Void help Eliza. Fal-Mai didn't think anything else could.
It had been a tough week. When the day came and Fal-Mai realized she couldn't greet Eliza in the morning, lay down with her and tell her how much she loved her... that hit hard. She didn't want to think about what Eliza had to be going through, but it kept coming to mind, even at her peaceful moments. The atmosphere on the ship was consistently somber, and each time she passed by the door to the Genetics Lab, she spotted gifts left by the soldiers. Flowers, probably asked for from Celosia. Odds and ends, maybe personal trinkets. Cards, hand-decorated.
Even as she stood in front of the door now, more had been added. A bowl of cookies, with a card from Benald and Pattie; a picture frame with a gathering of the soldiers and Eliza, decked out in magnetic armor; and what looked like a tape player with headphones included. She didn't know why she was waiting here—maybe to catch a glimpse of Eliza in whatever state she was in when the door was opened to collect the tributes? She could hardly breathe, looking at the ground beneath the items as she held her own note in her hands. It was practically a love letter—penned by herself after some writing practice, with assistance from the Mystics in decorating it, sealed with wax and a kiss. Fal-Mai was frozen, her whole body feeling like lead.
Footsteps broke her out of her trance, and she looked at the source. Mordenna was walking up with a mug that had something hot in it, and the smell of Eliza's favored blend of coffee quickly reached her nose. Mordenna himself looked reserved, face softening as he and Fal-Mai's gazes met. "Hey sis."
She simply nodded in response, looking back towards the door. Mordenna approached it and set the mug down, and now she could see the inscription: "Universe's #1 Mom." When he stood back up, his eyes shifted back to Fal-Mai. "... I know everything isn't alright, so let me ask this; do you want to talk about it? Is there anything I can do to help right now?"
Fal-Mai finally sighed, holding out her letter. "... place this in front of the door. And... escort me from here. Preferably to where Jax is, so that we may all, how you say, 'grump' together."
Mordenna cracked a weary smile, taking the letter and sliding it next to the mug. "That I'm happy to do. C'mon, Fals. She's fine, I'm sure. She's in capable hands." He walked up, putting a hand on Fal-Mai's shoulder and guiding her away from the door. "... I get your worries, though. But I don't think we should let them eat us up, or stand there imagining what she's going through. Shouldn't let them, anyway, because I know they're gonna come back around to us anyway."
Fal-Mai nodded, leaning on Mordenna. "Trust me, they need no excuse to come and cloud my thoughts. If I could stave them off—"
Just then, Fal-Mai thought she heard Eliza's voice. She stopped, turning towards the door. A few moments passed, and Mordenna pressed on her shoulder again. "Fals..."
"I... I know."
"You're not moving."
"... I know."
"She's fine," he reminded, but there was an almost imperceptible waver to his voice. "She's strong. Liz can make it."
She kept on her guard for a minute, listening. There was the low drone of some other people talking in here, but... nothing else. Still tense, Fal-Mai slowly turned back, walking as Mordenna did. The silence remained between them as they walked. Fal-Mai just couldn't muster up the courage to say anything, and dread was weighing in her gut. What if she had stayed any longer? What if she had heard Eliza scream? She knew that Eliza was in good hands, and maybe that the process would involve some pain, but...
Rosetta formed from her hand and launched herself at Fal-Mai's chest, leading to Fal-Mai hugging her to catch her. She giggled slightly at the sudden nature of it, and as she held the rabbit drone, she steadily began to warm up in Fal-Mai's arms. Mordenna smiled, wrapping his arm around Fal-Mai's shoulders. Those thoughts still hung around at the back of her mind, and she knew she would have to deal with them... but for the moment, things were a little better.
They turned, and it became clear that they weren't going to the Studio. Fal-Mai raised an eyebrow at Mordenna, and he gestured ahead with his free hand. "I shot Jax a message on the Network. I figured we'd want to have this feelings jam out of the eye of the public, so we're heading over to Liz's room." He looked like he was going to say something more on the matter—maybe even crack a joke? But he pressed his lips together, expression falling. "... shouldn't be bothered there, I don't think."
She simply elected to nod as they passed through the quiet Bridge, ascending the stairs and going through the hallway into Eliza's room.
When they entered, Jax was already standing, looking down in thought. His ensemble had turned darker recently—simply a dark button-up and slacks. It looked like he had changed out of the faun-like legs he'd worn before, wearing laced shoes that looked far too fine to have been reasonably sourced. Perhaps he'd molded his nanos into them? Lucifer was there as well, hanging off of Jax's shoulders. His wings were steadily regrowing and the chains were disappearing as the weeks went on. He perked up as they entered. "Jax, look."
Jax looked up, blinking a few times. "—Mordenna, Fal-Mai. Apologies. I had been in the Network, looking for ideas on what to give Eliza."
Mordenna went "ah," guiding Fal-Mai over to the closest couch as they both sat down there. "Looking to do more than the tape?"
"Of course." Jax came over, sitting beside them. Fal-Mai felt a presence at her back and it was Lucifer, moving to hug her shoulders. She smiled and patted one of his arms as Jax continued. "There are so many things I could do for her. What if she detests the smell of that Lab and wants to get it off of herself the minute she is free? She will surely keep her hair, so I am looking into getting her fragrant body washes and shampoos. What if she wants nail polish to get more accustomed to her new arms, to make them nicer to look at so she may cope with them? There is also more I am assuredly missing, but you can understand why I am still looking." He looked away, shyly muttering. "I do hope she will enjoy that recording..."
"Dude, your smooth voice on that song?" Mordenna punched Jax's shoulder. "I wouldn't worry about it. Brads said it was one of her favorites and you killed the performance. I'm sure Liz will like everything you come up with for her."
Jax looked comforted at that, and leaned over to look at Fal-Mai. "Sister? Is everything alright?"
Back around those thoughts came, and she sighed. "... not quite, but can I be blamed?" She hugged Rosetta closer, and Lucifer rubbed her shoulders. "I worry for Eliza. Very much so. Perhaps some part of me should be excited that she will be one of us, but when I remember the context behind our own Ascensions... I can't help but worry endlessly."
"It is a concern I share," Jax assured. "I have been channeling my nervous energy into tasks like this, but admittedly... it doesn't fully take my mind away from the matter. I understand your troubles."
Mordenna patted Fal-Mai's head. "Liz is a tank. She'll make it."
Something about that didn't sit quite right with Fal-Mai. "I... I know she shall but it still tears into me to know what she is going through. I wish I could help in some way. Do you think they would allow us in there to visit her?"
"Probably not," he responded. "It'd likely be worse to see her in the middle of the process. Because then you'll be tempted to stop what they're doing, yeah? And that'd just screw everything up, so trust me, we're better off out here."
"I'm unsure." Jax leaned forwards, resting his elbows on his knees. "Maybe I would feel that way, but what of Eliza? I don't wish for her to feel as if she has been abandoned. You may harbor your opinions all you want, brother, but some of us are able to push past our squeamishness for her sake."
Fal-Mai instantly knew that Jax had delivered that wrong. Mordenna, unfortunately, did not. "—what? Are you saying I can't get over myself long enough to comfort my own girlfriend?" Mordenna stood up, stalking around the table. "Because no, that is absolutely not what is going on here."
Jax straightened into a more rigid posture. "I... I didn't mean to imply such. You just seem so... I can't put this any other way than detached about the matter."
"Detached?"
Getting to his feet, Jax's face and stance was guarded. "I don't have a better word for it. You have been like this ever since she's undergone the 'treatment.' I do not wish to make assumptions, so I have not, but I just cannot figure out why you are acting like this."
Fal-Mai joined them in standing up. "Brothers, please..."
"No. If Jax is just gonna go around telling me I'm acting like I don't care about Liz I'm not gonna take that sitting down! I..."
Mordenna came to a stop as his voice raised. Jax's eyes had hardened and his hands were balled up into fists... but they were shaking. Lucifer looked half a moment away from putting himself between the two brothers. After a few seconds, face dropping, Mordenna quickly turned away, pressing a hand to his face. He held up a finger on his other hand, asking to be given a moment. When he turned back, his face was still pinched, but a lot of his anger had been replaced by guilt. "Jax. I... I'm sorry. I was about to blow up at you about that because... I was getting defensive. I didn't want to hear that I was being detached about Liz getting turned into literally one of her worst nightmares. I'm not. I'm angry, but not at you. I..." Mordenna rubbed at his mouth, tears beading in his right eye. "I am j-just as scared as you guys for her. I-if not more."
Jax's own tense stance eased, confusion entering his expression. "Then why act as if it is not affecting you?"
"Because... because I-I figured one of us should be strong f-for the others! I know this is goddamn hypocritical c-considering what I've told Eliza, but these are not circumstances we've ever dealt with!" At this point, tears were streaming down Mordenna's face. "I'm—I'm scared. I know exactly what they need to do to m-make her into th-the Siren, and I'm afraid of exactly what Jax said. I just..."
Fal-Mai couldn't tolerate it anymore. As Rosetta scurried to her shoulder and tears welled up in her eyes, Fal-Mai approached Mordenna and wrapped him in a tight hug. "Then be afraid with us," she replied, voice cracking. "I want to feel like my concerns are valid. Please, Mordenna."
Jax and Lucifer were the next to step up, and Fal-Mai and Mordenna were enclosed in a many-armed hug. "I forgive you, Mordenna. But we are safe, here—not one of us has to put on a strong face for the others. I love you, and I want to help you when you are hurt... but... but only if I see you are hurt can I help." From the sounds of it, Jax was close to tears as well.
Mordenna threw his arms around them, burying his face into Jax's shoulder. He went to say something, but it came out as a sob. Seemingly giving up, he moved to crying into his brother. Fal-Mai couldn't blame him. It was scary, it was horrible, it made her feel so helpless to know Eliza had to go through it alone. She pressed her forehead against Mordenna's own shoulder, joining him in sobbing. Jax and Lucifer's arms were strong around them both—but Fal-Mai's ears could pick out the soft rushes of him sniffing, crying as well.
There they stood, simply venting their feelings. Fal-Mai was afraid, and she could feel that come through in every sob. She didn't want Eliza to hurt, she didn't want her to go through what they had. But it was unavoidable, wasn't it? Eliza had resolved that it was what needed to be done. It didn't make it hurt any less. It didn't make Fal-Mai not want to think of other solutions they could have tried. Her partner, the love of her life was in that lab, likely suffering... and there was nothing Fal-Mai could do. Frustration, anxiety, and helplessness blended together, and Fal-Mai's next cry was far louder. She was tempted to chastise herself for such an "overblown" display of emotion—but by the way Jax hugged her tighter, her brothers didn't seem to care. She needed to remember that it was ok to feel. She needed to remember that they loved her as she was.
Eventually, even with Fal-Mai's sobs getting more intense, they all calmed down. It was mostly Mordenna and Jax holding her now as she sniffled, palming at her eyes as she came down from her sorrow. She felt the compulsion to apologize—for what, she didn't know, but she already knew all three of them would say she had no reason to apologize. She went with the second best option. "Th-thank you."
"Of course, and..." Mordenna sighed. His voice was raw, but he looked like he was feeling better. "I'm sorry, again. I should have been more clear about what I was doing, but I basically just had my head up my own ass again. Lucifer, feel free to punch me the next time I raise my voice at Jax, ok?"
Lucifer shook his head, reaching over and patting Mordenna's shoulder. "I will do no such thing. Your anger was born of a reasonable place, even if misaimed. All I ask is for you to keep in mind that your siblings are there for you, as am I. As present as I can be, being eternally attached to Jax."
"You're there when it counts." Mordenna then directed his attention to Fal-Mai, and he wiped away a tear track she had missed. "... what about you, sis? Feeling better?"
The crying was certainly cathartic, and she did not feel as suffocated by her worry anymore... but the concerns still remained. "Better, but not wholly. I... I want to be able to do something for Eliza."
"The most we can do right now is continue to get her things that mean we're thinking of her." Mordenna gently smiled at her. "You're writing her love letters, I'm getting her coffee and a few mugs while I'm at it, and Jax is preparing for her to come out of the lab."
Fal-Mai could feel her face heat up at the words "love letter." "I-it was not a love letter. I... I wanted to show her my calligraphy skills improving and remind her that I loved her and would continue to love her."
Jax chuckled. "Apologies, Fal-Mai, but that does sound like a love letter. You can still issue those to those you are officially with, of course—it is a reaffirmation that you adore them."
She still felt flustered, but she was feeling better about it. She broke from the hug, and Rosetta wormed her way back into her arms. "Regardless... you are right, Mordenna. Like Jax, I should channel my worries into continuing to send her gifts, letting her know she is loved. When her eyes can finally behold the world again... I look forward to her being able to see all of my letters."
Mordenna patted Fal-Mai's back. "I look forward to hearing her gush about all of them. You're doing everything you can, Fals. But if you need ideas on what else to do for Liz, we're here. As well as for—"
Mordenna stopped mid sentence, blinking. A mild bit of apprehension took hold in Fal-Mai's gut. "Mordenna?"
He shook his head. "I'm ok. Clint just sent me a message on the Network asking if it'd be a good idea to give Liz his broken psi-amp. Something about a 'gesture of trust.'"
Jax backed off from the hug, but Lucifer remained around Fal-Mai's shoulders. "—you've gotten some of the soldiers on the Network?"
"Mostly the psionic ones thus far. I'm surprised you guys haven't noticed the slightly increased traffic, but then again, I have done a lot of optimizing. They really were just settling for unoptimized code for years." He paused for a moment, and the display for his mechanical eye swapped to an envelope being sent off, then went back to normal. "I think the soldiers sending her their 'lucky' items would tickle her. Pieces of armor that saved their lives, and all."
As Mordenna too pulled away from the hug, that left Lucifer, Rosetta, and Fal-Mai. She cradled her little drone. "How many other PsiOps are on there?"
"Quite a few. Clint, obviously. Benald, Pattie, Edgar. All of Jax's little ladies. Specifically not Leo, he wanted to see if it did anything funky to anyone else before he got on there. Oh, and Herod and Banel. They got through their four days and immediately went on. Glad Argus was able to help me cut it down to three days after we got our first two candidates through. Sherry and March are the ones in there now."
Jax raised his eyebrows. "The XCOM Network is about to be quite busy, I'd imagine. Are you alright with such a processing burden?"
Mordenna patted Jax's shoulder. "Don't forget, I'm not the only person on there. Wiki, Schro, Julian, even Vix is contributing some of her own power. Appreciate the concern, though."
Jax nodded, then turned to Fal-Mai. "... should we remain together for the day? I have nothing quite pressing to attend to, and... I think we could all use each other's company. It's truly been a while since we've been able to 'hang out' as such."
Fal-Mai smiled. "I would like that. Mordenna?"
"The answer is 'hell yeah,'" he replied. "Wanna flip Eliza's screen over there towards us and watch a movie? I've been meaning to show you guys The Room."
She nodded, walking over to the screen and dragging it closer. "What kind of movie is that?"
Mordenna's grin was very concerning as he and Jax picked up one of the couches and brought it closer. "A story of love, betrayal, and the merits of good acting. You'll like it, I promise."
Well, she supposed she'd trust him on that. As she settled down on the couch with her brothers, Rosetta in her lap and Lucifer sitting next to her, she felt truly blessed to have such a loving family.
Immortality was coming. Mordenna would make damn sure he'd never have to fear for his family dying ever again.
The second Resistance Communications room was in the process of being demolished and scrapped for parts. The new room would be the Sarcophagus Sanctum... name pending. When finished, it would be hooked up to the Network and he'd adjust the latter to accept power from all of the psions on it. They just needed that room done; the Sarcophagus itself would come first.
Mordenna was designing just that, sketching out plans on blueprints. He already had a few crumpled papers on the desk, finding this a little more challenging than he'd bargained for. He understood why—he was literally recreating something that facilitated immortality with less knowledge and less resources than the super-species that initially made it. It was a matter of doing the calculations for what would go with the silver in the composition, where to put the bits of Sarcophagi they did have, how to balance the Elerium...
Thankfully, he had a little assistance.
Asaru had his own little datapad, drawing away on it. The kid was a whiz at picking up new info—he had a near eidetic memory. All Mordenna had to do was share quite a bit of info of what he was thinking over and Asaru took to it like he'd been studying it. Right now, Mordenna had no idea what he was drawing up, but he seemed to have cottoned onto something Mordenna had not.
Eventually, he turned his datapad around. "Hey, dad, how does this composition look?"
Mordenna looked over, analyzing Asaru's work. Asaru had placed the bits of Sarcophagus at the six farthest points in the grooved, runed sphere, presumably melting the ones they had together to achieve the shapes. Diagrams showed two different compounds being used for the new Sarcophagus—one with less silver used mostly through the piece, and one that had the far higher amount of silver, used to connect all six pieces of original Sarcophagus. Elerium lined the outer compound through grooved channels everywhere else, avoiding the "ley lines," as Asaru labelled the higher silver concentration.
Mordenna pretty easily got his logic. Asaru was creating channels for the psionic energy, using the Sarcophagus bits as entry points. The rest of the compound was shielding, to avoid overloads and fracturing. Mordenna had ideas like that, which he shared with Asaru, but... damn. His kid was smart. "—excuse your old man's language, but damn, Asaru. Nice thinking. Let me get that transferred to a blueprint and I think we have ourselves a Sarcophagus."
Asaru flapped the two hands not used to hold the datapad, tendrils lighting up in pulses. "Yay! I just took the idea you had and expanded on it, because since we don't have what the Ethereals used, we need to make the most of what we do have. So I put what we had to the most work!"
"Kid," Mordenna replied, taking the datapad and beginning to copy the diagram, "I'm almost afraid to teach you how to engineer because you are gonna pass me real fast. I'm gonna teach you anyway, though, because nothing would make me prouder than to see you do better than your old man."
Being connected to Asaru like he was right now, Mordenna could feel Asaru's joy. "I'm gonna learn how to make things like you do? I can't wait! When can we start?"
"Hopefully when things calm down a little around here." That timespan could be pretty long, which made Mordenna a little less cheery. "And maybe I can teach you a few small things along the way. Gun and machine maintenance, how to run some Network diagnostics by yourself... it's not too exciting at the start, but you have to know the basics before you can get onto the fun stuff."
Thankfully, Asaru didn't seem to be the kid who would balk at that. He nodded. "That's reasonable! Because if I don't know how to maintain the things I make, I won't have them for long. And if someone else is having trouble with something, I want to know how to help rather than just making them a new version of whatever they're having trouble with."
Man. Asaru was an easy mode kid. Didn't have to eat, basically understood the reasons behind everything... even Vix was occasionally a little rough to deal with. Speak of the devil, though—he heard a Codex pop in behind him and turned to see that it was her. He immediately opened his arms for a hug, and she fell into them. "There's my sparky girl. How are things going?"
Vix went to reply, but Asaru descended and joined the hug as well. She gave a little electronic smile for a moment before it faded. "... um... they're ok..."
Poor girl. She might've had the ability to lie, but that didn't mean she was very good at it. He stroked her head with a nano-hand so he didn't have to stop hugging her. "Hey, it's alright. Tell me how it's going for real."
She squeezed him tighter. "I... I'm sorry for lying, it's just... everyone else is busy trying to make things go smoothly and I know they don't have time to hear me and you're in the middle of something and I don't want to bother you—"
"Breathe, child of mind. Or at least take three seconds before your next sentence."
Vix gave a little simulated breath, indeed waiting three seconds. "... I'm worried about Mom."
Ah. That was understandable. True, Mordenna himself was feeling better after subjecting his siblings to The Room, but what Eliza was going through was still weighing heavily on his mind. Vix likely had it worse—Mordenna kept himself out and away from the room when he wasn't dropping off gifts. Vix had ready access to camera feeds and could just phase into the room whenever she wanted to. Maybe even not quite wanted to, but the morbid curiosity was too much to bear. "Hey, you and me both. I'm worried for Liz too. She's going to be ok..." He took a moment to remind himself of what Fal-Mai told him. "... but it's perfectly fine to be worried, or sad. I'm not too busy. If Asaru is alright with it, we can talk about it right now, otherwise we can do it later."
He looked towards Asaru to get his opinion. The Ascended now seemed a little more reserved at the topic, and his top set of hands retracted from them to fidget with each other. "Um... I mean... she should get to talk about it."
"Your feelings are important in the matter," Mordenna urged. "If you don't want to talk about it, Vix and I can talk about it later."
"But I don't want to get in the way," Asaru protested. "But I... I don't want to think about it. I don't want to think about how Mom is somewhere where I can't visit and how everyone else is acting like she's in danger. If she's in danger I want to do something. But... but I can't."
Hm. Was it better to make Asaru talk about it? That seemed like forcing the issue to Mordenna—but at the same time, it was unhealthy just to leave it there. Mordenna knit his brow together, thinking. "... you're not getting in the way, Asaru. Things can be delayed until later, and I don't want to upset you. At the same time, I think that's something you should talk about. If not now, then sometime. The ball's in your court, kid. What do you want to do?"
Asaru fully withdrew from the hug, silent. His thoughts in the back of Mordenna's head were a storm of uncertainty and helplessness. "I... I want Dad Bradford. He's been with Mom the longest, right? Um, and I haven't spent time with him. I want to be with him."
"That we can do." Mordenna grabbed Vix and held her in one of his arms, standing up. She leaned her head against his shoulder, and he gestured for Asaru to come over to him. "Get around my shoulders. If I remember correctly, Brads is in the Resistance Ring." Getting every haven under control, naturally. They'd straightened out their cover story for that, thankfully.
Asaru floated over, moving behind Mordenna and wrapping his arms around his shoulders. Some of his tendrils also coiled around the Hunter, something that Mordenna was fast learning was a comfort response. "... I'm sorry."
"Don't be." It was Vix who responded this time. "Dad says you shouldn't be sorry for things that aren't your fault. It's ok to be sad. I know I am..."
Mordenna stroked Vix's cheek, and formed Ascended-like tendrils of his own to wrap around Asaru. Hopefully it felt comforting. "She's right. And the two of you are ok. I love you both, always remember that."
They both nodded, and Mordenna set off.
Times like these, Bradford just wanted to focus on the present... even as the past came back to haunt him.
He was trying to relax between calls to havens in the Resistance Ring, slumped on one of the couches with a long-cold mug of coffee on the table. Their story for Eliza not being there was "she was badly injured in the UFO attack" and there wasn't much other explanation offered to the Havens. The Factions, however? Of course he told the truth to them. Not that it made it hurt any less, having to repeat it three times that he was going to have to sit by while Eliza was turned into something she always feared. If his hair wasn't going to be entirely white by the time he came out of the Psi Lab when it was his time, he'd manage it on his own. There was too much to worry about, too much that made his gut roll and his anxiety spike. Too much to regret. His hands were shaking even as he took deep breaths, trying to calm himself down.
The universe hated him, apparently. The door opened and he jumped, scrambling to look presentable. Beyond the door was Vahlen, her escorts of Pattie and Benald hanging behind. He nodded to them as she entered and he got up, smoothing out the creases in his uniform. "Moira."
"Bradford!" She went for the hug and Bradford reciprocated. As much baggage as she brought with her, he was at least happy she wasn't dead. She looked suitably older, with new stress lines on her face and grayed temples, but it seemed she'd made it through the last twenty years fairly fine. She withdrew from the hug. "I can't say how wonderful it is to have a friendly face on this ship."
From what he'd heard, one of her first stops had been to the Lab... and Bradford knew Tygan well enough to know how that ended. "Sorry that not many people are friendly at the moment. We're all going through something big."
"That, I understand. I was there when the announcement was called." She clasped her hands together. "I, though I won't go shouting this, do think it's a good thing O'Leary will be able to regain her senses in such a way. It's truly a marvelous step forward in the field of human augmentation. We used to only dream about using Meld for such a purpose, don't you remember?"
Ah, yes. The exact last thing Bradford needed; the chance to reminisce about First Contact. He sighed. "We also used to dream about taking that tech with us once the war was over. Honestly, Vahlen... I think it's probably a good thing we never got to use that after 2015."
Vahlen gave him a perplexed look. "And why not? We could have made vast improvements in the fields of medicine and technology with what the aliens brought us. It was a chance for progress."
Bradford already knew why Vahlen got on Tygan's nerves so bad—outside of the "modifying the Rulers against their will" thing—but Vahlen managed to specifically rub him up the wrong way. "... look, Moira. I get that you were both from an academic field and weren't raised in the US like I was. But trust me when I say it is a very good thing that the US Military never got their hands on that damn tech. You know what we can do with Elerium, you know what the Elders can do with everything in their disposal. The idea of the military getting their hands on that for their grand 'War on Terror' makes me sick to my stomach, and I was in the Marines. A lot of innocent Muslims would have had to pay the price. No, I'm not saying I'm glad we got overrun. If anything, even if it meant I never met Liz... I wish we never got invaded in the first place. But I've got a ship to run now and a present to live in."
He... hadn't meant to go off like he did. It just scared him imagining the USA getting the ability to use Elerium-based weaponry. No developing country with oil would be safe, honestly. Vahlen looked markedly more reserved, and he sighed again, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "... sorry about that. I'm dealing with a lot at the moment, Moira. Having to command in Liz's stead, worrying my damn head off about her and if she's gonna be safe, if she's gonna come out alright and not hating everything she's become..."
Vahlen raised her eyebrows. "The Bradford I knew wouldn't be caught dead almost letting Commander O'Leary know how much he was worrying about her."
"A lot's changed in twenty years. Eliza... Eliza's in a better place than she was. The military wasn't kind to her or me, Moira, and she got the shorter end of the stick. I love her, very much. I just want her to be ok."
"—love?"
Ah. Right. Bradford lowered his hand. "Yes, love. Again, you've been out of the loop for almost 21 years. Stuff has advanced around here, and Liz is in a lot of relationships. With the consent of all involved, granted." He went for his cup of coffee, hardly reacting as he drank the quite cold, quite bitter concoction. "—point being, she's changed. Liz isn't invincible, and she's been slowly realizing this. And she's been getting better—or, if you've known her as long as I have, she's going back to being good. So I'd throw out what you knew about the two of us before, considering we're two of the three left who remember anything."
Vahlen nodded. "The Geist Project volunteer survived. I'd wondered if he remembered anything. Still... I don't know what to think. O'Leary always had control over the situation back then. How does she maintain that now?"
"Trust goes a long way, Moira. Trust and faith. She's still as good at commanding as she was, if not better. But she's given the soldiers a reason to listen to her besides fear." He was being a little down on Vahlen through all of this, even as she got on his nerves. Bradford took in a breath, calming himself. "I think, if you stay on the ship, you'll agree. Liz is happier than ever."
"If I am kept here long enough to see her." Vahlen looked towards the closed door. "... I'm not blind, John. I've realized my escorts are more for my own protection than anyone else's. With those aliens on this ship... and with O'Leary being the way she is now? I likely won't be here much longer."
Right. The rulers had very valid reasons to ask Vahlen to be booted from the ship. They had the bigger bargaining chips than she did, and it wasn't like they were wanting for scientists. Tygan despised her, Eliza very much didn't care for her, and there wasn't much goodwill left around the ship. It occurred to Bradford that he was basically the only person left she could turn to. He blew a breath out his nose. "... you know why at least, I'd hope."
"I had no other choice," she softly rebutted... but it didn't sound like she was so convinced of that, anymore. "I had no other leads. I... I didn't know how to free the locks on ADVENT weaponry as I do now."
Something Fal-Mai had said came back to him, and Bradford's voice was low as he replied. "And the screams didn't deter you?"
Vahlen didn't reply. Bradford drank the rest of his coffee, and was about to say something else when the door opened. On the other side was Mordenna, with Asaru hanging off of his shoulders and Vix held in one of his arms. He stopped up as he saw Vahlen. Mordenna's face was neutral, but with Bradford's experience, he knew Mordenna was holding back in front of his two kids. "... Dr. Vahlen."
Vahlen, who had turned at the noise, stared at Mordenna's two children. "H-Hunter Mordenna. Who is...?"
"This is my daughter, Vix," he said, voice level as he gestured to Vix. "And this is my son, Asaru."
"Asaru—?" Bradford caught that look in Vahlen's eyes, one that said she wanted to ask a flurry of questions. "Is he the one that was with Eliza? He's remarkably Ethereal-like, and yet—"
"Vahlen." Bradford didn't want Mordenna to flip in front of his kids, and her endless questions might do it. "I can answer some of your questions here in a second. Mordenna likely came in here for a reason and I'll handle that first."
"R-right."
Mordenna, looking mildly relieved, turned his gaze towards Asaru. "Alright, kid. Let him know."
Asaru looked a little reserved, but nodded. "... um, Dad Bradford? Could I be with you for the day? I wanna talk about Mom and Dad Mordenna is going to be doing things... and also I haven't been with you yet, and I wanna."
... truth be told, Bradford hadn't really mentally approached considering Asaru as his son. Not since Eliza had suggested it. He knew he should, it was just... a little strange, all things considered. His 2015 self would be rubbernecking if he saw it. Still, if he was Liz's kid, suffice to say Asaru was his kid too. Bradford nodded, setting down his mug and opening his arms. "C'mere, kid."
Asaru happily leapt into his arms, and—woah. Firstly, it felt like he had another set of thoughts in his head, something that felt entirely distinct from his own. Secondly... was this what having psionics felt like? The hair on Bradford's arms stood up as he could feel some sixth sense grow and surge, his very mind crackling with power. It felt like he could run a marathon and still be up to win three fistfights, there were fireworks behind his eyes, and... he was getting the rapidly developing feeling that letting Vahlen constantly ask questions would've had a very bad outcome. Normally he'd chalk it up to his gut feeling, but this was something more. This was instinctual, not something logical.
"Woah." Mordenna's voice broke him out of his observations. "I was wondering what it would be like to pass Asaru off to someone non-psionic, but you look like someone's hit you in the face. And then injected you with blue glowstick fluid."
Bradford blinked a few times, sparing an arm to look at his hand. The back of his hand had the veins all lit up, glowing a particular shade of periwinkle. "—damn."
"Language."
"Darn. Haven't felt this strange since Liz woke up."
He could feel a foreign uncertainty in the back of his thoughts, which he pinned on Asaru. "Um... bad strange?"
Bradford shook his head, further hugging Asaru. This was all very, very weird to him, but as he was about to say? "Not a bad type of strange. Just new to me. Never had psionics before, and it's gonna take some getting used to. But you can stay with me, kid." "Kid" sounded good for right now. "Sport" was too funny, "son" too informal. He turned his attention back towards Mordenna. "Just passing Asaru off to me?"
"Essentially so. Thanks to him I think I can start getting ideas for the Sarcophagus off the ground. Just need the materials, so we need to stop by the Black Market soon, alright?"
He nodded. After the resource costs of furthering the Gate, upgrading the Psi Lab, and creating the Genetics Lab? They could use more stock. "I'll see about contacting the Baroness today about another drop. Take it easy, and Vix? Make sure your father doesn't overwork himself."
Vix chuckled as Mordenna rolled his eyes. "Yes, Bradford, I'll look after myself," he jokingly griped. "Same goes to you."
Mordenna turned, sparing Vahlen a cautionary glance before he left. As the door shut behind him, Bradford readjusted his grip on Asaru. The Ascended was practically weightless, and was cool to the touch, his skin soft. Asaru buried his head into Bradford's shoulder, and it was then that Bradford felt his encroaching sadness, the fear and pain about his mother. Bradford rubbed his back, reassuringly squeezing him as Vahlen approached. "So this was the entity that Argus spoke of."
He hoped she wasn't going to suggest examining him—but that feeling in his gut told him that she wasn't going to go in that direction. At least, not now. "Yeah. Kid's been sleeping in Eliza's head this whole time, if our sources are to be believed. He only emerged after... well. She put herself in the state she's in now trying to revive Jax."
"I was told as much. Then promptly booted from the Lab."
That figured. "You probably found out that Tygan cut closer to Raymond's philosophies than yours. He definitely willingly works with alien tech a lot more, but... he also has to deal with the fallout of your decisions, with the rulers." But she probably knew that. He quickly steered away from that. "You had questions about him?"
Vahlen nodded, looking thankful that Bradford wasn't remaining on the subject. "Yes. I heard the address, so I know what he is and some of the basics, but I must ask... you have psionics now, it seems. And it seems he induced them."
Bradford looked to Asaru, who was partially floating in his arms, quietly remaining in his position. His sadness was still there, but it felt like Bradford holding him helped. He'd get around to him soon. "Seems so. I don't know if it's temporary, and I'm not going to make Asaru check." His hunch said they were. "But I'm gonna go out on a limb and say yes to that, considering either I'd need to have Asaru in my head potentially as long as Liz did or stay in the Psi Lab to really make them set in." Which, when most of the soldiers had gone through... he'd be getting some psionics to keep, soon enough.
At that info, Vahlen further approached. "And what are his powers? Just what can he do?"
"Apparently he's got enough power to resurrect Chosen," he began, "though clearly with strain to whoever helps him do it." Asaru's sadness grew greater for a second, and Bradford tentatively kissed his head. That did the trick, and a few of Asaru's tentacles wrapped around Bradford as he calmed. "He's a fantastic healer—he fixed up a punctured lung and a broken leg on Mordenna when our best psionic healer couldn't do anything further for fear of harming them. Otherwise, I'm unsure. Kid feels strong."
Asaru stirred a bit. "... Argus said my psionics are of hope. That Ascended like me get domains, rather than one or two things we're good at." He then could feel Asaru mentally prodding him, trying to get his attention. "Dad? Um, I know you're answering questions for Dr. Vahlen. Could we talk about Mom when you're done? I'm sorry to interrupt."
Now, how did he go about responding mentally? Did he just think really hard about what he wanted to say? With no other clue, he went down that route. Yeah. We can talk about her after. I'll see about speeding this up. Asaru further relaxed in his arms, and he took it that his message got through. "Any other questions, Vahlen?" He had an initial followup of "probably best to keep it to one or two," but that feeling steered him in another direction. "Got a kid to comfort."
"Right, right." Vahlen thought for a moment. "... not one about him, I suppose, since I will leave him alone for now. It's about you, and about Mordenna. During that speech, he described Asaru as his child as well. I know you said she was in multiple relationships, but... with one of the Chosen, as well?"
"All three of them," he went on. "Me. Tygan. Lily—Raymond's daughter, if you don't remember—the Faction leaders. Also, the four alien rulers."
"A-ah." Was it just Bradford, or did Vahlen go a little more pale? "Well, I suppose I'm happy for her... can she balance seeing all of them?"
"Demonstrably so. We have a rotating days system and she fits in the leaders whenever she's in the area."
"And... she's capable of falling in love with the Chosen?"
"Love's a strange thing." He would know. "Once she got to know and befriend them as people, and once they started resolving to work on themselves... well, I'm not Liz. I can't say what was going through her head. But I suppose the pieces just fell into place for her to love them romantically."
"I just... I suppose I hadn't considered that she could, after fighting them so long." Vahlen straightened her bun. "I know I wouldn't be able to."
"Well, Liz was. Don't know what to tell you." Maybe he did but he wasn't going to say it. "She really does love them. I've gotten to care for them too. They were good people, underneath everything the Elders did to them. They're still culpable for their actions, of course, but they're always working to make things right." He hesitated. "I think people could stand to learn from them."
Vahlen was silent for a moment, looking to the side. "... right. I have no more questions for you, Bradford. It seems everything comes around to what I've done."
Bradford sighed. "I can try, but it's a big thing you've done, and all you do is deflect. I haven't once heard you admit what you did was wrong, and you've always had a problem with that. The very least you can do is apologize."
"As if they will accept it," she bitterly replied.
Bradford knit his eyebrows together. "The Chosen arguably did more damage than you did and that was where they started. I'd advise an attitude adjustment. Saying sorry is the first step, and absolutely no one involved is obligated to forgive you. I know you keep going back to the fact that you 'had no other choice,' but that's only a reason. Not an excuse." Asaru readjusted again. "... head on out, and do some thinking. I have a kid to comfort."
Vahlen opened her mouth to say something, but clearly thought better of it. "... have a pleasant rest of your day," she managed, before walking out of the room.
When he was certain she wasn't going to barge back in, he let out a breath, moving to the couch. "Gonna sit down, kid. Move your, uh... move your tentacles if you need."
Asaru nodded, his tendrils uncoiling from Bradford as he eased back into the couch. He curled up to sit in Bradford's lap, legs drawn up as his tentacles now preferred to wrap around the other's arms. "I'm sorry... I was interrupting."
"You weren't." Bradford hugged Asaru closer. This "father" thing was quickly growing on him. "It was... probably better that she left when she did. Dr. Vahlen lacks something called 'tact.' You know what 'tact' means?"
"Um..." Asaru's thoughts rolled for a moment. "Judging by how you stopped her asking Dad Mordenna a bunch of questions, and how you kept feeling like she was getting on your nerves, and yet she kept doing it, but I don't think she was meaning to antagonize you... does it mean she isn't aware of when she's annoying everyone else?"
"Close. Just means she doesn't handle sensitive issues well, if she lacks it. But good puzzling. But... enough about Vahlen. What's got you down about Mom?" There was something great to being able to refer to Eliza like that, in the context of a shared child. So domestic.
Asaru had his top set of arms around Bradford—the lower set of hands were fiddling with each other. "... I feel... I feel helpless. I wanna heal Mom but my healing won't do anything. And by the way everyone else is worrying, it's like... it's like something bad is happening to her. Even if she needs it to get better, I don't want her to suffer, but I..." He began to shake, and pinpricks of light formed at his eye sockets. "I can't do anything. Mom's hurting and I can't do anything."
"Hey, hey, shh." Bradford pressed Asaru's head into his shoulder, gently rubbing it. "Cry if you need. But Liz—but Mom will be fine. She might hurt, but she'll come out ok on the other side. And the first thing she's gonna want to do is see you. If she's hurting then, you can heal her, and I'm sure seeing you will be enough."
Asaru was still shaking, and the light had spilled over, mimicking tears. "I'm scared... what if she doesn't make it?"
"She will, but..." Bradford gave a gentle sigh. His gut was telling him to be honest. "I'm scared too. We all are. So you're not alone. I want Liz to be ok, too. It's ok to be scared. Just know that we're doing everything we can to help her make it."
Asaru buried his face into Bradford's shoulder to the point where he watched the Ascended begin to fade into his own body. "I—I want to believe you. I want to believe you! I... I'm sorry! You're trying to make me feel better and I'm just crying!"
"No, Asaru." Bradford leaned in, kissing the top of his head again. "Cry if you need to. Nothing good comes from bottling it all up. Me trying to make you feel better doesn't mean you can't cry. So go ahead."
He must've really taken it to heart, as Asaru wrapped all of his arms and tendrils around Bradford and gave a loud sob, crying hard. As he did, Bradford could feel his sadness spill over into his own mind, and he hugged his son harder, closing his eyes. When his own tears came, he didn't try to stop them. He meant it when he said he was scared. Eliza was almost entirely alone, getting changed by the very person who would've done it if he was a day late. Asaru—his child was taking the guilt of not being able to do anything on himself. Bradford didn't consider himself a crying man, but it was just as he said—nothing good came from bottling it up.
Asaru continued to cry, and Bradford continued to be there for him, gently rocking and holding him close. Times were rough, and they might only get rougher. But they had to hold on. There was going to be a light at the end of the tunnel, Bradford was sure of it. Just... sometimes, you needed to stop and tend to your wounds. Bradford learned that during his twenty years of looking for Eliza.
Bradford held Asaru until his wails were just soft sniffling, and the grief in his mind had receded to the point where he, himself, stopped crying. Asaru lay there against him, no longer shaking as hard. Bradford made sure his voice felt steady before he spoke. "—feeling better?"
His son nodded, drawing himself up to look at Bradford. "... better. I'm still scared for Mom, but knowing everyone is, too, helps. Do you really think she's gonna be ok?"
"I do. We have some of our most trusted people in there, making sure that she's comfortable as much as possible. And... we're giving her little things. Gifts and such, to make sure she knows we're still thinking of her. It'll give her the strength to make it."
Asaru was quiet for a moment, thoughts rolling before he spoke. "Is there something I could make for her? I know you said her seeing me might be enough, but... I want her to have something that says I'm thinking of her."
"Sure thing. I'm sure Jax's people can teach you to make something small for her, like a clay sculpture or a little painting. I can take you over to them once I'm done with all the calls I need to do here, ok?"
"Ok." Asaru leaned back against Bradford, sinking into him. "... I'm tired. Can I go to sleep in your head for a bit?"
He wasn't sure how that was going to feel, but he was sure that Asaru needed the rest. "Go ahead, kid. Sleep well... and I love you."
Asaru completely sank into him, and Bradford could feel his presence in his own mind appear, then begin to wind down. "I love you too..."
Eventually, it was clear that Asaru had fallen asleep. Bradford gently got back up, wiping at his tear tracks. Maybe it wasn't as hard as he thought to get acclimated to the idea that he could see Asaru as a son. Maybe it wasn't hard at all—and Bradford liked being able to comfort him. He walked up to the table again, preparing to contact the next haven.
It was nice, being a father.
The more things changed, Jax supposed, the more it all looped back around onto itself.
The better half of a month had gone by, with relatively little that was revolutionary happening. Things only crept in, rather than occurring—a mission came and went for more supplies, more and more of the soldiers became psionic, and more of them joined the Network. At some point, Jax noted, it started to feel familiar. The XCOM Network in the back of his head was intrinsically different-feeling to the ADVENT Network—less harsh and filled with static, if Jax had to pin it down—but the comparison was there. The sense of presence was what nailed it. This Network wasn't nearly as busy, and honestly felt better... and Jax obviously kept the comparison to himself. No need to go around effectively saying "we're becoming more like ADVENT, aren't we?" Especially since that wasn't his intention, and well? He'd proved to himself that for all of his loquaciousness, he could be very bad at expressing his thoughts. He was just glad that the misunderstanding with Mordenna had been ironed out fairly quickly.
Speaking of Mordenna. He and Jax were relaxing in the Studio, with Maria joining the trio. The three of them were sitting back on one of the larger beanbags, with Mordenna extending his nanos for them to watch a movie. Admittedly, Jax had been reluctant to watch any movie that Mordenna suggested after the tragedy that was the first one he showed him, but this time they were watching something passable. Mordenna was on his left, an arm slung around his shoulders, and Maria was on his right—and at some point, she'd leaned against him and they had ended up holding hands. Lucifer was napping on one of the other bean bags with a fair amount of ravens nestled on him, content to miss out on the movie.
Jax had mostly zoned out, almost tempted to start napping when he felt Mordenna send him a message. You are completely zonked out on this one, aren't you.
Jax blinked a few times. Apologies. It is no fault of the movie's, I am just... at peace.
Yeah. It's been a hell of a month. Don't worry, I'll only slightly rib you about it. There was a pause before Mordenna's next message came in. Liz is gonna be out of surgery and all done soon.
Was it already time? The last few weeks seemed to both drag on and speed by, all at once. I thought they had another week to go.
Turns out, Argus can actually work pretty fast if they want to. Had twenty years to brew over the Siren files and everything—means they basically had the safest methods already down. I think, soon here... we can all see her again. And things will be fine.
Jax smiled at the notion. He had been preoccupied worrying about her, but... he supposed he hadn't given much thought to how relieved he was going to be when she emerged. She would look different, perhaps even sound different... but she would still be the woman he had fallen in love with. I believe you. He squeezed Maria's hand, and his face softened. I love you, by the way.
Mordenna leaned on him as well, and he got the feeling he wasn't really paying attention to the movie either, moreso that it was an excuse to bring them together. Love you too. Always will.
It was a while, but eventually the movie ended. Mordenna looked over to Jax and opened his mouth, but then his eyes moved a bit more and he smiled. He pointed to Maria. When Jax looked, he smiled too—Maria had fallen asleep at some point and was now contentedly snoozing away. I suppose I, at least, am stuck here, he messaged Mordenna.
Shame. I do have some work to do, but... I can just not sleep tonight and get most of it done.
Brother.
Look, none of us need to sleep and feel essentially no bad effects from not doing it. I don't want to hear it. Besides, cut me some slack—what I was gonna suggest is the three of us just taking a nap right here.
Well, that was a fair proposition. Jax got a bit more comfortable, snaking his other arm behind Mordenna. Fair, I suppose.
Mordenna further leaned against him, closing his eyes and not offering any more commentary. Jax joined him, feeling a brief sleep coming on.
Unfortunately, fate had different ideas. After what only felt like a few minutes, Mordenna stirred, then started to get up. Eyes fluttering open, he reached for and grabbed Mordenna's hand. Mordenna?
Sorry, he replied. It's Zuriel. He's cleared for release and I asked to be there as they handed him off. You can stay or come with.
Hm. Jax had his own reservations about Zuriel—he was nervous that they were letting something with that much psionic potential on the ship in the first place, especially with Eliza effectively indisposed. He'd like to go and accompany him, but from the feeling of it, Maria was still asleep. Looking over, so too was Lucifer. What to do...
In the end, Jax opted for the easiest route. I shall stay, but please be careful.
Mordenna squeezed Jax's hand before letting go of it. I will be. I promise.
With that, Mordenna walked away silently, leaving the room. Jax looked over to Maria, still sleeping. Moving carefully, he got onto his side, shifting to hugging her. He was gentle, but obviously such a move still stirred her. "My Chosen...?"
"Go back to sleep," he softly responded. "I was simply readjusting."
She nodded, hugging him. With her new position, her head was rather unsupported... and his Specter prosthetics must have agreed, as he watched as some of the nanos from his legs broke off and formed into pillows for the both of them. After a second, Jax mentally added a request, and soon there was a blanket over the two of them. Sure, it made his legs feel rather light, but the smile on Maria's face as she got comfortable was well worth it. He closed his eyes, drifting back off.
That left Mordenna to keep walking towards the roof of the Avenger.
He, honestly, wasn't scared by Zuriel. On the contrary—Zuriel seemed rather genuine, and considering he was constantly getting tended to by Samhien? Not many lies he could be saying. No, naturally it was Cocytus he was worried about. The way the handoff would work is that they were going to have Cocytus send their coordinates to them, so Zuriel could open a portal to his location and leave. Mordenna and a few other soldiers were going to be up there to make sure nothing funny happened. Making a quick pit stop at the Armory to pick up Jax's rifle, Mordenna made his way to the roof.
He was fashionably late, he supposed, as everyone else was already there. SYN and Rosa were on standby, as was Julian. Samhien was up there as a matter of course, and Zuriel was floating among them. They turned to regard the newcomer, and Samhien nodded. "Greetings, Mordenna."
"Sup." Mordenna joined the group. "We're all ready to go now?"
"Now that you finally dragged your sorry carcass up here, yes." Ah, Julian. Could coach him on sensitivity all you wanted, he'd at least stay snarky to Mordenna. He liked it that way.
Samhien nodded. "I'll send a message to Wiki to have Cocytus relay their coordinates."
As he did that, Mordenna paused to look at him and Rosa. Psionics now swirled around their heads—more prominently than before, in Sammy's case. He judged almost all of the human members of the ship to be psionic at this point—the few people left were staff members like Bradford, Tygan, and Lily, and even then he knew Lily was getting through her three days as they spoke. Argus was offering genetic tweaks once they were done with Eliza to restore hair or eye color on demand—and even set hair growth back to normal. If Mordenna knew they could do that, he would've had them do it while they were rooting around in his head. Still, it was... interesting, now seeing so much psionic activity out of his remaining organic eye.
Samhien must've gotten a reply, as he listed out a set of coordinates to Zuriel. Zuriel bobbed, and after opening his plates—the gouges mended as best they could—he channelled his massive psionic energy. A portal appeared in front of them, with a blurry image of Cocytus standing in some sort of canyon. They walked forward, appearing from the portal. Their first concern was Zuriel, naturally, hurrying over to them and inspecting for foul play. Zuriel responded by wrapping some of his tentacles around them, and Mordenna could see a burst of psionic activity from him to them. Cocytus nodded, facing the rest of the group. "XCOM. I trust that Zuriel has been mended to the best of your abilities?"
Nodding, Samhien kept his gun at rest, but it was certainly still there. "We have. Thankfully, there will be no lasting damage—fortunate, as one of the shards was very close to severing one of his limbs. Unfortunately, we do not have the exact material used for his shell, but we have substituted with what we typically use for our own armor."
"You made due with the materials at hand, which is acceptable." They took a moment to look over those gathered. "I have no further business here at the moment, and will leave with Zuriel. If he is in danger again, I will once again house him here."
Julian stilled for a moment, then Mordenna got a message from him. It doesn't particularly sound like they're asking.
They're not, Mordenna confirmed. But just go with it. Zuriel is far better to deal with than Cocytus getting pissy. He cleared his throat to speak up. "Fine by us. Once we've gotten the Elders out, we'll work on what we're calling the Terror." From the way Jax and Marlene spoke of it, they shouldn't have to come to violence with it. If anything, maybe Liz could still sing it back into a deeper sleep. The question was if she wanted to do that. "Anything else to declare?"
Zuriel nudged them, and Cocytus sighed. "... I'm. I'm sorry for getting protective over Zuriel. He is just my lone companion in our journey, and the Elders have already attempted to kill him for things out of his control before."
"Join the club," Mordenna bitterly replied. "They tried to kill Jax for good for the same reason."
Expressions were hard to get from a Gatekeeper, which was why Mordenna was glad that they could get it from their signature, which was dampening. "... then that gives us quite a bit in common. I also apologize for inconveniencing you in what is clearly a time of duress."
"Wouldn't have taken you in if we couldn't handle it." Mordenna crossed his arms. "And, Cocytus? Apology accepted. Just be more sensitive. I understand the feeling, but not everyone is out to kill either of you."
"You will have to forgive me if it seems that way at times."
"Then the answer is a little mistrust, not insulting the father of two," he replied.
The two entered a quiet standoff, during which time Zuriel spoke up. "I believe it would be best for all involved if we took our leave. Thank you once again for taking me in during my hour of need, and I will make sure we are working to assist you from behind the scenes."
Mordenna nodded. He wasn't going to be a dick to Zuriel just because he was mad at Cocytus. "Don't worry about it. If you're hurt, call on us. We'll take you in if we can."
Zuriel bobbed again, pushing Cocytus to go through the portal. Closing his plates, he gave the gathered members one last look before following, the portal closing behind them. With them gone, Mordenna blew out a breath. "Well! I think I've had enough conflict for one day. Julian, Rosa, SYN, thank you for standing guard. Sammy, thank you for everything in general. I'm gonna go catch a nap."
If robots could roll their eyes, Julian would have. Mordenna just caught that sheer energy off of him. "You get the ability to sleep once and suddenly it's all you ever do."
"Hey, don't knock it until you try it. I'd like to see you dream of some electric sheep sometime."
Julian waved Mordenna off. "Oh, whatever. Be about your nap."
Oh, Mordenna loved his robotic brother. Snickering, Mordenna waved goodbye to the squad, deliberating a moment before going inside, locating a vent entrance, and deciding to take a shortcut. He was quiet as he moved through the vents, getting nostalgia for the first few times he did this. How far away those days seemed—of simply joining XCOM because he wanted to get away from Odin and the Commander seemed like fun, of hating his siblings, of being so goddamn suicidal. His depression never went away, but he had far better methods of dealing with it now... and a group of support he never dreamed he would have. He smiled to himself. Things may be a little murky at the moment, but they had definitely gotten better than before.
Mordenna got to the vent a little ways outside of the Studio, and carefully dropped down. Just a few Vipers and an Archon up here, and he was amused to see them so far from the basement. Usually they kept to themselves down there, but it was nice to see them further about. He closed up the vent as they stared, giving a peace sign. The Archon laughed and one of the Vipers shook her head as Mordenna made his way to the Studio door.
Hm. It seemed it was nap hours, now. Jax and Maria were still on the bean bag, now with pillows and a blanket, but there were some sleepy newcomers. Edgar had tentatively passed out in one of the other bags, with Nevermore in his lap, still awake. A few of the Mystics were awake in the creative corner—including Hestia and Demeter, quietly showing the others how to make woven blankets. Not many others besides those guys. Mordenna softly chuckled to himself, walking in. Lucifer was still asleep, but the ravens had moved to be congregated around Edgar, almost protectively. Considering his only other option was to sneak in and spoon Jax—a weird prospect, even considering he'd gotten used to saying "I love you" to his siblings—he figured he could bed with Lucifer. He crouched down next to him, gently squeezing one of his hands. "Yo. Lu."
Lucifer's six eyes disjointedly blinked open, and he focused his gaze on Mordenna. "Mm...?"
"Mind if I slide in next to you? Just want a sleeping buddy and Jax looks like he's good on that."
"Mhm." Lucifer scooted over to one side on the bean bag, letting Mordenna slide in. With a flick of his wrists, Lucifer made a rather comfy blanket out of psionics, casting it over the two of them. Mordenna snuggled in. He closed his eyes, softly smiling.
Things would be better.
Things were about to get worse.
The Baroness was going over her late payments on rent and other transactions, seeing who she had to send final warnings to and who would be let off the hook, depending on what they sent in and what their situation was. She understood someone trashing your stock, or it being a hard month. She didn't appreciate getting short changed because someone thought they could get away with it. Looking over the list, there were a few no-shows even to late payments. She sighed in frustration as she saw that Bastion had missed this month, too. "Why do I even bother with that guy? He was only worth half a damn when he had that Raven King as ostensibly his. Now he just keeps going on about some big breakthrough..."
The Baroness took hold of her mouse, preparing to move him over to the "Do Not Sell" list when Ray came in the door. "B-Baroness!"
She immediately sat up straight. Ray looked scared out of his mind—and to be fair, that wasn't a hard thing to do. She quickly got up, coming over to him. "Where's the fire, Ray?"
"B-Bastion just came in with his late payment a-and, uh—it's—"
He was barely getting words out. The Baroness walked up to him, securing him into a hug. "Slow down, Ray. He rough you up? Do I have to remind him nobody messes with my boy?"
Ray shook his head, though he returned the hug with one arm. It was then that the Baroness saw he had a beat-up datapad in the other. "N-no. No, he didn't, if anything he was just as scared as I was. Thank you, by the way... um, y-you should see this."
He presented the datapad to her, and the Baroness took it off of his hands. The document was marked as highly confidential, with plenty of ADVENT seals on it. Almost too many. It half made her think it was a fake—but as her eyes scanned over it all, she could tell they were all authentic, with one that signalled that the contents of the file went all the way up to the top. Normally a juicy find, but if the seller was afraid of it? "... go ahead and head back to your desk, Ray. I'll handle things from here. Take your break if you need."
Ray nodded again, squeezing her before breaking from the hug and leaving her office. She turned, walking over to her desk as she opened the file. It was a wide-ranging missive to every gene clinic, due to go into effect a few weeks from now. Her eyes widened, seeing it came from the Elders themselves. They were to work 24/7 shifts, and they were going to—
Oh, shit.
The Baroness quickly fumbled for her call program, ringing the Avenger at high priority. Thankfully, Bradford was quick to pick up. "—Baroness? What's going on?"
Feeling fear for the first time in a while, she set the datapad down. "Bradford? Time's running out."
