I'd like to extend a formal "thank you" to everyone who has left a review so far. Your care helps the story run, and if FFNet allowed me to reply publicly, I would.


By the time Eliza had walked through the door of his cell, Jax had expected to have his mind made up. He'd expected to know firmly where he stood on the matter of joining XCOM, and resolute in his decision to do so.

But even as the door was sliding open to reveal Eliza beyond, Jax still wasn't fully sure if he wanted to do this. He had a lot of reasons to join. His dear congregation was there, there was the chance to possible reconcile with his siblings—which appealed to him in a strange way he could not put a finger on—and the chance to study psionic powers the likes of which he had never seen in the Commander. There were other reasons, too—but thinking over them made the very same part of him that was making this decision non-unanimous kick a fuss.

Still, despite his relative indecisiveness, when Eliza nodded at him, he rose from his sitting position. "Commander. Are my five days finally concluded?"

"They certainly are." She took a moment to fully step in. "How're you holding up, by the by?"

"Assuredly better than before. I would almost half-assume that Maria wishes to lodge with me here, by the frequency of her visits." Even as much as he brought it up, he didn't mind in the least. Having Maria to come in and check on him was keeping his spirits up.

"Good to hear! Hate to beat around the bush, of course, but I wanted to make sure you were alright." Eliza gestured to him. "So. What's your decision?"

In response, Jax crossed his arms, tapping a finger. He would've preferred to be fully decided on the matter—it was best, in his eyes, to move forward without doubt and to believe in what he was doing wholly. Goodness knows it had dismantled him before. Did he want to do this? He certainly wanted to. Things still held him back, but... it felt as if it was the best course of action, for now. Perhaps after the war was over and Jax had built up trust with Eliza, he could go his own way with his followers.

Eventually, Jax gave a shallow nod. "I have given it much thought, Commander, and I will be honest; I still possess my reservations. However, it would take a man blinder than I to not see the benefits of this offer you have proposed. Yes, Commander. I will join with your forces."

The way Eliza smiled alleviated one or two concerns, it felt like. "That makes me happy to hear, Jax. I'm just going to run one or two things by you—standard fare, basically what I've told your brother and sister. Firstly, and this is just because I told the others, try to be on your best behavior, alright? I'm certainly not asking for perfection; just try not to intentionally antagonize anyone and we should be good."

He waved it off. "I fancy no conflict with your soldiers, Commander—and since Mordenna of all people has suggested I be kinder to my own siblings, I feel challenged to set an example, there. I believe you will find my cooperation well."

Eliza bobbed her head. "Good to know. Secondly—well, I've already given you the whole rundown about coming to me for help, and you've seen I'm no stranger to leaping in there myself if need be."

The Commander's strange altruism regarding his incident still baffled him. Maria, he could understand. His followers, he could understand. But the Commander of XCOM? A woman who had not many dealings with him outside of the nuisance he was? Why would she rush to his aid? Jax shook his head, dismissing the line of thought. "As I know."

"My point being, like everyone else, I'm going to have a communicator made for you so you can tune in during missions and the like. Also, just... feel free to approach me during the day, alright?" Eliza's face softened as she went on. "It's ok to need help. Everyone needs it, eventually."

Before he could stop it, Jax could feel the contrarian aspect of him rising. "To need to break down marks a deficiency of being, Commander." He blew a breath out of his nose. "And to give into it... a further fracture of the self."

Eliza didn't seem to mind the rebuttal, as she came in quick with one of her own. "Needing to break down means you've gone so long ignoring the warning lights that your body forces you to take a break, Jax. If you take breaks and care for yourself before then, you can avoid this 'fracture of the self.'"

It was with a begrudging admittance that Jax's more argumentative side could see her point. Deflating a little, he successfully wrestled it down—though of course, he knew he had to play it off. "Perhaps. I will take it into account, Commander. Do you have anything else to clear by me?"

Eliza seemed to think for a moment, then went "ah" as she hit upon something. "Two things, actually. Firstly, would you like your own room? We've got a few rooms kicking around on the Avenger we've been mostly using for storage—and even then, we can condense the rooms. Lily thinks there might be a 'basement' area in the ship she can clear out, and honestly I'm all for that..." She shook her head, getting back on track. "Anyway, my point being is that we can easily accommodate you."

Jax nodded. "I would find that well, Commander. I've no need to sleep, but can still find it pleasant." He... almost wanted to ask if there was a room big enough to revive the Studio in, but he somewhat doubted it. Best not to ask so much out of the gate—and he could always survey the area himself, when given the chance. "Your second point?"

"Mhm. I believe I remember you being possibly interested in helping me out with my psionics?"

Of course. His curiosity renewed, he regarded her. "—indeed. Yours of are a variety that I must agree with the Templars; they should be observed, and most of all, trained. If I am to take up lodging with you, I suppose I will give that goodwill back by guiding you through mastering your psionics. We can begin at your earliest convenience." He paused. Even now, he could feel the lack of his amps on his head. "... I will, of course, require my amplifiers back, as well. I am accustomed to training with them on."

"No trouble. I can swing you by the Workshop as I walk you out—it's where we have them locked up at the moment. Safety's sake, I'm sure you understand." She spread her arms out. "That was about all I had for you, Jax. Any questions?"

After a moment's thought, he shook his head. "No questions, Commander, thought I am sure I will have them later."

"When you've got them, you can ask. Otherwise..." She grinned. "Welcome to XCOM, Jax. We're glad to have you. Now—can I take you over to the Workshop so you can get your belongings? I don't think we can begin with my training today, sadly, but I've got an open block tomorrow after my workout session that could be used for it."

Well, his guess of her maintaining her form was correct. Thanks to the genetic modifications Cronus had performed, Jax would never need to maintain his figure—and indeed, he could not improve it any further, either. "Very well, Commander. Give me a precise time later and I will be able to show you to potential you hold. As for my belongings..." He inclined his head at her. "Lead the way. I have long wanted to stretch my legs."

"I'd be happy to help you out. Right this way." With that, Eliza hit the panel on the wall and the door opened. He watched her walk out, and he followed after her. Some thoughts caught up to him as he stepped off—Eliza's hair had white streaks in her bangs. Was that a sign of her age, or a hint at her latent psionics? The light blue flecks in her eyes could also have foreshadowed it. Though, knowing her psionics were blue, it led Jax to another thought—

—or, it would've, had he not banged his head on the top of the doorframe. Stumbling back, he held off a curse that his dignity wouldn't allow, rubbing his forehead. He'd... gotten distracted, and he was used to most doorways accommodating for him—or, at the very least, them being noticeably small enough that he knew he had to duck. The Avenger's doors were just tall enough to catch him off guard. He was able to catch Eliza turning around before the door closed after her. It was a short moment before it was open again, Eliza leaned over and presumably keeping a hand on it. "You alright there, Jax?"

"Perfectly fine," he muttered, this time properly ducking under the doorway. "Let us forget this happened."

With a gentle chuckle, Eliza went back to leading the way. "Fair enough, I can do that. Just give me a second here." Eliza pressed a finger to her ear. "Lily? You in your Workshop?" A pause, presumably for a reply. "Alright. Jax and I are swinging down for his personal effects and I figured you'd like to know so you can have the key handy. Alright? ... alright. We'll be there soon." Her hand fell. "Just letting Lily know we're going to be down there so we can get ready. No unexpected surprises, and all."

Jax nodded. "Understood. I would hardly wish to scare the daylights out of someone—that is more my brother's territory. I would not be surprised if he now knows I am coming down... and if his new missions would be to scare the daylights out of me."

"Actually," Eliza said, stepping out of the room and checking to make sure Jax made it past the door this time, "he's out on a mission with his sister, at the moment. Or, he's coming back, I should be clear. We got word of mission success and now they're in the last leg of coming home."

He gave Eliza a stare with raised eyebrows. Incredulous, but trying to be dignified about it. "I had been willing to assume the mission to capture me was a fluke, Commander. Dare you lead me to believe you would chance fate twice and send them on a mission again?"

"We needed it done and I needed a loud team for the haven we had to protect." Even as Eliza was turned away from him, she spared a hand to gesture. "Ended up being a good call, by all accounts. Menace One-Five got the jump on ADVENT this time around thanks to showing up early to a potential raid, and Wraith One—I'm sure you know that team, from the amount of times you've stopped them—reported some injuries, but nothing serious. More intel, a region in debt to us, and supplies I didn't have to go through the Black Market for. Wish things went this smoothly earlier. Plus..." She glanced back. "Mordenna said it himself. If they want to try to be siblings, best they try to cooperate together, yeah?"

On reflection, perhaps a trial-by-fire was the best bet for the two of them to settle their differences. Some things could not come about in peacetime. At the same time, Jax somewhat wondered if Eliza knew the kind of loose cannon Mordenna was. Quick to a hair-trigger temper, in his experience, and Jax had fifteen years of it. Granted, the first two or so were with a... very different Mordenna. Jax didn't have to ask what happened to that early version of his brother; he could very well say he'd seen the inciting incident. Suffice to say... there was a bit of precedent as to why Jax had never really wanted to ask questions of the Elders.

Thought process ended, he nodded. "That does strike me as an effective methodology. I suppose you are not actively sought out by the Elders for no good reason."

"I've had fifty-seven years to practice. Gonna be fifty-eight here, soon. You pick up a thing or two along the way." Something seemed to occur to Eliza, as she looked back at him again. "By the way, speaking of age... I'd hesitate to place one on you, considering I was told in a similar manner to this that Fal-Mai is literally one year old. One and a half, by the date on her files."

... how old was he? He'd never accessed his own files, and only knew he was "young" when he was taken and uplifted by the Elders. Old enough to show signs of his powers, and from what he'd read into and heard from his network, that could be as old as toddler years. A few detested fears of his could place a general age.

After a moment of thought, Jax came to a conclusion. "At the very least, twenty-four. At the most... thirty. I'd never learned the last age I was when I was still one of your kind, Commander."

His gaze had wandered a bit, but when it came back to Eliza? Well, it would take a man blinder than him not to see the look of faint horror on her face. She quickly cleared her throat when he noticed. "Sorry if I sound a little flabbergasted, Jax, but whether you're twenty-four or thirty, that still means the Elders took you when you were a kid. That... I really don't know what to say to that. Other than 'that sucks, sorry.'"

He gave a quiet, but not dismissive, "hmph." "The sentiment is lost. I do not mourn for my early years—I have always appreciated the power gifted to me. It took some effort to reach this point, and no small amount of pain." Psionic migraines were very crippling. "But so long as I measure out my powers and exercise restraint when needed, I find no downsides to most of the methods of my upbringing." A thought struck him, and it made him somewhat contemplative. "... were I not taken in by the Elders, I would likely be simply one more name on a list of casualties in raids, disease, or otherwise. I remember some details of my former life—a home made in a haven, life in vigilance, terrorized by a threat I could only dream of." It was... strange, to share info like this. He'd only ever stepped around it with Maria, on the small fear that somehow, the Elders could hear through her. By the time he got that out of his head, it had stopped being a worry for him.

Checking to make sure they were alone in the hallway, he continued. "I... understand, some of the 'atrocities' that the masses hold the Elders to. But in the end, the Earth could fare far worse. I could have been left to a far worse fate, Commander. There are checks and balances in all things, and no good deed goes unpunished. I do not mean to be defeatist at your ultimate goal—but I believe there is ultimately reasoning and justification to what They do. Even as you have had experience with Them, surely you can see this?"

The silence that followed his question spoke as loud as his own words. He could only watch as Eliza's footsteps started to slow, and she looked forwards, away from him. Unbidden, he could almost feel a claw of ice seize over his heart. Was he afraid? What would Eliza do? She's going to hurt us. You asked questions again. You keep being bad. Surely these childish notions couldn't be true, yes? So why was his breath stilled as he waited for Eliza to respond?

Eliza slowed to a stop. She clasped her hands in front of her, then nodded to herself. "I can understand having that kind of reasoning, lodging with the Elders for that long as one of their kids." Even as she spoke, Jax was waiting for the other shoe to drop. "And I'm sure they've got reasons. Loads of them, at the end of the day. My problem is, they're all terrible!" Eliza spun around, her expression far lighter than what Jax had been expecting. "Seriously! Had the Elders made peaceful contact with Earth, expressing a mutual exchange of knowledge—or even doing what they're doing with the gene clinics on the surface—we would've been eating out of the palms of their hands! Doesn't that seem like the most peaceful path, considering what First Contact was?"

Truth be told, the only things Jax knew about First Contact was what the Elders had drilled into the minds of the populace once They had established Their hold on the Earth. It struck him that Eliza was essentially a walking relic from twenty years ago—one of the last remaining people who actually went through the whole ordeal. He opened his mouth to give some sort of rebuttal about how "the Elders say that such attempts were met with hostility," then closed it again. Even as he said that They had their reasons... maybe Eliza was right. Maybe not all of them were good... or even truthful.

For lack of anything to say to shoot the notion down, he crossed his arms, looking away. "You will have to forgive me for my lack of knowledge regarding events that transpired when I was little more than a babe, Eliza."

"Well, would you like a basic rundown?" When he tentatively nodded, Eliza continued. "XCOM was initially a program for 'worst-case-scenario first contact.' We knew we couldn't possibly be alone, and figured we had to have some sort of defence in place should extraterrestrial life end up not being so kind to us." She sighed. "And for reasons I will leave lost to time, I was elected as best Commander for the initiative. Thus, the Extraterrestrial Combat Unit was born.

"As it turns out, and probably obvious in hindsight? What we could scrape together definitely wasn't enough to hold off any aliens that were out for our blood. The first contact we had with the Ethereal Collective was a bunch of their ships showing up on our radars unannounced. The second was the pods. I'm sure you've seen the green devices in Lost Cities." He had. That put far too much context to them than he would've liked. The Elders never did like to explain what happened there. "I did what I could—though, arguably, maybe I shouldn't have. Six months, Jax. I held them off for six months, and by the fifth, I was doing things I'm taking to my grave. There was no negotiation, no terms of surrender. Just complete and utter annihilation of resistance.

"Finally, in July, it happened. Our underground base was overrun. By then, I'd started to realize what I had done just to keep what feeble scraps of XCOM were left alive. I was confident I'd die fighting." A dark, troubled look shadowed her face. "Wasn't so confident I'd go down with a Thin Man on top of me. After that... nothing. Presumably they hooked me up pretty quick—as far as Bradford says, the aliens got a lot smarter, real fast. I'm sure I'd remember more if not for a little thing that Mordenna calls the Network Severance Effect. You probably don't remember most of what you accessed through the Network, right?"

Jax... couldn't really put a finger on that. Most of his data-gathering had been physical. Though, what of the conversations he had with his former network of Priests? Jax couldn't claim to have as eidetic a memory as a Codex, of course, but even then he had made it a point to file away what info they passed onto him when it wasn't immediately useful. Yet, as he thought on it, there were strange... gaps. Places where it was as if he was trying to recall a word he knew exactly, but it was on the very tip of his tongue. He'd remembered even thinking on one of those conversations before he'd been taken by XCOM. What had he been thinking on? What had that Priest told him?

He didn't know. To confirm as much, he nodded to Eliza. "I figured," she replied. "Mordenna and I have it the worst—being Network Admins and doing most of our work through there is lending to large holes in our memories. You say no good deed goes unpunished. Well... I did my time. Twenty years of it, in that Tank. I'm just about ready to start with some good deeds to justify that time."

In the wake of what she'd said, Jax was left with silence. He'd been waiting for the whole time for her to devolve into screaming, to raise a hand in anger, anything. About the most menacing she had gotten was when she was detailing what took her down, in the end, and it hadn't been directed at him. But... nothing. Just a calm explanation. He'd asked a question, a controversial one at that, and gotten a straight answer. Jax knew he shouldn't think otherwise or be surprised... and yet?

His shoulders slumped. "... consider me at a loss for words, Eliza, and my question rescinded. I had not meant to imply the twenty years you spent in the Elders' service to be a punishment of any kind."

"... maybe it's for the best that it was an implied punishment," Eliza quietly muttered. "'No good deed goes unpunished' implies I was doing good deeds to earn good punishment. Maybe those twenty years..." Eliza trailed off, turning away from him. It was clear to Jax that it would be a statement unfinished for the foreseeable future. After another moment of quiet, Eliza spoke again. "So. To the Workshop?"

Jax nodded to himself, only able to wonder what Eliza did during—or before—First Contact to warrant her gauging her twenty years of captivity as justified punishment. "To the Workshop."

Things were silent the rest of the walk—which wasn't too far, as it turned out. Had Eliza kept walking instead of stopping, they would have likely been there before she finished. Eliza opened the door to the Workshop and Jax followed taking a quick look around before his eyes settled on Lily. When he'd entertained the notion of "Chief Engineer of XCOM," he'd thought of something far more... rugged, for her line of work. Lily was practically a slip of a woman. Still, he could pick out how her work had shaped her and left her stronger, and whatever charm that brought wasn't lost.

Though, mindful he might be interpreted as staring, he figured he should introduce himself properly. "Lily Shen. Undoubtedly you've heard of me, though perhaps not in such a positive light."

Lily was currently tinkering with some variety of grenade—if he didn't know any better, Jax would place it as Mordenna's. She looked over to him, looked him up and down, then again, then wrenched her gaze back to his face. Jax wasn't a stranger to being looked up, but it was always interesting to watch it happen. "—more than heard of you. I've seen you in the field, messing stuff up. It's just 'Lily,' by the way, don't have to call me by my full name."

He nodded, noting it. "Acknowledged. Though I would love to entertain a discussion with you at length—and perhaps we might be given the chance, now that I am a part of your movement—I am sure you know what we are here for."

"Yep. Eliza let me know." Putting her tools down, Lily scooped up a key that was on her table, tossing it to Jax. Knowing that he might fumble it physically, he seized its flight midair with his psionics, plucking it from there. With a mutter to the tune of "interesting," Lily continued. "Second locker over on that wall. By the way, and I feel like Mordenna would want to pass this on too—"

"If it's anything about looking at my equipment," Jax interrupted, making his way over to the locker, "I will meditate on it. I do not doubt your abilities, Lily—your continued subversion of ADVENT's weapons proves them well enough—but psionics and their applications are a far different field entirely."

"Not to speak for Lily, or anything of the sort," Eliza piped up, "but who do you think's been designing the Psi Amps? I'm certainly not advocating for you to hand over your weapons to her right now, but she does know what she's doing regarding psionics. Failing that, some assistance from Tygan would puzzle most things out, I imagine."

"Thanks, Commander." As Lily continued, Jax kneeled down and unlocked the locker. "Like I said; it's your stuff and I won't mess with it behind your back. That's not what I do around here. It's more like this: if your equipment ever gets broken, or you... I don't know, want a set of armor that doesn't look like it's melting in the back, I can hook you up. Though the Commander's right, I don't know if I could manage upgrades without some serious inspiration. That's more Mordenna's field."

The notion of replacing his armor immediately set Jax on the defensive, but he had the tact to not speak about it. He'd seen the back of it as his Mystics had carried it away. As horrifying a reminder it was, the thought of discarding it sent the more Elders-loyal part of him into a fury. So, for now, he didn't think on it. "I will remember as such if the need ever arises. As much as my brother wishes to mend bridges between us, you will have to understand if I am not so willing to lay down my personal possessions to him, given his former history with myself." As he opened his locker, he squinted at the Disruption Rifle. He really had no need to carry it around, and besides... "—there is a reason he gave a master of psionics an anti-psionics rifle."

"... what does—oh. Oh." Lily seemed to get it, at least. "Uh, yeah. I can understand. Don't feel you've got to, of course, I'm just offering."

"And as I said, I will keep it in mind." With that said, Jax reached in and grabbed his horns—his psi amps by any other name. Crafted and made for him by the Elders, a two-part set that his gauntlets capped off. The horns were his strength, an amplifying lens for his already sizeable powers. The gauntlets were his conductors, stabilizing his psionics and refining them. He set the crown upon his head, taking in a cleansing breath as he could feel his psionic signature fan out to its usual glory. There was always a low level of animation to his hair, as psionics tended to do—but now it returned to its usual movements, settling him in to his comfortable norm.

As equipped as he'd like, he closed the locker and locked it again, rising to stand. Jax felt a little more like himself again, and it certainly helped him to relax a bit more. He walked over to Lily, dropping the key into her offered palm. "—thank you for safeguarding my belongings until now," he offered. "I will leave my rifle here until I find use of it again."

"Gotcha." Lily stowed the key into a drawer. "I'll keep an eye on—"

Just then, a noise behind them made the whole group turn. The door to the Workshop had opened, and beyond it... was Jax's seemingly whole congregation. The Mystics at the front appeared frazzled that the door had opened on them and there were already frenzied mutters to "close it!" The door closed without any of them entering.

Lily was leaned around Jax, looking towards the door still. "... well, someone's got fans. Wonder how they all know you're here?"

"Probably his psionics." Eliza tugged at the collar of her uniform, seeming to readjust it. "Now that he's got his horns on, I feel like I'm before a god, or something else fittingly poetic. Probably helps he's out of that psi-null room, too. Practically broadcasting over here, aren't you, Jax?"

Jax "hmphed." "It is no fault of my own that my followers would be able to locate me in the darkest sections of the Pit." He turned his head to Eliza, who was still seeming to cope with his full signature. She looked... kind of charming, fidgeting like that. Someone certainly needed that training to get a little more used to him. "—am I beholden to your presence, Commander? Otherwise, I would imagine my disciples wish to see me."

Eliza chuckled and shook her head, gesturing towards the door. "Nah. Go see your people—clearly they're waiting on you."

With a respectful nod, Jax parted from the two of them. When he arrived at the door, he took a moment to prepare himself before he opened it. Beyond, his followers looked to him.

Spreading his arms out, he let himself indulge in theatrics. "Your Holy Father is free of his bonds. Come! Let us congregate and reconvene."

The chorus of cheers that went up was a salve to Jax's soul.


Nobody, himself included, had expected Jax's first day at XCOM to include utterly taking over the Commons.

Yet here he was, slightly lounged back on one of the more comfier chairs as his Mystics buzzed about him, his other followers talking amongst themselves in the generally lightened atmosphere. If pressed, Jax could spot a few human soldiers in the mix—Sherry, he readily recognized. The twin PsiOps were... newer, but he'd seen them before. Their names escaped him at the moment. There were a few others, but Jax was focused on more important things at the moment; namely, listening as the Mystics got him up to speed regarding how things went in the Avenger. Old habits seemed to die hard.

Currently, it was Iris who was filling him in. "—and Bastet and I have done a general survey of the rooms, Holy Father. We've both identified a room that Hestia and Demeter can use for their trade as well as a potential studio. Jeanne has run the numbers, as it were, and has reasoned that storage rooms can be condensed if they use a method she has penned."

Nodding, Jax leaned on an arm of his chair. It was comforting to be surrounded by signatures like this—all familiar, with two or three foreign ones in there, but he could see who those belonged to. Perhaps life on the Avenger wouldn't be so bad, with his assembly here. "Have there been requests made for these accommodations?"

"Not yet," Iris replied, "but only because we were waiting for you. We would hardly want to establish ourselves somewhere where you would remain imprisoned." She paused, and with her helmet off, Jax could actually see the sheepishness in her face. "Also... we were hoping that you may ask, Holy Father."

With a gentle chuckle, he sat back up. "I am sure the Commander will be receptive to having a set of tailors take up shop in their ship—I can only imagine she would consider it mutually beneficial. As for the Studio... I will see what I can do. I wish to see it revived as much as you all do."

"I guided them to save what they could..." Maria, sitting in a chair next to him, shook her head. "But we had no viable places to display the pieces, so they went to storage for now."

Looking around for a second, Jax lowered the volume of his voice. "Did you, perhaps, manage to save the Venus of Urbino-inspired—?"

Maria chuckled tellingly. "Yes, my Chosen. We managed to take the Warlock of ADVENT with us."

Clearing his throat to mask mild embarrassment, Jax moved on. "I will be happy to see the Studio raised once more, as soon as I can manage it. Have all of you—"

That was when the far door to the Commons entered, revealing Mordenna beyond. He seemed... a little out of breath, to be honest, gaze fixed on Jax. It was a moment before he said anything. "Jax. You... son of a bitch. You get released from solitary confinement and you don't even have the decency to tell your brother?"

Jax, mildly amused, raised his eyebrows. "Hello, Mordenna." It was then he noticed the hasty patch-job that was done on the shoulder of Mordenna's shirt. There was a dark, orange-brown stain around it. "Trying out new colors for your apparel?"

"Oh, bro, you are just hilarious," he returned, walking in. As he entered, Jax could see out of the corner of his eye that Odette was retreating behind her sisters, cowering. The sight soured his mood somewhat. Right. There was that to attend to... Jax hadn't forgotten what Mordenna had done to her, but it had slipped his mind in the camaraderie he'd taken up with his followers. He would see it addressed. "Looks like you're all comfy and settled in. Practically taken over the place, have you?"

"As I am." Mordenna must've heard the turn in his brother's voice, as he slowed in his approach. "I will not beat around the bush, brother. You, perhaps, remember Odette."

"Odette, Odette..." Mordenna stopped and rubbed his chin, eyes flickering about. Jax understood his lack of recognition; she only had a number under his care. Eventually, Mordenna seemed to remember, as his face shifted to something more apprehensive. "... is. Is she the Priest that I... y'know."

"Shot at for her daring to ask a question of you, Mordenna?" Though Jax had wanted to give his brother a chance, part of it would be a proper apology for what he had done to Odette. Lacking her helmet, her one-eyed nature was clear for all to see. "It is all well and good that you wish to drop your grievances with me—but your damage far escapes being localized to me and our sister." He moved to stand, looking down at Mordenna. There was just an inch of height difference between them, but it was enough. "I will concede to fully drop my grievances once you apologize to her properly."

At all of that, Mordenna seemed to retreat a bit, hands shoved into his pockets. "—I never did give you the full story, did I? Or, one at all."

"Does it matter?"

Grimacing, Mordenna rubbed the back of his neck. "... not particularly, no," he admitted. "Some semantics. It. Yeah, it doesn't take away from the fact that I shot at her because she annoyed me."

Hunch confirmed, Jax nodded gravely. Odette had been down one eye and up one major fear of the Chosen Hunter when Mordenna had unceremoniously dropped her at Jax's front door. She had been seen to, and Odette had told Jax... perhaps a version of the story colored by self-blame and fear, but he took it as truth. "I am not the one to begin your apologies to, brother."

Knowing that, Mordenna lifted his eyes enough to scan the crowd. Sure enough, they caught onto the Mystic trembling behind Jeanne as the rest of his congregation gave Mordenna a collective glare to match Jax's own. Mordenna leaned down a bit, enough to approach eye-level with her. "Um. Hey—Odette, was it?"

Odette shrunk more behind Jeanne, but ended up nodding. Mordenna continued. "I... I want to explain myself about what happened then, alright? It's... all still my fault, don't get me wrong. But I'd been in a bad mindset at the time and you didn't really do anything wrong. You didn't deserve it. I'm—I'm sorry."

The terrified Mystic still had a firm hold on her Centurion, who had her own hand back on Odette's shoulder. But, eventually, Jax could hear the tiniest squeak. "—okay."

Well. Void knows he had already put Odette on the spot as is. He nodded, waving for Mordenna to give her some space. As Mordenna backed up, Jax softened his tone. "You will have to forgive me for the relative chill to my tone—but I was not about to leave it unaddressed. No matter what conspired to the events, you inflicted wounds and fear in equal measure upon her."

"Yeah. I was just..." Mordenna shrugged it off. "You're right. Hardly matters. But, that was past me. Not about to go shooting at any of them now, s'hardly fair."

After a pause, Jax blew some air out of his nose. He would let the matter rest, for now. An apology was one thing; working to lessen Odette's fear was another. "So, brother. Have you reason to seek me out, or are you here for your trademark banter?"

Sensing the topic had passed, Mordenna perked up, wagging a finger at him. "Hey. Look. New banter, not old me banter. Begrudge me for wanting to talk to my brother now that we're no longer legally required to kill each other, yeah?"

Jax looked around to his gathered followers. They were no longer glaring at Mordenna as they had, though Odette had absconded to the far corner of the room with Jeanne in tow. Motioning for them to part so he could talk with Mordenna more freely, Jax sat back down. "Very well. I've nothing else to occupy myself with until the Commander deigns to deploy me on a mission."

"Su-perb. Hold on a second." With that, Mordenna grabbed a folding chair and sat on it backwards, facing Jax. "So. The mighty Chosen Warlock, fighting for XCOM, working under Commander O'Leary. How ya feeling?"

Jax waved it off. "Your concern is noted, brother. I'm faring well. I believe I will come to more appreciate the opportunities presented to me here."

Mordenna clicked his tongue. "Y'know, I gotta admit, I'm surprised. I didn't think you'd cave this easily. Some part of me was holding onto the fact that you'd go down kicking and screaming about the Elders, but..." His mouth settled into a line. "I suppose an exit like that would speed up the process a little."

Jax glanced around. Mordenna seemed to be under the impression that Jax had cast off all of his respect for the Elders in his joining of XCOM, and the truth was... that wasn't the case. But he dare not bring it up here, in the midst of all of his followers who would try to roughly coax him out of it. Strangely, some part of him was rather craving for Eliza's presence in that matter. She didn't seem to press too much on the matter, even if she was against Them.

Eventually, he settled on an answer that would dismiss the matter. "My decision had been made, in a way, when I had discovered that the Commander had taken in all of my wayward followers. I would hardly leave my congregation without their Holy Father—to do so would be tantamount to abandonment, and I shall not abide by that."

Mordenna just shook his head. "Your vocabulary sounds like you ate a fucking thesaurus, bro. But, yeah, I get that. I didn't really have anyone to come back to here—just Eliza, in a way. Ain't like there was love lost for me with the Elders."

Jax closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath to steady himself. "Enough love lost, I would think, to punish the rest of us for your loss."

When he opened his eyes again, Mordenna was looking away, seemingly... guilty. What a strange look for him to wear. "—ain't right," he muttered. "Odin didn't love me, he just. Wanted me as a fucking tool. Other Elders just took it as an excuse to break out the belt on you guys for the first time."

For want of not triggering a memory, Jax sighed out that breath, and took to slightly related questioning. "—I never did learn why you are so vehemently opposed to being called Ref-Il. One year you answered to it, the next you shot at me for daring to utter it."

Mordenna tensed up, then sighed himself. "Well... I guess we're trying to bury the hatchet, yeah..." He sat up a bit more, looking at Jax seriously. "You remember what I was like, that early? Quiet, loyal, like a goddamn trained dog?"

Jax nodded. Mordenna had originally been almost meek, after his year of Ascension. Still as frighteningly skilled as he was today, but he was, dare Jax think it, submissive. "As I do."

"Yeah, well... there's a reason it didn't last beyond what it did." Mordenna gestured to Jax. "You fuck up sometimes, right? Not judging, hardly, but it's just something that happens. Well, my old man didn't take kindly to my first mistake. Lectured me, I nodded my head, went about my business trying to make it right. Then, I messed up again." Dejectedly, Mordenna threw out his hand. "You remember what happened then. Odin called a meeting just so he could yell at me in front of you. I asked that damn question. Then he brought out the belt.

"Whole time of those years? He called me Ref-Il. I just... grew to hate it. Especially as the other Elders took the excuse of punishing me and Odin didn't stop them. So... yeah. I just started going by 'Mordenna' because he hated it right back. Earned me a lashing a time or two but I think he gave up on it eventually. Having everyone else—including you—call me by my last name was about the only rebellion I could lead, outside of being lazy and shooting ADVENT troops." He gestured vaguely. "So if you ever get the hankering of calling me it just to be proper... don't. Gives me the heebie-jeebies. Hopefully Fal-Mai grows out of it. I can tell she wants to call me it."

Witnessing such openness out of Mordenna was... strange, to Jax. It wasn't lost on him on what it must've took to open up about it. Jax leaned over, feeling decidedly somber. "... thank you, brother. For sharing that. Now that I know, I will not mistakenly refer to you as a name you have chosen to cast off."

Mordenna sighed, tension visibly leaving his body. "—thanks. Appreciate it." It was a heavy pause that followed. "Do I get to ask something out of you, now?"

Jax gave it some thought, and nodded. "Since I have inquired about something personal, I believe it is merely fair trade."

Mordenna crossed his arms on the back of the chair, resting his head against them in a way that hid his mouth. "... what was I like, when you picked me up sixteen years ago?"

Jax searched his memory. "... You still possessed the same hairstyle you do now—a shade of dark brown, then. Feisty, but I would not be surprised at anyone kicking up a fuss when I sweep them off the ground as I had you." He frowned. "I did not catch much of your face—there was a large scar across it, that much I know. Outside of that... there is not much else I can describe. I do not remember the location, now—merely that it was wooded and snowing."

Mordenna closed his eyes, bouncing one of his knees. He seemed nervous, anxious about what he was and wasn't hearing. Eventually, he came with another question. "... my name. Do you remember my name?"

Jax rubbed at his mouth. That was a long, long time ago, and he'd accessed it through the Network. As he searched, that familiar feeling came up again, and he felt disappointed in himself. He opened his mouth to respond.

"Tomko."

Both of them turned to Maria. She was looking away from them, eyes on the floor as she hadn't left her spot. "Your name was David Tomko. I remember because I had told it to Jax in passing before he began his mission. I... do not remember anything else. I'm sorry."

Mordenna looked at her imploringly, as if hoping she would remember more on the spot. Though he eventually slumped back down, he looked far less apprehensive than before. "—that's fine. It's enough. Thanks."

The mood decidedly toned down, Jax leaned back in his chair. Searching for another avenue of conversation, he ended up finding one. "—where, pray tell, is our sister?"

"Infirmary." Mordenna sighed. "Got some mag shards in her shoulder, pretty much thanks to me. We're all sorted out now, but." Mordenna didn't so much as trail off as he did stop in his tracks. A moment of silence was followed by him suddenly standing up. "Well! I've successfully brought down the mood here, as I am wont to do. Think I'll just remove myself before I make it worse, y'all have a lovely day."

"Mordenna—" But even as Jax moved to get up, his eyes bounced off where Mordenna was, and just like that, his brother was gone.