Happy holidays everyone!

Chapter 33: Round Two

Kal tensed up waiting to see who would make the first blow and half assumed it would be from Zero to him. The devastated and hurt expression on her face hurt worse than any physical wound could have. He had just wanted to protect her and keep her away from Cora but instead, it looked like he had shielded Cerberus and lied to her. He could only imagine what he would've felt like if Shelrrik had secretly known something about his father and kept it from him, only to find out from Gerrel that they worked together. It would have made him feel like he had no one he could trust and depend on.

A shot from Miranda's gun made him quickly look over only to see Kai Leng materialise infront of Niket. Even though this assassin was covered in armor from head to toe, Kal knew it was him because of his confident swagger. He also recognized the black helmet with silver trim around the eye shield as belonging to Leng from their encounter on the Luna base. Kal was a little concerned that he had recovered so quickly but, there were plenty of artificial eyes he could use to see. The assassins' armor had taken her bullet in stride and he pulled his sword from his jacket sleeve.

Leng's robotic voice would've sent a chill up his spine if he hadn't heard it before, "What was the last thing you said to me on Luna...? Oh, that's right, 'Marlboro thanks you for your service.' Seems pretty appropriate right now."

Jack charged past him with her biotics raging and going straight for Cora. Of course she was expecting that and used biotic energy stored in her sword casually blast Jack into the wall behind them. Kal wanted to look back to make sure she was ok but, he knew taking his eyes off Cora would be a deadly mistake. He fired a shotgun blast in her direction but, just like all the other Cerberus Phantoms he faced, she had the speed to spin out of the way with a smirk on her face. Since she hadn't been that fast on Omega, Kal guessed that the Phantom Knight armor itself was what made them so fast. Unfortunately, he wasn't going to be able to convince her to take it off anytime soon.

Cora threw her arms out wide and spun in a quick circle, "Don't let us have all the fun, engage!"

Before he could react, multiple Cerberus Phantoms started dropping from the rafters, intent on surrounding them. Kal counted at least ten so far and more were coming making him start to really worry. Just taking six of them alone had been struggle enough but, now there was more of them and their leaders were running the show. At least Leng looked like he wasn't going directly for the kill, letting Miranda attack him so he could slap the hits away like they were coming from a child. He barely had time to avoid a kick Cora sent to his head for even taking a glance in Miranda's direction.

She swung her sword wide knowing he would avoid it only to send a punch to his gut, "You know I was hoping she'd bring you along. We never got to finish our last conversation."

Kal used his now empty shotgun to block her sword strikes while trying to kick her, "I think blowing up your base was a good enough way to end that talk. Perfectly summarizes just how I feel about you."

Her sword's biotics sent him sliding into a pile of crates, pinning his back to them, "Oh no, I meant the conversation about who we keep closest to us can hurt us the worst. I don't think you took that to heart."

He kicked her backwards trying to not let the emotions she was so transparently trying to goad out of him from taking over. Cora was obviously trying to bring up Erash and the fact that the Batarian had made a deal with her to keep him safe. She was taunting him with the fact that she knew something about him that he hadn't. Kal moved to punch her but, two Phantoms landed infront of her ready for the attack. He had to quickly retreat to avoid a flurry of sword strikes from his three opponents. His gut twisted in terrifying knots when he glanced over in Miranda's direction only to see she was getting her ass handed to her. Leng was taking every little mistake she made and was punishing her with a sword strike.

Garrus landed next to him and shot the Phantoms in the head, "I think we're really getting sick of your lectures lady. Why don't you become a philosopher since you like to talk so much."

Cora was dodging his attacks like she was a dancer for all of her life, "Your here too? I should've brought my new friend along, it would've really been a reunion."

Kal made a move to punch her while she was mid spin, "Your going to pay for what you've done to us."

His fist connected with her jaw in a satisfying pop but, her sword managed to get a gash up the back of his suit. Thank Keelah the zipper along his spine was thick enough to protect his actual back from the hit but, he was sure it looked like a death blow to anyone not paying attention. Kal took a gamble that the punch he gave her covered up Cora's vision and pretended to crumple to the ground from the hit. She would most likely make a mistake he could capitalize on if she thought she was only fighting Garrus.

Cora stared down at his 'dead' body with a stunned expression on her face, "Well shit, I didn't want it to be that easy. Looks like good old Shepard's going to need to find a new husband."

Kal instantly regretted his decision to play dead when he heard Zero yell, "I was the only one allowed to kick his ass you BITCH!"

He stood back up as fast as he could to try and show Jack that only his zipper had been hit but, her biotic wave was faster sending Cora and herself across the large room. The glowing blue trail was easy to follow at least, Kal just had to reach them before Cora wasn't in the mood to play with her food anymore. However, a yelp of pain made Kal turn his head to see Miranda was in real trouble. Blood soaked her usually perfectly clean white Cerberus uniform coming from at least a dozen cuts via Kai Leng's sword. Cerberus Phantoms had surrounded the pair pointing their swords in the circle. Miranda obviously wasn't getting out of that without help.

Garrus motioned in the direction Cora and Jack went, "Go get them, I've got this."

_o0o_

The look of fear on Vetra and Kasumi's faces perfectly summarized how Jack felt right now. There was no mistaking the fact that Cerberus Phantoms, as Thane called them, were attacking Miranda and the rest of his team. Cerberus had betrayed them just as he feared when he agreed to help Miranda in the first place, and the Collectors were still out there kidnapping people on Sovereign's orders. His entire world was collapsing but, right now he had to focus on rescuing Kal and the others. He was letting Thane and Feron lead the five of them so they could get as close as possible to the fighting without breaking the element of surprise

They could hear Kai Leng's helmeted voice as they got closer, "Pull the division out, I'll finish her on my own."

Miranda sounded like she was in pain, "I hope you know what your doing Leng.. We both know The Illusive Man doesn't tolerate agents going behind his back."

A new voice made Jack move a little faster, "Your not going to be finishing anything you racist pig."

When they rounded the corner, Jack saw another Human wearing civilian clothes had grabbed Leng's wrist holding his sword. He had saved Miranda from taking a fatal blow but, the assassin expertly spun around and used a pistol in his other hand to shoot at the man's gut. Miranda grimaced but showed no other emotion as she kneeled in front of Leng covered in blood. Garrus suddenly started shooting at the retreating Phantoms which was their opportunity to attack. The Phantoms were too busy running towards the window at the other end of the room to dodge their attacks. Thane and Feron both sent biotic warps in Leng's direction getting him away from Miranda.

Leng rolled back up to his feet, "Full retreat, I repeat, evacuate immediately."

Jack slid to a crouch at Miranda's side while shooting at Leng's armor pointlessly, "You alright? I've got medi gel right here."

She struggled for a minute but stood up, "I'm fine, at least I will be." She walked over to the dying civilian with a limp, "I can't believe you sold me out Niket. I trusted you to save Oriana, and you did this to me instead? Don't think saving my life makes what you did any better. You doomed a little girl to death just because she wasn't perfect in every way."

Niket struggled to laugh with blood drooling out the side of his mouth, "Heh, looks like I'm the worlds greatest actor after all... I told you, Oriana is where she belongs, with her family... I thought you'd get the hint but, I guess not. Cora can be lied to...remember that."

She stared in disbelief as Niket slowly died from the multiple shots to the gut. To Jack's shock, all of the Cerberus Phantoms were jumping out the window of the tower as an escape plan. Were they just all killing themselves on mass so they couldn't be captured? Jack saw a nearly suitless Kal pulling an angry Zero away from the window suggesting that going after them wasn't safe. It was hard not to panic seeing Kal's suit zipper ripped apart like that, what if there was a deadly virus in here that Kal hadn't been exposed to in the past? He had to remind himself that Han'Gerrel exposed Kal to a wide variety of normally lethal germs to test his creation, Kal was going to be fine. Unfortunately, Leng jumped out of a window as well leaving the group completely alone. He was glad they had a few seconds to breathe but, that didn't solve any of their problems.

Miranda injected herself with a stim pack and headed towards the elevator near by, "If Niket was telling the truth, I have to get to the docking bay and make sure the Quarians pick Oriana up."

Vetra stepped infront of her, "Not before I get some answers, was this all just a set up for you? Can we even go back to the Normandy now or are we fucked?"

Miranda started to move around her, "I don't know and that's not my concern right now. If I were any of you, I'd get as far away from here as you can. Forget about the Collectors."

Jack's eyebrows shot up, "Forget about the Collectors? Miranda, Sovereign is using them to restart the cycle, we can't just pretend that isn't happening."

Miranda turned to face him, "Then convince the Alliance, I don't know what else to tell you Shepard. With Leng and the Knights here, there's no way The Illusive Man didn't want this."

A familiar voice made them all jump, "Perhaps you should communicate with me first before assuming I went behind your back to kill you all."

Jack turned around wondering if they were going to finally see The Illusive Man in person but, it was just a hologram Jacob had placed on the ground. His immediate question was how Jacob had been able to get in the Dantius Towers so quickly but, he had killed a lot of the security trying to get here himself. The real problem was he didn't know if he could trust Cerberus at this point. The Illusive Man was clearly suggesting he had nothing to do with Cora's ambush but, that was a tough pill to swallow. Cora had been with plenty of Cerberus Phantoms as well as Kai Leng.

Kal lifted up one of the dead assassins off the ground to show the hologram, "Sending these guys after us is a pretty good indication you want us dead all on it's own."

The Illusive Man lit a cigarette while standing in the small holographic circle, "Miranda didn't tell me she received warning that her sister was in danger. I would've warned you all that Cora was trying to reconnect with some of her former followers for a coup. I'm handling it but, I never anticipated it would bleed into your mission Shepard."

Jack folded his arms in disbelief, "You expect me to believe that your daughter had that many supporters on her own that would leave Cerberus and follow her? Even Kai Leng? I'm finding that difficult to take at face value."

The Illusive Man puffed on his cigarette looking distracted for a few seconds, "Up until I realized she had frozen you, Cora was in charge of an entire Cerberus cell. Plenty of individuals have followed her for years. She and Leng have been around each other since they were born, and he has personal reasons to want you dead. When Cora approached him with the opportunity to kill you, he accepted her offer to leave Cerberus for her. Furthermore, why would I want to kill you? With the Collectors on the march, no Human is safe."

Feron cut in stepping towards the holograms view, "Do you know what ship she took with her when she defected? I could use my connections with the Alliance to hunt her ship down."

The Illusive Man regarded him briefly, "I have some of the best assassins in the galaxy looking to hunt them down, I would rather not potentially out you as a Cerberus agent just so they could have some help. I am glad you were able to reunite with your father. Consider it a gift for all your hard work for me."

Feron was tense from head to toe but, the Drell bowed his head, "Thank you sir."

The Illusive Man inclined his head in return, "I'm going to suggest you stay on the Normandy for the time being. Since the Alliance is looking for information on the Collectors, being on the Normandy could be a good way to feed them relevant data."

Feron bent down on one knee, "I will do as you command like always sir."

Zero stormed past Jack looking just as angry as when they first met, "You just expect us to believe you've hired bounty hunters and leave it at that? How would you feel if I went after her and crushed her skull in half? I bet you'd change your tune then huh?"

Without missing a beat, The Illusive Man answered, "If you wanted to join the hunt, your more than welcome to. I do have to point out you wouldn't have the protection that being on the Normandy is giving you however. Shepard, I don't have any news on the Collectors right now but, I'm close to something. I'd ask you stay on Illium until I can confirm."

Jack was still skeptical but, he was making sense, "I think we could all use a little shore leave right now so that won't be a problem. Do you think they'll stick around as well? I wouldn't want to have to fight them again in our condition."

The Illusive Man shook his head and started pulling away from the camera, "They're on the run now Shepard, you shouldn't have to deal with them again. I'll keep you informed on the Collectors."

The image disappeared leaving them alone in momentary silence. At least he could still count on The Illusive Man's support against the Collectors but, he didn't really feel any better. How reliable could Cerberus be if a large portion was able to defect at whim and cause this much chaos? He still had the same dilemma that no one else listened to him. Maybe with Feron in the mix the Alliance could be given evidence that they couldn't refuse. Until then, he was like a rat trapped running around the same maze for eternity.

Zero started marching the way they came, "Well, it's been fun Shepard but, I never said I'd stay to be a part of your crusade. I'm going to go get my things and leave."

Kal gave him a look with his helmet and whispered, "I have to stop her, I'll see you back on the ship." He followed her and said loudly, "Jack wait, can we talk about this? Just let me explain!"

He was about to follow the two of them when Miranda said from the elevator, "Shepard, I could use your help making sure Oriana made it out of here."

Jack glanced to the others, "Follow Jacob back to the ship, we'll be back soon enough."

The others went without complaint, obviously wanting to take a break after the fighting allowing Jack to go with Miranda to the bottom of the tower. He had no idea how she was still standing with all of the cuts all over her body. Once the stims wore off, she was going to have to take a long rest in a medi gel bath. Jack wished he was able to read her expression wondering if she believed The Illusive Man but, her face was as stoic as ever. His explanation was probably enough for her, and if he had to guess, she was coming up with a a way to convince him.

Her tone was quiet when she finally said, "I'm sorry this wasn't as simple as I made it out to be. Niket was always a friend I could count on."

Jack waited for a second before answering, "It's not your fault Leng and Cora got into the middle of your business. You did everything you could for your family and I respect that."

Miranda stared at the ceiling, "But I let it get personal... and I potentially screwed up. If I hadn't trusted Niket and just did everything on my own... Hopefully he was telling the truth."

Jack smiled at her trying to make a joke, "Welcome to the world of being Human and trusting people. You should try it more often. Niket cared enough about you to sacrifice himself to save you, I think your sister's safe and sound."

Miranda sighed and had a blank expression on her face, "He just stood there, holding the sword. He knew what Leng was going to do."

Jack didn't know what to say, this was the most polite conversation they ever had, "Maybe he knew what he did was wrong and wanted to atone for it.. I don't know."

Miranda snapped at him as they were halfway down the tower's floors, "You atone by fixing your mistakes, not by committing suicide. It's not Niket's fault, not really. My father and Cora take the blame... for all of this." To his surprise, she just kept talking, "It's always been like this with him. My father gave me anything I ever wanted, but there was always a hook, an angle for his long-term plan. I threw away everything he ever gave me when I ran. Except Niket. Weakness on my part."

Jack raised an eyebrow and gave her a sideways glance, "It kind of sounds like you two are more similar then you want to admit."

Miranda gave him a harsh laugh, "As much as he tried to turn me me into exactly what he wanted... I'm my own person. He would've kidnapped Kal to make you do what he wanted. I only threatened harm."

Jack couldn't help but smirk in her direction, "There isn't really that big of a difference between those two things Miranda. I'm just glad I still have a team to fight the Collectors with."

The elevator door opened to the bottom of the Dantius Tower and Miranda lead them out towards the docking bay. He was honestly surprised law enforcement hadn't responded to all the fighting happening but, he assumed whoever was going to hold the auction didn't want police sniffing around the building looking for clues. Jack was disappointed they weren't able to stop the auction in the long run and save Sidera, he did everything he could have though. His hope was Nassana's omni tool would at least give Vetra something to go on sooner rather than later. Once they arrived at the docks, Jack was surprised no one seemed to question Miranda's bloody appearance. Were the Asari here just used to seeing that?

Miranda's eyes scanned the busy dock looking for any threats, "No sign of Eclipse or Cora. It looks like we're clear."

While it was true he didn't see anyone that screamed Eclipse or Cerberus, he wasn't seeing a thirteen year old girl either. Jack was going to be quite frustrated if this entire mission was a bust except for recruiting Thane. It was wasting valuable time they could've been spending looking for the Collectors. Not that he didn't want anyone experiencing abuse to suffer but, taking down the Reapers still had to be the priority. He couldn't go on constant missions with Miranda just looking for her sister.

He took a deep breath, "I'm going to comm Tali and see if she already left."

Miranda grabbed his arm to stop him, "Wait no. There she is. She's safe... with her family."

Jack picked up on them quickly being the only Quarian family on the entire docking port. A man and a woman were hugging a Quarian girl that didn't look quite right anatomically. She had five fingers and five toes making it obvious that she was a Human under the suit. He wondered what it would be like to have to wear the suit to protect the Quarians from your own germs. They looked extremely happy to see each other though, Oriana was clinging to both her 'parents' tightly and they were hugging her right back.

Tali emerged from around the family holding a large bag in one hand and a red and gray environmental suit over the other shoulder. To the family she said, "You three should take the shuttle now. I have a friend I need to catch up with so I'll take the next one."

When she walked towards them, Jack gave her a tight hug, "It's good to see you, what's with the bag?"

Tali hugged him as best she could while holding her bag, "Since my father's research is at a stand still, he gave me permission to leave the fleet for awhile. I thought I could help with the Collectors."

Miranda turned towards the exit, "Come on, we should go."

Tali tilted her head and let go of Jack with a curious tone, "You don't want to say hello to your sister? You might not get another chance."

Miranda looked back at the Quarian family one last time, "It's not about what I want. It's about what's right for her. We all know the less she knows about me, the better. She's got a family. A life. I'll just complicate that for her."

With that, the three of them started making their way back to the Normandy. Jack was going to need a long break after all that.