As soon as Anya's limbs were released from the straps, she pulled Jenni close and rolled into a sitting position.

"Ow!" Jenni complained. "Not so hard, you heartless Alliance witch!"

"Heartless?" Anya asked coldly. "That is rich coming from a Cerberus stooge. Get over here!" She turned the struggling doctor so that the woman's body was between her and the two guards who hadn't moved. "Well, guys?" Anya asked in a sickly sweet tone. "Now what?"

"You are going nowhere Anya." Her sire's voice came from the intercom again. "Let her go and it will be a lot less painful."

"Ah, so your wife won't be involved?" Anya asked sourly. "Right. And I should trust that this time you will not lie. Sure." She said sarcastically. "Lying is what Cerberus does. And since when do you give a flying rat's behind about Humanity anyway? All you ever cared about was money and power."

"That is not true, Anya." The voice of the man who had sired her said calmly. "it was always for humanity."

"Ah, and the fact that you made oodles and oodles of cash off the misfortune of others was immaterial." Anya said, musing. "After all, the end always justifies the means as long as you get what you want. Right, Mr. Wilson-Fuentes?"

"I am still your father, Anya." He said heavily. "Nothing you say can change that."

"The courts say otherwise, Mr. Wilson-Fuentes. My name is Anya Solinus and nothing you or your idiotic mate can do can change that." Anya said with a smile that faded. "Of course, since you are Cerberus, I guess no laws actually matter to you, do they? Ethics don't mean a thing to you, so why should laws?"

"Stand down, Anya." The man said slowly. "This is the last time I will ask."

"Well, Mr. Wilson-Fuentes,..." Anya said slowly. "Why don't you-" She let loose a stream of harsh Spanish profanities that had Jenni actually blanch. Finally she wound down and he sighed.

"Are you done?" He asked. "You are not leaving that room."

"I know." Anya said with a smirk. "But then again, you need me, don't you? Otherwise your goons would have shot already. I wonder. Do you need me hale or even alive?" She changed the angle of the pistol slightly and Jenni whimpered a little as it bit into the back of her head.

"Anya..." Jenni said slowly. "Don't do anything rash..."

"Rash?" Any asked slowly. "Rash like trying to control a Reaper or all of them?" She demanded. A hiss of breath came from the intercom and Anya laughed sourly. "Did you really think I wouldn't figure it out? You need me alive and conscious to handle the power flow, don't you?" She asked. "Don't you?" She demanded as she dug the barrel of the gun deeper into Jenni's head.

"Yes we do." Her father said softly. "Preferably. But we can use you in any form. A control chip in a mindless vegetable will work IF she has the proper genetics, which you have. I would prefer to keep you alive and sane to 'reeducate' you in family values."

"Family values?" Anya asked incredulously. "What values? Oh..." She corrected herself. "Screw anyone and everyone, including your children, to get what you want? Those kind of values? Don't even try pal. You want me to bear young for your own dynasty or something."

"I don't have time to debate with you, Anya." Her father said sourly. "Stand down or I will order the guards to put you down. Jenni will likely survive a shot or two."

"Spoken as someone who has never been shot." Anya said as Jenni whimpered a little more. "You really don't have a clue, do you?" She asked rhetorically. "Ah well..." She gave Jenni a hard shove towards the guards at the door and ducked behind the table as the two men aimed at her. "Take her." Anya snapped. "I have enough death on my conscience, I don't need any more due to you, Mr. Wilson-Fuentes Cerberus minion master."

"I am your father, Anya." He said sternly. "Drop the gun."

"No." Anya replied, looking at the guards who had now moved Jenni behind their armored bulks. She knew Chris and Vincent wouldn't let Jenni get hurt. "I cannot escape, and if I let you take me, you win. I cannot allow that. Goodbye Pedro Wilson-Fuentes. May whatever hell you wind up in be eternal and filled with pain." She sank down to the floor and nestled the barrel of the gun in the hollow behind her ear. Then she started to take up slack on the trigger.

"Stop her!" Her father commanded and she could her the more guards approaching, so she took up more slack. Any second and...

Wait a sec? Why was she on the floor. And why was Jenni bending over her, tears falling? She couldn't move. Her body wasn't working right.

"You idiot!" Jenni snapped. "What were you thinking?" Jenni wasn't talking to her, Anya realized. There were at least four guards in Cerberus armor around her now.

"I pulled her gun." One of the guards said defensively. "It stopped her."

"You didn't grab her gun with that Lash, moron." Jenni said as she worked. "You wrapped it around her neck! Then you threw her into the ceiling." Jenni snapped. Anya felt fear rising. Was she paralyzed? "I need a backboard and a full trauma kit here. Now!" She called. Then Jenni leaned close and spoke. "I have a paralytic in. Don't try to fight it." She said softly in Anya's ear. "I will try to do something, I have no idea what. Be strong sis, I will do what I can."

"Jenni?" Kai shouldered her way past the guards, her expression scary. "You okay?"

"I am fine." Jenni said with a snarl at the guards who stiffened again. "She is a mess. Possible cervical fracture. Immobilize her. I have a paralytic in. If she can, she will fight. Don't give her the chance. She will hurt herself worse."

"I won't." Kai said as Jenni and a pair of med techs rolled Anya carefully onto the backboard before setting her down and quickly immobilizing her body. "Dad wants her. Now. We are out of time."

"Kai..." Jenni said, her face hopeless.

"Don't start, Jenni." Kai said in warning. "Dad is already angry. He wants to find out what she remembers of the bugs. They are definitely a threat. We can do it in the machine room. Take her there." Kai said to the techs who nodded and lifted the backboard easily. "Go to medical, Jenni. Get Melissa to check you out."

"Kai...I..." Jenni said softly, but then she broke off and nodded. "Okay. Keep me informed?" She asked forlornly as she rose. Then there was the sound of a fist striking armor, then a soft sobbing. MALE sobbing. "And... Keep this... IDIOT away from her! He has done ENOUGH damage!"

"I will." Kai said as she followed the backboard out. Anya stared at the ceiling, trying to memorize the route, but her eyes kept being pulled to Kai's anxious face. Kai saw her look and snarled at her. "That was dumb, Anya. Even for you."

"So?" Anya managed to grate the word out. "Won't cooperate."

"Well..." Kai said sadly. "Now you have no choice." A door opened ahead of them and Anya heard machinery. "Put her on the table. We will strap her down on the board." Kai left Anya's field of view and she felt the board being set on something. Then straps were being tightened over her body. "This won't hurt, Anya." Kai said gently as Anya's head was strapped down. "But it will feel very strange."

"Quit coddling her." The voice of their father came and his sour countenance appeared in Anya's field of view. "Are you quite done being a stupid child, Anya Wilson-Fuentes?" Instead of answering, Anya spit. The globule of saliva hit her father in the face and his look of disbelief was priceless.

"Won't..." Anya managed to gasp out. "Help. You."

"You are unbelievable. We don't need you any more, Kai." Her sister nodded and turned to go as Anya's father wiped his face slowly. "Medic. Start the scan."

"Sir." The med tech said and lowered an odd looking device towards Anya's head. She tried to struggle, but her body wasn't reacting. The med tech spoke soothing. "It won't hurt, Ma'am. We are just going to access your recording implant."

"Day I trust Cerberus..." Anya said sourly. "Is the day he actually cares about his family..." She flicked her eyes at her father and he stared at her. "After all, we are just assets, right?" She asked sourly as the device came down to the side of her head and a cold something entered her right ear. "Manufactured goods to get you what you want. Commodities to be bought and sold. What did you really offer Henry Lawson anyway? A host mother for his 'legacy'? Or just money?"

"What do you know of Henry Lawson?" Her father asked cautiously. "Or his legacy?"

"I know he is dead." Anya said with a smile. "But not forgotten."

"Miranda Lawson got to you." The man said heavily. "What did she tell you?"

"Nothing I didn't know." Anya said sourly then she gasped as another cold thing entered her other ear. "Cerberus are scum. Always have been, always will be. Maybe it started as a shield for humanity. But the best laid plans of imbeciles and idiots..." She gasped again as something cold touched the back of head where it connected to her neck.

"That is not what Cerberus is at all, Anya." Anya stared as her father's face suddenly turned sad. "It is humanity's shield. It's only defense. Especially now with so many threats seeping in. Anya, we have to protect humanity."

"By taking control?" Anya asked sourly. "By taking free will away from everyone? Right..." She said with a shudder. "You take the choice away from anyone and suddenly no one has one. But you don't understand that. Never mind, rape my mind. I can't stop you." She said sadly. "But someone will, eventually."

"It won't hurt, Anya." The man promised, seeming in earnest. "Let's see..."

"Sir?" The med tech said softly. "We should intubate if she is going straight from here to the machine." The older man nodded and the tech leaned close to Anya. "Ma'am."

"It's not like I can stop you." Anya said sourly. "Just do it already."

"If you struggle it will hurt." The med tech said gently. "If you don't, it won't."

"Don't try to pretend you are compassionate, Cerberus flunkey boy." Anya snapped. "You and him..." She flicked her eyes at her father again, who actually flinched. "You will use me, abuse me and then throw me away. It is what you do." The tech had a laryngoscope in hand now and she sighed and opened her mouth. It was nasty, but she kept from gagging as the tube went in. The tech patted her hand and smiled at her.

"It will be okay ma'am." He consoled her. "Just relax. The scan won't hurt." Anya made a noise of disgust through the tube and the tech sighed as he turned away. Then he froze. "What the hell? Sir..." He asked, dumbfounded. "Is that what I think it is...?"

"That is not possible." Pedro Wilson-Fuentes had an unaccustomed look of bafflement on his face as he too stared at the screen. "Take us back to her first memories after the raid on Sanctum. It has to be some kind of trick. Activate the inducer and see if we can get past it."

"Right." The medic lowered another device over Anya's face and his hand touched her again. "Ma'am... Look at the lights, please." Anya screwed her eyes shut tightly and he sighed. Cold things pressed on either side of her head and her eyes shot open again against her will. She stared, entranced at the swirling pinwheel colors that were just in front of her eyes. "That's it, Ma'am... just look at the lights and everything will be fine... Just relax, Calm.." His voice was soothing, so soothing. Just like the lights... Anya felt the world fall away and she was swept into memory.