RP XCOM: The Story of Defiance.

[ZombieSplitter53]

"Eye's on the Future: Part One"

X-COM Headquarters, Somewhere in Siberia
Office of Morrigan O'Brien
Dec. 8th, 1100 Hours

Morrigan took a slow sip of coffee, sighing slightly as Aya wouldn't stop staring. "So," the Central Officer started. "Did he work for him..."

"Can't say," Morrigan mumbled, taking another sip.

Rebecca chuckled. "That wasn't a no.'

"Wasn't a yes," Morrigan responded.

Aya rolled her eyes. "You let people get away with too much."

"Maybe, but people are happy here. And that makes me happy."

"You should have been here yesterday." Rebecca grinned. "Some pencil pusher comes barging in, going off about something important. I thought she was going to snap. What does she do?"

Aya shrugged. "Let me guess. She folded her hands, smiled, and asked him to speak his mind."

Morrigan scoffed. "In this business, people are usually fairly respectful by default, so when they act that way, it is often important. And it was. He was concerned one of the patients from the Gobi Desert base was being taken off her medication too soon. He started to go on about how he knew I didn't know him and how I might have no reason tobelieve him, and I stopped him, assuring him that this woman will have her treatment continued, and I'd inform the doctors not to make such decisions anymore without consulting Dr. Parker or Mr. Wiewiora first." She grinned. "Then I offered him his old job. He seemed flabbergasted that I knew about it."

Rebecca shook her head. "Amazing how, after all this time, people are still surprised by how much information X-COM has on them."

"Did he accept?" Aya asked.

"Said he'll think about it." Morrigan scratched her chin. "Hope he does. When this is over, we'll need more shrinks then mailmen."

"Can't wait until then," Rebecca said. "My pets don't care for this cramped base. What about you? Where you going when we're done here."

Morrigan leaned back. "Well... I figure even when we're done, we won't be done. I'll probably stick with X-COM during the recovery efforts."

Rebecca smiled. "Well, you'll be in charge of it for the most part. Me and a few of the Council members have stashed away enough evidence to make sure the world knows who saved everyone. The Council will be working on your behalf, not the other way around."

"Good." Aya leaned against the desk. "In that case, I'll stick around too. Have some things that need to be taken care of in America. A certain murder that needs to be looked into. But it can wait."

"And Eve?" Morrigan asked.

Aya smiled. "Eve is her own woman. And I want her do walk down her own path. Not sure what she has planned, but I'll support her."

-----

Primary Mess

"I'm probably going to go wherever the Elites go." Eve took a bite of her sandwich. "I mean... Fox has put too much faith in me, and has worked too hard on this relationship for me to just up and leave. I... I'm not sure if his brothers will appreciate a tag along, but I care too much about Fox to let him go."

Jessica nodded, taking a bite out of her own sandwich concoction, with contents Eve didn't even want to know about. "And I'm gonna follow Modya. I considered asking him to come back home with me, but with no real friends or job to leave behind, the only thing I'll miss is my family... and some of my favorite shows."

Eve chuckled. "I'm sure you can catch the latter with a good internet hook up."

"And I can't wait to meet Modya's parents. Good thing I studied Russian, huh? Alexia is a little sad to leave Ellie and Ayame, but she wants to go with Modya to Russia as much as I do."

"So, those to are moving to America then?"

-----

Secondary Shooting Range, B3

"Yup." Ayame said. "Wanna help out with the cleanup there. And Atka is going back to Canada, and I wanna be nearby to help her whenever she needs me. Plus, Sunny said she'd give me a job as her personal bodyguard. She should be able afford it, working for Cross."

"Long as ye don't mind workin' for eh pipsqueak." Rose fired off a few more rounds. "What 'bout that bloke ye bin shagin'?"

Ayame missed a shot, and looked down to the ground. "I... I don't... I want to ask her to come with me. I'd like to get her away from where all her pain was, away from that lifestyle. And she'd be near Ammy." She sighed. "But she said she didn't want to settle down. So she'll... probably say no. I don't..."

"Well, ye won't know if ya don't try!" Rose slapped her on the back. "'s thanks te her I've got me head on straight for the first time' n my life. 'is second chance gave me the courage te call my daughter, and she wantsta 'ive me a second chance too. So ask 'er. She might surprise 'ya."

Ayame nodded, and smiled. "I will. Thanks. Not just for me, but for her as well. And Ammy and Sunny." She laughed. "If nothing else, I could ask Alice to seduce her into it... assuming she's staying with Sunny."

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

"Eyes on the Future: Part Two"

Main Engineering

"W... why wouldn't I stay with you, Sunny," Alice asked, looking on the brink of panic.

Sunny rolled her eyes. "Come on, Alice, how many times do I have to tell you this?" She grasped the android's hands tightly. "You're my friend now, not my creation. I love you like a sister. You... you're your own person, and I want you to make your own choices."

Alice closed her eyes, thinking. After a moment, she opened them again and smiled. "Okay. Thank you, Sunny. I love you too. Which is why, as an individual, I've decided to stay by your side for now."

Your capacity to create what essentially amounts to life from machinery is astounding, Sunny. One wonders if the Ethereals might have been capable of such a feat if not for their obsession with the Path. Jan'tiala popped another piece of candy into her mouth and shuddered. Have you tried this... white chocolate? It is delightful.

"Now, don't have too much of that," Sunny warned as she worked to put the final touches on Desmond's new arm. "We have work to do, and I don't need you intoxicated on your... sugary Ethereal version of cat-nip and an aphrodisiac."

Yes, yes. I promised Desmond I would not overindulge.

"And what are you going to do after the war?" Sunny asked the giddy teenage Ethereal.

Me? Well, I... I owe much to X-COM. And I am technically the most knowledge individual on the topic of psionics in the world. Perhaps I will stay here and assist X-COM. Tiala sealed the section of Alice's arm she was working on. There. Those pains should not come back. You will need to learn how to do this yourself soon. Sunny is not as knowledge with your biological systems, and if you move to America, you move away from Jean and I.

"I will." Alice's eyes lit up. "Speaking of Jean, guess what rumor I heard floating around!"

-----

Psi Labs

"Dummy, dummy, dummy!" Jeanne beat her fists on the back of her brother's head while he feebly tried to cover himself. "How could you propose to her like that?! You should have told me first! I wasn't even there to see her expression!"

"That's because you were so busy with your little boy toy," Jean meekly muttered, and Jeanne only hit him harder.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up! No excuses!" The angry French woman finally stepped away, sitting in her chair and huffing.

"Sorry," Jean said, rubbing his sore arms. "It... it was spontaneous. Nothing planned."

Jeanne scoffed. "Fine." She took a deep breath. "So... who's going where?"

"I'm probably going home with her." Jean shrugged. "I'd like to see if I can get her to reunite with her family."

"Well, I..." A slight smile spread across Jeanne's face. "I wish you both the best. I, on the other hand, will go home. I grow tired of these muscle heads. I need to find myself a nice French man."

Jean laughed and bowed his head. "And I wish you luck in that, dear sister."

"Need to hurry, though," Jeanne mumbled. "Everyone is finding someone. You, Jessica, even Jake..."

-----

Civilian Quarters, Central Commune Area

Jake sneezed, and wondered if someone was talking about him, something he had picked up from his time in Japan. "Odaiji-ni," Keiko muttered, watching Rei and Hitomi play with Brigid from the seat next to him. She sat back, staring up at the ceiling. "So... you're going to Canada with Atka, right?"

Jake chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Y-yeah, that's the plan. I want to help her family, her people, get back on their feet. Not like I have a home to go back to anyway."

Keiko nodded. “I’m… I’m glad you two are happy. And I’m sorry… for all the times I held you back.”

Jake sighed and shook his head. “No, Keiko. I never thought of it like that.”

A few tears formed in Keiko’s eyes, and she sat up and looked down so Jake wouldn’t notice. “I… I’m sure X-COM will find me and Hitmoi and Rei a good orphanage. I just hope we don’t get separated, especially those two.”

Jake almost immediately sensed the girl’s negative emotions, and slowly said, “Listen, Keiko. I… I didn’t want to say anything until this was all over. No use getting your hopes up if I…” Keiko let out a soft sob, then another, obviously trying not to alert the others. “Keiko? Keiko, please, what’s wrong?”

The young Japanese girl covered her eyes. Between sobs, she mumbled, “I-I… m-miss my… mom and... dad…”

Negative memories instantly putting him on the brink of tears himself, Jake quickly wrapped his arms around Keiko, holding her tight as she cried. Hitomi and Rei noted their distressed friend, but Jake waved them back.

After several minutes, Keiko calmed down a bit. Jake ran his hands through her hair and whispered, “How’d you like to come live with me and Atka?”

Keiko looked up at him in surprise, then slowly shook her head. “No, I… I’ll be okay. You shouldn’t force yourself to..."

"Oh, hush." Jake squeezed her a little tighter. "This was my plan the whole time. I'm... I'm not sure how much of a father I can be to you, Rei, and Hitomi, but I'll always be your big brother."

Keiko nodded, nestling close. A few tears rolled down her cheeks, but she had a big smile on her face.

 

[BMPixy]

BMPixy and MarineAvenger “VI - The Lovers”

XCOM Headquarters, Somewhere in Siberia
Room of Fay Henderson
December 7th, 2018
0958 Hours

Minato pulled the covers over himself and Fay, wrapping his arm around the woman as another session of fun came to pass, the shinobi closing his eyes and letting out a relaxed sigh as he settled in. “Amazing as always…” He commented, opening a single eye as he looked down at the sniper.

“Indeed,” Fay replied, a small smile on her face as a result of the afterglow. “Stamina certainly improving rapidly.”

He chuckled a bit, rubbing her arm. “It is to be expected.” He planted a kiss on her head and just held her close.

The sniper sighed contentedly, embracing Minato as the two laid there. After a moment, Fay said, “Though eventually time must rend, can know this moment shall never end.” Locking gazes with the shinobi, she added, “For the memory shall retain, and we both receive the gain.”

Minato’s smile widened further. “Beautiful. You truly do have a way with words, as stupid and overused that line is.” He was silent for a few moments and turned himself so he was facing Fay. “I have something to ask you...and I want you to tell me the truth.”

“Very well, Minato,” Fay replied. “Ask away.”

“I want to know...you are doing this for the right reasons, right? I want to know if you truly love me and not just trying to replace what you lost for a fling.” He asked her forwardly, not wanting to move around the point.

Fay was silent for a long moment, chewing her lip as she thought. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she answered, “Not… not a replacement. Care deeply for you as yourself, not as another James. That much is certain.”

He stared at her and he leaned forward, giving her another small kiss with a smile. “Good. I wouldn’t want to just do this for the fun of it. I have more respect than that.”

“Though the fun of it is quite an enjoyable part of this relationship,” Fay added, her own smile slowly growing.

“I can agree with that statement. So...before we do anything else, I think you should ask me a question as well. Make it as personal as you want.”

Fay furrowed her brow in contemplation, attempting to think of a question. After a moment, she shook her head. “Shall have to take rain check, cannot think of one at the moment,” she replied. “Beautiful man before me making it difficult to think.”

“Hmm...I could say the same about the exquisite naked woman next to me.”

The sniper blushed slightly, and gave Minato a playful shove. “Though compliments could be slightly more original,” she jested.

“I could do that, but I am not the linguist in this relationship. So...what shall we do with the rest of our day?”

“Perhaps a meal first, and then we shall work from there,” Fay answered. “Cannot spend the entire day in throes of passion, obviously.”

“I concur, that would just make things stale. And we don’t want that.” He gave her one final deep kiss and looked around the room, “Now...just need to find my pants…”

“In the corner, by the dresser,” Fay replied as she let go of Minato and rolled out of bed, beginning to gather her own clothing.

Finally assembling his attire, Minato quickly got changed and watched Fay as she got dressed. “So what do your friends think of us as a thing?”

“Supportive,” she answered as she pulled on her pants, “if a bit hesitant to speak much of it. What of your fellow shinobi?”

“They snicker and give me weird looks but otherwise keep their mouths shut, they know better than to talk bad against me...or my love.”

“Not ideal, but glad they have enough respect to avoid invoking anger.” Now fully dressed, Fay glanced at Minato and began making her way towards the door. “Feeling bar food or the mess?” she asked.

“Doesn’t matter much to me.” Minato opened the door for her and stepped out himself, closing the door behind him. “Mind if I ask you something personal?” He asked, walking beside her with his hands in his pocket.

“Not at all,” Fay replied. “Your question?”

“Do you...have any family Fay?” He asked cautiously, looking at her from the corner of his eye.

“Mother and father, of course. Some extended family, but not too familiar with them,” Fay answered, purposefully staying non-specific with her choice of description. “What of it?”

“Was just asking...I figured I should at least ask about them. Would be more odd if I didn’t ask about them.”

“Suppose, though still early in this relationship, would be forgiven for waiting. Any kin of your own?”

Minato just shook his head, his expression hardening a bit. “Dead. All of them.”

Fay was silent for a moment, her eyes downcast. “Apologies, did not intend to bring forth such memories,” she said.

Minato shook his head. “I expected you to ask, no need to feel sorry about it.” He reached over and grabbed her hand, giving it a quick squeeze.

Fay returned the gesture and gave a faint smile in response, meeting Minato’s gaze. “Perhaps, though still offer my condolences.”

“...thanks.” He stated in a low voice, barely audible.

The two walked in silence for a short while, before finally entering the mess hall. The early morning breakfast rush was coming to a close, as the assembled troopers finished their meals and made their way off to their various activities. Fay walked with Minato over to the meal line, and the pair got their food before making their way over to a relatively isolated table.

Minato picked at his food with his fork, pushing around an egg yoke and not saying anything, just staring down at his plate without taking a bite.

“Penny for thoughts?” Fay asked in-between bites of her sausage.

“That and not really good with small talk. I would do something stupid like ask how the weather is but alas, we are stuck in a hole in the ground.”

“Indeed, but not all talk must be small,” the sniper replied. “Recall that we did not come together via idle chatter.”

Minato smirked coldly. “I only made it here out of dumb luck. Honestly I am surprised I even made it this far without a screw up.”

“Testament to skill, rather than luck,” Fay countered, laying down her fork and locking gazes with Minato. “Managed to make this work for this long, and I look forward to even longer together, however much time it is.”

“Let us hope it continues on for a while. I do enjoy your company a lot...and not because of the sex, that is just a bonus to me. You are a sweeter woman than you first led me to believe. At first I thought you were going to be a lost cause but I am glad I stuck it out.”

Fay raised an eyebrow. “Though your sentiment is recognized, it is general courtesy to avoid calling your significant other ‘a lost cause’,” she explained. “But we shall have plenty of time to work on your compliments, shall let it slide for now.”

“I am honest, maybe to a fault. But if there is a flaw in someone, is it more rude to let them be ignorant or to tell them the truth about their quirk so that they may become a better person. I would never insult on purpose unless I had cause to.”

“Many do not take kindly to having their flaws exposed, from personal experience. Whether you were intending to insult matters little to those who feel they were.” With that, Fay picked up her fork once more, and continued her meal. “Simple fact of life.”

“Well...I am sorry. It was not my intention to insult.” He picked up his sausage and bit into it, his eyes widening a bit and throwing the rest of it into his mouth, as well as another.

“Forgiven,” Fay replied, before noting Minato’s odd reaction. “Fond of sausages?” she asked.

“I like all meat…” He bit into another. “I just prefer sausage. Tastes the best.”

“Shall make note of that. Personally, still slightly unused to well-prepared food,” Fay said, taking a bite of her eggs. “Long durations of subsisting on only MREs have changed my tastes significantly.”

Minato laughed. “Trying living on white rice most of your life.”

“At least rice has little flavor to screw up. There’s a reason that the Jambalaya MREs are only given to fresh meat or local wildlife,” Fay replied, chuckling slightly at the memories.

“Need I even ask or want to know?” Minato asked with a raised eyebrow, shoveling a pile of egg into his mouth.

“Best if don’t,” she answered. “Prefer that sanity is kept safe from such horrors.”

Minato sat back and crossed his arms. “You want horror, try Saka’s cooking. I swear, that girl could boil water and burn it. Makes me pissed off that she can shape a perfect riceball though…” He complained.

“Talents arise in the oddest places,” Fay analyzed. “Perhaps her cooking skill is all invested in riceball shaping.”

“Wouldn’t surprise me.” He laid his head down on the table and closed his eyes with a satisfied sigh as he finished off the rest of his food quickly, not realizing how hungry he had actually been. Fay finished the rest of her meal at a more sedate pace, letting Minato rest as she swallowed down the last bits of her food.

“What shall we do now?” Fay asked, setting down her utensils and tilting her head slightly.

Minato shrugged his shoulders, sitting up and rubbing his forehead. “I don’t know, just walk around together? That is usually what couples do, right?”

“If not, then it is what we do,” Fay replied cryptically, standing from her seat.

“I swear, sometimes you are harder to read that a haiku written by a baboon.” He stood up from the table and walked around, interlocking his hand with hers. “I...love you, Fay.”

“And… I love you as well, Min,” Fay answered, her voice quiet but clear. “May bonds such as ours last until there are no more hours.”

He kissed her hand and smiled, walking slow with her to enjoy the moment, walking close to her in a way that just felt natural.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

DarkGemini24601 & ZombieSplitter53
"Gloom on the Horizon"

XCOM Headquarters, Somewhere in Siberia
1230 Hours, December 8th, 2018
Office of Morrigan O’Brien

A knock on the door, and no response. After waiting for awhile, Atka opened the door to the room, looking around inside. The office was still lit, but there was no one in there. Shrugging, the Colonel sat down in the chair opposite the desk. As she did so, she noticed a form jump onto the table. Oh, hello Shalquoir.

The cat seemed to bow her head ever so much. Hello, Atka. How is your health?

I am well. Atka smiled, holding out her hand in an offer to pet the cat.

After a short sniff, Shalquoir rubbed her head against Atka’s hand, and purred softly as Atka stroked her back. Morrigan and master are out. Will be back soon for Atka.

Good to hear. How have you been, to return the question? Atka shook her head in amusement. “To think Brigid is the master…” she muttered.

I am well, though master likes to play when I like to sleep. Master plays strange. I do not enjoy being in the air, but master gives me treats when I am good.

Well, that is the way children are. Though the floating ability is special for her. The Inuit woman pondered the realization that she was not the only one to use their pet as a guinea pig for the harmless psionic abilities.

I see. At least she no longer pulls on my ears. The mentioned ears perked up, and a few moments later, Brigid skipped into the room, her mother following closely. “Ms. Atka! Hello!”

Atka turned her head to look at the two as they walked in. “Hope I’m not intruding, sir.”

Morrigan shook her head. “No, we were just having a quick lunch.” The Commander’s smile wavered ever so slightly. “I… was actually hoping to see you today.”

“What did you need me for?” the Colonel inquired.

“It… it can wait, please.” Morrigan sat down on her couch for a change, motioning for Atka to join her. “Please, what did you come here for?”

Atka joined her on the couch, removing something that was causing a lump in her jacket. The Inuit woman presented the painted fox to Morrigan. “Mother wanted me to give this to you. She made it herself.”

“Really?” Morrigan looked the carving up and down. “This… this is really impressive. What is it for?”

“It’s a family tradition of mine. They’re basically ‘guardian spirits’ that represent some aspect of you. Mine is that wolf I made so long ago after discovering my ability to communicate with animals,” Atka explained. “I’ve made quite a few for friends since coming here.”

“Well, I’m sure if you have half your mother’s talent, they are all gorgeous. And please tell your mother how much I appreciate this.” Morrigan walked behind her desk, and placed the fox next to her picture of Brigid. She seemed to fret over getting it just right, turning it left and right until she was satisfied. Returning to the couch, she asked, “Is your family doing well?”

“Yeah. Nouja learned how to do some intricate stuff with her biokinesis, and mother and father seem much better off than they were before,” Atka responded. “I’m glad that mother is past what they did to her.”

“I am too. And she hasn’t lost at least one of her talents.” Morrigan smiled gently, her eyes drifting a bit as she obviously held her tongue about something.

“You can tell me what’s on your mind, you know,” Atka offered.

“I… you… seem to be happy, I…” Morrigan frowned. “I hate to ruin your day with talk of this… damn war.”

Atka shook her head. “I’ll be fine. Besides, now that you’ve got me curious, it’s far too late for hesitance,” the Inuit woman said with a slight grin.

“Good point.” Morrigan watched Brigid play with her feline friend for a few moments. “It… it’s about your former nemesis. We found something… interesting, an audio log, buried deep within the base’s files.”

“Did Invidia create another clone of me or something?” Atka asked neutrally.

“No, no.” Morrigan quickly shook her head. “Nothing like that. It was a communication log, Invidia speaking with someone. Another Ethereal, from their home world.”

“Interesting… but I’m guessing it’s the specific correspondent and information that is important,” Atka guessed.

Morrigan nodded, not sure what to start with, so she chose the beginning. “Well, first… we can’t be sure, but based on what Invidia said, and her groveling, it was likely someone important. Maybe even… him.”

“I don’t think we’ve heard of him making any contacts to Earth before… what did Phobos say?” Atka pressed.

“He said he’s… coming here. He was tired of how things were being handled, and he’s planning on taking charge himself. He…” Morrigan scratched her head. “He used some measure of time that I still need to ask one of our Ethereals about, but he is on his way, and he sounds pissed.”

Atka sighed. “Well, we were probably going to fight him one way or another… but I don’t like the idea of that gigantic ship just waltzing into our atmosphere, or anywhere near us… it didn’t lack weapons.”

“I’m sure we can think of something. We always do. If we have to storm that thing and take it down from the inside out, we will.” Despite her optimistic words, Morrigan continued to look distressed. “But… all those Ethereals…”

“Um… I don’t follow, Morrigan.”

“Well… from the sounds of things, nearly thirty-five percent of their planet’s population will be on that ship. Not knowing how vast or few in numbers they were, I don’t know how many that is, but I’m sure it is a lot.”

“What...why?” Atka looked at Morrigan uncomprehendingly. “Why would he bring so many here? Are they trying to colonize us now?”

“I… I think they might be.” Morrigan ran her hands through her hair, looking as though she might throw up at any minute. “Oh, this is all my fault. I… if I didn’t let him go. I… I should have… done something more. Chased after him or something, wounded or not…”

“Chase after who? Morrigan, you’re telling this story backwards…”

“I-I… I’m sorry, Atka…” A tear ran down Morrigan’s cheek. “The… the thing Conquest used to kill Avaritia. He… he used it to… t-to…” She shook her head. “He… he killed them. Six… s-sixty-five percent of the Ethereals, all…”

Atka fell silent for a moment. “My God…” she muttered. “So they’re coming here to make themselves a new home, no matter what the cost…”

“It… it’s on my hands, Atka…” A few more tears fell from Morrigan’s eyes. “I didn’t stop him. I let him get away with that… weapon, and now the blood of all those people, alien or not, is on me. And the blood of every person who dies stopping the Ethereals from taking our planet for their own.”

Atka shook her head. “Don’t give me that crap. Conquest is the one that came up with a weapon like that. It’s the operator that kills, not the people who happened to be bystanders or unwittingly perform actions that lead to the end result.”

Morrigan looked a bit surprised by Atka’s words. She closed her eyes, and slowly nodded. “You… you’re right. I’m sorry Atka. I knew that, I just needed you to remind me.”

“You don’t need to apologize. I just don’t want you blaming yourself for the genocide of someone else,” Atka replied. “That bastard is to blame for whatever happens to us now, though. I still think we can win… but how we’re going to lay siege to that ship with only Acedia’s battlecruiser is beyond me.”

Morrigan leaned back. “Yeah… Acedia’s… maybe it was time we stopped responding and started attacking. That ship might not be able to handle the one you mentioned, but maybe it could handle… an upgraded version.”

“Is there another ship nearby?” Atka inquired.

Morrigan shook her head. “I’m not sure. But Acedia had an impressive ship, and Superbia’s was pretty much an upgraded version. The Ethereals obviously have quite a few of these, and if Superbia’s ship was that powerful, then Superbia’s boss must have an even better one.” The Commander folded her arms. “That Honored Overseer probably needs a way to travel in style. Maybe we should try to find it, and take it in one piece.”

Atka smiled grimly. “That sounds like the best course of action. Who knows? Maybe it’ll be big enough to be the size of a wasp compared to the Temple Ship.”

“Well, like I said, we always think of something.” Morrigan smiled.

 

[MarineAvenger]

Band of Brothers

XCOM Headquarters, Somewhere in Siberia
2200 Hours, December 8th, 2018
Room of the Elites

Fox sat on his bed, watching a marathon of the original Star Wars trilogy, one of his top favorite movies next to the Wizard of Oz, and Spaceballs. Fox would never admit it, but deep down he was a massive nerd at heart. He watch on with an amused smile and wide eyes, each time watching his movies like a new experience to him. He paused the movie and rubbed his eyes, shaking his head of his tiredness and sitting up on his bed.

The day he spent with Eve was still permanently etched into his mind as one of the happiest and exciting days of his life so far. According to Eve, it was one of the best times she had ever had with a man before, the comment making the scout blush deeply but he also couldn’t had helped but just smile.

He left a thank you note for Emily, sliding it under her door one day when she wasn’t available, thanking her for all the advice and support she had given. Even now, his cheeks were burning red as he thought back to that fateful day but the opening of the door distracted him from the lewd memory as his three brothers walked in, all taking a seat at the table in the middle of the room.

Fox sat on the edge of his bed and had put his chin in his hand. “What’s up guys?”

Chief waved Fox over and he got up, taking his spot in the only open chair left and he looked around, a little worried. “What’s...going on guys?”

Chief gave a light smile to the scout and he rubbed his eyes. “We are having a meeting Fox...about our futures.”

The scout blinked a few times in surprise and he shook his head. “Well that is easy...we are all sticking together after the war. I know Eve might become a tag along but you guys will warm up to her! And there is always-”

Hawke’s look made Fox trail off and lose his train of thought, looking between his brothers both scared and confused. “What…?”

The sniper sighed and put a hand on Fox’s head, rubbing his already messy hair. “We...came to an agreement Fox. We aren’t...we aren’t staying together after the war ends.”

The scout’s eyes widened and his breathing hitched in his throat, looking at all of his brothers in shock. “Wha...but...we can’t just split up! We are a team...we are…”

“We need to live our own lives, Fox.” Chief said, speaking up above Fox. “Especially you.”

“E-Especially me? What is that supposed to mean!?” He asked, standing up.

Chief looked down, his look a sad one. “Fox…” He rubbed his eyes, either from being tired or trying to stop himself from getting emotional, Fox didn’t know. “You need to live your life Fox. You have Eve...you need to be with her. We aren’t going to drag her along with us. Besides...we are all splitting up, not just you.”

“Bu...but...what will you guys do!?” He asked emotionally.

“I will be attending school. After the war, I want to pursue my new found mechanical interest. Maybe one day start my own garage.” Bull said, his smile weak but it was trying to comfort Fox the best Bull could do.

“Well me?” Hawke was silent. “I don't know, I am still undecided. Maybe I will move to New York...I always wanted to see the ‘Big Apple’. Or maybe I will try and make it big in Vegas. Who knows?”

“You’re not going to Vegas, Hawke.” The leader stated plainly.

“What? Why?” He protested, chewing on a few almonds.

“Because, you won’t become a deadbeat if you don’t make it. Why don’t you try again with Aya, sees what comes of it?” Chief suggested. “From what I have heard, she used to live in the city. Maybe that will be something to connect with?”

Hawke shook his head. “You are so bad with romance it is embarrassing. Besides, I think she lost interest. In my opinion, I may have been friend-zoned. And once that happens, there is no getting out.”

“You should at least try…” Fox blurted out.

“I agree with Fox. You should at least try one more time, see what comes of it.” Chief stated, crossing his arms with a smile.

“Yeah, I will do that once you ask Morrigan out on a date.” The sniper retorted, smirking with a smug look that said he had backed Chief into a corner, but the leader didn’t bite, just waving his hand as if to dismiss the problem.

“She made it clear it was a one time thing. Besides, she has a daughter and has to lead this entire operation. I have respect for the woman, I tell you that but I am pretty sure that eliminates all romantic involvement, even if I was...interested in her. Which I am not.”

“You are a horrible liar there Chief. Besides, you two sound perfect for each other. Both leaders, both willing to do anything for your men, extremely loyal, and besides, you have fatherly expirence. You raised Fox, didn’t you?”

“Hey, I am not a kid!” He yelled, huffing to himself and shaking his head.

“Wasn’t calling you one, I was just saying you acted like one for a while.” He told the scout calmly and turned his head back to Chief, flashing a smile and a wink.

“Not going to happen.”

“Denial is always a part of a good romance story.”

“It isn’t going to happen.”

“You’d make a good looking couple.”

“Hawke…”

“Never say never, cause you never know.”

“Fine!” He slammed his fist on the table, leaning forward with a grin and pointing directly at Hawke. “You ask Aya out on a date, and I will visit Morrigan again. That way, I can prove to you once and for all that it won’t happen.”

Hawke flashed his own smile and leaned forward. “This war won’t last forever and the Commander is a fiery catch. You my friend have already taken the first step into getting yourself a woman.” The sniper held his hand forward. “So you got yourself a deal.”

The two shook hands, Bull and Fox just looking at one another. That escalated rather quickly… Bull thought to himself.

Those two are playing with fire...I hope they get burned, I need a good laugh. Fox thought, a small smirk crawling onto his face.

“Alright...Chief’s future marital status aside, there is one final thing we must discuss.” Hawke brought up, Chief flashing him a dangerous look.

“We have grown quite accustomed to our current names, but unfortunately...they won’t fly on the outside world. We are going to need real aliases.” Chief added.

“H...How do we do that?” Fox asked, surprised and confused.

“The Council can more than likely make it official, and if nothing else, we could go through Legion sources.” The sniper stated.

“Now...Fox, we talked before hand and we already have our names. We came up with one for you...but it is your choice whether to use it or not. Do you understand?” Chief told the scout, looking directly at Fox, as did Hawke.

“I...well I guess I can at least hear it first and then decide. I don’t think anything I will come up with would be any better.” Fox sat forward and Chief started first.

“Our names all turned out simple, our middle names not really mattering, we just went with whatever sounded fluid and simple. For mine...I will be known as John Grant.”

Hawke cleared his throat, going next. “I will be James Hawkins.”

Bull sat back lazily. “George Wright.”

All three heads turned to Fox and Chief smiled. “Yours by far was the easiest Fox. How do you feel about Adam Fenris?”

Fox scratched his head, shrugging his shoulders. “It works I guess…why not?”

Chief nodded, looking around at his brothers. “Then it is decided. Now, we are still free to use our codenames but these will be our civilian names after the war. You can use them now, but that might confuse people.”

“Can I just ask...how did you even think of those?” Fox asked, generally curious.

Hawke chuckled. “They have meaning, though mostly because they sounded cool and practical. Isn’t that basically what we did the first time anyways?”

Fox opened his mouth to protest but quickly shut it. “Good point…”

Chief looked around the table and smiled, standing up. “We have all come a long way. Us Elites were made to be soldiers of war, but now, we are much more than that. It has been my honor and privilege to call you all my brothers.” Chief held out his fist, and looked to the others, one by one, each adding their fist to the group bump. “No matter how far away we are, we will always be apart of one another. Let’s finish up our loose ends, win this war, and move on with our lives.”

They all nodded, and let their hands come apart. Each of the Elites went on with their day, once again Fox being left alone in the room. He smiled to himself, sitting on his bed and mulling over his new name. “Adam Fenris.” He said outloud, trying it out in a multitude of voices before laughing to himself. “Adam...Fenris…” Fox looked around the room, and balled his fist, gritting his teeth. “Adam…” Fox growled loudly to himself and he yelled. “Damn it, I can't believe I let them trick me into that!” He stood up and paced around the room, growling to himself in both anger and amusement, scratching his head. I wonder if Eve will like it...

 

[DarkGemini24601]

*Accompanies Operation Azure Matriarch and Operation Lupine Vanguard*

Country of Germany, Continent of Europe
0200 Hours, Local Time
Above the Northern German Plain

Live Cargo Transport Ship in sight, sir, the Sectoid Commander relayed to its master without looking up from the navigational computers.

As I’ve said, it is much simpler to call it a ‘L.C.T.S.’, E-804. Please refrain from wasting your mental breath on a wordy title, Sapentia replied cooly, floating over to the comms consol. Placing his two upper hands on it, he opened a channel to the Abductor. This is Watcher Sapentia of the continent of Europe. Please respond, ship commander.

A sultry, elegant voice projected through the comms, This is she… I wasn’t exactly expecting visitors…

Sapentia seemed surprise for a moment, and then sighed deeply. So you’re the one they’ve been calling ‘Lapis’, mother… what are you doing on Earth still? For that matter, Europe? Did you not receive my recall order to the battleship in orbit around Mars?

I did… And ignored it… You’re not my superior and I refuse to run from these simpletons… Especially not after what they did…

I believe a Watcher outranks a Lieutenant… Sapentia thought with exasperation evident in his ‘tone’. If you stay here to avenge your sister you will be fighting alone. Everyone else has departed to await the Exalted One’s arrival. I know you don’t care for following orders much, but you would do well to not draw the ire of our revered leader.

Draw the ire? He’s wanted to be rid of me of ages, I imagine the news of me staying would only bring him joy… She answered with a slightly frustrated tone.

I’m not sure he would care for your fate at all. If you truly refuse to fall back with the rest of us, then that is your choice. I will leave you to whatever fate might befall you. Sapentia glanced at his pilot. We shall be dep- The sound of metal rending and a tumultuous explosion consumed the Ethereal’s ears for a moment. What in blazes was that?!

T-The resistance’s ships have arrived! I am re-engaging the cloaking field, but we will need to repair the engines before we can get out of here! the pragmatic Sectoid Commander explained.

Damn you, mother. Your stubbornness is to blame for this! Sapentia said before cutting off communications as his ship vanished from sight on its descent. Firestorms engaged the Abductor too, though they opted for their EMP weapons, downing the craft without dealing severe damage to it.

‘Lapis’ looked around her control room as the systems powered down, she glared at her Sectoid Pilots. Damn him… If he hadn’t been distracting me with his nonsense I would’ve seen them coming… You two, steer the ship as close to the nearest human settlement as possible!

The leftmost sectoid looked up at her, B-But Mistress… We’re miles from the nearest city.

Lapis cursed in her mind, chattering towards Sarah’s cell, Then get to the doors and defend them! I’ll make sure no harm comes to my special guest…

 

[Taxor_the_First]

My Innermost Apocalypse, Part 3

???
???

There was no preamble this time. It was as if her mind had gotten bored of hyping up her anxiety and went straight for the trauma.

Penny ‘awoke’ to see her father sitting on a crate in front of her, mask on, cleaning a plasma sniper rifle. The room had a concrete floor, but beyond that she could not tell where she was – the light hanging from the ceiling illuminated only the small circle around her. Attempting to move revealed she was tied to the chair she sat on.

She saw her father’s mouth curl upwards as the chair scraped against the concrete. “Who’s been a naughty girl then?” he asked, looking up. “I must say, I’m proud of what you’ve accomplished. These plasma weapons are truly remarkable…” He lowered the rifle, almost lovingly, onto another crate where several more plasma weapons sat, and picked up the pistol. “… and they make my job soooo much easier.”

Penny gulped. “They were never meant for you.”

Her father whipped his head around from his inspecting the weapon, and glared at her. “Then you were short-sighted,” he snapped. “Where did you think the schematics for these would end up after the war? On the black market, of course. Soon, everyone will have them, legally or not.” He motioned the butt of the pistol towards her. “And it’s all because of you.”

His captive shook her head, refusing to believe him. “The materials within those weapons are rare and not reproducible, where do you think –“

“The black market! Where else?” Her father shook his head. “For someone so intelligent, you really are still just a stupid girl. You must take after your mother in that regard.”

“Don’t you dare trash-talk my mother!” Penny yelled, anger entering her tone.

Her father shrugged. “She’s dead. Ergo, not here. Ergo, unimportant.”

“No, no, this isn’t right, you never –“

“And now you dictate what I do and don’t do?” Her father sneered. “Why would you ever think you had that right? Need I remind you who the person in control here is?” He leaned in close, so that Penny could see his eyes. “I’ll give you a hint – it starts with ‘m’, rhymes with ‘tree’.”

“Why am I tied up?”

Her father pulled back, moving back to the weapons. “Nothing kinky, don’t worry. Although…” He turned back around, still holding the pistol by the barrel so that the butt was facing forward. “… that’s not to say I’m not going to derive some pleasure from this.” He swung, the weapon impacting Penny’s chin and throwing her head sideways.

As was typical with a dream, the pain did not register, but the knowledge that there was pain did. She recovered, whimpering softly. “Wha… why…?”

“The better question is ‘Why not?’”

“Because I’m your daughter!”

The smile returned. “And don’t you forget it. Remember that, even if your brain can’t hold anything else in that thick head of yours.” The smile grew wider. “You’re mine.”



X-COM HQ, Siberia, Civilian Quarters
5:34 AM, December 6th

Another sharp intake of breath, and she was back to reality, eyes snapping open to remove the visage from her mind. She shook her head, as if trying to clear the tainted fog of that particular sleep. It seemed to work, and all she was left with was a curious ebbing terror, a half-sensed threat that receded into the shadows of memory.

A glance at the time made her groan. “I just went to sleep!” she muttered, mostly to herself. If the past few weeks were anything to go by, she wouldn’t be getting anymore sleep tonight either. And yet the physical exhaustion threatened to overcome her.

After half an hour of contemplating her situation and subconsciously trying to get back to sleep, Penny sighed and rose, sweeping her feet off her bunk and onto the ground. She rubbed her forehead, considering her options. They weren’t many. Waste hours trying to get back to sleep and be disappointed, or go get lots of coffee. She glanced at the bottle Dr. Randolph had given her, sitting on her dresser. Or...

With a slight scowl on her face, she dressed into her more ‘civilian’ clothes – as Charles had described them with a mock posh accent – and opened the bottle. She was going to need it today, that was for sure.

 

[Adrammalech]

Adrammalech and DarkGemini: “The Watcher and The Revolutionary”
XCOM Headquarters, Somewhere in Siberia
1130 Hours, December 10th, 2018
Holding Cells

Sapentia sat in the center of his cell, contemplating what he could have done to prevent his capture, but knew that it was likely he didn’t stand much of a chance no matter what. Though if they were successful, that means mother is probably dead. Sapentia mulled the realization over for a moment, and then shook his head. The universe is a slightly better place, then. Now… wasn’t the former Overseer of Asia here? Reaching out with his mind, the Watcher of Europe attempted to establish a connection with Luxuria, though he had doubts about his chances for success at the moment.

Luxuria stood in front of her armoire, modelling one of her very few blue dresses. Although she preferred the Ethereal standard red, she remembered she read something about how humans attribute colors to emotions. Remembering who only solidified her choice for blue. She was flipping through the possible accessorization when she felt the other presence connect with her. Hello? I sense this isn’t Acedia…

Sapentia’s eyes lit up. Ah, Luxuria. I was beginning to wonder if my psionics were so hampered that I couldn’t contact you. This is the Watcher of Europe, Sapentia, if you remember me.

Vaguely...you were one of Avaritia’s assistants, yes?

I was his second in command, Sapentia replied. Though unfortunately not present on site when his base was assaulted. I remember receiving an intelligence report suggesting that he had perished here… the question is, was it correct?

My apologies, Avaritia had a tendency to overshadow everything else in my eyes. Luxuria chuckled. I have suspicions, but little to prove it isn’t. They claim it was a rogue soldier with a grudge who they removed.

Unfortunate… I enjoyed working under him. He encouraged me to study human culture, and I must admit, it has rubbed off on me. Sapentia gave a telepathic sigh. He is sorely missed in trying times such as these. Especially when there are so few of us now…

Well, Acedia is here as well. The humans that are here have treated me kindly too, for the most part and over time. I have not seen one of them that would repeat what happened to Avaritia, at least not yet…

Atka did spare me, even after I resisted capture, so I have a little faith in their… hospitality. Sapentia fell silent. You don’t know, do you? Some of the humans might, but I doubt they’d have told you…

Know what?

A few weeks ago, the homeworld was… attacked. A few ships rushed past our blockade, and released a biological weapon into the atmosphere. It spread like a lightning plague, shutting down the psionic abilities of any it came into contact with… The estimate Superbia gave me was rough, but the Exalted One has reason to believe… about 65% of the population perished.

Luxuria froze in place, then shut the doors to her wardrobe, her face turning a mixture of anger and coldness. ‘A few ships?’ Were they destroyed? Who orchestrated this?

I know not what the fate of the lead ship was… Superbia didn’t tell me everything, Sapentia protested. But I know the lead ship matched the specifications of that craft that has been troubling us for some time… the ship of the rogue Balmadaar Warlord the humans call ‘Conquest’. Sapentia clenched a fist. I never thought he and his band would be powerful enough to attempt genocide… and they nearly succeeded. The planet was completely vacated, and now the Exalted One is on his way in the flagship of the fleet.

Luxuria had so many questions to ask and thoughts to wonder, she could not voice them all. Does that mean they’re all headed here? The remaining civilians, everyone?

Superbia did not state in directly, but that must be the case. They would have no where else to go, really… we haven’t been in the habit of establishing significant colonies, after all. It is not a decision… Sapentia hesitated. I… I cannot say such. The Exalted One must have some sort of plan.

I assume that plan is not to peaceably regroup and try to repopulate… Luxuria’s brow furrowed in irritation. Otherwise they would not be coming here.

Unfortunately for both of us, Sapentia responded, regaining his composure, the late Overseer of Africa did not see fit to tell me what the plan was.

Of course, he acted like that often. I apologize if I seem aggressive, I...was not expecting this. Is there anything else you know about the perpetrators or their weapon?

Nothing more than I have already said. I only hope the fleet ended that abomination’s life, lest he follow us here…

Indeed. Luxuria rubbed her chin, connecting the dots but unsure how much of her information she wanted to share with a still-loyal servant. It is possible there is a connection between this and Avaritia’s passing, but I will need to investigate more before I could say for certain.

Why do you say that? I was under the impression an XCOM staff member killed him…

That is the story, but I have a difficult time believing such a human would choose him over myself, if not simply killing us both. And I could not reach him once he said goodbye to me...refresh my memory, what is your primary color?

Yellow Major with Orange and Green minor, Sapentia stated.

Right, same as me...what I wouldn’t give for ESP right now. Luxuria shook her head. I suppose I will just have to bide my time, as I often do.

I would… ask a question of you, if you don’t mind. Do you still follow the Path, or have you given up on it? Sapentia inquire neutrally.

I have had my curiosities about it, so far from home with so little else to think about. Purely academic, however. Why do you ask?

Sapentia fell silent again, longer than the last time. I… wonder, sometimes. If our actions are leading us to the disaster. In search of the white psion, we have had seven of our best military minds bested by these humans. What if they win? So few will be left in that aftermath… and perhaps our quest lead to this.

If myth is to be believed, a white psion could wipe or placate an entire army. Though, I see how our methods have not served us in this campaign. Luxuria’s eyes narrowed and she proceeded carefully. They either have not aged well, or do not suit every situation.

In any case… we cannot lose now. If they destroy the Temple Ship the civilians onboard, and perhaps even the humans themselves will pay the price.

You said some of them know who is aboard. I do not believe they would make such an action.

Perhaps they do. I can only assume they would have gotten the information from Superbia’s data, or any other Overseer the Exalted One might have contacted.

Well...I will tell them soon enough, if need be.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

DarkGemini24601 and MarineAvenger24061: “Silent, Crimson Heart”

XCOM Headquarters, Somewhere in Siberia
1045 Hours, December 10th, 2018
Room of Asher Dorian

Asher looked around his new amenities of his room, nothing too fancy compared to his cell. He still had a bed and his mirror, but along with those he had his own desk which had been stocked with paper and writing utensils. Some books were scattered around, Asher having picked them up, read the first few pages and putting it down to move to the next if any of them interested him; so far none having done so. Looking in the mirror that hung on the wall, he rubbed his newly shaven face, looking it over and fixing his hair a bit where it was out of place, though the messiness of it didn’t really make it matter. At least Jessica had kept her word. I got a room now… He glanced at the door, knowing that a single guard stood outside as he was placed under a watchful eye. Though the company doesn’t exactly make me feel at ease.

There was a brief exchange of voices outside, the mechanical one of Asher’s guardian and a human male, as well as a female sigh, and then a knock came on the door. “I’d ask if you’re busy, but... “ Poinsettia trailed off.

Asher strode to the door and opened it up, staring at the MEC girl for a brief moment before nodding his head in a greeting.

“How have you been?” the red-haired copy of Lily asked.

He pulled a folded up piece of paper he always kept in one of his pockets and wrote down on it, giving a small smile. ‘I have been well all things considered. And you?’

“They let me out on parole, so not bad,” Poinsettia responded. “Still no organic arms, though I’m not going to die or anything if I stay like this. It’s not so bad… though I’d prefer a real sense of feeling. Emma tells me it’s possible, though. They did it halfway for that… what’s his name… Gabriel guy who was crippled.”

‘Well, you already know that I do not mind you either way. Though I will be happy for you none the less if you do finally become whole again.’

Poinsettia walked into the room. “So, anything you wanted to do in our slightly less limited capacity? Gotta keep the boredom at bay somehow.”

‘Our ability to travel is slightly limited, though I have heard of some fun happenings around. If you would like to go anywhere, I would be happy to accompany you.’

“Maybe just to get something to eat. I hear the bar has nice food… probably better than prison rations. And if that one meal sister brought me is an indication…” Poinsettia offered.

Asher smiled and he walked over and grasped her hand, slipping her a note on a fresh sheet. ‘Food sounds wonderful.’

Poinsettia and he were escorted by the two guards to the bar, where the former ordered a hamburger, sitting in the back with her companion.

Asher had ordered just a regular club sandwich, looking over the slightly crowded room. ‘So how has your relationship with the Exalt women been? I wouldn’t expect hostilities to completely disappear in the manner of a few short days but surely there has been improvement if I am to guess.’

“Well, I’m at least comfortable around Lily and Vee… Emma seems nice enough, though even after... “ Poinsettia paused. “Things are still a little tense between me and Elene.”

‘Well at least there is improvement. As for me...nothing much has changed. Though I did come into confrontation with a guy who was in over his head, and I quickly showed him why he should not pass me off so easily. It is a comfort to know my ability has not degraded with my time locked up.’

Poinsettia shrugged. “It’d be nice if I could practice with my suit, but I doubt that’ll happen for quite awhile.”

‘To be honest, I hope you will not need it. If word around base is to be believed, then things may come to a close soon. You could more than handle yourself but...’ Asher didn’t finish, not wanting to insult her by being too honest. She is not Jessica, I actually have something to lose with her.

“I’m not hellbent on fighting, I just don’t like doing nothing,” the red-haired MEC responded. “And don’t go telling me I’m not cut out for fighting again.”

Asher widened his eyes and he shook his head, quickly replying, ‘I wasn’t implying that you aren’t cut out, I would just worry about you. That is what people who like someone else think when they go into dangerous situations...at least that is what I have learned.’

“Fine… but getting into brawls is sorta dangerous too, isn’t it?” Poinsettia said with a grin.

Asher smirked. ‘True, but if your opponent is someone who basically defeats himself, I see no reason to be scared.’ He put a hand on her shoulder. ‘Please don’t think I would ever look down on you. There is very, very little that would make me talk down about someone such as yourself. Everything with you is pretty much...well, already perfect in my eyes.’

Poinsettia rolled her eyes. “I’m certainly not perfect, but I appreciate the compliment.”

He nodded, smiling as their food arrived. ‘You are welcome. I have been trying to practice with trying to talk to you but I fear of making a fool of myself in front of you seeing as how I am still not certain how you truly feel about me.’

“Eh, you’re handsome and not a pain in the ass to be around. I won’t blabber about ‘love and first sight’ and other shitty stuff, I just like what I like.”

‘Well at least you are honest about it. I do hate runarounds...’ He took a fry and took a bite of it, a little nervous in his head though he tried not to focus on it.

Poinsettia dug in as well, seeming oblivious to his conflict.

‘Any new hobbies you have picked up since your release?’ He slid to her, still working slowly on his fries.

“Not really…” Poinsettia frowned. “Still seeing what else I can do.”

‘Oh...well, I have tried getting into reading. Not really a lot that I like though...’ He scratched his head nervously. ‘Maybe you should try your hand at cooking? Or maybe something like a sport? You seem to be a hands on kind of person, you might enjoy them, or better yet be secretly good with them.’

“If they let me try.” Set shrugged. “I’ll give it a shot if I can though.”

‘Good, go-’ Asher realized he ran out of room on the page and he rubbed his eyes in annoyance. Damn this accursed…

“Uh… here.” Poinsettia pulled out a crumpled piece of paper, unfolding it and handing it to Asher.

He nodded in appreciation. ‘Thank you Settia...I am sorry I must embarrass you with all this...I feel so stupid having to write down everything.’ He looked away from her and stopped touching his food, just looking down at the floor.

“Embarrass me with what? Do I look embarrassed?” Poinsettia replied indignantly.

Asher squeezed his hands, quickly writing down on the uneven surface of the crumpled piece of paper. ‘Of having to do this! Write everything down and not be able to tell you myself. I hate having to make you deal with...this…’ He wrote down, practically dropping the pen on the counter and laying his head down in his arms.

“Well… who knows? I’m sure Emma could rig you up with one of those psychic things… and maybe you have the potential regardless,” Poinsettia suggested. “I don’t think they ever tested you or your basis.”

He turned his head and looked at Poinsettia. He looked to the paper and wrote, ‘I just...wish I could tell you things with my own voice. That I didn’t need other ways to tell you-’ He didn’t finish, just holding the pen still and not looking to add the rest of what he was going to write.

“That you like me? You’ve already said that, you know.”

‘Not just like...but maybe even love? It doesn’t seem as special writing it silently on a note.’

“Eh, I think people say it enough out loud that it tends to lose it’s meaning anyway. I’m not going to like you less just because you can’t talk…” Poinsettia pointed out.

‘You...you’re sure?’ He wrote down, sitting up and looking at her with both a small mix of sadness and confusion.

“Don’t act like you’re a lesser person because you don’t have a voice.” Set held up her mechanized hands. “Look at me! I don’t have any arms! Or legs, for that matter! I don’t treat myself like I’m inadequate just because of that. And if anything, having a device that lets you talk into my head sounds more intimate than talking out loud.”

‘Interesting choice of words.’ He pointed out. ‘To be honest...I never minded what happened to your body because...it was just your body. As selfish as it may seem, losing my voice was like losing a small piece of personality. It just seems like an inconvenience you don’t need. I like you, I really do...I am...I am being an idiot in your eyes, huh?’

“Yep,” Poinsettia said casually. “Though it seems like an easy fix. Just don’t worry over everything, damn it.”

Asher managed a small smile. ‘You really are a different sort of person, Poinsettia. And I mean that in a good way if you were thinking otherwise...’

“I like not being bland. That’s something me and my sisters share,” the red-haired MEC replied. “Are we good now?”

Asher nodded. ‘Sorry for making you sit through that. Must have been painful.’ He wrote as a tease, slightly smirking as he slid it to her.

“Agony,” Set replied with a roll of her eyes.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

MarineAvenger & ZombieSplitter53
“We Found Love in a Hopeless Place: Part One”

X-COM Headquarters, Somewhere in Siberia
Primary Rec Room, The Bar
December 10th, 2018
1745 Hours

In the mid afternoon, the bar was bustling with activity of both soldiers and staff alike, idle chatter, some games of pool and some downing of drinks were going on all around as the Elite sniper strode in, taking in a deep breath and walking over to the bar and sitting down, ordering a scotch.

“Starting your conquest of cards early Hawke?” The bartender asked as he poured him his drink.

“Nah, no card games today unfortunately. I am here for a different reason.” He stated cryptically, occasionally glancing at the door and taking a quick drink as he waited in silence.

After fifteen minutes, Aya casually walked in, stretching her arms. She smiled as she entered, returning a few waves, as well as a few salutes, and headed to the bar, smiling when she saw Hawke.

Glancing back at the entrance, he smiled as his eyes met Aya’s and he waved her over, turning around and drinking the rest in his glass. “Thank goodness I got my buzz going already…” He mumbled, turning around and waiting for the woman.

“Hey, Hawke,” Aya said as she sat down, quickly asking for some apple juice. “Keeping busy? Has Fox recovered from that little.. alien bully thing.”

“Oh yeah, he is fine.” He assured her. “Takes a lot more than that to put that ki-” Hawke stopped himself and smirked. “Takes a lot more than that to take my brother down.”

Aya chuckled. “Good. And… how are you doing, Hawke?”

“Great...though I do have some news.” He took a sip of his scotch and shook his head. “Me and the guys were talking about some things. Mainly what are future is going to be like, stuff like that.”

“Oh, really?” Aya took a sip of her own drink, and placed her chin in her palm. “Do tell, please.”

“Well for one, we all have names now...actual ones I mean.” He put down his glass and held out his hand. “Name is James Hawkins.”

Aya gave him a smile and a firm handshake. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Hawkins. The name suits you well, I must say. Though, I’d keep the old one as a nickname at least. It suits you well too.”

“Trust me, we are going to be using them on base, the names are more of a formality when all of this ends.” Hawke snickered to himself. “I will give you a wild guess at to what we made Fox agree to be his first name though.”

Aya shrugged. “I’m guessing something simple. Like keep it Fox, or John, or maybe Adam, with the whole clone thing.”

Hawke chuckled. “On the mark. We named him Adam. Which would mean…” He rolled his hand for her to continue, hoping he didn’t have to write down the joke in bold lettering on a napkin.

Aya laughed. “Oh, I’m sure my little Eve will like that.” She shook her head. “Just make sure they avoid any serpents.”

“Well unfortunately I think a snake already worked his magic quite enough. Though if talk is to be believed, he got it handed to him by one of the clones we had on lockdown. Funny in my opinion. Only wish I could have done it.” He took another sip of his drink and pushed the empty glass away.

Aya shook her head. “You handled the other half of that problem.” She reached over, gently squeezing his hand. And I want to say again how much I appreciate what you and your brothers did for Eve. I… I’ve heard rumors that she was even more depressed about it then I realized.”

He looked down at her hand and smirked. “It was the least we could do.” Once more he looked down at the hand and pulled it away, shaking his head. “I should tell you something before we go any further…”

Aya chuckled. “Oh… I don’t know who much ‘further’ we were going, but I’m all ears.”

Hawke scratched his head nervously. “Look...the only reason I came here was because I was looking for you. You see...me and Chief sorta made a deal…”

***

Chief nervously walked down the long stretch of hallway to the Commander’s office, kicking himself for so foolishly agreeing to something with Hawke of all people but if this got him off his back and proved once and for all he was right, it would be worthwhile. Approaching the secretary, Chief requested to speak with the Commander.

“Of course.” Peggy reached for the intercom. “Commander, Ch... Haw… one of the Elites is here to see you.”

“Alright, send him in,” Morrigan answered back.

Chief opened the door to the Commander’s office and closed it behind him, walking in and immediately dreading his decision with each step. “Hello Commander.” He announced, walking into the room and keeping his hands planted at his side.

“Hello, Chief.” Morrigan hefted a stack of paperwork, haphazardly dropping it in one of her drawers. “What can I do for you today.”

“Just thought I would come by and let you know how things were going. I know these days must be busy for you.”

Morrigan sighed. “That they are. Requests are coming in from all of the place. It looks like we’ve gone a long way in dismantling the alien command structure, and they’re acting accordingly.” She shook her head. “Sorry. How are you and your men doing?”

“No need to be, my men are fine. Fox is happy with his girlfriend, Hawke is still Hawke and Bull plans on becoming a mechanic believe it or not. We all seem to have our separate plans for the future. What about you?”

Morrigan looked a bit surprised. “Me? I… I’m doing fine, Chief. If a little tired. Thank you for asking.”

“Good...considering how things have been going, being tired is not all that bad.” Chief smiled warmly and rubbed his neck. “I guess I should also inform you that the Elites now have official, proper names.”

“Do you now. And what is yours, pray tell?”

“John. John Grant, though I still fully expect people to use my codename.” He stated crossing his leg over the other. “There is some business I would like to discuss with you however. Though I warn you, this wasn’t exactly my idea to bring to your attention. Of course, if you wish me to stop I will abide...like I said this wasn’t exactly my idea.”

Morrigan gave him a concerned looked. “Chief, you’re free to speak your mind. Please, what did you want to talk about?”

“I likely know what you are going to say…” Or at least I hope she does so I don’t have to embarrass myself any further. “Morrigan...would you...like to go on a date?”

***

Aya chuckled. “So, tell me… is he there? Like… right now, asking her out?”

Hawke nodded his head with a wide smile. “Most likely. Either he is making a huge fool of himself or actually managing to win her over. I don’t know which I would find funnier.”

“Hm…” Aya shook her head. “So… competition to see who can get the girl, huh?”

“I have already come to terms with you thinking of me as just a friend. Really, I just wanted to see if Chief had the courage to go through with his. I told you this so you wouldn’t get mad if you found out another way.”

Aya frowned. “Hawke, I… I’m not going to say that is… completely true…”

***

Morrigan raised an eyebrow. “What is… this is kind of… why the sudden interest in me?”

Chief rubbed his face. “You want the truth, or a bullshit excuse?”

Morrigan grinned. “Well, as… entertaining as the bullshit excuse might be, I’ll go with the truth.”

Chief sighed. “Hawke put me up to this. The only reasons I agreed was because it forced him to try with Aya again, and so I could prove him wrong. I know you are a busy woman, and you probably have no feelings for me so I did it just because. And if you wanted to know the bullshit answer as well, that was it.”

Morrigan folded her arms, scoffing. “Is that so? The only reason? It usually isn’t a good idea to ask a woman out when you aren’t actually interested in. It is an easy way to earn her ire.”

“Well I wasn’t saying I wouldn’t go through with it if you agreed, but there is no way that would happen…” He tried to smiled and rub the back of his neck to pass it off like it was all a joke. “I know it was stupid coming here and wasting your time for something like this. I should probably let you get back to work.”

Morrigan rolled her eyes. “You’re making a lot of assumptions, Chief.”

***

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

"We Found Love in a Hopeless Place: Part Two"

“Wait...what did you say?” Hawke asked, slowly looking back at Aya.

Aya rubbed her eye. “L-listen, Hawke, I… I like you. Our time together the other nights, and the conversations we had before, however brief. Your help around the base, the way you get along with everyone. The loyalty to your brothers. It… it is enticing, I’ll admit. There aren’t that many men here that have peaked my interest. You have. B… but…” She looked away, as if afraid to continue.

Hawke looked at her a bit concerned, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Hey...I wasn’t trying to make you feel bad. Look, I’m sorry I was a little hasty in my decision making if I had known I wouldn’t have brought it up.”

“It… it isn’t your fault.” Aya sighed. “It’s just hard, Hawke. The… the last man I got close to…” She looked at Hawke with sad eyes. “He died on our wedding day.”

Hawke sighed a bit, not to disappointment but for the fact he made her feel bad. “Look, I wasn’t trying to bring up bad memories. I’m sorry I didn’t consider how you felt about all of this. I feel stupid for not realizing this sooner.” He turned in his seat and faced Aya. “Look, it sucks that happened to you, it really does. I can only imagine what you must have felt but whatever you do is your business. I won’t force something on you if you aren’t ready for it.”

Aya closed her eyes. “Hawke… do you know why I approached you in the first place?”

“I would assume you would have had some interest at least…” He stated, looking at her confused whether she meant she did want him or didn’t.

Aya nodded. “I… I’m tired, Hawke. I’m tired of being alone.”

***

“Let’s face it, Chief… we used each other that night,” Morrigan stated bluntly. “But the morning after, when we were sober… hangovers notwithstanding, we could have gone our separate ways. Why do you think I didn’t kick you out of my room, with or without your clothes, right there and then?”

“Well...I hope you don’t take this the wrong way but I just assume you liked the fun. I mean...like you said it was just a one time thing, whether what happened in the morning did or not still technically only classifies a one night stand.” Chief tilted his head and looked at her with surprise. “Are...Are you really saying what I think you are?”

Morrigan placed her hands behind her head, placing her feet on her desk. “Well… that depends. Did you mean everything you said while we were drinking?”

“Well...yeah. Drunk or not, I still said what I meant to say.” He told her, crossing his arms.

The Commander nodded. “Listen, Chief. I have a lot of work to do here. A lot of responsibilities, responsibilities that will continue even after the war is through. But that doesn’t stop me from having friends. You’re my friend. And if you wanted to be something more… then why wouldn’t I give you a chance?”

Chief blinked a few times in even more surprise. “Well...would that be something you want? Wouldn’t mean much if this was largely one sided after all. I don’t want you just to accept it for the hell of it. I mean...if you truly have feelings like that to me, then I must say you really are full of surprises.”

Morrigan smiled. “Chief… come here for a minute.”

***

Aya looked away, scoffing. “I’m sorry. That… that probably sounds selfish. Like… I want to use you to make myself feel better. But… there are other men here. But you… are the one I…”

“You’re not selfish, Aya. I guess I should be a bit flattered you like me better than the others though I must say…” He leaned forward and pulled her face to look at him. “Look, I won’t hold anything against you. If you are lonely, you are lonely. If a relationship is what you really want, then well…” He sat back and crossed his arms. “Go ahead. Ask.”

Aya smiled. “Hawke… would you like to go out with me?”

Hawke chuckled and he poured himself another drink. “Is there any answer other than yes?” He asked, smiling at her.

Aya nodded, and poured herself a drink. “Just to warn you… I know I don’t look it, but I’m actually the Commander’s age. I hope you don’t mind an older woman.”

“Is that supposed to change my mind?” He asked, drinking his scotch down all at once. “Come on, I already said yes.”

Aya nodded again, and held up her glass. “Then… to new relationships.”

“May it last.” He said, pouring himself another and tapping glasses with Aya.

***

Chief stood up cautiously. walking over to the side of the Commander’s desk, unsure of what exactly she was planning.

Morrigan stood up, and stepped in front of Chief. “Kiss me.”

“W-What?” He asked, looking at her confused.

“I… said… kiss me!” The Commander practically shouted.

He was a bit startled by her reaction and held up his hands. “Alright, alright,” He leaned forward and kissed her, trying to do it the same way as their first night together.

Morrigan wrapped her hands around his head, and kissed him back. After a few minutes, she stepped back, her face a little red. “So… tell me what you thought about that.”

“That...was...well…”” Chief rubbed the back of his neck. “It was great...I would say.”

Morrigan nodded in agreement. “Now…” Morrigan stepped forward, placing her index finger against his chest. “I need to know one thing.” She stepped forward, and Chief walked back until his back was to the wall. “Is this really about me… or is about the sex?”

Chief was silent for only a few moments, shaking his head. “This is about you. To be honest the sex that night wouldn’t have happened if I wasn’t drunk. I talked and drank with you cause I enjoyed it, not because I wanted to get in your pants.” Chief itched his head. “However enjoyable it may or may not have been.”

Morrigan suddenly leaned forward, the contours of her body pressing against his. “And what if I eventually decide… I want it to be about the sex?”

“Well...then what would be the point in seeing you? I have already stated I respect you more than that.” He said sternly.

A big grin spread across Morrigan’s face, and she stepped back. She reached down, grabbing Chief’s hand. “Alright, then. Let’s go.”

“Go where?” He asked, looking down at her hand.

Morrigan rolled her eyes. “On our date. You did ask me out, right?”

“That is correct. But Morrigan, before we do, there is one thing I need to ask you.” He took a deep breath and sighed. “I need to know if your daughter will like this. I mean, it would be a hard to maintain relationship if she didn’t approve.”

Morrigan ran a gentle hand across his face. “Brigid is going to love you. If you want to make a good first impression, just tell her you’re related to Mr. Desmond. Just don’t try to explain the whole… clone of the brother thing. She still doesn’t really understand it.”

“Alright, just wanted to make sure she would be okay with this too.” Chief smiled and switched Morrigan’s hand to his other. “How about we get a drink?”

“That would be lovely,” Morrigan answered. “Sweetie…”

“No matter how much you say it, I have no idea how I am going to get used to that.” He said with a smirk, opening the door for her as they neared it.

***

Hawke and Aya sat together, talking and telling each other funny stories as they laughed over a couple of drinks. Hawke rubbed his eyes from laughing so hard and added, “And then I said to him…” The door to the bar opened and when Hawke looked up his face dropped and he sat up. “Oh shit…”

Chief and Morrigan walked into the bar, anyone who noticed turning and talking amongst one another, a few snickering to themselves.

Hawke just stared at them for a moment and downed his drink. “I can’t believe this…”

Morrigan confidently walked to the bar, smiling at Aya, then to Hawke. “Mind if we join you? How about a double date?”

Hawke’s mouth dropped and he looked between them, rubbing his eyes to make sure he wasn’t in a drunken stupor. “Well...there goes that bet…”

Chief raised an eyebrow. “You...bet on whether or not we would actually go out on a date or not? With who?”

Hawke just shook his head. “Let’s just say I owe Fox a lot of candy now…”

“Fox...really?” Chief snickered and sighed. “Really, cause I think Bull owes me his biggest gun.”

“You bet on me!?” The sniper said in disbelief. “Wait...you were actually rooting for me to get with Aya?”

“Of course. Bull didn’t think you had it in you so we made a little wager.” He said with a satisfied grin.

Hawke just stammered to get words out until he finally banged his head on the bar top. “How...did...this...happen…” He said in between bangings.

Chief walked up to his friend and patted him on the back. “Don’t worry...look at the bright side, you won’t have to bet on me anymore. I plan on staying with her for a while.” Chief said, saying it like a whisper but leaving it intentionally louder than it should have been.

“Clever bastard…” Hawke turned to Aya and Morrigan. “Sorry for the betting, it seems the two of us think too much alike.”

“We should be offended by this, right?” Aya asked.

Morrigan shrugged. “Probably. Whatever. Bartender! Bottle of whiskey, please!”

“And some ice…” Hawke muttered, scooting over next to Aya and putting his arm around her as Chief and Morrigan sat next to them, Chief doing the same for his own date.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Adrammalech & ZombieSplitter53
"Confessions of a Guilty Ethereal: Part One"

X-COM Headquarters
Primary Lab, Alien Containment Facility
December 10th, 1900 Hours

Luxuria paced quickly in her cell, scratching her chin and rubbing her arms. So then he tells me that the homeworld was attacked, and a lot of people didn’t make it. It sounds quite terrible, far beyond the scope of the war that we have been confined by.

Oh, dear. What of the planet itself? What happened to the survivors. Acedia slowly rubbed her head, the distressful news hitting her like a brick to the face.

He said they were all on a ship, headed here, and that they were abandoning the planet. Still, he seemed unsure, and knew little else. Luxuria sighed. Not what their intentions were, when they’d arrive, or even if the people who carried out the attack are dead.

Acedia sighed. I… I suppose we will need to wait and see. I do hope they do not intend to take over this planet as a replacement. It is sad. Based on what I’ve seen, the humans would likely help them, even after everything that has happened, considering they are mostly civilians. But… as long as Thantos is in charge of the war effort…

Indeed, we can do very little action. However, we might still be able to learn something about the attackers that started this conundrum. You are a blue psion, yes? How is your ESP?

My ESP? Acedia chuckled. It… it is one of the few abilities I excel at. You know me and how lazy I can be…

Then I assume you could differentiate from a human psion and an Ethereal, even with the limitations we have here.

I can. The humans are either being lenient on me, or are somehow unaware of the scope of my abilities. Though, I do not have any offensive abilities that could affect anyone out of my vicinity. Why… do you ask?

I’d like you to do an experiment for me...reach out as far as you can, across the entire base if possible, and see how many Ethereals are here.

I… alright. Acedia closed her eyes. She extended her vision beyond the confines of her cell. This… I… I am confused…

Luxuria’s ears perked with curiosity. What is it?

I… I had not stretched my sights beyond this facility before I found three Ethereals. Two… in your room. Do you have a roommate?

Luxuria calmly turned around and walked towards her armoire, casually scanning the room. As she walked, she noticed a narrow visual distortion moving alongside the wall. I have to go, Acedia. We’ll talk soon.

I… okay. Just, be careful.

Luxuria watched through the crack at the door’s hinges as the distortion moved closer, and gave a small sigh. With a small click, she closed the doors, and looked across the room with a satisfied smile. Her eyes darted towards her cloaked visitor and she reached out, casting a telekinetic field at the area and sending the intruder flinging towards the glass of her cell. Her hand and violet eyes glowed powerfully against the inhibitors as she kept the other Ethereal pressed firmly against the glass and her cloak fell away. Hello, murderer.

Wait, please! Jan’tiala pleaded. I-I mean you no harm, I simply… wanted to…

I am sure you sung Avaritia the same refrain. Luxuria scowled. The humans have been quite generous with their limiters as of late. I may not be capable of direct attacks, but I’m sure I can focus enough to choke you out…

Then… i-if that is what you want… Tiala gave the older Ethereal a pleading look. Then I won’t resist.

What I want is answers. Why did you try to wipe out the homeworld? Why do the humans let you walk around? Where are the rest of your ‘Horsemen’ now? Luxuria’s grip tightened further. Why did you murder my best friend?!

I… I don’t know what… Tiala’s eyes looked around in panic. I do not know… I-I turned on Conquest and the others, I… I tried to stop him from… oh… oh, no, he… h-he actually used it?!

Do not play dumb with me. Your group has been together for cycles.

I-I… I was not a part… I was rescued from an Ethereal research station by Conquest’s father. I… when he died, I remained loyal to their cause out of respect. But I couldn’t… support his plan. It wasn’t about… stopping the Ethereals, it was blind revenge. I’m sorry, I… I came here to tell you how sorry I am!

Luxuria stood silently for a moment, face-to-face with the person who she had been unknowingly cursing for the last few weeks. With an irritated growl, she let go of her grip, the fields holding her in place dropping without warning.

Jan’tiala fell to the floor. She slowly, carefully, pushed herself up. I… I was content with the knowledge that… that you were just another monster. That your pain was no concern to me. But you… you have become… you have grieved, you have been truly hurt by my actions. I do not expect your forgiveness, but I can not put this off any longer. I… am at your mercy. She pointed out the cell. The security footage is on a loop. They will not know. They will think I attacked you, if that is what you want.

I’m not going to kill you, just...stay where you are. Luxuria shook her head and put some walking distance between her and the glass. If what you say is true and you did turn on them...is there a way to counter their disease? If you tested this on Avaritia...surely you gained some kind of antidote from the process?

Tiala slowly shook her head. I… my body can live without psionics a lot longer than a normal Ethereal, and the loss of psionics is only temporary. I… knowing Conquest, he would not have made such a vile weapon without creating an antidote, but if he did, he has it. Tiala floated forward a bit. But I… I am familiar with the manner in which he created it. I… could try and make one myself.

 

[Adrammalech]

Part Two

That would be wise, as the ones your equestrian friends missed are on their way to try and take over this planet. Luxuria sighed and crossed her arms.

Tiala’s eyes widdened. They… they are? Then… then perhaps… perhaps an antidote could act as a peace offering! If we offer it, without condition.. The young Ethereal scoffed. But… but they’ll never accept it, as long… as father…

Father?

Thantos'Mictlanmacaria… is my father. I was his little experiment… his attempt to force Ascension to happen in an Ethereal.

Luxuria looked at her with disbelief. The Exalted Commander is your father? And you do have all six colors, correct…?

Jan’tiala slowly nodded. Yes, he is. And I… do. My command over them is moderate at best, but I can access all six to some degree, yes.

I always thought that whole story was a rumor. Luxuria managed a smirk, despite her anger. You have more daddy issues than me.

That’s putting it lightly. Though… Tiala’s eyes darted away. I… do not know much about you… but I did know who Tien'lyssigan was. And how he treated those around him… I am sorry…

I’ve moved past him, long ago. And even then, he is dead now, so there is that comfort. Luxuria’s smile faded quickly. So...why didn’t you Ascend? I’m sure the experiment itself was foolish if not barbaric...but if you do have all six, most people agree that that’s a big step to the process.

Tiala squeezed her fists, a black aura forming around her ever so much. Yes, of course. Something must have gone wrong. A sarcastic tone filled her thoughts. It is not possible that Ascension is a lie, something perpetuated to push the Ethereal’s views. It is because I was a failure, one who obtained all six colors but could not Ascend, no matter what they did to me… to my mind… my body… it was my fault, something that man drilled into my head for nearly two cycles…

I wasn’t trying to imply something, I am curious. Although I have turned my back on the Path, I still held some hope that Ascension is possible, that it’s a goal that might still be strived for with more appropriate measures.

If that is the case, then I wish you well. I would have no problem with the Path if not the… extreme measures it has brought our people to.

Well, I’d like to know if it’s folly as well. After all, I’m already throwing away one set of our traditions...might as well throw it all out. Luxuria shook her head.

Tiala smiled slightly. I… I actually find your manner of following the path… inspiring. It is for this reason I felt I had to… t-to… tell you the truth, and tell you how sorry I am. I… heard you two were close, and he spoke highly of you.

I still speak highly of him… She hung her head, trying not to let any memories creep in. Did he…did he suffer? When it happened?

Jan’tiala shook her head. I do not think so. Ethereal bodies need their psionic energy so much, once his completely shut down, it was almost instantaneous. She looked away, holding her hands over her face.

Luxuria nodded solemnly and turned away, slumping into one of her human-crafted chairs. I cannot say I completely forgive you and all is well...but I believe what you say, and you have nothing to fear from me. The others though, this ‘Conquest,’ should hope I stay in this cell…

Tiala slowly nodded, wiping her eyes. She slowly moved towards the exit, saying, I… for what it is worth, I didn’t… want… I talked to him before, and he had such promise. I… I have regretted what I did every day since then…

I understand…and appreciate it. Luxuria leaned forward in her chair, not looking back and cupping her chin thoughtfully. Just not ready to throw out forgiveness...

 

[DarkGemini24601]

“A Simple Matter of World Domination, Part 1” - Elene and the Exalt Clone Family

“The Exalt Corporation,” Elene was the first to say. “Simple, and elegant.”

Vee shook her head, groaning. “No, no, no… you want people to think we’re some evil corporate firm out to monopolize everything? Gotta be something less… menacing.”

“Then what you would suggest we name it?” the heiress responded coolly.

“That’s not my job…” the destroyer muttered. “I just blow shit up.”

“And will provide excellent manual labor once your combat role is no longer required, in addition to being assigned to a security detail,” Lily offered casually.

The black-haired clone frowned. “That meant to be a joke? I can never tell with you.”

Poinsettia held a robotic hand over her mouth, snickering. “I’m pretty that was. Good job sis.” She held up her hand, and after contemplating it for a moment, Lily returned the high-five with half her double’s enthusiasm.

“Perhaps the Exalt Company, or Exalt Co. for short?” Avanix suggested, reclining next to the two ‘twins’.

“Sounds kind of like a travel supplies business though…” Emma lamented, before frowning. “Or an industrial menace.”

Avanix shrugged. “Do we need to include Exalt in the title?”

“Absolutely,” Elene and Emma answered in succession. Vee put her face into her hands, inclining the former down.

“You guys… come up with something, damn it. We’ve been at this for awhile now.”

Poinsettia snapped her fingers. “I’ve got it! What about Exalt Enterprises? Sounds laid back, but high-tech at the same time.”

Lily contemplated the choice. “I… was never one for connotation of words, so I shall trust your judgement, sister.”

Vee looked up, the life returning to her features. “Perfect-o! Whadda you think, Elene?”

The mistress of Legion considered the name. “I… like it actually. And it matches my initials too. ‘E.E.’,” Elene mused with amusement.

Emma clapped her hands together once. “Thank goodness that’s finally settled. So… plans beyond that? Organization?”

Elene tapped her fingers against the side of her leg. “Well, there is no doubt that I am going to be the President of E.E..”

“Cold…” Vee mumbled. “Not even gonna give me a chance?”

“Avanix would be the only other option, but she declined the main position. She will be my CEO, my second, if that is acceptable, Emma.”

The shadow operative nodded. “It is. I request heading a division focusing on engineering. That includes anything from robotics to utilities to weapons and armor production.”

“Granted,” the heiress replied smoothly. “And Lily, you wanted to head a medical department?”

“Yes. I am getting closer to a breakthrough on Sickle Cell Anemia. I believe I have found my calling.” The copy of Lusett’s expression soured slightly. “Though Operation “Recruit Chandra” has ended in failure.”

“Aw… what made her refuse?” Poinsettia asked.

“She told me that she wanted to follow in the footsteps of a man named ‘Dr. Govindappa Venkataswamy’,” Lily explained. Seeing Set’s blank stare, she added, “He was an eye doctor of repute in India who created an immensely successful humanitarian hospital offering inexpensive eye care for those who were suffering from cataracts or other needless blindness. Apparently she got into the medical field in no small part due to his work, and feels that with her biokinesis she can do much, and perhaps even teach others how to use her psionic healing techniques.”

Elene smiled slightly. “That’s very noble of her. She’ll be missed, of course, but I will not bar her way to achieving her dreams. Speaking of early recruits, how goes the process with Atka’s family, Emma?”

“Yaralria seemed receptive to the idea of working with my division,” the metallic gray-haired clone answered. “As does Ipiktok. We have ourselves a Canadian branch, certainly… which is good, considering that I would prefer to stay away from the U.S. for awhile…”

Vee grinned. “You think they’re still butthurt about the F-22s?”

Elene frowned. “Keep your voice down… do you want Miss Carter to hear that?”

The destroyer paled. “Yikes… forgot about her. My lips are sealed with iron bolts, mame.”

Poinsettia chuckled. “Okay, okay… you guys made the Americans mad. But back on topic. What about that Nouja girl?”

Elene hid a soft smile. I’m glad to see that she feels comfortable around us now… Nouja really is to thank for what she did.

“Nouja agreed to my proposal, though she asked to receive an education of sorts first, if possible,” Lily informed them, getting back on topic.

“I’d be more than happy to set something up for her using our funds,” Elene decided. “I owe her that much for helping our final family member loosen up.”

“I was always loose, you…” Poinsettia frowned. Crap. Vee, don’t you dare-

“Oh, loose are we? Do I need to feed you to the Mary?” Vee snarkily responded with a wide grin.

Poinsettia stood and grabbed the destroyer by her collar. “You wanna go? Huh?”

The Legion Trooper in the room hesitantly moved forward. “Please cease hostile actions,” the composite A.I. intoned, its hands starting to crackle with electricity.

Set was back in her chair as quickly as she had gotten up, looking to the side indignantly. “Stupid robot…”

Legion stepped back, going back into standby mode, while Emma shook her head. “Refrain from provoking the ‘stupid robot’, even if your words don’t bother him.”

“And me,” Vee muttered, though she was smiling, knowing the move by Poinsettia was… probably… in good humor.

“And to conclude,” Emma concluded, “Some of the other Inuit have agreed to work with us as well, such as Kataktaq. Isitoq and Buniq however wish to be with Cross Technologies, and I honored that desire.”

Elene shrugged. “A small matter. I imagine David will be our partner when everything is said and done… or perhaps, even be absorbed by us.” Elene rested her chin in her right hand, an evilly pensive expression on her face.

Scary… she’s already turning into an evil corporate mistress. Though… that’s not much different from how she was before, to be fair. Vee shuddered all the same.

“Allow me to organize the information we have decided upon thus far,” Avanix began, holding a hand up for silence. “Elene shall be the President of Exalt Enterprises, and I her CEO. Emma will head our engineering department with some of the Inuit under her wing, and Cross Technologies s an ideal partner. Lily shall head our medical department, assisted by Nouja. Vee and I assume Poinsettia will function as security staff.”

“Yep,” Poinsettia confirmed, and produced an envelope from her shirt pocket. “Oh, and I gave Veda and Inderpal the request you wanted. Veda said they’d love to work as security staff for the Australian Branch of the company.”

Vee gave a small ‘hum’, and Elene turned to look at her. “What about the request to the Ortiz siblings?”

“Amanda seemed interested… so those are two guards for our Spanish outpost,” Vee affirmed. “And I convinced Tom to work as one of our lawyers, so he’ll come with me. Isn’t that great?” the black-haired woman asked with a genuine smile.

“That’s wonderful,” Avanix agreed. “I’m sure Sora will assist me in his own fashion. I’d love to recruit Sunny and Alice, but I’d probably only be able to get the latter. David beat us to the young prodigy,” the A.I. stated.

“Oh no…” Emma mumbled.

“What? Vee asked, confused.

“I had a thought,” the silver-haired engineer groaned. “What if David patents the Legion model?”

“We’ll have to work something out.. though I suppose that means absorbing his company may not be a wise move.” Elene sighed. “Ah, world domination… you are not a simple matter.”

 

[DarkGemini24601]

“A Simple Matter of World Domination, Part 2” - Elene and the Exalt Clone Family

“Onto other matters… can you call Guillermo and Nick in here?” Elene requested of the family A.I. Avanix nodded, tapping the P.R. system for the Legion Barracks and calling the two clones up. They came in, the Adam Infantry wearing a blue Legion uniform, and the latter copy of Nicholas in more casual attire.

“What’d you need us for?” Nick was the first to ask.

“I wanted to ask you all what you wished to do when the war is over. I will not force you to remain in my service,” Elene stated.

Guillermo nodded. “Gracious as always, mistress.” He smiled softly. “Most of us will stick with you. “Tiento wanted to have a quiet office job away from all this stuff, and Madillo wanted to work freelance. Ongla said something about… wanting to get involved in Colombian politics?” Nick raised an eyebrow incredulously, while Guillermo continued, “But for the most part, we’ll stay with you.”

“And have you decided on what capacity you wish to work? For pay, of course,” Emma pressed.

Guillermo shrugged. “You know me. I want to work as a guard captain… probably somewhere warm, so Spain sounds nice.”

Nick twirled one of his fingers, spinning a handgun with the safety on. “I’ll stick with our gracious Shadow Operative in Canada. “Sergin and Alejo want to go to Spain too, but Julio’s coming with me.”

“Indigo, Luis, and Jarone will go to Australia as security as well. As for Casin, Lenno, and our two heavies, they wish to work in engineering, wherever you see fit to place them,” Guillermo went on. “Tian and Verdan will be with Lady Lily in her chosen field.”

“Others are undecided, but I’m sure they’ll think of something,” Nick finished. “That satisfactory?”

Elene smiled broadly. “Indeed it is. I feel secure in knowing many of my soldiers will remain by our side, through thick and thin. You are dismissed for now.”

As the two left, Elene faced the others again. “And wtih locations in mind, where do you all wish to go?”

Vee shrugged. “It’s a no-brainer that I’ll be your bodyguard. We’ll see what mother does, since she has Jean to worry about now, but if she wants to work with me I’ve got no problem. So where are you going, Elene?”

The heiress shrugged. “I was thinking about setting up my headquarters in Switzerland. It is a nice, centralized location, and not far from our Swiss Alpine lab. Though I’ll have a winter retreat in Australia, since Markus will want to visit. I plan on keeping him as close as possible.”

“Ooh, sexy dominance,” the black-haired clone cooed, making Elene turn red.

“That is not… specifically what I meant…” Elene protested. “In my spare time, I plan on studying psionics… though I may have to relegate some of that to him, considering how busy I will be as President. Though Avanix can do paperwork in a few minutes flat,” the mistress of Exalt Enterprises added, composing herself better now.

“I’ll probably mess around with anti-psionic stuff on the side in Canada with Lily,” Emma responded. “Unlike you four, however, I will not be distracted by a lover…”

“Just you wait, I’m sure you’ll be drowning in men and women by next year,” Vee replied with a vicious grin. “And their-” Poinsettia promptly whacked her on the head, and then scooted away innocently when Legion stared her down. A knock came on the door, and the android’s wrath was averted as he went over to open it. Tom rubbed the back of his neck.

“Hi, ladies,” he said awkwardly.

Vee got up, shaking her head, and hugged him, pressing her chest into his side. “Tom! Welcome to the party!”

Elene raised an eyebrow incredulously. Does she have any shame? Vee leaning up to kiss her boyfriend passionately quickly answered that question. After the two were done with their overextended greeting, Tom sat down with the destroyer and met the others.

“A records keeper, huh? And you have the training for being a lawyer… so does that mean you have half a soul?” Set asked with a teasing grin.

Tom chuckled. “Maybe a quarter, when the succubus on my left is done with me.”

“Mean…” Vee groaned.

Elene smiled pleasantly, but got up. “Excuse me for a moment.” She stepped out of the room, and Avanix’s voice soon echoed in her mind.

What’s the matter?

“Nothing in particular,” Elene replied, patrolling the hallways. “Just thinking about how far we’ve come.”

Ah, reminiscing, are we? It has been a long journey for only several months.

“Indeed.” Elene shrugged. “I remember how things were before. Waking up with barely emotions of my own, save for a burning vengeance against the man who murdered my mother and the sister I never knew. Working under him while expanding my own capabilities… and then, creating my three sisters. Vee to be my sword, Lily my right hand… and Emma my eyes beyond the facility.”

And, they became dear to both you and I.

“Things seemed hopeless for awhile though… Viktor’s absolute control over us, forcing me to go out on that mission in Saudi Arabia… I was scared, and I only slowly grew to trust Desmond, far away in Siberia.”

And then Markus arrived.

“I wasn’t sure whether to trust him or not… and then that one day, he kissed me… and… I felt like part of me that had never existed before was born. The capacity for romantic love,” Elene said quietly, warmly.

That terrifying time arrived when Viktor tried to rid himself of us all. The order to kill Vee and her daring escape… the suffering Lily endured but has moved past.

“Desmond saved us with XCOM at his back. My brother was the link that allowed me to join with this greater force, and focus on myore than just survival and research… I gained a third purpose, to safeguard the world and humanity. Legion was born from the first flowerings of this idea and a rebellion against Viktor.”

Not long after, we made a dear friend through hardship at XCOM, when Invidia tried to ruin our bonds, he only strengthened them, and we came to know Atka, and her kind soul. Later, our hated enemy finally came, and we took him down, along with his own ‘legion’ of old and new converts.

“And Lily met her twin… and Asher. We helped them both break past barriers not unlike those we faced… and now they have a chance to be happy. Even with the Temple Ship on approach… I feel at peace, Avanix.”

Hope, Mistress?

Elene nodded slightly. “Hope for the future, and everything I can do.”

Lusett would be proud.

The heiress of the Exalt family name smiled. “Indeed she would. It would appear things are looking up. I’m not so sure we need worry about Project Anava anymore. Keep it primed, just in case… but I think I can survive now. A successor like ‘Vindicta’ no longer seems a likely, needed last resort… and that can only be a good thing.”

 

[Taxor_the_First]

My Innermost Apocalypse, Part 4

X-COM HQ, Siberia, Forward Labs
11:27 PM, December 6th

“Hey, hey,” Charles admonished as Penny’s head started lowering itself back onto her desk. “None of that until we invent power armor.”

“We already have power armor,” Penny said, somewhat sleepily.

“But do we have a Varia suit?”

“No.”

Charles nodded and made an “mmm-hmm” noise, as if to say ‘my point is proven’, and turned back to the whiteboard, which was covered in words, bubbles and crossings-out. “Then we haven’t reached our goal.”

“Can’t we clock off early today?”

“I seem to remember saying something very similar when we were in the middle of the pulse testing, and what was your answer?”

Penny’s head drooped further.

“I’m waiting,” Charles sang.

“’Not until we reach our goal,’” she moaned, lament clear in her voice.

“Exactly. Come on, don’t make me come over there.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll save you the trouble,” said a rough voice as its owner walked in the door.

Charles frowned. The scar running across the visitor’s cheek probably meant he was a ruffian, if not a soldier. Either option meant he shouldn’t be here. “Excuse me sir, I don’t think you have the right room.” Or even the right wing.

The man smiled. “No, no, this is the right one. Trust me.” He turned and noticed Penny was staring at him, sitting ramrod straight, her eyes suddenly wide open. “Miss me, did ya?” he taunted.

Penny’s mouth opened and closed, then repeated the dance. “How…?” she managed to get out.

The man strode up to her desk. “What’s the matter? Not happy to see your old man? I have something to say to that, you know.” He leaned in close, hands pressed against her desk. “Who’s been a naughty girl then?”

Charles blinked. He got the impression something had just gone over his head. “Excuse me,” he asked, “but who the hell are you?”

The visitor lifted a hand in a ‘wait’ motion, his eyes never leaving Penny’s. After a moment, he snapped his fingers in her face. Then he cursed and broke eye contact, moving around the side of the desk and placing his left hand on her neck. Penny herself remained motionless, eyes and face locked into the same position.

“What are you doing?” Charles demanded.

“Feeling her up,” The man said sarcastically. “Checking her pulse, what does it look like?” He snapped, leaving his hand on Penny’s neck. He scowled after a moment, and began walking over to the phone next to her desk.

“What the hell is going on?”

The man stopped mid-stride, and frowned. “Will you stop asking questions, please? It’s very distracting.” He then resumed walking, nearly ripping the phone off its cradle. “Yes, hello, security? Sorry to bother you, something just came up. I’d like to request a psionic here pronto, if that’s perfectly alright.” A bout of garbled chatter exited the speaker, and the man rolled his eyes. “Isaac Anderson, code 01-138. Yes, I am authorized to request that. Take it up with the Commander if you don’t believe me.” A pause, then more chatter. “That’s what I thought,” he grumbled, then slammed the phone down again.

“Can I get an explanation of why my colleague just turned into a living statue please?” Charles asked, suddenly wondering if he’d gotten enough sleep himself. Then something clicked. “Wait, did you say Anderson?”

Isaac glared at the scientist. “I thought you people were supposed to be the brains down here. Clearly, my daughter’s surrounded by idiots.” He shook his head, and went back to Penny, beginning to check her pulse and breathing. “As I thought,” he muttered.

“What?”

“She’s entranced.” Isaac said. “Catatonic. Awake, but not aware. Highly suggestible. The last thing I said to her was a trigger phrase.”

“What, the ‘who’s been a naughty –‘”

“Don’t say it again!” Isaac yelled. “You’ll pull her out of it!”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

Isaac narrowed his eyes. “Are you a doctor of physics, or medicine? If it’s the latter, you’re in the wrong wing, and you’re a lot more useful to me.”

Charles ignored the remark. “What do you mean ‘trigger phrase’?”

“Think of it like a sleeper agent that doesn’t know they’re a sleeper agent,” Isaac replied. “Just over a decade ago, a friend of mine, who was watching over her at the time, lost track of her. Early this year, myself and another friend found evidence that suggested she was taken, and he theorized she might have been…” He looked at her, frowning. “…well, for lack of a better term, brainwashed. Certain documents we found a few months ago proved it.”

“You cannot be serious. That’s science fiction!”

“So are aliens,” Isaac shot back. “Didn’t stop them from showing up.”

The scientist shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. “Brainwashed how?”

“I did some research. Essentially it’s a combination of hypnosis and fatigue, wear the subject down until they simply don’t have the strength to resist anymore.” Isaac indicated towards his mask, sitting in a clear container on Penny’s desk. “That’s why I planted that so that the aliens would find it and take it. I knew it’d come back here eventually, and from there it was a simple matter of getting it to her.”

“What the hell for?”

“I wanted to see what her reaction would be.” Isaac moved his hands so that they exerted force on his daughter’s torso, pulling her back into a more comfortable looking position. “It was as I expected. Excessive burst of anger, fear, paranoia. You yourself experienced that firsthand, Dr. Hu.”

Charles rubbed his throat. “Yeah.”

“What I didn’t expect was the whole Ethereal connection.” Isaac held up his palms up to the sky. “Who would? She didn’t either. And nor did her programmers.” He motioned to her eyes, locked on some distant point, unmoving. “When that factor came into things, she didn’t know how to handle it. Her subconscious didn’t recognize it as a valid situation and therefore refused to provide guidance. As a result, she became resistant to change of any kind. Lazy, almost.”

Charles was saved from having to ask him to repeat what he just said by the door opening once more, a soldier stepping through. “Someone call?” she asked. She frowned slightly when she saw the frozen scientist. “Are you sure you don’t want a doctor or something?”

“No, we don’t. Uh…” Isaac rubbed his chin. “Not yet. Please, if you could come over here…” The soldier complied, with a raised eyebrow. “What was your name again? Didn’t catch it.”

“I never said it. Alicia,” the soldier replied, running worried eyes over Penny.

“Alicia. Nice name. Now then. Going to need you to do something here.” Isaac finished making sure his daughter wouldn’t topple over and looked at the psion. “You are familiar with the dreamscape technique, yes?”

“Uh… I haven’t really tried it that much, but I could probably pull it off,” was the hesitant reply. “It’s within my spectrum, so…”

“Right. Excellent. As far as I’m aware, what we’re attempting here is indeed possible, although the last time it was done it was to re-fracture someone’s mind so as to revive a second personality.” He frowned. “Not sure why you’d do that. At least not to a friend. Anyway. Today, we’re going to be a bit more constructive. If there are any extra voices in her head…” He glanced worriedly at his daughter. “… we’ll remove them.”

Something clicked in Charles’ mind. “Oh no, I think I know what you’re trying to do here…”

Isaac nodded. “Alicia, sorry to keep you out of the fun, but I only want you to be a conduit here. If you can provide the tools, I will provide the surgery.”

Alicia nodded, but Charles shook his head. “I’m gonna regret this,” he muttered. Slightly louder, he asked “Can you do that for two people?”

The soldier shrugged. “It’d be easier if either of you were psionic yourselves, but I don’t see why not.”

Isaac’s head whipped around, a glare pre-prepared. “You’re not coming.”

“Why the hell not?”

“Why?

“Because she’s my friend! Practically a sister to me!” Charles noticed his voice was raised, but decided to ignore it. “You think I’m just going to sit here and wait while you go rummaging about in her head?”

The look Isaac gave him was one of anger, at first. Then, consideration. Finally, it changed to acceptance. “Alright, fine. Just… stay back, whatever happens.”

“Are you two quite finished bickering?” Alicia demanded, her arms folded. “I’d like to start before I start thinking too deeply about this.”

Meekly, the two men approached her. “Do we need to, uh… hold hands or something?” Charles asked.

“You can hold his hand, I’ll hold his forehead.”

“You what?” Isaac said indignantly. “I’m not holding his hand, do you know where that thing has been?” The look he received from both of them silenced him, and they assumed their positions.

The soldier cleared her throat. “You may feel a slight disorientation, and then…”

 

[Taxor_the_First]

My Innermost Apocalypse, Part 5

Home, Beijing, China, Penny’s Thoughts
Night-time

The rain was strong, if not fierce, and made seeing in what was essentially pitch black far harder. With it pelting in their faces, the two men slowly rose from the tar making up the road, Charles having difficulty obtaining his footing.

“’Slight disorientation’?” Charles muttered. “That wasn’t slight!”

It’s not my fault! I’ve never done this before!

“Alicia?” Isaac said, holding a hand above his eyes to shield them from the downpour. “I’m going to assume that’s you.”

Do I need to respond to that?

Charles laughed. “Dumb question, old man.”

Isaac grumbled something in retort, but started walking forward. He stopped almost immediately, recognizing the profile of the building in front of them. “Oh no…” he whispered.

“Where are we, anyway?” Charles asked. “Middle of Torvus Bog?”

“This is Beijing,” Isaac said, louder than normal so as to be heard over the rain. “Specifically a residential district. Even more specifically, one with more western influences in home design.”

Charles blinked, walking up to him. “That sort of district exists?”

“Well, no. Occasionally though, you get some idiot westerner who thinks they can defy social norms here, get a front garden, and not attract attention.” He shook his head, and resumed walking towards the house sitting in front of them.

“So who built this one then?”

“Me.”

Charles stopped. “What?”

Isaac didn’t respond. Charles shrugged, and continued following.

“So what is this place? I mean, not what we see, but what we’re walking in?”

The dreamscape is meant to be a representation of the mind. So I think you two are literally walking through her mind.

“So is her mind just the house?” Charles changed his direction and began walking parallel to the sidewalk. “Or could I just walk out of here?” His question was answered as he walked into a solid surface, though the surface itself was nowhere to be found.

Isaac glared at the scientist. “Could you stop theorizing for one second and actually help me?” He frowned when Charles began chuckling. “What’s so funny?”

“Oh, nothing,” Charles said. “’Invisible walls are a sign of developer laziness’, she said. ‘Surely open-world can’t be that hard’, she said.”

“We’re going to waste all the psionic energy between us if you insist on trying to understand everything,” Isaac huffed. “Right, Alicia?”

Actually, this isn’t as hard as I was thinking it would be. Either one of you is a latent psion, or reading the environment from someone who’s completely out of it makes things a lot easier.

“It makes sense, actually,” Charles said, rejoining Isaac. “It’s like a server connection. The less clogged up the bandwidth is, the cleaner the connection is.”

“Now you’re likening my daughter’s brain to bandwidth,” Isaac said, his expression unamused. He tried the door, and was surprised to find it was already ajar. He sighed in resignation, but did not explain why. Pushing open the door revealed a stairway and two exits to the left and right of the room. The lights were off, and the floorboards creaked when the two men stepped inside.

Charles frowned. “So… where is she?”

Isaac cocked his head sideways, listening. His face fell, and he beckoned towards the stairs. “This way,” he said quietly. Sensing that silence was probably best here, Charles ceased his chatter and simply followed.

After reaching the top of the stairs, the two began moving down the corridor in front of them. Faintly, Charles thought he could make out sobbing, but he couldn’t be sure. This was reminding him of a Left for Dead match, all in all.

Scientist… I didn’t catch your name, could you stop sending your mind all over the place? It’s getting difficult to keep you in here.

“Sorry,” Charles muttered, and tried to focus on following the man in front of him.

Neither of them were prepared for what was behind the door at the end of the corridor. Opening it revealed corpses, all of them oddly wearing X-COM uniforms, heaped around the sides of the room. In the center, almost as if in preparation for some dark ritual, sat a sobbing Penny in front of another body, this one separate from the others and lit by candlelight. Charles had time to make out that the body was female before Isaac pushed him back slightly, whispering “Leave this to me.” Somewhat nervously, he complied, finding a spot that had him a respectable distance from the bodies. In the back of his mind, he remembered Penny mentioning seeing bodies during the alien attack on X-COM’s base. Maybe it had affected her more than he thought.

Isaac moved forward slowly, in the manner of someone attempting not to startle a wild animal. “I always knew you lied,” he said quietly. “I remember walking up to the door and noting it wasn’t completely closed. I always assumed it was whoever broke in, but…” He sighed, and took another step forward. “Deep down, I at least suspected. You came in here, you knew something was wrong. You didn’t leave, like you told me you did. You kept going in. And you found this.” He shook his head. “No one deserves to see their own mother like that.”

“The little bitch deserves everything she’s gotten,” came a voice off to the side. Isaac reached for his pistol before realizing it hadn’t been carried with him, and instead settled into a combat stance with his fists. The voice laughed. “Of course you’d go for your weapon. That was what you always did when something frightened you, wasn’t it?” The owner of the voice stepped into view, and Isaac drew a breath. No wonder he’d sounded familiar.

The figure smiled beneath his mask, a plasma pistol in his right hand aimed at Isaac. “See something you recognize?” The Judge taunted.

Isaac blinked. “Who the hell are you?”

The Judge snarled. “Who do you think? I’m you, Isaac. I’m the father she feared. The one who abandoned her to go off on his own quest for revenge, leaving her with only a half-deranged Russian and her crumbling sanity for company!”

“I asked her if she wanted me to stay,” Isaac said, though his cracking voice indicated he was less than sure of his holding the moral high ground.

“She was nowhere near old enough to make that decision. You at least had the decency to admit that when she left.”

Charles shook his head and butted in. “What is this, How to Be a Better Parent 101? He’s stalling us.”

The Judge frowned at the interruption. “Who the hell are you?” he asked.

“Someone actually using their brain,” Isaac muttered, crouching down next to his daughter and placing his hands on her shoulders. “Hey. Are you alright?”

Penny’s shoulders shook slightly, and she turned to him, her face streaked with tears.

“Yeah. Stupid question.” He brought her in close to him, making her turn away from the bloody form of her mother.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked, though she made no move to get away.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Isaac asked, a little perplexed.

“Because that’s not what you do!” The Judge hissed, bringing the plasma pistol up and aiming at the two.

Isaac’s expression darkened. “Now, hold on –“

“You caused Helen’s death,” The Judge accused. “That’s not a conviction you can wriggle out of. You exposed her, you exposed your daughter, and they paid the price. We both know I speak the truth.”

“But you don’t have any sway here,” Charles said. When everyone looked at him, he elaborated. “I’ve been thinking. If this is a representation of Penny’s mind, then what are we? That is, what we perceive to be our physical forms to be in here? Representations. Which means that each one of us is a representation of someone…” He glanced at The Judge. “… or something. You are only as real as this house is.”

The Judge swung the pistol around to point at Charles. “What are you talking about?”

“That pistol, too, is only a representation. A symbol that we recognize, a way for our minds to make sense of the world around us. Which means that all of this is merely perception. Essentially…” Charles smiled. “… you sir, are powerless provided we know you are.”

 

[Taxor_the_First]

My Innermost Apocalypse, Part 6

Everyone was quiet for a moment. The Judge rolled his eyes and fired, the plasma hitting Charles in the shoulder and making him cry out in pain. “I hate smart asses,” The Judge muttered, turning to Isaac and Penny.

Penny’s expression was one of someone distraught. “You shot him!”

The Judge grinned. “Perception, my girl. He’s perceptively feeling pain, he’ll be fine.”

Isaac’s eyes narrowed. “Your girl?”

“Aye. Mine.”

Isaac withdrew his arms from the embrace, and glanced at Penny. “You mind if I take this?”

Penny’s eyes narrowed. “Kick his ass.”

“Gladly.”

The Judge, sensing conflict, fired the pistol directly at Isaac. The shot was reactive, however, and missed, giving Penny’s father more than enough time to lunge at his foe and disarm him, tossing the pistol to his daughter.

“A classic fistfight, is it?” The Judge asked, rolling out of Isaac’s grasp and into a defensive stance. “So be it. Just remember, I have a hard head.” As if to demonstrate, he went for a headbutt, narrowly missing and leaving himself completely open in the process. Isaac took the opportunity, grabbing The Judge by the torso and slamming him back down on the ground. As he was about to beat at the fallen foe, The Judge turned into a wispy black cloud and re-solidified behind him, striking a blow to his neck and sending him sprawling.

“What the hell?”

“Construct of the mind, Isaac. I do what I want.” To prove his point, an axe appeared in his hand and he struck downwards, the head splitting the boards where Isaac had been a second ago. The Judge attempted to follow him with the weapon, but he rolled away too fast and managed to get enough space to rise.

“Where did you learn to fight?” Isaac asked disdainfully.

The Judge shrugged. “Construct of the mind. I’m limited by her imagination.” He charged forwards, the axe raised high and ready to swing in whichever was Isaac dodged.

Neither of them expected Charles to crash tackle him mid-charge, which is why he managed to pull it off, sending both of them sprawling on the ground. Isaac smirked, walking forward and grabbing the axe from the ground.

The Judge groaned. “Ah, fuck it. You want a fight, I’ll give you one!” Charles was picked up and thrown away as The Judge’s eyes began to glow, an eclectic mix of red, yellow, and blue. “Some might call this cheating. I call it ‘regaining the advantage’,” he said, standing up once again.

Isaac faced the glowing doppelganger, axe in hand. “Now you’re blatantly going against what I am. Even assuming you win here and that somehow kills us outside, your cover is blown.”

The Judge tilted his head. “Explain.”

“Your purpose was to emulate me, right? But in such a way that she’d come to hate me. It didn’t matter how you did it – you don’t seem above physical violence against her, for example – but that was the end goal.” Isaac shook his head. “That’s why she’s held a grudge for so long. Not because she’s naturally spiteful, but because you were in her ear constantly reinforcing a negative impression. That’s why you needed to reinforce that she was your child. Otherwise she’d become desensitized to the whole thing. Now that she knows you’re a fake, you have no purpose.”

The Judge grinned, the outline of his mouth glowing too. “It wasn’t like you didn’t give me anything to work with. She already hated you when she came to us. It was a simple matter of stoking the flames.”

“Came to you? You mean you kidnapped her.”

“I? I did nothing. I was put here by my creators. A guest in this messy brain, easy to hide. Not so easy, you will find, to get rid of.”

“See you say that,” came the voice behind him, quickly followed by a burst of plasma. “But I’m in control here. And I want you out of here.”

The Judge toppled forward, the back of his head a melted mess, the glowing energy dissipating as rapidly as it had congealed. Penny stood behind him, breathing heavily and shakily holding the plasma pistol that had ended his ‘life’.

Isaac dropped the axe and held out a hand. “Penny…”

Penny pointed the pistol at him. “This doesn’t mean you’re forgiven!” She shook her head, and lowered the pistol, tears forming in her eyes. “I never wanted this. I never wanted to deal with…” She trailed off and looked away. “I just wanted to live my life.”

Isaac nodded. “I know. That’s why I left you alone.”

Penny shook her head. “But I can’t get away, can I?” She turned to face him, her eyes boring into his own. “There’s no escape from that life, is there? Once you’ve been touched by it, or someone close to you has, there’s no escape, is there?”

Her father hesitated, but lowered his gaze. “… No,” he said at last.

“That’s what I thought,” Penny said quietly.


X-COM HQ, Siberia, Forward Labs
11:35 PM, December 6th

They all opened their eyes at once, Penny jolting awake from her position and rubbing her dry eyes. Isaac coughed awkwardly, and rose, calling for a few doctors from the medlab to take his daughter for a check-up. Upon seeing Alicia’s haggard expression, he asked that they take her too.

“I’m fine, really,” the soldier insisted when the doctors arrived.

“You burnt a lot of psionic energy, I can tell that just by looking at you,” Isaac said. “Just go with them, make sure everything’s fine.”

Charles walked over, clutching his head. “I should… probably go too. I have the worst headache.”

Isaac raised an eyebrow. “He shot you in the shoulder.”

“You shot me in the shoulder. Besides, if my theory’s right, it was probably more like a Mindfray than anything else.” Charles frowned. “Fascinating idea, actually. I might go talk to the twins about that. See if they have any thoughts.”

“Doctors first.”

“Yeah, yeah. I got it,” Charles grumbled.

Isaac turned to Penny, who was fighting off several doctors at once. “Ellie’s going to kill me,” she muttered.

“Ellie Walker?”

Penny raised an eyebrow, then shrugged. “I’d ask how you knew, but I’m a little woozy to be thinking about that kind of thing right now. Get back to me tomorrow.”

For the first time in a while, Isaac smiled genuinely. “We’re not good. I know that. But are we better?”

Penny appraised the man she’d thought dead for years, someone who had been abusing her in her subconscious for longer, and who’d been causing her trouble for longer still. “Yeah,” she said, a small smile creeping onto her lips. “Better.”

 

[Adrammalech]

// A FRIENDLY GAME //
Nika Orlov
XCOM Headquarters – Common Area
Siberia, Russian Federation
December 11th, 2018 - 4:11 PM

Nika and Sven leaned against the pool table, looking towards the bar where Dallas and Kieran were talking. They were running out of game time in the crowded bar space, almost every soldier on base nearby to relax and chat about the fall of the seven overseers. Nika let out a long, impatient groan, swiveling on her cue to look at Sven.

“God, what are they babbling about,” Nika sighed.

“I don’t know. Probably about Emily,” the sniper replied.

Nika raised a tallish glass of cranberry vodka to her lips, and Sven quickly reached over and grabbed the rim of the glass, pulling it away from her.

“And you need to slow down, you’re still young and you’ve been going harder and harder since I first saw you,” Sven noted, expecting a punch.

“Come on, I’m not that young. I had my first drink when I was 16, and nothing bad happened. Russia has the same laws as yours pretty much.”

“Almost, but our culture likes beer, not this,” he noted, holding up the clear liquid.

“I deserve a drink now and then,” Nika huffed, blowing a couple strands of her hair.

“All of us do,” he chuckled, “and I’m not saying you have to stop, just take it easy. Know when you really want to drink and when you’re just making an excuse. Like right now, we have company and games, we can relax with just a beer. Or nothing at all.”

“You’re such a softie,” Nika scoffed.

Nika grabbed her glass back and marched away, slamming it down on someone else’s table and turning before she could see their reaction. When she returned, Sven gave her a victorious smile. Nika swiped the sniper’s beer out of his hand and took a long swig.

“Hey…”

“This is what you get for being a goody two-shoes. And a hypocrite, really.”

“Being a good influence is its own and only reward, I suppose,” he smirked.

Nika paced around the pool table, pulling out the triangle and starting to set the balls. As she placed the 9, she took another sip and walked back around, looking at Sven as he stood silently, the same stoic and slightly bored expression he often wore.

“So…I haven’t exactly been subtle, you know,” Nika said out of the blue, puffing out her chest. “And everyone else is hooking up…even the Commander. Is it because I’m younger, or smaller, or something?”

“Wh-what? No, it’s not you,” he shook his head. “I’m just a simple man. I focus on one thing at a time.”

“Then…after we win, why don’t we go on a date?”

“Eh, I’m sure our group will keep tabs on each other, but we’ll all be going back to our countries once it’s said and done. You have your family, I have a hometown that’s missing a guardian…”

“Yeah…we’ll all just break up anyway…” Nika sighed and looked down at her feet.

“I guess…I wouldn’t mind seeing the Winter Palace or the Bronze Horseman,” Sven added.

Nika looked back up at him with a giddy smile, only managing to give him a playful nudge.

---------------------------------------------------

Dallas looked over, tapping a finger against the rim of his mostly-empty glass. He looked over at Kieran, the ex-stowaway clearly uncomfortable being so close to his crush’s chosen one.

“How are you doing, kid?”

Kieran chuckled. “Kid? You know I’m older than Emily, right?”

“Didn’t mean it like that,” he shook his head, “more like…new to the group. Emily was kid when she got recruited too.”

“I’m fine, don’t worry about me,” Kieran said, looking forwards, “just…wondering why I’m here.”

“What do you mean?”

He let out a ragged sigh. “I only joined the military to get money for what I was good at. Sneaking around, jury-rigging things, creating solutions to dangerous problems. I didn’t want to…you know, save the world,” he traced a dramatic pattern with his own glass. “The only reason I didn’t go back to Germany was because I saw Emily right before they asked me, and I don’t know…now I’m risking my life to just because I saw some taken chick I kissed once.”

Dallas laughed a bit, ignoring the obvious awkwardness. “I get that, affection gets us into trouble…but maybe you’re not at as much risk as you think. Hell, you’ve seen more Ethereal missions than we have.”

Kieran drank a full mouthful of bronze liquor, swallowing it down and exhaling heavily. “That just means I’m due,” he replied.

“You know…Emily was the same was as you when she first came here. Closed off, didn’t want to talk to anyone. Should’ve seen her face when Nika first charged her with her hug,” Dallas smirked. “If it wasn’t for Sunny, she might never have opened up. But she did, and she became friends with all of us. Real friends.”

“That’s good for her. And you guys seem nice, really,” he said, downing the rest of his drink. “But that’s just not my thing. I don’t really attach, much less trust.”

“What I’m saying is, this place is a good cause. If you’re going to have risk…this is a good place to have it, and there will be more fights and a lot more rebuilding to come after it. Maybe committing to this will make you happy like it has Emily, and some good things you didn’t expect will come along with it.”

Kieran looked down at the bottom of his glass, considering the older soldier’s words. Dallas simply sat quietly, well past the point of an awkward silence, letting him come to his realizations on his own. A voice called out behind them to break the thoughts.

“You guys coming or what?” Nika shouted. “Other people want to play after us, you know?”

Dallas smiled and drank the last of his glass, sliding it away from him as he stood up. Returning to the group, he saw that both Nika and Sven were in good spirits despite their jeering, and smiled in turn.

“’Bout time,” Nika taunted.

“Yeah, yeah,” Dallas replied.

“So…who’s first?” Sven asked.

Kieran walked up between them. “Me versus the old man,” he suggested.

“Friendly game?”

The engineer smiled and nodded sincerely. “Yeah, friendly.”

 

[Adrammalech]

Adrammalech and ZombieSplitter53: “The Fate of a Family”
X-COM Headquarters
Main Engineering, Workspace of Sonya Randolf
December 11th, 1600 Hours

Emily walked into Engineering, her right hand behind her back, and quickly scanned for Sunny and Alice. She hopped over and leaned in, looking at whatever projects or research was going on at the moment.

“Hey, got a minute?” she smiled.

“Emily, hi.” Sunny took a quick scan of the arm before her, and with a satisfied nod, said, “Yep, I’m all done.”

“I imagine you’ve got a lot of work, with the last push coming up,” Emily noted. “You’re taking it easy now and then, right?”

Sunny nodded. “I am, I promise.” With a big smile, she added, “Alice bugs me if I don’t, so after a while, I had to start taking regular breaks to get her off my back.”

“That’s good,” Emily smiled over to Alice. “How are you doing? We haven’t really talked since...you know.”

Alice shook her head, and immediately walked up to Emily, wrapping her arms around her. “I’m sorry, it’s been busy. Please, pay that no more thought. I don’t.”

“Don’t worry, it’s buried,” Emily chuckled, looking at the both of them. “So...everyone’s kind of running around talking about what they’re going to do after we’ve finished...have you guys given it any thought?”

The pair both nodded. “We’re moving to New York,” Sunny answered. “Ammy’s father offered me a job with his company. It… it’ll be the first real job I’ve had that isn’t working directly for the U.S. government.”

“And I’m going to stay with her, at least until I find something I want to do on my own,” Alice added.

“O-oh,” Emily’s smile fell a bit. “That’s great. I bet you’ll be able to do a lot of good there.”

Sunny’s smile dimmed a bit as well. “W… what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Emily shook her head, “I’m happy for you, really.” The sound of crumpling paper popped out from behind her.

Alice darted her head around. “What’s that, Em?”

“Just something I was working on...nothing important,” Emily looked to the side, “do you have a trash can?”

Alice grabbed a bin, offering it to Emily. She quickly tossed it in and shrugged.

Sunny frowned. “What… did you want to talk about, Emily?”

Emily sighed in surrender. “I was gonna see if you wanted to live around where Jack and I are going...in New Hampshire. I just had a brochure for a place you could work, maybe...that’s all.”

Sunny’s eyes widened a bit. “You… you wanted me to live… near you?” She rubbed her hands together. “But I… I don’t think… anyone else would hire me…”

“Why not? You’re a super-genius and you worked with the most advanced project in human history...I’m pretty sure you have your pick,” Emily chuckled.

“I… I-I… want to, but… but I…”

Alice scratched her head. “Why not do both?”

“Both? What do you mean?” Emily asked.

Alice smiled. “Well… Dr. Cross is going to get a huge share of the technology from X-COM, and some from their partnership with Exalt. With the flight technology available now, why can’t she live with you and travel to work? A standard flight between the two locations is only an hour, and I could design and pilot a craft that could make the distance in twenty minutes.”

Sunny smiled, and shook her head. “I… I could do that. But she said live near her, not live with her.”

“W-well, if you wanted to, of course we’d have you,” Emily assured. “But I couldn’t ask you to go through all that trouble…”

Sunny’s eyes widened even more. “But, I… i-it wouldn’t… be trouble. I…” She rubbed her hands nervously. “I… I-I’ll admit, I’m a little worried about where I’d live. Th-the… Cross building seems… a bit intimidating, but… but I d-don’t want to… i-impose on you…”

“I mean, we already live together,” Emily smiled, “and we haven’t gone house shopping yet...but wherever we go will be a lot more spacious than the room we have.”

Sunny’s eyes started to water. “D-do… do you… r-really mean it? I… a-and Dallas… w-will…”

“Yeah, of course,” Emily smiled broadly. “As long as you want to...we’d be happy to have you stay with us.”

Tears ran down Sunny’s cheeks as the hardened engineer broke down into a twelve year old girl, and she rushed into Emily’s arms, sobbing loudly.

Emily squeezed her tightly and stroked her hair gently. “You’re always welcome with me,” she affirmed happily. She looked up at the android, “And so are you!”

Alice nodded, and joined them in their hug. “I’m glad. And I’ll make sure you don’t regret it. I’ll… I’ll cook, and clean, and do all the heavy lifting.”

Emily barely resisted crying along with Sunny. “I love you both,” she said, her voice cracking.

“We love you too,” Sunny said back.

Alice stepped away. “I’m going to go look for houses. Do you want something with… four bedrooms, or maybe five?”

“I don’t know how much we’re going to get paid after all this,” Emily chuckled. “If you want to get started...you could ask Jack, because he has the back-up plan. His family has...more money than I expected.”

Alice shrugged. “Okay. If you want. Though…” She shrugged again, and walked off. Sunny giggled a bit.

“Though what?” Emily asked, looking towards Sunny.

Sunny shook her head. “I… I know you're going to insist on not taking rent or anything for me, but can I help you pay for the house? Dr. Cross has… offered me a pretty impressive salary.”

Emily’s eyes narrowed. “How impressive?”

Sunny scratched her chin. “Well, uh… enough that I can… probably pay for the house… my… self…”

“You’re not getting away with the whole thing,” Emily said nervously, eyes wide, “but maaaybe you could help, if a soldier’s pay doesn’t look that great…”

Sunny nodded again, and nestled against Emily, enjoying the embrace like a girl gripping her beloved sister. Perhaps, even, a girl gripping her beloved mother.