A/N: I've only seen two Let's Plays from X-COM Enemy Unknown, so sorry if I get stuff here and there a little wrong.
Chapter 1
It's been exactly 2 years from the attempted alien invasion. Bradford, Dr. Vahlen and Dr. Shen were still working at the X-COM base, though it felt pretty empty. The levels 3 and 4 were shut down, because it was expensive holding up such a facility as the X-COM base. If it would go after them, it would be different, but they weren't the ones providing the money for the X-COM project. Of course the base could be easily reactivated, but still underestimating the aliens was more than just deadly.
Right now, the three of in total four heads of X-COM were having lunch together along with every other present stuff member and the soldiers. X-COM wasn't an organization, it was a family. And it was all thanks to the commander.
"Did ya hear the latest shit?" asked Demon, a female sniper. Nicknames told you everything about a soldier. In X-COM you truly belonged to the family, when you had a nickname. Hell, even the stuff members who weren't fighting had nicknames. No one was called by their right names.
"What?" asked Bishop, munching down his potatoes. "You know the Commander's nickname is Twilight, right?"
Everyone who made a comparison to the stupid book series, never heard the end of it.
"Well, I heard someone accidentally left her file open, where everyone can read it and guess what? Her birth name is Twilight Sparkle."
There was general amusement around the soldiers. "Really? Don't ya think it's just someone talking bullshit, after getting his head liquored from the test chambers?"
"No, I mean it, really! Someone even made a photo and send it to..."
Bradford suppressed a chuckle and focused again on the two other he was sitting together. "I'm afraid nobody will ever take the Commander seriously again." he said. Dr. Shen shook his head. "It's nothing about names. It's about what we do, although I do hear the Commander being in trouble again for her rather unique hairstyle."
Dr. Vahlen sighed. "I tried to convince her multiple times to change it, but that is the one thing she wouldn't listen to me."
The two men chuckled. The only reason Commander Twilight was allowed to keep her hair like she did was because of the results she was bringing. Under her command X-COM was able to fight back the invaders, but she was also a very social person. And yet at the same time a lot of mysteries surrounded the woman, her name being the smallest of them all.
She had been in X-COM ever since it started, but there she had been part of the research team. Later when X-COM was activated she appeared with a military record, an almost too perfect record. However everything matched up and thus the council decided to make her the leader. As it turned out it was a pretty wise decision, although at the very beginning she was one of the supporters to hold negotiations with the aliens. She dropped the idea, when on one mission she accompanied the strike team and tried to talk to the invaders. They in response shot at her, but one of the escorts caught the shot. Luckily he "only" lost his arm and was later replaced with a cybernetic one. In response the Commander herself eliminated at least half of the aliens. Nobody asked questions about her military background afterwards after seeing how the bullets seemed to fly themselves towards the heads of the enemies. She closed herself off for three days, before returning to duty. She had been very naive. Still she seemed to regret what she had done, but that was only Bradford's opinion.
Speaking of the devil. The man thought as he saw the Commander entering. She wore a standard C-COM uniform, only difference being the insignia on her shoulders, showing her being the Commander. She took some food, placed it on her plate and left. Bradford frowned.
"Is it just me or is the Commander a little off lately?" Dr. Shen asked, looking after her (and she still had the unique hairstyle).
"She seems more delicate as of lately." Dr. Vahlen stated. "She has been a lot in the research facility and more than ones she appeared in the lift, coming from the levels that are currently on standby."
"What would she do there?" Bradford asked with a raised eyebrow. Dr. Vahlen shrugged. "I did ask, but she only said she had been looking for something she supposedly lost."
"Now, now, I think we're over thinking this issue. She has a great responsibility and may be the most paranoid out of all of us, fearing for another attack. Maybe we should suggest her to take a vacation. A little sunlight can do wonders to the human mind."
For once Dr. Vahlen agreed with Dr. Shen. Although she was a workaholic like the Commander, she herself had taken a vacation too. X-COM paid well, enough for a trip to Dubai.
XIII
She had done it yet again. Dr. Vahlen had overdone it and now it was past midnight. There was still a lot research to be done. Now that all the military stuff was covered, she could use the time of peace to study for things like alternative energy forms and other things to improve the life on earth in the future.
Shaking her head, Dr. Vahlen shut down her tablet and left her laboratory. She was on her way to the main lift, when she saw it was going down. The number on the display showed it was on level 4. "The Commander again?" she mumbled to herself. Curiosity became the better of her, so she pushed the button and waited for lift to arrive.
The doc knew the Commander was as much of a sucker for science stuff as she was and that only her duties as a commander had prevented her from continuing her studies. However if Twilight was still interested, why not just ask Dr. Vahlen to join whenever there was time in the Commander's schedule?
The lift arrived and Vahlen stepped in. Being the main lift it was very big, made to transport heavy equipment. However, the sub lifts weren't operational, as it would cost way too much, at least according to the council. Truth to be told, even level 2 wasn't used much these days.
Arriving at level 4, Vahlen only found a dimmed lit hallway. Twilight, all of sudden the good doctor didn't like the nickname of her boss. She shook her head. There had to be a logical explanation for the Commander's behavior and most likely it was simple paranoia. Everyone in X-COM was at least slightly paranoid. It was almost necessary to be paranoid in order to join the X-COM.
The doctor's steps echoed through the hallway as she slowly approached the laboratory next to where they interrogated prisoners, aka mind raped them. Some may call this "inhuman", but after what the aliens did to the humans, at least in Vahlen's opinion it was well justified.
She heard sounds in the distance of the equipment being used, along with a soft humming. She didn't dare to connect her tablet with the computer, fearing the Commander just so might notice her.
The lights were all on and the Commander's back faced the window. Dr. Vahlen approached and dared to look inside. What was inside surprised her. The Commander was looking one of the screens, seemingly analyzing some readings. On a worktable there was a lavender colored gemstone glowing and floating.
"What...is she doing?" the doctor muttered.
"Almost got it." The Commander spoke excitingly. "I only need to push it a little more and..."
The gemstone burst into millions of small pieces, before Twilight could even finish that sentence. She walked over to the table and put her hands on the table, while supporting herself on it.
All of the sudden she slammed her hands on the table. "WHY?!" she cried. And then all of the sudden her voice became a booming echo. "WHY. WILL. IT. NOT. WORK!?" With each word she slammed her hands on the table, causing the dust that was once a gemstone flying through the air.
"AAAAAAAAAAARGGGGGHHHH!" She held out her hand and it was surrounded by a purple light. Dr. Vahlen stared in horror as an energy beam was released out of her hand and turned the table into a pile of dust. Twilight took a few deep breaths in order to calm herself down.
"Great job Twilight. Now you need to "correct" the security footage once again. But first I need to clean up."
The footage!
Dr. Vahlen ran to the lift and frantically pressed the button in order to get to the first level. When the doors closed, her brain went into overdrive. Judging from what she had seen, the Commander both had an unusual high psi-potential and didn't tell anyone or the Commander was an alien. Was this even the real Commander? She couldn't answer those questions, but she had to do something. When the "Commander" found Vahlen on the footage, there was no telling what she or possibly it would do to her.
She quickly stepped out and went over the options of what she would do with the footage, when she found Dr. Shen talking to a workman. He let out a deep sigh. "Well at least it is working now. Good job and good night."
"Good night doctor." The workman left and noticed his colleague.
"Ah, Dr. Vahlen. Doing another all nighter I see."
"I-I...uh...yes. What are you still doing here Dr. Shen? I hardly see you here at this hour."
The Doctor shook his head. "There was a problem with the security camera system and we just recently fixed it. There exists no footage of what happened in the last 12 hours. Can't wait to inform the Commander." he sighed. This was normally not his job, but they were so low on staff, it was ridiculous for something important such as the X-COM project.
"I see." Vahlen suppressed the urge to sigh in relief. Footsteps could be heard. Vahlen turned around and tried not to look too tense from seeing the Commander. "Dr. Vahlen, Dr. Shen." she greeted them with a smile. Vahlen had to admit it was a pretty good fake smile.
"Commander." the two greeted back in harmony and approached the woman. "Commander, there is something I need to inform you about. The security cameras were all malfunctioning, due to the system malfunctioning. We solved the problem, but twelve hours of the footage are missing."
Only Dr. Vahlen saw the glimmer in the Commander's eyes. "Are you sure it was a simple malfunction?" Twilight shook her head. "I'll go to the barracks. Better safe than sorry. Don't enter the lower levels until we've searched through everything. You two better check up your stock and see if anything is missing."
Not waiting for a reply Twilight left. "She really does need a vacation, but she has a point: better to be safe than sorry."
XIII
"Alright Dr. Vahlen." said Bradford as he and Dr. Shen approached the scientific leader of X-COM at the lifts. "Would you mind telling us why you wanted to meet with us in the middle of the night?" he asked a little annoyed. Night shifts were annoying enough for the man.
"I think it is better if I show you, else I'm afraid you won't belief me."
The two men gave each other a look, as Vahlen already went into the lift.
It was all like the first time, the dimmed hallways, the sounds of whatever the Commander was doing and then the revelation of her doing...something. Once Dr. Shen and Bradford saw the happenings with their own eyes, Vahlen led the two into an unused room, where she installed a monitor, linked to the cameras in the lab the Commander or alien was in.
"What's going on?!" asked/shouted Bradford, as he watched the screen. "I think what Dr. Vahlen wants to say is" Shen remained calm, despite the situation "is that our Commander is not a human, but an alien. Am I right, doctor?"
"I am not sure whether she is an alien or is mind controlled somehow, but in general you're right Dr. Shen." She looked at the screen, where the supposed to be Commander was doing something with yet another gemstone.
"She has done this for the past week. Unfortunately I couldn't find out much or she would have found me out."
"I can't belief this..." Bradford shook his head.
"It does explain her late behavior." Dr. Shen noted. All of the sudden some kind of violet spark came out of the Commander's hand and into the gem.
"This is new." Vhalan mumbled and took some notes. The sparks turned into a smaller version of the beam she witnessed a week ago and for three seconds it looked like Twilight was charging the gem like a battery.
"Just what is she doing?" Bradford spoke up.
"Yes, yes, yes." they heard the Commander...squeal?
"Alright Twilight, you almost got it. No mistakes this time."
As if fate was just playing with her the gem was destroyed the same way as a week ago and any other day Vahlen had been watching the Commander doing, whatever she was doing. Said Commander was having a breakdown. She slumped on a chair, put her arms on a table and buried her face inside them.
The three watched her for several minutes crying. None of them were expecting that kind of reaction. Ten minutes later she slowly got up and started cleaning the lab and putting everything back to where it belonged. She used some kind of psi power, letting everything fly and even opened cupboards and drawers.
When she was finished she just looked up to the ceiling. "Why?" Luckily the microphone on the camera was good enough for everyone to hear her mumble. "I just want to go home. Is that too much asked?"
She looked to the side. "Forgive me, but I give up."
Defeated she walked out of the room and slowly trotted through the dark hallways. Impatient the three humans waited for her to be on the first level, so they could follow. They waited a little longer, making sure she was away from the lift, so she wouldn't notice it going down.
"I give up?" Vahlan quoted inside. "As much as I hate to say it, she might have noticed the camera and..."
"No." Dr. Vahlen of all people disagreed. "The first time I watched her, I did it through the window and she really seemed to be upset for whatever she was trying to do not to work."
The two men looked at her. "It doesn't make any sense. If she has been an alien this whole time, why did she help us fending off her own kind?"
"A deserter?" Bradford suggested.
"Hmm, maybe she is a different kind of alien?" Dr. Shen suggested. "Like from another planet?"
"Whatever she is, this stays between us for now." Bradford said.
"What?" Vahlan was shocked.
"Think about it. We may have video material, but we shouldn't forget that she IS a celebrity." It was pretty impossible to cover up everything that happened. The soldiers were living legends, which included the commander, because of THAT ONE mission she has been an actual part of. A leader who can fight, what's better for propaganda?"
Dr. Shen nodded understanding. "Video footage can easily be faked nowadays. You're saying we need more-"
"-and in the meantime she continues with whatever she is doing." Dr. Vahlen interrupted. "We should just send a strike team, they can confirm that she's an alien, when they engage."
"Tomorrow night, when she tries again we'll send on down. I'll make sure of that and until then we'll keep our eyes open." Bradford stated.
XIII
Maybe Bradford's plan wasn't as foolproof as he thought it was. The Commander wanted to see him in her office. Keep calm. It's probably just about the malfunctioning cameras. Or the council decided to cut the money again and my salary will have to suffer soon.
He took a deep breath and then knocked at the door.
"Come in!" A voice called from inside. Bradford opened the door. "You wanted to see me, Commander?"
Twilight looked up from whatever she had been writing and smiled. "I have a feeling you won't call me that for long anymore."
Bradford's heartbeat increased, but he didn't show it on the outside.
"I don't understand..."
The walls all turned purple and there was a faint sound of the door getting locked. Bradford was a fool to come without his gun. "Soundproof walls. Though we can still hear everything from the outside. Tea?"
"How long?" he just asked.
Twilight sighed. "Why don't you take a seat? This might take a while."
The man reluctantly sat down in front of his he-would-make-sure-soon-to-be-dead superior. Twilight in the meantime levitated a cup with tea in her hands and took a sip. "Well, where to start? I arrived on this planet about four years ago. It wasn't my first time on a planet full of humans, so I adapted rather quickly."
"There're others?!" Bradford exclaimed.
"Actually the last time had been an interdimensional travel, were I landed in an alternated world of my own, habitat by humans. Great Celestia, figuring out how to walk on two legs instead of four..." she laughed over her own stupidity.
"Anyways, I landed here on accident. You see, in my homeworld I am, you might say a researcher of the powers my kind possess." She pointed at the walls. "I was trying a new spe-, trying an experiment, when things went wrong." She looked troubled. "I don't know what went wrong. I only remember a white light and suddenly I find myself on the outskirts of Las Vegas. Talk about a "warm welcome"..."
Bradford just looked at her. Twilight sighed, seeing as he was probably thinking about a way to eliminate her.
"I immediately searched for a way home, but seeing as this would take some time...I'm not proud of what I have done. I stole money, faked my identity...but I made sure to pay everything back.
Then I learned about X-COM. Only a year passed and I was a pretty good scientist at Area 51. Seeing as how good I was, it was no problem becoming part of it." Her face fell, from neutral to sad. "Then came the invasion...and I couldn't just stand there and do nothing!" she shouted.
"I...at first I thought we would be able to negotiate and I hoped it was all a misunderstanding. If you would have lived on my world, you would understand why I did this.
You know how it turned out." she trailed off looking down on her cup. "I read once in a book, when we kill someone we kill a part of ourselves. Before that mission it had all been just an act. But afterwards...it was the first time I really hated something."
Bradford raised an eyebrow. "The first time?"
Twilight's mood brightened immediately, seeing as how the man finally decided to speak. Maybe not everything was lost. "Yes, my world...it's peaceful. Don't get me wrong, every now and then there comes someone who tries to disturb the harmony we have. But we either banish them or..."exorcise" them with what we call the elements of harmony. And no, it's not like the hive mind the aliens have and neither includes it mind control. Aside from that, we needed to return the elements to their rightful place.
Oh, sorry, I guess I got ahead of myself. The elements appear in form of artifacts and have each a gemstone inside them. They're very powerful and not even our leader scratches the power level of the elements. However as I told you, we needed to return them or else my kind would have died. It's a long story." Twilight sighed.
Bradford shrugged the entire conversation off as a way to confuse him. "What were you doing the past week?"
"Tell Dr. Vahlen she's more terrible at sneaking up, than I am. And I can fly." she laughed. She took out another purple gem and placed it on the table. "My own powers weren't enough to even send a message back home. It took a lot out of me, to even locate my planet. I should explain back at home I used some artifacts for my experiment. After the war was over, I thought with the help of the alien technology and my powers I just might be able to recreate one of the elements. Not perfectly, but enough to actually send a message home, so they could find a way to get me out of here."
"And then you would come back and start an invasion?"
Twilight closed her eyes. "You know, before the invasion I would have held you a speech as to why we would never do that." She opened her eyes again. "It's true what they say: the war changes people. But please think about it. Have I done anything to sabotage this project? Did I ever kill a human? Have you seen me using my powers against you? All I want is to go home, but since I knew you wouldn't belief me, I had to do it in secret."
She released the spell from the wall and showed Bradford a paper. He read it and was surprised at the content. "You're leaving? So you can do your experiments in peace?"
"I should have known you wouldn't belief me." Twilight sighed sadly. Another click sound could be heard and the door was open. "Do what you think is right, I won't stop you." The man stared at the alien woman for several minutes. She just looked back sad and...broken.
He carefully got up from his chair and slowly walked towards the door. He opened it and took a step outside. Twilight still wasn't moving. He opened the door fully and-
All of the sudden an alarm went off, startling both him and Twilight. The hidden alien jumped off her chair and went ahead. Bradford followed one second later.
"I told the council at least one hundred times it was suicide to set X-COM back into standby." She growled. She and her unwilling companion arrived in the mission room, where the two doctors already waited.
"What's going on?!" shouted Twilight.
"The scanners are picking something up!" An officer shouted. "We can't identify it, but it's coming from level 4!"
"It's here!?" Twilight shouted in disbelief. She bent over to a microphone and pushed a button. "Attention all soldiers. We have alien activity inside the X-COM on level 4! All soldiers are to report for duty immediately! Every none combat stuff member leave through the emergency excits! We're shutting down the lifts and cutting off level 3 and 4."
She stood up and looked at an officer. "Can we get a visual?"
"Afraid not madam! The cameras aren't working on the entire level!"
"That wasn't me, in case you're wondering." she whispered towards the three. The two doctors gasped and stared in shock.
"Strike 1 and 2 are ready!"
"Tell Strike 3 and 4 to standby! In the narrow corridors, less are more. We'll engage from two sides. Move out!"
The earth holograph disappeared and showed via split screen 2 helm cameras of the leaders of each squad.
"Central, this is Strike 1. We're ready to engage."
"Central, this is Strike 2. We're ready to engage."
"Copy that Strike 1 and 2. Proceed with caution and use your night vision. Be careful, there're a lot of things in the laboratories and workshops that might explode, when not handled correctly."
The next 20 minutes were tense. The soldiers ran from edge to edge, looking out for anything that moved.
Finally there was a visual, pairs of lights!
It turned out the teams met each other.
"What!" Twilight slammed her fist on the table. "How could the aliens escape?!"
"I-I don't know ma'am." An officer shouted. "The security doors are shut. After Strike 1 and 2 entered, we cut off the way out. Strike 3 and 4 are standing in front of the doors."
"What about the air conditioning?" Bradford asked.
"Shut off and closed! The sensors would have picked up if something would have tried to get through the walls."
There was a silence in the room.
"So either we're dealing with a new kind of alien here or..." Twilight trailed off.
"False alarm?" Doctor Shen suggested.
"Cross my heart" Confused Bradford, Shen and Vahlan looked at Twilight as she put her hand on her heart.
"Hope to fly" she raised her shoulders.
"Stick a cupcake in my OW! I always mess up the last part..."
"TWIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!" a sudden scream could be heard.