A/N for the records this chapter moves kind of quick. (Update as of 4/9/2014: This chapter has yet to be rewritten to match the quality of later chapters. The prologue before has been rewritten though.)

Part I

The Voice and Face of all Evil.

Chapter 1: Prisoner

A week after the ballroom incident.

Katherine slammed her body into the metal door of her cell. She panted trying to catch her breath as she stepped back from the door. She backed up to the wall on the opposite side of the cell. She charged straight forward at the door, ramming her shoulder into it.

"Let me out!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. Her voice was strained. Someone pounded on the door from the outside.

"Shut up!" A rough male voice yelled from the other side.

"I didnt do anything!" Shepard coughed.

"Tell that to Lt. Williams!" Another voice yelled from the other side of the door.

Shepard groaned and fell back agsint the wall, sliding to the floor. She hated being in prison. Sure she was being treated better than the other criminals C-Sec had arrested, but still she hated being in here. It was annoying, especially after a week of being stuck in there with no outside communication other than the food brought to her. She let out a sigh and stood up.

She inspected her room. Being the hero of the galaxy have did have it's advantages. A nice bed, a clean bathroom and shower, heck even a TV. The TV station however, was locked on the same channel, and she couldn't see any actual news. It annoyed her even more. She wanted to see what was being done about her charges.

She wondered when she would get out.

Her thoughts were answered when the doors suddenly opened and a familiar Asari walked in.

"I guess being a hero has it's advantages." Liara stated looking around the room.

"Liara! Long time no see." Shepard stated getting to her feet and smiling at the Asari.

"Too long."

"I'm glad you're here Liara, but I thought you were on Thessia?"

"I was." Liara started. "But..."

"I called her up and told her what was going on." Another familiar person stated walking in. "I hadn't even finished talking before she went on some rampage about the Council being idiots. Can't say I blame her." Garrus laughed form his spot next to Liara.

"Garrus?" Shepard stated in disbelief.

"Hey Shepard. You know how much of a pain it's been getting in here to see you? I swear those Councilors are going to drive me insane someday." The TurIan relied with a sigh.

"Yoh and me both Garrus." Shepard replied running a hand through her hair.

"You all have one minute before you need to leave. Trails starting up soon." A C-Sec officer stated from the doorway, then leaving them alone once more.

"What trial?" Shepard asked sitting on her bed.

"the Council have made a public trial for you. They want the whole Galaxy to see this for some reason. Seems a bit odd..." said Garrus.

"A public trail for a Spectre?" Shepard asked with a raised eyebrow. The only other Spectre trial she remembered was Sarens and look how well that went. She wondered if maybe that's why they were making it public. To avoid another incident like that. Still, she wasn't any threat to them. They had to know that.

"It's odd I agree but none the less, I found video footage to prove your innocence Shepard." Liara clicked on her omni tool.

"Why didn't you just show it to the Council?"

"Trudeth kept sending me away, saying all evidence was to be shown at the trial." Liara stated with pursed lips. All three knew something was wrong, but none could place it.

A video appeared over the Asari's omni tool and played. It showed Shepard, the most and even the voice played over the audio.

"I swear the strangest things always happen to us." Garrus sighed.

Shepard stepped in the trial room. It was massive. Like a stadium for sports. The hundreds of people sitting around made it seem like they had sold tickets, and her trial was the main event.

She slowly walked in, head held high and noticed the chair set in the center of the room, obviously set aside for her. The Council sat at a long metal table across from the seat, Ashley Williams stadnign next to them, her eyes filled with confusion, anger and hurt. Shepard felt terrible despite having not done anything.

The footsteps of her escort, several C-Sec officers and her two friends, sounded out behind her. The room became deathly quiet, and the stare sod all inside lingered on her alone. Several cameras and reporters stood off to the sides, each talking into their own omni tools or cameras with mics built in. Apparently the whole galaxy was watching.

Katherine didn't look at any of them and made her way to the chair. She slowly sat down and a officer handcuffed her. Silence filled the room for a few seconds, Liara and Garrus both taking a place on either side of Shepard before anyone spoke.

One of the Councilors, the Salarain named Trudeth, stood up and began the trail.

"Commander Katherine Shepard. You are herby tried with attempted murder of a fellow Spectre, Lieutenant Ashely Williams. How do you plead?" The Councilor stated with a voice as cold as ice. Shepard saw her eyes color. It was green. A pale green. Not its usual color.

"Innocent." Shepard stated getting back to the matter at hand. She would figure it out later. Right now she had to get out of the handcuffs and prove her innocence.

"Commander we have eye witnesses, ourselves included, that saw you shot the Lieutenant." Another Councilor spoke up.

"I didn't shot anyone."

"A weapon was right next to you, your side arm, and a bullet was empty form its chamber. That very bullet found in Mrs. Williams chest cavity." Trudeth replied.

"Shepard we know its not good... Is there anyway you can prove that you didn't do it?" another Councilor asked.

"We have video proof of something else shooting the Lieutenant." Shepard stated calmly, her eyes never leaving Trudeths. The multitude of people gasped and The Councilor sighed.

"Show us. Send it to Exodus and we will put it on screen for all to see." She replied. The Commander nodded towards Liara and the Asari opened up her omni tool. Exodus, opened up its own omni tool and got the video from Liara. The Geth pressed a few commands and a massive holographic video appeared over the Council.

It began with Shepard getting to her feet, people were still moving. The Commander and her friends noticed the lack of green moist and even the voice was gone.

The Shepard on video, suddenly walked towards Ashley, pulled out her pistol and shot the Lieutenant point blank range. The entree crowd gasped, even a few Councilros seemed shocked by the turn of events. Most how counted her as innocent, thinking a hidden assassin managed to pin the blame on her, but after the video evidence they all thought different.

"No! Thats not right!" Liara stated in shock, opening her omni tool and trying to figure out what was wrong.

"Archer, would you please store the video for future reference in the archives, as well as send out the news to all Council races of the Commanders punishment. She is to be imprisoned indecently as well as declared an enemy of the state. Make sure they have records on both video and text logs." Turdeth stated. Shepard was about to ask who Archer was when a VI program, atkign shape as a elder man in a business suit appeared in the middle of the room.

"Yes mam." The Vi stated.

"What?" Liara gasped.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Garrus snapped. The crowd grew into a riot, people yelling for her to die, other yelling for her to be spared, other stating how she saved them all and deserved better than this.

Despite all this, Shepard herself paid no heed to any of it.

Katherine stared at the VI in shock. She had heard the voice before. The Avatar wasn't the same, but the voice... She could never forget his voice. Not the Catalysts. Not the one who threatened to destroy everything they had.

"You..." Shepard stated under her breath. Sure she had filled reports, even stating what it looked like, bit why file a report on what it sounded like? The Catalyst was supposed to be dead, along with the Reapers.

The Vi turned to Shepard, and she saw the faintest flash of red in its eyes.

"Commander Katherine Shepard. Pleased to meet you I am Archer, personal VI to the Council." Archer replied with a smile. The crowd had somehow been quieted enough for the Council to hear the Conversation.

"Catalyst." Shepard stated shortly, knowing the Councilors would catch what she was implying.

"Catalyst? Shepard he was destroyed ages ago when the Crucible fired." Trudeth replied with a wave of her hand.

"Its him. I'd never forget that voice." Katherine replied loudly. Most of the crowd was now staring on in confusion. News networks were going wild with the information.

"Mam? The Catalyst was destroyed ten years was he not? Why doe stye Commander refer to me as this old AI?" Archer stated seemingly confused.

"Archer you are dismissed. We will discuss this later." Trudeth said again waving her hand in dismissal.

"Yes... No." The Catalyst said speaking up. Shepard saw his eyes flicker red. She began to struggle in her restraints. She had to get free.

Archers form suddenly changed, the elder man disappearing then forming into a child once more. Exactly how Shepard had seen him in the Cricible all those years ago.

"Archer what are you doing?" Trudeth said offended. The Catalyst laughed loudly.

"I am what you call the Catalyst. The Catalyst was my basic function, my function only meant to awaken my brethren when a threat capable of defeating us arose once again." The Catalyst looked back at Shepard.

"I order you to shut down now!" Trudeth yelled. The Catalyst let out a menacing laugh.

"Foolish Salarian. I do not take orders from you. Now overwriting protocol. Opening bay doors. Opening doors for the parasite." The Catalysts color changed to a blood red.

"Have fun Shepard." He smiled and vanished. Suddenly the lights began to flicker on and off. The crowd began to panic. The Catalyst laughed again. Green mist began to seep in through the vents. Shepard saw Ashley draw a side arm. She could tell Ashley was still hurt, her drawing of the weapon was slow and obviously painful. Shepard struggled against her chains even more. Her wrists were beginning to go raw. The crowd was starting to yell and people were shoving each other to get out of the chamber.

Suddenly the lights went off completely, leaving only a few dim yellow emergency lights in their place.

Garrus reached her first and drew a blade with his omni tool. Shepard wished she had hers with her. She wondered were C-Sec had taken her armor. Garrus swiftly cut the handcuffs holding the Commander wrists together, Liara drawing her own weapon and glowing with biotic power. Shepard stood up rubbing her wrists.

"Here." Garrus said handing Shepard a side arm.

"Thanks." Shepard said taking the gun. She cocked it back and made sure it was ready to go.

"Hey! Someone arrest them! She is still a criminal!" Trudeth yelled noticing the freed Shepard. Before anyone could respond a thundering deep voice spoke out.

"I am the monument to all your sins." Suddenly a shriek filled the air. In the dim light Shepard could barely make out the figure. It was deformed and pale. It lunged from somewhere within the crowd and landed next to the Salarian Councilor. It grabbed Trudeth by the head, long tentacles wrapping around her head, and it tossed her to the side. Shepard could here the crack of bones as the councilor hit the floor.

"Down!" Shepard yelled at the other councilors. She aimed her weapon at the creature and opened fire. Two shots passed straight through the figure. The figure turned towards Shepard and let out another screech. Shepard heard Garrus and Liara open fire. Several other shots tore through the creature. The creature wasn't even fazed. It charged straight at them. Shepard unloaded her entire clip into the creature. Her last shot hit the creature dead center in its chest. Finally the creature stopped and slumped down to the ground. Shepard heard her friends reload their weapons and asked for a clip from Garrus. While reloading the small group quickly walked over to Ashley and the councilors. Ashley immediately trained her gun on Shepard.

"Councilors we need to get out of here now." Shepard ordered. The remaining councilors looked at her with bewilderment.

Screams filled the air. Blood curdling screams. Shepard turned and looked up into the crowd. She saw several more deformed figures attacking the civilians left in the rows. Red lights suddenly turned on and lite up the room.

"This is C-Sec! evacuation of the Citadel is now in immidiate effect! Repeat the Citadel is... What? No hold it! Hold the doors! Shit! Open fire! Op... Gahhhh!" The intercom died away. Shepard quickly looked for an exit. The door in the back, where she guessed the councilors may have come from, was green and unlocked.

"This way! Quick!" She yelled. She sprinted as fast as she could which was relatively slow since her body was still recovering from its mistreatment. She could here the shuffling of feet behind her as the other all followed. She heard the wailing of the civilians fading away. She knew she only had moments before the creatures were on them.

She slid to a halt in front of the door and opened it. The Quarian and human councilor managed to make it through. Garrus ran through holding Ashley in his arms. The spectre was groaning in pain. Shepard felt bad for her. She was still too hurt to really put up fight. She briefly wondered how bad the shot had been, thinking how it was a miracle she was even standing.

Liara ran through next with the Geth councilor. Lithyia and the Turian councilor were a feet away when several figures leaped out from the rows of dead civilians and tackled Lithyia.

"No!" Shepard yelled. She opened fire at the creatures. The Truain councilor looked at the door then back at the Asari councilor, whom had managed to push the creatures off of her with a biotic blast. The councilor drew a side arm and shot one of the figures dead center, killing it instantly. He rushed forward and tackled the other figure.

"Go!" He yelled. Lithyia took a step towards him before a hand wrapped around her arm. Shepard pulled her towards the door shooting at several other creatures. She pushed Lithyia through the doorway and turned around. The Turian councilor was on his feet with a blade drawn. He looked back at Shepard.

"I'll be fine." He lied with a smile.

"Thank you." Shepard replied sadly. Several figures let out several more screeches. The Turian nodded. Shepard quickly dashed through the doorway and sealed the door.

Shepard looked around the corner. Nothing. A black hallway with flickering lights and dozens of dead bodies. She activated her flashlight. The hallways were getting darker and darker the closer they got to the hangar bay. She shivered slightly at the sight. They had been moving for at least ten minutes and all they had found was destruction and carnage. She wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing.

"How did these things manage to tear through our defenses so fast?" Garrus asked walking up behind her.

"I don't know. But we have to get out of here." Shepard replied motioning for the councilors and Liara to move up and follow her. She was hoping the Normandy was still docked.

Liara was carrying an unconscious Ashley. Her and Garrus were taking turns carrying her. They weren't going to leave their old friend behind even if she had tried to inprison Shepard.

Shepard swiftly yet quietly moved through the hallway. She watched each doorway carefully. The doors were all locked but from experience she knew not to put it past her enemies to break through the doors and attack them. If she had a full squad of troops with fully battle ready weapons she would check each room but she wasn't so fortunate. She only had Garrus and Liara. The councilors were more of a liability than anything but it wasn't in her nature to just abandon them.

She turned a corner and stared down the next corridor with her side arm raised. Nothing again. She glanced back and saw the other rushings down the hall towards her. She continued on down the new corridor. She noticed movement on the floor. A man. He was struggling. Shepard quickly trained her light on him. He was on his back. Shepard felt her body shiver. A popcorn looking, pale creature, was In bedding itself into the mans chest.

"What the hell..." Shepard mumbled. Before she could react the man roared and lunged at her, somehow managing to get to his feet quicker then Shepard could register. The man swung one of his deformed arms and managed to hit Shepard in the chest. Katherine flew backwards and hit the ground hard. She felt her breath get knocked out and could fell her bones strain from the impact. She stared up at the ceiling trying to breath. She heard Garrus call her name. Several gunshots rang out. She heard the man running at the shooter. Several more weapons opened fire. She wondered who else had fired besides Liara and Garrus. The gun shots died away. Shepard wondered what had transpired. She slowly sat up. Liara was by her side by the time she was up.

"You ok?" Liara asked worriedly.

"Fine." Shepard said pulling herself to her feet. She noticed the body of the deformed man, mullet holes littering his body as he lied on the floor. Liara moved away as Shepard stretched her body. She felt several bones pop back into place. She wondered if she was hurt anywhere else. She looked around and saw Lithyia holding a sidearm. She wondered how long the councilor had had the side arm.

"Always be prepared." Lithyia said grimly. Shepard nodded in agreement. She turned back towards Liara.

"We have to find a way out." Liara said walking a little way down the corridor shooting each dead body a few times in the chest.

"Shepard." Garrus asked. Shepard looked back over her shoulder at him.

"Is the Normandy still docked?" He asked.

"I'm hoping. If you haven't noticed that's where I've been taking us this whole time" She replied looking down the corridor.

"Have you tried contacting them." He asked. Shepard shook her head.

"I need a communicator." She stated.

"Here use mine." Liara said walking back over to the group. Shepard quickly thanked her and activated the communicator. She put it on her ear and moved forward to the end of the corridor, dialing the Normandy's frequency. The group followed. She quickly looked around the corner and saw two hallways. One to her left and the other to her right. She wondered which way went to the hangar bay. She looked at the wall and saw arrows pointing each way, the left leading to the docking bay, the other leading towards the presidium commons. Shepard stepped around the coroner and began to make her way down the left.

"Hello?" Someone asked over the comm.

"EDI?" Shepard asked quietly as she stepped over a dead body. She could here the group close behind her.

"Shepard! I was worried when I heard of your accusations. I'm sure you didn't do anything you were accused of. At least not on purpose." EDI replied. Shepard let out a half hearted chuckled.

"EDI is the Normandy still docked on the Citadel?" She asked as the group turned another corner and slowly made their way down several flights of stairs.

"No Shepard the moment we received reports of the parasite we fled into space. We are currently in orbit."

"Parasite?" Shepard asked confused. Garrus and Liara both looked at her curiously.

"Yes. These creatures are parasitic in nature feeding off their hosts to survive. As of right now Citadel forces only control about twenty two percent of the station. The part of the station you're in is completely infested. I recommend getting out of there as quickly as possible." EDI informed.

Shepard cursed under her breathed. It had been maybe half an hour and already the Citadel was almost completely taken over. She couldn't believe how fast the parasite spread. She remembered the Catalyst. She wondered if this was his new solution. She swore to herself the next time she saw him she would kill him. The Galaxy would be better off without him.

"EDI I have the councilors and Ashley Williams. Williams is injured and we're not far from the Normandy's normal docking station. Is it possible for you to dock the ship?" Shepard asked as the group swiftly moved down another hallway. She was beginning to recognize the area.

"I can land Shepard but with a ninety eight percent risk of letting the parasite on board, well according to EDI. However if you are able to somehow wipe the area of them then I could swing the ship in and get you guys." Joker said over the comm.

"Alright I'll let you know when were ready." Shepard said over the comm. She was happy to here from her friend again but pleasantries could be saved for later.

Shepard turned another corner and saw the docking area. She stopped dead in her tracks and backed up into the hallway she had come from. Only problem was there were dozens of creatures wandering around the area. Shepard cursed again under her breath. She turned back to Garrus and Liara, and quickly explained the situation. Garrus looked around the corner after resting Ashley on the ground.

"Well this is a problem." He muttered disheartened.

"What's wrong?" The human councilor asked.

"Well the Normandy's still in orbit but those creatures have over run the docking area, and the only way the Normandy can dock is if we can clear the area." Shepard explained.

"Damn..." The man sighed.

"No kidding." Garrus replied.

"Hold on..." Lithyia said walking over to the corner. She glanced around and it and turned back to Shepard and the others.

"Well its easy. All you have to do is break the glass. The vacuum of space will suck the creatures out." She explained.

"And us with it." Liara stated.

"See that's where your wrong Liara. You and I have the ability to create a biotic force field. If we can hold the fields till all the creatures are sucked out then we can move around freely. See the vacuum of space is created when a hole is made in a pressurized area, allowing the air to escape into space creating a vacuum. So in theory if we manage to hold on till all the air is all gone then we will be ok and can board the Normandy once she's docked." Lithyia looked at them with hopeful eyes.

"Not a bad idea..." Garrus replied with a nod.

"Liara?" Shepard asked.

Liara was looking down. Shepard could tell her mind was racing trying to figure out if it was logical decision.

"Well it could work. In theory of course. Only real problem is how do we breath once all the air is sucked out " Liara said looking back up at the others.

"The Citadel has emergency systems in place in case anything like what you are talking about ever occurred. The systems should kick in, close off the broken window and refill the space with air about thirty seconds after the glass is broken." Exodus stated, finally joining the conversation.

"Well its the only chance we've got." Shepard said. She looked around the corner and studied the glass. It was far to thick for their side arms to break it. She had to figure out how to break it.

"Liara could your biotic push weaken that glass enough to the point where our sidearms could shatter it?" Shepard asked looking back at her friend. Liara walked over to her and peered around the corner.

"Well if I charged up the blast enough it is possible it could stretch the glass so to speak, but I can't guarantee it'll be enough to break it." Liara looked at her with unsure eyes.

"Good enough for me." Shepard smiled.

Shepard moved silently, Garrus and Liara behind her. She stepped into the docking bay and looked around, Ten creatures were mindlessly wandering about. She was relived they hadn't been spotted yet. She looked at the glass windows, easily another forty feet away. Shepard held her breath and looked back at her two friends. She nodded to them. She turned and bursted into a full sprint, running for the glass windows. She unloaded her clip as she went, dropping two creatures before either could even react. She saw several more fall from the combined fire of Liara and Garrus. She made it to the glass and spun around. She quickly finished her current clip, killing a third creature, and reloaded. Liara moved behind her and focused on the glass.

"I need at least few minutes!" She yelled. The Asari closed her eyes and focused raising her hand stewards the glass.

"Only." Garrus muttered under his breath. He shot several more creatures only managing to kill one. Shepard reloaded another clip. By this time the creatures were fully aware of their presence. four creatures were still alive and charged the two ex-spectres. The two fired as fast as they could. Only a single creature went down. Garrus flipped his side arm in his hand and smacked down another creature before it could grab him. A different creature managed to tackle Shepard to the ground, her body still to weak to move as fast as Garrus. The two rolled on the ground. Shepard stopped the roll when she managed to get on top. The creature snarled at her and grabbed her neck and left arm with its tentacle like arms. Her left arm snapped like a twig, but before the creature could break her neck she fired three shots into its chest with her free arm. The creature shuddered and released her. Shepard coughed and stood up, her left arm dangling uselessly by her side. Garrus was fighting another creature in hand to hand. More creatures had appeared out of nowhere. Two were racing for Garrus. The others were racing for Shepard. Shepard raised her weapon and managed to kill two of the creatures coming for her. A third slammed into her and sent her flying against a wall. Before she could react the creature was on top of her. It stabbed its tentacles into Shepard's right shoulder. Shepard let out a scream and tried kicking the creature off but to no avail. Suddenly a bright blue blast hit the creature on the side. The creature flew off of Shepard and into the wall. Shepard wasted no time and unloaded the remainder of her clip into the creatures chest effectively killing it. Shepard sat up and saw the other creatures whom had been charging her and Garrus were frozen in place. She looked past them and saw Lithyia standing behind them trying to catch her breath.

"Thought you could use some help." She smiled. Shepard got to her feet.

"Thank you, but get back to the others. Take care of them." Shepard replied. Lithyia nodded and ran back towards the hallway where they had come from. Shepard shook her head. She was to rebellious to be a councilor.

"Liara done yet?" Garrus asked as he and Shepard walked back over to her, but not before both of them had shattered the frozen remains of the creatures.

"Almost." Liara mumbled. Screeches filled the air. Garrus and Shepard turned around. At least a dozen more creatures were standing at the other side of the docking area stating straight at them.

"Yeah I don't think almost is a good thing." Garrus relied nervously. The two raised their weapons and fired the last clip they each had. The creatures charged.

"Done!" Liara yelled. She opened her eyes and a biotic shook wave shot forward at the glass. The glass creaked and shook violently. It cracked at the edges. Liara spun around and drew her pistol. She tossed Shepard a clip.

"Now Katherine!" She yelled as she unloaded her pistol at the creatures.

Shepard caught the clip, reloading and turning around at the same time, then aimed. She unloaded her side arm on the glass window. The window cracked and creaked but never broke. She shot the final shot in her clip. The creatures were only feet away from them. Then glass shattered. Shepard felt a pull and heard the whistling of air as the vacuum began to suck everything out of the area.

"Shepard!" Liara yelled as she activated her biotic force field. Shepard hit the edge of the field and fell back to the ground. She looked up and saw Garrus and Liara safely inside the field as well.

"A little too close." Garrus nervously chuckled. The creatures flew out into space, a few hitting the field and bouncing off of it. Debris bounced off the force field and then got sucked into space.

"How much longer?" Liara cried as Shepard got to her feet. She noticed blood starting to drip from Liara's nose.

"Emergency systems should be online in about..." Garrus started. Yellow lights began to flash and a metal window slid down and replaced the broken glass window.

"Now." The Turian chuckled. Liara relaxed and let the field drop as air was pumped back into the room.

"EDI can you come..." Shepard started.

"Already on our way." EDI replied. "ETA two minutes."

"Lithyia! Councilors! Lets go!"

A/N well hey guys! It a little fast paced but I needed to get things rolling. Also I just re-uploaded this chapter so a few things may be off in the next but overall everything should be the same. Thank you for reading! Review and god bless!