RP XCOM2: Liberation of Earth

[ZombieSplitter53]

ZombieSplitter53 and DarkGemini24601: “Restless Night, Part 1”

Late at night, on-board the Avenger, Alexis slowly wandered the halls in the hopes of finding a means to sleep. With the battle raging outside, nonstop from morning to night, Alexis couldn’t help feel the weight of XCOM’s struggle. It now felt more like a full-blown war then a resistance, and who could say how things would escalate after this. That is, assuming XCOM won. She sighed, not wanting to let such dark thoughts in. It was enough that there were two people out there that she cared about that would likely show up to try and kill her and her friends. She had prepared for this, but no matter how much she did, she doubted she would ever be truly ready for it.

With another sigh, one that seemed to be her millionth in the past year, she turned into the gym. Perhaps a quick run on the treadmill would tire her out enough to get some sleep. When she arrived, she found that she was not the only one who couldn’t drift off into dreamland. Standing on the right end of the room, across from the treadmills on a padded mat was the Commander. Atka was in the midst of something akin to shadowboxing, sweat beading off her forehead as she thrust her fists forward. Most of the lights in the room were currently off, but as Alexis’s eyes adjusted she recognized the signature Reflection weapons that the Inuit woman and her sister shared zipping ethereally through the air, mimicking the motions of Atka’s strikes.

Alexis watched her for a while, more interested in her Commander’s workout then her own for now. After a bit, she approached, giving Atka a tired smile. “Hey,” she said simply.

The Commander glanced to the side with her dark blue eyes. Registering that it was Alexis, she quickly retracted the icy helixes - recalling vividly that the Aerotrooper had bad memories of them. “Hello, Alexis,” she spoke warily - cautious about saying the wrong thing and upsetting her daughter’s friend. “Can’t sleep?”

“Nope. Not a wink.” If Alexis was put off at all, she didn’t show it. She sat on a bench and frowned. “I’m worried. Worried about Luke. Worried about my teammates. Worried about… you know who…”

“No sense in beating around the bush about it,” Atka responded with a surprising tranquility. “I’m worried about Yakone too. They might just be Advent troops - traitors or not - but that warped version of her was out there, cutting down Shen’lustus’s forces and setting up the conflict we find ourselves in. I have a feeling it’s only going to get worse… and while we have a shot at saving her, I can only imagine the guilt she’ll feel should she be brought to her senses.”

Alexis cringed a bit. “I didn’t… really think about that. Everyone she kills. All her friends that she hurts. And… god forbid she kills a teammate. Even if we get her back, it could end up breaking her.”

Atka sighed. “It’ll be rough… it’s just a question of how rough.” The Inuit woman picked up a towel, wiping off some of the sweat on her forehead. “That said… she’s my daughter. If the fact that I’m not catatonically insane after all the shit I’ve been through is any evidence, she’ll pull herself together. We just need to be there for her.”

Alex bit her lip. “Maybe, but… w-what about Nouja? She’s been at this for years. How many people has she hurt? Killed? Tortured? If I was in her place, I don’t know if I could live with those memories. I hope she doesn’t end up keeping them when we save her…”

“That’s the question that’s been plaguing me and keeping me up,” Atka responded, her expression tightening. “The memory unit we have could strip her of all those negative memories. As far as the argument that it’d be unethical… to hell with that, I don’t want my little sister to suffer,” Atka sharply dismissed the prospect. “That said, though… I don’t know what I would tell her. She’d still have all that alien DNA that they worked into her… and there’d be a decade-sized gap in her memory. The confusion might be equally as damning as the guilt.” Atka clenched her fists in frustration. “I almost wonder if it had been better if…” she trailed off, unwilling to directly complete her sentence. “It would have made things simpler, anyway.”

“Yeah… maybe…” Alexis quickly shook her head. “But we should worry about what is, not what could be. It will be hard. Crushing even. But… I’m sure you can do it. You have that way with people.” She gave an encouraging smile, but it quickly faded. “I… I’m actually worried about how other people might react to Nouja. E… especially…”

The Commander raised an eyebrow. “What are you getting at?”

“It’s… Morrigan O’Brien. She kinda has a grudge against Nouja… well, Blukersey. She personally tortured her more than once, and Morrigan has it more in for her because she was such a high standing official that left her in there. Morrigan said she… begged, and Blukersey just didn’t care. She just justified everything she did.”

Atka’s features had grown quite pallid from the revelation, though she wasn’t entirely speechless. “That’s… I can understand why she’d hold a grudge, but we know better than that! The Eth.. the Declensions programmed her to serve them without question! She never had a choice in the matter.”

Alexis shoulders slumped, and she stared at the floor. “It’s my fault. I… I haven’t told her the truth. I’ve tried, but every time I chicken out. I’m too afraid that she won’t care.”

The Commander let out a sigh, and walked closer to Alexis, placing her hand on the Aerotrooper’s shoulder. “It’s alright. Can’t be helped. That’s not your battle to fight, anyway. Let me take care of that now that I know… better to deal with it now than later, when we have Nouja back.”

Alexis nodded. “Thank you. I can’t imagine what-” She paused, the noise of something shuffling in the doorway drawing her eyes.

Atka’s blue orbs darted to the doorway as well. “Don’t tell me…” she muttered.

“Do you mind… if I talk with the Commander alone?” came Morrigan familiar voice from the dark. Alexis hesitated, but soon stood up and headed towards the back of the room. Morrigan stepped into the room, a blank expression on her face. “I… I saw Alex wandering the halls. Thought I’d join her in here for a run. I… eavesdropping isn’t exactly something one should do to friends, but I’m afraid that is what happened…”

“How much did you hear?” Atka questioned, exhaling softly and sustaining a neutral expression for now.

“Just the… the end part. About your sister and… well, I guess it was technically all about your sister, huh?” Morrigan took a seat, avoiding eye contact.

“You may speak freely, O’Brien. Now is not the time to mince words,” Atka stated flatly.

Morrigan squeezed her fists tightly. “I… I hate her, you know? Blukersey, I mean. She… I know… it wasn’t all her. But the way she… looked down on me. The way she saw me suffering and… a-a-and insisted it was my fault! I can still remember how numb my fingers were when I tried to reach out to her… Commander, I… I don’t know if I can… see that woman as anything but a monster…”

 

[DarkGemini24601]

ZombieSplitter53 and DarkGemini24601: “Restless Night, Part 2”

“Do you think I disagree with you? Nigella Blukersey is just as reprehensible and grotesque as Ember Verrater!” Atka responded forcefully. “I want to save the people they were before the Declensions twisted them. In essence, that means killing those personalities. If revenge is what you’re after, bringing Nouja back obliterates the person you hate.” That’s the rational response, anyway… but I know all too well vengeance doesn’t always care about calm, collected reason.

“But it isn’t fair!” Morrigan jumped to her feet and paced around. “I can’t… what happens if we do that? You won’t make her suffer like she made me suffer. And when she’s gone, then what? Don’t you know how I’ll feel every time I see her face!? Every time I’m near her?” She placed her hand on her stomach. “I try to hide it… so much. But they took something so precious from me. It hurts every day to know that… that Brigid will never have a little brother or sister… that I will never have a child. That… that Red, or whatever man I end up with in the future will just have to accept that I’m… not whole. Not complete…”

Atka closed her eyes for a moment, placing her hands at her sides. “You know… I wonder if it even matters. Nouja’s going to hate herself for what she did to you, even if we took her memories of being Nigella away. That’s… that’s the kind of person she is. Not someone who would destroy someone’s happiness just because she was told they were involved in terrorist activities.” Atka opened her eyes again, looking back at Morrigan. “There’s nothing I can say that will undo what she’s done to you, or the way you feel about her. I’d be a fool to think there is. I wish you’d met my little sister first… not the abomination they’ve turned her into. Then maybe you’d understand why I refuse to let you hurt her. No matter what, she’s family. I’d sooner act as her bullet shield than let you pull the trigger on her.”

Quietly, Atka added, “You’d do the same for Brigid, wouldn’t you?”

After a moment of silence, Morrigan answered, “That isn’t fair. She… Brigid never… she wouldn’t…” Her fists slowly opened and relaxed. “It isn’t fair. No matter what we do… ever when we are on the cusp of a victory, the aliens do something to taint it. Like… landmines under a wounded soldier. They’re masters at making sure, even if you win, you feel like you’ve lost.”

“Even if we pull a victory from the shadows of defeat, nothing will ever be the same. We’ll never be the same,” Atka agreed with a slight nod. “That’s just the burden we’ve been forced to bear. It isn’t fair, but neither is anything in this damned world.” The Inuit woman captured a strand of her black hair between two fingers, twisting it idly. “I think you’ve given me my answer, as much as I loathe to concede the point. It’s stupid and unfair, but Nouja wouldn’t want to forget what she’d done - regardless of where the blame lies. She’ll blame herself either way… and even if you wanted to, she probably wouldn’t let you forgive her.”

Morrigan closed her eyes tightly. “That… that’s what I want. But… damn it… it isn’t right. I… I can’t… let you make someone suffer for my sake, Commander… Atka. She’s your sister. A-and… you’re right. If it was Brigid, I’d take a bullet before I let someone hurt her. And I would… want her to forget.” She slowly turned. “I-I… can’t promise how I’d react to her, but… if you decide to erase her memories… I won’t tell her. It will be hard. It might tear at me. But you and XCOM have done too much for me, and for Brigid, for me to… blame Nouja for Blukersey’s sins.”

“You don’t owe me anything,” Atka replied with a vehement shake of her head. “We’re all here because we chose to be. I’m not going to place that burden on you and try to obfuscate the truth from my sister. If she decides she can’t bear the weight of her memories, then I’ll grant her an oblivious bliss… but I doubt she’ll yield that easily. This is just the way it has to be.”

Morrigan nodded in understanding. She wiped a few tears away that she just now realized were there. “I, um… I’m glad I know now, at least. It is ironic, isn’t it? I was so adamant about saving Yakone, that I almost went to blows with Ayame over it. And now, I find that the woman I hate the most is in practically the same position as Yakone. So… i-if I believe that we can get Yakone back… and I am going to fight to do so, then I will try and extend the same courtesy to your sister.” She smiled sadly. “Maybe the solution to my problem is to… meet your sister. Your real sister, in her own frame of mind.”

“Maybe so. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, though,” Atka warned with a shake of her head. “I don’t know when-” A small radio in her pocket buzzed, and she brought it to her ear. “Bradford? What is it?” She listened for a moment, her eyes slowly widening. “I’m on my way.” She put the device up. “I… stand corrected. I just got a report that there’s another ADVENT offensive trying to break into the third level of the city… and the major’s leading the charge.”

“Um… permission to… join you on the field?” Morrigan asked.

“M-me too?” Alexis chimed in, walking over from the back.

“Considering that you two are well-suited to fight her, and that you’re already awake… absolutely,” Atka readily agreed. “I’ll round up whoever else we can spare from the ship, and we’ll head down to the combat zone as quickly as possible. Alexis… get the memory unit. We may not be wiping memories, but we need to take the ones that informed Nouja of who she was, and jam them back in her head.”

“Got it.” Alexis rushed out. Morrigan gave Atka one last encouraging smile before going after her.

***​

XCOM Mission Report

Level 3 Settlement Band, Matterhorn Megacity
Glacier Palace, Commercial District
0400 Hours, November 29th, 2038

Odysseus Squad

CMDR Ipiktok, Atka [Ambusher]
CPL Inverse, Luna [Ambusher]
SQ O’Brien, Morrigan [Specialist]
SQ Bandyopadhyay, Chandra [Paramedic]
SQ Chambers, Alexis [Aerotrooper]

Operation Homecoming

Major Blukersey has been sighted. Scarcely a few minutes ago, an ADVENT strike team broke through a barricade defensive line in some tight alleyways beneath a cargo elevator. The tightness of the area and the competent troops placed there had the city security confident they could hold the line, so the buildings a hundred feet above the broken barricades didn’t have friendly troops within them. This unwitting oversight has allowed the strike team to gain a foothold in a few structures, and they’re using the small controlled area to push outwards onto the third level of Matterhorn.

Shen’lutusus’ forces are pushing back, but one particular building has resisted all attempts at incursion - the first structure to be taken from the ascending enemy troops. It is a large resort hotel and convention center whose main room is a beautiful, chilled chamber filled with ice sculptures. ADVENT has secured all the upper floors and posted guards on the windows, so upper-level entry is not going to be an option. Matterhorn soldiers have tried breaching from the front, but each time they were met with a barrage of fire or frozen solid.

Our stealth armor should allow us to sneak in past the guns trained outwards, and the Commander’s cryokinseis should be enough to counter the Major’s other means of stopping intrusion. Our goal is simple. Defeat and subdue Major Nigella Blukersey, and we will stop the offensive - and get Nouja Ipiktok back.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

DarkGemini24601 and ZombieSplitter53: “Operation Homecoming, Part 1”

Atka - wreathed in the illusory cloak wrapped around her by her armor - scrutinized the building just around the corner. The four soldiers she had brought with her were nearby, but remained behind the hybrid alloy wall just in case there was an enemy present that could spoil their camouflage. The shots that rang out from nearby indicated such concealment was volatile indeed. “Boots on the ground weren’t kidding…” the Commander whispered over comms, gazing up at the ten windows arranged like the viewports of a cruise liner on the hotel’s attic. “I see a black helmet looking out of each of those. Roof entry’s definitely out.” She flitted her gaze down to the ground floor, past an arrangement of stylized walls where occupants could stay the night.

The bottom floor was comprised primarily of one large room. Windows covered this entire side of the building - which would have made for a nice entry point for the Matterhorn soldiers, if not for the fact that the ones in the building next to Odysseus Squad were currently engaged in mortal combat with some of the invaders. Without them, the large room filled to the brim with statues of various sizes and shapes - depicting anything from a tranquil nature scene to militaristic statues of Coalition soldiers - and contained a abundant amount of stun lancers as well. “Inverse, I figure when we hit that room we should pop as many traps as possible. Get rid of the cannon fodder so we can focus on the Major.”

“Thinning the herd.” Luna nodded in agreement. “Traps should get plenty. And we can pick off a few more during the confusion. As well-trained as they like to think they are, they always scatter like roaches when things go south…”

The Commander nodded her helmeted head. “Alright, I’ll send out - shit!” She recalled her RCs back into the range of her personal cloaking field as quickly as she had been about to send them out. The reason why soon moved into visual range of the others. A feline Prowler - already in its ‘hairless tiger’ form - stalked the outer edge of the building. Secondary line of defense, I guess. The Inuit woman took in a deep breath, rapidly recovering from the startling revelation of the beast. She made sure her custom anti-tank rifle - an impulse weapon she’d had Shen put together for her a mere two days before - was loaded before lifting it. Move around to the sides. It can’t see us, but with those precognitive abilities it has it might well sense the shots coming a few seconds before we even pull the trigger. Stagger your gunfire by a few seconds each.

The squad members complied with the order, and Atka rested her finger over the trigger. In all likelihood this will reveal us. This just got a little harder… She pressed her grip down. Strangely, the alien cat seemed serene. Atka’s gun fired, and her round quietly impacted with its skull - dropping the beast subtly enough that the guards posted in the attic didn’t immediately notice. “What the hell?” Atka hissed.

Alexis blinked a few times, and whispered, “Maybe… maybe it saw it coming, but the shot was too… fast for it to react?”

“Never stopped them in the past,” Morrigan noted. “Maybe its ability just doesn’t work if it… doesn’t know… we’re there?”

“I… suppose that makes sense.” Atka nodded to herself. “If the ability’s based off ESP, it shouldn’t actually be able to predict the future if they’re unaware of what’s to come… that might make our battle with the Major a little easier than I thought.” The Commander shook her head. “Don’t let your guard down for that, though.” She replaced the missing section of her rifle’s ammunition. “We have to move, they’ll notice the body any second. Luna, let’s send those RCs into the building through the vents. We’ll set up the traps, and drop a bunch of proxy mines in there.”

Luna nodded silently, and moved over to a vent. Slowly, silently yanking it off, she stepped back and sent her RCs in to drop off their various surprises far and wide. Once all the explosives were laid out, Atka snuck one peek through the camera on her primary mini-drone. Standing in the center of the Glacier Palace’s main hall, in her bloodred-and-black armor complete with that foreboding full-face visor helm, was the second-in-command of the Advent Peacekeepers. I’m coming, Nouja. You won’t be trapped in this hell much longer, Atka thought privately. Sending a telepathic message to her fellow Ambusher, she ordered, Now! The pair pressed their activation switches to detonate the explosive traps.

In the silence of the frozen room, with her senses heightened by the same sort of boosted perception as the fallen Prowler outside, Nigella heard it. The faintest of beeps. For another, it might have been too little of a warning. But the Major’s reflexes were sharp, and she had her wits about her in enemy territory. Acting as quickly as she could, a ghostly overlay of her blue irises expanded over her eyes - the hands and notches of a clock making it seem like she had two of the timepieces instead of the normal ocular organs there. The time around her slowed to a crawl.

She could not move like this, for time was not truly frozen. Instead, her perception of that additional dimension’s flow had been reduced drastically to give her time to think. That was where the other half of Major Blukersey’s chronokinesis kicked in. She saw the halted landscape around her, but in addition to that, the probable future emerged as lightly translucent apparitions. Ghosts of what was to come. The proximity mines would detonate, scattering superheated energy and melted shrapnel every which way. The dozen-and-a-half soldiers around her were all going to die or be mortally wounded by the thunderclap. Nigella herself would suffer serious damage to her armor.

Unacceptable. A solution was immediately present, but there was a pang in Nigella’s heart. She would only be able to save the six lancers nearest to her. Weighed down by that reality but unable to change it, as she couldn’t move any faster despite her ability to see past the present, the Inuit woman did what she could. Time marches on. The beeping aborted just as soon as it had begun, and Nigella wasted no millisecond of the brief time she had left before the bombs went off. Thick sheets of ice rose up around herself and the soldiers nearest to her even as the explosives detonated. The tremendous explosion claimed the lives of a dozen Advent soldiers, but the seven inside the hastily-raised icy dome survived unscathed - though most of their impromptu bunker was melted into a puddle.

The thin walls that remained around the Major were lowered, and not more than three heartbeats passed before the glass window shattered into a million fragments. Rushing through it in power armor that shielded them from any cuts from the shattered crystal were the five members of Odysseus Squad. While her comrades opened fire on some of the Stun Lancers to thin the ranks, Atka thrust her icy helixes forward to take care of the other two. The double frostbound helixes stretched forward an impressive distance, and formed a sort of briar patch around the Major and the two nearest stun lancers. One battered the two soldiers while the other impaled through them. The twin reflection weapons then both aimed for the enemy office herself, but a single, identical supernatural blade blocked both of them when they reached the edge of their maximum length.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

DarkGemini24601 and ZombieSplitter53: “Operation Homecoming, Part 2”

“I don’t suppose you would care to explain to me how you managed to defend from that surprise attack?” Atka questioned her brainwashed sister.

“I will not, murderer,” the Major snapped, uncharacteristically vicious in her normally-tranquil tone.

“Murd-?” Atka retracted her helixes from the two recently-deceased soldiers. “Even like this, you still have a soft heart, huh?”

“You speak as if you know me,” Blukersey replied icily. “I would not willing associate myself with such a cold-blooded killer.” Her double-sided stunstaff slipped into her hands and was ignited with psionic electricity.

To Atka’s left, one of Blukersey’s remaining soldiers rushed forward, intent on either defending his Major or making a name for himself. Possibly both. He eagerness exposed him, however, a shot to the chest staggering him back. He had the stunned look of a man who was just saved from death before the next two shots made it past his armor and he crumpled to the ground. In her earpiece, Atka heard Luna say, “Ignore the small fry, Commander. We have your back. Just focus on the prize.”

As the few remaining allies around her inevitably fell, Nigella’s fists tightened around her weapon, and she launched herself forward. She thrust it and her icy helix - positioned like a scorpion’s tail - at Atka. The two blades were met with the two mystical weapons Atka wielded, and locked once, twice, then three times in brief parries that sent flurries of snowflakes flying. On the fourth such parry, Nigella pushed herself backwards with more momentum than before - using the icy floor to slide backwards. She then used the frozen water for another purpose - a barrage of spikes coming from the ground at the Commander.

Atka leapt upwards, and lowered her hands down to the ice. It flattened out into a platform that she landed gracefully on. “Not going to beat me using powers I have too.”

“Then I’ll kill you this way,” Blukersey growled. A bluegreen glow spun around her hands, and Atka felt a sharp pain build up in her chest for half a second before Chandra countered with a hasty healing biokinesis counter to the attempt to crush her Commander’s heart like a grape.

“Get in there, Alexis! Your biofield’s going to make my job easier,” the medic instructed.

Alexis didn’t have to be told twice. Where she was once doubtful, she was now confident. Confident enough that she rushed into the fray against one of the strongest psions she had ever known, one that had so handily beaten her friend, another one of the strongest psions she had ever known. Atka could feel the flow of psionic energy fighting against Blukersky’s assault as Alex made it to her side. The young freedom fight lifted her weapon, a light tinge of yellow forming around her. “Stand down, Nouja! We don’t want to hurt you, but we sure as hell won’t let you take another of your family from us!”

“I have told you many times before… I know not of this Nouja you speak of!” Nigella pushed her shockstaff to one hand, and raised the other in Alexis’ direction. Seeing the telekinetic shield for what it was, she chose a mental attack instead. The mindfray probed gently for a moment, subtly unraveling a bit of the green psion’s neural defenses before spikes of pain shot through Chambers’ head and her vision blurred from the psychic strike. She kept Atka at bay from retaliating with a back and forth, crisscrossing, zipping motion of her icy helix against the Commander’s reflection weapons.

“Hey, ice queen! Watch your six!” Morrigan, using the speed her equipment and A.I. partner afforded her, had moved into position behind Blukersey. She had the perfect shot at her blind side while she was focused on the others, and would have taken it had it not been for her talk with Atka. Now, her goals was to force Nigella to defend herself, and hopefully free her comrades. She let loose with her carbine, half hoping she scored direct hits.

The pulse carbine’s shots melted off some of the plating, but a little still lingered. Grimacing, Nigella created a rapidly-rising pillar of ice beneath her feet and shot herself backwards. She slammed into the Specialist, cracking the back of her helmet against Morrigan’s before using her cyrokinesis again to dislodge herself out of the surrounded situation she’d been in. Dammit. ESP’s not going to suffice if they get in behind me. You’d better be down here soon, Bombay. Fortunately for the Major, her reinforcements did arrive. A crimson-colored MEC Trooper, Shieldbearer, and a few regular troopers rushed down the stairs - all led by the elite Mogul named Jezebel Procellae.

That feline shotgunner and the mechanical soldier were the first ones to reach Blukersey. They skated alongside the ice, accelerated by the motions in it created by their commanding officer. Bombay opened up with a curtain of magnetically-accelerated alloy shards impacting Alexis’s telekinetic shield. The MEC was encapsulated in a similar defensive buffer provided by the Shieldbearer, except for in one place - its right fist. The device similar to the KSM on its arm heated up, glowing red-hot as it prepared to deliver a strike in Atka’s direction. The Commander was able to defend herself, but had to switch to her slower, more durable Reflection. Blue World formed out of her helixes, and raised its fists in a cross to block the machine’s strike. The two Advent Corporals and their grunt allies worked together to push the Inuit woman back.

This left the other four members of Odysseus Squad to face Blukersey and Bombay alone.

“Commander!” Alexis shouted in fear.

“Focus, Alex!” Luna warned. “She can handle the likes of them. We have bigger problems to worry about.”

To the side, Morrigan rose to her feet with a groan. She lifted her visor and stared daggers at the enemy major. “Pretty sad when propelling yourself into my face isn’t even close to the worse thing you have ever done to me. Not that I expect you to remember me.”

The Major frowned beneath her visor. “You’d be mistaken, O’Brien.” Her shockstaff crackled as she moved it between offensive and defensive stances, not betraying the plan forming in her mind. “I did what I had to… and if your presence among this band of liars and killers is any indication, I was right to suspect you.” Procellae, I’ve observed in footage and here in the field that their Aerotrooper there can extend her biokinesis to her allies passively. If I’m going to use mine to any effect, I need you to split them up. You know what you need to do.

The Mogul grinned behind her helmet. Oh, gladly. “See, the Major might feel bad about killing you regardless… that’s where I come in.” An acidic, electrified rift started to swirl with Morrigan as the epicenter. There was no eye to this vicious psychokinetic storm, which wasn’t quite as powerful as one Charon could pull off - but the added components made it equally dangerous to all those near it. This should split you up nicely.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

DarkGemini24601 and ZombieSplitter53: “Operation Homecoming, Part 3”

Morrigan had to fight the urge to weather the storm to get a few shots in, but luckily common sense won through. She ran to the right, able to get out of the way despite being the target thanks to her speed. Alex moved in the same direction, intent on defending her friend, while Luna was quick to move to the left with Chandra. “Shit,” she muttered, realizing the intent, and all she could do is open fire.

In response, Blukersey created additional ice - condensing it and a large chunk of the floor together to serve as a buffer that tanked the hits for her and her ally. It didn’t block the lasers completely, but it cooled them enough that the impacts they made on the front of her armor were negligible. The barrier was intentionally made transparent, so that Nigella might see her foes through it and visualize her next psionic move. Her gauntleted fists clenched, and the intestines of the Ambusher and Paramedic on the enemy side twisted violently.

Chandra grimaced in agony, able to lessen the severity of the effects greatly for one target - but she wasn’t well-versed in acting on multiples. She chose to heal Luna, fighting through the pain and internal damage that was starting to occur on her. “D-don’t… let them divide us…”

A flash of light appeared on Odysseus Squad’s side of the wall, and Bombay hit the Indian psion with a shotgun blast that tore through most of her armor and cut a myriad of shallow wounds into her flesh. The pain made Chandra momentarily lose contact with Luna, rendering them both incapacitated by agony oncemore. “One by one, XCOM is going to lose their biokinetic troops.” Jezebel chuckled, whipping around to face Morrigan and Alexis. She eyed the Aerotrooper in particular. “Heh, I wonder if we can get you onto our side too. I’m sure Ember would love to add a third, as scandalous as it would be.”

Alexis’ eyes widened. “Ugh… I think I’m going to be sick…”

“Then use your own powers to stop it.” Morrigan flipped her visor back down. “If I have to go through cat bitch to save my friends, so be it.” She ran forward, firing as she charged Bombay. She rapidly shifted several feet to the left and right to make it that much harder to predict where the shots would come. Alexis ran forward while firing as well, though much slower and in a wider arch in the hopes of getting to the others before it was too late.

Jezebel took the first barrage to the side, her tightly-plated armor suffering some moderate damage. She’s fast! she thought quickly, surprised by the incredible burst of speed. In response to being so badly outpaced, she used her teleimagary to vanish from view. Alright, fuck the Irishwoman… let’s take down the other healer. She re-positioned, leveling her shotgun at Alexis this time.

Morrigan and Alexis skidded to a stop. “Damn cowardly bitch,” Morrigan muttered.

“Um, you know we kinda did the same thing to get in here, right?” Alexis stated, and got a dirty look for it. “Hey, just playing devil’s advocate.” She reached to her side, and dropped a smoke grenade. Once the smoke had risen, she subtly rose a shield around herself. “Can you find her?”

“With my robotic eyes, maybe.” Morrigan quickly moved her Gremlin out of its hiding place. It searched the area with its scanning protocol, starting with Morrigan and moving out in a circular motion around her. The outline of the shotgunning humanoid cat was revealed to the Specialist, turning the hunter into the hunted - unbeknownst to the woman that was now prey. Don’t move, Morrigan stated quietly over Alex’s telepathy. She’s moving towards you. Guess she likes you.

Shut up. What she said earlier already has my skin crawling. Alex’s eyes scanned the smoke. Tell me where to aim.

Slowly turn around, Morrigan stated. Alexis did so, exposing her back to Bombay. Hoping it would be enough to get the feline enemy to drop her guard, Morrigan waited a second more before rushing towards her for a full force clothesline from hell.

Caught with her metaphorical pants down, the barrel of Bombay’s shotgun was knocked upwards and her shot only harmed the carpet on the floor above her. She fell onto the ice hard, losing her grip on her weapon. It slid out of reach, and Jezebel let out a panicked, “shit!”

With the internal damage she’d done to them thus far, Nigella had reduced Chandra and Luna to pitiful balls of constant pain. She glanced over to the other three nearby combatants, disappointed to see her subordinate taken down so easily. The Major broke her icewall into flying chunks that she shot at the pair of XCOM soldiers with the intent to knock them down. She quickly had a follow-up in the form of the eerily-quiet gunfire of her frictionless mag battle rifle, the deadly stream aimed at Alexis.

The biokinetic let out a yelp, only able to counter because she looked up and saw her mind controlled friend aiming in time. A strong shield went up, but gunfire was a bit too fast for her to perfectly block. Some shots were stopped, while others hammered her barrier. Two well placed ones broke through, hitting her in the arm. She quickly clasped it, most of the damage stopped by her armor, and began healing as she got up, intent on moving before another volley came her way. “I hate being the favorite today,” she muttered.

“Hey!” Morrigan screamed the major’s way. She zoomed over to Bombay’s lost weapon and picked it up, pointing it at its former user. “How about giving me some love before I blow a hole in your little kitty, you hypocritical bitch!”

“I would appreciate if you didn’t do that.” Blukersey lifted her right hand, causing the bones in Morrigan’s hand to stop responding to her nervous impulses. An icy bipod formed for her one-handed battle rifle, and she fired it like a machine gun on a limited swivel at Alexis. Her shots started to splinter the telekinetic barrier, and it seemed like the pair were running out of options until help arrived.

Nigella had been too focused on the four near her to notice that the gunfire near the Commander’s permission had died down - along with the Advent soldiers that had been perpetuating it. She did hear the sounds of the battered MEC being pushed by a cryokinetic-sliding Atka. The senior Inuit woman had moved back towards her sister’s position, and let go of the MEC Trooper with Blue World for a moment. The robot didn’t know what to make of the move, and merely tried to go for an attack with its magnofist again. Blue World’s fist hadn’t pulled back for long, though. “Useless,” Atka declared of the final attempt of the machine to harm her. The Commander’s Reflection slammed a mighty blow into the MEC, sending it flying towards Nigella. “Catch.”

The hybrid soldier was forced to launch herself back away from the machine tumbling through the air. In the process, she lost sight of the pair of soldiers - freeing up Alexis to run up to Morrigan and negate the effects of her biokinesis. Atka took the chance to hijack control of Chandra’s Paramedic Gremlin and instruct it to heal its user.

Morrigan flexed her hand and smiled at Alexis. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” Alexis ran towards the side, yelling, “Keep Nouja busy with the Commander while I make sure Luna is okay!”

“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Morrigan said, cracking her neck and running towards Nigella, using the same weaving style of running and firing to hopefully help counteract the precognition. “Hey, Gelly!” She shouted. “Here is a little nugget of info for you to think about! I wasn’t part of the resistance when you assisted in my torture, but became one because of what you did to me! So, in other words, you weren’t stopping a so called terrorist. You made one, dumbass!”

“Nonsense,” the brainwashed officer stated with her seemingly unshatterable confidence in the Coalition. “A woman who would murder her own husband in cold blood has no excuse for their ebon soul.” Morrigan slowed down substantially from Nigella’s perspective, though she was still shifting at a modest rate even in the fraction of time Blukersey was observing. The Major took stock of the locations Morrigan would move to in the next three seconds, and picked the final one as her target. Time resumed its normal rush forward, and Nigella lined up Morrigan in her sights at the last possible moment. She led her shot well. Morrigan’s alteration from the vision Nigella saw would have allowed her to reduce the effectiveness of the hit, but her hesitation from the Major’s words meant it was a fatal blow that passed through her helmet.

You could have made it out of the way, but you faltered. A fatal mistake.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

DarkGemini24601 and ZombieSplitter53: “Operation Homecoming, Part 4”

“Dammit, no!” Blue World fell back to Atka, and she clenched her right fist. Short jump, now!

The Commander walked backwards in time, reversing Morrigan’s death by moving backwards a variable amount of seconds. It stopped after about six, just before Nigella was going to activate her chronokinetic foresight. Despite the shift in casualty the Major still chose to do so, but she felt a throbbing headache overcome her. Damn Ipiktok… she used that ability of hers. I know for certain this time. Not having perfected a way to overcome the disorienting effect the time-warping ability caused on someone with the ability to see into the future, Nigella wasn’t able to properly use her foresight. She saw doubles of the ‘ghosts’ of Morrigan, and when she went to line up a shot it merely glanced off Morrigan’s armor.

Be careful, Morrigan! I’m certain of it now: I both felt and witnessed an advanced form of precognition from her. She can see into the future, your speed isn’t entirely protecting you, the Commander warned her friend.

As deep as Nigella’s words had cut, Atka’s words sent a chill down Morrigan’s spine. She could think of few reasons why Atka would suddenly have that revelation, and she didn’t quite like her chances with any of those reasons. Changing tactics, she moved for cover behind a support beam, firing from behind it, quickly switching sides.

On the other side of the room, Luna let out a loud cough and pushed Alexis away. “I-I’m okay now. Go! Help the Commander!”

Reluctantly, Alex nodded and moved to rejoin the fight. “Nouja, give up already,” she yelled, calling her that both out of habit and because Alex knew she didn’t like to be called that. Alex felt tired, having used so much of her energy in such a short amount of time. But there was something swelling below the surface. It felt like untapped energy, pushing to be released but Alex couldn’t quite reach it. “Not the time to be holding back, girl,” she said to herself, reaching Atka and throwing up a wide shield for both of them. She opened a small port to fire her weapon out, reluctantly shooting at the woman she so wanted to save. “Are you okay, Commander?”

“I’ll… be fine. I’ve got more endurance than most.” Unable to split her willpower any longer, however, she was forced to dismiss her Reflection entirely. She noted movement out of the corner of her eye, and locked a recovering Jezebel in an icy prison. “Stay down.” It’s five on one now, and she’s probably recharging her chronokinesis right at the moment. If there was ever a time to act, this would be it. Atka started issuing orders anew. Alexis, give me an inspiration. I’m going to hit Blukersey with the best mindfray I can manage. After I do that you and Chandra will have to do their damndest to keep her on the defensive. Morrigan… get the memory extraction unit on Gizmo ready. When you see an opening, ram the modified skulljack into her.

“Got it,” Morrigan whispered, firing with one hand as she reached into a pocket with the other.

“Alright, Alex… this is it.” Alexis closed her eyes, and summoned as much energy as she could at once. Extending a hand towards Atka, the Commander felt a swelling on energy and positivity flowing her way. “Bring her home, Atka.”

Atka’s left eye burned with a dark blue psionic flame, and her right mechanical orb crackled with electricity of the same color. She lifted a pair of fingers, aiming them like a gun at Nigella. “This is for your own good. But it’s going to hurt.” A watery, sharp double-helix shot out of her fingertips, blasting through the air like a bolt of lightning and driving itself into the Major’s head and thus her mind.

Blukersey clutched her helmet like she’d been hit by a physical blow. Her vision muddied, colors melting away and images blurring as badly as if she’d been hit with blackout. She hallucinated her foes in offset positions, and so she couldn’t properly target their locations with her rifle. She tried to inspire herself, but only managed to restore colors and some clarity - the power of two psions dwarfing even the mighty Major’s own abilities. Nigella wasn’t finished quite yet, though. She pulsed that swirling aqua-hued biokinetic energy through both of her arms, and seized both Atka and Alexis with it. The organs in their torsos started to be compressed by the huge invisible force placed inside their bodies. “You… won’t take me down… that easily…!”

With a loud war cry borne of anger, Luna came running over, and swung her gun at Blurkersey like a club, going for a head shot. “Go down!” she screamed.

Her native ability still active, Blukersey’s ESP gave her plenty of heads-up - especially with Luna announcing her attack - and the Major stepped back out of the way of the strike. She procured her shockstaff. Even as Atka and Alexis writhed, the Major delivered a blow directly into the younger Ambusher’s gut. The voltage and force of the physically-enhanced strike brought Luna to her knees, half-conscious. Her head pounding from exertion, lingering effects of the time shift, and the stress on her mind from the Commander’s attack, Blukersey momentarily lost sight of the most immediate threat to her. She instead lifted her shockstaff, extending the blade she’d used to cut Yakone’s heart with the intent to drive it through Luna for a true killing blow. “Die!”

Morrigan clasped one of Nigella’s shoulders tightly from behind, taking advantage of the blindspot in the Major’s powers to jam home the skulljack with the other hand. “That’s my line,” Morrigan snared, holding the woman tightly and silently praying this worked.

The device penetrated through her skull, causing the Advent soldier’s eyes to widen in pain. She soon after squeezed them shut, expecting death to follow. What happened to her next caught her off guard, and filled the brainwashed Major’s mind with dread. Her memories of the past decade started being joined by ones that felt both familiar and foreign at the same time. “W-what are you… doing to me? No, stop! Don’t…” she pleaded, trying to push Morrigan away but finding no strength in her limbs. Is this… how it…? I’m sorry… Ember… Cain… Mistress Cordiam… I’ve failed.

Even though it was a twisted version of her convulsing, Atka still grimaced - the pain that Chandra was reducing being no less than her concern for her sister. “Chandra… don’t… worry about me, Alexis can take care of us both. Remove… her conditioning… bring her back completely. Not halfway… like this hell.”

The Indian doctor nodded, moving across the shattered ice. She procured a combat knife, and destroyed some clamps so that she could tear off Nigella’s helmet. Beneath it, the strange blue cracks on Nigella’s blackened skin made Chandra grimace. The pain on her pupil’s features was not a pretty sight. “They sure did a number on you… but you’re still my student. Time for you to come home.” She reached into the mind of the hybridized Inuit woman. With a mental hand she seized the threads wrapped over the younger woman’s psyche, and began to unravel them. The process took an agonizing minute, but when it was finished the pain on the other woman’s face dulled. “You can pull that thing out of her. It’s done.”

Morrigan glared down at Nouja, but the look in her eyes quickly softened. Something about what she just did freed a burden on her heart. A deep pain she had felt for years. She felt a modicum of peace now that Blukersey was dead. Is it really just that… or is it helped by the fact that… I might have saved who she really is in the process? Either way, Morrigan found herself smiling softly as she carefully removed the skulljack and helped lower Nouja to the ground. She looked up at Morrigan, her smile widening ever so much. “Looks like you did it, At… Commander.”

If Atka even noticed or cared about the slip, she didn’t show it. The Inuit woman rushed over to her sister, kneeling down across from her. “Nouja…”

The younger sister looked down, trembling slightly. “You can feel free to… finish the job, if you want,” she spoke hoarsely, the weight of everything she had done crashing down on her at once. “I don’t… I…”

Atka didn’t let her finish, wrapping Nouja in a tight embrace. “Quiet,” she said, forceful at first but quickly melting into a gentleness most in XCOM had never seen her display. “I know it hurts, and you can feel free to pour your heart out to me… whenever you want,” she struggled to say, her voice heavy with her own tumult of emotions. “Just… let me have this one moment. I know it’s selfish… I just…” Atka’s voice broke. “I missed you so much…”

At those words, Nouja couldn’t prevent herself from tearing up and returned the hug. “I-I’m sorry… I…”

“Don’t apologize,” Atka whispered, clinging tightly to her. “You don’t deserve to carry guilt for every little thing. I know already you’ve got enough dragging you down.”

“A-Alright,” Nouja conceded, not having the strength to argue. Quiet, but sure of the words, the resurrected Ipiktok murmured, “I love you, sis.”

The remaining walls around Atka crumbled into dust, and she couldn’t form a coherent response - only holding Nouja even closer to herself. She didn’t need to echo Nouja for her younger sister to know the sentiment was still – and would forever be – mutual.

 

[MarineAvenger]

Baptism of Pain
MarineAvenger Solo Op
Part One

Leon’s ride in the troop transport was one filled with jumps and jostles as he made his way towards his patrol site with the squad of newer soldiers that had been brought into XCOM’s ranks due to the heavy losses during the defense of the base. That seemed like eternity ago. Kiki was going to be the squad’s Ranger, Leon having taken into account her eagerness to get into the field as almost a hollow image of Yakone the last time he had spoken to her in person. Next to her was Ludwiga, their support in terms of her being their paramedic. Next to her was the familiar sight of Willow, who was fighting the tiredness of their late night venture, but someone had to do the duty and it just so happened to be their turn. The Grenadier himself was feeling the weariness of the late night, but he merely rolled a shoulder and shifted slightly and found that to be an acceptable way to give him little jolts of energy.

Then there was Gi, their protection for the time being as his sister had been passed up to allow the newer member some field time. Moon was quiet most of the time and seemed to prefer the lack of interaction preferable, though did not deny it. Randall was a lot more brooding in the same vein of thought, and the two of them could likely stare at one another for the longest time wondering when the other would break their gaze. To top off their squad was Cleo, another close friend of Willow who was much like the medic in a way that she cared for Willow like a mother.

Leon felt that he was prepared for a routine combat venture and closed his eyes beneath his helmet, giving a bit of relief to his heavy eyelids. Without him really knowing it, time slowed around him and the glowing manifestation of his partner formed in front of him in full size, Psyma crossing his arms with a disapproving look. “Wake up you lazy sack, it is time to formulate the plan.”

The leader of the squad groaned and shook his head, adding a reply of, “Five more minutes buddy… only five.”

“Come on Leon, it would be bad luck trying to go into this without a plan. You wouldn’t want karma coming back and burning your behind, right?” Psyma flipped his hair and had one hand holding his wrist with a sour expression.

One eye opened and a sigh escaped Leon’s lips as he sat more straight and leaned forward, placing his chin in his hand, elbow resting on his knee. “Fine, you win. Bring up the map of the area.”

The artificial intelligence nodded and brought up a holographic representation of the site they were heading to: a location deep in the city. “The terrain is a lot of main roads with abandoned cars and the like. A lot of alleys dispersed in between the buildings, so we should watch out for ambushes set up there if possible. We aren’t expect anything high tier, though a gun wielded by anyone or anything is still just as dangerous so that is no reason to be lax. Additionally…” Psyma went on with the standard briefing and for most of it Leon merely winged it. After a few ‘minutes’ passed, the A.I. finished with one of his assurances that everything would run smoothly.

Time crawled back to how it was supposed to move as the mental assessment was finished and it was merely a few real minutes more before the truck came to a halt. The team carefully piled out of the backdoors, Leon being the last as he shut them behind himself. He pulled his main weapon off his back and merely let it rest against his shoulder as he looked up ahead at the overcast. Taking a few moments to wonder whether or not bad weather would come their way, he ordered his squad to fan out and begin their patrol. The only thing that kept crossing Leon’s mind was the minutes until he would be back at base in his cot.

***

“Moon, move up damn it!” Leon called out, firing away at the few remaining Advent troopers they had encountered. The Grenadier shot at the back of one of the retreating enemies, cutting him down in mere seconds. The Juggernaut followed the order and with him moved up, Willow advanced as well behind him, laying down a few blasts with her shotgun to loosen up the last enemy. Kiki moved in and collected the kill swiftly.

By now, a slight drizzle had descended upon the city and the occasional patters of rain meeting the metal of his helmet reminded Sinclair of just how much the mission would be dragging on. There was a solace in that so far his team were adequate fighters together, if not lacking in the cohesion a unit usually obtained from the experience of working with one another for extended periods of time. It was all a matter of feeling comfortable with the ways people fought.

The bracer that was attached the the group leader’s left forearm was going unused for the entirety of the mission so far and although Leon was not overly eager most of the time, there was something deep down that made him wish to test the limits that Fortis would be able to reach if given a proper chance to flourish. That double edged sword cut deep in Leon’s case.

The silence and reprieve earned by victory was a fleeting thing as the group the squad had engaged was not operating alone without another close by to help respond to nuisances. “How many of these guys will come crawling out of the woodworks I wonder.” Cleopatra noted as she prepared her weapons, mainly using the psi-amplifying device built into her suit to have one of the enemies turn tail in fear, allowing easy prey for the XCOM operatives to gun down.

The battle lasted for only several minutes, but by the end of it the Advent troops lay dead oncemore. Ludwiga was patching up some damage to Randall but the skirmishes were getting a bit too coincidental. Leon looked towards the apartment buildings around them and he got over the comms. “Spread out and check the surrounding area. Keep together how you want. I’ll go on ahead to start checking things out and get a vantage for farther down the road. Advent may have set up checkpoints to set up a net.”

“That might not be a good idea Leon. What if you get caught off guard by an entire squad by yourself?” Kiki said with a hint of worry in her tone, moving towards their captain but stopped when he raised his hand and waved it dismissively.

“Unlikely. Even if it did happen, I can just activate my defenses and run back for help. Don’t worry about me. Just be safe yourself.” Leon took his main gun and placed it on his back, taking out his pulse pistol and moving towards one of the alleyways. The Ranger watched after him before turning back to rejoin the others..

Leon looked up and took aim, firing once so that a ladder to the fire escape slid down to him. The soldier slowly climbed up until he reached the scaffolding that ran up the length of the building. Walking up a few levels, he found a window that led into an apartment that appeared to be vacant. Taking out his firearm once more, he smashed the window in, kicking away the excess glass that remained there before moving through and rising to his feet.

It seemed that the place of residence was one that someone had been planning to move into: spare pieces of furniture were covered with protective plastic wrap. Moving across what seemed to be the living room towards the front door, something crunched beneath his feet and Leon glance downwards to see a framed picture of a family together. Reaching down, he picked up the left behind memento and looked at the happy faces within in. A cold reality set it about the likely fate of the owners of the would be home, and a sigh of frustration escaped him. He placed the picture down on a table, leaving it standing up in some small consolation to the shrine left behind - with the hope that the gesture would offer someone peace.

 

[MarineAvenger]

Baptism of Pain
MarineAvenger Solo Op
Part Two

Opening the front door, Leon carefully looked around both ends of the hallway and found the area to be clear. Moving outside, the Grenadier raised his weapon and glanced behind him till he came upon the corner, looking down it. Once again it was clear and he kept moving. Something felt off about the atmosphere of the building, and Leon realized that it was the active lights that was bugging him.

It was at that moment Leon heard the sound of a drawn out hiss and then the thrumming deep ‘whoosh’ from behind. The soldier whipped around and saw the wall of rolling destruction heading his way. Something inside him acted before his own reaction time kicked in and within moments Leon himself was engulfed in orange. Fortis expanded as if a blanket had been tossed and clamped down over him - the shield of Pacem forming on his left forearm - just as the flames arrived. The Grenadier could feel the clutches of the heat all around, but his protector held strong until the inferno retreated. Everywhere, small flames danced on the walls and floor that had been scorched in the attempt on his life.

At the far end of the room was a figure holding what could only be described as a flamethrower, the unit dressed similarly to how Cleo had been. The special forces insignia on the front left of the armor gave away the magnitude of the threat. Almost immediately both parties reacted in tandem. Leon’s sidearm was once again in hand instead of his sword as he fired several times at the foe. They dove away from the hallway intersection they stood in. Leon moved to some cover of his own and reached up to contact the squad only to find static. Seems they have a jammer set up then. Just my luck.

Leon, what are we going to do now? Psyma’s slightly panicked voice called to him in his head.

I don’t know yet. Give me a moment to think and I will… He trailed off as something bounced and rolled along the floor. Leon ran, making distance down the hall he had emerged from as the incendiary grenade went off and once again fire flared in all directions. Leon dashed as fast as he could from the blast, looking back and forth until he saw a set of stairs leading upwards and down. He would run the risk of running into more troops on the way down and pincering himself from both sides, though. Instead, Leon went upwards.

Hey, what are you doing? The way down was right there! We need to get out of here and away from that pyromaniac! The A.I. blared in his head, forming in his holographic state on top of Leon’s right shoulder.

“I know about that, but I need to get to the roof. I’ll send a signal to the squad to regroup if I can get out of the range of that jammer, and if not then the fire escape should extend to the top as well. I will backtrack down there.”

Psyma reviewed the plan over in his head and slowly -and reluctantly- nodded. “That makes sense. Be careful please. It isn’t only your life you need to worry about here.”

Leon couldn’t help but smirk underneath his helmet as he shook his head. “As if you would let me forget.”

It was about the third floor that Leon met his next wall of resistance in the form of a womanly figure cloaked in black armor. She stood at the end of the hall advancing his way. Not her… The Grenadier thought tiredly.

Venom’s mask slowly collapsed back, revealing her sickly green pigmented skin, scales being only slightly visible around the edges of the outline to her head. Green, dyed hair collapsed down to the back of her head, showing the bob cut she enjoyed. “I found him Ignis!” She called out, her cheeks puffing up as she shot a glob of acid forward that Leon blocked with his shield, but slowly it ate at the psionic manifestation.

With a look of worry, the aegis was dismissed and that left Leon open to attack once more. Venom raised her shotgun and fired, causing Leon to stumble back as Fortis broke apart into ashes, some of the damage having broke through. His armor on the chest was marred with damage and the front of his helmet had cracked open a little to show the soldier underneath. Without the protection from his reflection, the shot would have likely shredded through it no problem.

Leon fired several shots at the task force member, but she easily avoided it by acrobatically cartwheeling backwards. Pulling the pin on one of his high explosives, Leon tossed it down the hall and turned, running up the stairs as he heard Venom audibly curse before a few seconds later the explosive went off.

Pulling off the main weapon attached to his back from before, Leon continued upwards with the hope his plan would still succeed. He knew he had reached the top level by the large metal door that rested at the top of the stairs three floors up. He slammed his shoulder into it. With a metallic groan, the obstacle opened wide as the Grenadier came out to the roof.

By now, the storm was now in full downpour. Water rolled down his helmet, droplets falling from the crack on the right side. Two Advent grunts were standing on guard and with a low grumble, he raised his large cannon and opened up on the first, the shots hitting him square in the chest - killing him before he hit the ground. Beside him, the second soldier had his weapon raised and there was no fancy maneuver Leon could perform to completely clear all the damage he could take.

Moving to the side, the rounds grazed his side the impacts could be felt pattering against his armor, but his foe’s carbine was not strong enough to penetrate his blast-padded exosuit. The Grenadier returned fire, and the Advent soldier -which Leon could more clearly identify as a medic- moved behind a vent unit. Leon rushed toward the fire escape but once there he noticed the form moving up it. Cursing internally, he looked back the way he had come, where Venom emerged with no visible damage.

Surrounded on seemingly all sides, he was running out of plans and fast. Time slowed for him as his perception became distorted, the act being Psyma’s doing. Leon breathed heavily and closed his eyes, not knowing what to say. His talkative A.I. companion was sharing in the silence, the sheer daunting task in front of him ending in too many ways with eventual death.

“We could… we could… um…” Psyma wrung his hands, pacing back and forth across his vision. “I-I-I… I mean there’s some way, right?” The boy turned his wide-eyed gaze his care taker’s way, who met it with his exposed eye.

“I don’t know.” Admitting for once that there was no grand plan to escape this one. Is this what she felt like before she… Leon shook his head of the thought and back to the situation at hand. “Three on all sides, all of which with some way to wittle down my defenses. Either way, all they have to do is try and keep me occupied for a reasonable amount of time. Obviously we have to take one of them out before then.”

“You have me.” The A.I. noted mildly, looking around at the enemies. By the time he slowed down Leon’s perception, the silhouette of Ignis was climbing up the fire escape. He was smart enough to know that the downpour would not be enough to quench the flames, but maybe there was some way to…

“Psyma,” Leon said roughly.

The smaller companion looked up from his thoughts and realized he had been mumbling aloud his plans and felt the closest thing to embarrassment as he could by shrinking back a bit. “Sorry. D-Do you have a plan?”

“Maybe. Best thing I can hope for now is to double down and try to find an opening to escape.” Deep down, the Grenadier was not feeling so great about his own plans, but it was the best thing to come to him. The sense of futility and dred was clouding his thoughts to a point, and it was a rare moment where Leon felt true doubt about his ability to succeed. Once more his gaze met Psyma’s, and the scared look in his eyes wasn’t helping much with his confidence.

“Leon… we will… get out of this, right? We’ll make it?” For a few moments, the lines between the A.I. he knew and his past blurred, and consequences of one he had promised things would turn out alright beat Leon over the head so much that he felt deep down the urge to laugh from the sheer ridiculous way fate was tugging him along. It took everything he had to try to not be truthful under that accusational gaze of youth.

“Yeah. We will make it.”

Psyma smiled wide and he nodded, slapping his cheeks hard before the A.I. took on a confident look. “Right. Let’s do our best!” He slowly disappeared, leaving Leon alone. He looked up at the non-moving rain, up at the dark clouds above and took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

Deep down, he pushed down the weariness from before, pushed down the fears of death and slowly dug in deep. Once ready, he pulled out Fortis from the depths and was surround in the orange armor as the rain began to pour down once more.

 

[MarineAvenger]

Baptism of Pain
MarineAvenger Solo Op
Part Three

Ignis crested the stairs and stopped at the sight, growling in anger as the Grenadier moved towards her, sword raised. She released a torrent of close-range flames and while they engulfed the soldier, he still moved closer towards her. “Venom! Get him away!”

The support called out in affirmation, and reached back, pulling out a device that she had custom made just for her in a mock semblance to the Bolt Caster XCOM used. It was smaller in nature, and looked more the part of a traditional crossbow. Loaded in was a dart with a yellow tip, which she fired at Fortis’ back. On impact, the bolt exploded, not meant for destruction, but to shred, and it worked in a way, causing cracks along the back of the psionic armor.

Leon let out a grunt and had to face the threat, the soldier foregoing the sword in place of his pistol, the melee weapon breaking apart as the second reformed and he fired. Several of the times he missed, but a round did hit.

From behind once more Leon was struck as Ignis attacked him with the utility axe she carried on her on the spot that was shredded, slicing away some of the manifestation. The knight turned and slammed her with his shield, causing the Scorcher to fall back. Separating himself from his charge, Fortis advanced against the fiery enemy. Leon grabbed his febrigun and pointed it at the Medic who made the mistake of revealing himself only to get blasted away moments before having tried to re-enter the fight.

Leon! To your right! Psyma called out and his partner moved to the side as Venom shot out another glob of acid. It landed on the ground where he had been standing and slowly it ate away until it fell through the floor. With the help from his friend, the Grenadier was in a better position but was still relatively open. Fortis occupying Ignis, the Medic dead, and the hybrid left open, Leon rose his weapon and was ready to fire before his plan got cut short.

There was a crack and then a sharp pain in Leon’s right thigh, causing him to fall off balance and to his knee. Gritting his teeth in pain, Leon looked up as Venom hit him with the butt of her shotgun, causing him to fall onto his back. The blow was enough to shake the soldier and Fortis stopped and vanished from his fight with the Scorcher.

Stars leapt across Leon’s vision as he removed the helmet from his head, letting it roll away as the rain pattered down on his face, Leon’s hair darkening from it getting wet. He sucked in air, looking up at the girl who had her shotgun pointed his way.

From the side, Leon heard the sound of footsteps getting closer and he looked at the other enemy whom he had first encountered. The Scorcher laughed in a mocking manner. She reached up and removed her own helmet, dark hair spilling out as the latino woman shook her head and looked down at the Grenadier, the lightning flashing to illuminate her face as the thunder boomed overhead. “Always thought you were invincible, didn’t you kid? Well look how the mighty have fallen.”

“...no…” Leon whispered, the face of a person he once considered his friend staring down at him wrapped in the suit of an enemy. “Isabella… why?”

“Why?” The woman sneered, getting down on a knee and reaching down to grab the section of his armor just below his neck so she could hold him up. “Because I woke the fuck up. I stopped submitting to the dream that some nobody could change the world. Because I learned the ones I trusted the most turned out to be nothing but cutthroats who stab their friends in the back.”

Leon lowered his brow and angrily reached out, grabbing Izzy’s arm. “Fine talk coming from the traitor herse-” he was cut off by the sharp pain of her stepping on the sniper wound in his leg, gritting his teeth to keep from letting out a tear.

“You honestly think I don’t know Leon? You think I don’t know what you and Jaren did all those years ago?” the Scorcher said maliciously, getting close to his face. “Advent keeps very good records Sinclair. I saw everything. Heard everything. I saw Jaren kill Devon. And for what? Nothing more then joining Advent? He had the best intentions at heart, and he was gunned down by his brother. Because of this damn resistance we perpetuate, they had to die. No. Devon had to die. You on the other hand outright murdered Jaren. You could have saved him, talked him out of things, but you shot him. Like an animal.” She stomped on his leg again and this time Leon cried out in pain.

Venom glanced at Izzy with worry, never having a big stomach for torture and decided to voice her opinion. “Look Ignis… don’t you think you shouldn’t be so rough since-”

“Shut up Elise. This doesn’t involve you.” The Scorcher snapped, pulling out her sidearm. She pointed it down at Leon with an angry look. Furious really. “You put down our friend so callously in the past and now… I’m going to avenge him. See you in hell Sinclair.” Her finger was placed on the trigger and she slowly looked ready to squeeze the trigger.

Something within Leon snapped at that moment. Maybe it was the realization that one of the last friends he had from his past turned out to now be an enemy. Maybe it was having Jaren’s death once again thrown in his face to cause old pains to well up. Maybe it was the imminent death he faced. Whatever it truly was, or maybe a combination of all of it, it unleashed something.

Leon’s eyes flared orange and with a moment psionic energy filled him as in one moment he was under Izzy’s foot and the next he was three feet behind his two opponents. For one last bout of energy, he called upon the power of his protector, the armor veiling him with some considerable effort. The reflection looked physically worn from the amount of times it was summoned and battered down, and underneath Leon himself was dealing with the strain of his inexperience.

He waved his hand and the four weapons Fortis had presented to him before swirled around him. The sword and shield spun prominently but it was not what he grabbed. It was the spear which his hand wrapped around, and once in hand Leon spun it so it rested against the back of his shoulder. He ran forward and incurred the wrath of Ignis, who fired her sidearm several times at the advancing soldier.

Psyma helped Leon track the bullets and avoided the brunt of the attack, the bullets glancing off in a multitude of places. Raising the spear, Leon threw it with all his might and when the weapon flew past the two women, he formed where the spear was, the weapon in hand as he turned, hitting the end of it into Venom and sending her skidding backwards on the wet ground.

Leon could now turn his full attention to Isabella, who reloaded her weapon. Leon was set to dodging her shots once more but there was a familiar crack that hit Leon from behind, taking a glancing hit to the already bruised side, his back having been weakened due to the repeated attacks throughout the skirmish. Despite the pain and warm blood that ran down his back, he kept on the former friend, continually pushing her back.

Her face became one of worry as the battle was quickly turning away from her favor. Finding the use of her pistol useless for now, she once more drew her axe and was the one reduced to playing defensively. The Grenadier thrusted and she side-stepped, trying to slash out with her axe but all she hit was solid armor and was doing almost nothing to the advancing soldier. She parried another stab and fired point blank at Leon, though his hand covered the barrel of the gun, the armor taking the brunt of the damage but the blast still caused damage underneath.

Despite the pain, his hand coiled around the gun and he ripped it away from her, slapping the back of his spear across her face, causing her to stumble backwards. Leon threw his spear forward and blinked to its location, his hands wrapping around the length of the shaft as he thrust it into the woman, yelling as he pushed her into the ground, the point of the spear digging into the rooftop. Leon slid down till he fell to his knees.

 

[MarineAvenger]

Baptism of Pain
MarineAvenger Solo Op
Part Four

There was no noise but the sound of the rushing water falling from the sky, Izzy’s blood started to puddle around her with the rest of the water. She wheezed in and out, her mouth moving silently as she felt herself gradually becoming colder.

The soldier holding the weapon that penetrated her body slowly allowed his armor to flake away, first his helmet so that his hair was down in his eyes, kept down by its own weight. “Why?” He asked in completely broken voice, shaking his head in denial.

“I-I…” Her mouth moved but letting out words was difficult in her state. “...thought I was… right…” Isabella’s eyes closed, causing the water to begin to build up in her sockets. “...Leon…”

The soldier looked down at her tiredly, tilting his head but when he saw her closed eyes he audibly asked, “What?”

The Scorcher reached her hands together and slowly pulled off a golden ring that was on her finger, extending out her hand shakily. “I-I…” Once again her mouth moved before she could force more words. “I-I… have a daughter. She is… all… alone… now. If… the person I… knew before is in there… then you will… keep her safe. You… have a… lot to… atone for…”

Reaching out one hand, he slowly took the piece of jewelry. He wanted to tell her off for her misguided views, but something in her words rang true from his own doubts about his actions. She merely voiced what his conscience deep down thought more than once before. “I will.”

Izzy slowly nodded, her breathing slowly coming to a stop as she died in peace.

Leon gripped his spear tighter, tears mixing with the rainwater as his weapon gradually disappeared, left in only his WAR Suit. His guns sat to the side. The soldier rarely found time to weep much anymore but in that moment there was no stopping more and more of the fluid to slip from his eyes now that the dam was broken open.

Once more, the sound of footsteps approached and -still crying- Leon reached to the side to grab his febrigun but was kicked backwards by a black boot, the soldier landing on his rear as he looked up to see who had approached. It was as if he stared up at the face of death itself, red eyes staring down at him with revolver in hand. Water slid down the smooth black exterior of the face mask the man wore, and a mechanical voice spoke through directly to Leon. “You’ve killed another it seems.”

Leon recognized the visage and the voice, but strangely he felt no fear at all. He merely felt the weariness of his struggle, and he offered up no response to the man he thought to be his executioner.

“First it was Daniel. Then the Major is captured. And now Ignis is moved on. Such a mess.” Colonel Cain Verrater leaned down, pointing his gun at Leon. “You put up quite the fight. Had my team scrambling around. You’re something, huh? All of XCOM seems to be quite different than the old days.”

“I guess so.” The Grenadier said, his gaze going downwards. “Please… kill me.”

Cain looked over the man before him, not exactly sure how to respond to the request. “I thought you would beg for your life.”

“No.” Leon laughed. Of all the things he laughed in the face of death, putting his head back so he could look up at the sky. “My life… is nothing. I… am nothing. Always looking to prove something. I think I have everything figured out. All that happens is the pile of dead bodies behind me grows higher and higher. I once wished to give a future… a future to those who couldn’t go out and reach one for themselves. And I’ve failed, time and time again. Evie, Jaren, Devon, Izzy, Gwen… Yakone. Everything I work for crumbles to dust in front of me.”

The Colonel looked at the soldier, even more taken aback by the sight of the broken man. He looked down as Leon’s hand went around the barrel of his revolver, the Grenadier weakly dropping his head against it. “Just do it already. Put me out of my own misery.” When nothing happened, Leon grit his teeth, crying out. “Come on! You’ve killed us before, how is this any different!” The man yelled loudly, his hand shaking against the firearm.

Desmond looked to the side, turning his head further to look at the two behind him. Elise stood holding one arm, looking at the body of Izzy and the display of weakness with the same amounts of pity to each of the parties. The now revealed Church stood next to her with a supportive hand on the girl’s shoulder. He looked at the Colonel and slowly shook his head, pulling the girl along so they could make their way to the exit.

He looked back to the man in front of him, and in him saw a bit of himself. The Colonel reached forward and held Leon’s head as he pulled the gun away. “It is different. It is much different than before.” Desmond brought himself to his feet, holstering his weapon as he looked down at the body of his Scorcher with regret. Reaching up, the Colonel slowly removed his mask and looked back at Leon. “Before you mentioned my daughter’s name. What’s your relation to her?”

From the hurt and complete emptiness in the XCOM soldier’s eyes, Desmond had his answer. “I’m so sorry.” Placing the mask back on his face, he trudged towards the stairs that would lead him away from the scene on the rooftop. That horrifying, and to Desmond, all-too real scene.

 

[Taxor_the_First]

Taxor the First and DarkGemini24601: Ravenous, Part 1


Samuel issued one final wave to Bonnie and Holly as they departed the bar, shaking his head in amusement. Even after the stress of their last op, the two were still as cheeky as ever. Alan had made an early exit, unable to deal with the Grenadier’s teasing. Everyone else was either relaxing in a more quiet setting, or licking their wounds.

A commotion by the door caught the Russian’s attention. Chloe had just stumbled in, looking like she’d already knocked back a few drinks. Her movements were uneasy, and her walking could more accurately be described as stumbling. Samuel didn’t pay it much mind until he saw her eyes, occasionally hidden as her dishevelled hair brushed before them. Shit.

She saw him, and her face light up in a grin. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” she slurred, almost collapsing on top of him. She ignored his protests, and made no effort to get up.

“Chloe, for fuck’s sake, get off me!”

“Don’t tell me you’re not enjoying this,” the Overseer hummed. “I know I am.”

Glancing around to see they’d attracted a few odd looks, Samuel seized her shoulders. “Alright, something’s clearly wrong with you. We’re going somewhere else.”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

He practically had to drag her through the ship, her gait was so unsteady. Searching for a place in relative private, the Russian eventually identified a spot - the corridor directly outside one of the ‘special’ closets. He resisted when Chloe tried to pull him inside. “Don’t get any ideas,” he warned.

“I thought that was the plan,” she whined, her back hitting the wall outside and sliding down it until she was sitting.

Bloody hell, you’re a mess. “Alright, how much have you had to drink?” Samuel asked pointedly, folding his arms.

“Nothing. That’s the problem.” Chloe looked up at him, her eyes barely focused. “Sam, please. I… I need this.”

The Aerotrooper did a mental calculation. So, it’s started, he thought glumly. “I’m not doing… whatever it is you want me to do,” he said harshly.

“I’m so hungry…”

He swallowed. “Well… distract yourself. Find someone else to… help you.”

“I can’t,” Chloe murmured. “I’ll just bite them anyway. But you…” She struggled to get up, failing at first and impacting the metal floor with a soft thud. Grimacing, she tried again, this time succeeding. “I… I care about you. You’re the one person I will not hurt. The one person that can distract me completely.” The vampire rushed forward then, surprising Samuel and pinning him against the wall. “Please.”

Umbra? There was no response from the Reflection. Oh, so now my life isn’t in danger you’re going to be a stubborn little asshole, huh? With a sigh, Samuel shook his head. “No,” he said flatly, attempting to extricate himself. He frowned when Chloe’s grip proved too strong for him. “Let go of me.”

The Overseer merely giggled, moving her head upwards to find his. “Come on,” she cooed. “It’ll be fun.”

“What the fuck are you doing?” a very pissed-off woman behind Chloe demanded tersely.

Samuel had frozen in place. Chloe barely noticed in her delirium. “Oh fuck off, will you? I’m trying to get some alone time here.” She paused. “Well, alone time with him.”

Her prey gulped. “Uh, Chloe…”

A giggle. “Yeah.”

The Russian shook his head. “Look, Stacie, this isn’t what it looks like…”

“Then what is it, exactly?” the Texan retorted venomously, one particular finger in her hands tightening harder than the others.

Chloe turned around, frowning at the newcomer. “You know, I don’t like your tone,” she goaded, releasing Samuel for the moment and taking a few steps forward in as threatening a manner as someone her size could manage. “You got a problem?”

“Chloe, this is Stacie. My girlfriend.” Still, hopefully. The Russian rolled his shoulders, moving away from the wall to prevent being locked against it again.

“I don’t care who she is,” the Overseer stated. “If she doesn’t want to wake up with a few holes in her neck, she’ll fuck off.”

“I’d like to see you try, bloodsucking bitch,” Stacie snapped. “Don’t tempt me to lay down some frontier justice on a sleaze like you.”

Samuel paled. “Alright, that’s enough. Chloe, calm the hell dow-”

“What did you just call me?” the Overseer interrupted, seemingly sobering up somewhat. Her face had taken on a dark expression, one that dared the woman across from her to repeat the name.

“You know, like one of those harlots from all those prewar fad films. A blood suck-ing bi-tch,” Stacie articulated the syllables angrily, as if speaking to someone who couldn’t comprehend a normal pace of words. “Though I’m sure you suck plenty of dick too.”

Samuel raised a hand as if to say something, but was interrupted. “And what business is it of yours?” she snapped. “Call me what you like. When you use it as a descriptor, fine. I am what I am. But when you use it like an insult, as if to say I’m stupid, or I’m a lesser person than you for enjoying myself…” She visibly scowled. “... besides which, you have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I mean, she did say-” Samuel tried to butt in.

“Come back to me when you’re nearly eighty years old and look like someone freshly out of their teens, and then try saying that to me again.”

 

[Taxor_the_First]

Taxor the First and DarkGemini24601: Ravenous, Part 2


“I’m calling you a bitch because you’re trying to rip off my boyfriend’s pants - knowing that you have no right,” Stacie retorted irefully. “Don’t even try and act like I’m the one out of line here.”

“Would you prefer to offer yourself up as a bloodbag?” Chloe retorted, seeming to deem the fact that Stacie knew what she was unimportant. “Because you’re looking mighty tasty right now. Plus, I want to see the look on your face when-”

“Fuck’s sake, enough!” Samuel barked, grabbing his ex by the shoulder and trying to pull her backwards. With her innate strength being stronger than his, he only succeeded in rocking her back slightly. “Surely there’s someone else you can find to-”

“Not without running the risk of biting them in the process!” the Overseer snapped. She shook her head. “Fine. If it’ll make you feel more comfortable, you can watch. Or better yet, join in.”

Samuel paled. “What.”

“No.” Stacie’s response was as short as it was unbelieving.

The Russian exhaled. “Thank you,” he muttered.

Chloe resorted to pouting. “What the hell is your problem?” she whined, the vowels of the last word drawn out. “It’s not like I’m doing this just because I want to fuck him.”

“Yeah, you’re doing it because you’re hungry and because you want to fuck him,” Stacie responded. “The neutral part of that doesn’t counterbalance the other half of it!”

“Do you have a better idea?” the vampire demanded.

“No. But you’re not touching him, so the onus is on you to figure that one out.”

Chloe stared her down for a moment before her eyes began abruptly tearing up. “Then… then what am I supposed to do?” she practically whimpered. “I can’t just… ignore this craving. That’s not how this works. I need to fill that void with something.”

“Do I have to be the one that helps you with that though?” Samuel asked. “What about Samson? You know him.”

“Our relationship is built around us not doing that.”

“Then find some random guy and give him a thrill. Or woman. Whatever.” The Russian rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “You probably already know this, but most guys won’t exactly turn you down if you ask.”

“I told you, that won’t end well!” Chloe practically wailed. She clutched the sides of her head, the dull ache that had been consuming it for the past hour or so now beginning to sharpen. “Please. Please…”

“Why don’t you just drink the damn blood packets in the infirmary or something?” Stacie questioned, maintaining her angry exterior while starting to falter internally.

The vampire stared at her with horror. “You want me to raid medical supplies like some kind of… scavenger? I’m not a vulture!” She shivered. “I… did try it once, pride notwithstanding. It’s not the same. The warmth…”

“Microwave them then,” Samuel suggested.

“You think I didn’t try that either?” Chloe shook her head. “I’ve tried… everything. Short of finding an actual drug to override the craving, that is. But then I’d be a crackhead or something, no better than most of the bandits roaming the world.”

“You’re just eliminating all the options except letting Sam bone you… I have a hard time believing your urges are that specific,” Stacie protested with an exhausted tone.

“Yeah, well if the notes on XCOM staff are anything to go by, you have a hard time believing anything,” Chloe retorted. “Not everything in the world is scientifically definable you know, although a few doctors have tried.”

Samuel shook his head. “Chloe.”

“Yeah?”

“You’re clutching at straws here.”

The vampire recoiled. “You know damn well I’m speaking the truth!”

“And you know damn well when I say I’m not going to do something, I’m not going to fucking do it.” The Russian sighed. “I’m trying to help you. I am. But I can’t give you the help you want from me.”

“If you want some solution you’re going to have to consider some sort of alternative,” Stacie agreed.

“This is the alternative!” Chloe shook her head. “It’s either this, or I pin someone else somewhere else and feed off of them. And afterwards, I keep doing that. And I undo all the work of the past few decades of me trying to shake this.”

Samuel shook his head. “Find someone else to… distract you.”

“I told you, it won’t work!”

“Don’t know until you try.” There was a pause. “Be real, here. That’s your best option.”

The vampire glared at him. “And if it doesn’t work?”

“I think it will. You’ve got a strong will.”

“I can’t vouch all that much, but you’re stubborn enough to spend the past ten minutes trying to bed my boyfriend, so I’ll give you points for resolve,” Stacie offered.

Chloe took the ‘compliment’ with worried silence. “... that’s… really my only option, huh?”

Samuel folded his arms. “It is,” he said firmly. “Come on. You of all people should know when not to fight a war.”

“I…” The Overseer sighed. “... ok. I’ll… go elsewhere. Give it a shot.” Her face creased in worry again. “But… who?”

The Russian drew back. “I don’t want to know or think about it,” he said. “You’re an adult. You make that choice yourself.”

Chloe swallowed. “Alright. I mean, everyone on this ship is meant to be at least some level of friendly… right?” With a nervous chuckle, she walked briskly out of the corridor, either wanting to get it over with or perhaps wanting simply to get away from Stacie.

Samuel watched her go, before exhaling and shaking his head. “Bloody hell. Hope this works. Between you and me, I’m honestly not sure if she can resist.”

“...you need to lock your door in the future, then.”

“That’s the plan.” He glanced at his girlfriend, nervously. “Sorry you had to… walk in on that. I wasn’t going to do it. Just so you know.”

“I believe you. Again, my spite - which may or may not have grown three times this day - is directed at her,” Stacie stated resolutely.

“You should chat with her once everything’s settled down,” Samuel suggested. “Might give you an opportunity to clear the air. She’s a good person, really. Just… a bit less inhibited than the rest of us.”

*

Chloe hesitated outside the door of Samuel’s squad’s room. The more rational side of her was already feeling guilty over her earlier actions, but the desire tingling through every segment of her body overcame that. It also overcame any guilt she might be feeling about choosing someone so close to him to relieve herself, though in reality it had little to do with that. She knew most of the members of Judgement squad personally, now. Her early days on the ship had seen to that.

She knocked.

There was a short delay before Arthur opened the door, looking at her with a raised eyebrow. “If you’re looking for Samuel, he was with Bonnie and Holly last I knew. They went down to the bar.”

The Overseer flashed a smile. “I know. Saw him earlier. No, I was wondering if Alan was anywhere nearby. Been a while since I caught up with him properly, after all.”

“Who’s that?” the Ambusher’s voice asked from behind Arthur’s back.

The Phantom turned. “Chloe,” he answered. “She wants to talk to you.”

“Privately,” she added.

Alan wedged himself past, drawing another raised eyebrow from Arthur. “Hey, no offense to you, but you don’t exactly make for excellent conversation,” he explained.

Chloe giggled, now in familiar territory. She began striding away, beckoning the Ambusher as she did so. “Alright, come on. I promise I won’t-” She paused, and after a moment muttered “... well, I’ll try not to.”

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Gone but Far from Forgotten
Part One

The air that passed through the Matterhorn Megacity was chilling and heavy. So many had died since the city defense had started. Some good, some not so good. Death was in the air, and it sent a shiver down Morrigan's spine. She had never put much stock in ghost stories in years past, but after what she had seen, with aliens, psionics, and a supernatural being as her friend, she had started to wonder if maybe some ghost stories might be true.

Morrigan wasn't on the battlefield. She wasn't on her way to a fight. She wasn't even on patrol. Morrigan resisted it, but after two difficult fights, both of which were uncomfortably close, Atka insisted the winded daughter of the Éire get a little R&R. After all, there wasn't much room for rest right now, so best get it when you can.

Morrigan's thoughts raced too much to relax. She tried to get some sleep back in the ship. Thought resting near the beloved daughter she had seen so little of in the last few weeks would help her relax. Seemed like it was working too. And yet she found herself walking the streets. At this time of night with a city wide curfew in place, she was alone, only the ghastly wail of the wind accompanying the sound of her footsteps.

Morrigan wasn't paying attention to where she was going, simply walking for the sake of walking. Without even realizing it, she suddenly found herself in the middle of a place she would never have purposely entered at night, and usually never in the day alone.

A graveyard. The term cemetery was probably more fitting, but the more grim sounding term was the first thing to pop in her mind when she noticed the headstones. With the structures and archaic graves that gave the place the feel of an old world setting, Necropolis might have been an even better term.

Coimetrophobia. Morrigan couldn't remember where she had heard the term but she knew it well. An unusual fear for a woman who didn't believe in ghost stories growing up, but there was nothing unusual about it in her eyes. The atmosphere. The negative emotions it invoked. The conjured images of death and decay, and the overwhelming reminder of one's mortality. The heart gripping fear that if you didn't get out soon... you would never get out.

Morrigan scoffed as she stared in the eyes of a stone faced, slightly worn angel. A weakness, that was all it was. One that Morrigan didn't like knowing of herself, let alone letting anyone else know of it. There were only ever three people who knew of it. They were gone now. One quite recently.

"I always told you that admitting a weakness is the first step to overcoming it. If this all still scares you, you obviously didn't listen to me. But then... you never did."

The voice behind her made an icy chill run down Morrigan's spine. She wanted to run. She wanted to swing back and throw a punch. She wanted to cower like a frightened child at the mere implications that came with the voice. She only turned, ever so slowly, and stared down the dead man before her.

He was dress casually, nice black pants and a beige sweater, brown slippers over socks on his feet. Morrigan remembered those clothes. He rested on a lush, red leather chair, a fire place crackling behind him. In his hands was a rather large book, bound in black letter with fancy designs on the spine. "Well, don't just stand there all aghast. Have a seat." He motioned towards the chair directly behind her, identical to his but green. Morrigan's exact favorite shade of green in fact.

Morrigan stood where she was for the longest of times, she staring angrily at him, him staring with a pleasant smile at her, patient as a saint. Finally, Morrigan lowered herself into the seat, and dared to take her eyes off of him to look around. The room was full of bookshelves, all filled to the max with books as big as the one he held. The pair was seated in a small indent in the room, obviously meant to be a mini study, while the shelves surrounded the main floor of the room, as well as a balcony. "Where am I?" Morrigan slowly asked.

He laughed. "Of all the questions you could have asked, that was the first one to come to mind?" He looked around. "Well, Morrigan, I know you've been away from civilization for a while now, but surely you remember what a library looks like. Well... a combination library and study..."

"You know that isn't what I mean," Morrigan snipped impatiently.

He cracked a smile at this. "Relax, Morrigan. You're nowhere in particular." He tapped his head. "We're in your mind. We psions call this a dreamscape. You're not a psion, so I had to make it myself. Figured since I was looking through your memories..." He placed a hand on his chest. "Sorry for that, by the way. Couldn't help myself. But since I was doing so, I figured a library would be a good setting. Though if you preferred that ghastly cemetery, I can change this to a nice, musty crypt."

Morrigan scoffed, and slowly folded her arms and crossed her legs. She bobbed her foot up and down impatiently as she stared at him. "You're not Daniel. Daniel Hunnigan is dead."

"Oh, you would know best, wouldn't you? That hurt, you know?" Daniel placed his hand behind his head. When he pulled his hand back, there was blood on his fingers, which he regarded with annoyance before wiping his hand on the side of the chair. "I mean, three in the back of the head execution style? You part of XCOM or the Irish mafia?"

"You're not Daniel," Morrigan repeated. "You know nothing about me. You're at most a figment of my imagination." Her eyes darted about in worry. "Or some other psion invading my mind..."

Daniel chuckled and closed the book. He placed it on the table before them, and Morrigan noted the title was 'Relationships'. "Well, if it helps, I'm not an invader. Uh... not a non-Daniel invader, I mean. If I was, why would I make my presence known? Or bother with a disguise?" He slowly tapped his chin. "Remember when we were together, and we played 'Possibilities'? One of us would come up with a scenario, and the other would come up with all the possible causes or outcomes for that situation. Try to come up with ones the other didn't think of."

Morrigan shook her head. "Simply knowing that isn't proof..."

Daniel waved his hand dismissively. "Not why I asked. I'm proposing we play it now." He extended his arms and grinned. "Who am I? What am I? I'd say you have two possibilities. One, I am Daniel... or what is left of him. Not the original, you saw to that."

Morrigan smiled lightly. "You sound a tad bitter about it."

"You have no idea," Daniel responded. "Possibility one, Daniel used so much of his considerable strength, none of which you could actually resist, hence the need for your A.I.... thing... so much power, and hit you with mind control so many times in a row, a lingering nugget of Daniel imprinted itself in your mind. Possibility two, I really am a figment of your imagination. Nothing more then an extension of your mind. I might be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of an underdone potato. There's more of gravy than of grave about me, whatever I am!”

"I'm leaning more towards the latter, Ebenezer," Morrigan stated flatly.

"But does it really matter what I am?" Daniel asked. He now stood on the balcony to Morrigan's left, not having moved and yet not where he was before. "Either way, it is all the same. I'm real and can read your memories, or I'm part of your mind and I know everything you know. I'm real and I linger by shear will, or imagined and I linger because I'm a part of you."

Morrigan watched him silently, letting everything sink in. "Somehow, I doubt even you're sure what you are. What do you want anyway? To 'live' by hanging out in my head?"

"To torture you," Daniel whispered behind her ear.

 

[ZombieSplitter53]

Gone but Far from Forgotten
Part Two

Morrigan sprang out of her seat and turned to face him, and Daniel simply laughed at her nervous look. "I mean... of course I want that! Wouldn't you if you were in the head of the person who killed you?"

Morrigan waved her hand towards the bookshelves. "You said you were reading my memories. Surely, the first place Daniel Hunnigan, phantom or figment, would look is to see if he was right about me. And you would have seen you were wrong! So why do this?"

The image of her husband laughed like he had heard the funniest joke ever. "Are you seriously asking that? Of course I read that! And you honestly think that the fact that I was wrong would make me any less angry about you murdering me? Would it sway you?"

Morrigan glared at the mental man. "Maybe it would. But knowing you, I'm sure you wouldn't react the same way."

"Ah!" Daniel clapped his hands together and pointed at her. "You said 'knowing you', not 'knowing Daniel'. So you've excepted I am him?"

"I've excepted it doesn't matter either way." Morrigan shook her head in disgust. "Even in death, you're still a never ending source of..."

"Don't you judge me!" Daniel yelled, a demonic tone resonating behind his own, the entire room shaking. "You have no right! You killed me! You destroyed my life before taking it! You stole our daughter away!"

"My daughter!" Morrigan yelled back.

"OUR... daughter!" Daniel closed his eyes. After a few moments, he smiled again, and had calmed down. The way he talked, it was as if he had never lost his temper in the first place. "If I'm a figment of your imagination like you insist, the only reason I would tell you how much I love Brigid... how much I missed her... how I always saw her as my daughter, blood relation or not... is if you believed it to be true yourself."

Morrigan's heart beat rapidly in her chest. She had never thought someone could feel so uncomfortable in their own head. "We're done. If you want to linger..."

Daniel chuckled. "We're not done. We have so much to talk about! The way you killed me, an unarmed man. The way your revenge was more important then XCOM. What that boyfriend of yours would think of your cold heartedness, or how you plan to face Brigid when you have to tell her..."

"IF.... you want... to linger in my mind, then I better never see you again. Because I will fight to destroy what is left of Daniel, even if it is part of me." Morrigan closed her eyes. "We're done. Leave me alone."

"We are not done, Morrigan," Daniel insisted. "Not by a long..."

"Leave me alone!" Morrigan screamed. Her voice echoed throughout the cemetery around her, a trio of crows flying off. She slowly opened her eyes, and looked up at the angel-topped grave she had been staring at before. Never had she been so happy to be in one of the graveyards she dreaded. With a deep sigh, she turned to go back to the ship.

"We will never be done!" Daniel was standing behind her, clad in the armor he had died in, though it was old and falling apart. He glared at her in rage with red eyes, blood oozing from eyes, nose, and ears and rolling down his decayed, peeling flesh. Bile escaped his lips when he opened his mouth. Morrigan was in too much shock, too horrified to move. He grabbed her neck tightly, rancid, broken fingernails digging into her skin and drawing blood. "You will never escape me now! I will torture you until the day you die, and are buried in the ground. Just like me!"

He shoved her back, and she landed in the open grave behind her. Morrigan let out a horror filled scream as Daniel lifted the top of a coffin and threw it over her, covering the Irishwoman in darkness.

Morrigan continued to kick and scream, even after the darkness was penetrated by the glow of overhead lights. She couldn't calm down at first, the feeling of someone touching her arm only making her more scared, the sound of someone calling her name only making her want to cry.

It was a solid minute until she realized the voice wasn't saying 'Morrigan'. It was something else with a 'M'. It was... mom. Mommy. Morrigan finally tried to get a hang of herself. She looked around her room, trying to get her bearings. Her eyes rested on her daughter. Brigid was crying, the sight of her mother's night terrors and screaming scaring the young teen to her core. This didn't stop her from jumping into her mother's arms the moment she realized Morrigan had her wits about her, however.

The pair sat together for several minutes, sobbing softly for their own reasons, holding one another tightly. Morrigan eventually pushed Brigid back to look her over. "I'm so sorry. Are you okay, Clover? I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Brigid shook her head. "I-I just... didn't know what to do. I kept yelling for you, but you wouldn't stop screaming. I felt so... so..."

"Helpless?" Morrigan offered sadly.

Brigid nodded. She wiped her tears, trying to let relief replace worry. "Y-you... you called me... Clover. You haven't called me that in years."

Morrigan smiled gently. "I hope it doesn't make you feel like a little kid. Because I'm sorry, Brigid..." She placed their foreheads together and whispered, "But you will always be my lucky charm. Even when I'm old and grey, and you're dazzling the world with you violin playing. Or your singing. Or when you're a famous scientist, or a detective..."

"Or a superhero?" Brigid added excitedly, then blushed. "I mean, or a, uh... an orthopedist?"

Morrigan laughed. "Or an orthopedist, or a superhero..." She kissed Brigid's forehead. "It wouldn't matter if you were a grizzled cop who takes out the trash, or a garbage collector who literally takes out the trash. You will always be the best thing in my life. You will always be a little Four Leaf Clover."

Brigid nodded. "Mom... I know I'm too big now... but..."

"Of course you can lay with me." Morrigan scooted to the side, and Brigid laid down with her after turning out the lights. Brigid pressed her back against Morrigan, and mother held daughter like a child holding her favorite stuffed animal.

"Mom?" Brigid asked after a few minutes of silence. "What... were you dreaming about?"

It took a moment for Morrigan to answer. "You... you know how dreams are; no matter how good, or how bad, you end up forgetting about them a few minutes later."

The lie seemed to satisfy Brigid, and it wasn't long before she fell asleep once more. Morrigan wasn't so lucky. It was surely just a nightmare, and yet she feared drifting off. She wasn't sure she would ever sleep well again.

Not with the chance that he might be lurking... waiting... smiling...

 

[DarkGemini24601]

XCOM Mission Report

Level 3 Settlement Band, Matterhorn Megacity
Bottom Terminal of the Express Railway
1400 Hours, December 10th, 2038

Maverick Squad

SGT Strand, Christoffer [Paramedic]
CPL Brown, Olivia [Ambusher]
SQ Contreras, Valentina [Sharpshooter]
SQ Belle, Stacie [Gunslinger]
SQ Bauer, Heinrich [Grenadier]
SQ Dominguez, Maxwell [Aerotrooper]
SQ Brock, Adam [Enforcer]
SQ Moon, Gi [Juggernaut]

Operation Shieldwall

We have a problem. After weeks of fighting, ADVENT has managed to reach the third level of the city and has pushed back against all attempts at repelling them. They’ve suffered significant casualties in the process, but it appears that they’re going for broke here. The target of the Coalition’s advance is the Express Railway, a monorail system that passes from the upper reaches of Settlement Band III all the way to Main Street near the mountain’s peak. If this rail line is seized by the assault force, it will mean an all-or-nothing battle one street away from the Overseer’s command tower.

Maverick Squad must either defend the site of see the railway destroyed. Holding the line is vastly preferential, as the destruction of the monorails will make a battle of attrition that much harder. It will cut the security soldiers’ supply lines, and render the defenders unable to hold the middle levels of the metropolis. If our chances of victory are to remain anywhere near comfortable, the terminal must be held at all costs. It falls to a single squad in the area to decide the course of this siege. The responsibility is immense, but this is a battle that must be fought. Good luck, and godspeed.

***​

By the time the terminal was within visual range, smoke was already pouring out of the shattered windows on the front of the massive building. The internal flames of battle within the triangular front portion of the otherwise square-shaped building suggested that Maverick Squad was already running a little late. The soldiers quickened their pace, bobbing and weaving through the back of the battle lines drawn up by Matterhorn security forces in order to reach a heavily-guarded backdoor to the train station.

As the garage door that would admit them into the large building rose with nervewracking laziness, Olivia clarified some last-minute points with her squad leader. “So we’re the last line of defense?””

“Yeah,” Christoffer replied, rapping his fingers along the barrel of his scorpion battle rifle to try and quell his anxiety. “They want us to bolster the defenders dug in around the three trains.”

“And there’s probably not going to be reinforcements?” Olivia asked, trepidation lacing her tone.

“It’d put the forecast of that at a one-percent chance,” the Sergeant responded grimly. “Avenger’s too far away from this location to back us up in a timely manner.” He sighed. “We were lucky to be in the area in the first place.”

“Hmph. Lucky.” Heinrich emphasized the word derisively. “This is going to be hellish, no sense in beating around the bush about it.” The Grenadier checked over his anti-tank cannon one last time. “They’re putting all their cards on the table for this one.”

“We’ll make it through,” Maxwell contended, shifting his rifle to one hand so he could place the other on Heinrich’s shoulder. Looking between the Hispanic-German and the rest of his teammates, the Aerotrooper remarked, “we’ve always thrived in adversity. Today won’t be any different.”

“If you say so,” Heinrich muttered.

“Besides, Thunderbird has a literal Thunderbird now,” Stacie chimed in with a smirk. “That’s an advantage in our favor.”

Olivia rubbed the back of her neck. “Way to amp up the pressure.”

“You’ll do fine. I have no reason to doubt your abilities, and I’ll lend you mine,” Adam declared. “By the end of this battle we will have seized victory from the jaws of defeat.”

Valentina smiled, nudging the Enforcer. “Want to go get a drink after all that grandiose combat?”

Adam shrugged. “Sounds good to me.”

“Never thought I’d see the day you’d be lovey-dovey with a woman, Brock,” Heinrich noted with a guffaw, finally relaxing. “You truly do defy expectations.”

“Says the Kraut,” Adam retorted with deadpan playfulness.

“Oh Christ, not you too.”

“I would prefer ‘E tu, Brute?’ for this occasion,” the Shieldbearer specified.

“Alright, Shakespeare, I’ll remember to parrot you properly in the future. My sincerest apologies.”

Christoffer smiled beneath his helmet. The tension in the Sergeant’s muscles had been washed away like the daily resurfacing of the sands on a beach. He knew his squad well enough to be certain what they were displaying was not overconfidence. They knew the gravity of the situation. But with their devil-may-care attitude towards it, they precluded one another from being paralyzed by fear. “You all would follow me into hell itself if it was necessary, wouldn’t you?”

Olivia chuckled, as did a few of the others. “Probably.”

Gi tapped - stomped, really - one of her Pavise Armor’s giant boots against the ground. “If you’re all done, the door’s open. We’ve got a mission to complete.”

“Roger that, sourpuss,” Stacie retorted lightly.

“Let’s go, people,” Sergeant Strand instructed. “We’ve got a city to save,” Chris added.

***​

The spot where Maverick Squad set up was expansive. On either side of the wide entryway into the chamber where the trio of monorail lines began, two massive alloy pillars held up a bunker-strength ceiling. Two large conveyor belts hugged those columns. The one on the right side rolled outwards, and the one on the left marched inwards. The rest of the sizeable gate had an assortment of barricades strategically placed to provide the best cover possible. There was far too many of these shock-absorbent blocks to guard with only eight soldiers, but fortunately an assortment of Matterhorn specialist soldiers alongside a few MEC-2 Troopers were present to buttress and complete the defensive line.

Maverick Squad took up a position towards the center right of the makeshift wall. Christoffer assumed a central location in the middle of his squad. Olivia lurked behind a wall taller than her, remaining near her CO. Stacie found a shorter block on the other side of Olivia to shooter over. Maxwell settled into a spot to the opposite side of Christoffer from his second-in-command. Further along in that direction, Adam had shored up the defensive line by deploying his power armor-grade shield. Gi towered over the barricades, and thus had moved to the far left with her oversized aegis. Behind her, Heinrich and Valentina had taken a perch on a conductor’s platform overlooking one of the sleek monorail vehicles. The Grenadier - armed with plenty of shells - had deployed his mortar. The Sharpshooter had stabilized her sniper rifle on a flat surface.

The eight XCOM soldiers were ready for the storm. And it wasn’t long before it came, with all its fury.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

“Operation Shieldwall, Part 1”

The first shot came from afar. A lance of plasma flared into existence, exiting the barrel of a distant unseen enemy and - in the blink of an eye - impaling through the skull of a Matterhorn Sergeant. He wordlessly tumbled to the ground, throwing the subordinates left behind into a frenzy of panic. It took all the discipline they had to pull themselves into half the mental state to fight, and by the time they had a Shieldbearer nearly died to a follow-up shot.

“Steady, dammit!” a surviving officer shouted.

Christoffer had more defined orders to give to his team. “Stacie, toss a scanner ASAP. Get Valentina eyes on this bastard.”

“Roger.” A spherical locator device tumbled through the air - and was blown to pieces by a third plasma bolt.

“Holy shit they’re good!” the Gunslinger exclaimed.

“Too good to be human,” Olivia realized. “We’ve got a thin man no doubt.”

“Alright, plan B,” Chris growled tersely as a Rocketeer had his head blown off. He took a scanner of his own from the belt around his waist, and handed it to the small manipulator servos of his Gremlin. The machine went invisible, and bounded forward through the air before activating the invisible scanning device. The enemy sniper’s position was designated. “Valentina, you’re up.”

The Sharpshooter took a hard look through her scope at the spot marked on her HUD. “There’s nothing there, boss.”

“Probably cloaked! Shoot anyway, there’s no time!”

Not hesitating any further, Contreras zeroed in on the target painted for her, and fired off an accurate, carefully-aimed shot. A blue streak passed from her location to that of the thin man ‘Deadshot’ that had been attacking from the shadows, and impaled him straight through the chest. A small cloud of smoke shot up as the cloaking technology in the elite mimic’s suit failed him, and he fell onto his back into the blackness of death. “Got him.”

The death of the alien sniper stirred up a hornet’s nest. He had not come alone, and those that had been lying in wait for him to whittle down the defenders to a miniscule number were urged to go on the attack by their commanding officer. A Jormundur slithered out from behind cover, making haste to shoot forward into cover closer to the barricades. A flurry of magnetic fire from the Matterhorn soldiers came his way, but at best a few made some glancing hits. The frost serpent’s reflexes were like lightning itself, and hitting him on the move seemed an impossible prospect.

Following in the slipstream of the nimble alien snake were two more Vipers. However, they were not the garden variety. Instead, they wore black armor segmented like scales along their sleek bodies. Their cobra-shaped helmets were featureless, save for two separate red visors - one for each eye. These ‘Black Mambas’ both lifted plasma DMRs, targeting Gi as soon as they’d made it to cover. Accompanying this menagerie of snakes was three Mutons. Two regular ones in black armor stepped up alongside a pair of shotgun-wielding Chargers and started opening fire indiscriminately on the defenders, suppressing where they could. One of them, however, was clad in armor that seemed to have metal leaves hanging off of it. These protrusions, upon closer inspection, were actually vents of some sort to remove excess heat. The Destroyer pulled a grenade launcher from her back that thrummed with blue energy, and prepared a plasma grenade.

Christoffer took a deep breath. This is going to be a hell of a fight, isn’t it? He recalled his Paramedic drone. “I’ll prioritize the Vipers! Olivia, deal with the Mutons!” The Sergeant focused on defense first. “Adam, put up a telekinetic field on Gi’s shield! Reduce the effectiveness of the incoming shots!” The Enforcer complied with the request, laying off machine gun fire in order to add a yellow aura to the Juggernaut’s makeshift bunker.

It was then that the Jormundur went on the attack, preceding his two subordinates in their shots. The elaborate headdress of the glowed, the blue holographic circle in the center spinning into a spiral. From it spat a cryogenic cold so potent that it froze the water in the air molecules around Gi, creating a million tiny iciles on her armor that shimmered under the ceiling lights. Her shield itself was bathed in the freezing ray, and the alien alloys themselves splintered from the sudden and violent drop in temperature. “Gāisǐ de, that’s cold,” the Chinese soldier remarked worriedly.

The attack reduced her overall defenses back to their state before Adam’s assistance, and not two heartbeats after, the Black Mambas both fired. Their dual green lasers both impacted with the shield, being weakened slightly by the telekinetic field around it but then piercing the aegis, then the Pavise Armor’s outer plating, and penetrating deep enough to do minor damage. Damage reduction plates were quick to fold over the two shallow holes in the armor, but the fact that the shots had gone straight through her primary defenses didn’t sit well with the Juggernaut.

Nor did it please Christoffer. It was time to go on the offensive. “Maxwell!”

The Dominican had his rifle trained in the direction of the Jormundur. “Yeah? I’m ready to try my luck with this guy.”

“Forget him, he’ll be hard to hit! Kill one of the elites at his side!”

“Understood, sir.” The Aerotrooper opened fire on one of the Mambas. He missed, but the snake on the right wasn’t his real target. Just before switching to the one on the left that was unprepared to be attacked, he activated his weapon attachment. The friction dampener built up to full power, and then with purpose and speed Max targeted the other Black Mamba. The shot sent the ebon-armored snake reeling, with a hole in her armor and yellow-green blood spilling from her side. That left Chris to finish the job, and with expert precision he did.

Before the other black serpent could be targeted, a threat from the other side presented itself. Suppressed by the pair of Mutons assisting the Destroyer, Olivia and Stacie hadn’t been able to get a proper bead on the alien grenadier. That allowed her to aim with her launcher unabated. “Onimiki, stop her!”

The Thunderbird revealed itself at half the maximum size that Olivia could summon it - able to grow no bigger indoors. With a swiftness unparalleled by any natural bird, Onimiki sliced through the air, passing over the five alien soldiers. A shockwave knocked them all onto their backs, and electricity rippled through four of them, causing heavy damage to the nervous systems of the Chargers in particular. The Destroyer, however, was unaffected by the thunderstorm that followed in the spirit’s wake. Her armor protected her, and allowed her to quickly get to her feet and aim the grenade launcher oncemore.

It fell to Stacie to try and stop the Destroyer. The Gunslinger opened up with a first shot from her revolver. The impulse weapon barely did any damage. Not having time to swap to her meltdowners to peel off the enemy’s armor, Stacie instead targeted a weak point on the alien’s armor near one of the vents, and fired again. This round did much more damage, but it wasn’t enough to break through the armor. Neither was the third and final shot she could get off before the grenade started flying through the air.

Onimiki returned as a savior, grabbing the grenade in its talons. He meant to toss the explosive away, but it detonated on impact. The spirit bird’s feathers were torn up, and he reluctantly told Olivia, I must… recover my strength. The reflection vanished from view, leaving Olivia with a headache from the damage it had taken. The Destroyer wasn’t done, and despite the mortar hit she took from Heinrich in the back, the Muton commando got what she wanted. The second grenade she launched impacted with the barricade that Olivia, Stacie, and Christoffer were using as cover, blowing it away along with some of the ADVENT soldiers that couldn’t fall back in time.

The three affected members of Maverick Squad scrambled to their feet. Their armor was heavily damaged, but they hadn’t taken the brunt of the blast like the wall had. Christoffer immediately sent his Gremlin into restoration mode to rapidly patch up the damages to their armor, but it could not provide them any sort of cover from the five alien troops that now boldly advanced upon their position.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

“Operation Shieldwall, Part 2”

Merlux. Looks like it’s time for you to shine. I need you to pump all your processing power into evasion assistance, Stacie requested. I’d rather not become a pincushion for plasma bolts.

I will do my best. Merlux paused as time slowed down from his user’s perspective. He appeared beside Stacie as a holographic projection. His teardrop-shaped eyes seemed a bit droopier than usual. “Please… stay safe.”

“Awww, are you concerned about me?” The Gunslinger smiled. “Thanks, Merlux. I’ll be fine.” The Texan freedom fighter turned all her focus onto the oncoming enemies now. Her A.I. deactivated the vest that gave her a psionic field to dissuade enemies from targeting her, and enabled the ‘Wild West Hero’ evasion mode. The first Charger lifted his shotgun, but Stacie saw the attack coming from a mile away. She stepped - slowly from her perspective - to the right, and then ducked a bit low to dodge the overhead spray from the other alien centaur’s weapon. The Muton’s both targeted roughly the same space, allowing Stacie to jump backwards to avoid their attacks. As she moved through the air in an arc, she procured her meltdowners and sent a barrage of heatwaves into the advancing Destroyer. The melted chest armor didn’t cause the elite Muton to falter, and she aimed her plasma LMG straight for Stacie.

“I can’t calculate a way to dodge that spray!” Merlux cried out worriedly.

“Activate cloak! I can try and evade with that!”

“It’s too late! They’re about to fire!”

What saved Stacie was one of Christoffer’s psionic abilities. He used blackout to blind the Destroyer in question. The hesitation this caused allowed Stacie to backpedal to safety. When the Muton fired, the heavy plasma barrage tore apart the ground instead of the Texan Gunslinger.

“Thanks, Chris,” Stacie breathed in relief.

Her ‘neo’ mode had, unfortunately, expired due to the strain it placed on the Gunslinger’s brain, and the alien troops prepared themselves from another volley of shots. This time there would be no dodging the assault. Thankfully, Gi had the sense to reposition herself, and moved in front of her allies - planting down her massive shield. The Mutons all fired - the blindness the Destroyer was experiencing not mattering with such a huge target - and the Chargers added to the tumult of lasers coming the Juggernaut’s way. The shield was beaten down by the assault, and massive cracks spread over it before it shattered into large chunks.

When it did, the soldiers behind were ready. Stacie got off another shot, by now having dealt enough damage that the Destroyer’s flesh was exposed. Christoffer exploited the opportunity, aiming his battle rifle spray across the two spots where the Muton’s dual hearts were. The deadly spate of gunfire destroyed both vital organs, and the dangerous opponent toppled into a bloody heap. Olivia had sent out her RCs during this time, and they’d both placed proximity mines amongst the other four that soon detonated, blasting apart armor and rendering the enemies vulnerable. An antipersonnel shell rained down from the sky like the harbringer of death, and Heinrich’s explosive filled the two Chargers up with alloys. The pair of Mutons were injured as well, but survived the onslaught due to their natural durability.

Gi kept them off of the uncovered allies beneath her feet. She stepped forward, and let out a psychic ‘taunt’ that garnered the attention of the two Mutons. They fired upon her, blowing two big holes in her exterior suit of armor. She responded by drawing a scaled-up revolver, and blew one of their heads off. The other had his chest caved in by a sniper round from Valentina.

Meanwhile, Adam and Maxwell had been left to hold the line against the Black Mamba and Jormundur left. They did so with an impressive degree of success. Down to one ally, the alien officer couldn’t hope to advance as the larger group had. Instead, he had been content to take potshots with his plasma tinerifle - a weapon with hefty piercing power. One of its shots had killed one of the last remaining Advent Sergeants, leaving the rest under the command of a badly-wounded Shieldbearer who had fallen back and was currently receiving medical treatment as she struggled to give orders.

Adam made the best of the situation. The Enforcer waited until the two snakes had fired in succession - one of them nearly hitting him. Then, he went through with a reprisal strike. The former Shieldbearer kicked his weapon into high gear, and fired off a barrage of heatwaves into the Jormundur. When he realized the armor was heat-immune, the frustrated soldier instead turned on the Black Mamba. “I’ll kill one of you at least.” He laid down withering fire, overheating his weapon in order to melt all the way through the enemy’s armor with a vicious barrage and render them into a smoking pile of meat.

Maxwell was left to deal with the Jormundur. He did so by daring to take flight, activating his thrusters and kicking himself into the air. From on high, he flew to the side and flanked the frost serpent. He let loose a barrage of gunfire, The first round blew a hole in the Jormundur’s armor and dealt a light wound to the snake within, but the second missed entirely as the alien zipped out of the way. It slithered lightning-fast over to the side, and lifted its tinerifle to hit Maxwell straight in the head in retribution. Of all people, the person that dealt the killing blow was a lowly Advent grunt in the back. His mag rifle ripped through the Jormundur’s intestines, and caused it to fall after gawking in shock at the deadly wound and the pathetic hybrid soldier that had done the deed.

Adam - after being a little surprised himself - chuckled gruffly and patted the equally-surprised soldier on the back. “Nice shooting, private. What’s your name?”

“Z-Zoya Lagunouv, sir,” the Russian woman replied shakily.

“You’re a fine soldier. Surprised you haven’t been promoted. Maybe that’ll change after this op,” Brock remarked, giving the tense trooper a reassuring nod before reloading his weapon.

The Mavericks regrouped. Adam planted down his shield amongst some rubble on the left side of the breach, while Gi positioned herself on the right side. She stomped down on the alloy debris beneath her, her boots opening up on the bottom and sucking up the raw materials left behind. Soon, a patchwork of plating covered up the two craters on the sides of her Pavise Armor, bringing the protection back up to a near-optimal state. To her right, Christoffer set up alongside Olivia, and to Adam’s left Maxwell stood with Stacie. The XCOM squad steeled themselves, knowing that in all likelihood this wasn’t the end of the enemy forcing heading their way.

Christoffer activated his comms. “Commander, how’s it going on the upper levels?”

Atka’s voice crackled over to the rest of the squad. “Moving in myself as I speak. We’re ready to defend main street if something goes wrong, but I trust things are going well down there?”

“For the moment. We’ve taken some hits and lost allies, but Maverick Squad’s going strong. We’ll keep it up. Snowdrift out.”

 

[DarkGemini24601]

“Operation Shieldwall, Part 3”

The alien vanguard was soon back on the offensive. This time an Andromedon was thrown at the defenders alongside a smattering of Vipers, Mimics, and Mecroaches. The mechanical insects rushed the Matterhorn troops, giving them a hellish rain of pulse pistol gunfire. The Mimics harassed the Mavericks from afar, forcing several of them to keep their heads down behind cover to avoid taking sniper pistol fire. They relied on Valentina to return fire and pick off the enemy snipers. The Vipers harassed Adam in particular, raising their carbines and barraging his shield. Using his telekinetic field again, the Enforcer managed to hold strong against the onslaught - and Zoya was firing back between the rare gaps in snake attacks. More than once Adam had to drag her back with his immense strength to prevent a forked tongue from ripping the Advent trooper out of cover.

The Andromedon used this chaos to advance unabated. It angled its chemical cannon, and launched a glob of viscous fluids with a very low pH at the Pavise Armor that matched the cybertrooper’s height. Gi wasn’t agile enough to dodge in her armor, so she instead initiated her last stand protocol. A bubble forcefield shot up around herself and her allies, giving them a chance to rise up and prepare shots on the Andromedon. When it broke through the shield with repeated fire from its plasma battle rifle, the XCOM soldiers opened fire with everything they had. Stacie’s meltdowners had no effect. Christoffer’s battle rifle couldn’t breach the plating, and only did any damage at all thanks to the shredding effect from one of Heinrich’s mortars (which itself did little real damage). Maxwell managed to score some holes into the suit’s alloy-glass helmet, but he couldn’t quite penetrate it in time.

Another acid splash impacted Gi’s armor, and started to melt through it. Her armor now burning, the Mimics redirected their efforts onto the Juggernaut. They managed to tear holes into the suit at the cost of lowering their guard to Valentina, but before their deaths they forced Gi to abandon her outer suit of armor. The Chinese woman plopped down onto the ground as her suit tumbled into a melting mess, and drew a pair of revolvers. “Adam, need your help!”

The Enforcer did what he could. He snuck his febrigun out of cover, and established communications with Merlux. The A.I. fed him visual data on where to aim, and the former Shieldbearer used that to launch an anti-tank grenade onto the Andromedon’s form from his slugger SS-GL. The blast rendered the helmet a cracked mess that Gi blew open with repeated rotator gunshots. The Andromedon suit crumpled over, kneeling in defeat with its pilot hanging out - very much dead.

The victorious rush that went through the members of Maverick Squad was premature. Since the last time the Andromedon unit had fought the resistance cadre, it had been improved upon. Now, the computerized guidance program was smart enough to pilot the suit on its own. Rising back up, its servos still intact and all-too-functional, the Andromedon Shell rushed Gi. No amount of reprisal fire from her allies could stop the machine, and in her surprise she managed to miss it. Clenching a mechanized fist, the Shell delivered an earth-shattering punch into Gi’s defensively raised arms. A crunch filled the air, and she tumbled backwards in agony. The Andromedon pursued her.

“D-dammit!” Gi pain inhibitors automatically activated, wiping away the unbearable sensations so she could defend herself. Trying to move her arms, she realized that she couldn’t get them to respond. Every bone from her fingertips to her shoulderblades was broken. Unable to guard herself, the Andromedon was able to approach and deliver a second strike - this one impacting Gi’s head. Another sickening crunch followed, and this time it was her neck that was broken.

“No!” Christoffer cried out as he could only watch as the Juggernaut died. The squad members redoubled their efforts on the suit, pounding it again and again. A few shots from Valentina’s AMR did the trick, opening up holes in its limbs so that the Maverick’s revenge volley would destroy its mechanisms and bring the Shell down for good.

The rest of the alien troops soon fell in quick succession, but no time was spared for Maverick Squad to grieve. Soon, another enemy approached - accompanied by several MEC Troopers and a number of ADVENT soldiers clad in customized heavy armor. It was almost like a centipede. The machine was the size of several tanks strung along in a line, and a good deal taller. Its body was segmented into large moving plates, like upscaled Black Mamba armor. The head was the largest part, being as big as two tanks stacked ontop of each other. It had but a single baleful red eye. Before the squad’s eyes, it charged blue and fired - obliterating a barricade and the four Matterhorn soldiers behind it all at once.

“Holy shit,” Olivia breathed. “Onimiki… I hope you’re ready to fight again.”

The Thunderbird appeared at her side, shrunk down to be more towards the human’s stature. “I will defend you, child of Algonquin. I shall endure for your sake. It seems you will need all the help you can get.”A MEC Trooper advanced, and the pair engaged it alone with their combined power.

“Hit that thing with everything you’ve got!” Christoffer ordered, having no other instruction to give but that one. While the accompaniment of troops near the Siegepede fought what remained of the Matterhorn defenders, Maverick Squad gave the artillery machine hell. Adam and Stacie both opened up on its head with their thermal weapons, starting to melt away at the thick plating present. Maxwell and Christoffer shot at the weakened portion of the armor when they could, though for now their shots weren’t getting anywhere near the point of penetrating the armor. Valentina exhausted a two-shot magazine of her AMR trying to help break through alongside Heinrich’s shells. They succeeded in getting fairly deep into the perhaps meter-thick armor, but in the time that took…

The Siegepede had advanced. Unable to stop it, Maverick Squad had to retreat as it quite literally rolled over their previous position - pushing them back towards the train tracks. The machine singling out Valentina as the single greatest threat to it at the moment, the machine targeted the platform she was on with its eye. The color shifted to blue, and the gigantic laser spat forward - forcing her and Heinrich to abandon the position and jump down to the ground to avoid being killed by a single strike. Valentina didn’t manage to do so with the utmost grace, and one of her legs was broken by the fall. The Siegepede charged up its cannon again, lowering its hateful eye towards her location.

“Vale!” Adam didn’t hestiate. He moved up in front of her, and poured all the power he could into his psionics. A dual field - half bubble shield around himself and her, and half energy-dampening aura - formed to protect the pair. He raised his shield, and was confident that with this amount of defense he could weather the storm of the powerful but wide beam. The Siegepede fired. Someone seized control of Adam’s telekinetic field, and caused it to weaken drastically. The blue laser hit with full force, evaporating the former Shieldbearer’s aegis, burning through his armor and vaporizing both him and his lover.

The remaining Mavericks uttered not a word. Horror filled their expressions. Christoffer was as pale as snow, shakily clutching his battle rifle. Olivia and Onimiki stood over the smoking wreck of a MEC Trooper in shock. Stacie’s guns slackened in her lowered arms. Heinrich looked up at the machine with genuine fear. Maxwell stood in disbelief. Just like that, the comrade they had watched grow from an unfeeling soldier into a person who could take joy in life was stolen away. His life snuffed out like a pathetic candle. And standing atop an opened hatch on the Siegepede was the culprit.

“Such is the fate of traitors,” Lucia Judex declared. She set up her shield on one arm, holding a heavy pistol in the other. “Surrender, or your ends will not be dissimilar.”

 

[DarkGemini24601]

“Operation Shieldwall, Part 4”

“G...goddamn you! Damn you to hell!” Stacie was the first to respond, fury overtaking her. She lifted her blitz pistols, and sent a burning, constant stream of heat energy into the task force member’s shield. A telekinetic barrier helped protect her, but even still Lucia’s alloy bulwark was starting to melt. She had to step to the side to avoid a burst of fire from a recovering, equally furious Maxwell. “Commando. Deal with those two.”

Jayden Williams hopped out of the exit port, running down the sloped side of the Siegepede’s head and racing straight at the pair of soldiers. Aegis and the machine she rode upon kept the other three surviving members of Maverick Squad busy, a few accurate sidearm shots and explosive cannonfire from the Siegepede keeping them constantly on the move, unable to hazard a finishing blow against either enemy.

Stacie felt her meltdowners overheat, and moved to swap to her revolver. A kick in the helmet courtesy of Jayden meant that instead her back made contact with the concrete floor rather abruptly.

His reflexes are too fast for a normal human! He must be enhanced, or have an A.I., or both! Merlux reported in a panic.

I don’t care! We have to avenge Adam and Valentina! We can’t lose here!

Unfortunately for Stacie, by the time she got up Jayden was already on the attack against Maxwell. The two troopers had engaged in a close range firefight. Commando had the upper hand. His mag rifle tore into Maxwell’s armor, creating a gap in his defenses on the first hit. In contrast, when Max shot at his opponent, a personal shield flared up to deflect it. The powerful shot of the Aerotrooper would have broken a normal shield, but a higher-grade one such as Jayden’s - its energy focused by the alien-made A.I. planted in his head - endured. And the opportunity that Max’s surprise provided was not wasted.

Belle drew her revolver and fired at Williams with abandon - but his shield focused on his back too and held up long enough for him to take another shot. Maxwell activated his jumpjets and took off, flying backwards. Jayden focused his modified eyes, removing all excess visual ‘noise’ except for Maxwell. He locked on, pulled the trigger, and ended Maxwell’s life with a shot through the heart.

“MAX!” Stacie screamed in anguish, utter grief, helplessness, and impotent rage mixed in her voice like an elixir of torment. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she furiously blinked them away - her own vision settling on Jayden. Only one thought coursed through her mind. How do I kill him?!

S...Stac...Stacie… I… For once, Merlux seemed overcome by melancholy - not taking an ounce of enjoyment in it. At another time, Stacie might have applauded him, but her heart was black with vengeance at the moment.

Just tell me what I need to do! The Gunslinger begged her A.I. as Commando turned to face her and raised his weapon.

Not wanting any more death, Merlux pulled himself together and slowed down the pair of partners’ perception of time. Jayden was still imminent on firing, so Merlux had to think fast even for him. He appeared next to Stacie, his mechanical mind racing. “His shield will focus all its energy wherever it’s being attacked due to the processing unit within his armor! You need to overwhelm its output somehow! Fire as many shots as you can, that’s the best you can do!”

Stacie didn’t waste a second more. She momentarily cloaked herself, disappearing from view and narrowly stepping to the side to avoid the barrage of bullets that would have bloodied her had she moved a second later. Jayden prepared to start firing wildly to try and hit her, but Stacie moved just a second quicker. Her bond with Merlux meant that each knew the other’s ins and outs. They worked in perfect harmony, Merlux guiding Stacie’s shots to be on target in the same location each time she fired. The first lightning-quick shot came, followed by a second equally fast - courtesy of Merlux overcharging her PCS. Stacie landed three more shots, all in a rapid fanning succession, and the barrier burst open.

Jayden was surprised, but he recovered a second later and opened fire upon Stacie. Merlux activated her evasion mode for a moment, turning a critical hit into a glancing blow. Still, he could feel the strain on his user’s brain. “Stacie, we have to finish this.”

“I know! Activate the Sonic Modulator.” Realizing what she intended to do, the A.I. drained the elerium battery of its energy, focusing the subsystem’s power into a sonic scream stronger and longer-ranged than a Shieldbearer’s derringer. The noise caused Commando to drop his weapon, clutching his head as blood streamed from his ruptured eardrums. This gave Stacie the opportunity to pull out the DMR she was famous for missing with. Merlux was too busy keeping up the barrage of soundwaves to keep Williams busy, but this time Belle was in no mood to miss.

She took aim, and snapped off a shot that punched cleanly into Jayden’s helmet - splashing blood out of the rupture in the metal covering and causing his body to crumple to the ground. “I’ll see you in hell,” she growled. The exertion then took its toll on her, and she fell to her knees. Weakly turning her gaze to Maxwell’s body - laying on the train tracks unmoving - Stacie let hot tears roll down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Max,” she whispered despairingly.

At least we avenged him. Though…

His kids… Stacie clutched a trembling fist. Carmen, Junior, Jabes… God, why…

I… don’t know what we can tell them… how can we possibly-S-STACIE! LOOK O-

It was too late to block the blow that came from the MEC Trooper. The machine’s heated magnofist impacted with Stacie - and although she pushed herself to her knees and moved slightly to the side - the force was still enough to blast her through a wall - splinters of metal impaling her body before she landed in a heap.

Everything started to go black, but in her emptiness Stacie wondered if she even cared.

***​

The three Mavericks left standing soon found themselves in a dire predicament. The Matterhorn troops were nearly wiped out, and some of the ADVENT EXO Troopers were starting to bleed through to attack them as well. Victory had become an impossibility. Their mission was a failure. Christoffer realized this much, and nodded to Heinrich. “Get out your grenade launcher!” he told him breathlessly as they ran along the train station - the Siegepede stopping in its advance. There wasn’t a wide enough path for it to go further, so it contented itself with wiping out the remaining defenders in the other direction. Aegis hopped down, accompanied by some ADVENT soldiers as they pursued the remaining XCOM troops.

“Time to blow it all the hell up?” Heinrich questioned.

“Yeah. Plan B it is,” Chris confirmed grimly.

The Grenadier loaded an impulse grenade, and launched it into the front car of one of the monorails. The blast released a thunderclap of explosive energy that tore the cockpit apart - rendering one of the trio of vehicles inoperable. However, as he threatened to destroy another, there was the sound of missiles whistling through the air.

“Onimiki!” Olivia called out. The Thunderbird lifted its winds, beating them with one powerful wave and causing a torrent of wind to throw the storm of antipersonnel rockets to veer off-course - exploding into the sides of the two adjacent monorails instead.

“Hold your fire, dammit!” Aegis warned the EXO Rocketeers beside her. She lifted her battle rifle, and fired at Olivia. Having no cover to dodge, she instead had to rely on her spirit bird to protect her. The reflection took the hits, but the battle rifle’s gunfire combined with shots from a pair of Assassins put too much strain on him.

“I will not… fall so easily!” Onimiki rumbled defiantly. He flew forward with the utmost haste as his body started to break apart. When he dismissed himself this time, he did so by bursting his corporeal form into a burst of electricity. Aegis defended the Rocketeers closest to her, but the rest of the EXO Troopers were shocked to death by the final attack.

When the smoke cleared, Aegis dismissed the shield, and the Rocketeers raised this launchers again. “A valiant effort, I’ll give you that. But it’s over.” She fired upon Olivia, scoring a hit on her shoulder and puncturing through the armor. The Ambusher swooned in agony, but the pain she felt was nothing compared to what it must have been like for Heinrich. He took down one of the Rocketeers, but the other three blew him off the platform with a trio of high explosive missiles. There was a tremendous explosion, and when it cleared there was no sign of Bauer.

Christoffer felt his blood run cold. With Olivia leaning on him for support, no escape path presenting itself, Stacie and Maxwell having gone dark, there was no hope of survival, it seemed. He closed his eyes, not trying to run any longer. The third barrage of missiles came, and the last two members of Maverick Squad were wiped out.

 

[DarkGemini24601]

The ADVENT Assault Force - lead by none other than Colonel Cain Verrater himself - took the large, very-much-intact monorail that remained up onto the uppermost level of Matterhorn. From there, they started to pour forward. It was tough going at first, but once they had established a staging ground with the assistance of a tank division, their troops starting to pour into main street. The fighting was intense, and despite the aid of XCOM it was not going well. The defenders were being slowly pushed back.

Commanding in the field but a step back from the action, Atka looked over a holographic display to discern where to send her forces. There was a tumult of explosions going off where the Siegepede was; Luke was letting loose alongside his comrades. In another sector, Alexis and Chandra were doing their best to support and heal against a group of Ignapods. Tomislav was leading some of the greener troops in a desperate attempt to take down an alien team led by a Mechtoid. A group of Zephyrs had been revealed by Morrigan, and crushed by Marx.

Despite all of this, victory seemed like a distant dream. Maverick Squad had failed, and had experienced a code black. The Commander sincerely wondered if all was lost. “After everything we’ve fought through, after all the battles… is this how it ends? Was I a fool to get involved in this defense?” the Inuit woman questioned. She growled in frustration at the situation and herself. “No, I can’t lose hope. There has to be something… some opening…”

“..zzzt...Commander. Are you there?” a Norweigan man’s voice came through.

***​

“Strand? Christoffer, is that you?” Atka cried out in surprise, flooding the Sergeant’s comms. “I thought you were dead!”

“Pulled a fast one on Aegis. Used my teleimagery that they don’t know about to fake my death and Olivia’s,” the man whispered, hiding in the intact portions of the nonfunctional leftmost train. “I’ve got her healed up, but we’re in a bad way. I think we’re the only ones left… and this place is crawling with ADVENT troops.”

“Hold on.” Anxious silence. “You could still complete the secondary objective,” Atka’s voice finally came through. “Olivia, you still have some proximity mines left hopefully?”

“I do,” the Ambusher replied tersely - the weight of her grief at the lost of her squad preventing her from being anything but upset. “Why? What could be possibly do at this point?”

“The monorails are routed through an aboveground tunnel system. It’s blast-proof, but the trains aren’t. If you make a break for it, you could bypass the majority of the enemy troops and destroy the trains on their way back to ferry more soldiers!” Atka informed her urgently.

Christoffer took a deep breath. “Guess we don’t have much to lose, huh?”

Olivia pulled her bolt caster off her back. “Guess not. Let’s do this. We owe the others that much.”

The pair both steeled themselves, and activated their cloaks. They stepped out into the open. Behind them, there were no nearby Advent soldiers - and the ones far to the back were being directed to the other side of the train station. There was no sign of the Siegepede now, as it had moved on upwards. To the front, however, there was a tank with a gunner in one hatch and Aegis in the other. They appeared to be confirming that there were no stragglers left behind - and they stood in the way of the pair of soldiers.

“Dammit… that’s not going to easy,” Chris muttered.

“Let’s give it a shot. At the very least, we can kill that bitch.” Olivia took aim with her bolt caster. “I’ll open you up a hole in her armor, and then you can give a follow-up.” The Ambusher revaled herself, firing at Aegis and puncturing the back of her armor. Chris’s shots broke a reflexive shield instead of finishing Lucia off, however.

“You’re still alive?” Aegis growled, feeling a pain pulsing through her back and a strange feeling coursing through her blood. “T-turn around, finish them off!”

The tank’s cannon and gunner swiveled. But instead of machinegun fire riddling the pair with bullets, a grenade landed in the gunner’s lap and blew him up. The man behind the last-minute save revealed himself. Heinrich was in his tattered Brazilian army uniform. His armor had been torn to pieces, but the blast padding had saved his life from the rockets. He lifted his anti-tank cannon, and fired a trio of rail-accelerated projectiles into the tank - denting the armor and setting him up for a secondary shot as he ran to the side to avoid the turret getting a bead on him. “Good to see you guys are still kicking.”

“Heinrich!” Christoffer yelled in relief.

“You can be happy later! Help me blow this thing up!”

“I won’t let you…” Aegis coughed up blood. “W-what?” She felt sick.

“Venom coating. Choke on it,” Olivia growled, reloading her EM caster and using a shot to punch deeper into the tank’s armor.

Heinrich kept firing, reloading at one point with a ‘ker-chunk’ noise. When he’d had his fill, the shots had gone all the way into the driver’s seat and killed the occupants of the tank. Aegis expired from the poison not much longer after, unable to defend herself as surely as Adam hadn’t. The trio of survivors reflected on the poetic justice for a few moments before another voice came through their comms.

“Is… is anyone still alive?”

“Yeah… three of us left, Merlux. Is… Stacie alright?” Chris asked uneasily.

“She’s very badly injured… but I can operate the armor even though she’s unconscious. Just tell me where to head, and I’ll go there with what’s left of the invisibility charge,” the A.I. stated, struggling to remain calm.

“Alright. I’ll designate a spot on your map,” Christoffer stated with a sigh of a relief. “At least… some of us made it.”

Heinrich nodded, picking up a rocket launcher and scavenging what missiles he could. “Let’s go blow up that last train and complete our mission.” The three rushed down the tunnel. They were soon joined by Merlux, operating Stacie’s armor. One of Christoffer’s last healing charges was used to stabilize her after they removed the shrapnel from her body, and then the ground set up along the train path. Explosive traps were placed, and rockets were prepared. When the monorail came, it was blown sky high - cutting off Desmond’s strike team from reinforcements.

Christoffer felt some satisfaction from that, but the fact that four of the soldiers under his command were now gone tempered that joy with sadness. He lifted a hand to his helmet, contacting Atka again. “This is Maverick Squad. Monorails are destroyed. Objective complete. Will find a place to lay low, and we’ll return when its safe to do so. Myself, my second-in-command, and operatives Belle and Bauer are alive. Moon, Brock, Contreras, and Dominguez all KIA. Strand out.”

***​

Although the spark of hope now coursed through the veins of the defenders after word had reached them that ADVENT’s reinforcements had run dry, it was hard to tell the immediate difference. The pandemonium of battle was still wreaking havoc on Main Street, destroying the facades of once-beautiful buildings and bringing ruin wherever it found itself. However, reports began to stream in from the barricades on either side of the exit terminal of the express railway that a dire situation was becoming tenable. Without backup, a victory against the assault force was possible.

Atka closed an armored hand into a tight fist, shutting her eyes for a moment in solidarity. “Thank you, Maverick Squad. Your sacrifices will not be forgotten.” Now it’s up to us. The Commander brought up her tactical map again on a holographic pad within her helmet. “Nash, keep up the offensive in sector B. See if you can’t close the distance with that damn elite Mimic and cut his head off. Likuga, hold the line where you are. Wait for Judgement to get there, they should be able to extricate you from that suppressing fire.” Out of the corner of her eye, Atka noted a pair of Mutons and a few Advent troopers manage to break through the defensive line. Addressing the three soldiers at that location to defend herself and her first and second officers, she ordered, “Kiki, Willow, Cleo: deal with the intrusion.”

The three offered up determined nods of affirmation and went to go deal with the aliens. Cleopatra opened up with a barrage of fire towards the aliens to slow them down and deter any advancement while the two others positioned themselves in close proximity, working in tandem to attack one of them together, Willow melting away the armor with her febrifoil while Kiki delivered the killing blow and went to repeat the action again with the big alien’s suppressed friend. A smoke was deployed at the feet of the two sister class XCOM soldiers and allowed them to evade the retaliation fire coming from the troops who had come to support. With Willow concealed and Kiki given time to reposition, the combined front of the three soldier made short work of the attacking foes.

The Commander nodded in approval, refocusing her efforts to the battle as a whole. “Well done. We just need to keep this up, and it won’t be long before ADVENT can no longer keep this up.” Though there’s the matter of their leader… when is he going to show himself? “Come back here for now.” Two of the three soldiers pulled back, but one of them lingered. For some reason, Kiki wasn’t moving.