It was hot and dark inside the Night Mother's coffin. It had been at least a couple of hours since the Dark Brotherhood's Sanctuary came tumbling down, burying Cicero and Virieti within the Night Mother's coffin.
"Hurry, Nazir! I'm telling you, they're in there!" A childlike voice called. Virieti's eyes fluttered open, awakened by the person's words.
"I'm going... as fast... as I can, you stupid she-devil. I don't see you helping!" another voice grunted; it was Nazir.
"I'm not exactly built for manual labor. Now come on, you've almost got it."
"One more... pull... Yeah! There."
"Can you get it open?"
"I think so. Just hold on a moment."
The door of the coffin flew open to reveal Babette and Nazir standing above Cicero and his comrade. The two attempted to stand up but their legs buckled, causing them to fall onto their knees. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down. It's all right. You've been through a lot. Maybe you should just sit down for a bit..." Nazir took Virieti's hand and helped her stand up, Babette doing the same for Cicero. "What in Oblivion happened?" Virieti coughed, looking over at Cicero who had his hands on top of his knees taking deep breaths of fresh air. "The Emperor...it was a trap. Someone set us up. Before you ask, no I didn't think it was you. Well, maybe I did, but you saving my sorry hide just now sort of erased any doubts. So, thanks."
"That's right. Our plans to kill the Emperor.." Virieti thought. Memories beforehand came flooding back to her. Before Virieti had to rescue Cicero, she had been instructed by someone who fulfilled the Black Sacrament to kill the emperor weeks prior. They had been planning on how to go about this and even started the plan by killing a girl at her wedding to distract everyone in the following days. "I never thought I'd say this, but I am happy to find out you and Cicero are still alive." Babette teased, interrupting Virieti's own thoughts. "Nazir told me about how Cicero and you were able to take on some of the enemy forces, I would be lying if I didn't say I was pretty impressed."
Cicero looked up and smiled, pleased with himself. "Cicero didn't spend almost a decade in the Brotherhood for nothing!" He laughed. Unexpectedly, Virieti's head began to spin; A familiar voice began to fade into her mind. "You must speak with Astrid. Here, in the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary." It was the Night Mother. Nazir could sense something was wrong and stepped closer to Virieti. "You okay? It must have been tough staying in that coffin for so long!" He said, placing his hand on top of her shoulder. "It's the Night Mother," Virieti mumbled. "She told me Astrid is still in here. I have to go find her." Those words caught everyone's attention. Astrid? How could she survive the fire? "She's here? By Sithis, I thought we'd lost her. Let's go!" The crew started to look everywhere for Astrid, even under piles of rubble. Virieti was the one who found her, covered in burns and laying across the floor, completely immobilized. If it wasn't for her voice, she would have been unrecognizable. "Alive... You're alive... Thank Sithis." she said in a weak tone. Virieti couldn't look her in the eyes, the sight was too much for her. "Astrid, I- "
"Ssshhh... Please. There is so much I have to say and not much time. I'm sorry." Astrid said interrupting her. "So very sorry. Commander Maro, the Leader of the Emperor's security force... He said that by giving you to them, he would leave the Dark Brotherhood alone. Forever. By Sithis, I was such a fool. All of this, it's all my fault. You are the best of us, and I nearly killed you... as I've killed everyone else..." Virieti began to tear up. "I just wanted things to stay the way they were. Before Cicero, before the Night Mother. Before... you. I thought I could save us. I was wrong. But you're alive! So, there's still a chance. A chance to start over, rebuild. That's why I did this. Don't you see? I prayed to the Night Mother! I am the Black Sacrament." Virieti's eye widened. "What are you saying, Astrid?" she asked, tears streaming down her face. "I'm saying you were right. The Night Mother was right. The old ways... they guided the Dark Brotherhood for centuries. I was a fool to oppose them, and to prove my sincerity, I have prayed for a contract. You lead this Family now." Astrid glanced over to her blade lying next to her. "Please.. send me to The Void, I beg of you." Virieti grabbed the blade, it trembled within her hands. "Astrid, I'm sorry." She said, pressing the knife to her neck. "Don't be." Astrid smiled and looked at Virieti. A sweet release rushed over her as the blade plunged into her neck.
"Virieti!" Nazir yelled, Cicero and Babette trailing behind him. He stopped behind Virieti who was still holding the blade. "Astrid had planned to use me as currency to trade my life to Maro for the Brotherhood's safety. She didn't know he was secretly planning to kill us all, however. When the attack began, she performed the Black Sacrament on herself in a last attempt to save as many of you as she could." Virieti said turning around and dropping the blade, her voice ridden with emotion. "I had to mercy kill her, I'm sorry." Cicero walked over and hugged her, seeing her become more visibly upset. He never liked Astrid, but he didn't want to see Virieti hurt. Both Nazir and Babette were taken back by how Cicero comforted her, even they hadn't seen such emotion conveyed by him. "Astrid stated she wanted me to lead the Dark Brotherhood." Virieti sniffed. Nazir closed his eyes in thought before opening them again. "Alright Captain. If Astrid wants you to be the leader I think we should follow that wish in her honor!" He said abruptly. Virieti turned and wiped her eyes "You can't be serious Nazir." She said, drained from her emotions. Nazir laughed "What? I think you would make a pretty good leader! You are the Listener after all, that's a pretty high honor." He said, shooting her a comforting smile. "He is right you know. You would make a great leader." Babette chimed in, finally breaking her silence. Virieti smiled and stepped forward, a newfound sense of leadership took over her. "You're right, this is what she wanted. let's set up our new base within the Dawnstar Sanctuary. Cicero, you're in charge of moving the Night Mother's coffin. Nazir and Babette, gather anything you find that's salvageable. Let's teach those Imperial's the Dark Brotherhood won't be taken down easily!"