I've been a busy busy bee, but I've been trying to write when I can. Enjoy this new chapter, here's where it starts to get good. :)

Chapter Five

Ashlyn stared in awe at the massive station that was the Citadel. From her window, she watched it grow larger and larger the closer they got. It had giant blade-like appendages that came together to form a cylindrical shape with a ring at the very end. It was like the pictures she'd seen on the extranet, only much, much larger. Eventually, the Citadel came close enough to make out some buildings and the Normandy glided towards the docking bays. She felt the ship shudder slightly as it docked and she felt the sudden urge to explore the incredible place, but what was the point? She had no money and she couldn't become a beggar. So she made the decision to stay on the Normandy.

No sooner than the thought crossed her mind, her omni-tool chimed. It was Shepard.

Shepard: I'm heading out. You sure you don't want to come along?

She sighed. Of course she wanted to, but what was she supposed to say? Can I borrow some cash to buy some undies? Just the thought of it humiliated her. She would figure something out regarding clothes, maybe look into some hand-me-downs from fellow shipmates.

Ashlyn: No thanks, I'll be fine.

Shepard: Okay, well, just let me know if you change your mind.

She sighed again as she shut down her omni-tool. She was nearly ready to just lay back and take a nap, though she'd been sleeping most of the day, when there was a knock at her door.

Garrus was hesitant when he decided to check on Ashlyn. She'd been resting for a while and he didn't want to disturb her, but he was curious to know if she was willing to venture out onto the Citadel knowing how fearful she was of it when she was first found. When he turned the corner past the med bay, he realized her door was open and he could hear familiar voices within. He wasn't usually one to eavesdrop, but he found himself against the doorway, listening intently.

"Are you planning on exploring the Citadel?" EDI asked her.

Ashlyn's eyes lowered. She didn't want to admit it to anyone, but she felt she could open up to EDI and she wouldn't judge her. "I would like to see it, but I can't go alone. I wanted to get myself some clothes too, but I don't have any money."

"I can ask Commander Shepard to give you money from the Normandy's account?" The AI suggested.

"I can't do that. You guys are at war. You need all the money you can get." She leaned up against the window and looked up at the Citadel. "I'll just stay here."

"If that is your wish." EDI gave her a brief smile and turned to leave.

As the doors closed behind her, EDI turned to Garrus as if she expected him to be there. She nodded slightly in his direction and continued to join Joker who was waiting for her in the docking bay lobby. Garrus didn't respond, but was slightly confused at her reaction to his presence.

Ashlyn did want to go to the Citadel. It scared her, since the voice kept going through her head telling her not to, but she'd read such wonderful things. She wanted to see the menagerie of aliens, the exotic stores and try different foods, but she couldn't. She sighed as she gazed longingly at the docking bay out of the window.

She nearly jumped out of her skin with the door opened once more. She expected EDI again, but she was surprised to see Garrus.

"What are you doing here?" She asked him, her brow furrowed with slight concern.

"Taking you to the Citadel," he replied as he gestured for her to get up and follow with a wave of his three fingered hand. "You said you couldn't go alone, so you can come with me. I've got some things to do, but you can tag along."

A nervous smile crept onto her lips as she slowly stood.

"Come on," he coaxed, "I won't let anything bad happen to you. You have no reason to be afraid."

And with that, she eagerly left with Garrus to make her first trip to the Citadel.

When the doors to the docking bay opened up to the lobby, Ashlyn's spine straightened. She felt as if an invisible force was pulling her further in, but her mind was holding her back. Garrus went over the threshold and looked back at her questioningly. She continuously had to tell herself it was just a space station. She gulped down the lump in her throat as her right foot slid slowly through the docking bay doorway, followed by her left. Suddenly, as soon as both feet crossed the threshold, she felt a shock surge through her entire body. She shuddered slightly and felt a stab of pain in her head. She cringed and Garrus was suddenly up close, grabbing onto her shoulders.

"Are you alright?" He asked with urgency in his dual-toned voice.

Ashlyn nodded as the pain started to fade. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said softly, "just all the excitement I guess." She looked up at him, completely bathed in his shadow, and his blue eyes were bearing into her. He was genuinely worried. It made her smile. "I'm fine." She assured him.

"Alright, well, just let me know if you need to go back to the ship." He let go of her and began to lead her through the docking bay lobby.

Ashlyn quickly realized that there were aliens... a lot of aliens. There were some she hadn't seen in person yet. She recognized salarians from her research. She also recognized a krogan, but then there were some she did not recognize. Tall, pink, blobs of jelly that walked on thin little legs, four-eyed, smooshed faced warriors, even large crab like creatures that just tiptoed around without notice. She did recognize some asari and a lot of turians. Most of them acted as security officials, standing guard and patrolling the hall. She began to see the difference in them compared to Garrus. They had different colors on their faces, some had different designs on their fringe, some of their mandibles were different lengths. It was a bit overwhelming to take it all in, but luckily, Garrus's voice brought her back down.

"Are you okay?" He asked, obviously still worried.

She nodded and they continued to the elevator.

Once inside, Garrus told her that he was taking her to the Prisidium Commons first.

"Okay," she replied in agreement, though she had no clue what the Prisidium Commons were.

When the elevator doors opened once more and announced their arrival with a robotic voice, Ashlyn's eyes lit up in a matter of seconds. "Oh, WOW!"

Her voice was so loud even Garrus stepped back in surprise.

"It's a TREE!" She leapt out of the elevator and bounded into the small patch of floral decoration that was positioned between the stairs to the bank.

Garrus glanced around. She was beginning to attract attention in the form of peculiar stares and snickering. As he walked up to her, he saw her stroking the small tree's trunk.

"What are you doing?" He asked harshly, hissing through his clenched teeth and mandibles.

She turned back to him, her pink lips were peeled back showing a line of white human teeth, smiling gleefully. Though her current behavior was strange, Garrus admitted to himself that he loved seeing that smile on her.

"It's a tree." She repeated with a little less energy than before.

"Yes... yes it is." He replied with a hint of irritation as he rested his hands on his hip spurs.

"I've only ever seen pictures of them. I always thought they were beautiful in the pictures, but seeing one in person is amazing!" She laughed as she ran her hands through the leaves.

Garrus dragged his hand over his face. "You've never seen a tree before or is that just a lost memory?"

"No, I know I've never seen a tree before. I remember seeing pictures on my datapad." She froze at the same exact time Garrus did and they exchanged shocked glances. "I remember…"

Garrus's eyes widened. "What else do you remember?"

Her shoulders sunk. "Nothing. Just the pictures."

He sighed in disappointment. "Don't worry. It'll come back."

"Is everything okay here?"

Garrus turned to see a C-Sec turian drone. He was new, at least since Garrus left the force. The officer's face plates were painted with red. "Yeah, uh, she doesn't get shore leave often." He told the officer, hoping to avoid any trouble.

The officer eyed them both, then turned back to patrol the rest of the hall as he murmured, "Carry on."

"Now come down before you cause more commotion!" Garrus hissed at her.

He held out his hand to help her down. She hesitated for just a second, but then placed her hand in his. His two fingers and thumb wrapped around her small hand and she used it for balance as she hopped down.

For some reason, Garrus didn't want to let go of that little fleshy hand, but he also didn't want more eyes on them. He let her go and continued down the hall towards the shops.

Ashlyn followed him. Her neck was on a swivel looking in every direction, taking in everything. The Citadel was indeed beautiful. It was pristine and orderly. Everything seemed to shimmer and glow. It even smelled clean. She wondered why she was meant to be afraid of such a place. Aliens were seen talking to other aliens, some shared a meal, and then Ashlyn saw something that surprised her. It was a human man kissing an asari. Ashlyn stopped and continued to watch. He looked into her eyes with such love and she looked back at him with the same, if not more. She wondered if interspecies love was something of the norm around here. She realized it had to be since she was the only one staring. She wasn't staring out of disgust, but rather in awe. It was beautiful. It was if they both saw beyond their differences on the outside and enjoyed the time they had in each other's eyes.

Ashlyn jumped when she felt a grip on her arm.

"Stop gawking." Garrus demanded as he pulled her along gently.

She didn't reply, just followed him and continued to turn her head in every direction, continuing to take everything in.

She had to stop sightseeing when Garrus stopped in front of her. She looked at him questioningly and he pointed to the store front they had reached.

"Aloora Clothiers and Fitters, best place to get human and asari clothing. Get yourself a few things." He told her.

She put her hands up. "Oh, no, I can't."

"Why not?"

She bit her lip. "I, uh, don't have any money."

He placed his hand on her shoulder and pushed her towards the shop's computer. "It's on me. Get what you need."

She was glad her back was now to him since she turned a bright red. "Thanks." She murmured as she began to browse the selection of clothes.

After she had picked a few outfits and the computer scanned her measurements, the clerk procured them in a decorative bag. Garrus came through with his offer and paid. Afterwards, they moved to a few other shops to get Ashlyn other necessities like a toothbrush, hairbrush and shoes. Garrus sensed her unease when she had to purchase undergarments, so he gave her his credit chit and let her have at it.

Garrus sat on a nearby bench and leaned back. It was very peculiar having a grown human woman depending on him, but he had always been the type to help someone in need, though his usual line of help resulted in killing someone. Taking a woman on a shopping spree wasn't something he was used to, but when Ashlyn smiled at him thankfully from across the way, he knew it had been worth it.

"Where are we going now?" Ashlyn asked as they stepped into the elevator once again.

"To the embassies, to see an old friend," he replied. "He might help us figure out who you are."

She gulped nervously. "Can we trust him?"

"Yes." He answered honestly and Ashlyn didn't doubt him.

As the left the elevator, they passed the open area where lines of aliens and humans stood to talk to officials behind a counter. The sign above read, Immigration. They continued down the hall just past it. Garrus turned into the first door to the left. Ashlyn caught sight of the sign that read, Commander Bailey.

"Garrus Vakarian!" The middle aged man behind the desk greeted as they entered the room.

"Hello Commander Bailey." Garrus said with a friendly nod as he approached the desk.

"I'm sorry to hear about Palaven." Bailey stated solemnly.

"And I'm sorry about Earth."

The both shared their concerns and moved on. "What brings an old C-Sec officer here?" Bailey asked.

"I have a favor to ask of you." Garrus turned to Ashlyn. "This is a friend of mine, Ashlyn, but she's got some memory loss. Can you do a full scan on her see if her records pop up?"

Bailey shrugged. "Why not? I'm going nuts behind this desk anyway."

Garrus let out a rumbling chuckle. "I bet."

Ashlyn wasn't sure what was going on. Garrus obviously knew this man and trusted him, so she approached when Bailey gestured for her to. He seemed pleasant enough, but he was also a hardened cop. His face was stern and his light hair was a traditional military style.

"Put your hand on here." He pointed to a small screen on his desk.

Ashlyn placed her hand upon it and lights ran across the screen, reading her hand.

"Hmph," Bailey's eyes narrowed as he looked at his terminal. "No fingerprints are coming up." He looked back up at Ashlyn. "Stand still please."

Ashlyn did as she was told. A circular hovering drone appeared out of nowhere and scanned her body with a blue laser. Bailey continued to study the results on his terminal.

He scratched his jaw. "Her features aren't showing anything either." He looked up at Garrus. "You need to get her registered at immigration before someone hauls you in for bringing an illegal immigrant here."

Garrus's mandibles tensed. "Yeah, I'll get right on that." He tapped Ashlyn's arm and gestured for her to follow. "Thanks Bailey."

"No problem." Bailey replied. "Good luck out there and give Commander Shepard my regards."

Garrus seemed in a hurry to get back to the elevator. They passed the immigration area.

Ashlyn was slightly confused after hearing Bailey's instructions. "We're not going…"

"No." Garrus cut her off.

"Oh," she murmured, still confused but not willing to question him.

Once in the elevator, Garrus told her they had one more stop. They got off onto the holding bay. When they passed the security check, Ashlyn's heart dropped. There were tons of aliens here, but she heard the elevator tell them that it was refugee housing. They were all refugees. She spotted some people crying, some pacing in impatience or anger and some looked completely lost. Her heart reached out to them. Though she had only just learned of the Reapers, she was beginning to despise them as much as everyone else.

Garrus led them down to the end of the bay into a section where some turians seemed to be making their temporary home. Some were hurt, on stretchers and wincing in pain. Ashlyn felt such an overwhelming sadness for them.

"Garrus, sir." One of the turians called when he spotted them.

"What's the word?" Garrus asked.

"We have another transport coming in, maybe thirty survivors." The turian instructed.

Garrus groaned.

"We are running low on medigel too. We were supposed to receive a delivery, but there's been a hold up."

Garrus suddenly looked angry. "What do you mean a hold up?" He growled. "Give me a second." He turned back to Ashlyn. "This is going to take a little while. Go straight back to the elevator, get to docking bay 24 and get back on the Normandy. Do not go anywhere else."

"Okay," she whispered.

With her shopping bags in tow, she turned back towards the other end of the bay, hearing Garrus shouting about the medigel delivery hold up. She felt sorry for him and all of them. Garrus was genuinely worried about his people.

As she made it to the elevator, she scanned the floor options. She did see docking bay 24, but another floor caught her eye. Purgatory. Wasn't that a name for hell? She so badly wanted to follow Garrus's orders, but she was curious to find out why a beautiful place like the Citadel had somewhere named after hell. She figured she would just get a quick look and go straight back to the Normandy.

She got off on the level and saw the entrance to somewhere. In large flashing lights, the word Purgatory was dancing over it. Music was pounding from it and a crowd of people hovered around it. Ashlyn got excited. She moved closer and a large creature on all fours eyed her.

"Come on in." He said in a hefty voice.

Well, he did invite her. She didn't want to be rude. So she went in.

The music was much louder on the inside. It was wild and intense. So many sights, sounds and smells came over her. There were tons of people. Some danced on the upper levels, some were sitting around tables with drinks and some talked amongst themselves. It was exciting. It was like a party. She moved to the upper level and approached the bar. She was a bit thirsty. She placed her bags under the bar as the salarian behind it asked what she would like.

"What's good?" She asked, not knowing what to even request.

He chuckled. "Everything, but we have a special on asari rum. It's hard, but good."

She smiled, not really understanding what 'hard' meant, but if it was good… "I'll take that."

Luckily, she still had Garrus's credit chit in her pocket. She was sure he wouldn't mind just a few credits for a drink. The salarian placed a glass in front of her filled with a purple liquid. It didn't look hard, it was liquid. She smiled gratefully and sipped the drink. It was peculiar, a mix of bitter and sweet. It sparked warmth in her belly, but it wasn't bad, so she gulped it down.

"Woah, woah," the salarian said with warning, "don't chug your booze that fast little human."

She cocked her head. "Booze?"

"Your drink." He replied with an arched brow.

She wanted to ask him why, but an asari got his attention by asking him for a few drinks for her and her friends. She turned and suddenly the room spun. The music seemed to be pounding harder and colors were starting to blur together. She laughed to herself, What did I drink? Then she was laughing out loud. She stepped back a bit and ran into something hard. She turned to see a tall turian behind her. She thought it might've been Garrus, but this one looked different. His face plates were dark and bore yellow markings. His eyes were a fiery red.

"Don't you look all lonely and drunk?" He said in a deep voice, his mandibles flared slightly.

"Drunk? What is this drunk you speak of?" Her words were literally falling out of her mouth.

He laughed. "Want to dance?"

For some reason, she didn't care at that moment. She wasn't afraid, after all, he was a turian like Garrus. He pulled her to the dance floor and began shaking his hips and shuffling his feet. She knew what dancing was, but had never actually tried it. She had to learn and quick, so she wasn't the only person on the dance floor not actually dancing. Her eyes grazed over some of the creatures around her, but she spotted a scantily dressed asari dancing on a floating platform. Her eyes focused intently on her movements and her mind seemed to go numb.

Oscillating, thrusting, bending… hips, legs, buttocks, arms… graceful, attractive…

She shook her head and tore her eyes away from the asari.

"You gonna dance or what?" The turian asked impatiently.

So she began. She moved and unbeknownst to her, she began dancing just like the asari. She swayed her hips and slowly sunk to the floor and back up, dragging her hand from her thigh up to her chest in the process. She continued the dance and didn't realize that the turian moved closer.

"Now that's what I like to see." He said gruffly.

An alarm seemed to go off in her head when he grabbed her hips and grinded against her backside. The fear started coming back. This turian was too close. His clawed hands started moving from her hips to her waist. Her body became rigid and she tried stepping away.

"Hey, not so fast." He purred in an uncomfortable voice. "I'm not done dancing."

She squirmed out of his grip. "But I am."

She strode to the bar in quick steps, but she felt the turian at her heels. "You can just dance like that with me and walk away!"

She turned to face him, swallowing her fear. "Well, I just did."

"You little fucking tease." His hands balled at his sides and his mandibles were clenched tight.

Her eyes widened and she suddenly felt a burning sensation in her right hand.

To be continued...