Chapter 19

The Citadel

"Here is the new chapter, where a small portion of Lena's past is uncovered. I am looking back at past writings, and I think I made a mistake. Lena's ferine size is almost gone: it is true that, according to the Claymore's manga, once you are half-awake the possibility of losing control practically disappear, judging for the way the MCs behave. Still, it is such a big part of their character that it feels wrong to completely eliminate it. Should I try to rewrite them, so she looks more ferine and uncontrollable in battle? Or should I leave her like this, like the Claymores of the Manga's second part?"

Citadel Station.29 April 2185. Citadel space station. 17 53 local hour.

The woman working at the desk inside the office was the perfect example of a successful Asari matron. 712 years old woman and yet showing a healthy, blue skin with red stripes, possessing a degree in psychology, dozens of successful stages and prizes, well connected inside the world of the powerful and mighty, with a Turian bond-mate just as successful as her and three happy kids roaming inside their apartment. Her mere presence, from the professional, dark grey tailleur hugging her body to the glint of knowledge and warmth shining through her sapphire eyes, capable of calming even the most nervous people, screamed success and happiness. To all the high class of the Citadel, her name was synonymous of calmness, prosperity and popularity.

"Miss V'Doto, she is here!"

And yet, these five words from her secretary were all it took for the aged Matron to lose a heartbeat and shatter her image of the perfect Asari.

Irthyna V'Doto was her name and, across the entire Citadel, she was renowned and famed for being one of the best counsellors of the station. Good enough to even help Spectres dealing with mental breakdowns when necessary. A strong woman that knew her job well, and was not afraid of dealing with soldiers, killers and secret agents.

But even she felt the breath escaping from her lungs when her -unique patient of today- was announced.

-Okay, calm down Irthyna. She is not different from any other human you have already met during these years. Besides, you dealt with Spectres, Matriarch's agents and mercenaries before her. You will be fine.-

"Let her in then," replied Irthyna to her secretary after mustering as much courage as possible. The tone was professional, but a crack of trembling voice still managed to escape from her lips, much to her chagrin.

"But Miss." continued her secretary on the radio "She has come armed with her sword, and the policy on your office about permitting weapons inside is clear."

-Of course she came dragging that hunk of steel with her!- grimaced the counsellor. It didn't take a top-level psychologist to expect this from that woman after reading her profile. Some pieces of Intel found on Omega claimed that she slept on the bed with the damn under the mattress thing from time to time! Still, Irthyna was reasonably sure that the patient would not use it against her, no matter how dire the situation might be. It didn't match her profile.

-Even if that profile is just the results of minimal data and comprehensive speculations.- grimaced Irthyna before pushing that thought away.

"Miss Lena is allowed to come with her...favourite weapon, Anaya. The Council already warned me of her quirks, and I accepted the reasons. Now, let her in."

A long pause followed Irthyna's words, followed by a grunting sound coming probably by her secretary, something that allowed the Matron to take a look at her office. Being a psychologist of such renown inside the Citadel meant having to know most of the kinks and habits of the Citadel races, like humans in this case. Of all the races, Human tended to be the most problematic because of their tendencies toward eclecticism and individuality. A problem also encountered by many of her colleagues. Still, there were some key behaviours that most humans tended to show during sessions, like the appreciations for certain sounds and views: the presence of plant-life for example (rigorously green), or the sound of running water, or the usage of a mattress instead of a chair during the talking. Irthyna believed to have done as much as she could with what little time she had received. Vibrant green plants, placed in key places around her office brightened the spot while a hidden radio reproduced the gentle noises of running water across the office. Why humans felt relaxed at this constant, chittering sound was beyond Irthyna. Even after a one-year log stage on Earth about human physiology, the concept still eluded her, but it didn't matter right now. As long as they did its purpose, Irthyna was okay with enduring this constant clamour.

The door's handle slowly moved and opened, and the door creaked and groaned as a tall shadow loomed inside Irthyna's office, anticipating its master.

When the owner of this shadow entered, Irthyna barely hid a hiccup of surprise.

The infamous Ripper was in front of her, inside her office, and the Asari could not deny the feeling of intimidation slowly creeping in her stomach. She was tall, taller than most humans ever met by the Asari in her life. Her limbs looked small compared to her height, almost unnatural in their thinness. And yet on her back the massive, two-handed black sword betrayed the immense strength possessed by the girl with its mere presence. Her silver eyes shone in the artificial light of the office, like the ones of a cat eyeing a prey.

For the first time in centuries, Irthyna failed to measure a patient's age. Usually, such a feat was beyond easy to apply to humans: in essence, their fur, skin pigmentation, even body odour changed according to their specific life cycle. Pink, wrinkled skin, grey or white hair indicated old age, while the exact opposite indicates younger times, but the creature in front of her?

On the one hand, her skin was sickly white, whiter than the purest snow, alongside her eyes, but on the other sides, her skin also appeared unblemished; almost perfect in its entirety. And the fur...so pale, and yet so youthful at the same time. It was a curious mix to be sure, and also very alluring to watch. No wonder her oldest daughter fawned so much toward this creature. Among the humans, she surely was a marvellous specimen.

The dress she wore, a formal dress Irthyna remembered seeing inside a fashion magazine read months ago, felt out of place on this powerful, toned body and firm complexion. Like witnessing a killer pretending to be a maid.

"Are you the doctor?" asked the warrior, looking at Irthyna right into the eyes. The psychologist felt the silver eyes of her client measuring her, hostility radiating through those pupils like liquid fire.

"Are you the one preset for rifling through my mind?"

"I am the psychologist responsible for beginning a mild-meld with you, Miss Lena. My name is Irthyna V'Doto." Answered Irthyna trying to keep a neutral tone. She knew about her patient's condition after all, and the reason for her mistrust. At least she thought she knew the full reasons: when it comes with shocks like rape, it is never that simple to make a diagnosis.

"As decided together with the Council, we shall go back to your time before the...transformation in the augmented warrior of today, and look for clues about your kidnappers and torturers. With some luck, I might be able to find a lead for the Council Spectres to follow?"

"And what makes you think that you shall find something where everyone failed?" replied Lena coldly

"I know what happened that day. It is burned inside my mind with a mark of pure fire. And I tell you, Miss Irthyna, that there is nothing inside it that might help the Spectres in finding those...beasts."

"Miss Lena" retaliated Irthyna "With all due respect, but I think you are wrong. According to the data received from Mr Solus, you were barely more than a child the day these people kidnapped you. At such a young age, our mind tends to block some pieces of the past to protect a mind still too small to truly digest them, let alone comprehend them. Right now, I believe this is what is happening inside your consciousness. By melding our minds together, we might pierce this self-imposed veil and finally reach the root of the problem."

A bitter laugh escaped from Lena's lips.

"I wish I had locked down these memories doctor. I truly wish it. Speaking of something else, will I keep the control during this...melding?"

"If you are using your past experiences as an example, the answer is no." quickly assured Irthyna

"Allow me to ask. The Asari that...forcefully melded with you on Omega, did they force you to ingest drugs before the actions?"

Len grimaced before answering.

"Yes...they did. The Asari they...all forced me to drink something before...that. Sometimes it was sweet. Sometimes it was sour." a veil of shadow passed on the girl's eyes

"Sometimes, they simply injected into me."

"As I suspected. You see, Miss Lena, the mind-meld is a bi-faced action. The only way for an Asari to force herself inside another person's mind is by stunning the receiver's mind, allowing the Asari free passage through it. It is a dangerous proposition, for both the receiver and the giver, but the feeling is something that many criminals seem to relish. Think of it like this: during a mind-meld, your mind becomes a gate, and your consciousness the gatekeeper. Unless the gatekeeper opens the door, the guest cannot enter."

"So these drugs...are the bullets that kill the gatekeeper?" asked Lena tilting her head.

"More like a thief putting the guard to sleep. Although" frowned Irthyna. "Such drugs tend to inflict permanent damage to the subject's brain, especially if continuously used. It is one of the many reasons they are forbidden and condemned in Citadel space. And yet, according to the medical scans received from doctor Solus, your brain patterns are fine. You truly are a remarkable human, Miss Lena."

Lena grimly smiled at this piece of information, but still, she refused to sit on the mattress. "Regardless, the point is that the legend of us Asari being able to rip through other people's mind is just that. A legend, and nothing more."

In truth, Irthyna knew that some Matriarchs could actually pierce through a character's mind defence, as long as the receiver is particularly weak and the Matriarch is one of a kind among their people. Still, the girl didn't need to know this.

"So you say," replied Lena unconvinced, but still she refused to press the matters, and that was enough for Irthyna.

"Right. Well, if you do not have any more questions then..." tried to conclude Irthyna "We can begin the mind-meld whenever you wish. Do you prefer sitting or standing still, Miss Lena?"

Lena did not reply to the Matron. Instead, with a deliberately slow movement, the Claymore moved forward toward the doctor's desk and looked at Irthyna right into the eyes. The Asari felt her will shrinking under the Claymore's gaze, urging her to admit any possible lies or secret kept hidden regarding her. Then, after smirking briefly, Lena grabbed her sword and suddenly planked it on the ground with enough strength to rip its way through the floor. Metal met metal with a jarring sound, and the Matron saw with horror the black alloy of the sword sink like a hot knife through butter inside her floor's office. Sparks flew through the steel panels and for a split-second, the sound of running water cracked and sputtered as the cables running through the office tried to compensate for the unexpected intrusion. Even the lights dimmed down for a moment, and Irthyna heard the radio placed on her desk scream in fear as her assistant asked what was happening.

"This is to remind you that my sword is not here just for show. In case the Council asked to delve too deep inside my mind. Now"

A still stunned Irthyna witnessed the Claymore sitting down on the still sparkling floor on crossed legs, using the massive bulk of her weapon as support for her shoulders.

"We can begin."

It took many seconds for Irthyna to rip her eyes away from the massive sword now unsheathed and locked on her office. Lena, without knowing, had hit true: some members of the Council had asked her to get as deep as possible during the mind-meld. Mostly the ones that had no idea about the meld and how it worked. No matter how many times Irthyna tried to explain on the phone the finer points of the melding, they always stubbornly refused to accept them. In the end, she had been forced to give them an empty promise just to shut them up.

-Even emptier now, that I saw what she can do. The tiles of my floor are made of pure Iridium.- grimaced Irthyna, gnashing her teeth nervously.

"You didn't need to shatter my floor, miss." tried to retaliate Irthyna, but the voice lacked confidence and authority. More like a child trying to counter an adult than a professional scolding a guest.

-I am going to charge the Council triple fee for this.- muttered Irthyna in her mind. Her front was sweating slightly, and her legs began to tremble at the idea of what exactly could that sword do to her thin frame. She couldn't even hope for back-up: the plan of the C-sec in case the girl went beserk was hitting her AFTER she came out of her office with teams of snipers, not before.

-Assuming I get out my office alive this day.-

"You asked how I wish to proceed. My back on my sword is my favourite position. Now, can we begin already?" snarled Lena back, shutting any other remarks. The girl huffed annoyed and planked her legs even more firmly on the ground. To her dismay, Irthyna noticed that even that small gesture made her floor groan, tilting slightly. Just how hard had the Claymore hit her floor with that sword?

"Of course, as you wish!" quickly added the Matron. Gently Irthyna lowered herself at the same height as her patient, crossing her legs as well. The dress gave her some problems, and Irthyna grimaced at the prospect of just how many days would it take for her machines to clean and dry it after dragging it on the ground like this. She dismissed it as unimportant.

"Please, relax Miss." began Irthyna toward Lena, that tried to do as told. The Claymore's posture didn't truly change, but her breathing became more rhythmical, less shallow. Enough to begin the procedure.

"Good" continued Irthyna "Now Miss, listen to my voice. Forget every noise around you, every thought on your mind. Listen only to my voice. Allow it to draw it toward me."

Both the physiologist and the Claymore's breath became calm, relaxed. Irthyna felt that Lena's mind was becoming free, ready to embrace her if she so wanted.

-And now to the dangerous part.- thought Irthyna.

She put her hands on the Claymore's front. Lena furrowed her browns in annoyance, and her own hands reacted out of instinct moving toward the pommel of the sword, but it stopped before gripping it.

Irthyna could not deny a sigh of relief escaping from her lips.

"Perfect Miss, now," all of a sudden Irthyna's eyes opened and became pitch black. The voice deepened as if a new creature took control of the Asari. It unnerved Lena, but the Claymore forced herself to stay still

"Embrace eternity."


It is difficult to explain what people feel when a mind-meld begin. Even the Asari, after centuries of studies and experiments, never truly managed to understand it. Some described it as a swirling vortex where both the participants' emotions fuse together in bliss, creating a new whole. Other as an intimate chat where words reach the soul, not the ears. Others still as the highest sexual ecstasy ever conceived by sentient minds.

The truth was that, like everything in the universe, every occasion was different from the precedent, because every living creature feels differently from another.

In Lena's case, the melding appeared as motes of shadows. Like boulders, the feeling of distrust and unease became mass for Irthyna's wretched persona now inside the outskirt of Lena's mind. Together with these chunks of emotions, ghosts of past memories appeared. Fragments evoked by the Claymore's untrained mind and left loose inside the etheric air. Here Irthyna saw a younger Lena getting the hair braided by a woman, the hair and eye of the same colour of Lena' but the complexion far older. Another mote showed a grisly spectacle of guts and blood of a beast being bisected by Lena's sword.

"Miss Lena! Stop it!" begged Irthyna in the air. With each assault, the woman felt her mind slipping into oblivion, swatted aside by the Claymore's dark thoughts, and now by extension, her head.

"You are hurting me!"

The prayer worked. The mind of Lena felt the distress of her guest and latched her emotions with an iron fist. The black, swirling shadows became mere ripples of the brain, and the boulders of memory turned into small, innocent fragments. Fleeting images and single words devoid of any importance.

Irthyna, or at least the presence inside Lena's mind, sighed in relief at this change, but not for long. The fact that her new client could calm her mind so quickly was distressing to notice: it denoted a strict mental control and lack of emotions far beyond what ordinary people are supposed to possess.

"Th...thank you, Miss Lena" replied Irthyna back to the shadows. The ripples moved in the response of her words, conveying acceptance, but also unease and distrust.

"Now...could you let me in please?"

Another ripple in the shadows, one of question.

"You do not know how to do it?" asked Irthyna. Again, the shadows answered. A nod.

"You just need...to imagine a door, and open it for me, Miss Lena" explained Irthyna.

Again, the shadows moved in the response of her words, and a swirling mass of pure thought began to coalesce in front of Irthyna. A blinding light erupted from the new motes, forcing the spirit of the Asari to cover her eyes.

When the light finally receded, Irthyna saw her entrance, and her mind recoiled at the sight.

Most people, when initiating a mind-meld and allowing a guest to enter, usually create a simple door inside their mind. Not a surprise, considering that creating stable images inside one own's soul is far from easy, even for Matriarchs. It might be different from person to person yes, one might be red and another blue. Or it might show some baubles important for the receiver's mind, but nothing else. What people saw as a door was, after all, only a means for an end: entering inside a friend's memory.

But Lena's entrance appeared like a triple barred steel gate with locks worthy of an ancient fortress. The image was so detailed, so accurate that Irthyna managed to even recognize the single rivets locking the gates and the glinting metal barring her way. The metal radiated rage, and distrust like a living, breathing creature. Irthyna felt that only an iron will preventing the door to splatter her image on the four corners of this mind, and just barely.

It was...mind-boggling to be sure. Such defences were rare to find even inside Spectres and Special agents' minds, and yet even theirs were not that powerful. The closest comparison was a Justicar's mind Irthyna melded with 400 years ago.

As Irthyna watched the door in wonder, the Matron saw the locks slowly clanking into like.

Painfully, almost grudgingly, the three devices opened up by phantom keys with a groaning sound one after another. Every time one lock opened it disappear into the ether, allowing the steel bars to open e little more.

When finally all three locks disappeared, the gateway creaked into life and opened up, allowing Irthyna to see her chaperone.

The image decided by Lena inside her mind was quite impressive, from a psychological perspective.

Lena's avatar appeared as a being of pure golden light, barely recognizable as the Claymore thanks to the black sword strapped on her back and the silver pools shimmering on her face. Her luminescent hands held a steel chain connected to a collar. A collar wrapped around the neck of a beast never seen by Irthyna.

Black in the skin, with bulging muscles and a vaguely humanoid shape, the creature looked sickening in the Asari's eyes. The head, as big as the Claymore' showed a pair of yellow eyes glinting in the dark like the one of a rabid beast, and her jaws opened and closed with frenzied rate spewing saliva every time the teeth snapped. The arms were thick and leathery, ending in a set of wicked claws strong enough to rend steel. Its entire posture was hunched and curved, like a predator ready to pounce, and it snapped into action the moment it saw Irthyna crossing the gateway. It roared and salivated at her presence, showing its razor-sharp teeth and desire for blood. Only Lena's strong hands and the chain attached to its reddened neck prevented it from pouncing the Asari.

"By the Goddess!" shouted in fright Irthyna after seeing this creature.

"Is that?"

"The symbiont?" finished the being of light in the guise of Lena "Yes, it is."

The beast snarled and lashed at Lena in annoyance with its tick arms, but the claws passed through unharmed. Lena, on the other hand, was quite a substantial foe for the creature.

"Stop fighting, you beast!" snarled Lena in annoyance, tugging at the leash with a sound of snapping bones "I am in control, not you!"

The beast yelped and relented, but for a second it spoke with a human voice, only distorted, flawed. Like the one of a creature trying to mimic the human tongue.

"For now."

"Forever." retorted Lena "Welcome, doctor. Welcome to my mind. Now follow me, and be quiet."

A still-startled Irthyna saw Lena's image moving deeper inside her own mind, slavering beast in tow. It took some seconds for Irthyna to force her legs to move and finally followed Lena.

Her steps echoed inside the black chambers of Lena's mind, and the Asari witnessed with her own eyes dozens of doors conjuring themselves in seconds, only to disappear as fast or lock themselves with iron chains. Her trained mind told her that these doors were the swirling memories of the Claymore, and the chains her desire to not let Irthyna see what lied inside. Still, some glimpse of what was inside escaped from the heavy chains. Like red blood, of cries of pain. Or the clangour of weapons against weapons.

"Stop dallying!" urged Lena's shadow when Irthyna lingered on a specific door. One even more chained than the others, but showing no signs of violence. Seven locks prevented any emotions from escaping from this door, but the entry itself looked different from any other. Gentle, with vibrant red colour and exuding a warmth felt when embracing a mother, or a lover.

It felt recent to Irthyna's senses. One month old at most.

"Okay, I am coming" answered Irthyna hurriedly. Both girls started moving again inside the depths of Lena's mind, walking more and more inside as time passed. The doors became even less the more they walked, and from them began exuding whimperings of fear and childish cries. No signs of entry about parents in sign, something unnerving.

"Here, this is the place," announced Lena to Irthyna finally. The Claymore pointed at a specific door now in front of the duo. It was not the last, meaning that there were past memories about the Ripper, but still the doors Irthyna could see in the distance were not many. HAd she been dragged by this fate so early in her life?

The door itself looked unassuming, compared to the ones just passed.

Brown in colour, similar to some specific, ancient doors the Asari had seen on an old castle she visited with friends back on Earth years ago.

Of all the entries, this one looked the most unassuming. From within Irthyna could hear voices of humans, both old and young alike, waves of laughter and chatters, and a low, animalistic growl in the background.

Lena's spirit gestured with her hand, and the only lock protecting this place fell on the ground, allowing the door to open with a creaking sound. Light escaped from the now open gateway, the light of the gentle sun, and the voices became even louder.

"Enter!" ordered Lena.

"You are not coming?" asked Irthyna

"I need to keep this thing" Lena gave another tug at the snarling beast "In check. I cannot follow. Good luck!"

Irthyna did not reply to the augur. It felt flat on the Claymore's lips. More like a challenge than a real omen.

And so, Irthyna merely entered inside the now open door, braving the unknown. She was scared, but also curious, Irthyna could not deny this.

She wanted to know what kind of world creates people such as Lena.


The image proposed by the memory proved far more mundane and surprising than expected by Irthyna. Before entering inside it, the Asari had expected to see high-tech laboratories placed in the darkest corners of the Galaxy; dour scientists without mercy experimenting on helpless children with unknown substances; dark-cloaked figures moving in the shadows and directing the Galaxy with unseen powers.

But what Lena's memory opened up to Irthyna, was the image of a mere human village. A human village made of wood of all materials, where men and women of various age and positions milled their ways around the main streets of the town.

Seeing such outlandish construction material was already a surprise for the Asari, and on closer inspection, Irthyna also found a complete lack of technological devices! Minutes passed since her arrival, with Irthyna frantically looking at every nook and cranny of this village, and still, the woman failed to see a single Omni-tool on these humans' arms. Or a computer or any kind technological devices are ever known to the Galaxy! Even the people milling around looked ancient somehow, all dressed in coarse dresses made of fibres, metal buckles and leather jackets of poor quality.

-Where the hell have I ended?- wondered Irthyna in amazement. Her knowledge of human customs was limited at best, this was true, but even she doubted that many of their kind still lived under such conditions. Intrigued, Irthyna tried to enter inside one of these strange houses, eager to unravel their mysteries, but when the Asari moved across one of these external doors what her eyes witnessed was only fog and the noise of chattering and laughing.

Being inside someone else's head, the answer to this mystery was simple: Lena had never entered inside those houses, and so had no memory to show.

Huffing in annoyance, Irthyna began looking for the protagonist of this strange vision, Lena. After all, she was here thanks to her and yet, despite the exploring, the Asari still failed to spot her client.

How could she miss a tall warrior with a massive two-handed sword on her back was beyond her, but also the truth right now.

More minutes passed. Irthyna looked once again inside and outside this strange village for traces of Lena.

For what felt like one hour, Irthyna wandered. The Asari found the limit of her presence when the memory she was inhabiting became misty as she approached the surrounding woods, counted each citizen living and moving inside this strange place and the numbers of houses. She found a church, a bar (or what she thought was a bar by the sign), a warehouse and a blacksmith of all places, but still no traces of Lena.

-Just where is she?- wondered Irthyna in the end, tired of this struggle. The receiver could not move through the memory without at least seeing the protagonist of the mind. Huffing in annoyance, Irthyna moved toward the outskirt of the strange village again, this time stopping near a small, wooden fence just outside the central warehouse of the town.

Irthyna felt tired, drained by all her efforts. Her tiredness cam not from the walking or searching no. Such mundane tasks were mere illusions of the truth inside a person's psyche. What really was draining Irthyna was the mind-boggling situation she was inside: the village, the people around her, the reason for her presence, the demands of the Council, all that happened in these few hours!

If she had been a more lighthearted woman, Irthyna would have laughed at her situation. Here she was, inside the mind of one of the most dangerous killers in the Galaxy, barely kept in check by a Spectre of dubious loyalty and, at the same time, the greatest wet dream of many Asari maidens ready to begin their wild adventure of youth. And all she wanted to do was going to bed and forget this damned day.

-Why I let those damn stooges of the Council convince me of tackling this mess?- lamented Irthyna softly -I do not need more credits. I already have all the money I need. Or popularity for that matter. Why my stubborn ass cannot refuse a challenge when it sees one?-

And right into that moment, something next to her moved, as in response.

A strange conglomerate of rags, drapes and mud huddled together in a mesh of fabric and Earth. Irthyna had already noticed this small mess during her first watch but merely ignored as rubbish left by humans to rot in the sun. But now that it saw it moving, the Asari became more curious and watched the moving dregs.

Then, in utter surprise, Irthyna saw a hand coming out from the filthy rags, followed by a leg, and a malnourished face. Shortly the petite body of a half-starved human girl appeared in front of Irthyna in all her ragged glory. The child must have been barely ten years old, judging by her thin frame and undeveloped face. She had brown eyes tinged with tiredness and famine, slender legs that appeared ready to break at the first gust of wind and a chest so skinny Irthyna could see some ribs poking at the skin. A wretched sight that broke the Asari's heart.

"Oh, Goddess!" horrified Irthyna "Why the people are doing nothing to this?" Out of pure instinct, the Asari tried to embrace the child with her arms only to see them vanish inside her body. However, she noticed one thing during this action: the protagonist of a mind-meld is covered by a weak halo of light during a memory melding. A trick used by the mind to recognize both the owner of the mind and any guest. And now that she was closer, Irthyna saw the halo of lights enveloping the child right in front of her eyes!

It was weak, yes, unfocused, but clear to see. Meaning that the child in front of her was Lena, as a child.

"But...how...why?!" asked a flabbergasted Irthyna to herself. Uncaring of what was happening in front of her, the young Lena grabbed her few rags and began moving toward the centre of the village, leaving Irthyna behind.

"Wait for me!" shouted Irthyna, but the child kept moving.

-Of course, she does: this is not Lena, only her past.- huffed a piece of her mind.

The chase lasted for almost a minute. The child, despite her malnourishment, was quite quick on her feet and ended inside a place that until a second ago was nothing more than smoke and fogs for Irthyna.

The Bar. Or, at least, what she thought was the Bar. The wooden post hanging from the balcony seemed to mark it as such. That and the sound of laughter coming from inside.

When Irthyna entered, following her quarry, she saw that she was right, but only just. Her eyes were shocked at first by the thick smoke that hit them, but when they got used to it, they say the most old-fashioned and characteristic Bar ever witnessed by the Asari, even counting her Maiden days.

Everything was made of wood, from the counter where a wizened human man polished some potter mugs to the chairs and tables where the customers sat. The thick smoke came from lamps of all things, illuminating the place but also polluting it from their wastes. The floor was filthy and muddy thanks to dozens of muddy boots trampling it left and right, and the sound of dozens of chatting humans hit Irthyna's ears like a thunderclap. All around her, everyone was drinking beer, or what looked like beer by the colour. Most patrons were clearly drunk, or at least tipsy, judging by how they waved their mugs and slurred around. But no serving robots, replaced by young girls in tight dresses. No music box, no televisions, lo artificial lights. Nothing.

And the most critical notice, she had lost her quarry. Again.

-Goddess's damnit! Okay Irthyna, focus. There are no other doors except the one you just pass so she must be somewhere inside.- reasoned the Asari. Armed by this conviction, the woman began her search, aided by the fact that everything in front of her was just an illusion and so, passable. It still took minutes for the Asari to trudge her way through this strange, outlandish place, so different from the typical Bars she was so used.

She found Lena once again in what looked like the kitchen. A large, rectangular room placed away from the main room and full of fireplaces, brass pots and pans where meat and herbs of many varieties burned and sizzled in the air. Seven people dressed in white aprons and stained dresses at least, it was hard to judge because of the smoke, worked hard in front of many fireplaces handling pots and pans with long, wooden spoons and forks. Here Lena was, despite the hunger painting her face and the visible stress coursing on her hands, helping said chefs and helpers inside. The eyes of Lena were almost primal in the way she eyed the dishes in front of her. The hunger when looking at the steaming plates of meat and vegetables passing through her hands and not her mouth was beyond evident. And yet the child could not even try to take a mouthful, because Irthyna immediately noticed the robust youth dressed in a white apron next to her, checking her every movement. The Asari also noted the leather cord on his hands and a reddish sting on Lena's neck that was not there a minute ago.

-Bunch of heartless bastards!- cursed Irthyna after seeing this scene. -Is that much to give her a piece of bread at least? They are exploiting her situation without mercy!-

But Irthyna knew that such spectacles were not unknown on the Citadel. A small fraction of her mind reminded her of the many times she read on the newspapers about wealthy citizens using slave labour or unregistered Quarians as defacto slaves for their enterprises. Her mind also reminded her how little she cared for such trivialities, like most of the -good society- of the Citadel, labelling these unfortunate victims as illegal migrants.

-Your perspective truly change when you end in the middle.- thought the Asari grimly

"Quicker, you runt!" bellowed a burly man also dressed in a white apron, his hands oily and slippery. Next to him, a pot bubbled and burned to leave a strong scent in the air.

"The pot is almost ready, and you are still there. If I lose some clients for your tardiness, I swear I am going to sell you to the black cloaks."

"Yeah, and maybe they will accept to turn her as a witch as payment." sneered another one. An old woman busy with a pan.

"Ehi boss, is it true that the mayor refused to pay the witch that killed the Yoma three days ago?" asked a boy busy in a corner peeling potatoes. Irthyna had no idea of what they were talking about, but still, the boy's tone unnerved her. It betrayed a fear so thick and genuine that it immediately covered the entire kitchen's staff like a blanket.

"It is, lad." replied what looked the head chief with a grave tone "The Mayor complained to the witch that she did too much damage during the fight and kept half the payment as compensations for the repairs. If you ask me the old geezer only wanted to keep some change for himself. Greedy, ugly bastard."

"Was it wise?" asked another lad, shivering in fear "If these witches decide to retaliate on us..."

"The witches are on our side" answered the head-chief "Is the demon I am worried. I heard stories about the villages that refused to pay. Stories of being suddenly invaded by demons and the witches refusing to lift a finger."

"Bullcrap." replied one of the female attendants "Stories to scare unruly children at night." Not many believed in the woman's words, not even Irthyna.

Suddenly, a loud crash echoed just outside the kitchens, followed by the sound of battle and of crashing bottles. All heads inside the kitchen turned toward the noise but did not react as expected by the Asari. Some scoffed in annoyance while the head chief placed his hands on his hairs in mock resignation.

"Gods damnit! Another brawl! Those idiots are going to destroy my tavern." brayed the head-chef. The old man grabbed a wooden mallet placed on an angle of the kitchen and moved toward the exit.

"Wait here for a second," he ordered before opening the door

"Are you done making rack.."

Before the end, an invisible claw ripped the chef's throat like paper, cutting the man's words under frightful gibberish. The chef fell back on the floor, blood gushing out from his slashed throat like a red fountain covering everything in crimson colour. Frantic hands desperately tried to staunch the wound, to no avail, while his adjutants watched the whole scene frozen in shock. Quickly a second clawed fist, purple in colour and thicker than the poor man's entire chest, snaked inside the room and grabbed the chief's leg, dragging the gurgling and kicking man away from the kitchen room. A hoarse scream of utter fear and the sound of flesh ripped apart quickly followed after.

"Demon!" shrieked one attendant. And as if called, it arrived.

Nightmarish in appearance, bigger even than a fully adult Krogan, the beast had Irthyna flinch in fear even knowing that it was only an illusion. Its skin was purplish in nature and more hardened than old leather. Scars darted across its leathery skin, proof of past battles. Two yellow, hungry eyes glinted malevolently in the dim light of the kitchen. A mouth filled with sharp teeth, each entire inches taller, salivated loudly at the prospect of an incoming banquet. Claws scratched the woodwork, leaving a deep mark in the ancient construction.

Its mere presence sent the entire kitchen staff into a frenzy of fear, with people desperately scrambling away for survival. To no avail.

The only door for the outside was the one occupied by the monster, and it made good use of this chokepoint. Irthyna witnessed a kitchen helper torn apart in mere seconds, his white uniform now sprayed with blood, gurgling in pain and utter fear. Another youth tried to use the moment to sprint away from the maddened beast, but the creature merely moved one of its claw on innatural speed and decapitated the poor would-be runner with a single swipe. Pans, pots and firewood began flying around the air in a maddening dance of sounds and splinters, alongside red blood and skin matters. People shouted, and the beast roared, its maws already devouring the guts of the unfortunate head-chief with a sickening sound.

Just outside the door, Irthyna could hear even more roar of triumph and dread at the idea of even more beasts roaming inside the building, feasting upon corpses like hungry predators.

Right into that moment, another pair of creatures, similar to the one already in the kitchen entered inside, staring at the trapped humans. A malevolent glee shone in their eyes before pouncing their preys.

The screams deepened, the gurgles became more guttural, the sound of flesh ripped and guts devoured filled the air. Blood flew everywhere.

-Stop, stop. STOP! Please!- half cried and begged Irthyna to Lena's mind, but Lena refused her plea. The Asari was forced to see everything that happened that day: the blood painting the wall. The beasts eating human corpses like dogs eat a bone. The glassy eyes looking at her with the terror of their last moments...and a terrified child hiding inside a giant pot slightly away from the central feast, trembling and begging some unknown deity for not being noticed.

Irthyna crouched near her hiding spot, knowing that there was nothing she could do to help her but still desiring to be close to the sole survivor. She even tried to hug Lena, and again only air answered to her touch.

What saved her? The Asari had no idea, and she believed the child too would never know. Maybe the tick sauce once inside the pot and now covering the child's small frame confounded the beasts' scent. Or perhaps the monsters noticed her, but she was so small and insignificant even as a meal that simply decided to ignore the frightened little thing begging for her life inside a pot. Regardless, no creature molested Lena's hiding spot, and the child had all the time to witness the feast in front of her.

It took agonizing minutes for the monsters to finish their meals, and hours before Lena found the courage to get out from her hiding spot. Irthyna was blissfully spared to wait with Lena, because a fog enveloped the child and her memory, leaving them only after the beasts were long gone, but still, the Asari felt scarred for life, but it was not over.

When the memories became clear once again, Irthyna found herself outside the Bar, and her eyes fixated immediately on the village. Or what was left of it.

Not even an army of bloodthirsty Vorcha could have done so much damage: all the houses were gutted and shattered. Their timber beams hung like rotten saplings of dusk while the dust of pulverized bricks swung in the air. The foundations of the buildings, pure stone, were ripped out and left glinting into the road, like the bones of a massacred giant.

Corpse laid everywhere. Young, old, men, women, children, all kind of them. All of them missing limbs from their torn bodies, and their stomach open and gaping. All of them without their guts.

And there, amidst this sea of destruction and carnage, stood Lena. The child was neither petrified nor crying, as Irthyna had expected. Instead, the Asari witnessed her rummaging through the broken houses and mangled corpses, looking for something. It took some seconds for Irthyna to understand that what Lena was looking for was food and gold.

-Is she...really...scavenging the corpses? After this slaughter?- horrified Irthyna at the sight

-Does she not have any shame?!-

A part of the Asari understood the practical reasons for her behaviour. Hell, Irthyna still remembered the words of her squad leader when she served under the militia in her younger years. Talks about making the best of the situation regardless of the predicament, and always look for the bigger picture. But still!

Scavenging corpses, regardless of the case, felt wrong for Irthyna and the Asari wondered just how desperate a child must be to become so insensitive in front of such slaughters.

"Well, would you look at that!" said a voice all of a sudden, making both Irthyna and Lena jolt in surprise. The child dropped all the famously scavenged treasures on the ground, creating a small shower of silver coins and drapes.

They both turned toward the source of the noise, and what they saw made them bulge their eyes in surprise, but for different reasons.

Irthyna saw a small company of humanoid figures, all wrapped in dark cloaks that shrouded them from head to toe. The only person somewhat recognisable was a middle-aged man with a bald head and a pair of black sunglasses. He sported black smoking that hugged his tall frame, and his smile was one of malice and indifference that chilled Irthyna to the core. Next to him was a warrior so similar to Lena that the Asari almost mistook her for a second. Tall, white skin, yellow hairs and silver eyes, the woman was dressed in a form-fitting white garment adorned by a silvery gown completed with wrist and shoulder bands, but this one sported a face slightly less pronounced compared of Lena, and her hairs were cut short and spiky.

The warrior watched the slaughter and the frightened child with total indifference. On her back rested an enormous sword, the same type sported by Lena, only white in colour.

"A survivor for the battle. And one of the proper age." continued the bald man with his chilling voice.

"Maybe this day will not be a complete waste."

Lena yelped in utter fear and ran for her life, leaving everything behind her, even what little she had already on her back. The man, unfazed by this, merely said a word.

"Queenie."

Faster than lightning, the warrior behind him sprinted toward the child, every step strong enough to break the earth. Heavy footsteps echoed inside Lena's head while she screamed and dashed toward aìany kind of refuge, to no avail. The child barely managed to reach the entrance of the broken inn before Queenie reached her. Lena screamed and shook like a maddened beast scaring away all the crows still picking at the corpses, fighting to the very last against her opponent. But she was hopelessly outmatched by the older woman that merely shrugged and dragged Lena by weight toward the cloaked men.

"She is feisty!" said one of the cloaked person pointing the finger at Lena

"She might have a chance."

"We shall see." replied the bald person "Good job Queenie, now calm her down."

And the warrior did precisely this, by hitting the struggling child with the palm of her hand. Lena immediately stopped struggling, and the world all-around Irthyna became dark.

For precious seconds Irthyna fumbled inside the twisting darkness, looking for an exit. No doors appeared in front of her, and yet the Asari still felt herself dragged somehow, sign that the memory was not over. From time to time a window of light appeared in front of the Asari, showing dark wastelands or sets of caves, but they always lasted a flash and nothing more.

It took what felt like decades for a new memory to coalesce itself for Irthyna's eyes to look at and, when it finally did, the Asari gasped at the image.

Gone was the ruined village with its gruesome stash of slaughtered innocents, replaced by a dark cave dimly illuminated by four torches placed at each end of what looked a quadrangular room. The place was small, barely bigger than Irthyna's office, and scarcely equipped. The floor was made of the same stone of the cave, only smoothed, and the walls showed stalactites pointing at the earth like arrows ready to fire. Water fell in droplets in a slow dance that irked Irthyna's mind to no end.

And at the centre of this place born from a feverish dream, stood Lena.

Tied and gagged spread eagle on a steel table with leather cords, naked and utterly terrified.

"Lena!" shouted Irthyna after seeing her state. The Asari moved toward the tied child struggling to undo her binds, forgetting again for a mere moment that she was nothing more than a guest here, not a protagonist. Her hands fell like air on the heavy metal while Lena's form squirmed and struggled to no avail, unbeknownst of Irthyna's effort.

"So this is the latest recruit?" said a voice behind Irthyna that made her raise the head in shock.

The voice was old, slurred and tired. Like the one of a man at the last of his age.

"Don't look like much."

The owner of the voice proved to exactly as old as Irthyna had expected, and far uglier too when the frame of a tired, old man appeared in front of the Asari's eyes. Half of his face was horribly scarred, with one eye bulging out from his socket and the vein pulsating around it like snakes in the forest. His body, covered in a thick cloak, appeared emaciated for what she could see but the hands seemed to be steady. Behind him, a masked man, also covered with a thick cloak, dragged with him a heavy leather purse that rattled every time it moved.

"Where should I leave the tools, master Dae?" asked the attendant behind the cloaked man

"Just behind me will be fine, and wait outside for now!" replied Dae while turning toward Lena. His eyes scanned Lena's struggling frame, measuring her in some imperscrutable way for the Asari while poking her muscles and flesh with a bony finger.

"Barely skin and bone. I doubt she will survive. Still" he commented, "Time to work."

Irthyna saw the man crouching toward the leather purse and rummaging inside with one hand until it gripped something with his bony hand. It was a saw, glinting in the lights of the torches and sharp enough to cut flesh with ease.

-What do you want to do with that?- wondered in fear Irthyna. The saw was quickly followed by a procession of torture instrument, one more terrifying than the other. Knives, pincers, nails and, as the final piece, a strange, writhing creature sealed inside a steel cage, rattling for its freedom. The beast, nothing more than a lump of flesh no more prominent than Irthina's fist, was purplish in nature and quite animated for its size. It hit its cage with great vigour and tried to escape as much as it could, but to no avail.

"And stay quiet, stupid parasite!" barked Dae "Soon, you shall have your new home."

-What is the...oh no!- understood Irthyna in horror, and Lena did too, judging by the bulging on her eyes and the newfound fear that gripped her limbs. The child thrashed and flayed with renewed vigour, and the steel binding her clanked loudly in the damp air of the room, but it still held.

"The more you squirm, the less chance you have, child," Dae told her dryly

"Besides, the blades are coated in a paralytic venom so you should not feel too much. You want to live? Then stay put!"

-How is a child supposed to stay put when suffering this ordeal!- screamed Irthyna

-Stop it, by the Goddess I beg you. Stop it!-

He didn't. In the next twenty minutes, the man called Dae proceeded to cut a bloody swat across Lena's naked chest with knives and scalpels. Irthyna watched in horror as Lena thrashed and flayed wildly despite Dae's talks about the venom proved false because the child was suffering under extreme pain. Blood flew everywhere in the room, and the sound of broken flesh echoed inside the hall with overwhelming might.

-Stop. Stop!- begged Irthyna covering her ears, for nothing. The sound reached her soul. The flesh, the blood, the utter indifference of the man torturing a child hit the Asari like a mallet, and for a second, she almost tried to break the connection between Lena and her. But she endured it. Because she wanted to know more about these people. About these beasts in the form of men; for now, she had a name, Dae, but it was not enough.

She wanted all of them.

"Finally done!" exclaimed Dae after his gruesome work was done. His instruments were now covered in blood. The same blood that fell in droplets on the ground in a macabre serenade. The limbs of Lena, so active and robust just minutes ago, now laid on the bloodied table without strength and only a slight raising of the chest proved that she was still alive. Her eyes looked glassy at the roof while a small river of blood escaped from her gagged lips. Her entire body now showed an open wound that went to the base of her neck to the end of the lower abdomen, freely spurting blood and other fluids.

"And now, for the hard part."

Dae's hands grabbed the rattling cage, the beast inside now in a frenzy thanks to the smell of fresh blood

"Stay calm, I said. I swear you are worst than the child." cursed Dae. "Help me boy!" the man that had brought the purse before quickly intervened at the call of the master, using his strong hands to keep the cage still alongside the creature within, while Dae grabbed a metal syringe filled with a black liquid that deftly injected to the restrained beast. The effect was immediate: the animal left a mouthless groan and collapsed on itself in a messy pile of flesh.

"Good, now help me with this. Place it inside while I hold the skin."

And so he did. The bony fingers of Dae grabbed both extremities of Lena's opened chest and slightly widened the slashed flesh, showing to the dim light of the torches all the organs inside. The man behind grabbed the lump of flesh with both hands and began to push it inside Lena. A horrifying sound of flesh against flesh reverberated inside the room, and Irthyna found herself strangely fascinated by this macabre spectacle, incapable of turning away from it.

-How is this even working?- wondered the Asari

The black flesh slowly, slowly, slowly entered inside Lena' with a squelching sound, sometimes lashing at the people pushing it with a fleshy appendage but nothing else, and after some seconds of shifting and moving, it disappeared inside Lena's chest. When the foul deed was done, Dae quickly grabbed iron thread and stitches from the purse and closed the massive wounds with quick movements, uncaring if some stitches were broken or poorly done.

"All done." chirped Dae with a satisfied grin that shocks Irthuna to the very core "Now let's see the reaction."

-What reaction!- cursed Irthyna in rage -You...you ripped her apart, you bunch of beasts!-

But right into that moment, Irthyna saw Lena's limbs jerking back to life in an unnatural vigour. The child's mouth left a groan of pain and fear from her broken lips while a squelching sound of moving flesh echoed inside her chest. With utter disgust, Irthyna saw something move inside Lena's body, like a fish inside water, more and more upward toward her brain and neck. Choking gurgles of pain escaped from her trembling lips as the mound of flesh navigating inside her body come ever closer to its destination.

"Thirty gold pieces she dies." commented the apprentice calmly. Dae remained silent.

Then, the moment the beast inside reached the neck, the convulsions reached their climax. Lena jerked as she had never done before, the strength behind her moves so powerfully that the metal bands holding her shuddered. The child bit the leather gag with such intensity that it began to break the cord, holding it in place.

"Almost there." noted Dae with clinic eye "It has almost reached its place."

Then, with a snapping sound, the leather gag was snapped in two by Lena's desperate's teeth, and the child left a blood-curling scream that echoed inside the whole base. Irthyna closed her ears, begging for the noise to stop while both Dae and his assistant watched impassible the scene.

For almost one minute, Lena thrashed and wailed at the sky in utter pain, covering the air with her shock and cutting, again and again, her wrist under the steel locks. And then, as fast as it arrived, it ended. Like a puppet without strings, the child suddenly fell back on the operatory table and stopped moving.

Dae quickly moved toward the child and checked her pulse under the assistant's watch.

"She lives." he declared after some seconds "You lost the bet, Erman. Take her to the cells and lock her. In one week, she should be ready to begin the training. I am going back to my projects."

And without even waiting for an answer, Dae moved away from the room, quickly disappearing from Irthyna's eyes.

"Bloody lunatic," muttered Erman as he untied Lena's barely moving frame from the table. The child did not react to the assistant's ministration. She didn't even move when Erman grabbed her with both hands and hauled her to her back.

"At least she is light." he finished before moving too toward the exit. Irthyna did not comment to this, she merely followed now, too shocked to even speak.

The curios trio moved across what in better circumstances Irthyna would have judged as one of the most exceptional work of subterranean art ever seen by the Asari, with many rooms and hallways snaking inside the depths of the earth in a geometric pattern that baffled the mind. Some of the places they passed were empty, barely lit by torches and emitting a feeling of abandonment. Others were masterfully carved and packed to the brim with silver eyes women and dark-cloaked men. Other still were closed by a thick metal door, although it didn't deter the strange, squelching noises coming from within. Irthyna saw everything of this, and promptly forgot it, moving her eyes always back to Lena, and the slug trail of blood her barely stitched body left on her wake as Erman hauled her toward her final destination.

None of the people she met during this little travel had any significance in her mind, and she doubted that any other Asari archivist of the Citadel would recognize any of them during a mind-meld. The architecture itself felt wrong, like an off-shot of humanity lost in the centuries and never recovered. Their dresses were ancient, their weapons ridiculous, their entire way of life made no sense for the poor Asari, that broke her brain in four to understand what was going on.

Every attempt of understanding disappeared though when Erman reached a door placed in a secluded place of the subterranean complex guarded by a steel door thicker than a Krogan. Erman opened it with some effort, considering the child still resting on his back, and once inside, Irthyna witnessed a new brand of hell.

The hall where Erman had dragged Lena, and the Asari by the result, was nothing more than a massive, subterranean prison complex, housing dozens of prisoners. All of them were children, the oldest one no more than fourteen-year-old according to Irthyna's eyes, and they were all in a dreadful state. Locked inside small cubicles in the stone, clearing no wider than a prison cell back on the Purgatory ship, the little prisoners wailed and screamed under the sheer suffering raging inside their flesh. All of the inmates showed scars similar to the one on Lena's chest, either fresh like hers or old and withered. Most of them rolled on the ground and ground their teeth to stem the pain. Others bit the steel bars preventing them for escaping. Some, a few privileged, were far beyond any form of torture and watched with empty eyes at their surrounding. Irthyna saw a specific cell, slightly away from the others containing a human child with hair so long it covered her like a blanket. She also saw a name on the nameplate of this cell. Miata.

Another cell kept a child now using the corpse of her companion as a pillow.

"Here is your new home child." lightly beamed Erman in front of a cell. An unremarkable one among the others shrouded in darkness like most of the others. For a second the Asari though she had seen something moving in the darkness, only to relegate it as a trick of her mind.

Erman grabbed a set of rusted keys locked on his jackets and fumbled for a second before finding the right one. Once found, the door opened with a creaking sound, followed by the one of a grunt from Erman as he slumped Lena on the ground like a sack of rice, uncaring about her fresh wound.

A gasp of pain escaped from the child's broken lips, followed by a snapping sound of broken stitches. One of two was gone, shattered by the blow, but Erman did not care and merely closed the cage.

"Can believe a pipsqueak like that managed to survive," muttered Erman before disappearing in the dark.

It took some seconds before Lena finally gave some signs of life, like the whimpering of pains and futile struggles on the ground. Her soft whimpering fused together in the great cacophony of pain and anguish that adorned this cell block.

"Don't cry." said a voice all of a sudden, one coming from the inside of the cell. Surprised by this action, Irthyna ripped her sight to the crying child to look at the interior of the cell. The place was dark but small, so small that even her tired eyes managed to see the outlines of the few pieces of furniture placed inside: two wooden benches chained on the wall with rotten straw, a cubicle for corporal necessities and a table, nothing else. Irthyna also saw that Lena was not the only inmate of this cell. Turned out that what Irthyna had dismissed as a trick of the mind was nothing else than another girl. She looked far taller than Lena, a woman just past puberty although the mutation wracking her body made it difficult to judge it.

"Don't cry!" repeated the voice once again, this time also trying to move toward Lena

"I know that it hurts, but we must endure it, for both our sake."

"I can't." begged Lena between her teeth "It hurt too much. I cannot keep it all by myself."

A pair of arms suddenly appeared from the darkness and enveloped the child in a gentle hug. Now that she was closer to Lena, Irthyna could take a closer look at Lena's inmate. Her previous assumption about her age was correct because the girl in front of her looked at least fourteen years old. She had long and wavy golden curls, slightly matted by the filth of the place. Her skin was creamy white, but her eyes were different from the average Claymore. One green, the other silver, maybe a sign of an unfinished process. A gentle smile adorned her small face, and a dark, tattered dress hung on her small frame barely covering her forms.

"You do not have to." continued the girl "We are here together, as sisters. I will help you pass this ordeal, little sister. I swear it."

The hug covering Lena tightened even more, to the point that the entire child's frame was now covered by the bigger girl'. Such gentleness touched something inside Lena's heart that once again let tears speak for her. Only that this time they were free, not only of pain but of venting.

"Yes, like this." chided the girl before kissing Lena to the forehead "Let it out, all of it, before it breaks you. Good girl." The older girl fell gently on the floor and allowed Lena to follow suit, letting the child rest her head on the girl's slender legs.

"My name is Anastasia, dear little sister. And yours?"

"L-lena."

And with that word, Irthyna felt the image of Lena and Anastasia disappear into a vortex of swirling shadows that shattered the current memory and dragged Irthyna away from the Claymore's mind. The Asari felt her mind being ripped apart from Lena' with excruciating force, and her mind heard a voice screaming inside her.

-Enough!-

Apparently, Lena had decided to stop the rummaging inside her mind, without half-measures or asking for Irthyna's approval. The Asari felt a rippling sound echoing inside her head, and the unpleasant feeling her mind reeling under the sudden escape. The spiral became turning even faster...

And then her eyes opened, and Irthyna saw herself once again inside her office, with an adult Lena in front of her, snarling like a beast because of the unpleasantness of the memory just reminisced. The Claymore's hands were tightened into a fist such was the rage coursing through her veins and a glimpse of madness moving inside her silver eyes.

"You saw enough!" growled Lena menacingly "No more."

"I..." stammered Irthyna "I concur. Let me move back to my desk."

Lena saw Irthyna waddling away from the floor and back to her desk, skirting like a drunken woman. Once back on her chair behind the counter, she massaged her tired temples, trying to exorcise the headache mounting inside her.

"Miss Lena, I thank you for allowing me to see your past. I have to admit that what I saw...disgusted me, to the very core. But with some luck, the agents of the Citadel shall uncover more of this mystery, after melding with me."

"You still cling to hope, doctor. After seeing my past." commented Lena somberly "I do not understand if you are hopeful or just stupid. Regardless, my job here is done. I am going away."

"But." tried to stop her Irthyna

"No. More melding!" stated Lena, the tone final. With one tug the Claymore grabbed the aft of the sword and ripped it away from the floor with a shower of sparks.

"You saw enough!"

Irthyna could recognize a lost cause when in front of her and relented.

"As you wish. I believe I possess enough pieces of information for both reporting to the Council and preparing your profile. It will take some days to weight all the causes, but I can already say that you have mental scars that need immediate attention. Is Spectre Shepard allowing you to speak with a professional during his missions?"

"There is a Counsellor on the Normandy, and Shepard made it mandatory for me to visit her every week," answered Lena calmly

"Thanks to the Goddess." commented Irthyna "At least there is a Counsellor. Regardless, I am sending to the Normandy a file containing names and addresses of many psychologists across the Citadel spaces. All highly professional and expert and dealing with PTSD and mental scarrings coming from slavery experience. They will surely be able to help to deal with your...conditions."

"I told you, doctor, I am fine!" Huffed Lena annoyed "I do not need help." the look of pity that Irthyna sent her in answer irked Lena considerably.

"Regardless, have a good day doctor. I am going back to Shepard."

"As you desire. Have a good day." answered Irthyna "Anaya, open the exit door for our client."

The door of the office closed with strength, and now Irthyna found herself alone.

For many minutes nothing truly moved inside her office. The plants waved under the artificial air inside. The floor launched sparks from where Lena's sword had been embedded minutes ago as Irthyna's fingers moved deftly on her computer. She prepared the report for the Council and the next meeting with Citadel C-sec, writing the letters for Lena about her possible encounters with some professionals, and other paperwork in dire need of being completed.

She lasted for almost a quarter of an hour before the sadness overwhelmed her.

First, a tear, then another, then a flood of it escaped from her swollen eyes as the memories of Lena's past resurfaced inside her mind.

The images of ripping flesh devoured guts and tortured children come once again inside her mind, with their cacophony of screams, laughter and blood.

When it became too much, Irthyna grabbed her head with both hands and tried to stem the tide of tears, to no avail.

-Oh, Goddess. Why do you allow such things to exist?-

By the way, the story is almost done. Well, almost is a bit too much but we are getting there.

Bye!