Thanks to the circumstances of her capture, the Commander was able to see the Assassin a lot sooner than she had her brother.

Instead of waiting on her to come out of a psionics-induced coma, all Eliza had to wait on was them securing her inside of her Holding Cell. Progress was going at a breakneck pace on the room; the Assassin's Cell had been done in time for her to be captured, and the framework was started for the Warlock's Cell. The room itself had some defence systems installed in case of emergency, as well. Eliza had to thank Lily when she got the chance. That girl was an absolute wiz at this.

With that in mind, as soon as Eliza got word that Fal-Mai had been moved to her cell, she had started making her way to the rooms. After all, no time to strike like when the iron was hot. She could get some initial things out of the way now and then leave the Assassin to meditate on them when she left.

But even so... that led Eliza into thinking about what she would cover. Undoubtedly, Fal-Mai wouldn't be as open as her brother was, as weird a statement as that was to the Commander. After all, the Assassin, by all accounts, was more fanatic about her support of the Elders. Not to the Warlock's extent, but it would undoubtedly make this take longer than it did the first time around.

Yet... Eliza had heard what she had said on the field, had seen her reactions to seeing her brother on XCOM's side. That punishment... Eliza only had vague recollections of it, as part of her time on the Network. As the Network's main Admin for quite a while, Eliza had been allowed to dip into feeds where she pleased, all in part of gathering info for her simulations. One of Tygan's logs on the chip had further reinforced that. What she could recall was a column of burning, searing, psionic power, always bearing down on the Hunter.

She grimaced, still walking. "Overkill" was too light a word. Psionics of that power would undoubtedly leave scars, and with how many times Mordenna had been under that? It was a wonder he still functioned. Perhaps he's not really functioning, a grim part of her mused. Well, hopefully she could get that talk with him over with sooner rather than later, when more damage might be done. Maybe a few follow up talks, as well. Her plans needn't be rigid, and she knew that none of them 100% survived being put to action. I'm used to adjusting on the fly. It should be fine.

Eventually, Eliza finally made it to the Chosen Holding Cells once again. The door slid open and on the other side was Shen. She was doing some of the work herself this time around, working on a floor panel by the looks of it. She looked up as Eliza came in, setting some of her tools to the side. "Hey, Commander. Here to see the Assassin?"

"Indeed I am," Eliza replied, walking to her. "Anything I should know?"

"Well, she's in there, for one, and she wasn't too happy about being captured." Lily stood up. "Not full on 'trying-to-escape' levels of struggle, but a few token ones, you know?" Her eyes narrowed. "She's been a bit quiet now. You'd almost think..."

"... she wanted to be captured?" Eliza finished for Lily. The two exchanged a glance, and it was Lily who backed down first. The Commander continued. "Regardless, as long as she's disarmed of her main weapons, I'll cover talking to her right now. I figure there's a remote to go with her restraints?"

"Yep." Shen passed Eliza a similar remote to the one that had been connected to the Hunter. "The 'Disco Mode' is still implanted in her cuffs, and just to be sure, I'm locking the doors to the room while you're chatting with her."

"Good thinking." Eliza accepted the remote and turned towards the Assassin's Cell. "You impress as always, Shen. I'll be talking with the Assassin if you need me." With that, Eliza stepped forwards, entering the door to the Assassin's Cell. She made sure she took up the whole doorway as best she could without leaving gaps—she wouldn't put it past Fal-Mai to try to escape even in her state.

The door closed behind her, and Eliza was greeted by an empty room. Well, the Commander had more sense than that to think the room was truly empty. Fal-Mai must've been hiding in her cloak, waiting to see what first move the Commander of XCOM would make. To that end, Eliza picked a corner of the room, walked to it, and sat herself down. She cleared her throat before she spoke. "Fal-Mai, I just want to talk. I'm willing to sit here until you want to."

There was silence for a while. Eliza didn't have much else planned today, other than a conference with Geist. She could afford to wait here. She'd already managed to squeeze in her first talk with the Prophet a little bit before she embarked on the mission to kidnap the Assassin and... that went over as well as one would expect, but Eliza managed to keep things together by the end of it. Today's follow-up talk would hopefully go better.

Just then, the air at the opposite corner of the room shimmered, and split, revealing the Assassin. Her arms were bound behind her back and her ankles were in shackles. She wasn't looking very pleased about her condition as she stared down at the Commander. "If your intentions are for a 'friendly chat,' you must excuse me if I am not so willing, over my own arrangements."

Eliza gestured to her, more pointedly to her bindings. "If I took off the cuffs, would you go for a weapon we didn't account for? After all, I know you had knives hidden in your belt. What's to say you don't have others stashed?"

Fal-Mai faltered at that, but she remained firm. "You have bested me, Commander. I would not go as far as to murder the person my masters so desperately seek, or so much as harm you."

Desperately? That was a funny word to describe any effort of the Elders, from one of their Chosen that wasn't the Hunter. But, a thought occurred to Eliza, one born of a few... old world traits Fal-Mai seemed emblematic of. She crossed her arms loosely. "Alright. I trust you on that. But what about harming yourself?"

Fal-Mai didn't respond to that. Her gaze flitted to the side and stayed there, her expression softening in uncertainty. Seems she'd caught her there. The thought of what would've happened if Eliza hadn't considered that and let her out of her bonds on trust...

The Commander didn't dwell on it, but it spurred her voice into becoming softer. "Fal-Mai. I really do want to talk and help you out."

The Assassin shook her head, gaze trained on her again. "I cannot allow you to do that. I will not fall prey to the same brainwashing you subjected my brother to."

Eliza quirked an eyebrow, but put it back down quickly. "'Brainwashing?' How do you think I'm going to brainwash you?"

"Simple. You will put the idea in my head that the Elders are my enemy and turn me against Them. I imagine my brother did not need much help with his process, but I shall not let you sway me so easily."

Eliza shakes her head. "I can't say I'd 'put the idea in your head' so much as I'd just... talk with you, and if you arrive at that conclusion? So be it. It's the same deal I offered Mordenna; it's the chance to fight for somebody who cares on a personal level what happens to you."

"And further shame myself in the eyes of the Elders? If They did not wish to reclaim me now, surely They would after such heresy. They... They care for me."

Eliza sighed, thinking on how to approach her next point carefully. "... would a kind, caring parent want to 'reclaim' one of their children because they were taken from them? Would a good parent want to 'reclaim' one of their children at all?"

Fal-Mai's brows knitted, and she stepped further into her corner. "You could not understand Their reasons, Eliza."

"I was a battery in their Network for twenty years, Fal-Mai." Eliza's expression darkened. "I don't want you claiming that I don't understand. I do. I know how the Elders think."

"You..." Fal-Mai turned her head to the side. "You may have spent longer in Their service than I, but not as one of their children. You had never done wrong."

"Maybe I didn't. Maybe that was because I was hooked up and brainwashed to the point where I couldn't have acted out if I tried."

Fal-Mai closed her eyes. "Perhaps that is more of a blessing than you may think..."

Eliza's fists clenched and her breathing stilled. No. No, it wasn't a blessing, she wanted to say, I was locked up for twenty years on my back, running simulations, killing my own people. That is the farthest thing from a blessing that it could be.

But, Eliza understood what Fal-Mai was getting at, more than anything else. Her anger cooled and she took in a deep breath, relaxing her hands. The Assassin was actually getting at some of what the Elders treated her like. That was good. "For you to consider my situation a potential blessing speaks of what the Elders did to you. You shouldn't be considering a situation like mine was a blessing, if the Elders were such good parents."

Fal-Mai grimaced for a second, before opening her eyes and looking to Eliza. "I will not let you brainwash me."

"You were the one who considered a totally inert, submissive state to be a good thing. Wouldn't being brainwashed also be one?"

"That was different."

"How so."

The Assassin shook her head again, standing up straight. "I will tolerate this interrogation no longer. This conversation is over." With that, her shroud came over her, and the Assassin was gone from sight.

Eliza took a moment to collect her thoughts before she sighed deeply, standing up. Well, that could've gone worse. As it stood, she'd managed to wheedle out an admittance from Fal-Mai. She did a lot of question-dodging too, which was a hopeful sign. Maybe next time Eliza could be more gentle with things, invite some questions of herself. But, that would have to come later.

Turning to the panel on the wall, Eliza stopped before she pressed anything. She looked back towards the corner the Assassin had been in. "Fal-Mai. I'm going to leave the room. I ask you; please lower your cloak long enough for me to leave."

Silence hung thickly in the air. Eliza half-thought she was going to have to employ the measure bound into Fal-Mai's cuffs. But then, the air in that corner shimmered. The Assassin did not become visible again, but judging by the distortion, she was partially peeling back her shroud, just enough for something to be seen. Eliza nodded, and let a smile come to her face. "Thank you."

Eliza tapped a button on the protected panel, and the door slid open. The shimmering did not move. The Commander stepped out of the Assassin's cell, the door closing behind her. Lily was still outside, now operating a datapad. "No luck?"

"Some luck." Eliza stepped away from the door, back over to Shen. "Maybe not as much as I'd hope, but it's something."

"Well, if anybody could pull it off... it's probably you, Commander." Lily looked back down to her datapad. "God knows I wouldn't have the patience or the know-how to convince any of them to work for us."

Eliza tilted her head. "You'd have the best chance with the Hunter, I'd think. He's of the engineering sort."

Lily scoffed. "Yeah, you could've fooled me, but he sure as hell is. One of his first orders of business was taking the plasma blueprints from me and furiously re-working them to re-balance the Elerium. I mean... I'll give him credit, all our plasma tech is now a whole lot less likely to blow up in our faces and I can now do some things I was meaning to with them... but he doesn't exactly strike me as the kind of guy to do that out of the good of his heart." She stopped in whatever she was doing with the datapad. "Mordenna seemed almost... relieved when it was done, like he'd been meaning to do it for a long time. I've seen the way the Plasma Rifles the aliens use are built. I don't think the Elders let him have any input, considering how poorly they're designed and what he just did to all our weapons."

The Commander nodded all that, perhaps a little grimly. "Because if the Elders let him make changes, that would be an admission of fault in something they created. I've known the Elders a while, Shen, and the last thing they want is somebody showing them up on creating something."

Shen's face twisted. "God, of course they'd hate that. Even if it would literally involve a drastic improvement to their design, even if it was from the mind of one of their best engineers, it would mean that they were wrong and obviously we can't have that."

"Perish the thought!" Eliza placed a hand to her chest. "The Grand Elders, making something as human as a mistake? I ought to throw you in the prisons for heresy, Shen. To insist such a thing is rather deviant!"

Lily laughed, shaking her head. "Commander!"

"Can I not indulge in theatrics, Lily?"

"No, no, you can, Commander," Lily said between chuckles, face a bit red, "I don't think I have any authority to tell you what you can and can't do. I'll leave all that to Bradford."

"And let him have all the fun?"

Lily sighed dramatically. "I suppose he can have it all, and all the gray hairs that come with it."

Eliza chuckled, shaking her head as she clasped her hands in front of her. "I'm sure he treasures every single one. Now, is Mordenna getting on well otherwise?"

Nodding, Lily resumed working on the datapad. "Yeah, past all the ribbing he does? He's actually pretty nice to have around. Like I said, I didn't expect him to be as knowledgeable as he is. He's already in the Workshop, starting progress on getting SYN's core data de-compressed."

Ah, yes. That reminded Eliza. "Hopefully one of our favorite robots can be salvaged?"

"With Mordenna's help? It's very likely. I'll spare you the details, but the way SYN's backup works? At worst, we'd have SYN with no memories and none of the extra programming I did. Still functional, but it'd be like he was first built. At best? We get a version of him right before the Assassin stabbed him."

The Commander nodded. "I may not get more of the technical aspects, but I can hazard a guess as to how you set it up, and I have to commend you for ingenuity."

Lily smiled, looking down at the datapad. "Thanks, Commander. I just wanted to make sure that if anything ever happened to him, we'd have a good chance at getting him back, you know?"

"Of course. I'm glad for your thinking." Another thing came to Eliza, and she sighed. "Well, the day is still young, but it won't be that way forever. I need to go place a few calls in the Resistance now that we have the Assassin. Is there any projects you want me to clear before I leave?"

Shen shook her head. "Rebuilding SYN is gonna be our top priority for a bit. So, unless you need something else urgently? You can go, Commander."

Eliza grinned. "Am I free to leave, Shen?"

"You... you know what I mean!"

Eliza chuckled, turning towards the door and walking. "It's always a pleasure talking with you, Shen. Best of luck on your work. I'll be in the Resistance Ring."

"Good luck, Commander!" Lily called after her.

Eliza waved without turning back, clearing the door for the Chosen Holding Cells. With all that out of the way, it was time for her to make her way over to where she said she'd be. A call with Geist awaited her, after all, and she didn't want to make him wait any longer than she had made him wait before. Even for their occasional disagreements and disputes, she owed him that much.

The time it took to walk there gave her time to think over what the Assassin had said, as well. Her insistence on not letting Eliza "brainwash" her gave a bit of insight into her thinking of what happened to the Hunter... or whatever she was trying to convince herself happened. It seemed Fal-Mai was trying to convince herself of a lot of things, come to think of it. Still, Eliza needed to approach all of it carefully. This wasn't something she could brute-force by insisting, without sensitivity, that the Elders were bastards and everything she knew about them was wrong. Like many plans Eliza had made, it'd take time, and most importantly, care. If Fal-Mai could see that it's not so much that the Elders don't care—it's more like the Commander does? That was probably the better way to go.

Her heart sunk at the next topic her mind moved to, and one of her hands traced the wall as she walked. Denial was denial, and god knows how hard she had been indoctrinated in order for her to uphold her beliefs, even if shakily. Mordenna had been truthful—Fal-Mai was made in the Elder's care. Not uplifted like her brothers. But, if what she had implied on the battlefield was true, and that she had been punished...

Eliza's face set in quiet anger. What... what kind of parent would do that? To punish their other children because they, what, "didn't do enough to save him?" It made her sick, and it also made a kind of protectiveness rise up in her—which only further strengthened at the thought that she had just taken the Assassin. If trends continued, that meant that the Warlock had been punished no less than twice now.

A fury burned inside of Eliza, and made her start walking faster. No place for this anger of hers but to channel it, she knew. She could put it somewhere useful... but maybe not let it bubble so closely to the surface, considering who she was about to talk to. She took in a deep, steadying breath, and opened the door to the Resistance Ring.

Things were quiet on the inside, outside of the low hum of the machinery. The screen at the far end of the room displayed a map of the world and where the current headquarters for the three factions were, updated to the most recent coordinates of the Lost city that the Reapers were in. Eliza relished in the quiet for the moment it took to hail Geist.

Well, she could still relish it for a while more. Geist always took a bit to pick up, undoubtedly being a very busy man. Running a whole temple of acolytes and Paladins probably didn't leave him with too many hours left in the day to himself. In that aspect, Eliza could find a quiet companionship with him. She wasn't lying to Mordenna, either—Geist was handsome. Such a shame that they had to clash pretty often. Eliza, at her heart, could understand why. To have shaky or uncertain allies in this war was most often death. Still, Geist was a strange man. Saying at the start that his help would be limited, and then sending one of his most skilled Templars to assist XCOM? Perhaps he, too, had a face to maintain...

Eliza heard the telltale crackle of the connection going through before Geist appeared on the screen, seated at his desk as always. His face was as hard to read as it usually was. "Commander. Good to see you again."

The Commander nodded. "Geist. I'll cut the small talk—I've just captured the Assassin within the day. The only thing that now bars me from going after the Warlock is the Elerium needed to construct his cell."

Geist settled his hands on the table, maintaining eye contact. "Eliza, your victory over the Hunter I will grant, you have shown that much. I will also admit that it is too early to judge for certain, but you have not yet swayed the Assassin and yet you proclaim your plans to hunt the Warlock. If you cannot turn the Nightmaiden, what hope have you for the Mindbutcher?"

Ah, straight to the point. Eliza at least dryly appreciated that. "Time, Geist. You even admit that 'it is too early to judge for certain.' Things like this definitely take time. I've already talked with the Assassin today shortly after her capture, and there's some promising progress to be made. But I'm going to need more time to space out my talks and convince her."

Geist didn't back down. "Fair. But my primary concern is of the Warlock. Lest you forget, you are against the temptations and promises of the Elders in trying to convince him to join your cause. Not only that, but there is also the matter of his misuse of his own psionics." His face did change a bit—enough to set into a hard expression. "He is, in a word, deranged. Drunk of his own warped powers. He has been as such for twenty years. There is the very real chance he is beyond even you, Commander. Would you be willing to admit such a defeat?"

"The way I see it," Eliza retorted, "I have two outcomes; either I am able to convince Jax of the true nature of the Elders and have him fight for our side... or I have contained the Warlock and he is no longer a menace to anyone, perhaps more importantly your Templars." She levelled a meaningful look at him at that last point. "So, if I have to admit defeat, I'll gladly do so. In a way, I'll still be the winner."

Geist maintained his stance a bit longer before nodding shallowly, unwinding just a tad. "I will concede that. You have proven your ability at taking down Chosen, this is true, so your 'two outcomes' hold water. Indeed, your disposal of him would also be a boon to me and mine. I would, however, advise temperance in overzealousness. The Elders will take any advantage you hand them."

Eliza raised her eyebrows, and she couldn't help a small joke. "The leader of the Templars, speaking against overzealousness. I'm not saying your advice is a joke, not at all, but you'll have to forgive some levity on my part."

Was Eliza hallucinating? Did Geist's mouth budge into a smile? "Times such as these lend to odd circumstances, I understand." If it did, it was right back to the stern line it usually was. "Regardless. Your explanations sway me, Commander—I cannot have uncertain allies in this war. I would be willing to aid you in further seeking out the Warlock's location—and perchance, I may do more than leading your operatives to where he nests."

Eliza tilted her head a bit in interest. "Color me curious, Geist. What could you do?"

Geist straightened, slightly moving his gauntlets. "I wish for your mission against the Warlock to succeed, regardless of what you do with him after he is in your custody. It is also to my understanding that I am the lone faction who has not sent you a second operative. I've heard of the injuries sustained by 'Wukong' and 'Prince.' If Kalight were to be injured himself, you would have no recourse against the Warlock, and it is time I rectified that."

He clasped his hands on the table, in a focused position. "If allowed, I would like to send my Seer, Marlene Kara. I think you would find her an excellent addition in seeking and defeating the Warlock."

A "Seer?" Sounded less like a combat type than Kalight "Vanguard" van Steele, but Eliza wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. She nodded. "I would very much appreciate the additional help—never can have too many hands around here."

"Very well. Now, of finding the Warlock."

Eliza held up a hand. "You might not need to bother—and I mean that in a good way, let me explain myself. I've got it on good info that the Hunter, and most likely the Assassin too, know the location of his Stronghold. Mordenna dropped the hint during the assault on Fal-Mai's Stronghold, and considering how he behaves? I'm fairly certain he knows where his brother lives."

"Can you trust such info, Eliza? I also have the knowledge of his behavior, and he could very well be deceiving you for little more than a jape."

Eliza nods again. "I'm willing to trust it—but I'll still be cautious. Scouting the location, for one, before showing up in the party bus. Once Fal-Mai is more keen to work with us, I can ask her as well. But, as always, progress towards him is dependant on getting more Elerium. Which, don't worry about that being a thinly veiled request for some—I've got a solution to it coming up."

"If you are certain," Geist replied. "I will enter discussion with my own in regards to sending the Seer with you, but she should be ready to convene with your soldiers by the time you can touch down at our temple."

"Sounds good to me. I'll be able to manage that..." Eliza took a moment to go over a schedule of events in her head. "... next week, at the earliest."

"At that time? Certainly so." Geist cleared his throat. "Have you anything else to declare, Eliza?"

The Commander shook her head. "I'm ready to call this a done deal if you are, Geist."

His hands unclasped, one of them moving to something just out of sight. "As am I. Good luck, Commander." With that, the connection closed, leaving Eliza in silence.

Silence was fine. Kind of. It depended on her mood at the time, but after a bit of talking? Eliza was fine with it. At any other time...

She shook her head, letting herself pace as she sorted her thoughts. That "solution" she mentioned to Geist was a tip on a supply raid she'd gotten during the planning out of the Stronghold mission. A fairly standard one—a disabled ADVENT train out in the middle of nowhere, plenty of materials on it, and only a security detail between her and the Elerium she would need to fashion Jax's cell. Perhaps it would be a good second mission for the Hunter... as much as Eliza didn't want to feed the fire of his bloodlust, the alternative was worse.

But, sending the Hunter out on that mission? Eliza was a bit uncertain, and she wasn't much one for uncertainty she could deal with. She'd already gotten interrupted when she was trying to talk to him the first time in her Quarters. It was high time for another attempt, preferably before she sent him on a mission where he could kill as much as he wanted. Plus, her heart wouldn't allow her to let too much time pass between talks. It smacked of leaving him hanging.

Soon, she resolved. Very soon. Tomorrow, maybe. Her word was law around here, after all. While she'd hate to interrupt his new line of work down in the Workshop, this was pretty important, going forward. It was less "factual concern" regarding his "viability in missions" as a detested but needed part of her brain posited. Mordenna needed someone to talk to, in her eyes. Someone that wasn't himself. It was more "worry" and... perhaps the need of someone like him. Someone who had that connection. Someone who had also been under the Elders.

Eliza blinked. There was something else too... but dare she even consider it? With the way his mind was most likely set up, it wasn't worth even thinking over. She sighed. "'Letting your worldly attractions influence your choices of allies, Eliza?'" She echoed to herself. She shook her head. Best to focus on just helping out Mordenna and letting him see that things didn't have to stay as they were before.

She stood up straight, stopping in her pace. Then, she set her shoulders back, let her gaze cool, and took in a soft breath. Eliza was the Commander of XCOM. She could handle this, and not be a cold, emotionless machine as she did. Clutching that notion close, she strode out of the Resistance Ring. There was much to be done.