It seemed there was no escaping from such grim work for Argus.

They had thought that fateful day, as they watched Eliza be whisked away by Bradford and Jane, that there was a firm chance they would never have to go through with their plans. How cruel, then, that they would have to pick them up again in the context of working with XCOM.

Work on tearing down the Holding Cells was already called for and beginning to get underway. Argus themself was already aware of just what machines and apparatuses they'd need to finish the process. Perhaps they could even cut one out—no need for a more grim aspect of the Siren project now that they didn't have to make Eliza "compliant." They only needed to work on the physical aspects—Eliza could handle everything else by herself. They had faith in her. Argus just hoped she had faith in them.

They were currently in the Lab, swiftly taking down notes on a datapad. Behind them, Ossio was similarly hard at work, though on a different project. Ossio had been tasked with the work requested of them about the Keystone project—and with her multitude of hands, she was multitasking effectively. They wouldn't be surprised if her work was done before the end of the day.

Their assignment? Taking down all of the data they remembered about the Siren files. The "Network Severance Effect" they'd heard mentioned from Tygan hadn't set in too badly for them—probably because they had been physically looking at the content of the files, in a way. In the Void, yes, but not in some mental mindscape that the Network typically conjured. On the subject of Networks, they were impressed Mordenna had gotten the XCOM Network working in time for the raid. It was essentially the reason Jax was still alive—with no extended network to pull Jax from, he never would have made it.

But, back to the task at hand. They needed to take all of their research down for another reason—review. Bradford had truly meant it when he had said that every change that Argus made was to be monitored—Tygan himself was asking for a copy of the changes Argus would be making in advance. They hardly would object. If anything, having another set of eyes on it would help to see if there was anything they missed or could improve on.

"Argus."

They jumped, broken from their thoughts. It still scared them how soundlessly Tygan could approach. He was standing there with his own pad on his arm, watching Argus calmly. They collected themself, taking a calming breath. "Yes, Dr. Tygan?"

"How is the progress on notating the procedure?"

Argus looked down at their pad. They were about at the end—they remembered a lot of things freshly and anything else could be reasonably extrapolated, as they had already done. "About done." There was something bothering them, however. "... as you know, genetic modification just doesn't come for free. There are certain resource costs, which I've outlined in the work I've taken down so far." They sighed, finishing up a sentence on the pad. "Resources I'm fairly certain aren't on this ship."

Tygan wasn't a dull man, clearly. "You need us to go out and requisition these 'resources?'"

"Genetic samples, honestly. Elerium, but I know you have that in reasonable abundance. Changing the very nature of Eliza's DNA and speeding up her body's growth to grow into it, per say, is the major focal point of the whole procedure." They looked back up to Tygan. "—ADVENT has these resources. And if we act quickly, we can even take them from one of my own old work facilities."

"Understood, but I am not the person to ask." Tygan readjusted how he was holding his datapad. "I am, however, the person to review your resource costs once you have finished your manifest. So once that is cleared, I believe you should take up your case with the Commander."

For a second, Argus truly dreaded having to confront Eliza further about her once-forced transformation—before remembering Bradford was now acting Commander. He would be a harder sell, however. Argus did not forget his protesting so easily. "I understand. I will be finishing my work here shortly."

Tygan nodded. "And your Revenant?"

Argus turned to ask Ossio—who in response, held up an eyeball-sized orb with a cord trailing from the back. At her station was the completed faceplate, as well. Argus gave a short "huh." "—I suppose that is your answer. All we need now is for you to look over it and then get it attached to Mordenna."

"Excellent." Tygan approached, and Ossio handed off the parts, as well as tapping on her datapad to send the documentation to Tygan. "Mordenna is likely still recovering from his encounter on the field, but we will be monitoring his condition until he is fit to be put under."

That reminded Argus of something. "... would I be able to ask about doing something else while we were in his head area?" At Tygan's raised eyebrow, Argus continued. "As you probably know, Mordenna is physically unable to sleep. While this will have a negligible effect on anesthetics, I believe he would have a far better quality of life if he were allowed to sleep of his own volition, much like his siblings. I know the way Odin engineered him to be eternally awake—I had a hand in the procedure. May I reverse that?"

He set his datapad on his hip, pushing up his glasses. "—draft up the document for that. And ask Mordenna. It is his mind, after all."

"Of course, of course. And considering he is Bradford's XO for the moment, I suppose I have to run the mission request by him anyway. I'll bring it up then." Might as well get to making the file. He had a hunch Mordenna wouldn't mind being able to sleep. The question was if he trusted Argus to do it. The thought received, Ossio began to type. "And what about—?"

Speak of the devil. The door to the lab opened, and in came Vahlen. She looked far more collected than the day Argus had originally seen her on the ship—her hair was cut back to the point where she only needed a short ponytail, said hair was in far better condition, and overall she looked more well-kept. Behind her was her escort of Rosa and SYN, walking behind her as she entered. "—Dr. Tygan. Wonderful to meet you."

"Dr. Vahlen." Was it just Argus, or was Tygan's dry tone laced with bitterness? "Your reputation far precedes you, and it is quite interesting to finally meet the mind behind much of the advancements at First Contact."

Vahlen seemed to take Tygan's statement as a compliment—but Argus's well-trained ears could easily tell the fake pleasantries for what they were. "I am not quite as prestigious as such a title and history would imply, I assure you." Her eyes slid to Argus, confusion mounting. "And who is your... assistant?"

Tygan looked at them, and they supposed they would introduce themselves. "Greetings, Dr. Vahlen. My name is Argus." Now for the sticking point. "Ethereal formerly associated with the Collective. I now work against them."

Even with the assurance that they now worked on the side of XCOM, Vahlen was understandably taken aback. "—O'Leary convinced an Ethereal to join our side?"

"It wasn't a hard job, really," Argus conceded. "I didn't want to be with the Collective after everything I had done. Eliza merely extended a cautious hand when I explained my situation. I am here by her graces alone."

"I'm astonished, really," Vahlen said, practically breathlessly. "But I suppose I should put no feat past the Commander at this point. She made that evident twenty years ago."

Tygan looked to Rosa and SYN. "Would the two of you mind waiting outside? You can trust that we have nothing to fear from Vahlen."

Rosa nodded. "Alright, Ty. Stay safe." She pointed to Argus. "And behave."

She turned to leave, and SYN stayed a moment to offer a hand to Tygan. After they shook, he followed behind her, leaving the three of them to the room. Tygan set down the faceplate and mechanical eye down on his section of the lab, then turning to Vahlen. "To what do I owe your appearance today, Dr. Vahlen?"

"Well, I was hoping to acquaint myself with the new head of staff O'Leary had signed on. She has not quite spoken to me yet regarding where I am to go outside of simply being watched, but I assumed since I was not immediately thrown in a cell that I was perhaps being considered for work." She gestured to Argus. "Although if you are working with an Ethereal, perhaps my assistance is hardly needed?"

Tygan's expression was neutral, but he had his fingertips pressed against the counter. "That is up to the Commander's own call. Do not take this the wrong way, but until she gives the order, I am not looking for your assistance in matters here."

Once again, Vahlen seemed to take it a better way than what Tygan was intending. "Of course, of course, I would hardly dream of intruding." That made a muscle on the back of Tygan's neck tense up where she couldn't see it. "Do you know where O'Leary is? I haven't even seen her yet and nobody thus far has answered my question. I'm starting to get suspicious, truthfully."

"Tygan?" Argus could see Tygan was going to lose composure eventually. It was clear he was practiced at holding it—a man after their own heart—but he didn't have Argus's own endurance for it. Tygan looked to them, and a silent exchange took place between them. He nodded, taking his datapad and reviewing it as Argus stepped from around their workstation. "—if Eliza is truly caring about her health, she will be in the Infirmary. But..." They pressed their hands together. How to put this diplomatically... "I do not believe she will be seeing visitors in her state as of the moment."

Vahlen blinked. "Is O'Leary alright? I did not think she was out on the field for that last battle."

Hm. That raised the question of where Vahlen had been at. Maybe somewhere that hadn't been the Holding Cells? "—due to circumstances that might take a little too long to explain, Eliza is... Eliza is blind and deaf, relying on a secondary entity to perceive anything. I'm sure she could take your questions, but as of right now, I... don't think it's very well-advised to ask. We are working on restoring her to a better condition, but that might be longer still."

Vahlen was stunned, looking down and covering her mouth. "But—I don't... how?"

"'How' as in...?"

"How did that happen to her?"

"'Psionic wearout' is the shortest answer."

"O'Leary has the Gift?"

Come to think of it, Argus didn't really know if Eliza would've had the Gift naturally or if Asaru's presence changed her very genetics to house him. The question of how he got there was still unanswered. "Yes. From the sounds of it, you have twenty years of developments to catch up on, Vahlen. In ways, I do not blame you for being confused." Still, clearly Vahlen was going to need more context. "Eliza psionically resurrected Jax, much in the way my former colleagues did whenever they revived the Chosen. The only way she was able to do this feat was thanks to said secondary entity, which had previously been sleeping. Humans... just aren't built for that amount of psionics, however. Her body couldn't handle it. Asaru allows her to see and hear."

The information sank in for Vahlen, and she was left standing on the spot, silent. She finally gathered her wits enough to ask something. "'—Asaru' is this 'secondary entity?' What is it? Just how does it have enough psionic power to bring someone back from the dead? How has O'Leary had it for so long?" She approached Argus, eyes lit up with curiosity. "We have to study it, don't we? There is so much we can—"

Vahlen was stopped by Tygan clapping a hand on her shoulder. Despite his build, he seemed to do it with enough force to make her wince. "—Dr. Vahlen. You have overstayed your welcome in my lab. I politely ask that you step outside and rejoin your escort."

She turned to him. "Dr. Tygan, you are a fellow colleague of science! Surely you see there is a realm of—"

"I don't think you understand me," Tygan warned, voice low and threatening. "I have seen what your 'advances' look like. There are real consequences to your actions, and I am not about to have you pulling apart anything even remotely attached to Eliza. I don't care about the possibilities." He drew in close. "You are going to leave my lab and you are not going to come back."

Tygan released his grip, causing Vahlen to stagger back. She looked to Argus, eyes pleading—but Argus just shook their head. Their thoughts were much of the same. Argus had seen what Vahlen's work already entailed. There didn't need to be any repeats of that, especially with a child. With no supporters and Tygan's order still hanging in the air, Vahlen retreated from the Lab. There was a moment of silence after the door closed behind her, broken by Tygan's sigh. "—I'm sorry. I should not have lost my temper like that."

"On the contrary," Argus said. "I think you were perfectly in control of yourself until Vahlen let her ambitions control her again, even if I'm sure she had the best intentions in mind; perhaps something to the tune of 'study of Asaru could assist Eliza.' She would have continued unabated if not for your firm boundaries." Argus walked back over to their section of the Lab. "—I admire that. Having the courage and will to put your foot down."

Tygan himself returned to his work, inspecting the Keystone. "Surely that should come easy to you?"

"Maybe for any other Ethereal. But I am blighted by emotions the others chose not to harbor." They began to type again. "And politeness and subservience on my part was necessary to survive." They sighed. "Perhaps it is a blessing in disguise—I was often a mediator for the explosive conflicts between my former colleagues. But I'd still prefer to have some backbone sometimes."

"There comes a point where you cannot acquiesce everything," Tygan replied. "But I suppose I understand where drawing a line would have meant death. Admittedly, I am curious as to the inner workings of the Elders, if you would humor me."

"I'll warn you now, Dr. Tygan, I will devolve into complaining."

"As if I wouldn't do that with my former ADVENT employment."

Argus smiled. It was nice to have a kindred spirit.


Sitting in a bed and not moving wasn't much fun. But Asaru supposed he wasn't alone in doing that.

It had been a little bit since he woke up, and they had eventually returned to the Infirmary. Bradford said that Mom needed her rest. Mom didn't necessarily want to do it, but had eventually caved. Plus, Bradford had said that she could keep an eye on the "Chosen," whoever those were. But he supposed he figured that out when they came back and he noticed two of the uncovered beds at the end of the room had people that were both notably larger and purple.

So here he was, watching around the room. Mom had said to let her not see or hear anything for a little bit so she could get used to it. He was still unsure about letting her do that—after all, he wanted to get up and look around. But... she'd already said that she didn't want to "use" him to get around forever. Plus, while she was keeping her thoughts guarded from him, he could tell she was upset. He would be too, if he couldn't see or hear. Sitting on the bed, he reached for her hand, holding it. After a second, Eliza squeezed it back. "Everything alright?"

"No," he answered truthfully. "You're sad. And I... I can't fix the problem. I don't know what to do."

Eliza got up, her milky eyes training on him. She seemed to be able to see him clearly though she was blind. "It's not your problem to fix, Asaru. There are other people who are working to fix it, but it will take a while. I'm... I'm going to be sad, yes. But it, too, will pass. As long as I can get my rest and be here to watch over the Chosen, that is enough."

That made Asaru feel a little better. He still wished there was something he could do, but if Argus was correct? Her body just couldn't handle the amount of psionics they had used. If he could heal her, it wouldn't be solving the problem—just "treating a symptom," like she said. He would wait and see. Still, his interest was piqued again at the mention of the Chosen. He looked over at them—the woman pacing by her bed and Jax sitting on his own, watching something on his datapad. "... who are the Chosen? I know they're the three people over there, but, um..." How to ask this question. "Who are they... individually?" That sounded right.

Her eyes shifted in Jax's direction, unfocusing slightly. Maybe she couldn't see him as well? "—the one with long, white hair and red eyes is Jax-Rai Tessura, as you know. He is the Chosen Warlock, but we all call him Jax. His psionics are very strong, and he has a Revenant called Lucifer." As Eliza said "Revenant," he got the general, mental feeling for what she meant. "The one with the white, right arm is Fal-Mai Neylor. Chosen Assassin. She's the youngest of her brothers. And... the one behind the curtains is Mordenna. Chosen Hunter." Worry was evident in her mind. "I hope he's ok. I know they recover quickly from injuries, but still."

Asaru kept looking at the Chosen—and eventually, Jax looked up from his datapad, noticing him staring. He gave a nod, and Asaru waved, causing Eliza to chuckle. "... if you want, you can go see them. I think Argus mentioned something about you being able to transfer hosts if you can't go that far while still attached to me."

Asaru looked back to her. "But won't you be alone? I can't help you see if I'm not there..."

Mom gave him a gentle smile. "Don't go worrying about me, Asaru. You leave that to everyone else. If I need you, I'll call for you."

He looked at her for a second longer before eventually nodding. "Ok." He leaned down, wrapping his arms and a few of his tentacles around her. "I love you."

She hugged him back, giving him a squeeze. "I love you too. I'm sure Jax, Mordenna, and Fal-Mai will too."

He got the impression there that the Chosen were something more to Eliza, just like Bradford was. Maybe he had multiple moms and dads. He supposed there were a few ways to find out, and what he was going to do was one of them. Asaru pulled back from the hug, turning towards Jax again. Jax hadn't gone back to his datapad quite yet, and sat at attention as Asaru looked towards him.

Ok. He could do this, even if he didn't quite know how. He floated into a standing position, moving off the bed and towards Jax. Almost halfway there, he felt himself stop, and he looked back towards the tugging feeling. One of his tentacles was still attached to Eliza's shoulder, preventing him from moving the rest of the way. He just had to pull off of her. Bracing himself, he focused on that tentacle and quickly brought it towards him.

The effect was instant. He no longer felt Eliza's presence in his mind—and at the same time, he shivered. He was deficient of... something, and it was triggering his fight-or-flight. He needed a host body, like he remembered Argus saying. His head snapped to Jax, and he quickly flew towards him. He got a glimpse of Jax's startled face before he "collided" with him, sinking into his body.

Jax's mind was full of red, and his psionics were much more present than Eliza's. It felt more roomy, as if he had more space to stretch his limbs and his powers. But he knew how scary what he just did may have been, and quickly reached for Jax's consciousness. "I'm sorry! I got scared, I wanted to introduce myself, but I disconnected from her and it felt bad and—"

"Asaru, Asaru." Jax's voice was soothing and even clearer in this mindscape than Eliza's had been. "It is alright. I was merely startled. You can come out."

He calmed down a little, assured that Jax wasn't scared. Before he left, he felt a presence watching him—likely Lucifer, if what Eliza gave him the impression of was correct. Asaru emerged from Jax, hovering to his side while one of his tentacles stayed connected to his shoulder. Fal-Mai was walking over to them. "Jax, is everything alright?"

Jax nodded, and Asaru noticed his eyes had shifted from red to a more crimson purple. "Asaru simply caught me off guard. We are fine." He looked towards Asaru. "—it is nice to meet you, Asaru. My name is Jax, and my sister here is Fal-Mai."

Asaru bobbed his head, a tentacle or two wrapping around Jax's arm. "Nice to meet you, Jax, Fal-Mai. Mom told me about you two, but not too much."

At the mention of "mom," Fal-Mai chuckled. "You consider Eliza to be your mother?"

"Isn't she? I came from her. And she thinks of me like I'm her son."

Fal-Mai still looked a little confused, but she ended up shrugging. "It is a new phenomenon to have a Revenant consider its host to be a parent, but I suppose there are stranger things.

Jax opened his mouth to say something, but Asaru beat him to the punch. "Revenant? I'm an Ascended Ethereal."

That left both Jax and Fal-Mai speechless, leading Asaru to wonder if he'd said something wrong. Was it important that everyone had thought he was a Revenant instead of an Ascended? Was there something wrong about being an Ascended? His tendrils curled nervously, leading Jax to speak. "... sister. There are some things I need to speak with you about later. With Eliza, as well. But for the time being... yes. Asaru is an Ascended Ethereal. Argus had told me about them, and... they might be the best person to ask, as of the moment. But just because he tangentially shares a species with the Elders does not mean he shares their crimes. Asaru is innocent."

Fal-Mai's gaze turned to Asaru, and he could see the studying she was doing of him. After a second, she sighed. "You are right. I should not prejudge, and Asaru is simply a child, from the sounds of it." She walked towards Asaru, hands clasped in front of her. "I'm sorry, Asaru. I judged you for a moment based on things you did not do."

"It's ok," he replied. "The Elders" and "tangentially shared" made him think of the regular Ethereals that Argus had mentioned. Were the Ethereals guilty of some wider crime? He had so many questions... but better to focus on what was in front of him. "Are you two special to mom?"

"Ah..." Fal-Mai looked to the side as Jax chuckled. "Um, I suppose? I mean, yes, we are. We are..."

Jax shook his head, looking towards Asaru. "Your mother loves us like partners, Asaru. Fal-Mai, my brother Mordenna, myself, and others."

Partners. So... like a couple? He'd gleaned a few things from how Eliza defined and thought of words. He tilted his head at Jax. "Are you one of my fathers, then?"

"Well, I... hm..." Jax looked away, covering his mouth, mind rolling as he was flustered. "I would be honored if she thought of me as a husband, but..."

"Considering how Vix considers Eliza her mother," Fal-Mai followed, "I think the opposite would be true as well. Any child of Eliza's is a child of mine."

That truly made Asaru feel better, and he leaped towards Fal-Mai, hugging her tightly. She went "ah!" and patted his back. "I—I'm truly happy you are happy, Asaru, but... my, you're strong. I'm not in the best state for hugs."

"Oh!" He hadn't expected to be so strong. He let go of Fal-Mai, but a tendril or two remained wrapped around her. "I'm sorry."

"Honestly, you are fine. Maria's psionics did their work in healing me..."

Oh, she was injured? Asaru's psionics rolled in his grasp, and he pressed his hand to Fal-Mai's chest. He didn't know why, but he felt like he could at least take some of the edge off. "Let me help."

Beneath his hand, his psionics bloomed, and he hoped this would work. Pulsing lights went down his tendrils, and Fal-Mai took in a soft breath. He could feel his psionics sinking into her chest, alighting inside her and glowing softly, like a candle in a dark room. After a moment, they stopped feeling like they were sinking in, and he took that to mean they had done all they could do. He pulled his hand away and Fal-Mai felt her chest, and then her ribs. "—the pain is gone."

Asaru brightened—meanwhile, Jax leaned forward. "Entirely?"

"Entirely. Maria said she could not force my body to mend any more for fear of my health!"

Asaru looked between the two of them. Maria sounded like someone with healing psionics, and she'd already healed Fal-Mai but couldn't do everything? So Asaru just healed the rest of Fal-Mai's apparent wounds effortlessly? Hm. A healer like Maria would've done her best with her rounds in the Infirmary. Perhaps he could help further! "Are there more injured people here I can help?"

The two Chosen locked gazes, then looked towards the curtained bed. Right, Mordenna. Jax moved himself to the side of his bed. "Our brother—one of your fathers—is a worthy start. He took a fair hit during our last battle."

As Jax got up—standing on legs made of psionics, which intrigued Asaru—Fal-Mai sighed. "It is my fault. I did not perform Eliza's orders well. If I had approached Cronus from a different angle, if I had moved for a different attack..."

"Sister," Jax gently urged, walking towards Mordenna's bed, "you know exactly how Mordenna would feel about dwelling on ifs. Not to mention we were against an Elder in an Avatar." For a second, Asaru got an image of Cronus—standing out in partially-melted snow, his Revenant behind him. Jax shuddered, and Asaru got the feeling he was hiding how distressed he was. "Please. We all did as we could."

They reached the curtain, and Fal-Mai nodded. "I know. It is just... hard not to think about it. But you're right. I need to be there for him and Eliza, not dwelling in the past." She looked to Asaru. "Assuredly no hugs for my brother right now, not until you've healed him." When Asaru nodded in understanding, she drew back the curtain enough for the three of them to enter.

Mordenna looked like his siblings, just... skinny. Plus, he was in a flimsy, light-green gown. There was a tube routed underneath his nose that led to a tank on the side of the bed, and something must've taken his left eye at some point. His right leg was in a cast, and his remaining eye cracked open at the presence of them. It quickly widened and he took in a sharp breath—which must've hurt, as he winced and clutched his chest. "God, ffff—"

"Language! Language," Fal-Mai said, reaching for his hand and squeezing it. "Mordenna, this is Asaru. He is... an Ascended Ethereal. But please believe us, he is innocent. He is just a child, and he is here to heal your wounds."

Mordenna let whatever he was going to say go in a hissed breath, shaking his head. "Look if he—if he can take the edge off... that would be enough for me."

Asaru curled his fingers together for a moment. Mordenna was clearly under a lot of pain. Hopefully he could help. He moved towards his middle, spreading his hands out. Two of his tentacles gently wrapped around Mordenna's cast, and two were touched to his chest. Once again, his tentacles lit up, and he felt his psionics alight in Mordenna's body—in his leg and his chest. It took more of an effort than Fal-Mai did, but eventually the candle of his psionics had nothing left to burn, and he withdrew his tendrils. "Does that feel better?"

Mordenna was dumbstruck. He took a deep breath in, seemingly waiting for something to happen. He let it go, then breathed deep again. His next breath out was a nervous chuckle. "I—look I know I should definitely be asking more questions here but quite frankly I'm just glad it doesn't feel like I'm getting stabbed every time I breathe in. And my leg..." Mordenna reached down, and from his arm came a dull gray blade, slicing open his cast and taking his leg out. He rolled his ankle here and there, stamping his foot on the bed a few times. "Nothing! He—he just healed all of it."

Asaru jittered his hands, tentacles curling in happiness. "I'm so glad I could help!"

The Hunter looked to him, eye tracking over him for a moment. "... Asaru, is it? What's your story?"

Jax took that moment to fill him in, Mordenna's eyebrows raising as they got to the part of him technically being Mordenna's adopted son. But after that, Jax went on. "... Mordenna, Fal-Mai. There is something I have been keeping from all of you. Something that only I, Marlene, and Geist knew of before now. I... I knew of Asaru. And I know why he is bonded to Eliza." The little room inside of the curtain fell to a hush. Inside of Jax's mind, Asaru could somewhat feel Lucifer nervously fidgeting. He wanted to go meet Lucifer at some point, but Jax was still talking. "... the both of you still remember That Which Sleeps Beneath as described by Marlene, correct?" They nodded, and when Asaru prodded Jax mentally for context, he provided it. A great, slumbering being at the bottom of the ocean, immensely psionically powerful, able to make such great changes in its sleep. Jax went on. "Mordenna, that dream I had that day when you came to fetch me from my room... there was another part of it. The Mother had told me that Lucifer's charge was to 'free Asaru.' When we had asked, She explained who he was, and that She was the one who had implanted him in Eliza's mind. I... I had not a clue how to approach that. We knew Eliza's stance on Ethereals. I could only imagine how she would initially react to Asaru and not getting to see him to confirm he was innocent."

Asaru hadn't been awake for long, but it didn't take a genius to say that these "unascended" Ethereals... weren't the best people. Mom hated them, the Chosen didn't speak kindly of them, and Argus themself said that with luck, Asaru would've never had to meet any of them. He wanted to ask just what they were doing, but now hardly seemed the time to ask. There was something else that seemed pertinent, though. "—am I... am I 'wrong?'" Before anyone could answer, he quickly clarified. "It's just that... Argus said I shouldn't be awake this young, and... and everyone is saying Mom would have hated me if she thought I was just an Ethereal. And... it sounds like I wasn't supposed to be here..." He drew his tentacles closer for comfort as his chest burned. "Would... would it be better if I went away?"

"Hey, kid, no." Mordenna was the first to step up, using his new freedom to get up into a kneeling position on his bed and point at Asaru. "There's some strange circumstances all around, but that doesn't mean it would be better if you were gone in the slightest. Hearing everything I have, I can state with reasonable confidence you are not in the wrong. You're just a kid, Azzie. You shouldn't have to be thinking about that."

Asaru still hugged himself. "I... I don't know. I am thinking about it. I'm not supposed to be here. What if that's bad for everyone else?"

He felt his tentacles get moved aside, and Jax brought him in for a hug. Jax's hugs were big and soft, almost like Eliza's. "My son." Just hearing that eased Asaru a little. "Your presence here has already been nothing but a boon to us. You have mended my sister and brother, taken a weight off of my shoulders, and provided your mother a light in the darkness she faces. Do not think so heavily of your presence. Anyone who would make your presence a danger at this time would be the problem, not you."

The other two joined the hug, and Asaru quivered, full of emotions and surrounded by family. His tendrils wrapped around all of them and he hiccupped, returning Jax's hug. He didn't want to be a burden to everyone else. But... if they were saying he wasn't, he would believe them. He buried his face against Jax's chest, feeling like he was sinking into him slightly.

Asaru took a moment to remain there quietly with them, then he squeezed Jax, venting the rest of his negative feelings. As he floated away from Jax, his father let up on the hug. "Ok. I'm ok now. Thank you." Asaru looked towards the curtain, where the rest of the room was just beyond. "I want to help everyone else. Can we go to them?"

Jax nodded, pulling aside the curtain. "I would be loath to stop you, child. Mordenna, still go easy on yourself until we're sure you're absolutely healed. Fal-Mai, see to Eliza. I will take Asaru to the others."

As Fal-Mai went to Mom's side and Jax walked towards the rest of the Infirmary, Asaru steeled his resolve. He would make the best out of this situation.


Well, at least there was some reprieve to be found in the storm.

Argus trailed after Tygan as they entered the surprisingly-empty Infirmary. Tygan similarly looked around as Argus did at the empty beds that had been full just this morning. Eliza was still in hers, sitting up with her back towards the door, tapping her leg. Jax was reading on his datapad from the looks of it, on the chair next to her bed. Lucifer and Asaru were sitting on the floor, both messing around with their psionics together. The man of the hour, Mordenna, had his cast off and was relaxed back on his bed, nanos holding up a datapad as he worked on something.

As Tygan approached Eliza and gently eased a hand on her shoulder, Argus supposed they should ask the obvious. "—where is everyone? And are you alright, Mordenna?"

"Who, me?" Mordenna sat up. "Never better. It is hilariously easy to walk off a broken leg and a collapsed lung!" He pointed to Asaru. "Provided you have Asaru on hand and he trivializes the recovery process. Same for everyone else that had been in here."

Argus looked to Asaru, who had stopped swirling his psionics around and around when he heard his name. They walked around the bed, kneeling on one leg. "Asaru? Did you heal everyone else?"

He nodded. "It started with Mom. Fal-Mai, I mean. I.. I felt like I could. I had hugged her and she said it had hurt and I just wanted to help take the pain away." He put his hand up, and the tendrils sprouting from him lit up in pulsing lines, like a jellyfish. "I put my hand against her chest, let my psionics go, and they... um, it's hard to explain. It was like I was lighting her up from the inside. She felt better after that, and so I healed one of my dads; Mordenna, that is. That worked too, so I healed everyone else and they could leave the Infirmary!"

Argus raised their eyebrows, and Jax chuckled. "I somehow did not expect less from such a kind soul as Asaru—he and Maria will be a wonderful team. If such powerful healing is his strength, I wonder what else he can do?"

"That could be a list a mile long," Argus said, standing back up. "Ascended Ethereals are phenomenally powerful psions. I don't doubt that Asaru could potentially overpower me even in the Avatar. They don't get one or two strengths—Ascended get domains. The only question is what Asaru's is." They turned to Eliza, who was leaning on Tygan, head on his shoulder. "Normally, I would ask Eliza... but there are other ways." They then looked to Jax. "Jax. Focus on Asaru's signature in your mind. With your expertise in psionics, what does his feel like?"

Jax nodded, closing his eyes. After a moment, Asaru sat at attention, as if being addressed. The Warlock's hair picked up for a moment, then settled down as he opened his eyes. It took Argus a moment, but he noticed Jax's veins and eyes were tinged slightly more purple again. Perhaps his and Asaru's psionics mixing. "—Asaru's psionics are marvelous," Jax muttered. "I haven't seen a signature so powerful since Eliza's. Regardless... I felt light, there, a shining luminance. A candle burning in a hall of mirrors. But more than that, more than the soft glow of healing and a flow like the currents of the ocean... I felt hope."

Hope. How fitting. Asaru was an isolated island of an Ascended, born into a world and war where it was a constant uphill struggle just to maintain decency... and his domain was hope. The gnawing pit in Argus's heart for the fate of the other Ascended grew even as the notion of Asaru's domain was uplifting. "How apropos, I suppose. And what a wide domain." "Hope" was tremendously vague. It already seemed to encompass healing, judging by what Asaru was capable of doing. Jax seemed to refer to light, as well. "The light of hope," perhaps? While it may have warranted further examination, as Vahlen posited... Asaru was just a child in an extraordinary situation. For now, healing was more than welcome—but they could sow the seeds of curiosity. "Feel free to experiment, Asaru, but know you are doing well enough, providing hope in healing." They looked to Mordenna, conscious of Tygan still with Eliza. "—when Tygan is ready, Mordenna, we have two things to ask you about."

Tygan kissed Eliza's head, patting her hand comfortingly and parting from her. Jax took his place on her other side as Tygan approached with the container he'd brought in. "Apologies for the wait. Mordenna, it has been evident to me that you were attempting to work on your eye for a little while, but have understandably hit roadblocks."

Mordenna was not slow in the slightest. "—don't tell me. You've made me a replacement behind my back?"

Tygan's smile was wry. "That might be the case. I was intending to wait until you had further recovered, but with Asaru assisting and Argus's quite handy assistance, we can move up our timetable. Would you like for us to implement your eye?"

"Might as well ask me if I wanna keep breathing—the answer is god yes." Mordenna's gaze shifted to Argus. "... I heard there might be a second question, though?"

Argus straightened. "Indeed. Mordenna, as the Collective's former lead geneticist and purveyor of all things to do with biological modification... I was behind the research for the Chosen. To cut things short, I know what your father did to make you unable to sleep. As we are performing surgery on you, I would have the chance to essentially dummy out some blockers in your brain and give you the ability to sleep—while still allowing you to work without tiring as your siblings have. But the choice is up to you on that matter."

Mordenna sat back a little, obviously in thought. Argus couldn't blame him if he distrusted them and didn't want them so close and potentially able to do so much damage. They'd be doing enough by guiding Tygan through hooking up the eye to a Chosen. Eventually he looked up. "You know what the consequence of messing me up intentionally will be, right? I'm not gonna get too graphic—there's a kid in the room—but I'm sure someone with a brain like you knows that I may be one Chosen, but there's more of us here. I mean, Fals is off with my daughter getting drinks for everyone, but you get the picture."

Argus nodded. "I'm fully aware of the potential consequences. I mean only to assist you, Mordenna, and you can bring Samhien in here to verify that."

"That wish can be granted soon," Tygan said, moving over to Mordenna's bed and setting down the case. "If Mordenna is uncomfortable with having your hands around his head, I will still need another set to assist."

Mordenna shook his head. "Nah. Might as well have Argus working on me if they're going to be there. Probably get better results than them having to guide you the whole time." His gaze trained on Argus. "... go ahead. I'm sure not being able to sleep might be convenient for running a server, but... for once, I'd like to fall asleep next to Liz. Even if it's just once. If Odin's messed with my head in any other detrimental way, you've got my blessing to reverse it—just run it by Tygs first."

"Of course." Argus walked up to his bed, pulling over side tables and moving to the sink to wash their hands. "You have my word."

"Brother." That was Jax. "Are you going to be alright?"

"Admittedly, never had someone crack open my head before," Mordenna admitted, "but I trust Tygan. I'm just gonna be happy to both have my peripheral vision back and be able to take naps." He paused for a second. "But I am nervous. Let me get up for a second, Tygan."

Hands washed, Argus looked back in time to watch Mordenna get up and gently hug both Jax and Eliza. Jax returned it readily, Eliza felt for him and hugged him back. Lucifer and Asaru joined, and Argus smiled gently. Time and time again, they were struck by the transformation the Chosen had undergone. Earlier this year, it would have been hard to say how Mordenna would approach them—but Argus could say for certain that it wouldn't have been positive. They were happy for the change.

Argus approached the bed quietly. "—are you prepared for the procedure, Dr. Tygan?"

"If I know Mordenna at all," he replied, matching Argus's subdued volume, "we may be waiting until Fal-Mai and Vix return. But otherwise, yes. Mordenna has given much to us. I am simply happy to give back."

Argus looked back to the group—Mordenna squeezing Eliza's hand, forehead to hers. "The sentiment is shared. And may I never stop having reasons to help others."


Had this been anytime before gaining the support she had now, Eliza was fairly certain she would be dead. Or worse off, at the very least.

Getting used to her new disabilities was a process, but she was glad she had assistance. The feeling of the blind cane in her hand was reassuring as she pressed it against the ground, seeing the small motes of purple psionics float in her vision. Her right shoulder had a very noticeable weight on it—she wondered how Edgar carried Nevermore on there on a daily basis. The man must've had shoulders like marble arches.

Speaking of Edgar—she almost heard a sound like a bird ruffling its feathers to her right, and saw a small burst of psionic light. "Are you ready to do the walk again, Commander?"

Eliza nodded. Edgar and Nevermore—along with their omen of ravens—had offered to help her with blind navigation. Thankfully, Edgar was uniquely suited to the task, even if he admitted he was just getting used to a blind cane, himself. Taking in a steady breath, she did the back and forth motion with the end of the cane, and began to slowly walk forwards, settling into the rhythm. Left foot forwards, cane to the right. Right foot forwards, cane to the left. She didn't want to rely on Asaru for sight. She could walk on her own—with some teaching assistance first, of course.

The cane gently bumped something towards her left. That was probably one of Edgar's ravens, sitting randomly on the floor to serve as minor obstacles. Sweeping the cane to the other side to mark a clearer path, she adjusted, somewhat using the motes in her blindsight to continue moving forwards. She went on like that, feeling out the occasional obstacle, watching one or two of the motes in front of her dance to the side for a second before seeming to remember what they were there for and moving back. How she was seeing psionics, she didn't know—maybe it was whatever sixth sense that handled them compensating for her lack of sight.

Eventually, she hit an obstacle in front of her, beyond all of the motes. Feeling for the side of it, it wasn't long before she realized it was the opposite end of the room—her goal. She turned around, watching a brighter light approach her. "Good work, Commander. I'm clapping for you, but. You know."

Eliza felt herself smile. "I appreciate the gesture," she spoke into the mental link. Turned out that Edgar was pretty good at setting up lines of psionic communication, even at a distance. The practice with his birds must've helped. "I think some field trials would assist more, if you feel I'm up for it."

"Ah, to be in the tumultuous position of telling the Commander if she's qualified or not for something," Edgar mused, amusement in his thoughts. "I honestly think you are. You picked up navigation fast—very fast, in fact. You seem to have a keen awareness of your sense of direction."

Edgar "sounded" impressed, but underneath that was genuine curiosity. Eliza supposed she'd come clean. "I don't know how to describe this, but... it's like I'm seeing psionics, and psionics only. Things have gotten a little clearer over the past day, like your eyes adjusting to the dark, you understand?"

"Fascinating," Edgar commented back. "I get that if I don't use my court to see for a little bit. Psionic blindsight, I think you'd have to call it. It was always a little too fuzzy for me to rely on, but it sounds like you're getting it at an accelerated pace. I think you genuinely could use it for sight."

"Maybe. Would still like the backup of this," she said, tapping the cane against the ground and feeling the minor jolt go up her arm each time. "And with luck, I won't be blind forever."

The topic seemed to dull Edgar's enthusiasm. His signature wasn't as pronounced when he spoke again. "... not to question your reasoning, Commander. Even if you invite it," he quickly added before Eliza could. "I'm just... well, a lot of the soldiers are, really. We're worried for you. Are you sure becoming a Chosen is what you want to do?"

She hadn't expected anyone outside of a few people to know she was going to do that... but she knew for a fact that secrets didn't stay secret on this ship forever. Eliza felt herself sigh. "It's essentially my only option. I'm learning this as a last resort, just in case it can't go through. But I have to be able to command at my best, Edgar. I want to see, I want to hear, I want to feel the warmth of others. I admire your strength in playing with what life has given you, but..." She brought her cane closer to her body. "I'm not that strong. Not in that way."

Edgar's light drew closer, and Eliza could feel him drawing her into a hug. At the same time, Nevermore nuzzled the top of her head. "Courage is admitting weakness," Nevermore began. "It is far easier to only think about your strengths. You are brave, Eliza. Braver than I, braver than Edgar."

"Nevermore is right." This close, Edgar's signature sounded like wind howling through an old, abandoned castle. Rocks getting kicked up and thrown over stone. The creak of centuries-old wood. "I don't think you're weak, Commander. I think it takes immeasurable strength to go through what you have. We're worried because, in a way, we all love you. And we're here for you, because you've always been there for us."

Eliza's chest squeezed, independent of Edgar's hug. She returned the gesture, taking in a deep breath and letting it out. "Thank you. You... you can tell the other soldiers I'll be alright, as long as I know I have them as well."

It was a quiet, tender moment afterwards. But eventually, Edgar moved a bit, then quickly left the hug. Past him was a brilliant, Avatar-shaped glow, bringing with it the sound of a lone violin, played softly. Argus was here. They approached, and Eliza could feel Edgar adding them to the conversation. "Argus. What brings you here?"

"Evening, Edgar." Argus's attention moved to Eliza. "Commander. Would you mind being brought back to the Infirmary?"

Eliza was going to go, but she figured she might as well know why. "Any particular reason?"

"A few. Asaru misses you. Mordenna wishes to show you something. And there are a few things I need to discuss with you."

She nodded, looking towards Edgar. "Edgar, thank you for training me today. I'd like to seek more of your guidance later, if I can."

"Of course, of course. Do you think you can head back with Argus, or would you like an escort?"

Bold words towards essentially a living god, but Eliza already knew that Argus was too much of a doormat to raise any concerns. She didn't quite trust them to not do anything to her, but she figured she would be safe. "I appreciate the offer, Edgar, but I believe I'll be fine. Argus? Lead the way."

Argus hesitated. "Will you be able to follow me without...?"

They didn't finish their sentence, but she got the gist. "I can 'see' you in a way. I've been gaining what Edgar calls this 'psionic blindsight.' You're a bright purple, Avatar-shaped blob, but I can tell it's you. You glow brighter than anyone else, outside of Asaru." Even when Asaru had left her to see Jax, she saw him clear as day. "It's taking a bit, but it seems my psionics are compensating for my sight."

"That's... rather curious, but not unexpected. Glad to know it, then." Argus turned, then began to move away. "I'll still stick close, and probably have Ossio offer you a hand so we can stay in communication."

Eliza nodded, muttering "thank you" again to Edgar as she walked forward. She figured Argus would be safe to walk behind, but she still used the cane. Mostly for practice's sake. "Ossio?"

"Right, I don't think you've been properly introduced, but you have seen her." Argus's Revenant emerged from their back, and Eliza noted that she could see her quite clearly as opposed to Argus. An antique clock for a head, multiple disconnected arms, and a body that ended in two snake-like tails, helixing around each other until they terminated in a single point. Quite the abstract Revenant, but not bad. "This is Ossio, my Revenant. She doesn't speak much, but trust me when I say she's wiser than I am."

Ossio's minute hand did a revolution, like she was rolling her eyes. She reached for Eliza, and Eliza could feel her shaking her hand. At the same time, the link with Edgar faded, and one with Argus and Ossio took its place. "I'll take your word for it. It's nice to meet you, Ossio." Ossio nodded, and Eliza looked to Argus as they walked, keeping her cane moving. "May I ask what you want to discuss ahead of time?"

"Absolutely. One of the things I wanted to bring forward was, in essence, resource costs. I brought this by Mordenna and Bradford, and they eventually agreed, but they still wanted your opinion on it."

Figures that they would still defer to her even when she demoted herself. Everyone was still calling her Commander anyway. Oh well. "What resource costs are these?"

"Modifying the human genome and invoking accelerated growth isn't resource-free. There's genetic material I would need to source. One of the labs that was set aside for the Siren Project is likely still standing, and has essentially everything I would need."

"So we get the materials you need and topple an ADVENT facility, robbing the Collective of more resources. Just sounds like a win/win to me. If I don't get to tell them, you can say you're cleared by me." She sighed. "And to stop deferring to me."

"In a way, I don't blame them for still wanting your authority. It's hard to imagine this not being your ship, and XCOM not being commanded by you."

"I know, but that's not healthy. They have to be willing to accept when I am unfit to command."

Argus nodded. "And your side is just as reasonable, if not more so. I'll let them know what you've said—you just must forgive me if it seems ill-advised to tell them 'we don't have to ask Eliza about this, trust me.'"

Eliza rolled her eyes. "That I get, so I'll tell them myself, even if that will make them protest. Still..."

She trailed off as she watched Argus turn, as if watching someone pass. They slowed down a little, but then resumed walking. Eliza could feel slight tremors through her feet, like someone walking past her—and then larger ones, like a bigger body was. They kept walking, and Eliza almost turned to look—but if she didn't see them before, she wouldn't see them now. "... who was that, just now?" The only thing she knew for sure was that they weren't psionic.

"Nobody of note." When Eliza's implied gaze bored into them, they sighed. "SYN, Rosa... and Vahlen. She tried to speak to you, but naturally Rosa and SYN hurried her along, and obviously you didn't hear her."

Vahlen. Everything else had almost made Eliza forget she was on the ship. Almost. She couldn't handle physically seeing her right now, and was mildly thankful for being blind and deaf. Thinking of Vahlen just reminded Eliza of her own attitude back at First Contact—and how freely she'd let Vahlen run. Old Eliza would probably have condoned the things she did to the Rulers. Eliza sighed. It was something she was going to have to confront eventually, but preferably when she was a Chosen, and could further tower over Vahlen. "That's for the better. I wouldn't be able to handle a conversation with her right now." Plus, if she knew about Asaru, Eliza knew for a fact she'd want to test him, and the thought made motherly instincts she hadn't really entertained before roar to life. "So let's keep moving."

"Let's." Argus resumed their pace. "The other thing I wanted to bring up was what sort of modifications I'd be moving forwards with on the Siren Project. Baseline would be the genetic concoction we've known the Chosen for thus far—which induces an increase in height, shift of skin tone, changing of facial features, essentially the physical traits that would come to mind when you think of a Chosen. There are other things I had 'planned' to do in the document itself, but those are up to you. One other important point is..." They sighed. "To truly handle the amount of psionics an Ascended can inflict, what I recommend is a mix of psionically-inclined races. Gatekeeper and Sectoid will naturally be in the lab. But... well, perhaps you can see where I'm going with this."

Eliza could. There seemed to be few psionically stronger species than Ethereals. "And what would that mean for me?"

"Vastly increased psionic aptitude—but if you're wondering, none of the muscular atrophy and sickness we had. I would be pulling my own DNA from the Avatar. And, well. A genetic tendency towards another set of arms that might be hard to dummy out while keeping other traits. Not many species have a genetic trait that prohibits extra arms, and the ones that do either I can't access or begin to interfere with other areas. Not one of those ones I can simply 'switch off,' to my bafflement. Ah, to curb my rambling: vastly improved psionics, extra set of arms, and genetic markers that would pass you as an Ethereal on psionic networks."

The "extra arms" deal was... strange, but Eliza supposed she could manage it. There was something else that truly jumped out at her. "'—pass as an Ethereal?' Assumedly, one not registered before?"

"Yes—the twin Networks that are now in existence are reliant on genetic codes for identification. When they connect to you psionically, that essentially allows them to scan your DNA and assign you an identity—and the marker for an Ethereal is one that overrides the others, since once I introduced the Avatar Project, the Network was modified so that the mix of species found in the Avatars wouldn't be a problem, so long as you had a marker proclaiming you an Ethereal. Quite frankly, if you showed up on the ADVENT Network, what a shock that'd... be..."

Argus stopped to look at her, and Eliza could tell from the quieting of the violin that they were having the exact same thought she was having. "So you're saying a Network would recognize me as an Ethereal, and the ADVENT Network would recognize me as an Ethereal that would have all of the permissions I used to have, because I can't imagine those were ever updated."

"... yes, that's. That's correct. By the Void, you've found a backend into the Network."

There was something else that occurred to Eliza, however, something she knew because she paid attention to Tygan talking about the Gate. "... but in order to match that verification—and to enable anyone with me to return home—I would need to enter a Gate myself."

"That's... also correct." Argus rubbed their arms. "So you would need to put yourself in the line of fire."

Well, Eliza was starting to get tired of everyone else fighting her own battles for her, anyway. "What better way to put a new Chosen's body to the test, right? And if not at what should essentially be the final battle, I don't know when. You have the go-ahead on that one."

Argus seemed hesitant, but nodded. "I can't say what everyone else will say at you throwing yourself into battle, but I understand your reasons. The only other modification I'd suggest is... well, have you ever read the Siren file, I suppose I should ask?"

Funnily enough, she had meant to get around to it, but never did. She hadn't been able to answer the question of whether it was worse to know or worse to speculate endlessly. "No. But I imagine it's about something in there."

Argus looked away, beginning to walk again. "Essentially... to make you 'palatable' to the Collective, I had to include you as a part of our larger plan for Earth, which involved pacifying something we really need to concern ourselves with once we get my former cohorts out. But that's for later. And the only method we could think of to pacify it... was to convince it to go back to its deep sleep—and the best way for that was a lullaby. So the 'Siren' project got its name and main focus." Argus rolled their wrist, gesturing. "What that means for you is that I could continue on the avenue of boosting your psionics through singing. I never figured out what your second strength was, but the first was song. I did already do modifications there as the Collective forced me to, and if you discovered that prior to me explaining this... I'm sorry. Well and truly."

So Kon-Hur had been right. Eliza held the power to paralyze others through song, right now. She thanked her lucky stars she had an aversion to singing or humming ever since she'd come out of the tank. A deep sense of upset boiled in her gut, even as she knew that what was done may have been done. What was she to do, now? Further lean into that which was supposed to make her an agent of pacifying the populace? Was her singing voice lost to her forever if she didn't want to charm those around her? "... I won't lie, I'm upset over that. I never discovered it myself, thankfully, but even if it was against your will, it's me who has to deal with it now. My only question is that will there be any way to reclaim my singing voice? You talk of lullabies—what about my own children? My lovers? What am I supposed to sing to them?"

Argus deflated, avoiding her blind gaze. "I... I can't undo what's been done there. There's still a way to reclaim your singing voice—you must train. If you can control your psionics as they emerge through song, you can quiet them. But that is all. I'm truly sorry." Eliza might've had more to say, but Argus stopped in front of something. "... we're at the Infirmary. Do you want to continue the conversation, or...?"

Eliza somewhat did, but if it was in aspects of training... she was better off asking Jax. But to train her psionics she would need to inflict them on him. She sighed. Best approached later. "Maybe later. Take us in."

Argus nodded, performing motions like they were operating a door pad. When they walked forwards, Eliza followed. They were in the Infirmary now, alright—the blob of Jax's psionics had sharpened a little, given a more Chosen-esque shape. His psionics seemed a little more purple again, likely thanks to Asaru's presence. The boy himself was hovering over Jax, but quickly snapped to look at the opening door. The brilliant, shining chorus of his psionics grew, and he lept from Jax. Eliza held open her arms, bracing herself as Asaru flew at her.

The connection was invigorating. Her psionics and his meshed and she hugged her son tightly as she felt him reenter her mind. "Asaru! I wasn't gone for that long, was I?"

"No! I'm just happy to see you!" Asaru parted from her. "Hey, you have to see something! Dad Mordenna—"

Asaru stopped up, turning around. He went "oh, yeah" and nodded, looking back to Eliza. His tentacles touched the back of her head and her vision bloomed with color once more as Asaru looked back towards the rest of the Infirmary. Jax was straightening, standing on legs made of his own psionics. Vix was hovering near Jax, poised as if to catch him if he fell. Tygan was washing his hands in the sink, and the feeling of being kissed on the head told her where Fal-Mai was. Eliza felt for her and hugged her, with Asaru looking back allowing her to kiss her jaw. "Hey, Fal-Mai." Eliza's voice sounded a little... off. But it wasn't every day that she constantly heard it from someone else's perspective after not being able to hear it at all. Asaru looked back towards Mordenna's bed, where the curtains were drawn. "—I assume this has something to do with Mordenna?"

Jax nodded, gesturing for her and Asaru to approach. They did, and Jax began. "Indeed—and warn me next time, son, I quite nearly toppled over."

"Sorry."

"It's alright, you know for next time. But yes, Mordenna wanted to show you first."

Well, this had to be good. With Tygan here and Argus having been here before, it sounded like the procedure to hook Mordenna up with his new eye had been a success. She smiled. "Well, Mords, if you can hear me... come on out."

Eliza watched as the curtain concealing the bed was pushed aside, and out came Mordenna. Where the eyeplate of his nanos had been, a new sci-fi sight had taken root. A dark gray, metal plate was now around his left eye, and the eye itself looked like it was made of glass and LEDs, displaying an image of what his eye had been before. As he saw Eliza and smiled, it became apparent that they had made closing plates for eyelids as well. "Well, Liz? I look like a good enough Terminator ripoff?"

She laughed, coming up and wrapping him in a strong hug. "I still loved you when you were imitating a pirate—but I'm happy for you."

Asaru came up to join the hug, and soon Fal-Mai, Jax, and Vix did as well. His daughter even specifically came up to hug him around his shoulders. Mordenna chuckled. "—trust me, I'm as happy as you guys are. Feels good to have my depth perception largely back and have that blindspot of mine closed up." The hug eventually ceased, and Mordenna backed up. "And, Liz? It's my turn to stay the night with you, yeah? It... may be a little silly to get excited over, but if Argus is right... I can actually sleep now. No holding a—granted, comfy—position for eight hours."

It may have been small, but for someone who had gone 15 years without sleeping save for getting knocked out... Eliza could tell it meant more to him than he was expressing. She grinned, patting his chest. "If they let me and Asaru out of the Infirmary, maybe we can test that tonight." Right, Asaru. Eliza wasn't remotely feeling up for anything frisky tonight, and felt like she wouldn't for a while—but she figured she would need babysitters in the future. For now, Asaru could snooze with them.

"Frankly, if I can walk around right now," Jax said, "then I think our dear Commander would be able to sleep in her own bed tonight."

"Speaking of!" Mordenna clapped a hand on Jax's shoulder. "First thing I'm going once I have a moment is getting your legs set up. I'm gonna have to decide if I want to use one core or two, but I'm leaning towards the latter. You seem to be walking fine, but y'know. I may as well take some of the burden off of you."

Jax's gentle smile turned mischievous. "Helping me to get a leg up, are you, Mordenna?"

The hand on Jax's shoulder was swiftly used to punch it. "Don't make me immediately regret helping you, you smug ham!"

Eliza thanked her lucky stars. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same.