The trek to her facility was long, but Fal-Mai had traversed greater distances before.
Fal-Mai was a fair distance ahead of the group Eliza had assigned her. She was initially worried at first—Eliza had sent two of the troops that had been witness to her destroying SYN with her. Banel and Edgar, to be precise. Maybe the inclusion of Samhien was to counterbalance that. The other SPARK, Julian, certainly wasn't one she had seen often, but she felt responsible for his presence. Finally, she knew much of the sniper at the back—Fal-Mai remembered quite a few of Moody's attempted flirtations on the field. She hoped he'd keep that down.
The Assassin was actually keeping her cloak down for now. It had been discussed in the group that she was to remain visible until potential contact, and then keep in touch via communicator from there. Said device was as comfortably placed in her ear as she could manage—even then, she was ever conscious of the low static it gave off. Lily had made her efforts in reducing it, but Fal-Mai had learned there were no truly silent devices, especially so close to her eardrum. It was... ignorable, but an auditory reminder of who her allies were.
Besides, her concentration was far greater than to be disrupted by what amounted to white noise. She scanned over it, picking out the dry crunching of the grass in the cold air. Four sets of feet, one set of servos... and tens of scrabbling claws as the beat of wings against air occasionally sounded out. Edgar's ravens were out in full force, some going even farther than she was. The fact that such a psion existed at all drove her to wonder what else could be out there. As it stood, the Raven King had certainly earned his title.
Thankfully, she hadn't had to tell the squad behind her to keep their voices down. About the only disruptive person she had to deal with was Julian—and she was quickly memorizing how his mechanics sounded. ADVENT MECs sounded subtly different from SPARKS, and now she knew what to listen for. She kept her profile low on approach, eyes forward as they moved through underbrush.
Over the din of shifting foliage and raven croaks, a more distinctly industrial sound started to hit her ears. She held up a hand as she halted, hearing the advance behind her stop. Fal-Mai cocked her head as she listened in. ADVENT transport. Four... no, five sets of tread. Less and less as time went on. More deep, but reverberating humming. Fal-Mai had heard enough. "ADVENT dropship up ahead. Transporting at least five troops away."
"There's a 'raid' on an ADVENT station going on not far from here that the resistance has covered," Bradford said, filtering in over her comms. "It's a diversion. Good thing they bought it."
"Which means less of ADVENT's goons to fire at us," Julian concluded. "The incompetence they show never ceases to amaze."
Fal-Mai squinted. There could still be security up ahead, enough to reasonably cover her facility. She would still be cautious. "Best to advance."
Menace One-Five, thankfully, seemed to get the message. She resumed her stalk, mindful of her team behind her and the ravens around her. The thicket of trees was beginning to thin, and Fal-Mai could catch glimpses of gray between green. The facility was within sight. Fal-Mai found her pace speeding up despite herself. It was nearly time; nearly time to demolish the one remnant she could destroy of her creation within ADVENT. If she was to be allied with XCOM, she would not let the Elders possess so much of her.
The cover of trees broke, and Fal-Mai found herself staring down her Ascension Facility. It loomed in the clearing of the forest, far from the public eye, almost hiding itself. A strange ache went through her at the sight of it, but she didn't focus on the feeling long. Her eyes went to work scanning the security detail.
Edgar had her covered, however. "Four turrets, each on one of the corners of the building. There's an Andromedon working its way inside. Four Troopers, and one of the ravens is sure it spotted an Officer in the facility itself."
If that was what all the security detail was, Fal-Mai felt as if they weren't even bothering to keep her "cradle" safe. Biting back a scowl, she glanced to her team, then looked back ahead. Their loss. Easy or difficult, she would destroy this monument to what Helena made. "I would like to scout around the building," she murmured, "and observe any potential blind spots. I may look in, of course."
There was a general chorus of affirmations from the squad, and Fal-Mai let her shroud overtake her being. The white noise in her ear didn't cease—perhaps that was one thing her cloak did not mask. Noting that for the future, she advanced silently, feet guiding her around the facility. As she passed the windows, she peered in. Sure enough, one of them revealed an Officer and a Sectoid, but outside of the already accounted-for security? That seemed to be it. Minimal, but still present. "I can confirm the Officer, and there is a Sectoid with it."
"Noted." That was Banel. "Anything else?"
"I will keep looking."
Fal-Mai stalked away from the window, now on the opposite side of the facility. A watchtower stood, seemingly vacant... but Fal-Mai looked in to make sure. Empty. She checked around the other side of it, and it too was barren.
She was halfway through walking back around when ear-splitting psionics rang through the air.
Fal-Mai stumbled despite herself and steadied against the side of the tower, hands over her ears. She recognized this sound—but being outside of it and hearing it was a vastly different experience to being ferried through the Void. A Chosen was being brought in, and considering who remained...
Having squeezed her eyes shut, Fal-Mai lifted her head, praying her cover wasn't blown. Thankfully, Jax had warped in with his back to—
Wait. What was wrong with his armor?
From Fal-Mai's angle, the back of Jax's armor looked like it had been nearly destroyed. Partially melted, it was as if someone had forced him against a pyre. But, no man-made flame on Earth could warp the metal of their armor as such. From the way the damage seemed to blossom out... and how there seemed to be several smaller damaged spots...
A fire to match the heat that branded Jax burned in Fal-Mai's gut. She knew he had been punished, but that? That was a mark of far too much strength used even for a "disciplinary" action. Fal-Mai could only wonder as to how much force the Elders used in their punishment of him. Her back ached simply thinking of it.
After a moment of taking in a breath, Jax advanced. She knew she couldn't let him reach her squad, or her facility. Dropping her cloak, she stood up on her own and molded her face into a calm mask. "Brother."
Jax wheeled around, catching sight of her. His face went through a range of emotions at once, finally settling on a hesitant one. "—Sister. You... you are here."
"As I am." She crossed her arms, levelling an even gaze at him. "Do you seek to defend this facility?"
Jax's hands tightened into fists. "It would be low of me to not put in at least the same effort I saw to put into defending our brother's cradle. I figured XCOM would be moving on either of ours soon enough—and the raid nearby was simply too convenient."
To his credit, Jax was not dull. At the very least, he could see a pattern when it was forming. Still, the thought that he wanted to defend it on some misguided sense of... familial bond? What did he seek to do? "Why? I can assure you that I do not come here today alone, and assuredly you must know why."
The Warlock's face twitched at that, and he gave a half-hearted scowl. "You... you would also debase yourself in joining with this foolish resistance? I knew Mordenna would be easily swayed, but you? I had higher hopes, sister..."
"You have not answered my question," she stated firmly. "My reasons for joining XCOM are sound. Believe me—I had also thought what they did to Mordenna to be foul play. But, I have had time to think. The Elders are not what they want us to believe they are, brother. If you say you have higher expectations for me..." Her gaze turned hard. "And if you are capable of picking out a pattern... do you not think this odd?"
Jax shook his head. As angry or even disappointed as he seemed... there was something else beneath it. His heart was racing and his breathing was a bit uneven—and there was a certain roughness to it that was not there before. "XCOM and its wayward Commander has deluded you, twisted your mind into believing that these are your own thoughts. Tell me your reasons, Fal-Mai. I contest the very fact that your reasoning could be sound."
Fal-Mai spread her arms out. "Because what Helena had imposed upon me was hypocritical. A good parent would not leave their child fearing for their life at punishment, would they? When have the Elders ever been emotionally invested within our health? Physical, yes. But everything else? Do you not think there must be a reason Mordenna is the way he is?" She gestured to him. "I felt what you felt, brother! I have seen the back of your armor. Does that strike you as something a caring parent does?"
At her last point, something in Jax shifted. His eyes widened and he turned to the side, clutching his forehead. As his breathing sped up, feelings began to ghost at the back of her mind. Terror. Agony. Hopelessness. "N-no. They are j-justified, Fal-Mai! I failed Them. They—"
"Were angry and wanted someone to lash out at, brother!" Mordenna's words once again ran across her mind, and this time she fully understood. Seeing Jax devolve into such a state like this only reaffirmed the truth in them. The Warlock was not meant to be an anxious, fearful being. Not in any right world. He was not meant to parrot the very same excuses she found herself running to in his situation. "Please, Jax. Don't you see what they're doing to you?"
Jax squeezed his eyes shut, and the ghosts of memories got stronger. "—d-don't... sister—" He took in a sharp breath. When he started again, his voice was low and tremoring. "They mean well. They love us, Fal-Mai."
"Is 'love' supposed to hurt?"
Jax didn't answer. A second gauntlet joined in an effort to hide his face, palms pressed to his eyes. At this point, Jax was almost hyperventilating, and Fal-Mai was finding it harder to keep the memories out of her own head. She walked forward, deathly silent. She hadn't meant to do this to him. Just to try and make him see a bit of reason... but it was clear that wasn't going to happen unless it was a better space than this, and with him being away from the Elders. "Just... leave, brother. I want to destroy this place. I want the last monument to Helena's hurtful 'love' to fall. We don't have to fight."
At this range, Fal-Mai could almost hear the churning storm of Jax's psionics. "C-Cronus... He could be watching... I-I don't want Him to see..."
She closed her eyes, trying to stem off a particularly powerful memory. Cronus had seen his tears. Cronus had punished him. The fire in Fal-Mai's stomach burned brighter, and she took her dagger out of its sheath. "It's ok," she whispered softly, "I'll send you back. Just don't move; we'll be coming for you soon."
Jax tensed up at hearing it... but he didn't try to move away, or even lift his hands to see what she was doing. She would make it painless. Flipping the dagger in her hand to reverse-grip it, she raised her arm and brought it plunging down, sinking into the base of Jax's neck.
It was instant. The memories stopped, and Jax fell to the floor, motionless. Mere seconds later, he was whisked away in an ear-ringing column of psionics, leaving only the orange of his blood on her blade. Fal-Mai was left alone again... and the encroaching quiet reminded her of the white noise in her earpiece. XCOM had been privy to the whole conversation. She stalled where she was at, motionless. Then, she felt her mouth move. "Warlock down," she intoned.
Eliza's voice was soft. "Good work, Fal-Mai. Rejoin your squad."
Fal-Mai's eyes fell shut, and she brought her cloak in around her again. In the wake of the encounter... Fal-Mai was realizing how much the fire inside her hurt her. Jax was trapped with the Elders, unable to escape his fate. His only hope lay with XCOM, and Fal-Mai saw that clearly now. There was nothing he could do, and Fal-Mai related heavily to his helplessness. We'll be coming for you soon.
Her chest ached, and her thoughts went to Eliza. A "shoulder to cry on." Perhaps she would be seeking that out soon. Shelving the thought for later, she cleaned his blood off the best she could and sheathed her dagger, stalking back to the facility. Eyes moving upwards, she spoke into the comms channel again. "Menace, are you close?"
"As close as it gets without knocking on the front door," Edgar replied. "Those turrets are keeping us back."
"I intend to deal with them." She would still fulfill her duty today, the turbulence of feelings inside her be damned. "I shall handle the closest set to you all first." She hadn't the foggiest about how the turrets were put together... but her blade was sharp and her aim keen. Cutting them apart should make them stop working; she'd then just need to work through the ensuing mag fire.
Silent as the grave, Fal-Mai took a running start, making a bounding leap and grabbing onto the guardrails of the roof. From there, she pulled herself up and transferred the momentum into a roll forwards, righting herself in time with the unsheathing of her sword. As her blade raced forward, the veil of her shroud peeled back, and she found only mild resistance as she cut the turret cleanly.
The priming of chambers and smooth grind of metal around her told of her assumptions being correct. Fal-Mai ducked and strafed with her body close to the ground, narrowly avoiding gunfire. Their positions were fixed—making it trivial to weave around the bursts of mag shots. An upwards cut disabled the second turret overlooking Menace's approach, and she heard the scrambling of footsteps below. Assuredly others had heard the turrets go off, but she would leave that skirmish to them at the moment. More fluid movement brought the Assassin to the other turrets, and two swipes more meant the security detail on the roof was neutralized.
Efficient. Deadly. Graceful. It did not matter for which side she fought. The Assassin was meant to be perfection in every movement. Meant to be. The knowledge of the facility below her could turn everything upside down. What if she learned something that would make her want to go back to the Elders? What would Eliza say then? Surely she would have no place for her own defectors—and it would be easy to guess what the Elders' response would be. It didn't matter. Fal-Mai just wished that fact could make it to her gut.
Working through her thoughts, Fal-Mai turned to the battle below. Two Troopers had already been shot down, and the rest of the guard were fighting tooth and nail against XCOM. Her eyes scanned to the Sectoid. Many a time, she had been witness to their potential deadliness on the battlefield, how they twisted the minds of the resistance and offered a chance to fire upon those they called allies. Not here, not today.
As easily as she breathed, Fal-Mai slipped back into her cloak, blade out as she vaulted over the side of the roof. With a roll on the ground, she sprang from her position, her cover flying back as she sent the tip of her sword into the Sectoid's chest. The second it was clear she had hit home, she spared no time to savor the kill. There was no joy to be found in it, after all, and she pulled back from victim and sight. Already she could see the rest of the security detail reacting to what they just saw—the Officer looked distinctly unsettled and the Troopers nervous.
No time to be spared. Sliding into low cover, Fal-Mai considered her next target. The Troopers were speed bumps. The Officer could be dealt with later. The Andromedon? That would be her next course of attack—so long as she could handle it carefully. There needn't be much said of their toxic backlash.
As more plasma fire erupted from her squad, Fal-Mai was quick to call out her move into comms. Almost as she said it, she surged forwards, ducking under one of the suit's arms and plunging the blade through its side and to the rider. As she withdrew her blade, she spun around to its back and kicked it forwards, shattering the containment suit's glass against the ground and the acid with it. She could assume that someone in the squad would deal with its backup system—an assumption made rightly, as Julian fired into its downed form.
Slipping back into the shadows, the din of battle was proving distracting. The screaming of plasma through the air, the cycling of gun chambers, the priming of mechanisms, the callouts of the squad, the white noise in her ear...
All too much. Fal-Mai was attentive but not omniscient. The only sign she got of the grenade was it hitting the ground—then, the ensuing blast.
She could feel a white hot pain overtake her left side as she distinctly felt shards of shrapnel bury itself into her—stopped from going too far by her armor, thankfully. Less thankfully, and more painful, was the ringing that overtook her ears and sent a splitting migraine across her consciousness. Fal-Mai felt a scream rip through her throat and her shroud vanished. She was exposed. The Officer had a good shot. Fal-Mai was sure there was a kill order on the Network with her name on it.
The distinctive crack of a plasma lance rang through the air, and the only other thing that accompanied the silence afterwards was the thudding of a body against the ground. Ears still ringing, Fal-Mai looked around. All of the resistance against them were felled—including the Officer that had thrown what should have been a life-ending grenade. Looking back, the acrid smell of plasma hung in the air as Moody's rifle cooled down. He lowered his gun, eyes trained on her. "You alright there, love? That sounded like it hurt."
"Sorry about that," Banel said, gun still raised and pointed towards the facility. "Had a good shot on 'em but miscounted my ammo."
"Ah, good old Baal. He's got a big gun but he—"
"Menace, please, observe the facility ahead." Samhien cut across them, stepping over barriers and rubble towards Fal-Mai. "I'll tend to the Assassin. Secure the area, double-check for stragglers. I'll catch up shortly."
Even for someone of his personality, it was clear to see that Sammy hailed from ADVENT in certain situations. Summarily ordered, the rest of the squad moved forward. Edgar was already reporting that the ravens weren't picking up anyone else around, but Fal-Mai was more focused on the Skirmisher coming towards her. From a bag on his hip, he was producing a number of tools as he approached. "Assassin Neylor, please sit down with your side exposed. I am aware of your heightened regeneration—but we cannot let any shrapnel remain."
Pain stil coursing through her nerves, Fal-Mai complied and leaned against one of the barriers, doing her best to lean away from her injuries. As the crouched down, he adroitly handled his tools. "I understand you are in pain, and I am here to help. I must ask some questions before I work. Would you like localized anesthetic, and where did you feel the foreign bodies enter?"
Though Fal-Mai had never been alive to witness ADVENT Medics in action, she could only imagine that was a practiced opening ingrained into their genetics. Sucking in a breath, she responded. "Yes. Five of varying sizes into my side, two into my thigh." She counted herself very lucky that anything else either missed her or got stopped by her armor. If that blast had been any closer...
Producing a syringe, a bottle, and a wipe in short order, Samhien prepared his needle and injected Fal-Mai. The pinch was nothing compared to what she had felt before—but the coolness of the liquid certainly caught her off guard. It was quick, and Fal-Mai could feel her side going blissfully numb. Not her thigh—but she could grit her teeth for that part. "Alright. You've been numbed up. The agent is quick-acting but does not last as long as a normal numbing solution. Please remain calm and allow me to do my work as quickly and safely as possible."
With that, Samhein went to work at an impressive speed, working his tools and extracting the shrapnel from Fal-Mai's side. Though she felt nothing, it was still somewhat unnerving to watch him take out everything. She averted her eyes, looking to the facility. Menace One-Five had already entered, and over comms it was confirmed they were doing a check of the place. Things were coming up empty, and Julian was commenting on an exposed access point.
A sharp sting of pain in her leg brought her back and she hissed, causing Sammy to stop up. "Should I inject at your leg, as well?"
"No," she was quick to shoot back, "I would not waste more of your resources on temporary pain. Keep going."
Samhien nodded quickly, though she could practically sense his concern through his helmet as he went back to work. It stung far more without the numbness, but Sammy was swift and spared no time for nerves. Soon, every piece of shrapnel was collected in a bag and put into his pouch with the rest of his tools. His hand went to the medkit on his other side, but he stopped up. "As I am aware of your regeneration... do you want me to apply the medkit to you?"
She shook her head, moving to stand. It would take longer—and she was not Jax—but her wounds would close. "Save it for one who needs it. If it is a problem, I can be tended to back on the ship." Her eyes slid back to her facility. "There are more important things to be handled."
"Nothing is more important than your health, Fal-Mai. Physical, mental, and emotional."
Fal-Mai closed her eyes, letting his words sink in for a moment. Her physical health, she needed to consider a lot more nowadays. This wasn't a time where she could shrug off her injuries and rely on a Sarcophagus to bring her back. Her mental and emotional health... had she ever cared for those during her time at ADVENT? It was easy to say "no" to that. She had told Jax no, after all. Opening her eyes, she started to gently walk forwards. "Then let this facility be key to my mental and emotional health... friend."
Once she heard Samhien following behind her, she sped up her pace, ducking through an open door into the building. Once she caught sight of the scenery, Fal-Mai was hit with a massive dose of her own memories. Clean floors, red glass, the humming of electricity and machinery. The smell of sterile instruments, metal wiring, and suspension fluid. It was her cradle.
She would be glad to see it go.
Turning to Julian, currently surveying with his BIT, she cleared her throat. "All you need to do now is take what you wish from this place. Afterwards... I want it destroyed."
"No need to ask twice," Julian grumbled, "just making sure there isn't any other admin points around here that I can get a better uplink through. Seems not, of course, ADVENT were never clever with their network infrastructure. HAL, over there."
Julian's BIT flew over to a currently-on monitor, and soon the back of it and the computer were showing streams of data. A certain clicking caught her ear and she looked to the side. Banel was hooking up X4 charges to pillars. He seemed to notice her looking. "Normally we only use one, but I figure two might be a good capstone on all of this for you. Sound good?"
She nodded. "Whatever brings this abhorrent monument down."
"Could say that again." Banel inputted a sequence on the second charge. "Central, X4 charges placed and armed."
"Good work, Menace," Bradford replied. "How's that hack going, Julian?"
"I'm an on-board AI, not a cracking program! But, in other news, like a charm. It's ADVENT, their protocols are made out of gum and prayers. You should be getting what little data's here... now."
"Read it." A few heads turned to Fal-Mai. She closed her eyes, unable to meet their gaze as she knew what she was saying. "I must know. Perhaps XCOM should know too, if they doubt my loyalties." This was a very big gamble she was playing here, and she knew it. If those files somehow pointed towards her being just what Helena had told her she was...
There was a bit of silence, but eventually Lily's voice came over comms. "About two years spent on the creation process... signed by an Elder named Helena. Project name Pandora." Next to her, Moody and Edgar winced. "... it's—it's acknowledged here that it should've taken at least one more year to iron everything out, but there's a transcribed log here—it says that Helena just 'wanted this tool out there to show Odin and Cronus their shortcomings?'" Lily's stifled rage was clear through her reading of the quote. "Apparently the—your blast weakness was 'noted' but accepted as a 'reasonable, minor setback.'" Then, a while of silence. She thought she could hear Lily take in a shocked breath. "Says here a few months were spent on trying to make you emotionless... just a few. It didn't work. Added note that she'd 'take care of it herself.'"
Everything Lily said hit Fal-Mai like a truck. The bottom of her stomach fell out and she could feel every stare from the squad on her. Helena made her imperfect. Helena knew she was imperfect. Helena forced emotionlessness on her, knowing it was impossible. She hadn't even tried very hard. She brought Fal-Mai into this world, knowing very much that she could feel, and told her not to.
The fire she had faced know Jax's suffering burned harder and the flames licked at her throat. Fal-Mai grit her teeth behind slightly drawn lips. Anger, betrayal, mourning... all churning inside of her, begging to be let out. Begging for her to slip away from her squad and into the nearest city center, to take down anyone even related to ADVENT. They deserved it, didn't they? They colluded with the Elders, colluded with Helena. They were a part of all this. They deserved to—
Before she knew it, she felt a pressure against her good side, and a fair amount of warmth. The contact startled her and she certainly jumped for a moment. Her eyes slowly drifted downwards, and thoughts of fleeing vanished. Samhien... was hugging her. He was tactfully avoiding any of her bad spots. Of course. He must have felt the emotions that had risen like bile within her. Calmly, she took in a breath and let it out gently. Not emotionless. Just calm. She could not stymie her anger fully, but she would not unleash it here. "I hope that... that is conclusive, XCOM. Let us leave this place, and never come back."
There was a silent agreement amongst the squad. They started the move out, and Samhien let up on his hug. He looked up to her. "Fal-Mai, are you alright?"
The Assassin watched the retreating forms of the rest of her allies, and didn't respond for a moment. When she did, her voice was low. "No, friend. I am not alright. That is all I will say for now. Let us leave." Mindful that she was on comms with no known way to tune out, that was all she kept it at.
Sammy nodded. "Let's go back."
Hardly needed to tell her twice. Following along after Sammy, Fal-Mai didn't spare one more look back as they walked towards the flare hailing the incoming Skyranger. The wait for their escape was tense and quiet. How would one go about approaching a Chosen with their secrets laid bare like that? What did Eliza think, now? Her gut twisted and her chest burned. Would it not speak more as to her loyalty?
She could hear the Skyranger approaching long before it was visible. She kept her eyes trained on the skies at it was on approach, appearing over the trees and coming in to a hover. The back hatch opened and black cords draped from it. Watching everyone else take theirs—and watching Julian take off—she grasped hers and allowed it to lift her into the waiting deck of the ship.
Once inside, everyone filed into their seats, leaving one at the very end spared for Fal-Mai. She sat down, not looking at Sammy across from her. Instead, she looked out the open hatch, at the outside of her Ascension Facility. It started to grow smaller as everyone fastened their seatbelts and Firebrand took off. After a bit, she came over radio. "Central, this is Firebrand. We're clear of the hot zone. Mind giving us some fireworks?"
"Loud and clear, Firebrand. Detonating X4 charges... now."
Even from their position high in the sky and far away from the site, the explosion impacted Fal-Mai's ears. But, she forced herself to keep her eyes looking head-on into the explosion that now encompassed where she had been created. Her cradle, where she was sworn into ADVENT, where Helena had given her the gift of life...
She was glad it was gone.
