Chapter 20.

Betrayers

Well people, here it comes the most dangerous and controversial chapter of my story, even in my opinion. I already knew what was coming, but will you accept it? And will I be able to not break the story? I have no idea.

All I can say is that this had a long way coming at this point.

Enjoy it, I hope.

Normandy Sr-2. Captain's cabin. 1 May 2185. 16 31 local hour.

A thick, foul mood had descended inside the Normandy since Shepard's discovery. No one, even the agents, had been allowed to set foot out from its metal bulkheads unless the matter was admittedly dire, and many crewmembers were still wondering what compelled a usual cheerful and easy-going commander like Shepard to behave like this. No one had this answer, because Shepard had locked himself inside his cabin for a while now, allowing only a scant group of people to visit him. People like Garrus, or Tali, or Mordin, and always carrying with them vast quantities of electronic materials. On a closer look, that material also appeared as some kind of small recording devices to the onlookers, but no one managed to get a closer look to them before being swept away.

But today something was finally changing: Shepard had contacted far more people than usual. From Miranda to Lena to Jacob to Jack, almost half of the agents' presence was demanded by the commander inside his office, making the entire crew wonder just what had happened to finally budge him out.

If only they knew.

"Is, is all of this confirmed?" asked a Lena on the verge of exploding as she read the words contained by a datapad now in her hands. Judging by the pressure, the Claymore was ready to break the poor thing in two, much to Tali's dismay.

"I am afraid yes, Lena," answered Shepard for him.

"I...I cannot believe this." muttered Lena in dismay "If what is written inside this pad is true, someone is...experimenting with my flesh and blood to create...more like me?! How!? When?!"

"According to The Shadow's agents since your appearance, two years ago." answered Shepard "But the actual tests began only three weeks ago, when someone supplied them with your genetic samples."

"But I gave them nothing!" screamed Lena as flashes of the Organization's experiments came into life inside her.

"I don't want to create other Claymores. None of us wants this for fuck sake!"

"I know Lena, calm down!" chided Shepard trying to calm the tension. He failed badly.

"Calm down?! Lady Oscar has every right to be pissed off Shepard!" snapped Jack all of a sudden

"Fucking Cerberus never change! They preach all their oh so holier than thou bullshit about being Shepherds of humanity and saviours of the people yadda-yadda. And yet, the moment you turn the head they began with their fucked up experiments on people like there is no fucking tomorrow. Welcome to fucking reality, Shepard."

"You are over-exaggerating Jack." commented Miranda quietly "Only because one cell was rotten does not mean that all of them are the same."

Jack swiftly grabbed Miranda's throat as an answer and slammed the girl right into the aquarium, scaring all the fishes inside and cracking the glass.

"You keep that fucking tongue inside that sewer you have in place of mouth, cheerleader, before I rip it out with my bare hands." snarled Jack at Miranda.

"Drop me, Jack." Growled Miranda. The fact that a dangerous biotic was holding her by the throat left her unfazed. "Now!" Both girls' hands began glowing blue.

"That is enough, both of you!" shouted Shepard, and the command behind his voice was such that they actually stopped for a second, enough to point a finger right into their faces as a pistol.

"We are not here to discuss Cerberus's past deeds, or to witness your ridiculous cat-fight inside my cabin, but to discuss like civilized people. So now you will step down like good girls and let me continue otherwise, God is the testimony, once I am done with you, you will not be able to walk straight for a FUCKING MONTH! Am I clear!?"

Jack snarled and jabbed like a caged beast at Shepard, but relented and left her grip on Miranda that merely incinerated Jack with her eyes, but stood in her place.

"Good!" huffed Shepard "And now that I have all your attention, let me tell you a story. A story that begins after the battle with Tela Vasir."

Shepard's poise straightened back as he gulped down a mouthful of beer from a bottle before continuing.

"Roughly one month ago on Illium, after defeating Vasir, I received some ominous words from the dying Spectre about Cerberus spying on us agents with some unknown agenda, one not involving the Collectors, and how such agenda involved in particular you, Lena."

"And why you did not inform me about this, Shepard?" interrupted Lena. angrily

"Because those were the words of a dying enemy willing only to prove her point and break my resolve, Lena!" countered Shepard "Hardly tangible proofs. Still, I decided to give her at least the benefit of the doubt and to prepare some countermeasures, mostly thanks to Tali and Garrus's help."

Tali slightly nodded in amusement at his words.

"We began covering the ship with counter bugs, in case someone was truly spying on us, and isolating some...dangerous part of the ships with decryption systems to make sure that what EDI registered in her file would remain inside the ship, and not sent somewhere far off in the galaxy. We also inserted some spy programs in case anyone might try to tamper with security footages and manually reprogram the whole deal without telling us."

"You put cameras on your own inside the Normandy!?" asked a puzzled Miranda.

"No, Miranda. We did no such thing!" answered Garrus smugly "We are not peepers, you know. This programme activates only if someone tries to barge inside a room, uninvited."

"That is right. During these weeks, between the Raid on the Collectors, the Shadow Broker's incident and the meeting with the Citadel none of us did find the time of checking them. With all the debriefings, the simulations, the preparations, none of us had an ounce of free time, just like the crew. Or at least, so I had thought."

Shepard's face turned into a scowl for a moment.

"Yesterday, once I received the report from Liara, I immediately checked the bugs looking for unauthorized entries, and look what I found."

Shepard's Omni-tool activated all of a sudden, showing the programme of a small bug placed inside the infirmary. The date of the registration was the twenty of April, six days after the Raid on the Collector's ship, in the middle of the night.

The scene, in the beginning, showed nothing to the curious onlookers. Only the image of a snoring Jack (she was the last one discharged from the infirmary after the Collectors' Raid) slightly fiddling inside her blanket as the night went on.

But then, all of a sudden, a green gas began submerging the air, aimed through small vents from the ship's AI toward the sleeping convict.

"Sleeping gas," confirmed Shepard before anyone had the time to ask.

The gas did its work, and soon Jack's vital dropped to an absolute low, making it impossible for her to wake up even with a cannon right into her face. Then, silent as a tiger, the door opened, and two people entered.

"Hawthorne and Patel!" exclaimed Miranda, recognizing the people now skulking inside the infirmary. A middle-aged man with short, cropped black hair and unassuming face, and a petite girl with fair skin, short, black hair and green eyes. Both dressed in Cerberus uniforms depicting them as ensigns.

"Patel work at the logistic section alongside Gardner. She is one of his many helpers in the kitchen. Hawthorne works on the security detachment of the ship. For what I know they are not friend, not even acquaintances."

"And yet they are moving quite well!" Noted Garrus darkly "Like a well-trained duo of agents."

It was correct: the pair nimbly moved inside the infirmary, gas-masks in them to avoid the dangerous gases. One quickly checked Jack's pulse while the other did something with her Omni-tool that cracked the video for a second.

"A disturbing signal!" added Tali quickly "Good, but not good enough against my programmes!" a note of smugness escaped from her as she said this.

After covering their traces, or at least believing in doing so, the man quickly moved toward a specific section of the infirmary, the one containing corpses and body parts, while the other placed himself next to the door as a lookout.

The man's research continued for some tense seconds before he stopped in front of what he was looking for. When Lena recognized the interested's cabinet, her blood turned into ice.

"That is..." murmured "The cabinet where the doctor stored my arm. The one I cut away after Tuchanka and preserved at Mordin's request."

"Correct." stated Shepard impassibly "The same arm that Mordin checked inside his personal lab and then stored back inside the ship and ignored until the end of his tests. After seeing this video for the first time, I ran inside the infirmary to check with my eyes. The arm is gone. Here's where."

The video blackened for a moment as another secret camera activated, showing the pair of thieves moving inside one of the least used corridors of the ship, a sealed crate in hands and careful to appear as inconspicuous as possible. They moved toward their destination, the hangar. Here the two thieves reached one of the postal drones, used by the crew to send small gifts to their loved ones, and opened a secret compartment. After placing the stolen arm to the hidden compartment, they closed the whole mess and threw it in the ether, filing it as a gift for a crewmember's family.

Then, the duo simply moved toward their relatives' positions, looking as innocent as possible.

After that, the video ended.

"Where are those twos?" snarled Lena back to Shepard once the show was over

"I want to rip them apart with my bare hands!"

"Calm down Lena, because this is not over." commanded Shepard "After this discovery, I ordered Tali to make a thorough check-up of EDI and her memory banks, in case other files were missing or labelled as not readable, even by me. It took her two days of full work, but she did it."

"That AI was a bitch to crack down," muttered Tali quietly

"And what bucket head discovered after mind fucking our AI?" demanded Jack impatiently

"A secret brothel? Cheerleader's porn mags?"

"No, Jack, but before continuing, I want to make one thing clear." Shepard moved toward Jacob and Miranda, focusing all his energies to them. Lena noticed that both him and Garrus were quietly moving their hands to their sidearms, and Tali was preparing a drone.

"I called you two because you are the foremost officers inside this ship, and also the most involved with Cerberus. One thing must be clear: I do not condone this kind of behaviour, and I WILL crack it down today, the easy or the hard way. If you two are not okay with this, say it now, and I will allow you to get away from this ship without problems. But if you decide to fight me, I will treat you as mutineers and behave accordingly. Am. I. Clear?"

"Shepard. You are the captain, and a damn fine captain if I can say so myself! As such, your word is the law here." prompted reacted Jacob without breaking a sweat.

"If you want to stop this thievery bullshit, because it is bullshit, you have my support."

"Good Jacob, and you, Miranda?"

"Yes, cheerleader, what about you?" scowled Jack baring her teeth.

Miranda scowled, more for toward herself than to Shepard. For some precious seconds, the woman did not answer, too lost in her thought.

"I cannot believe it!" she finally muttered.

"What?! That you Cerberus twats are as assholish as ever?" continued Jack.

"That the Illusive Man would do something so...foolish! The stakes are already sky-high with the Collectors. Increasing them with these spying actions is..."

"And yet he did!" countered Shepard "While Tali worked, I asked some favours back on the Alliance high command. Despite all your efforts, I still have some friends inside. They dug some dirt for me, and you know what they found? Hawthorne and Patel are false names. Those two are Mr and Ms Coldrige. A married couple serving both Cerberus's inner circle as agents and agitators recruited at least five years ago, and apparently also skilled infiltrators after today."

"But why hiding their names and ideas?" asked Lena puzzled "This is a Cerberus' ship after all."

"But the commander is not one of them" answered Garrus "Shepard despises Cerberus's ideas, that is why the crew is comprised of old faces and neutral humans. Or so we thought until now."

"It is quite simple Lena" explained Shepard "The crew is a smokescreen: place one hundred innocent in a room together with a pair of thugs, and the thugs will be lost inside the throng."

It took some seconds for the actual weight of Shepard's words to settle in.

"Well...shit!" finally commented Lena.

"Indeed!" chuckled Jack "So Shepard, what are we going to do with these rats. Hang them to the tallest flagpole, like the old times?"

"No, Jack!" answered Shepard "Thanks to God, we are still on the Citadel and not somewhere in the middle of nowhere. I, Miranda, Lena Jacob will detain and consigns the two traitors to Bailey."

"The Illusive Man will send agents to free them, or silence them forever." commented Miranda "Why not simply handing them back to him in the first place?"

"For three reasons Miranda. First, according to my friends back at the brass, these two -innocent spies- have a criminal record longer than the Normandy. Second, they betrayed me, and I do not take betrayals lightly. Third, they need to stay put for at least four days."

"Why?" asked Lena puzzled.

"Because Liara, together with the report, also sent me a map indicating the laboratory where Cerberus is experimenting with your genetic samples, Lena. And I wish to tear it down."

"Fuck yeah!" lauded Jack loudly "Heard that, Cheerleader?! We are going to fuck one of those torture palaces you call laboratories. Santa has come early this year!"

Miranda frowned at this.

"Is that wise, Shepard? I understand what compels you to move against this target. But, even if what agent Lena has said is true, we must still consider the matter of the incoming Reaper invasion. Improving our special forces with even a fraction of Lena's genetic potential might."

"Stop," growled Lena all of a sudden. People saw her eyes were already yellow and glinting dangerously at Miranda.

"Just, stop Miranda, before I rip you to shreds." Jack secretly hoped she would actually do that, at least judging by the huge smile now plastered on her bald face.

"Lena, I understand this is a sensitive argument for you, but" tried to say, Miranda.

"You don't understand shit!" bellowed Lena back "Using Yoki as a weapon?! Is this some kind of sick joke? This monstrosity that flow within my veins is a curse, not a weapon. Do you have any idea just how much time, focus and pain it takes for my sisters and me to keep this...madness in check? How many of us died under our own blade because they let the control slip away just for a fraction of a second!? Have you forgotten what happened here, in this ship, mere weeks ago? Fucking hell, after that stunt my yoki pulled in the infirmary, you were the most vocal about dumping me far away from this ship. If your people start implanting my flesh and blood on others' body, all you will do shall be creating a planet-wide disaster. Yomas cannot be controlled! Even we Claymore are at constant risk, and we know it."

Her voice grew louder and angrier by the seconds as her pupil became vertical like the one of a wolf, and her body mass grew with muscles and flesh out of instinct.

"But if our researchers manage to"

"What?! Refine it?! Perfect it!? Let's assume they do this. Let's assume your torturers manage to tame this power that eluded my slavers for decades, what then?! Do you think your boss will donate it to save the people like Mordin wish to do? To help the ones in need?"

Lena spat on the ground in disgust.

"No, he won't. He will use it to create soldiers. Child soldiers like me because, make no mistakes, that cursed yoki needs a young body to truly blossom. He will create more people like me, ripped away from life and forced to endure an eternity of battle against your own twisting flesh as powers beyond your understanding plague your minds. And he will do all of this for a twisted version of humanity where he is the only one that truly knows what is good for us! People like your leader are the most dangerous in the galaxy because they genuinely believe they are doing all of this Shit for the Greater Good. Fuck the Greater Good and all who invented it!"

A sad grumble escaped from the girl's mutated lips.

"I thought you, of all people, would have understood. After all, your father shaped you like a doll for his purposes and tried to do the same with your sister. But apparently, you cannot see past your own gain, Miranda."

Those words stung Miranda like a whip, and the woman found no way to bite back. She instead stood silent, ruminating on Lena's speeches for long seconds as the weight of her words truly hit her.

"Lady Oscar is right!" growled Jack as she saw Miranda accusing the blow, "These Cerberus fucktards say so much bullshit about their holier than thou life, their justice and the great sacrifices they do for the sake of mankind, but it is all bullshit. Deep down, they are people, meaning they are a bunch of assholes vying for power, and ready to trample everyone for this. At least you Alliance and Citadel assholes try to hide it with a paint of gentleness, they don't. And I still bore the scars for this."

"Thank you, people," answered Shepard a bit miffed. "The laboratory is on a System called Strenuus inside the Horsehead Nebula. Planet Trelyn. We shall move with a small shuttle already bought here by Liara's contacts in the Citadel, away from the Normandy, and deal with the problem definitively. But first, Lena, there is something else you need to know."

"What now?!" sighted a shrugging Lena "Nothing can be worst than this at this point."

The look that Shepard sent back was one of sadness and uncertainty.

"I fear it might be, at least for you." he replied sadly "Before out two merry thieves, someone else sent genetic samples to the Cerberus's laboratories, and this one is...is."

Shepard swore lightly and handed a second data pad on Lena.

"I still cannot believe it, so see it for yourself."

Puzzled by this behaviour, Lena grabbed the new datapad with steady hands and opened its contents. The girl looked at the video unfolding once, and her eyes bulged in utter surprise. She looked again at it. And again, and again. And as she did this, tears streamed down from her cheek like a raging river.

In front of her, Jack, Jacob and Miranda looked at the girl with uncertainty as Shepard and Tali exchanged looks of grief. They already knew what she was looking at.

"No!" she whispered in utter pain finally the Claymore "NO!" the datapad flew on the air like a missile and shattered itself on the nearest wall, covering the space with glass shards and making all the present scowl in surprise.

"And this is the second one," muttered Tali as she defended her visor.

"Lena" began Shepard to a Lena now crying unreservedly in front of everyone "I am sorry, I truly am. It baffled even me that someone like her might be a traitor, and I know how much it meant that friendship to you. But the proof is there. I still do not understand why they then decided to have those two do her dirty job, but this is something that we shall ask her directly."

The look that Lena sent back to Shepard after hearing these words was one of pure hatred. She was not listening to his words right now.

"Riight!" muttered Shepard unnerved, now fearing her reactions "Maybe I should have handled this part better. Okay, people. I, Miranda, Tali and Jack shall now go and detain the two main spies. Jacob, Garrus, you"

"I will deal with her Shepard" snarled all of a sudden Lena while wiping the tears away from her face.

"This is not up to debate."

"Lena, please stop! You are clearly"

The Claymore rose up from her place all of a sudden and grabbed her sword, previously discharged on the floor with a jarring sound. Shepard's plea fell on deaf ears as the Claymore slammed the cabin's door open and ran toward her objects, her steps so strong Shepard could her the metal groan.

"Shit! EDI, where is agent Kelly at this moment?"

"Specialist Chambers is currently dining on the mess hall," answered EDi promptly.

"Just great! Garrus, Jacob, go and stop Lena before she does something irreversible."


Normandy mess hall. one minute after the discovery

"Kelly, do you know why the commander called mum and all the others inside his cabin all of a sudden?"

"Do not worry your pretty little head with adult questions, Raina. Just think about eating your veggies for now."

"But I do not like veggies, and I am scared! First mom is forced to recall the past, and now this. This Citadel is cool but bring too much misfortune."

"Silly girl. Misfortune is only in our head, now eat at least two forks of veggies, or you will never become as big as your mother."

The child grumbled but complied as she slowly began eating her plate of salad. Kelly sighed in relief as she tried to calm down her own churning demons.

Raina was right in one thing: this visit on the Citadel had not been beneficial for the ship, not after Shepard decided to lock the vessel in the Citadel' locking clamps, forcing the whole crew to stay put. Three days had already passed since that particular day, and the crew was suffering for this. Talks of rage and disobedience were finally seeping in the people's mind, held in check by discipline and faith, but only just.

Everyone felt that something big was about to happen, and feared what it might be and what would entail for the people inside.

-Just what happened days ago?- wondered Kelly again in her heady as her eyes wandered among the mess hall, far more silent and grumbling than usual today. Crewmembers silently gulped their meals as hushed talks crept inside their ears and small movements groaned the metal of the hall. Even Gardner looked troubled, lacking his usual crass humour in exchange of stoic Silence.

-I only hope this stalemate ends quickly.- grumbled the girl on herself -Otherwise, it will be another hard day of calming down the crew, and I am really starting to

"Mum!" screamed Raina happily as a familiar figure appeared inside the mess hall.

The child left her plate and darted toward her mother, a familiar scene inside the ship that still managed to crack some smiles to the people present inside the hall. Kelly was one of those smiling people, but such behaviour quickly changed as she looked at the girl. Lena was furious, it was clear to see. Her usual silver eyes glinted dangerously with yellow power as her mouth croaked under a barely suppressed scowl. When her daughter reached her, she didn't answer to the hug as she always did. Instead, she grabbed the surprised child with one hand and urged her to get away.

"Raina, go back to our chamber and do not get out until I say otherwise." snarled Lena to a surprised Raina as she showed her away.

"M..mum?" asked back a now worried Raina, all the warmth and happiness went away in an instant "Your yoki...why is it flaring?"

"Do it already!" this time the Claymore shouted, and let the yellow of her eyes shone in all her might to the frightened child that whimpered away and fell on her back, eyes bulging in fear and surprise.

The entire mess hall became quiet all of a sudden, as the people inside felt the storm brewing mere inches from their posts, but still failing to understand why.

"M...mum!"

"Lena what are you doing. Have you gone mad?" asked Kelly utterly surprised by this turn of events."

Lena did not reply to her. Instead, the Claymore eyed Kelly with orbs full of hatred and devoured the meters separating her and her once friend with few, thunderous steps.

All around her, the few patrons still inside rose up and began running away as the few bravest, or stupidest, of the bunch stood in their places, still trying to understand what was going on. Kelly in primis.

As Lena reached Kelly, the Claymore towered toward her, and the girl for the first time felt the firm grip of fear shattering her resolve as the myriad of scoldings and questions disappeared under Lena's yellow eyes. Finally Kelly saw Lena as the imposing warrior she was, and not the friend and client that needed her help, and this scared her.

She felt weak, worthless, and in great danger, to the point that she felt goosebump on her surface.

But being attacked by Lena was a prospect too ludicrous to even be considered, right?

Right?

"L...Lena?" asked Kelly trying to not stutter in fear. "Are you."

The fist came unexpected, and with such strength that it broke Kelly's jaws with a loud, cracking sound. Kelly flew backwards, reeling under the blow as she ended her ride when her flying body collided with a set of tables three meters away from her previous position. People ran and scattered as she hit stands and chairs, sending them sprawling away across the floor and making a mess of dishes and platters. Reeling in pain, Kelly spat flecks of blood as she tried to rose up from the metal tiles and understand what had just happened. Her eyes felt heavy as the girl coughed and sputtered as she tried to regain some forms of senses. When she did, it was already too late.

An unsteady hand grabbed the tile floor for support, and right into the moment, an armoured boot crushed that hand with a sickening sound. Kelly screamed as she had never done before, not even when Ghasvin had shot her back on Illium, and tried to roll away as Lena's boot kept grinding her bones to dust.

"Are you insane agent!?" screamed a voice near Kelly. An ensign in the mess hall probably finally out of his stupor.

"Stop immediately unless."

A still downed Kelly felt a loud thump, followed by the sound of a person hitting the floor, stone cold.

"Out!" said Lena's voice calmly, too calmly for the situation "Unless you wish to fight me for the privilege of dying with her."

A surprised silence followed Lena's statement. Then, first few tentative steps, suddenly a thundering stampede, dozens of feet ran away toward the mess's exit in a panicked run. Lena's smile savagely at this spectacle while still grinding Kelly's hand with her foot.

"Good! And now, back to the main dish."

A panting Kelly tried to move away from her resting place, despite feeling the whole body shaking in pain, but she failed before even beginning.

Chairs and tables covering her chest flew away as something lifted them away from Kelly like paper, just before grabbing her defenceless neck. Said hand dragged her upward with relentless strength, so powerful that rose her struggling frame without neither effort nor pain. Kelly's eyes were barely open now, and the girl felt the warm feeling of blood seeping from her broken mouth as she tried to articulate a response, any response.

"Lena...why?" it took all her strength only to say these few words, no more than a whisper in the air.

"I have to admit it Kelly: you are the best actress in the universe!" snarled Lena back as she closed the distance between their faces.

"All these sweet talks about helping others, giving me a hand in becoming more human. About rediscovering my old self. All bullshit to better stabs me in the back. Dragging me toward libraries and carousels, just to make everything more believable. Even saving my daughter back on Illium just to gain some points. I would clap at your dedication if I weren't so angry."

Breathing became more laborious, as black dots appeared in front of Kelly's vision. Lena's snarling face acquired demonic contours, transfiguring into one of a snarling wolf.

"I have...never...Lena"

"Silence!" Lena slammed Kelly's frame on the nearest wall with enough strength to make bones shudder. For a split second, Kelly saw the stars as waves of pain washed clean her body with unrelenting might. But as much as she tried to move away, she failed. Lena's grip was one of steel.

"Silence! Your little games are over Kelly. I know everything now. How Cerberus is trying to create more monsters like me, how your two accomplices stole my old arm and sent it to said laboratories, how YOU used our supposed friendship to steal blood and other samples right under my nose. How you kept lying to me since Korlus's aftermath."

Kelly's eyes bulged in fear despite the pain as the revelation hit her harder than the pain she was now suffering.

-She knows!- screamed her brain in fear.

"All the talks, all the moments together, nothing more than a lie! A facade to make me come closer to you and have a greater chance of putting a knife on my back! What were the orders once my usefulness would have come to an end? Poisoning me? Kidnapping my daughter as a live test for your damned masters?" Lena's face was now an inch away from Kelly', and the struggling girl felt the hot breath hitting her wounded face as she tried to articulate any kind of word.

"I cannot believe that I risked my own life to save a backstabbing bitch like you back on Illium. No matter! Today I shall rectify that mistake."

"Lena...wait...pleasaaarh"

The grip on Kelly's neck tightened even more as the yoki infused arm of Lena obeyed the order of her mistress. Kelly's face started to change colour as the girl gasped for a breath that refused to come.

Sobs of incoherent pain escaped from Kelly's gaping mouth as a savage smile appeared on Lena'. Kelly's movements started to become erratic as her arms flayed helplessly in despair.

And right into that moment, Lena felt the cold barrel of two guns placed on her skull as the shadow of two familiar people loomed over her.

"You will not shoot me, boys!" snarled Lena without even turning. Still, she stopped her effort to kill Kelly although she refused to leave the grip.

"You will not fire upon a fellow warrior only to save a traitor like her!"

"If you really believe this Lena, then you are a greater fool than I thought!" Gnarled Jacob back as his grip on the gun tightened.

"Let her go, now!"

Slightly behind Jacob, Lena also saw a team of security belonging to the ship already priming their weapons at her. At least seven more barrels ready to fire. It did nothing to weaken her resolve.

"And you Garrus?" smirked Lena back "Will you stand between me and my vengeance? After what a traitor did to your people? I lived on Omega like you for two years, you know. I know what killed your previous squad. Or should I say who?"

Garrus's mandibles twitched oddly at these words, but still, he refused to take the bait.

"Three days ago I would have agreed with you!" replied Garrus calmly "Until Shepard made me meet Sidonis on the Citadel on his own terms as you had your meeting with the Council. And forced me to think before pulling the trigger." Garrus's eyes softened somewhat, understanding more than anyone else what Lena was feeling right now. Still, his grip too on the trigger remained steady.

"Lena, even assuming she truly is as despicable as we might believe, this is not the right thing to do."

"Keep this self-righteous crap for yourself Garrus!" spat Lena back in disgust "Everyone has his demons, but mines cannot be exorcized with a pack on the back and a pretty speech. This woman" Kelly gasped as Lena rose the girl even higher in the air "Is responsible alongside those two monsters in recreating a nightmare!"

"That she might be, but you are still going to let her go and allow Shepard to deal with this problem or"

"Or what Garrus? Are you going to shoot me?" Lena interrupted him. Garrus's mandibles twitched as his talons grew closer to the trigger. Behind him, the seven guns primed their fire as Lena's grip on Kelly became tighter. Once again Kelly gasped weakly for air.

"Let her go!"

A knife poked Lena's back as the Claymore felt a peculiar Yoki energy growing behind her. One that she knew far too well.

The Claymore slowly turned her head toward the new source of danger, dreading what her eyes might see and refusing to believe in her own senses.

"Let her go mother, or I swear I shall hurt you!"

Raina was now behind her, her eyes yellow and on her small hands a knife. The same knife Lena had left for self-defence back on her personal quarter a long time ago, the first time she had taken possession of her cabin on the Normandy. The knife meant to be used by Raina in self-defence.

"I...I swear, I will!"

Lena noted that her daughter's yoki was flaring like a star and that her legs were still shaking for power. All signs of a fledgeling Claymore using her strength for the first time. Meaning that her daughter's strong point in yoki was speed and quickness.

-Not the best of time to discover this.- finished her raging mind.

"Drop. That. Knife, Raina." demanded Lena to her child sternly "Kelly is a traitor, nothing more. That facade of gentleness that she showed to us what just that, a facade! She is no better than the people that tortured us back on the island. Actually, she is even worse than them." Lena spat the last words with disgust "At least they were honest in their cruelty."

"Kelly is not a bad person, mother! Whatever she did, there must be an explanation behind it. And even if not, I want her to live!"

The knife now came even closer to Lena's back, scratching part of the fabric covering her.

Lena's sweat became cold at the mere prospect of having her own child killing her for Kelly. That the traitor in her hands had already brainwashed her sweet child and turned her back into a slave, but managed to hide this fear with a titanic effort, at least for now.

"Are you really willing to kill your mother for this...worm?" asked Lena condescended back to Raina, testing her resolve. The child's eyes watered down in response.

"Don't make me choose between you and her mother. Please!" she begged in tears. And yet, inside those tears, Lena saw the power of a young Claymore ready to pull her weight if she forced her, no matter the odds. Something that ripped her apart to the very core.

Garrus and Jacob closed the grip on the triggers as Lena rose even taller a struggling Kelly.

And all of a sudden, Lena let Kelly go. Her iron grip opened up all of a sudden, and the girl fell on the ground with a loud thump, coughing and sputtering from her broken lips. Shaky hands massaged her bruised necks as blood fell freely from her face still under the stern gaze of a raging Lena. Of the seven security members, five immediately moved toward Kelly. They gently dragged her away from Lena as two of them aimed their guns point-blank at a Claymore that refused to even acknowledge them.

"Kelly!" shouted Raina as she dropped the knife on the ground. The child ignored Lena and hugged a still coughing Kelly with all her strength her childish body could muster.

"I am sorry. I am sorry I am sorry I am sorry!" babbled Raina incoherently as Lena sent eyes of pure hatred back to Kelly.

"I...I...Lena...I" muttered Kelly weakly as she tried to say something, anything.

"Don't say a word, Kelly. Not even one!" spat Lena back with venom "You and I are Done! Did you hear me? Done! I will let you walk away with your own legs today becaus of Raina, but dare to approach either her or me ever again and, the Goddesses are testimonies, I will finish what I started today, consequences be damned!"

Right into that moment, Lena noticed one of the silver earrings she had gifted to her back on Illium on the ground. The other one was still firmly clasped on Kelly's right ear despite the pounding just received.

Lena's yoki infused foot stomped it to the ground with enough strength to crack it, and the mere sight of this hurt Kelly more than all the thrashing just received as her heart stopped beating for a second. The silver drops cracked under the blow as small shards of silver fell on the floor like crystal tears as the precious piece was ground to dust.

"Consider it a preview of your end if you decide to disobey." finished Lena acidly as she moved away, always under Garrus and Jacob's guns. Lena gave one last, accusatory stare at Raina before walking away with the two agents as more and more people entered inside the mess hall, doctor Chackwas included.

"Make way, people!" she ordered with her professional tone as she reached Kelly.

"Good God!" she commented as she saw the extent of the damage.

"Someone help her stand on her feet. Bring her back to my infirmary immediately!"

"I am sorry, Lena," whispered Kelly as pairs of strong hands dragged her away from the broken mess hall, careful to not hurt her too much.

"I am so, so sorry."

Heavy eh? But, as I said, it had to be done. The cat is out, Kelly's involvement with new project Claymore is out as well and their relationships broken. Literally, in Kelly's case. Do you side with Kelly? Or Lena? Or neither? Or you just want to see how it ends? Or you don't care and you are here just for the lulz?

Next stop, Cerberus's secret lab and Lena's personal mission (Not loyalty mission mind you).

See ya!