A/N: I've extended chapter length a smidgen, and I'm going to try give you people a chapter a week. Please enjoy, and let me know what you think!

Chapter 4: Interrogation and Capture

Spencer stared back into deep emerald eyes. The same eyes as the one who had knocked him flat in Texas.

She looked away. "I suppose you've caught me. But you seem as surprised as I am that we're meeting," she prodded, turning her gaze back onto the young agent.

"Uh, yeah – this is unexpected," Spencer brushed back his hair. "I'm Doctor Spencer Reid. I work for the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI. We'd like to know what you know about the murders in Texas – the note you left us made it sound like you knew something that could've been very valuable in the investigation. Or maybe you know the Unsub?"

Her eyes followed his gaze to Rossi. "Government officials?" she mused, nodding to herself when Reid nodded. "Yes… I have some idea of who is behind it. I also suspect that – including the one who managed to escape – there are about seven others you will need to find," she paused, idly fidgeting with the object in her lap. "Am I to be arrested?"

"No, well, not yet," Reid offered a smile. "Would you come back with us for a formal interview?"

She glanced back at Rossi, and the man offered a warm, if wary, smile. She sighed. "I'm Liv."

Liv took Qahnaarin and her small pack with her, following the two agents back to their headquarters. So the 'FBI' was a part of their government, and within that structure was a faction the two agents referred to as the 'BAU'; both men worked as part of a team within this faction. Liv found it confusing at best, but kept her questions to herself. The less attention she could draw to herself right now, the better. She shivered when they descended into an underground 'metro station', to take a 'train' to their headquarters.

Automated carriages – cars, Liv – were disconcerting enough, and now there was an entire underground system of transport not only faster and more efficient, but with far more people on board as well.

The older man introduced himself as David Rossi, another 'Supervisory Special Agent'. Liv hoped the Thalmor never found themselves in this world: they would love the exotic titles even this single division could offer. Conversation stayed fairly light, and David paid for her ticket when she balked.

Spencer eventually took over the conversation with a one-sided ramble about random facts.

"Did you know that human saliva has a boiling point three times that of regular water? And that 95% of people text things they could never say in person? In the 1880s in England, the word 'pants' was considered a dirty word. And –"

"Reid," Rossi interrupted. Liv glanced at him, then turned back to Spencer. It was the strangest collection of facts, but she was enjoying herself.

"– Mewtwo is a clone of Mew, in Pokémon, but Mewtwo comes first in the Pokédex –"

"Reid," Rossi tried again. Liv half-smiled.

"Did you know that the –"

"Reid!" Rossi spoke up, turning to face the young man. "You're drowning the poor girl in facts! Slow down a bit."

Spencer blushed, looking down. "Oh, yeah, right. I'm sorry."

"Oh, no – I don't mind, it's very interesting. I didn't know that. Please, continue," Liv offered a shaky, full smile.

When was the last time I'd really smiled because I was enjoying myself? she wondered.

Rossi glanced at Reid after Liv had given him permission to ramble on. Her lecture had changed from random facts to a lecture on the finer points of chemical engineering. Liv was an attentive listener, but Rossi wondered how much of it she actually understood. Reid lost him before he'd really started.

Reid rambled on faster the more excited he was about the subject, and how much he wanted to share. In the meantime, Rossi would take the time to study Liv, while she was occupied. She was nervous, even though she hid it well. Probably poor, judging by the state of her clothes and pack, but maybe she'd once known the comforts of wealth. Either way, she looked like she was more than capable of looking after herself.

Whatever the jacket-wrapped length in her arms was, it was more valuable to her than her pack, and she clutched it to her chest every time the train lurched or someone came close to her.

Reid had just fallen silent, finally running out of steam.

"That must be very important to you," Rossi nodded at her wrapped object.
Liv looked down at it, clutching it closer with fondness. "It's all I have left of home. The only way I will part with this is when I am dead, and even then I might be convinced to stick around and turn it into a haunted weapon," she tried a joke, but not even Reid in his post-ramble happiness could miss the sorrow and loss that crept into her voice and shouted through her eyes. She started to speak, then changed her mind.

"What is it?" Reid asked, leaning forwards.

Liv's eyes shot up to look at the younger agent. "Something special to me I'd rather not be parted with. Is it… possible to keep this somewhere I can at least see it, when we arrive at your headquarters?"

"I'm sure we can make arrangements when we arrive," Rossi glanced at a put-out Reid.

Clearly the girl didn't quite trust them, but whether that was her natural response or the response of someone with secrets to hide, was anyone's guess until she could be questioned about the Unsub and murders in Texas.

Entry into the BAU's headquarters had turned into a nightmare for Liv. They had tall archways which always seemed able to tell whether or not she had any metal hidden somewhere in her pockets, and a covered device with a moving surface which the people of this world used to determine dangerous objects. She'd briefly seen one of these before, but wasn't sure how they worked. Since the world lacked magic and clearly wrote off alchemy as the lunatic's field, she had to assume that it somehow worked with 'science'.

But Liv had also figured out that the presence of magicka affected the functioning of certain machines and devices in this world.

And so Liv did her best to manipulate the shape of Qahnaarin, trying to make it look less like a sword and a little more like an indeterminate bundle.

She managed to pass through with a flimsy Charm and 'fried the system', as they called it when sparks flew and boxes went black. Presumably from her disastrous attempt at magic.

The people within the building, though serious to a fault, were all polite when the trio passed, eventually entering yet another mode of transportation, something they called an 'elevator', which pulled them up to the desired floor of the building.

Liv hugged Qahnaarin and her pack a little closer.

She recognized the Redguard from the alley, and from the looks of the conversation with a painfully brightly colored woman, he was flirting.

"Hm," Liv shook her head with a half-smile.

"It's their thing," Reid chipped in, holding a glass door for Liv to enter the room. "Welcome to the BAU, Liv."

She glanced around the large space, many small and crowded desks packed in the center of the room, the outer edges raised with larger, closed rooms around. In one corner, she spied a larger, meeting table hidden in another room.

"Thanks…" she murmured absently.

"Hi! I'm Penelope Garcia, the Technical Analyst and Co-Communications Liaison," the brightly-colored woman thrust out a hand with a large grin.

"I'm Liv," she took Penelope's hand a little unsurely. "Pleased to meet you."

"Derek Morgan, SSA. If you'll follow me," he turned slightly, gesturing at stairs up to the higher section of the room.

He's the most serious of the group so far when it comes to work. Or perhaps just professional, Liv noted, wondering if he would be as physically active as the Redguards in Tamriel. He led her to the meeting room, which he called a 'boardroom'.

"Make yourself comfortable, Liv. You're not in any trouble, we just want to know what you know. We'll take it step by step from there, okay?"

"Of course; that's fair."

"Is there anything I can get you? Water, soda? Something from the vending machine?"

Vending machine?! Soda?! I don't even know what that is, Liv blinked. "Water is fine, thanks."

"Sure thing," he smiled, then left her alone in the room.

Liv hovered for a moment, looking around the warm-colored room. "Could be worse," she decided, and carefully placed Qahnaarin on the couch, her pack next to it. She didn't need to look through the window behind her to know the team was watching her. They analyzed behavior, so of course they'd watch her to see what she would do. She took a deep breath, then sat down at the table and waited.

Reid watched from his desk in the bullpen when Morgan and Hotch entered the boardroom, and Liv's nod of thanks when Morgan handed her a bottle of water. She seemed to close off a little, sitting straighter and setting the pace with a sip of her water.

"She's very careful about her body language," Prentiss remarked.

JJ nodded. "It's like she's been interrogated before, but she expects the worst from it. I'd bet she's only giving exactly what Hotch and Morgan are asking for, and she's giving it like she's reciting facts."

"She seemed to warm up to you, Reid," Rossi said, looking at the young doctor.

JJ and Prentiss turned to him. "Spence…?"

"She was probably just humoring me," the words rushed out of his mouth. "I was rambling about facts and then it turned into a lecture and then I realized I was still talking and finally stopped. She was just humoring me."

"Maybe not," Prentiss nodded at the boardroom. "Oh. She looks insulted by something."

They were right. Liv wore a scowl on her face, and though she stayed calm, it was clear she didn't appreciate whatever they had said to her. After a moment, she sighed, her shoulders losing some of the proud strength she'd held onto until that point.

Liv heaved a sigh. "As I've said before, I don't know much more than you know. I don't understand why, or how. If I did, I would tell you. But all I can say for sure is this: there are, including the one who escaped in Texas–"

"You mean the one you helped escape?" the Redguard cut in.

Liv ground her teeth: she knew this was all to test her credibility, but the lack of faith…. She didn't have words for it. "I did not help him escape. As you will recall, Agent Morgan, I was chasing him, and had you and the doctor not interfered, he would have been apprehended."

"So you wouldn't have killed him?"

"No," Liv lied. Not immediately, anyway. I need to know where Alduin is.

"Are you sure about that answer, Liv?" Agent Hotchner asked. He seemed uncomfortable with using only her first name. But what was she supposed to add? 'Liv of Riverwood'?

"Yes, I'm very sure about that."

"You mentioned that the three murders were connected to the suspect, and told Doctor Reid that a total of seven others were somehow involved as well?"

Shit. She'd said too much to Spencer. She just… liked him. He was a spark of bright color in a bleak world. "Yes, they are connected, and no, I didn't say 'total'. I said there was a chance that seven others were connected."

"So there could be more than seven?" Morgan pressed.

Liv hesitated, and the Redguard leaned back with narrowed eyes. An uneasy feeling was setting in the pit of her stomach, the one she usually felt right before things went to Oblivion in a barrow, or right before a dragon's roar split the skies.

"If you don't talk to us, we can't help. If what you say is true, then we need to apprehend these people before they get hurt. The more you keep to yourself, the less we can do to keep innocent people safe," Morgan prompted more gently. Liv almost gave in and told them everything.

Almost.

A soft ripple of magicka drew Liv's eyes to the glass doors she'd passed through earlier. She stopped listening to the agents trying to convince her to talk. It's him, she thought, watching the hooded man glance down the empty hallway, the agents hurrying about their business, oblivious to what was happening.

"He's here," she murmured.

"Excuse me?" Hotchner stuttered.

"He's here…" Liv blinked. The priest who had escaped her was here. "Stop him; he's the one who escaped."

Morgan and Hotchner turned around in time to see the dragon priest raise his arms and head, lightning arcing between his fingers.

Liv reacted first, tearing away from the table and snatching up Qahnaarin. Doors were no longer obstacles to the Breton. None of the others had noticed the priest yet; he was too close to them for them to react in time.

"Stop it!" she snarled, the air vibrating around her. She halted when the priest's hood fell away to show a green mask.

Rahgot. She had been chasing Rahgot.

"So you're the one we were all warned about. I hope you don't mind the dark…."

He discharged both spells into the white ceiling lights. Liv leapt down the stairs, ducking under sparks and unwrapping Qahnaarin. She couldn't see in the flickering light, using the confusion to muster up a weak Detect Life. She had maybe, maybe, three seconds to find the priest in the dark. Several blue shapes huddled under the desk. The two agents who had left the boardroom behind her were still standing on the raised walkway, arms outstretched in front of them. Also blue.

There!

Right corner, huddled close to more blues, was a single red shape which faded just as she found him.

Liv crouched down, her jacket discarded and grasping Qahnaarin by the sheath. This building was almost as dark as Darkfall Cave; but she could at least make out faint shapes here. Her Breton ears strained to hear even the slightest rustle.

Sweet Oblivion!

She huffed as a body slammed into her, the force flinging her greatsword out of her grasp. People exploded into motion seconds later.

Hot, slick hands were trying to hold her down, crashing into the side of something.

"Not today," Liv growled, slamming her knee into her assailant's side, aiming a punch at where she guessed his face was.

Liv's fist exploded in pain. "Unholy Sheor!"

She'd punched the solid orichalcum mask.

Liv and Rahgot rolled, and for a moment she had the upper hand.

But a faint purring started up somewhere, and some lights flickered back on. The sudden blindness made Liv recoil.

Rahgot hauled Liv off him, tossing her aside to crash into a corner. She gasped desperately to get her lungs working again.

"Ah! Ah-ah-ah…! Wouldn't want to kill one of your own, would you?" Rahgot sneered.

Liv looked up to see Spencer held against the dragon priest, a frost spell charged in the other hand. She still felt like a fish gaping in air.

"You know, you're smaller and less impressive than you were made out to be, Liv," Rahgot sniggered. The doctor shuddered at the cold so close to his neck. Liv scowled. "You can't even keep up basic, inherent talents," he wiggled the fingers of his spell-hand.

He was right; she couldn't. But how could he?

"Let him go," Morgan's voice cut through Raghot's bragging.

"I don't think Alduin will mind too much if I kill you," Rahgot continued, barely glancing at the two agents slowly advancing on him with their L-shaped objects. "He might even reward me."

"I doubt that," Liv rasped, sucking in air with relish. "Chances are he'll kill you for that. You say he's told you about me? Then you'll know he doesn't want anyone else to kill me. It's a hunt he'll keep for himself."

Rahgot laughed. "Alduin will judge when I take your head back. Which shouldn't be difficult, you're short enough to be a child."

Liv scowled deeper: she'd spent her life amidst giants who called themselves Nords. Hearing a stranger in a strange world attack her height was an insult she wouldn't stand for.

"Let him go, surrender. You'll never make it out of the building," Hotchner said slowly.

"Not another step," Rahgot finally turned to them, the frost in his hand swirling larger. Spencer's lips turned blue almost instantly, shivering violently. He couldn't speak even if he wanted to.

Liv let out a soft whine of disbelief. How was he managing to mold and maintain Ice Storm for so long?!

"Alduin has taught us to master the new talents we've been given! We are gods among men!" Rahgot raged, his grip on Spencer loosening. The black shape of Qahnaarin glinted in the corner of Liv's eye. "I can't believe that Vokun and Volsung fell to you. We are equal to the gods! We will rule over –"

Liv flinched at the resounding bangs, her eyes wide.

Rahgot looked down at his chest, where blood blossomed through his clothes. In his enthusiastic raging, he had released the young doctor. "Fuck," he swore, collapsing to the floor.

Liv turned to stare at the two agents with their weapons drawn – because, she could now see – that's what the L-shaped object was.

Rahgot would die soon.

"Where's Alduin?" she bolted forwards. "Where's Alduin?"

Rahgot's voice was muffled under the mask.

Liv fumbled to get it off, nails breaking tender skin. "Where is he? Tell me where Alduin is!"

"Fu… Dragon… itch…" Rahgot sighed.

Liv finally pulled off the mask. He was probably around thirty, blond hair and a rugged stubble beard. She closed her eyes and felt her shoulders sag. She dropped the mask into her lap.

"Th-that looks p-painful."

Liv looked up to a shivering Spencer Reid in a dark-haired woman's lap, shivering as she rubbed her hands along his arms. "What's that?"

"Your fist, Liv."

Liv looked down at her hands. A sharp hiss whistled past her teeth when adrenaline wore off and she saw the bloody, broken mess her right knuckles were. "Thanks for reminding me of it," she cradled her hand.

"You have a lot to answer for," Morgan said, returning his weapon to a sheath on his side and crouching at Rahgot's feet. "So start talking."