The XCOM Viper

by The Imperator 2 you

XCOM continues to battle even after five years of being re birthed, under the command of it's greatest Commander. Yet while war rages on against Earth's 'guests', another war is beginning to stir. The war for Earth continues, but the war to understand one another is about to begin, as a nervous and fearful Viper struggles to understand her undiscovered feelings toward a ranger.

10. Chapter 10

{Incoming Transmission. . . Connection Established}

{Clearance Level 10 Established. . . Commander's Eyes Only Protocol Engaged . . .}

{Beginning Transmission . . .}

{EV NG S GO G AC PL PEPRE FR HVY RESISTANCE, POD WALKER TARGET IS LO TD WST AM.}

{FR T I WL ENE Y VICTORY}

{Transmission Terminated. . . Erasing Records . . .}

=Chapter 10, Ghosts of the Past=

(Hawkeye's PoV)

"No way, you're saying 'we' get to go on the next mission?" Puppy asked excitedly as she and the other Sharks made their way down to the armory for weapon and armor refit. "Man, this is like so awesome!"

"I kinda figured you'd like it Puppy." Eagleeye said as he patted her head. "But just so you know, this won't be a weapon's fire mission like you think it might. It's a simply routine scouting and supply extraction mission."

"Who cares if there's no enemies to shoot at, okay maybe I do because I still want that promotion, but come on, this is XCOM HQ we're talking about here!" Puppy yelled. "Nobody's been to XCOM HQ since the evacuation, I've heard stories about that place from the survivors… or friends of the survivors at least, okay maybe they were more like speculations from people who 'said' they knew the survivors but…"

"We get it Puppy, you're excited!" Sharptooth said with a chuckle. "Calm down or you're going to have a puppy version of a heart attack."

"But how can you be so calm about this Sharptooth, this is XCOM HQ!" Puppy said, completely ignoring the advice to calm down. "I've heard that it was filled with a treasure trove of alien technology, weapons more advanced than anything mankind has ever created!"

"And whose been telling you all that?" Hawkeye said as they climbed the last staircase to the armory.

"Don't look at me, my lips are sealed." Eagleeye said with a thumbs up. "Commander ordered me to keep quiet about it years ago, and I aint telling anyone even after twenty five years."

"Oh come on grandpa!" Puppy whined again. "Tell us, is it true, is there really a souped up interrogation room that the Commander used to torture hundreds of aliens at a time for information?"

"Listen to the little girl, she got an imagination bigger than Blue Mountain Peak in my homeland!" T-Rex laughed out loud. "Ah what I would give to be her age again."

"I don't miss that age at all." Falcon said quietly.

"Ah pay no mind to Falcon, he's just sour that he just got a clean bill of health and has to go on a routinely boring mission!" Eagleeye chuckled, giving Puppy a thumbs up who gave him a thumbs up in return.

"At least 'I' take this mission seriously, no matter how mundane!" Falcon said quietly again, though with a hint of frustration.

Hawkeye shook his head in disbelief as they proceeded to the armory, trying not to chuckle as Eagleeye and Puppy shared a low 'high five' out of Falcon's eyesight. Minutes later they reached the armory, only to find the weapon's master and the Commander's Gremlin there with Mercy.

"Commander?" Sharptooth asked.

They both moved out of the way to reveal Mercy wearing new armor, compared to her old armor. Instead of the single piece flexible metallic plate that she had been forced to wear for the last few weeks, now she wore the same multipurpose Kevlar Armor, with the resistance XCOM logo imprinted on her shoulders and back. It stretched from the neck all the way down to her stomach region, right where her tail began. Along the back of her tail was a thin strap of Kevlar, with leather straps to keep it in place and allow her freedom of movement. Instead of her bare hood, she had a specialized helmet, with a thin layer of padding for her hood, which had an extension that could be lowered to allow her to see the same optical lens that they had for their helmets.

[About time Sharks, say hello to the new and improved 'Mercy Armor'.] The Commander said proudly.

"Looking good 'sister'." Sharptooth said with a thumbs up.

"Yea, not too shabby." Hawkeye said, admiring how Mercy looked in the resistance armor compared to her hold armor.

"I thank you." Mercy said with a smile. "Shen finished modifying it yesterday."

"Looks great on you!" Puppy said with another thumbs up. "Are you joining us as well on this mission?"

[We could use another pair of hands to carry any supplies we salvage.] The Commander said simply. [That's why she's joining us as well, I can't risk the other two squads with them being shorthanded after all of these failed missions.]

"So basically, 'we' get the fun job of picking up supplies?" Puppy said with a frown. "Come on Commander, as much as I want to go to XCOM HQ, isn't this job more for deck hands?"

"If the Commander says we're going, then we're going." Falcon said calmly. "You should not be so unhappy with your Commander's orders, it is our job to follow them despite our personal opinions."

[Puppy, I'll explain why when we're in transit, until then just get into your armor, grab your rifle, your two med kits, and you and the rest of the Land Sharks head to the Skyranger downstairs.] The Commander said.

"What, I'm still stuck with the same loadout?" Puppy complained as everyone walked past her to get their appointed loadouts.

[Don't make me repeat myself Puppy, or I'm assigning you to 'latrine duty', instead of going to XCOM HQ with me and the others.] He replied back calmly while floating away.

Once he was away Hawkeye watched Puppy walk over to the lady's side of the armory to get her loadout, although with the usual griping and groaning about how 'unfair' the Commander was assigning her promotion. "How does he expect me to get a confirmed kill when he only gives me this peashooter?" She said for the umpteenth time to them all.

"Keep it up and he'll give you a real peashooter Puppy." Eagleeye shouted as he fetched his Shredder.

"I keep telling you Puppy, just stay calm and let him work on getting your first kill." Hawkeye said.

"Oh, don't worry about the little Puppy, she's just barking to make up for her bite!" Sharptooth chuckled as he grabbed his Plasma Lance and shouldered it, grabbing his incendiary grenades as well.

Once he had his weapons he grabbed his last weapon, his trusty Fusion Blade that he always had because he was, after all, a Ranger, though he preferred his long range expertise, especially his pistol. Although he was trained to use it, he never really took it out of the locker, there was nothing he never had to deal with that his pistol couldn't handle. Afterword he finished fitting his Predator armor so it wouldn't shift around, while T-Rex adjusted his EXO Suit, and Falcon his own Predator Armor. Then he and the others walked out from the men's side and saw Puppy checking her sights on her rifle and Sharptooth cleaning her Arc Blade, though she was smiling at it proudly, as though it were her firstborn child.

"Do you really have to 'oil' your weapon Sharptooth?" He asked his fellow Ranger.

"Awww, you're just jealous that mommy likes to keep her baby close by." She said with a grin, sheathing her blade and checking her Plasma Rifle.

"I honestly can't see how you like that outdated piece of hardware." He commented. "At least 'my' blade doesn't need to be oiled up like yours, and can cut through armor that yours has trouble with."

"That's cause I like my blade just the way it is!" She said. "I like to get 'personal' with my prey, not to mention I love me a challenge like slicing through a Gatekeeper's armor." She chuckled.

"Oh yea, like you would even scratch it with that thing." He said.

(Mercy's PoV)

As the Sharks all armed themselves, Mercy examined her weapon as well, to replace the Plasma Rifle that 'used' to be hers. After the last mission she was on which involved the sharks, her old weapon had been broken down for components, though she didn't mind losing it. The new weapon she was carrying was the same assault rifle that Puppy uses, but unlike her weapon which had been modified with special upgrades, upgrades she herself found and added to make up for its outdatedness, the one she now was holding had no such upgrades.

As she examined it, she looked over at Puppy who was examining her weapon's sight, as well as the handle. "What is this, XCOM HQ we are going to?" She asked curiously, since none of the others were interested in talking about it.

"Well Mercy, I haven't any real clue about what XCOM HQ looked like, or where it was located, before I joined up with them a year ago." Puppy said as she grabbed ammo cartridges from a container, handing her a few as well. "All I know are rumors from what I've dug up on the resistance network."

"Tell me." She asked, very curious about the founding location of her ally's organization.

"Well… supposedly it's in a secret location, that nobody knows the real location of because it's impossible to find unless you 'know' where it is!" She said. "You can't detect it because they supposedly have a super powerful radar, which deflects any scans in its area of influence, and broadcasts fake signals and images to any satellites or aerial recon units. Any vehicles detected are instantly and mysteriously shut down, and 'towed away' by a conveniently passing by truck. Anyone who's lucky, or unlucky, enough to find the base is interrogated for what they know, how they found it, and are given the choice to either join the organization or are 'never seen again'. Anyone who joined back then, supposedly are also, never seen again, and their family records, everything down to their date and location of birth, is deleted from all records!"

Mercy went wide eyed as everyone began making their way toward the staircase to head to the landing pad where the Skyranger was. *If they are that skilled at espionage and remaining unknown, how were they forced to abandon such a base?*She thought quietly.

"Oh man I can't wait to see the base, I heard that the buildings were equipped with super advanced technology, like cloaking devices, and turrets that perfectly can shoot the wings off a fly, and labs capable of examining anything from the human body to an amoeba in the span of seconds and…" Puppy continued to say as they headed for the Skyranger, going on about how XCOM had these incredibly rare and unbelievable technologies that not even Mercy could conceive of.

And she herself knew a fair portion of the technology employed by Advent.

(Hawkeye's PoV, Forty Minutes Later, aboard the Skyranger)

[Alright Sharks, we've got fifteen minutes before the drop point!] The Commander said as screen showed an image of Central. [Prepare for debriefing. Central…]

{Resistance scans detected several energy transmissions of unknown type at the location of the former XCOM HQ.} Central said as an image of a map of the region with the label –Restricted Area- at its center. {As of right now, Advent hasn't gotten a whiff of whatever is going on here, and we believe that they don't have any clue that anything 'is' going on. So far Advent activity is zero in the area, not even a single patrol has been spotted or detected for the past month. Which is where 'we' come in…]

[Thank you Central, now we're going in to secure as well as determine if any supplies are there, as well as what the readings are that we're scanning.] The Commander declared, floating in front of them. [I won't lie to you, XCOM HQ hasn't been seen since we pulled out, there's no telling what we'll encounter down there, which is why we're going in armed 'Puppy'.] Everyone looked at Puppy as she sheepishly smiled. [XCOM HQ was designed so we couldn't scan the interior of the base, and it seems that hasn't changed in all this time, so we're going in blind. Communications will be dark as well, so keep your coms open and report anything unusual you see. I can keep an open coms to my Gremlin, but that's all we can manage until you exit the base. Now there may be some weapons or even technology that we can salvage, so we're going to be picking up anything and everything salvageable, that 'I' deem worth salvaging… is that clear?]

"Sir yes sir!" They all shouted together.

[Good, now are there any questions?] He asked now.

"I have one… if you will answer it…?" Mercy asked hesitantly. "When you say 'deem worth salvaging'… what do you mean, what technology or weapons are not 'worth salvaging'?"

At that everyone looked at the Commander, but he merely turned away as Central ended the transmission. [That… will be answered… if we encounter anything that is 'not' worth salvaging, am I clear Mercy?] He said in an affirmative voice that said 'no more questions'.

"Yes… sir." She said quietly, looking down at the floor, a look of slight worry on her face.

Minutes later the light changed color to orange. {Alright, we're in the pipe, Five by five kiddies, saddle up and move on out! Tell grandma to bake some cookies for me when you see her!} The pilot said over the intercom.

[Alright Sharks, get ready for drop off!] He said, zooming forward toward the back.

Moments later as everyone stood up and readied themselves, the light changed green and the Skyranger came to a halt. Seconds after the back door opened up and revealed several ropes as usual, and instantly they all ran and slithered forward. He easily grabbed his rope and slid down, assuming a defensive stance while everyone slid down and into position. Mercy though, took a little longer again, as she still wasn't used to this procedure, and took two tries before she managed to grab a robe and slowly slide down. As she slid down, the Skyranger deployed four hover cargo containers for them.

Once that was done the Skyranger took off, and they all looked around and found themselves in the middle of what appeared to be an abandoned listening outpost in a desert location, with rock formations around it. The only buildings aside from the asphalt floor and broken down radio tower, was an empty wooden shack. There was barely a sound to be heard now, and the only sign of movement was a tumbleweed that just so happened to have sprung to life with the Skyranger's departure.

"Are we sure this is the right place?" Puppy asked quietly as they mounted their weapons, seeing no hostiles. "This is a dead zone, I was expecting XCOM HQ to be more… large and… technically advanced and… well… bigger."

"This is the birth place of XCOM?" Mercy asked, surprise evident in her voice. "There is… nothing here."

"Yea, I thought there'd be something here, this is just an old aerial research outpost for monitoring weather currents." Puppy said.

"Oh we're in the right place alright." Eagleeye said quietly. "This is XCOM HQ alright, nothing's really changed since we left here years ago. My only question is why are we here and not at the break in point Commander?"

[That section has collapsed Eagleeye, no way in that way, so we have to go through the launch pad.] He said as he ordered them to follow his path, which he was following in front of them. [If I recall the entrance is right here.]

"I don't see anything…" Puppy commented dully.

"Will you pipe down Puppy, we haven't entered the base yet, so just sit quiet like a good doggie." Sharptooth said.

"Ah don't be so mean Sharptooth, she's just eager is all, like an excited kid in a candy store on a Friday afternoon!" T-Rex chuckled.

They all continued to talk while they walked to the shack, Puppy and Mercy dragging the four containers behind them, both the Commander and Eagleeye looking around as if expecting something to happen. "Never thought I'd be back here Commander." He said over the coms, talking privately to him even though it was publicly said.

[Nor did I Eagleeye, nor did I.] The Commander replied.

As they finally reached the shack, the Commander ordered Eagleeye to enter with his Gremlin first, while the rest of the Sharks, including Mercy, assumed defensive positions covering the area.

Though why they were 'protecting' the area was really confusing to him, as other than the shack, the radio tower, and even the occasional rock along what 'used' to be a helipad, there was nothing to be seen for miles around. Other than a ridge far off to the side, far away from their position, there wasn't anything to protect against.

"I did not expect your organization's birthplace to be so… barren." Mercy whispered to him as she slithered next to him. "Not that I mean any disrespect to you and the others. Still I must admit, I like this place better than the arctic region. Much warmer here… I can see why you would choose to build here instead of there."

"You haven't seen anything Mercy, there's a reason why XCOM HQ remained hidden for as long as it did." He said back to her, chuckling as he remembered how snakes enjoy warmer environments.

"I'm in the system, surprised this hunk of junk computer still runs even after forty years." Eagleeye said over the coms. "It's requesting an access code Commander, do you want to take over?"

[My codes may be twenty five years old, but they should still carry some weight here.] He said, before his Gremlin floated next to Eagleeye's. [One second… and…] There was a strange sound below them right as he said that. [Open sesame…]

They all turned and watched as the ground began shaking, and then a tear sixty feet wide began forming in the center. Then the ground itself began to shift, almost sliding aside, revealing a massively descending elevator which rose up from the ground.

"You built your base, under the ground?" Mercy asked, sounding thoroughly amazed.

Yet her words were silenced as the elevator rose up, carrying a vehicle on it.

They watched as the vehicle mounted on the elevator ascended with it, bearing signs of blast fire and rust, with sand piled around its landing wheels. The vehicle itself looked like a bird of prey, with wings outspread and hooked forward as if preparing to strike. Along its side were words along with a number.

=Raven Interceptor 2=

"Wow, a Raven, looks like it's in okay condition Commander, at least from the outside." Eagleeye commented as he and the two Gremlins floated over to them.

"Whoaaaaaa." Puppy squealed as she looked at it. "It's a Raven V26 Interceptor Fighter, designed by Skylar industries and were never publicly built due to lack of funds!"

[You've been snooping around classified files again Puppy?] The Commander asked quietly.

"Uh… maybe?" Puppy said nervously.

[Well, your right about the fighter, but the lie about it being publicly built was a cover-up, we actually built two dozen of these things during the first invasion.] He said calmly. [She's fast, maneuverable, but lacks firepower without additional armaments. This bird was retired after we researched the Firestorm, and this particular Raven was going to be scrapped… before…]

They watched as the Commander shook himself, before ordering them onto the platform, with Mercy and Puppy dragging the containers behind them again.

[This thing is of no technical value, the Raven Interceptor 2 has no weapons, and its alloys are too old to be of use, even the onboard computer is too slow to be useable. We can't even break it down to melt for scraps. She was built when she was the pride of the skies, but now she's nothing more than a very oversized paperweight.]

"Too bad, she looks like she'd be a joy to fly!" Puppy commented as the massive elevator began descending, rotating them as the door closed above them.

[From this point on, we won't be able to contact Central and the others.] The Commander said as internal lights began turning on when the doors closed above them, revealing a massive tunnel built entirely of concrete. [This place was meant to shield itself from outside detection, no signals 'should' be radiating out, and that includes radio signals. So until we leave again, we're on our own unless that giant door opens up again.]

As they descended they saw two empty alcoves pass by, followed quickly by a third with the number 2 on it. But as they leveled out alongside a platform, they found another alcove with the number 4, and this one had an occupant.

Inside the number 4 alcove, was another interceptor fighter, of similar build to the Raven, but obviously with traces of alien technology included. It looked similar to the Raven's predator design, but had far more elegance and curvature to its look.

[A Firestorm Model, designed after we acquired UFO blueprints, we built these to replace the Ravens we lost to more heavily armored UFO targets. She looks to be in good shape… I think we can send her to Central without it being detected. She runs on a similar Plasma Engine output that the UFO's run on, unless they look closely, she'll look just like another UFO at first glance.]

"How do we send her?" Hawkeye asked.

In response Eagleeye and his Gremlin moved over to a control panel built on a dais, and punched in some commands. "I'm surprised this place still has power, I figured everything would be offline." He said quietly as everyone got off the platform, containers included.

[Yea… weird…] The Commander replied.

Moments later the platform rotated again, but this time only raising itself so it was level and pointed at the alcove with the number 2 on it. As they watched a ramp extended between the two, and metal clamps grabbed ahold of the old Raven, and squeakily dragged it back into its old nest, where it lay like a ghost resting in the remains of its former glory. Then the ramp retracted and the platform turned, descended, rotated, and a new ramp extended for the Firestorm's alcove. Metal clamps dragged the Firestorm out of its alcove this time, and moved it onto the main platform now.

"Alright I've programmed the onboard computer, surprised she's still running, and I've set her to rendezvous with the Avenger. She'll broadcast along the resistance network once she gets in range, I'm sure Shen will be eager to get at this old bird." Eagleeye said as he continued to punch in commands while the platform once again raised itself, but angling itself now so that it was on a parallel slant with the tunnel, which now opened up to reveal a massive ramp for the Firestorm. "Wish we could join her, it's a shame that her final flight will be to her own scrapping."

[She did her duty well for XCOM Eagleeye, she deserves to be retired this way. Her time is gone, now she's just a liability, and we could use the materials from her body more than her as a weapon.] The Commander said as they watched the plasma engines light up, shaking off every dirt and particle of dust attached to the main body.

Moments later it blasted off with a large gust of wind, yet the ramp only creaked as she took off, before closing up once again.

"Where to now Commander?" Eagleeye asked.

[Mission Control, it's the next room before we can reach the staircase down to the next level, where Engineering is.] He said as he ordered everyone to proceed with him.

As they walked from the Hanger and into a tunnel, they spotted a door which read 'Mission Control' on it, slightly ajar. Instantly everyone paused at seeing the door, and both Puppy and Mercy pulled out their rifles at seeing the hesitation.

[Door breach positions!] The Commander ordered, giving Hawkeye, Eagleeye, T-Rex, Falcon, and Sharptooth positions through their helmets while Puppy and Mercy were ordered to take positions next to the containers. [On my signal…]

Everyone got into position, weapons ready and T-Rex with a hand on the door. On the Commander's signal he pulled it open with a huge groan of both metal and man. Once it was opened enough for the containers to fit through, everyone at the door poured in and raised their weapons, aiming for anything that 'might be a threat'. All they were met with, was Sharptooth's horrified, "Oh… my…"

Hawkeye looked around and couldn't agree more, Mission Control looked like it had been hit hard, plasma burns and destroyed screens, damaged terminals and even downed lights. The centerpiece was a massive holographic display, depowered and damaged. Everything was illuminated by their helmet lights and gun mounted flashlights, as well as a single, barely functioning lightbulb. Yet it was the sight surrounding the center of the room, at various positions at their terminals, which caught their attention. Still in their uniforms, which bore marks of brutality like plasma burns and dried blood spots, were the burned and destroyed remains of human skeletons.

The only thing left of the people who once worked there.

"What happened here…?" T-Rex asked, just as shocked as Sharptooth sounded, when The Commander, Mercy, and Puppy came in once they saw the room was 'clear'.

[A massacre… that's what.] The Commander whispered as Puppy stared open mouthed, and Mercy looked in horror at the scene. Once the perimeter guard fell and intruders breached our defenses, they stormed Mission Control and caught us off guard, I was in the middle of coordinating everyone's evacuation. The only thing I remember before I was knocked out, was seeing terminals falling around me…] He floated over toward one particular terminal, where a small badge and hat lay, as well as the dusty remains of a very large footprint.

Ash surrounded a hole in the wall, which exposed the next room, but only darkness lay beyond it.

[After that I heard a roar, and moments later a Muton came storming in, its weapon was raised and smacked me in the head with the butt of the weapon. After that… I was knocked unconscious…]

"But what about these people, why didn't they evacuate?" Puppy asked incredulously. "What about the base's defenses, how could they storm you guys so easily?"

[They didn't storm us 'easily'… they had us completely surrounded, their forces pushed through our defensive positions and overwhelmed us with sheer numbers.] He answered her, and everyone could hear the sorrow in his digital voice. [I and a few people remained here in the Mission Control to coordinate the defense, while also coordinating our evacuation plans. We were the last line of defense for everyone in the Hanger… I only hope those who were still there when we were stormed got out alive…]

With that he ordered Puppy and Mercy to drag the containers again, and for everyone to proceed through the broken hole toward the next room.

Hawkeye kept his weapon mounted on his shoulder, looking around at the corpses in Central Command, and giving a silent prayer that their souls were resting in peace.

The next room was a pile of overturned boxes and makeshift barricades, but it was devoid of corpses at the very least. Burn marks and plasma shots served to remind everyone that, like in Mission Control, a battle took place here. As they walked through they could hear creaks and groans as the floor and roof bore their weights, as well as whatever was above them.

He swore that if it weren't for his fellow Sharks and Mercy's lights, he thought he'd seen a ghost or two in the shadows, lurking just out of sight.

Then all of a sudden, they passed by a raised platform and a light suddenly turned on, causing everyone to overreact and aim weapons frantically at the sudden light source.

Only Eagleeye and the Commander didn't react at seeing the light illuminate a massive wall with writing on it.

"What is this place?" Mercy hissed fearfully as she aimed at the wall, while the Commander floated closer to it.

There was silence before the Commander's claw extended and touched the wall, and there was even more sorrow in his voice as he spoke to them. [This is the Memorial Wall… where all XCOM Operatives whose lives are lost in the line of duty are forever inscribed and memorialized.] He declared. [Every single soldier that 'I' got killed, is inscribed here… every single one of them…]

Eagleeye walked over and touched the wall as well with a solitary hand, his Gremlin casting a large light so they could see how 'large' the list was. It stretched from the very roof of the room, all the way to the base of the wall.

(Mercy's PoV)

Mercy gazed at the massive memorial piece, and looked at the long list of names, going all the way from the top to almost reaching the bottom. There had to be at least a hundred, if not more, listed on the wall.

"Why so many?" She hissed nervously.

[Because back then I was inexperienced, our enemy was unknown, and I was trying so hard to protect 'everyone' everywhere, but our forces couldn't be everywhere at once. We were stretched thin, every time a new enemy appeared the rules changed, situations dissolved into battles that I was forced to 'improvise strategies' on the spot for. I sent operatives on solitary missions to counteract another organization that sought to destroy us, many of them died in the line of duty, others died because I was careless. And still… more died because I just was inexperienced…] He replied. [It's one thing fighting an enemy you 'know, when both sides follow the same rulebook and used the same weaponry, it's another thing entirely when you don't know your opponent, and with each encounter you think you learn something about them, and they suddenly throw something new at you to change the game.]

He took one final look at the wall, before ordering them to follow him toward the next room. In this room they saw yet another sight of a massacre, as the roof above had caved in, only adding to the once long fought battle in 'this' room. Across the room were downed pillars, crates, and other makeshift defensive positions.

Manning these positions were the remains of more human bodies, but unlike the Mission Control humans, these wore specialized armor, bulky and lined with various alloys, and wearing these suits of armor were the skeletal remains of humans.

On each Human body, totaling six, Mercy saw a strange badge with the image of an armored woman, carrying a sword in one hand and a shield in another, wearing a cape and riding atop a horse.

"Soldiers?" She asked Puppy, seeing the sight of fallen humans mourning to her, but made even sadder was the knowledge that their enemies left 'them' where they were.

It was obvious her former allies had only concerned with retrieving their own fallen, and not these pour souls. These humans had fought valiantly, and for their reward for dying a noble death, was to have their bodies left to rot underground, without anyone finding out that they were dead for decades.

"Yea… soldiers alright." Puppy said, wiping a tear from her face. "What's the badges stand for, medals of honor?"

"They're not medals, they're pins, and they're used to represent our squads, only 'we' stopped using pins." Eagleeye said sadly. "This is Valkyrie Squad, isn't it Commander?"

[Yea… it is…] He replied quietly, but she swore she could hear a great sorrow in his voice.

"Valkyrie Squad?" Sharptooth asked quietly, going over and examining the badge.

"Valkyrie Squad was a female only squad of XCOM Operatives, they fought as fierce as the legendary myths themselves, in total fifteen women during the old days obtained the honor of joining the Valkyrie Squad." Eagleeye said. "The squad was started when a trio of sisters joined XCOM, they ate together, slept together, and fought together. Eventually three more ladies joined them, and they gained the nickname 'Valkyries'."

[Valkyrie Squad became one of my most reliable squads, I sent them in on many missions, and one of their most frequent operations were Terror Attacks, when our enemy assaulted civilian targets. They fought harder than any other squad to rescue innocent civilians, caught up in something bigger than them.] He declared as they passed by a terminal, which barely lit up as they passed by.

Eagleeye walked over and his Gremlin hacked in, activating the terminal. "There's an active message here…" He declared, and seconds later a video recording began playing.

Mercy looked over and saw a woman's face, with dark skin and blue eyes, wearing grey armor and sporting a 'Valkyrie Squad' badge on her breastplate.

{ This is Natasha from Valkyrie Squad, enemy forces have broken through, we're trying to hold them… }

They could hear gunfire going on in the back, and Natasha suddenly turned and began firing at something out of sight. They heard roars and the screams as other female voices shouted, with fire raging in the background.

{ There are too many of them, we need reinforcements! Repeat, enemy forces have overrun Delta and Beta squads, they're trying to breach us and reach Mission Control. We can't hold out much longer, we need… }

More shouts and roars could be heard, and they now heard screams of pain and yells of rage mixed with the bullets now.

{ We've lost Jessica and Nora, Elizabeth and Tanya are critically wounded, I repeat, we need reinforcements if we're going to hold our position! }

The screen became flooded with plasma shots as Natashia ducked, returning fire from her weapon as she grimaced from the blasts of plasma shots.

{ We'll hold out for as long as we can, but we need reinforcements! Mission Control do you hear me, I repeat, this is Natasha from Valkyrie Squad… we need… }

{ Roaawer! }

{ Get back… AH! } Natashia screamed as she ran past the terminal, firing frantically as a Muton came jumping past, a flash of plasma being shot from his weapon, before the terminal shut off.

Everyone stared at the screen, before they all turned to one of the corpses along the side of the wall, with the breastplate punched in and various plasma burns along the armor. The skull of the woman who was in that video had been bashed in heavily, with a part of the skull caved in and sporting a huge hole.

They were all silent as the Commander floated over and touched the breastplate of the fallen warrior. [Good girls, you stood your ground and never abandoned each other, even in our organization's darkest hour…] He whispered proudly. [You fought for planet, people, and all life on this blue marble that we humans call home. Your mother Earth is proud of you girls, and she thanks you for your noble sacrifice, dying in battle, sacrificing your own lives in her defense.] With his declaration made, he reached over and pulled a piece of cloth that was lying on the floor next to the body, and draped it over the skull. [Rest now in Valhalla you warrior women of XCOM, you who took on the name of the great and prideful Valkyries… you did your duty well, you may rest in peace now.]

As one all of her human allies saluted, raising their hands up to their heads and standing perfectly straight. Feeling the need to honor these fallen soldiers as well, she straightened up her stance, and mirrored their action, taking her own hand and bringing it to just above her head. She looked down at the fallen female, and thought, *They died as they lived, in battle… and they didn't flee from their comrades… or allies… like I did. They refused to surrender to fear, and even as death approached they fought to the last, with only the courage in their hearts… and strength in each other.*

These humans who were once XCOM soldiers, were truly something that she didn't ever realize Earth had. Even though they were fighting forces beyond their belief, with weapons beyond their imagination, they stared death in the face and did not flee it. She admired this courage from them, and mourned the loss of the Valkyrie Squad even more because of it.

*At least they died together…* She thought one last time as the Commander ordered them to pick up their fallen weapons, telling them to leave the bodies alone.

As they picked up the fallen weapons, some of them damaged but otherwise still in working condition, she admired the craftsmanship on some of them. They resembled earlier Plasma Weapons used by the original invasion force, yet they each had their own modifications. One weapon had a specialized scope capable of zooming in on a target miles away. The one Puppy picked up had a special trigger that fired the weapon at a much faster rate with just the slightest motion.

"Now this is something I wouldn't mind using!" Puppy said as she held up a laser pistol. "Fully rechargeable, fires off fifteen rounds before needing a recharge, a special muzzle for longer range and even a stronger grip to prevent recoil! Now this is a weapon!"

"You mean this is an 'outdated' weapon." Sharptooth called out as she tossed a laser cannon into one of the containers. "These things are completely old, not to mention clunky, our magnetic weaponry is far more effective and far more streamlined then these hunks of junk. My slugthrower may require ammo, but at least it's more reliable than these things!"

"I wouldn't say that if you never tried one of these bad boys." Eagleeye said as he tossed another weapon into the same container. "These things gave our enemies hell back in the day, and while we still needed to recharge em, they sure packed a punch! We're talking a classic gun here Sharptooth."

Once they all picked up what weapons they could from the floor, without touching the bodies as per the Commander's orders, Puppy and Mercy pulled the four containers and followed the sharks and Commander into the next part of the base, the staircase. They followed down the staircase and to the next level, using their weapons lights as much as their helmets to light the way.

Every time Mercy rounded the corner, she thought she saw shadows behind her, and with each passing second she thought she could hear voices and whispers. *This place… why do I feel like I don't belong here?* She thought nervously, not understanding why she was feeling so nervous in an abandoned base.

When she voiced her concern, Puppy responded with only a nod, only able to talk back over the coms. "This place is haunted Mercy… not by real ghosts, but haunted nonetheless." She said quietly. "XCOM fought for their lives here, in a last desperate battle to protect our world from invasion and conquest, and it was a fight we lost. You coming here probably makes this place even worse, because even though you're on 'our' side now, your still not one of 'us'…"

She glanced over her shoulder, eyeing the darkness behind her, unable to see anything outside of her pillar of light that her helmet gave off. *Even the humans of XCOM's past, don't trust me, nor do they welcome me…" She thought mournfully.

As the staircase ended on the next level, she saw that they were blocked from proceeding further down because the floor had collapsed, with rubble blocking the path down. Instead the Commander had Hawkeye open the next door, and they filed in, looking around with their rifles' lights. The next room was obvious to all of them, as portions of the walls were destroyed, exposing overturned bunk beds and living quarters for soldiers. They had arrived at the Barracks, but they had also found themselves in the room of yet, another massacre.

She could see the numerous bodies littering the floor, some of them with portions of their bodies shot off and even partially vaporized. More and more bodies were revealed, and the brutality of the attack became apparent to Mercy, as she saw both soldier and 'civilian' humans around the room.

"Ugh… gh… uurug…" Puppy moaned as she covered her mouth and ran back into the staircase.

Seconds later they heard her expelling whatever it was she had in her stomach and onto the concrete floor.

"This is horrible…" T-Rex said as the Commander ordered them to pick up any weapons or materials that looked 'salvageable.

"This isn't even the worst…" Eagleeye said quietly. "It only gets even worse from here on out."

"Who are they Commander?" Sharptooth asked as the Commander flew over to one of the bodies, and looked at the pin.

[Delta and Beta squads, the two squads who most people joined and left as rookies and squaddies… they were always the most casual bunch, but when push came to shove, they were just as dependable as any other squad.] He declared as Puppy walked back into the room, wiping her mouth of something. [Keep moving everyone, one of the storage rooms is up ahead, if you see any weapons on the ground pick them up and add them to the containers. And remember… respect the fallen…]

They nodded in understanding and began following him, moving slowly to examine any fallen weaponry or materials as they did. However as Mercy picked up a fallen rifle, she saw a human XCOM soldier in a sitting position, but this one's skeleton was different from the others.

The bones were a little whiter compared to the other ones, and even though the skull bore cracks and fractures, they looked to be… healing. "Commander!" She declared, drawing his attention to the body, which had the pin of an animal that she didn't recognize. "What is this?"

She pointed at the bones, and the Commander responded by ordering everyone over to them. [This is Victor Von Stuben, a member of Wolf Squad… ninth self-appointed 'Warden Wolf' of XCOM.] He declared sadly.

"Warden Wolf, and how do you know his name, I don't see a nametag anywhere?" Puppy asked.

[I remember every single soldier that died and served under me, especially those in the specialized squads I formed. The Warden Wolves of XCOM, Wolf Squad, was one of 'those' kinds of squads Puppy, upon forming they started their own squad religion. Like the Valkyrie Squad they lived by a code of honor, only instead of being only females allowed to join, Wolf Squad was renowned for their dedication to protecting Earth under any condition. They went above and beyond to protect our planet from assault, willing to do whatever it took to protect it, and willing to pay whatever price to ensure humanity's continued survival.]

He picked up the pin and turned it around, revealing three words inscribed on it.

=Custodi Protectatores Terrae=

[Earth's Warden Protectors… every member of Wolf Squad declared themselves the protectors of Earth, no matter who her enemy may be.] He said to them. [The Wolf Squad were self-appointed protectors of the Earth, protecting it against XCOM's enemies, and while they might have been a bit, overenthusiastic with their squad code, they certainly did their job well. But the wolves of Wolf Squad did more than that… they sacrificed their humanity to fight for our cause.]

"Their… humanity?" Mercy asked quietly.

He nodded and pointed at the cracks in his skull, which though existed, were as smooth as if they were meant to be there. [Each and every member of Wolf Squad, are genetically modified soldiers. Each of them received special genetic modifications to their bodies. Victor here, received an adaptive bone barrow, which though was classified to the legs, really worked for the entire skeleton. Unfortunately before he could receive any new gene modifications, we were attacked and…]

"Gene modifications, but I thought your XCOM despised gene therapy?" Mercy asked, now extremely confused as to why her allies were contradicting their ideals and beliefs.

[Back then, it was a different fight, under different circumstances, and I was willing to use any and every weapon at my disposal to achieve victory Mercy.] He said quietly. [Every member of XCOM who underwent the genetic modifications became super soldiers, increased strength, mental prowess, depth perception, you name it we discovered it… and adapted it. But it was a procedure only a selected group went through, as every single person who became enhanced, lost their humanity in exchange… they were never seen as 'human' again. Those were desperate times, our enemies advanced and deployed ever more powerful weapons against us… I needed every possible advantage I could get just to even the odds…]

There was silence as she dared to ask the real important question to her, the one that she knew would determine her stance toward her new Commander. "Did you… force them to… undergo this procedure?" She asked.

[Every single genetically modified soldier was a volunteer, I never forced anyone to undergo the procedure… not one of them. They made the sacrifice for the betterment of protecting mankind…]

Mercy heard him sigh sadly and placed the pin back on the fallen soldier's corpse, and just like with the Valkyrie corpse he found a piece of cloth, placed it over the body's skull, and everyone saluted.

[Thank you, Wolves of XCOM, your sacrifices weren't in vain, though I wish it had ended differently, you wolves died in battle defending Earth as much as anyone else. Mother Earth thanks you, and so do I.]

After a moment of silence to respect the fallen soldiers once again, they proceeded as before, gathering fallen weapons, various damaged upgrades, all the while avoiding the oens that were still attached to their owner's corpses. As they neared the entrance to the next room, with Mercy and Puppy still pulling the containers behind him, Mercy was the first to spot something enormous in front of them.

Instantly everyone raised their weapons and aimed their flashlights at what appeared to be a giant, mechanical unit, as large as the room and holding a massive weapon in one mechanical arm. But what shocked everyone, especially her, was that in the center of the mechanical body, was a human skeleton, and with mechanical parts attached to the arms and legs.

It looked as though the bones and machinery had been melded together at the molecular level, something that she thought only Advent possessed the technical knowledge to accomplish.

"What is that thing?" Puppy asked incredulously.

[That would be Yin Lang, MEC trooper, and member of Squad Falcon.] He declared, floating over and examining a large metallic pin in the shape of a bird that was attached to the metal frame. [Another of XCOM's secrets… human soldiers, melded with machinery, enhancing their combat performance. But just like our genetically modified soldiers, these souls who underwent the operation, lost their humanity in the process as well, but at a more personal level. They became just as much robotic as they were organic… Yin Lang was one of our oldest MEC soldiers, and one of our first… I still remember asking him if he was sure he wanted to undergo the procedure.]

"Just how many… is there no limit to how far you went?" Mercy asked incredulously, astonished that her allies were willing to go 'this' far against their enemies.

"You have to understand Mercy… the Commander was under enormous pressure, even more than you can imagine." Eagleeye said as the Commander continued to look at the MEC soldier's body. "XCOM's motto may be Vigilo Confido, but our directive is to survive at any cost. We would meet our enemy in the field, we would defeat our adversary in battle, and we'd take what was theirs and make it our own. The Commander didn't like making these decisions, but he was put in charge, he made the choice, and he…"

[Enough Eagleeye… I can defend myself, thank you.] The Commander said suddenly, silencing everyone. [Falcon Squad was just like Wolf and Valkyrie Squad, they had their own motto and creed that they lived by. For Falcon Squad, they were crusaders and warriors, they were the first ones into a hot spot, and the last to leave alive… to that end, just like Wolf Squad, every member of Falcon Squad was an MEC soldier, and I often made teams that included one or two of the Falcons. Only for the most aggressive and dangerous assignments did I assign the entire Falcon Squad to a mission. One single MEC soldier could take on multiple enemies, they hit hard, carried the heaviest equipment, and were often the bravest of anyone in XCOM.]

"Yea… to volunteer to have your limbs chopped off like that, anyone would need to be braver than anyone else…" Sharptooth whispered as they stared at the remains.

Once again the Commander extended his claw and placed it on the fallen soldier's body. [Forgive me, I wish I could have been there when you died… no soldier deserves to be abandoned by their superior officer like this… I should have been there when you died.] He said mournfully. [All I can say is, rest now warrior of Falcon Squad. You have fulfilled your duty to your planet, and that is all anyone can ask of you.]

Mercy repeated her gesture again, and with the Sharks, saluted the fallen soldier once again, respecting this once proud XCOM operative that had died in the line of duty.

[Come Sharks… let's go… we've lingered here long enough.]

As they walked and passed into the next room, obviously a munitions storage room just as the Commander said. Scattered around were various sized containers, each partially locked. But as she examined the first one, it was easy enough to break open. What she found inside could only be described in the words Puppy yelled enthusiastically seconds later as she opened her own container.

"Jackpot!" She screamed, pulling out a massive Plasma Cannon that was barely bigger than her. "Now this is a weapon's cache that I can like!"

"Your telling me little one, look at all these goodies!" T-Rex yelled back as he juggled Plasma Grenades and old Battle Scanners, before tossing them into the containers as well. "We got enough bang for our buck in just this box, and we didn't even have to pay a dollar!"

"Oh yea… look at this bad boy!" Sharptooth cried as she held up a really large plasma sniper rifle. "Now 'this' is a weapon I don't mind not using, the craftsmanship, the angular design, and its completely upgraded with all of the cool stuff you could want! It's almost a shame that this thing was never fired!"

"What is this thing?" Mercy asked as she pulled out some kind of oversized rifle with yellow attachments running along its front.

"That's an Alloy Cannon, nasty piece of work our boys in engineering came out with." Eagleeye said. "That thing's one heck of a shotgun, can rip a Muton apart in one shot if aimed at close range."

"Hey T-Rex, I found your new drinking buddy!" Hawkeye shouted as he pulled out a massive plasma weapon almost twice the size of the rifles they found earlier.

"Now that there's a Heavy Plasma gun, a really powerful machine gun weapon on par with your Beam Cannon." Eagleeye said as Hawkeye handed him the gun.

"Oh… this baby and I could make some sweet music together…" T-Rex said, holding the rifle as though it were a precious item and looking at it lovingly. "I think I'll name you Julie…"

"Why do they talk about their weapons like they are real?" Mercy asked Puppy as she handed her another rifle to put in the container.

"Eh, it's a human thing, get used to it." She said with a shrug. "Personally, I'd name mine Romeo."

"Sharks… I've found something." Falcon whispered over the coms, and everyone turned on their optical lenses to see what Falcon saw.

They all some kind of vehicle, half the height of an adult and almost just as long. On the side of it were the letters S.H.I.V. 7-H.

[A SHIV… well now, we gata take that thing back with us. Looks to be in good shape too.] The Commander commented as he floated over and examined it with Falcon.

"What's a SHIV?" Sharptooth asked.

"Weapon's Platform, stands for Super Human Infantry Vehicle, we used to use them in place of soldiers for situations that were too dangerous to risk lives. We had a lot of wounded soldiers in Med Bay during the old war." Eagleeye said instantly. "They could take a beating, and this model could hover over terrain and even fly."

"Oh… now aint that a crying shame." T-Rex chuckled. "That little thing has been caged up down here all these years, when she deserves to run free in the wild!"

While everyone chuckled, except Mercy and Falcon, Falcon turned on the vehicle and guided it over to one of the empty containers, and slowly it levitated up and into the container, taking up most of the space.

As Mercy examined the next firearm she found, a Plasma Pistol she saw that this one had a scope on it, a strange scope that once turned on, she saw could see heat signatures. Curious, she raised it to her eye and looked through it, but suddenly went stiff as she saw through it.

There, standing no more than ten feet in front of her, was something humanoid.

But what shocked her most, was that while one eye was looking through the heat sensing scope of the pistol, the other eye was not and looking at the exact same location.

Yet 'that' eye could not see anything that her helmet light was revealing, besides a bare rock wall.

As she watched the heat signature moved just ever so slightly forward, and raise something in one of its arms up to its head, as if it were talking to a communicator.

"Commander…" She hissed as quietly as she could, pretending that she didn't notice as she continued to examine the pistol, but not taking her eyes off of what she had seen.

[Yes Mercy?] He asked over the coms.

"Tell me there is someone in front of my current position… like Puppy or T-Rex." She whispered as she turned on the pistol again, once she confirmed that none of the other Sharks were nearby.

[No... why do you ask?] He asked quietly.

"Because… we're not alone here…" She hissed even more quietly, confirming that the heat signature was still there.

(Hawkeye's PoV)

As slowly and quietly as he could, he and the other Sharks began to reach for their weapons, while the Commander ordered T-Rex to take one of the Battle Scanners that he found in one of the containers. Moments later, when they all had their fingers on their weapons, he ordered T-Rex to toss the scanner where Mercy reported the heat signature.

Instantly they all turned as T-Rex tossed the metal sphere, and it let out a small electrical signal, and right where Mercy had said, something that was 'cloaked' became visible to all of their optical lenses.

They all saw a tall human, an extremely tall and 'thin' human, wearing a suit and dark sunglasses observing them.

"A Thin Man?" Eagleeye exclaimed instantly.

"Hyeeeeh!" The Thin Man hissed loudly, before reaching into his suit and grabbing something.

[Open Fire!] The Commander yelled.

Instantly all of the Sharks opened fire on the solitary Thin Man, but just as he was riddled with plasma shots and even bullets from Puppy's weapon, he threw something toward them that looked like a grenade.

As he hit the ground heavily and exploded into a cloud of poisonous gas, another Thin Man appeared in the doorway behind the previous Thin Man, pulled out a Plasma Rifle, and open fired on the spherical object that he had just thrown at them.

The object exploded into a mass of electrical plasma energy, which encompassed all of them, and as it did several loud beeps and powering down sounds occurred. As it touched the two Gremlins, Hawkeye's Gremlin crackled with electrical surges before falling to the ground, but the Commander's Gremlin activated its shield before it was touched.

[Return fire!] The Commander yelled.

But as he and the other sharks tried to return fire, his weapon refused to respond to the trigger. In confusion he looked at the power cell and saw that it had been drained to zero. Panicking he reached into his belt and grabbed another case of Plasma Rounds, but the rounds were all depowered and useless. Not even his Fusion Blade or Plasma Pistol were working properly as he examined them both now.

"My weapon's not working!" Sharptooth yelled.

"Neither is mine!" T-Rex shouted.

"Mine is dead too!" Falcon said.

"Same here!" Eagleeye screamed, as he and the others tried desperately to get their weapons to fire again.

"Mine's working fine!" Puppy yelled.

"As is mine!" Mercy also shouted.

[Open fire on the Thin Man, now!] The Commander ordered again.

But just as Puppy and Mercy tried to obey, the Thin Man who was standing in the cloud of poison gas shot himself while grinning. As he did he too exploded into another poisonous cloud of toxins.

"What in the name of… what is going on here?" Puppy yelled as she frantically aimed her weapon in random directions. "What was that thing?"

"A Thin Man, one of the alien foes we fought against over twenty five years ago!" Eagleeye shouted as he tried to get his weapon working again.

"Why the heck did he look like a human, why did he explode like that, what the hell is going on here?" She asked now, panicking even more as she turned to talk to Eagle now. "That thing acted like a Viper, that cloud of toxin is the same Vipers release upon being killed! What the heck is going on here?"

"Thin Man… that is what my species used to look like when we infiltrated Earth many years ago!" Mercy hissed nervously as she too aimed her weapon in random directions, trying to look for a target in self-defense. "I remember… we were heavily modified to look 'human'… but I thought all of the Thin Men Vipers had been returned to normal…"

[It seems we were wrong… and we're not alone in this base.] The Commander whispered to them all as he floated closer to the toxin cloud and examined it. [Something is weird about this cloud of toxins… it's not dissipating, in fact its growing. And those Thin Man Bodies… they looked similar to what we faced, almost exactly, but… they were slightly different. They looked taller…]

{How very observant you are Commander.} A female voice hissed loudly over some sort of Intercom, and suddenly a video screen planted on the wall turned on.

They all suddenly turned to see the video image of the Hierarch Mother, grinning widely as she sat in the shadows, with a light behind her just barely illuminating her enough to see them.

[You…] The Commander hissed angrily as he floated before the screen.

{It is me Commander, your ever devoted 'student' in the art of war.} She hissed warmly. {I am pleased to see that you have arrived… on time.}

Hawkeye couldn't see front of The Commander's Gremlin, but he knew that if the Commander had a face which could express emotions, it would be one seething with hatred. [You forced us to come here, you ambushed all of my operations, and you located our supplies and cut us off from our targeted raiding parties to prevent us from gaining materials. You deliberately forced me into a corner so that I would have no choice but to come here, knowing I would take any chance to gain supplies! This was nothing but a massive set up, for one big trap, which 'YOU' set up!]

Almost lovingly and proudly, the Hierarch Mother nodded in admittance, still not losing the grin on her face. {All thanks to 'you'… there is nothing I have learned, that you didn't teach me.} She said warmly. {Isn't it a brilliant plan? Destroy your supply lines… and drive you into a position that I myself controlled right from the start?}

[The signal emanations, the energy signals resistance forces detected… you created them all?] He asked furiously. [You set it up so that Advent looked like it couldn't detect these signals, and because XCOM HQ is built in a location that prevents it from being scanned, the only thing we could see were strange readings. You made it so that no Advent presence was in the area for over a month, but you were secretly hiding a force here the entire time, waiting for me and my forces to enter so you could catch us off guard, when we're at our weakest and most vulnerable!]

The rage coming from the Commander's voice was unbelievable, Hawkeye was surprised that the Gremlin simply didn't explode from his rage. Yet still the Commander continued to vent at the screen, completely unconcerned with the fact that his own forces were watching him.

[Then once we were all gathered into a tight location, our attention diverted from our surroundings, you deploy some kind of device that disables our weapons, effectively leaving us vulnerable to whatever it is you have hidden down here. And you even modified some of your forces so that the toxic cloud they released won't go away, ensuring that we have no escape without wishing to suffer some unknown poison that we might not be able to cure. You know full well that I wouldn't risk the lives of my forces, upon noticing the difference in my enemy compared to twenty five years ago!]

Once more the Hierarch Mother nodded proudly, still not losing the look of adoration she had when talking to the Commander. {You truly are a 'genius' my Commander… just as I read your every move the moment you made yourself known, you spotted my plan the instant I revealed myself.} She said. {Given the situation Commander, it would be best if you surrendered… but knowing you… you will not… so I will reveal a surprise I've been saving here, just for you.}

The screen changed and revealed three rooms, each with equipment that Hawkeye couldn't recognize at first glance, but he saw the rooms were massive.

{I must thank you for the room your forces made here in the past… it has boosted the production of my 'cloned forces' greatly. The Thin Man you so eloquently killed were mere clones… and as such, they were destined to die. But before they did… they trapped you there… that cloud of toxins is indeed, something I created that you have no cure for… and it won't disappear for many hours, and long before it does your position will be overrun as my 'army' continues to assault you.}

{That is… unless you want to fight your way down to one of the lower reactors, and turn on the ventilation system to clear your path.} She hissed happily. {Of course if you do, you'll have to fight your way through your own past… as my legion of clones and robotic units, pour from the cloning vats and engineering bay we have operating here! But can you do it with no weapons?} Once more the screen returned to the Hierarch Mother, and she stared at him with a grin again on her face. {The same forces that you would consider 'outdated', that you once thought fearsome but now view as pathetic… will be the same forces that will eventually kill your soldiers now! You once said that back then it was a 'different time'… well now we get to relieve those days, right here… in your own HQ my mentor. Oh but wait, you can't use your own little machine to fly and give your troops the necessary information they need to survive. Even with your meagre knowledge of the layout, you have no idea what my forces have done… you could be walking right into 'another trap'… and not even realize it.}

He growled in frustration as she grinned back at him, neither one so much as shifting their focus even a little.

Then almost subtly, Hawkeye noticed out of the corner of his eye, a small red light from a camera. It turned ever so slightly to glance at the Commander, and through his helmet mounted optical lens the Commander saw it as well.

[Then we'll fight as we did in the old days…] He boasted. [The Cameras in this base are still functioning, and while you may have locked me out of the system, not even 'you' can keep the XCOM Commander out of his cameras' systems.]

She smiled even wider as he said that. {Nor do I want to… because even as you look through your cameras' sights, so too will I be able to see what you see, just as you'll see what I see.} She hissed with a trace of enthusiasm that seemed way misplaced. {Oh how it pales to us being linked through the psionic network Commander… but to see what you see, is all the 'pleasure' I need. Simply reveling in the challenge of facing you in a battle of strategy, is worth all the effort it took to trap you down here.} She leaned forward and seemed to gaze solely at him. {But be warned… unless you hide your machine, my forces will target it, and destroy it instantly. I know it is 'protected' by an energy field… but you'll find it too was disabled, along with your weapons. So unless you wish to lose your operatives and let them walk blind… I suggest you find a hiding spot, while your 'cameras' become your eyes.}

[Thanks for the 'advice', but I suggest 'you' find a hiding spot you snake… because once we find 'you', you and I are going to have a nice loooong conversation.] He said with a hint of loathing.

{Oh… I can't wait…} She hissed with a trace interest. {Well Commander… the time has come… the board is set and the pieces are moving, let us begin. I thoroughly enjoy this… once again… your enemy is 'unknown'… and 'within' your own base. Can you reach the only means of escape, without the weapons that you rely so heavily on, while also being hunted and targeted by the foes you once fought against but are no longer the same as they were? I can't wait to find out.} As she finished her declaration she began chuckling, almost maniacally. {Hehehe, hahahahah, HAHAHAHAHAH!}

Then the screen turned off.

As one they all looked at the Commander and he looked at them.

"Commander… what are you thinking?" Sharptooth asked incredulously. "I know you have a grudge against her, who wouldn't, but we have 'nothing'! No weapons, no grenades, not even basic pistols! The only thing we have are Puppy's and Mercy's conventional rifles, and what good are those things in this position?"

[We have no choice Sharptooth… if we don't find a way down to that reactor and turn on the ventilation system, we'll be overrun here, we need to fight our way down there and turn it on.]

"But what about the supplies?" T-Rex asked. "You can't just expect us to leave them."

[No, we take them with us, we can't lose anything or risk losing anything.] He declared. [We'll continue to pick up materials and supplies along the way down, fighting our way through. Once we secure our escape route, we'll push our way back and call for the Evac.]

"You're forgetting one thing Commander, we have no weapons." Falcon said calmly, pulling out his Psi Amp and checking to see if 'it' was working, which it was at least.

In response The Commander looked at the container that Eagleeye was reaching into at that exact moment. [What are you talking about, we have all the weapons we need…] He said, as Eagleeye pulled out some of the weapons they recovered and began tossing them to the other Sharks. [Now… I'm going to enter the ventilation system, it's the safest place for my Gremlin, and if I lose my Gremlin then I lose all contact with you guys. If you guys are killed down here, then all of our hopes for fighting Advent are lost with you.] With that he floated over to a wall which he lit up with his light, revealing a vent that he opened with his claw. [Arm up Sharks, we have work to do!]

With that he flew into the vent and closed it behind him, and suddenly their optical lenses changed to show what he was seeing, which were them through the cameras in the room.

"Can't believe we have to use this outdated hardware." Sharptooth complained as she examined her Laser Sniper Rifle, the same rifle that she had so eloquently admired earlier with all of the hardware attachments.

"It's as he said, use what we've got." Eagleeye said calmly.

"Why did the Hierarch Mother leave these weapons untouched, but not our normal weapons?" Mercy asked as she examined her weapon while Puppy tried, and failed, to get her hands on one of the laser weapons as well.

"To make it a challenge I guess, she wants the playing field to be even." Hawkeeye said. "If she's throwing outdated forces and mechanical units at us, using the same technology that they used when we fought them, then she would no doubt forces us to use the same tech we used back then as well."

"Well… then I hope this stuff lives up to its reputation as you said it did 'Grandpa'." T-Rex said, as he held the weight of the Alloy Cannon he had picked up before.

"Same here." Hawkeye said as he checked his own Laser Sniper Rifle, and saw it had a full charge.

"Oh it will, believe me it will!" Eagleeye said proudly. "Just like the old days Commander."

[Just like the old days.] The Commander replied, as he gave them orders to position themselves, while Puppy complained again about her loadout.

"Come on, all of these weapons I could use, and you STILL won't let me touch anything besides the two med kits, and rifle?" Puppy moaned. "Why couldn't the Hierarch Mother disable my weapon as well?"

"Because it doesn't run on Plasma!" Everyone shouted in unison.