starting to love hearing it.

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