Summary: Slowly everything was eventually going to catch up to the Commander. The stress. The weight on her shoulders. All that was needed was a trigger to bring everything crumbling down.

Despite Jynn turning in to her Quarters shortly, and rather quietly, after the operation had wrapped up, Bradford visited her sooner than she would have liked.

He had given her a few hours of alone time, as he wrapped up everything and had a brief talk with the Science teams. With that done, he went down to the Kitchen to get her food and her favorite tea before heading back to her Quarters.

At the door, he knocked and announced himself. No answer. He knocked again, harder. Still nothing. A disgruntled sigh slipped his lips. That freehand went over to the latch and pulled. But it didn't budge. Seriously. He grumbled. He entered an override code. The door slid open for a moment before violently shutting in his face with a blue glow. He stumbled back.

"Dammit, Jynn!" He cursed loudly, catching just about everyone's attention on the Bridge. "Fine… Fine!" He set the tray and mug in front of the door and left. He had enough. He had finally reached his limit. Her attitude for the last few days had finally struck a nerve. He was tired of how she was acting. The bullheaded stubbornness was getting her nowhere.

"Bradford!" Dimitri called out as she watched him storm down the stairs and out of the room. He ignored her. "Crap, he's heading to the bar." She just knew that was what he was doing. She quickly sent a message to Corvo if he could intervene, as she knew she couldn't stop him. But the man wouldn't be seeing it anytime soon, as he was busy training some new recruits.

It wasn't long before Bradford made it to the bar. Nice, quiet, and empty. Slipping behind the bar, he found his favorite drinks before going back around the counter and sat down. He poured himself a shot. One shot became several.

At first, he was pacing himself. Eyes watching that dark amber liquid go down with each pour. But that irritated mind of his thought about what was found at the Blacksite. All those bodies. And then his mind went back to the Commander. Another bottle was cracked open.

He would slam one shot after another. Each swig became faster and faster. The rest of the day soon became a blur as the outside world glazed over to him.

By the time Corvo would find him, he would be passed out. A hand still clutching his last shot.

"Well, all the work Dr. Veer did has gone down the drain."

Corvo finally saw Dimitri's message and made it to the bar, but saw he was far too late. At least Bradford was still there and not in one of his hidden drinking caches; better he was passed out here and not in one of them. He made his way over to his knocked-out friend. Eyes looking at all the various bottles of alcohol littered around. He leaned over and sniffed. His upper lip twitched as his nose scrunched up.

"Hope your liver doesn't kill you first before I do." He shook his head. He was going to have words with him as soon as he was awake. If Dr. Veer didn't beat him to it first as he sent a message over to her. He knew she was going to be disappointed as soon as she saw the message.

"Let's get you to the docs before the others see you."

It took a bit of work, but he picked up and slung Bradford over his shoulders and headed up to the Infirmary. Wanted to make sure the man hadn't poisoned himself before dragging his butt to his quarters. A quick stop, and a little stomach pumping, before they okayed Corvo taking him back to his quarters. They warned him that Bradford would wake up with a wicked hangover.

With that, Corvo took Bradford to his quarters and laid him down in his head bed. He fetched himself a chair and waited for the man to wake up.

A few hours passed until a sharp pain danced up Bradford's spine and to his brain.

"Shit." He grumbled as he slowly stirred. Head still cloudy, the room was spinning. He shook his head, rubbing his eyes vigorously to regain focus. "Hell…"

"Wakey, wakey sleeping beauty." A deep chuckle came from Corvo.

"Corvo?" Bradford's snapped in the direction of the voice. A poor idea as that just made the world spin. He grunted as he grabbed his head. It took a moment for his vision to stabilize, but he could make out the silhouettes of Corvo's bulky figure and that bald head.

"Best be happy that Dimitri cares for you, Johnny." Corvo shook his head. That got a grumble out of Bradford. He glanced at the clock. 20:32. "What's got you like this? Haven't seen you like this in ages."

Bradford grumbled again. He rubbed his face, more concerned with trying to dull the pain throbbing in his skull. In the back of his mind, he knew that wouldn't fix it with the amount of alcohol he had drunk. How he wished he could go back in time and stop himself from giving in to that thirst because of his anger and frustrations. Now it was stronger than ever. And Dr. Veer was going to have his head.

"The Commander…" He reluctantly answered him.

"Ah, your stubborn girlfriend." Corvo had to throw in a little jab.

"We are not dating!"

"Yet." He smirked. With all joking aside, his face became serious. He knew how Jynn had been acting as of late and remembered another note from Dimitri's message about how today went. "How did the operation go? She had a bad reaction, or what?"

"Better than expected… but I can tell it really bothered her."

He explained how things went. Their surprise visit from the Hunter at the end. But that Blacksite was processing a lot of abductees. There were far too many bodies. And part of him wondered, if not feared, there may have been a few more facilities like that across the globe.

"Like the old days. Those UFOs. Those alien bases." Corvo shook his head after what Bradford had told him. "She's… she's going to need to talk to Veer and the others. And so soon since Tygan decoded that chip… I bet she sees herself being responsible for any and all abductees for however long those Elders had her plugged in Their system."

Bradford's brow twitched for a moment before he smacked his head. How the hell did he not realize that? How that had to be compounding things. "She's going to spiral…"

"Hopefully, the doctors will get to her before that happens."

"I need to go." Bradford pushed himself up. He nearly fell as he felt his head spin from the sudden movement.

"You're hungover and possibly still a bit drunk! Rest." Corvo grabbed his arm.

"I have things to check on. I'll come back and rest, chrome dome." Bradford snatched his arm from Corvo's grasp and left. Corvo let out a deep sigh and shook his head.

"He's just as stubborn as her." He soon grinned. "How funny."

Even with the hangover, Bradford quickly checked on how things were going on in the Bridge after he had abruptly left. He avoided crossing eyes with Dimitri but could feel she was staring daggers of disappointment at the back of his skull. He still reeked of alcohol.

Before going back to his quarters, he eyed the Commander's Quarters. He knew she probably still wasn't going to answer any knocks on her door, but he soon found himself climbing those stairs to go check on her. Just as he rounded the corner, a peculiar sight caught his attention. The tray and mug were still outside the door, but they were empty.

Cautiously, he went over to them, nudging the tray and mug with his foot to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. The mug tipped over and out spilled a dried-up teabag. Both were there and empty.

He paused for a moment, and then gently nudged the door. Locked. Figured. Still, he couldn't help but smile, even with a pounding headache. He picked up the tray and mug and took them with him to his room.

"A smidge of hope. Hope she talks soon."

It had been about two weeks since the Blacksite investigation, and Jynn had only emerged from her quarters a handful of times before quickly disappearing. She operated almost in a robotic fashion, answering meetings, issuing out orders, and ignoring questions as always. In a way, she was like a ghost with how brief her appearances could be, and what didn't help is she looked to be deteriorating health-wise.

Her appearances were so brief even the doctors could barely catch her for a checkup or therapy sessions, which rarely ended well for them. Everyone was wondering if they were going to have to sedate her.

Her strange actions were affecting the morale of the ship, and Bradford picking up his drinking habit again — so far once — wasn't helping. Was the Commander cracking? Had Bradford put too much faith in her? Only time would tell.

But if they only knew what was wrong. What was eating her from the inside out.

She hadn't properly slept in weeks, ever since They had established Their connection with her again some weeks back. In between old nightmares of XCOM's fall, they insistently whispered in her ears. Into her mind. Slowly driving her mad, trying to get her to come back to Them. How coming back would fix everything. It was a lie. She knew that was a lie. Humanity would only suffer more.

And now that Blacksite? That made her current nightmares worse. Oh so much worse. The Elders' calls grew in intensity ever since her fears about the chip had been confirmed and then the Elders' constantly touching her mind made things clear. Terrifyingly clear.

She finally knew why she had recognized some faces of the den mothers, fathers, and various other haven people. Those cloudy dreams became crystal clear. She was remembering snippets of her time under the Elders' control as their war machine. She saw through the eyes of many ADVENT soldiers. She commanded them to do atrocious things to the people of Earth. The wholesale slaughter of entire havens in mere hours and harvesting of choice bodies. There was no mercy.

And then seeing those all bodies at the Blacksite? She had faint memories of the abductions. Unlucky survivors of haven cleansing, those caught at ADVENT checkpoints, or unlucky resistance cells getting ambushed. So many people tagged and were hauled off to some facility to be experimented on. Thier bodies to be torn apart at the molecular level.

Why? Just why? It all made her ill. She felt responsible for it all.

The Elders continued whispers roused memories, memories so deep that they rattled her to her core. They were faint, but she could remember a time just before the Stasis Suit. Finding herself on an operation table with scientists working on her and the Elders overhead watching them, ordering them. They were experimenting on her. Modifying her, but she couldn't remember why and for what.

But one part of those dreams stood out the most to her. Ones that she faintly remembered she had dreamt it weeks ago when she woke up and was stuck speaking some alien language for some hours. The dreams concerned one particular Elder who would appear in the flesh to do certain experimentations on her personally. Raal'Maker. Those operations never involved any human or alien workers. Just Maker, her, and on occasion, the other Elders watching. He must have been of some high rank and equally trusted. That headdress and robes of his were rather ornate.

During those operations, Maker constantly probed her mind. Searching for something, but was not having much luck. Yet, he was a strange one. She recalled moments when it was just the two of them; he seemed to drop all disparaging comments towards humanity as he worked on her. Like he only made such comments when his Brethren were there. In truth, he seemed to be fascinated by humanity and its potential. Especially her potential.

She recalled another moment, a time of more probing, a moment of negative psionic feedback that knocked him out and disrupted the other Elders watching. There was some chaos until the errant energies were dispelled. Once the order was restored. The Elders were excited. Pleased, in fact. But she couldn't remember what it was. It couldn't be just her psionic potential. She could tell it was more than that, but the rest of the memories were foggy.

She wondered why she didn't fight back more. She wished she had. Maybe the world would have been different if she was just a bit stronger.

"What did you do to me?" A hushed whisper greeted her ear. "What did the two of you do to me that day?" The voice sent a chill down her spine.

Her eyes flew open in a panic but quickly closed as a bright light blinded her. She tried to speak, but no sound came forth. She tried to move but found herself immobilized. Dammit, another nightmare. What was going on this time?

"You two did something." The hushed whisper continued, growing distant for a moment. "You dug into me. Changed something in me."

She opened her eyes once again, but slower this time. Her version was blurred, but there was a dark blob of a figure hovering over her. What did they mean by two?

"What did you do?" They hissed but never raised their voice above a whisper. "Give me answers."

As her vision cleared, the figure became clear. It was a human. Mid-30s, perhaps 40s. Male. Boney face. But something was off about them. Something about his eyes. Black, void-filled spheres. Like she was staring into the blackest parts of space.

Another chill went down her spine as the figure drew their head closer. She felt something tug in the back of her head. A familiar tug. Her neural pathways burned. She knew this touch. That one Elder. But this man couldn't be him. Even with his praises to humanity, he would never stoop so low as to use a human as a conduit for his reach.

"You've infected me with something. Degraded me, but also… enlightened me." He dug deeper into her mind. He sharply inhaled before letting out a sigh. "I have had to cut myself off from my Brethren. From this danger. This unknown danger." He continued digging. "I'm alone. It's been ages since I've had this level of… silence."

Forcefully scrapping deeper into the recesses of her mind. Memories of her early military life started to flash by at a sickening speed. She wanted to cry out in pain but couldn't.

"Where are you hiding, oh Ascended One?" He touched the center of her head. "I've seen those memories. The meeting. The bonding." His nail slowly dug into her skin. "You've both hid traces of this bond well, but you can't hide forever, you guide."

The memories slowly shifted to her memories of XCOM and kept repeating a certain period. The offer. The others, besides her, were selected for the offer. The trials and tests to weed out the weak. Her success and induction as the Commander. But there was a gap somewhere, a blank in her memory. Something about the tests and her induction. Something was missing. And he was focusing on that. Just as she felt like her mind was about to shatter, the digging suddenly stopped.

"Raal'Maker." A female voice made itself known. Purple light flooded the room. The air grew heavy as the psionic radiation increased. Jynn recognized this voice. She recognized this feeling. The others had finally arrived.

The man let out a restrained hiss but quickly composed himself. He withdrew himself from Jynn, taking a moment to readjust his suit before turning to the others. "Angelis. Brethren." He bowed.

From the corner of her eye, Jynn watched him. Watched his mannerisms. It all started to click. He was that Elder who personally experimented on her. But why was he using a human thrall?

"We see you are still in that form. Maker." One Elder spoke.

"Still in using the body of a mere insect? Barely modified to represent Our greatness?" A younger voice questioned. Making their disgust known.

Maker held back a hiss. He raised himself back up. "You know why I am in this specifically designed shell, Acai. " He said to the young voice. "You know why I am not here in my body. YOU. ALL. KNOW. WHY." His voice never broke from a soft whisper. "I cannot risk spreading this infection, this corruption, onto the rest of Us."

Acai hissed back

The disgusted one was about to speak once more, but a hand raised by the one in the middle stopped them.

"Silence younglings, do not speak such words to one higher than you." Angelis sharply hissed. "His words ring true. He sacrifices himself for the whole." The softness returned to her voice. "As he has always done with his work to better us."

"Thank you, Angelis." He bowed once more.

"What is your progress?"

"Everything is nearly ready. The suit and Network are in its final stages."

"And the bond?"

He walked back over to Jynn. Placing a finger on her head before pulling it back. Jynn let out a gasp of a moan. A faint blue string followed. "I am on the cusp of finding it. Awakening it. I just need more time to draw–"

"No. No more time. No more experiments." She cut him off. "Get her into the suit once it is done."

He clenched his fist. The string snapped. Jynn winced. Her head dropped back down

"But Angelis!" He turned to them. "I am nearly–"

"You have had your time, Maker." She cut him off once more. "You have done enough work for now." Her soft tone soon became harsh. "This world needs to come under heel, now."

He looked away, hiding the frown that was slowly forming. "Yes, you are right. Excuse my… arrogance." He turned and looked at Jynn once more, then back at his brethren. "I have lost sight of the cause. The grand design. Forgive me." He went over and bowed to them.

"You are forgiven." The softness returned to her voice. "Have her placed into the system before the end of this month. No more experiments."

"Yes, Angelis. I will not fail you."

"And continue your experiments on slowing down… our condition… among your other tasks. We have taken note of your reports and have applied modifications to the current prototypes. There was a 20% improvement in the stability of the — at stage one. But burnout occurs within days when the next infusion stage of Our gift begins. "

"I will." Maker nodded. "Hm." His ears twitched as he heard the brief progress report on the grand design. "As expected. More choice DNA needs to be harvested from the populace and mixed with more hardy specimens."

"Noted. The cattle will be more easily shaped once the asset is in the system and we tame this world. Till we meet again."

The collective of Elders disappeared. Their overbearing presence no longer hung in the air. The purple light faded away, letting bright white light return. Now, it was just him and her.

"Ungrateful FOOLS!" Maker's calm composure completely disappeared.

A sharp burst of red psionic energy knocked over various tools and drawers, and shattered the lights, plunging the room into darkness.

Jynn quickly closed her eyes seeing the shards coming down on her, but found it strange she felt nothing touch her skin. She slowly opened them again, carefully looking around. The shards of glass were suspended far above her head. The room flooded with purple again with faint hints of red.

A chill went down her spine when she spotted him. Oh, how she wished she could move and run.

Raal'Maker stood there, his back to her, quietly fuming. Tendrils of psionic energy angrily lashed around and through his being. Tearing off parts of his human shell. Something slowly manifested above him. "I was close. So CLOSE." That whisper barely betrayed the roaring fire building within. "They can't see the complete picture."

She blinked for a moment. The next moment, he was right back over her. Nails digging into her face. Tendrils slowly wrapped around her. That digging sensation was back, slowly consuming her mind. Fear was coming over her. Even more so as she recognized the shape that was forming above him. That helmet and robes.

"Just a little more time, but no." He hissed. Another series psionic pings rang out followed by more crashes. Another set of trays and tools was tossed about. "Just need a little more time…"

"But perhaps." He muttered. He mused in silence for a moment. His grip grew tighter. She wanted to scream. "… Yes, perhaps." A slight chuckle slowly escalated to a dark laugh.

She blinked again. This time two faces were staring back at her. More fear washed over her at the sight. The ethereal mist of Raal'Maker's true form had finally taken shape. And then his human shell grinning widely, but something was off. The shell's face looked more gaunt than before. Pieces of skin flaking off, revealing the muscle underneath. Like it was slowly disintegrating, slowly coming apart at its seams as the psionic energy flowed out of it. His raw psionic energy was too much for the shell to handle.

"I can continue this little project. They won't know. I amseparated from the Whole. This will be a secret between the three of us." He leaned closer, whispering in her ear. "You won't tell them now, will you? Hmm?"

"Ah! Aaaah." Jynn let out a sharp gasp, her body arching as something pierced her mind. It surprised her that she moved and even made a sound. What was he doing? That touch was different from anything he had done before. Felt as though he was placing something within her. Something within her mind.

"I'll take that as a yes, child." He softly chuckled. He drew away from her face. "Now sleep."

The piercing pain intensified for a moment. She let out a shriek before darkness washed over her.

"Sleep for your task ahead. Hushed is the womb of the sky. We will meet again."

All was quiet.

Jynn sharply gasped, grasping at her chest as she jolted awake. She panted heavily, as sweat poured down her face. Like darts insects, her eyes frantically scanned the room. She was in her quarters, in her bed, not some operation table. Her eyes glanced at the nightstand.

01:58

Just another nightmare whose twisted details didn't leave her mind so immediately like the others. Just another night of restless sleep.

She shook her head, trying to steady her breathing, but nothing was working.

"Why? Why? Why?" Shakily she muttered, her voice cracking. Tears started to fall. That dream deeply disturbed her more than the others. "That was near the beginning, wasn't it? Mere weeks until I was finally placed in Their system… And what did he mean?" She buried her face into her hands. She wept.

Come back to Us. The tapping and whispers started.

"No, no, no…"

You know what must be done.

"No."

A faint visage of an Elder appeared before her at the foot of the bed. Its robe shifted as an arm reached out

You will be reclaimed. You serve a higher purpose.

"NO!"

With a clank and several clatters, the visage disappeared as quickly as it formed once it was struck by a soaring pillow. More or so the pillow passed right through it and knocked over some items. But the form disappeared.

Jynn panted, gritting her teeth. She waited. The whispers faded. It didn't come back.

"I'm going mad…" Falling apart once more, she wept.

All the whispers, the echoes, the nightmares, they all made her feel so helpless. It made her feel useless. How could she help save the world if she couldn't save herself first?

She tensed when she heard another loud clatter nearby, just near the nightstand. Slowly, she peered over. It was her tablet and communicator. She must have knocked it off when she threw the pillow. She sighed. Thankful it was nothing.

She laid back down, staring at that dull metallic ceiling. She knew she wasn't going back to sleep anytime soon. All she could do now was think. She didn't want to think. All of her thoughts continued to focus on those cursed nightmares and calls. Those experiments felt more like dissections. She couldn't keep functioning like this. She couldn't lead XCOM like this.

"Only a matter of time before I break break."

She closed her eyes, her mind drifted off to darker places. Wondering if the doctors would attempt to restrain and sedate her. For once she was glad John had refused to let her keep a gun on her person and he managed to confiscate a few knives she had. The amount of harm she could have done to the doctors. To herself. The thought of just ending it all crossed her mind a few times. How easy it would be to pull the trigger and silence the torment.

She quickly shook herself awake, pushing herself back up. "Don't you dare think like that." She shuddered. That would be admitting defeat. That would let the Elders win… and lose.

She drew her knees to her chest. Her mind wandered more. More thinking. Then something crossed her mind. She sighed. She pulled herself over to the edge of her bed, looking over the edge. The tablet and communicator were still there. She sighed once more.

"Maybe." She muttered.

She reached down and picked up the two. Carefully slipping on the communicator, she took a deep breath before typing away at the tablet. A moment later, there was a dial tone.

"Please pick up."

It was time to finally open up.

Bradford found himself startled from his half-drunken sleep — as he had snuck off to one of his hidden caches failing to fight the urge – not by nightmares, nor by his alarm, but by the sound of something beeping. His communicator. He looked at the angry, flashing light. He looked over at his clock.

02:25

He cursed under his breath as he reached for the device. It better have been important. "What is it?"

"John."

It was Jynn. He didn't know why, but it surprised him to hear her voice. Speechless, in fact.

"John?"

"Um, uh, y-yes I'm here." He got his tongue working. "What is it, Commander?"

She was silent for a moment. He could feel his heart rate spike.

"I–I think," she paused, letting out a pained sigh, "I think I need to talk… can you come up to my Quarters?"

He was silent. Stunned, in fact. She actually wanted to talk? He had to still be dreaming.

"John?"

But her voice was all too real. "I uh, I–"

"If I'm interrupting something, you can simply forge–"

"No!" He cut her off. He winced. "Sorry," he cleared his throat, "I'll be up there in a jiffy."

"Okay." She paused. Longer than the last time.

He bit his lip nervously.

"I'll make sure the door is unlocked."

"See you in a bit." He said and hung up.

As he removed his communicator, he couldn't help but pinch himself. "Ow." Yep, he was awake.

He quickly got up, nearly tripping over a whiskey bottle as he got dressed. He tossed on something reasonable enough to visit her, but also just enough to keep more rumors floating about if anyone spotted him. He had to squash numerous rumors springing up whenever he would visit her quarters. Some were just fun little pokes, but he was never really a fan of them.

A few minutes later, he found himself in front of her door. He knocked. No answer. A slight hint of worry arose, but he quickly squashed it. She did say the door would unlock the door. He tugged at the handle. It opened. He stepped inside.

"Comma– I mean Jynn." He remembered no formalities in private.

No answer. Again that gnawing feeling of worry.

The room was dark, faintly illuminated by those monitors and those lights in the panels near the floor. He looked around. She wasn't sitting on the couch. He ventured deeper. Then he saw her.

Sitting hunched over on her bed, arms wrapped around her knees, rocking back and forth. Blankly staring ahead. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she looked utterly exhausted. He cautiously approached, taking his time down the steps.

"I'm here." He announced himself again as he reached the foot of her bed.

Her rocking stopped. Her gaze shifted over to him for a moment, acknowledging his existence before returning to the blank stare.

That worried him. "What did yo—"

"Shhhh."

Now that confused him. Didn't she want to talk? "Jy–"

"Shhhh." She hushed him once more.

His hands clenched, he was about to retort but bit his tongue. Remember, she called for a reason. So he waited, twiddling his thumbs for a sign. Any sign.

She moved slightly, unwrapping one of her arms, and patted the spot beside her. Her blank gaze never shifted. He nodded, taking that as a sign, and moved to sit beside her. He opened his mouth, only to get hushed once more. He quickly figured he was just going to have to wait for her to talk first. So they sat there in silence.

Bradford's mind wandered until a few nudges and a heavyweight brought him back. "Hmm?" He looked over, surprised to see she had moved closer and was leaning on him. She felt cold. He hesitated for a moment but soon wrapped an arm around her. Soon gently rubbing her side.

Jynn closed her eyes, taking in a sharp breath. She held it for a few moments before finally releasing it. She turned to look at him. He noticed the streaks down her face. Still wet.

"I am… sorry."

Finally. Talking.

"Sorry?" He wasn't sure why he asked. He knew why.

She opened her mouth, but quickly closed it. She let out a sharp exhale through her nose as she closed her eyes once more.

"You know…" She gestured with her hands, struggling to search for her words. "How things have been for the past few weeks. How I've been… acting. It's just…" She slowly trailed off, her face turning away from his.

He let her have a moment before nudging her to get her going again. "Go on."

"Everything that has happened these past few weeks." She let out a sigh. "The chip. The raid. My episode…" Her voice cracked. "I haven't been able to get a lick of sleep these past few days, if not weeks."

"Nightmares?"

She wearily nodded.

"They never really stopped, did they?"

She nodded again. "In truth, they've gotten worse since my episode in the lab."

"Jynn…" He sighed. "How much worse?"

She looked away from him again. Bitting her lip.

He closed his eyes and shook his head. Boy, was he going to need some patience for tonight. He couldn't expect her to tell him everything so suddenly and freely. He gave her a firm, but reassuring squeeze and waited.

"Remember," she broke the silence, "remember when I voiced my concerns, my theories, about the chip? Before Tygan's research confirmed everything?"

That was a subject he didn't like to think about. They used her against them for all those years. He just hoped she had no memory of it. "Yes."

"Well," she mumbled, "I've been remembering things from the nightmares without fully losing them. Fragments. Mere flashes of the simulations bleeding over in the real world for a mere moment before they quickly corrected themselves. Simulations slowly shifting from the old war over to ADVENT's occupation." She sharply exhaled. "Clashes between ADVENT and protestors, hunting Resistance Cells, raids on havens… I've always wondered why some of their faces seemed so familiar. Why some of our soldiers seemed so familiar to me." Her voice cracked

He could feel his heart sink. So she wasn't spared during her stasis. "Whose faces?" He didn't know why he asked that. He wished he could retract his words. But part of him wanted to know.

She was silent once more as she started shaking like a leaf. "Innocents." A hushed whisper escaped her lips. She looked at her hands. "Den mothers, fathers… survivors of previous ADVENT attacks. T-t-there's so much blood on these… these hands." She slipped off into a whisper once more.

It took a moment for him to process her words. He didn't want to believe a single bit of it, but it was all too possible.

He could remember in the old days before XCOM, was truly getting back into the game… No. Even before he found them again when he was running with another group of survivors when he noticed strange things with ADVENT. At times, ADVENT's tactics would suddenly change mid-battle, completely turning the skirmish on its head. There were so many times he and his squad barely got away with their lives.

He hated to think about it, but it made sense the simulations would have been live calculations. Trying to predict any battle with an infinite number of possibilities would have overloaded her brain. It still surprised him. 20 or so years of being plugged in, running simulations day and night didn't fry her mind. It sure as hell left her in terrible shape, but her mind was still there.

"Perhaps," he paused for a moment to gather his thoughts, "maybe, just maybe, they filled the simulations with civilian data for… better results?" It was a weak suggestion, and he knew it, but something to keep her mind away from the negative. Keep his mind away from the negative. Who knew what the truth was? They knew who held the answers and would never get them.

She shook her head, taking a moment to take a deep breath. A moment to try to calm herself. He could tell it didn't do much.

He gave another reassuring squeeze. "And you're not responsible for their deaths. That was ADVENT's doing. The Elders." A growl escaped his lips. "They are to blame."

"I gave the commands. I told them who to shoot."

He furrowed his brows. That negativity had to go. "Not by your own will." He retorted as if he was scolding a child. "You are not to blame for anything that's happened."

"If I was only a little stronger. I could have stopped them. Fought from the inside."

Looks like his words weren't reaching her.

He closed his eyes and sighed. What to do? What to say to get through to her? What to do to calm her down? What to ease her guilt?

He found his body moved of its own volition, another arm wrapped around her before bringing her in for a proper hug, pressing her tightly against his chest. He let out a sigh, holding her shaking body close to his. For a moment, he felt like she was easing up for just a second.

"There's no telling anything you could have done would have helped, would have even changed a thing." He squeezed her tightly. "Hell, if the aliens sensed any attempts of you fighting from the inside, who knows what they would have done to you." He hated the thought. He still had lingering fears of them finding her as a cadaver in one of their laboratories. Dissected like some sort of animal. "You're not to blame for anything, any of this happening. They took you, experimented on you, used you. You're a victim in this mess, like the rest of us." He waited for a response. Anything.

He let out a sigh of relief as he felt her slump more into his arms. Her shaking was growing less and less as the minutes passed by. Then he hears sniffles and a wet spot growing on his chest. He was not sure whether he should be relieved or concerned. He just held her tighter. Until he felt a tug, her pulling away. He let go, not surprised to see a snotty, tear-stained face looking at him. He knew he was going to have to change his shirt later.

"Maybe… it doesn't feel like I am." She finally answered.

"Maybe not right now, but you are."

She turned away. More silence. He tugged on her, drawing her back into his embrace. She let him. Something about his arms soothed her.

They stayed like that for a few minutes before she pulled away again, moving away from him to take a moment to wipe her face. He reached out to her but stopped himself. She needed a moment. Let her re-initiate the conversation. Don't let your feelings get the best of you. So he waited, watching, twiddling his thumbs.

"Besides those nightmares... I've remembered some other things. Other nightmares." She started again.

He snapped to attention. What other horrid things did she have to say?

"A time before being put into that suit. I can remember laying on a slab, an operation table, with human scientists all around and the Elders watching from above. They directed them to prepare me. Change me." Her voice cracked again. She trembled. "I felt so… violated." She wept. Her head fell into her hands.

"Hey, hey, hey." Bradford quickly moved over to her, pulling her back into another hug. "You don't have to talk about it right now. You've said enough." He spoke gently. He could tell this bothered her more than she he previously told him.

"I remember other times when They would breach my mind," she couldn't stop, "searching for something. Violating my very core like I wasn't even a being." She whimpered. "Then memories of one particular Elder. He conducted most of the experiments in person, most of mind probing, most of th–"

"Shh, shh, shh." Feeling her work herself up, he quickly hushed her. "Stop." He hugged her tightly. "It's okay. It's okay. You don't have to tell me anymore. They will never, ever touch you again. Never hurt you again. We will make sure of that. I promise."

A small noise came from her, a stifled squeak, almost as if she was going to retort. She wanted to talk, to get everything off her chest, to tell him They had reconnected to her, but it was all just too much. She broke down further, her cries muffled as she pressed against his chest.

He kept her firmly in his grasp even when she pulled away a few times, but he wasn't going to let go until she calmed down. Slowly, he started to rock back and forth, stroking her back.

"Shh, they won't touch you again." He hoped he could keep that promise. He didn't want to think of the Elders and the Chosen managing to get their hands on her again. What They would do to her, to break her and make her Their prized warhorse again. His mind flashed back to when they pulled her out of that suit, when they removed that chip. The ghastly howl she made and her flatlining.

"Never again." He'd sacrifice his life before that would happen.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed since their whole conversation had started. How long he had been holding her to keep her from spiraling again. He was just glad she had finally quieted down; her breathing was steady. Only a few sobs here and there, but she was calmer.

He finally felt himself ease up. Though not fully. His mind was still processing everything she had told him. Her nightmares were worse than his, that was for sure. Especially that one that plagued him for the longest. Find me. He shuttered just thinking about it. Not something he wanted to share with her. Thankfully, it had finally stopped.

He couldn't imagine the pain she was going through. The trauma. She was more broken than he had thought. Broken worse than him. Than everyone on the ship. It made his heart drop and stomach churn. He couldn't stand it.

He eventually found his eyes drifting, looking around the room. Then he noticed something.

"07:45"

Shit.

Quite a bit of time had passed. He needed to go clean up and make his appearance on the Bridge. He looked down. Still a few sobs here and there, but she was calm. Seemed as though she had slipped off to a sound sleep. He softly smiled.

Carefully, he went about unwrapping her arms around him, slowly pulling her away. Just when he thought he was free, her hands wrapped back around his waist. She pulled herself back into his chest.

"Nnnea," she slowly roused from her slumber, "no, don't go."

"Um…" He froze for a moment. Unsure of what to do.

"Please."

"Jynn, I need to get go–"

"Please."

He felt her shift. Her grip on him tightened. He looked down, a tear-stained face looked back at him. He couldn't say no to that face. His presence had to be helping her. He let out a sigh.

"Fine."

"Thank you."

"Though. let's get you into bed. I don't think you want to use me as your bed."

That got a snort out of her.

She was reluctant, at first, to let go, but he was able to pry her off of him and helped her get settled. He had to quiet her, reassure her, when he got up and walked away. He was just retrieving the chair from her desk. He didn't want to sit on her bed or the floor. As he was grabbing the chair, he noticed something glistening on the desk. Something floating. Glancing over, he saw light reflecting off of black facets. Those crystal shards she bought from the Black Market that day.

"Hmm." Questions to ask her later, but not now. He made a mental note. Something to talk about with Tygan later. With a chair in hand, he returned to her side and sat down. A hand reached out to him. He grabbed it and gave a reassuring squeeze.

"Try to get some rest."

"I'll try."

When he felt like she had drifted off once more, he let go of her hand. He let out a sigh. For some reason, he felt like this would become routine. He didn't mind it. Anything to help her out. To help her heal. He noticed her tablet. A thought crossed his mind.

"Dimitri." He picked up the tablet, punched in an override code to switch it over to his credentials, and started typing.

"It'll be a while before I'm down. Expect me sometime in the late afternoon. Finally, had a talk with Commander Reeves. Still actually with her. She wants the company." He sent. Then a thought crossed his mind. "Not in that way." He set down the tablet and shook his head.

"Hope I can sneak out of here with no one noticing." No need for rumors.

A few moments later, he noticed a light flashing. His message had been answered. He picked it back up and checked. A smile crept across his face.

[Dimitri] "I'll keep that in mind. Glad to hear you've finally talked with her. And I know your old-fashioned butt better than that!"

Several laughing emoticons followed her message.

[Dimitri] "You know I don't think like that! Never joined in those bets and rumors."

[Central:} "Sorry, forgot. Sleep deprived." He forgot Dimitri's mind didn't go to places like that. He forgot he had confided in her about some of the more private aspects of his life as the two became close friends. She was like a little sister to him. She was one of the few who knew his true feelings towards Jynn.

[Dimitri] "Anything you guys need?"

[Central:} "Maybe some coffee and tea in an hour or so? A bagel or two? Message me before you come. Don't want to disturb the Commander."

[Dimitri] "I'll make a reminder."

[Central:} "And tell Tygan to come up around noon. I want him to take a look at something. Tell him to bring his scanner."

[Dimitri] "Will do that."

[Central:} "Thanks Dimitri. And make that coffee extra strong."

[Dimitri] "Hangover?"

[Central:} "…Just a tad."

[Dimitri] "Oh, we are going to have a chat later, mister."

[Central:} "Uh huh."

He set the tablet back down and reclined back in the chair. "Aye, yi, yi." He muttered, rubbing his tired eyes. "Maybe I can get some shuteye."

He looked at Jynn. She was sleeping soundly. He smiled. "Hopefully you're sleeping well."