(Content warning: This chapter contains mentions of sexual abuse)

"You are still thinking about Her."

Abyzou looked up at Bhandasura's accusatory gaze. "...No." She insisted. "Bhanda, how long has it been now? We have been on Earth for nearly 26 rotations and I have always been faithful to you. I even pushed away Reue's advances."

"Oh, I should have suspected." His body made an audible groan as he lowered himself down beside their resting place. The bed they shared was made of glass and covered by a blanket made of silicone and insulating gel, and as Bhandasura leaned on it, it creaked. Cracks were already apparent in the casing.

"You are being paranoid." She approached him slowly. "I have no ties to Her anymore, but our children span across planets and galaxies."

"A majority of our children are dead, Abyzou, the ones who live do not matter. You never ask me for my thoughts and yet I think you are still in love with she who betrayed you."

"Why are you doing this?" Abyzou rose to her unsteady feet. "Bhanda, you know I love you! We came all this way!"

"You may love me, but my true happiness means nothing to you." He leaned his head back, looking up at the ceiling. "For if I truly mattered, your concern would be on me, instead of Vox Prima."

"I am doing everything I can!" She rushed to him. "Do you think I don't scream her name in the darkness? I am suffering! She is our child, Bhandasura!"

"But you act as though she is not mine." He retorted. "And you believe she is not mine. And your lack of affection proves to me, she was never mine."

"I never implied such a thing." Abyzou hissed. "She is your daughter as much as she is mine. As much as she is Camazotz's as well!"

"Why did you name her Kon-Mai?" He asked.

"I am not having this conversation." Abyzou tried to pull herself away. She knew that she was moments away from snapping.

"Your silence is admission of guilt, my love." He rose to his feet as well, following her. "You never thought of me."

Abyzou let out a screech, red energy emanating from her glowing eyes, and whirled around to lunge at Bhandasura. She grabbed his am with two of her hands and wrapped the other two around his throat. As they fell back, there was a crunch and she felt his spine snap under her insignificant weight.

"SILENCE." She hissed. "I GAVE UP EVERYTHING TO BUILD A LIFE FOR US. I GAVE YOU A SECOND CHANCE, YOU DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO PATRONIZE ME." She pulled back, her energy fading to a simmer. "Maybe you're right, then! Maybe I do still love Her. Maybe I named our children after the ones I lost, because I LOST THEM, Bhanda, not you! But do NOT look me in the eye and TELL ME I DON'T LOVE YOU!" She closed her fist and brought it down on his brow, just over his eye. On his pale grey skin, it bruised almost immediately.

"Perhaps I would not make such a scene, Abyzou, if you showed me." He sat up, his bones still crinkling, but the damage not bad enough to impair him completely. "You fight with Camazotz like the moon fights the pull of gravity and yet you cannot resist. So stop resisting me, my love. If you are the moon, I am the sun. Give. In."

Two of his arms came up to grasp her bony legs, and Abyzou gasped as he reached up with his other arms and tugged on the metal around her robes, pulling the cloth free and leaving her clothes hanging loosely, like rags, across bones and bedraggled flesh.

"Prove it to me." He hissed again.

.

.

Dhar-Mon turned over the tinkling silver necklace in his hands. It was large, and almost gaudy, but he had to admit the Elerium stones that sat in the center gave off a colorful glow that almost nothing could mirror.

"If you want to get something for your wife, you should go to the mine in Lüng sumu." A voice said behind him.

Dhar-Mon turned, nodding to Aisha before shaking his head. "Malinalli is…we are not married." He cleared his throat. "Officially."

"Oh." She nodded. "Well, do you still want to get her some?"

"Perhaps." He put the glittering necklace back onto the stone slab that served as a table. The people around them were beginning to push and shove to get through, but once up to the front of the pavilion, they formed a semi-queue and waited as the warriors sifted through the various foodstuffs stolen from ADVENT trucks. Several others had brought their own things from their homes to give away, along with the food and various weapons and trinkets.

Aisha looked past him, and he noticed she seemed slightly distracted. "Is your sister going to take anything?" She asked quietly. "She joined us on the hunt, she's entitled to some."

"Most likely not, as we Chosen do not require food." He said, and then quickly changed the subject back to the stones. "How do you stabilize these minerals?"

"Pardon?"

"Elerium is highly volatile, has a short half-life and can be radioactive." He reached for the gaudy necklace again as it lay abandoned on the table. "And I notice the light given off is dimmed slightly. Depending on how long you have been here, most of you should be dead or riddled with tumors."

"That's why you should visit the mines." Aisha chuckled. "They have a…process for it. I can assure you the Elerium we use in construction and in jewelry is very safe."

Dhar-Mon looked down at the necklace again: he was used to seeing Elerium only in blue, or in soft indigos and purples. But this necklace, while it was blue around the inner edges, had bits of green crystal in the center, and around the outer rim, a pinch of yellow.

"Can they explain how they got these colors?" He asked her.

"They most likely can." She looked around. "...There, see those two over there, Uyanga and Umazd. They usually volunteer to collect the Elerium from the mine sites and bring it here to be crafted. You can ask them."

"Have you been to the mines?" He asked her.

"A few times." She admitted, and sounded a bit hesitant. "But not often. The Khatun herself goes to visit them every month, but she's still young, so she hasn't started really training me to take her place."

"That seems dangerous." He said. "I know better than most, life can slip away from you at any instant. And on the steppe, she should understand that too."

"She'll start training me when I'm ready." Aisha insisted. "And I'm not…really ready for that yet."

He stared down at her as she bowed and turned away. "Why do you believe that?" He asked.

She didn't answer, and for a moment she looked back at him in silence, her nearly-black eyes gleaming. Then, she disappeared into the mob like a wraith in the shadows.

Dhar-Mon looked back toward the table, where packaged food was being set up. Most of it looked like it was going to the Tianshui City Center, but a few of the packages were labeled in languages other than Chinese and Etheric. He saw a few Korean and Japanese words dotting the plastics, and wondered if ADVENT's push for everyone to learn Etheric was starting to fall by the wayside.

.

.

Kon-Mai bowed to the guards as she approached the large, stone palace of the Khatun. "I am here to see Drakaina." She said in English, to the two guards standing at attention before her. They both furrowed their brows, and she sighed and repeated herself. "The Khatun summoned me here. I need to see her."

Her tone of voice caused them to bristle, and one raised his spear and stepped forward. "Chi tüüniig Khatun gej nerlekh bolno, khariin gichii." He snapped, and she could feel the venom in his voice. His words, though they should not have made sense to her, flared her temper, and she clenched her fists and bared her teeth.

"Chi namaig Mordenna gej duudakh bolno." She spat. "Odoo namaig oruul."

While the two guards took a step back, one staring at her in bewilderment and one in contempt, Kon-Mai reached for her throat, amazed her own tongue had formed those words. That she knew them. And she pursed her lips and tried to forget her mistake, for no one should call her Mordenna. Not even herself.

She stepped inside the chamber , and was immediately hit by the glint of light off the golden walls. Elerium laced the marble, ingrained in the stone like veins, and the hall itself was lined with statues of great warriors, made of stone and plated in gold. Beneath her feet, a long rug of soft fur led the way down the chamber, toward a throne twice the size of any human, made of white material that hung together with fur and cloth, all of which was laced with gold.

At the end of the hall, there sat the Khatun, lounging almost sideways on her throne with a glass of alcohol in her hand. On the armrest sat Volk, holding his flask, and the two seemed to be laughing.

"Honestly I know you always mentioned your mom being a Buryat." Volk took another swig of his flask. "But I'm still shocked you made it out here."

"And why is that? Didn't I kick your ass enough when we were children to prove myself?" Drakaina's voice held a twinge of annoyance.

"Not that, I would trust you to survive in space with nothing but a snorkel and a butter knife." He tipped his head back and took a swig of his drink. "I'm just saying. Must have been hard learning the Mongolian when you came up here, since no one in your family spoke it before."

"I made do. Trust me, Kostas, I learn quickly."

Kon-Mai stepped off to one side, slipping behind one of the statues and crouching in the shadows. She could have announced her presence easily, but she did not want to cut this conversation short. Not yet, anyway.

"Could have fooled me, Kaina." Volk said with a laugh. "Who tutored who?"

"I did perfectly well without your help!"

"You technically failed 5th year." He leaned forward and refilled her cup from his own flask. "But I never said you weren't smart, Kaina. And…I'm glad you got out."

"I am too. Vladivostok is nothing but Likhos now, I went back once and nearly lost myself in the green fog."

"Likhos?" Volk sounded confused. "You mean the Lost?"

A brief silence followed. "Is that what you call them?"

"Yeah, it's what my Reapers called them. I think they're sentimental…the Lost used to be people."

"Yes, I know." Drakaina said, and Kon-Mai heard her shifting in her chair. "But do not cry for them, Kostas, It's not like much has changed." She chuckled. "I bet you they can't tell the difference between their current condition and their life before."

Volk, instead of laughing along, held an uncomfortable pause. "Not sure I follow." He said softly.

"I mean." Drakaina was still giggling. "You remember the docks, right? It was almost exactly the same routine, with just as much groaning. The people there were wasting their lives anyway, now they don't have life to waste."

"Excuse me?" Volk snapped. "Those were human beings."

"It was a joke, Kostas." She sighed. "The war really took your sense of humor, didn't it? What happened to you?"

"Try losing a kid and let me know how it feels." Volk snapped. "I know you have your own stresses, Kaina, but try and remember that they were people too."

"I do." She assured him. "Believe me, I have lost many people I loved to the Elders, including those who were like children to me. You aren't the only one who hurts." Her footsteps rang out in the eerie silence. "But the world was never as beautiful as you think it was, Kostas, and you need to accept that. There is no going back anymore. There is only forward."

"I'm not saying-" Volk began to protest, but Drakaina hushed him.

"We are not alone." She said, and Kon-Mai heard her footsteps drawing near. "...Show yourself. Whoever you are, we are both armed and I will draw my blade if I have to!"

"You're not very encouraging, Kaina. It's probably just a couple kids screwing around." Volk said, and Kon-Mai heard his shoes hit the floor as well. "Come on out. We won't hurt you."

Kon-Mai straightened up, bowed, her head, and stepped out from the shadows. "I apologize, Khatun." She said, in a voice much weaker than her own. "I was…admiring the artwork."

"Oh…It is magnificent, isn't it?" Drakaina nodded, and her face was as stoney as the walls around them. "These statues are made in the image of the greatest warriors of the Horde, before it was corrupted." She approached one nearest to the door, and Kon-Mai noticed the statue looked distinctly feminine. "This is Tümelün, one of Genghis Khan's many daughters.."

Kon-Mai nodded, scanning the various faces of the statues, all of which blended together. "Why was she important?"

"Because of her bloodline." Drakaina said. "Because she, like all his children, went on to spread his great lineage across the globe. A lineage that led to myself." She made her way back to the throne, and Kon-Mai followed her diligently.

"I came because you summoned me, Khatun." Kon-Mai reminded her. "You asked for me specifically."

"Yes." Drakaina lowered herself back onto her throne, and Kon-Mai saw that under the pelts, the throne was made of bones, stacked together like planks of wood. "I was impressed with your battle prowess, especially against ADVENT."

"I am honored." Kon-Mai bowed respectfully, catching a glimpse of Volk watching her from the corner of his eye.

"And that is why I want you to pass your skills onto my warriors." Drakaina continued. "They are skilled, but they are not as precise as you."

Kon-Mai hesitated. "…I will be glad to show them the way of the sword." She said, unable to think of a reason to say no. "Did the soldiers request this?"

"I request this." Drakaina said. "And they shall follow my command. Can you meet them outside the city in three hours?"

"Three hours?" That was very little time. "How many will need training?"

"Everyone who can hold a sword." Drakaina stood. "I thank you greatly for this, if you decide to do so. The soldiers desperately need it.."

Kon-Mai nodded, but her mind was reeling. How many warriors was that? And she had to train them all? She shook her head, intent to clear it. She had trained others before (but only one on one). She would be fine (she hoped). "I will show them how to command their strength."

"Good. They can learn much from you. And you from them." Drakaina approached her slowly, her pearly eyes unreadable. "…Tell your Commander I am pleased with her progress."

"Progress?" Kon-Mai asked quietly.

"In defeating the Elders." Drakaina crossed her arms. "If she still intends to do so."

"That is always our goal." Kon-Mai smiled, bearing sharp teeth. "If ever the hunt ceased, I would continue the search alone."

"Well, how noble of you, considering you are a daughter to them." Drakaina smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "It must be so hard, to be suddenly ripped away from everything you've ever known."

Kon-Mai shook her head, unable to voice how desperately she wanted to say no, but her heart felt like a rock in her chest.

.

.

"Is everything to your liking?"

Zhang looked up, blinking as though awakening from a deep sleep. Liu Weiyin sat across from him, too far away to touch but close enough to see the slight blue tint in his teeth as he smiled.

"I know it's been a while, but I figured cheong fun was a safe bet." Liu nodded to the plate of white noodles and shrimp that sat on Zhang's plate. "It used to be your favorite."

"I had honestly forgotten about the taste." Zhang sighed, and as he used his chopsticks to pick up a piece of food, he felt like he was using an atrophied limb. "ADVENT didn't exactly feed me in captivity."

"I wish I had known about your situation." Liu said. "I would have ordered you released."

"Ordered?" Zhang raised a brow.

"Well…requested."

"I was going to say, I don't think the Elders would appreciate that." Zhang took the bowl of fried rice beside him (it smelled so much richer than he remembered) and brought it closer to his face as he picked at it. "As much as they claim to like humans, they're still on top."

"They are, absolutely." Liu took a sip of his wine, and Zhang looked at the label on the bottle. Cabernet Sauvignon, with the date written on the label as 2015. He wondered if the grapes had been harvested before the invasion or after, if ADVENT had started right out on the luxuries, or if this bottle had sat in an old wine cellar for years only to be discovered now.

"Dax́iiu." Zhang said. "I know it's been a long time, and I have missed you as well. But I feel as though we are dancing around the important issues and I'd like to get straight into things."

"Well it was never my intention, Chilong." Liu put his glass down, a bit of the red dribbling down the lip of the cup. "You yourself were a bit vague on why it was you wanted to meet, just that you were here on behalf of XCOM."

"The Commander has spent years gathering intel and allies and while the resistance groups she has are very capable, she needs something more substantive as well." Zhang said. "I know we didn't exactly leave on a good note, Dax́iiu. But you're the smartest businessman I know. And what's more, look at what's around you." Zhang flailed his arms at the gold and marble. "We need someone with your influence on our side in the resistance."

Liu stared at him silently, his face betraying no thought. He looked down at his bowl and, wordlessly, stuck his chopsticks upright in the sticky rice. They sat like TV antennae, tilting slightly to the left. "Things are very complicated, Chilong." Liu said. "And I cannot just throw my lot in with XCOM."

"I understand you're most likely under watch." Zhang said, leaning forward. "But in my opinion, it is not only a good idea to join us. It is necessary. The Elders have ravaged our entire world, stripped it bare of resources that get shipped out into space, to heaven knows where. Can you blame us for wanting to be free?"

"No, I suppose I can't." Liu sighed, clasping his hands together. "But this puts me in a very awkward position. I am not just some unknown small-business venture off the coast of nowhere. I'll have you know the Speaker himself has invited me to his home before. I've met the Chosen themselves, I am that important."

"You met them?" Zhang furrowed his brows. "Hm. They never mentioned...maybe they just didn't know."

"Maybe who didn't know what?" Liu looked confused.

"The Chosen. They didn't mention you, but I suppose it must have slipped their mind, we mostly only talk when they come in for a mission briefing."

"Wait." Liu held up his hand. "…Weren't you captured? When did you get a chance to talk with the Chosen?"

Zhang smiled. "I know them." He said excitedly. "I know you're worried about our revolt, Dax́iiu, and I know it's a big investment, but let me try and ease your fears. We have the Chosen on the side of the resistance."

Liu blinked, then laughed. "Now you're bullshitting me."

"I am not." Zhang insisted. "I swear on my father's tomb, Dax́iiu, I met the Assassin herself. She dresses in green and blue instead of red, now, and she calls herself the Shrinemaiden."

Liu pursed his lips. " …You were never one to exaggerate, Chilong." He admitted. "But I need more to go on than this."

"What do you want to know?" Zhang asked, choosing his words carefully. "I will tell you what I can."

.

.

"Huge-ass fucking mansion, and we have to share a room?" Jane muttered as she pulled the covers off her bed. "This is bullshit."

"I'm not that bad a roommate, Jane, I promise." Annette said with a bit of snark. "I don't snore nearly as loud as those Chosen do, either."

"You're telling me, the entire floor can hear Dhar-Mon when he snores." She coughed, or laughed, or both and then went over to close the curtains on the window. "Still feels cheap."

The room, in fact, did not look cheap, despite the fact that it held two queen beds on either side. It was larger than most rooms, with a small kitchen off to the side, in a small corner across from the door to the bathroom. The TV was immense in size and was capable of 4k definition, which Jane had briefly utilized until all channels began switching over to the Speaker's stupid face. The view was most impressive, and the silk curtains pulled back to reveal a sparkling city skyline.

"I am happy to only be sharing a room with one other person to be honest." Annette began pulling her hair down from her bun, and Jane noticed that the grey streaks were actually glittering white, and her hair fell almost down to her waist. "As much as I missed XCOM, those barracks could be hard to navigate."

"I never minded it. But I wish I had more privacy when I bring dates home." Jane chuckled, taking a moment to peer out over the city lights. "Man, you really can see everything from this tower, huh?"

"Mm." Annette looked over her shoulder, refraining from turning around as she took off her shirt. "Chilong used to talk about it all the time, I could always tell he missed it."

"It's probably nice to be back after all these years." Jane admitted. "Sometimes I miss my hometown too…"

"Do you think you'll go back after the war?" Annette asked.

"I hadn't really thought." Jane sighed. "I don't think I expected to survive this long. Still don't, really."

"Like the Commander would let you fall in battle." Annette scoffed. "You're her goddaughter."

"You've met the Commander, right? She has a bit of trouble remembering how humans work." Jane finally pulled the curtains closed. "One of these days she's gonna forget I'm not an Ethereal-demigod like her and expect me to run headfirst into a Sectopod."

"No, she won't." Annette slipped out of her jeans and into a pair of soft pajama pants. "She might not be fully human, Jane, but she's human enough. And she still loves you."

Jane kept silent as Annette crawled into the bed across the room and pulled the sheets up to her neck. "You going to bed already?"

"I have a headache." Annette admitted. "It happens when you do The Big Think."

"Cute." Jane sat down on her own bed. "Need anything for it? I think I brought some emergency Aspirin."

"Trust me I would need something 10 times stronger." Annette looked up. "I appreciate it though. Thank you for thinking of me."

"Yeah, no worries." Jane scooted back and sat up against the pillows as Annette turned out the light, leaving the room swathed in darkness. "Hey, Taymallat?"

"Yes, Quiet?"

Jane sat there for a moment, holding her breath. "Do you think Vahlen is here?"

She heard Annette shifting slightly. "I do not know. I feel like she might be."

That gave Jane's heart a flutter, something she definitely couldn't afford. "…Do you think she'll want to see me?"

"I think so, Quiet." Annette turned on her side. "I'm sure she misses you."

"Yeah…" Jane pulled her knees up to her chin. "I like to think that."

.

.

Parysatis did not hear the Darkstrider at first. She assumed that was how he got his name.

She was sat cross-legged in the yurt, where the other eagles around her sat on poles and planks and groomed their lovely feathers, her precious Tyche sat on her arm, claws barely grazing her skin as Parysatis fed her jerky from her own hand. Truly, she might not have noticed the Daksrtider at all, but the other birds had all ruffled their feathers in response to his entrance.

She turned, her purple eyes glowing, and he chuckled and held up his hand. "Relax human, I come in peace." He assured her. "I heard the sound of flapping feathers."

"This is where the birds are left to socialize and breed." Parysatis said simply. "It will be spring soon, and the hens are going to lay their eggs."

"How nice." Gur-Rai sat down beside her, one knee bent and his arm leaning on it. "Is poor Tyche here going to be subjected to childbirth?"

Parysatis pursed her lips. "…I won't make her if she doesn't want to." She said softly. "But usually she lays eggs every spring. Her last batch didn't hatch though, so I don't know."

Gur-Rai reached out for Tyche to pat her on the head, and the eagle turned and snapped at his fingers. He drew back quickly, chuckling. "She's got good reflexes."

"Of course she does." Parysatis scoffed. "Have you ever seen an eagle?"

"You tell me." He pulled his hood down, revealing not only his (unfortunately) lack of hair, but also the tattoos covering his skull, and as he turned around so his back faced her, she saw the outline of an eagle on the back of his neck, wings spread across his shoulders.

She leaned forward, pulling his hood farther down so she could see the tattoo better. "…Where did you get it?" She asked.

"From the Reapers, thought I would celebrate my freedom by doing the things ADVENT never let me before." He twirled back around and settled on his hip, his legs splayed to one side and bent at the knees. "I've always loved birds but I'm sure you're well aware of the shortage in the cities."

Parysatis nodded. "Drakaina worked so hard to find enough Golden Eagles for us to use in battle." She sighed. "And even then, she had to cross breed a few with other species, it's made them a bit sick over time."

"Hey, they can fly, and they're alive. If I were them, that would be a fine life for me." He looked past her slightly, watching the other birds preening. "So what was it you did out there?"

"Out where?" Parysatis asked. "During the raid, you mean?"

"Yes." Gur-Rai leaned forward. "When your eyes were closed, I could see the glow. It was like you were communicating."

"It's not quite like that." She scoffed. "I don't just tell her what to do. She wouldn't be able to understand my thoughts anyway."

"So what was it then?" Gur-Rai pressed further. "You seeing through her eyes or something?"

Parysatis glared at him. "Actually yes. And I suggest you don't mock what you don't understand."

"Well then, make me understand." He crossed his arms. "I've always wanted an eagle on my shoulder."

"Isn't that what the tattoo is for?"

"You know what I mean." His face softened a bit. "It was an impressive skill, I've never seen anything like it. And I've seen everything." He shook his head. "You humans are remarkable, and you never cease to be."

Parysatis stared at him as he got to his feet. "Where are you going?"

"To find some trouble to get into." He pulled up his hood with a smile. "Thanks for entertaining my questions."

"I thought you wanted me to train you." Parysatis stood up with him.

Gur-Rai blinked. "…You're willing?"

"If you're able." She held out her arm. "First lesson. This is a Golden Eagle. Hunters in Mongolia and Kazakhstan have been their companions for more than a thousand years." She watched as Tyche crawled across her arm and stepped onto Gur-Rai's large hand, the Chosen admiring her with wide eyes. "Mind her beak and mind her claws, and remember: she is not a pet."

.

.

Kon-Mai stared out over the sea of faces and noticed how many of them were familiar.

Well, really, it was the sight that was familiar, though she had never taught an audience this big. Most of the people in her "class" were in their mid to late 20's, maybe early thirties, but she had also attracted the attention of a few old timers. It pleased the Shrinemaiden to see there were slightly more women before her, holding their own carefully crafted swords.

She held her hands behind her back and looked up as rapid footsteps came her way. Aisha ran up beside her, bowed slightly, and looked like she wanted to ask a thousand questions all at once. But as she turned and looked at the group expecting a lesson, she stood up straight and silenced herself, opting to say only one thing: "I can translate for you, if you want." She said. "My Mongolian is even better than my Kazakh."

Kon-Mai felt the urge to tell her there was no need, remembering her outburst earlier that morning, but she held her tongue and only nodded in approval. Aisha turned to the crowd, and Kon-Mai drew her sword. It easily dwarfed everyone else's, and a few of the warriors looked down at their own blades in disappointment.

"I am sure you don't need to hear this, but I shall say it in case you have forgotten." Kon-Mai called out, her voice proud, and Aisha following her words with their Mongolian equivalent. "Your sword is a part of your body. Do not treat it as a tool: it is a part of you, it moves fluidly with you. Its handle is your new wrist, its point is the tip of your nail." She moved her sword as she talked, swinging it gracefully in circles around her. "Most commonly, when I see someone miscalculating their strikes, the fault lies in two tendencies: they strike before they are fully ready, and they treat the sword as though it were a hammer or an axe, and think that merely putting force behind their attack is enough to make it land." She stopped for a moment to allow Aisha to catch up translating.

One of the students stood and called out something, and Aisha looked over at the Shrinemaiden. "He wants you to explain how your blade never misses." She said. "He says it's impossible for mere humans to replicate such a skill."

Kon-Mai scoffed. "I may be taller than you, and my face might be a fright, and my hair may be the color of snow, but my alien DNA does not give me any superiority to you." She beckoned the speaker forward. "You and I are more alike than you may think. Come, and I shall prove it."

Everyone turned and watched as this loudmouthed warrior came up to stand beside Kon-Mai. She easily dwarfed him, and as he looked up at her, she could tell he was trying to be brave, and failing.

She held out her hand, and after staring at her for a moment, he handed her his sword. She took her own sword in her other hand, comparing the two. His sword was slightly curved, like a sabre or a Scimitar, while hers was rigid and straight, the blade coming to a dangerous point before her face.

She put the swords aside and reached for the training poles, tossing him one and moving to stand father away. "Well then." She held her hand out as though inviting him. "Have at me."

Aisha didn't have to translate, for the young warrior rushed her. He was quicker than she anticipated, but she still barely had to move her arm to block his attack as he curved his arm slightly upward in an attempt to bring his sword down upon her head.

Her strength was infinitely greater than his, and she shoved him back. He stumbled, fell, and she rushed at him in return and instead of bringing the pole over her head, she pulled it back under her arm, right at her breast, and thrust toward him.

He flinched, and she stopped right before the pole hit his face, pulling her arm back. "Aisha." She called to her translator. "Ask them what he did wrong."

Aisha did so, and one other warrior, a young woman with long black braids, responded in turn.

"She says he came at you too fast." Aisha said.

"Close. He did rush me without properly preparing his strike, but that was not what landed him on his back." She turned to the crowd and made a sweeping motion with her arm. "Anyone else?"

Someone else yelled out from the back, and brought her hand down in a curve over her head.

Kon-Mai nodded. "This…" She mimicked the motion with her blade "…Is too slow, and will give your enemy both time and an opening to come at you in turn. A better method, if he had thought about it, would have been to protect his body, and swing upward." She demonstrated, her pole cutting through the air like her blade used to. For a moment, she heard the screams of the soldiers she cut down before. She stopped, noticeably, and closed her eyes, waiting for the voices to stop.

"Are you alright?" Aisha called out, and when Kon-Mai opened her eyes, Aisha was right beside her, almost close enough to touch. Her deep purple eyes held genuine concern, as well as a touch of her own fear.

.

.

Dhar-Mon supposed he should not have been walking so far, but now that he saw the mines, all of it was worth it.

Uyanga, a short woman with aged hands and a young face, had told him a bit about the mines on their ride over, as her horse dragged an empty cart behind them that would be used to carry the processed Elerium back to the camp. Umazd had not said much, nor tried to interject when she stopped mid-sentence for seemingly no reason, but he did look back at them once in a blue moon, looking at Dhar-Mon as though he knew there was something Uyanga was not telling him.

When they came close to the entrance of the mine, Dhar-Mon could see it over the horizon from the incredible blue glow, and how it pulsed unlike any other material he had seen on Earth. Crossing the light hill led them to gaze over a quarry that was almost 40 feet deep into the ground, and stretched back into the mountainside before them so deep, he could not see the end. The cave entrance towered far above his head, looming like a yawning portal, and glittered with exposed Elerium rock.

He looked over at Uyanga, who was leading her horse over to a poorly-made wooden ramp that slanted way too steeply down into the quarry. "Where did this come from?" He called out.

"It began growing in the soil after ADVENT put down roots." Uyanga called back, not looking up at him. "We think their presence shoved it above ground somehow. Digging revealed even more."

He turned back to the great mine, and now he heard the clanking of pickaxes and the grinding of metal against stone, and looked down to finally notice the workers toiling away down there. There must have been hundreds of them, and his brow furrowed as he wondered where Drakaina got the manpower for this operation.

"Is this the only mine?" He asked Umazd, who was also leading his horse towards the ramp.

"Of course not. The Khatun's mines are spread all along the Orkhon Valley and along the Selenge." He scoffed. "Now, follow us. We cannot afford to waste time."

Dhar-Mon looked down into the glowing ravine, feeling the radioactive particles crawling on his skin.

.

.

Abyzou was the first to rise, but that was not unusual. Bhandasura's back was still healing from the injury she dealt him, but from how bruised and sore she was, she figured he had more than accurately taken his revenge on her for that.

She looked in the mirror, back at his resting form, and hoped he was satisfied. She hoped this proved she loved him. That she could not leave him, not even for…

Camazotz came up behind her, his eyes glowing the color of pus, and he wrapped bony fingers around her shoulders. "Why must you let him destroy you?" She felt his thoughts knocking on her brain.

"He cannot destroy me." She assured him. "I am stronger than he could ever comprehend."

"I remember how broken you were when I met you, and honestly your glow was brighter then." He buried his forehead in the crook of her neck. "I think you have lost yourself in this pursuit, my darling. You need to let them go. You need to let Her go."

"I have let them go." She snapped. "I was the one who released their souls into the void. I was the one who brought reckoning upon my house, and I can bring it again upon you." She growled, her eyes as red as the blood on her hands. "And never accuse me of infidelity again, Camazotz. My love for you is infinite, but you know of all people should know how quickly love can become hatred."

He chuckled, a green glow rising deep in his chest. "Trust me darling, it's why I love you."


Summary: The chapter opens with Abyzou and Bhandasura arguing about someone from Abyzou's past. Bhandasura claims Abyzou does not love him, and that she is still carrying a torch for this other person. Enraged, Abyzou attacks him, but he mentally gets the upper hand and insists that she "prove to him" that she loves him.

With the Elerium Horde, Dhar-Mon examines a necklace made of Elerium and wonders how the ore is stabilized. Aisha tells him that if he is curious, he should visit the mines, and they will show him the process. Meanwhile, Kon-Mai goes to meet with Drakaina after behind summoned, and the guards block her way, calling her an "alien bitch" in their mother tongue. Surprisingly, she responds in Mongolian, telling them that they are to refer to her as Mordenna, despite not knowing that she knew Mongolian, and preferring not to use her surname.

Inside, she overhears Drakaina and Volk talking, and Volk reflects that Drakaina's journey must have been hard, as she did not speak Mongolian at home. She assures him she learns quickly, and the two reflect on their lives in Vladivostok before Kon-Mai is noticed. Afterwards, Drakaina insists that Kon-Mai trains her warriors on very short notice.

In Hong Kong, Zhang joins his old friend Liu for dinner, and begins to try and convince him to join the resistance. Liu is hesitant, saying that ADVENT has his number and that he has met important individuals such as the Chosen. Zhang takes the opportunity to tell Liu that the Chosen have also defected, and this peaks Liu's interest. In their hotel room, Jane and Annette get ready for bed, and reflect on their pasts with XCOM.

Kon-Mai begins training Drakaina's soldiers, and Aisha comes to help translate. The warriors are slightly scared of her, but Kon-Mai begins to teach them her signature moves, pausing only briefly when she begins having flashbacks to battle. Elsewhere, Gur-Rai meets with Parysatis, and the two talk about her interest in the Golden Eagles, and how she was able to communicate with Tyche on the battlefield. After some prodding, Gur-Rai manages to get Parysatis to agree to teach him. Dhar-Mon, having decided to visit the mines, follows Uyanga and Umazd to their destination, where he finds the mine is far more massive than he ever thought.

After Abyzou's encounter with Bhandasura, Camazotz starts in on her as well. She threatens him, and he only responds with this is why he loves her.