When I thought everything was going to hell before, it most certainly wasn't a challenge to the universe to make it so much worse.

Turian had ripped the transmitter from her, speaking his vile challenge to Soros, and the ghostly presence took a hold of her again, more gently this time, but only in comparison to choking. The grip around her was strong and solid, and even though the warrior was standing right behind her, Kat could barely hear him breathe.

It was very clearly a "he", stronger and taller than her, but that was pretty much a given with Corgan warriors.

She struggled, if only to prove to herself she hadn't given up yet. Kat knew it was futile. It wasn't her moment yet. With everyone's attention on her, escaping was impossible.

Turian's call to Soros made her angrier than she could ever remember being. How did that fucker keep getting away with all of it? She had hoped that Romod and Challen would start doubting their lord after they heard what he truly was, but it seemed they already knew. Kat didn't know what had bought their loyalty or whether they actually believed in him, but it didn't matter.

She was alone in this.

Her helplessness was starting to really get on Kat's nerves, but she warned herself to wait for a better moment. The time to fight back would come. Until then, she watched in disgust as Turian's men dragged the corpse of a young man – possibly a guard of the crypt – into the middle of the room and threw it in the ugly machine.

As it began grinding the body into meat paste, it spat out blood, covering the floor around it. The ghost behind her carefully kept them out of the way of the spraying crimson. In the next moment, Kat found herself being gagged and dragged back, behind the machine.

She fought harder this time, kicking at the ghost furiously. One lucky hit got him over the nose and Kat heard a satisfying, furious growl.

But that was the end of her resistance. The cloaked bodyguard wrestled her down and forced the gag into her mouth more firmly. It was nothing more than a strip of cloth, no doubt ripped from another corpse, but Kat couldn't make a peep. She was forced to watch, mute and unseen, as Soros came into the room some time later.

Seeing the commander, the ghost tightened his hold on her. Kat pushed back with everything she had, but it was damn hard. At least she was giving the bodyguard something to do, leaving her hands fairly free. The man could hold her down and keep the gag in her mouth, but then he ran out of hands. Kat clawed at him, but the warrior was armored.

She wondered whether he was afraid of being matched against the commander.

Probably. Who wouldn't be? I need to warn Soros. He needs to know there will be four swords against him, including two he can't see.

The last part wasn't technically true, Kat realized. Soros couldn't see the blades only until they remained hidden under the cloak. Meaning the ghost couldn't really stab him in the back in front of the witnesses Turian needed. He was a safety measure rather than another fighter in the duel. More likely meant to make Soros trip than kill him in Turian's stead.

The clan lord would never have allowed his victory to be so obviously soiled.

Kat listened to the two warriors speak, all the while fighting her ghost. She was absolutely intent on making his life as difficult as possible. Kat thrashed in his grip, trying to kick something over, to draw Soros' attention.

And she was succeeding. The ghost had to waste his energy by dragging her feet away from any and all things that could make a noise, while Kat was mainly focused on spitting out the gag.

She was almost there, praying that the ghost didn't notice what she was doing. In her mind, Kat was trying to figure out the exact words she should say. There was no doubt in her heart that the ghost would silence her quickly, so she had to make every syllable count.

Soros' face was terrible to behold when Turian finally revealed how little he actually cared about Corgan politics. He wasn't the last line of resistance to Nadar Brenger's new course. He was the bastard who was taking advantage of all those Corgans who felt that the world was spinning too quickly out of their control.

Kat was honestly amazed that Soros managed to keep his composure. Even she could see his hands twitching, fingers wanting to grasp for his swords.

The two warriors were complete opposites of each other. Turian was a warrior only in word and build, but nothing else. He was cold, merciless, without honor.

Facing him was Soros in all his glory. Kat didn't know if it was the fact that she was seeing him through a lover's eyes, but the commander was magnificent. Tall and proud and unflinching even in the face of his imminent death. His blue eyes were shining with defiance, the long dark hair falling over his shoulders framing his face and giving him an even more dangerous look.

The image of his imminent death wasn't one Kat wanted to ponder, but she used it to push herself forward. It seemed Turian and Soros had run out of words to say to each other. She had to warn him before they left or it would all be over.

Finally, as Soros and Turian were almost out of the door, the gag slipped over her lips.

Kat called out to him, relaying the only piece of information she thought could actually help Soros survive. As she'd known it would happen, the ghost slapped a hand across her mouth at once. The impact was enough to make her bite down on her tongue and she could feel the taste of copper in her mouth.

Worth it, she thought.

At least Soros knew what he was about to face. That was all she could do for him.

Or was it?

The ghost held her in his vice-like grip for a long minute before letting her go. Kat couldn't even get up before a gun was pointed at her, one of the warriors looking to pinpoint his aim on her. The ghost dragged her closer until the warrior could pull her hood back and take proper aim.

Then the ghost left her side and Kat didn't have to wonder for too long where he was going. His steps disappeared into nothing and Kat counted the moments until she could be sure the ghost was out of the room.

She needed to help Soros.

Her experiences with the Corgans had taught her that while she was fine on her own in any other part of the galaxy, in this realm, she was hopelessly outmatched. There wasn't a goddamn thing she could do to actually aid Soros in his duel. But she could give him a chance at fighting back.

Turian had practically told Soros to die and make a good show of it. Kat knew the only way Soros would be free to retaliate with force was if he knew she and the academy were safe. That meant the time to escape had come, and she was in a hurry.

Kat had never seen a Corgan duel, but she figured they couldn't take long considering the fact that one of them couldn't really fight back.

"Turn that thing off," the warrior aiming at her ordered gruffly.

Right, right. I'm still almost invisible.

"Okay," she agreed hesitantly, thinking for a way out of it. "Don't shoot me when I raise my hand, right? I need to reach the dial."

The warrior nodded tersely, but raised his rifle even higher.

"Don't try anything," he warned her.

Kat felt a shiver run down her spine. She was risking her life, but without Soros, it would have been over anyway.

There was no actual way she could outplay a Corgan warrior, but she had to try her best. Giving the man her most calming, nervous smile, Kat raised her hand to the device on her wrist. All she needed to do was turn the dial up to switch the cloak off.

Never taking her eyes off the warrior, Kat turned the switch up. She could see her body appearing from seemingly thin air and the warrior relaxing. As soon as he lowered the rifle, Kat moved.

There weren't many things she was better at than Corgan warriors, but she knew her own damned gear.

She had been sitting down since the ghost had dragged her to hide behind the meat grinder or whatever it was. Now she threw her full weight against the warrior's legs. He fell, shouting. For a second, he lost her from his field of vision, but that was all Kat needed.

She pulled the hood over her head again and turned the device back on. Altogether, the motions hadn’t taken more than a second. Thanking every god she could think of for having practiced putting on her cloak in the direst of circumstances, Kat dove for the rifle.

Already, the other warriors were coming closer. There weren't many left, only the ones guarding the piles in the corners that she assumed were explosives of some kind.

There was no time to think, to analyze anything. She kicked the warrior in the stomach as hard as she could. He grunted, letting go of the rifle that clattered to the ground. Knowing the rifle would be visible in her hands and therefore give her position away, Kat grabbed it.

Shooting lessons, don't fail me now.

The first shot hit the warrior guarding her right under his hip, making him groan in pain. She put another in his shoulder before the rest of the warriors came around the corner.

Kat was already aiming, stepping out of range of the man bleeding on the ground. Her heart was beating so fast she thought she might have a heart attack. No way would these guys let her walk out of there with a gun in her hands.

She raised the rifle again, firing two precise shots. The warriors went down, but she had no time to celebrate. The remaining two had taken cover and were firing at her.

Kat barely had time to duck behind the machine before shots sped over her head.

She could hear one of the warriors reporting the situation to Turian, but no answer came.

The duel has begun. Fuck, I need to hurry. Hold on, Soros, hold on.

The doorway was unguarded, but Kat couldn't go without making sure the academy was as safe as she was. Of course, safe was not how she would have described her overall well-being. The warriors were coming closer, she could hear their covering fire. They had to hate her for forcing them to resort to guns instead of swords.

Sorry, boys. Everything's fair in love and war.

Kat let them come to her, holding her breath. She gripped the Corgan rifle against her chest, counting steps.

She didn't fire a single shot anymore, instead focusing on making sure she knew at every moment where both of the remaining warriors were. She knew they’d be too fast for her if she tried to shoot them then, so some cleverness had to be used.

When they were close enough, she dashed from her cover. They followed immediately. Kat ran, ducking behind any object that could shield her. As soon as she was out of their sight, she dropped the rifle and kept running, being as quiet as she could.

The warriors were staring at the rifle on the ground. Kat saw the understanding dawn on their faces. They were now fighting an invisible enemy.

Kat moved as soon as they turned their eyes away.

Thank the gods for Turian, she thought madly, running past the still-growling machine.

The clan lord had so kindly left it there to mask her escape.

Looping around the fallen warriors, Kat reached the first one in her path. He had lost consciousness, exactly as she'd hoped. She grabbed his rifle and snuck around the corner. The other warriors had their backs to her, still trying to ascertain her position.

Shooting someone in the back was a shitty thing to do. Kat hated it, but she had no choice. The rifle barked in her hands twice and she was finally alone in the crypt. She took a deep breath, looking around.

Not all of the warriors were dead, she knew. Kat would have liked to spend the time on tying them all up to make sure they didn't go through with Turian's insane plan of blowing up the Hall, but time was running out.

She dropped the new rifle and ran. All that mattered was that she reached Soros in time.