[You Interviewing Amalie]

"C.X. 2… and E.C. 1… -sigh-… my greatest failure to my friend…" She hissed sadly, staring at the muzzle of her plasma pistol. "I tried hard… so very hard to find 'any' information I could about those two weapons projects. Yet every time I investigated information on them, I ran into… what do you call it… 'wooden wall'? Yes, wooden wall, every time I attempted to access the information on them."

She glanced up and shook her head.

"The council knew the weapon systems names, knew where they were being 'tested', but nothing more about them. So secret were their construction and research, that I could find nothing about them, not even what the letters or numbers mean. At the time I just assumed it was for the sake of secrecy, but then I began to realize something after I began my rebellion."

She looked directly at the light above her and sighed.

"They knew I was going to betray them… they somehow 'knew' of what I was planning. It was the only possible explanation that made sense, because every other possible scenario that I came up with didn't work. None of the other council members knew, not any of them, no matter how much I inquired or made excuses when I was tasked with anything related to those weapons systems."

"Indeed it was the correct theory, for as a great 'detective' you humans revere once said… 'When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains no matter how improbable… must be the truth'…"

"At the time, that was the only possible reason why I could not access the information. After all, who could 'possibly' know I was going to betray Advent. My act up to that point was perfect, nobody, not even XCOM, knew what I was going to do… at least… nobody but 'him'… my friend."

"In hindsight… my actions that day… doomed the South African resistance… if only I had known sooner…"

=Chapter 5, E.C.1 & C.X. 2=

(Commander's PoV)

[Tygan, you said you have a report on that data file?]

For the last two days he and the crew of XCOM on the Avenger were currently hiding in the Alps. While waiting there, he ordered Tygan to examine the little data they managed to collect from the intercepted transmission. The transmission had been interrupted before Belona could complete her data download, but what they had gained Tygan was told to decrypt and analyze with his team.

"Ah yes, Commander, thank you for coming." He said as he and Central walked into the lab. "We just finished analyzing the data, and we've managed to decode it. What we've found may 'interest' you."

He took the datapad offered to him and read it.

[This is a list of materials being transferred…] He commented.

"Indeed, but what you may notice that is 'startling' is the list of materials being transferred include alloys, metals, and other such materials found scattered in abandoned cities. They also human bones skeletal bodies long since deceased before Advent became the main government of the world. The list also contains data regarding the 'state' the items were in. As you can see, the condition is not the most 'optimal' for anything."

"None of this makes any sense, why would Advent bother with dead people when they have perfectly healthy 'living' people." Central said.

[Yes… and why would they be transferring such… items?] He asked. [They can easily trick a few volunteers for whatever, why bother digging for bones?]

"I'm afraid I cannot say, the data regarding that subject may have been lost when the download was interrupted." Tygan said. "But I can at least tell you, that they do not nearly have enough of what they are looking for."

[Indeed, it looks like this data also includes a set of coordinates for another city.]

"By the looks of it, somewhere in the Southern American region. Well, if we're going to figure this mystery out, best follow our only lead." He said.

[Right on that idea Central, move us to these coordinates and begin scanning the area before we send in a team.] He declared, handing Tygan the datapad. [In the meantime, Tygan, begin examining that Seeker model and find out what you can that's useful, especially figuring out how we can use it.]

"I figured that would be your next assignment, I've already instructed my team to begin researching it, I'll inform you when I have something."

He and Central left the laboratory and began making their way to the bridge, when he realized that he had to meet with Shen.

[Central, I'll join you later on the bridge, I have to go and take care of something.] He said.

"Time for your checkup sir?" He asked.

[If only it were that…] He muttered, before turning down at the staircase and heading down toward engineering while Central went upstairs to the bridge.

He floated down two flights of stairs before reaching the Engineering's level, and stared down at his great nemesis aboard the Avenger.

The door and it's locking mechanism.

[Alright door, let's not have any trouble today…] He muttered. [I'm going to enter the passcode, and you're going to open. No ifs, ands, or buts… got it?]

He lowered himself to the lock's level and moved his claw over the keyboard, before punching in the code to enter the level.

There were only a few areas aboard the ship that required access codes to enter during off hours, one of those was Engineering. Normally if there were personnel on duty the door was always open, however since it was night time and most of the staff were asleep, the door was locked.

It also was encoded so it required a biological signature to open, which normally the requirement was met simply because the person used their hands to enter the passcode. However, because his real body was still in a coma, and therefore unconscious, he was still trapped in the body of the Gremlin.

This meant that, despite having full access to the ship, he had to work around these normally minor issues as if they were massive obstacles.

Today was no exception as the passcode he entered was 'correct', but the door still refused to open.

Access Denied

[Ugh… great…] He muttered in frustration.

"Is something wrong Father?" A soft voice asked behind him.

He turned around and saw behind him the tall figure of Bellona, watching him curiously behind her sunglasses with her hair wrapped tightly and bound in a bandana, while a second bandana covered her mouth.

[Bellona, what are you doing here? I thought I told you to remain in my quarters unless it's time for you to eat or your required for a mission.]

"I was told by the Mother to find out where you were, she is waiting in your chamber for you." She hissed in her strange blending tone of Human and Viper vocals.

[Lovely…] He muttered.

Ever since Bellona was brought onto the Avenger, he has had to keep an eye on her movements and actions while interacting with the members of his crew. While the Viper turned 'mostly' Human was a very capable soldier on the battlefield, she and many of her sisters were very inadequately skilled when it came to dealing with everyday interactions with people.

Her first day that he left her alone while sending his report to the Council had almost ended in a disaster, at least for 'her'. Bellona had gone down to explore one of the many rooms and corridors, only to encounter one of the 'Maintenance' personnel. She had begun to talk to him, only to ask him if he would be willing to help her 'breed' after the war.

He really hated Amalie's methods of teaching her daughters for interacting with male humans.

He was just lucky that he caught her conversation before it got 'weird'.

[Well, since you are here, would you please open the door for me.] He said to her.

"Of course, Father." She said respectfully.

She stepped in front of him and entered the passcode, and seconds later the door opened instantly.

[Thank you, now please head upstairs and return to my room.] He ordered.

"As you wish Father." Bellona said, bowing to him and walking up the staircase while he headed toward Engineering.

His Gremlin's optics showed him the corridor as if he was viewing it through the lens of night vision, this was because the only lights on were a few strung outside Shen's work station, where he saw she and Rover were preparing for him. Upon seeing him she opened the door and welcomed him in.

"Commander, I was beginning to think you weren't going to show up." She said while Rover looked him over.

[Let's just get this over with.] He muttered, floating over and landing on the large table. [Sooner the better…]

Shen nodded and pulled out her tool box as well as some spare memory chips recovered from the Sectopod they destroyed recently.

"Alright, I've wiped the data on these chips so we can add an additional five hundred Terabytes to your Gremlin's memory capacity." She said while Rover helped strap his Gremlin down. "With this you shouldn't need another call for a good month or two, provided you don't witness too many things at the same time…"

[Just get on with it Shen!] He complained. [And… remember, don't stop talking alright?]

"No problem Commander…" Shen said as Rover handed her a drill.

She powered up her drill and began to unscrew the top plate of his Gremlin, exposing the wires and motherboard, as well as everything else that made his Gremlin function.

"Alright… need to pull this wire out, and re-wire the circuitry so that we can add these memory chips… your optics will be offline for ten minutes max Commander." She said.

[Brrrzzst!]Rover chirped.

[Thanks… but remember what I said, don't stop talking!] He repeated.

"You won't hear a moment of silence… alright…" Shen said as she bent close to him to look him in his optics. "In three… two… one…"

Suddenly everything went black as his optics were shut off, he was blind.

"So, like I was saying last time we did this Commander, Bentley that one guy you brought on board from Germany. He's a great guy and all, but I really think he should be put on working in the monitoring room for transmissions. The guy's good with a wrench and a welding torch, but not so much when it comes to keeping things in place where they're needed."

This was the most hated part of his new life while stuck in the Gremlin, the darkness. He hated the darkness, unable to see, unable to move, his Gremlin's sensors unable to work because he only had his vision to really rely on. Unlike the other Gremlins his had to sacrifice all its other programming besides the most basic of basic, to keep his mind active when his body suffered that coma.

So, when he lost his ability to see the first time Shen had to install new memory chips, he had a panic attack, thinking that he was back in the suit Advent had put him in.

The workaround to this issue, 'talking', Shen talked to him the entire time, and out of sheer respect for him, she kept his need for 'talk' and his panic attack to herself and Rover.

"But in any case, let me tell you, there was this guy down in maintenance, he tried so hard to catch a date with me." She said.

[Sounds like fun.]

"Yea, well… this guy wasn't exactly someone who I would go out with. Not like I can, you keep me so busy that my breaks are really just me eating lunch while tinkering around in here."

[I wish I didn't have to but I need stuff worked on and you're my chief engineer.]

"Yep, that's me, Chief Engineer Shen at your service!"

Suddenly he felt a jolt to his body.

[Ow! Watch it, that's my psionic chip!]

"Sorry Commander, not a lot of space to work with in here…" Shen answered. "If I could just transfer you into a Mk. III, maybe this wouldn't be a problem but… well you got stuck with a Mk. I. At the time that was all we had."

[A lot has changed since those days… by the way I'm… sorry I kept Amalie and her Vipers a secret for this long.] He said. [I bet there were a lot of surprised personnel?]

"Surprised doesn't even sum up everyone's reaction." She said. "I mean… these are our enemies we were fighting, Vipers killed a lot of people over the years since you came back. And you come along and say that now we're friends with them out of nowhere? Needless to say, we were 'more' than a little surprised."

[I did what I had to do.] He responded. [Amalie wanted freedom, she needed my help, and I needed her to get me out. I had to return the favor somehow…]

"Well, you're not hearing any complaints from me Commander!" Shen said as he heard her grunting. "Annnnd… let there be light!"

Suddenly his optics turned on and he could see everything again.

[Much better, thank you Shen.] As she began to drill the top of his Gremlin's shell back into place.

"Yea well, I'm serious Commander… there isn't much more I can do for you at this pace." She said while Rover helped unplug his charging cable that had been plugged in without his knowledge. "I'm not lying when I say there isn't much space left in your Gremlin for memory cards. Even with the Advent Memory cards that we salvage from Sectopods and MECs, eventually your Gremlin is going to run out of room. And when that happens…"

[Thank you, Shen, I can fill in the blanks.] He said.

"Alright, but please I know you can't help it, but… try to wake up?" She said as she finished drilling, before leaning to look at him eye to optic. "I was extremely sad when I thought you were dead or captured. I kept thinking, 'what if I had built something better', or 'why didn't what I build do better'. And when I was told we had a chance to rescue you, I gave our team going in the best experimental gear I had crafted to get you out. But 'we' can't do what we do without you Commander, so please, don't go getting yourself killed or losing your memory while we still have a war to fight?"

[Noted Shen.] He chuckled while she undid his straps. [Well if you'll excuse me, I've got to speak to Amalie about that canister of Meld she brought up. We need to figure out what to do with it.]

"As to that Commander, I've been able to examine some of my father's old work regarding the Cybersuits, and I think I can perfect a smaller, more maneuverable version of what Gabriella is using, which while lacking in the firepower or protective capabilities can wield more specialized weapons." Shen said quickly, pulling out a blueprint to show him.

[Very well Shen, I'll see what I can do, but for now Tygan is working on that Seeker.] He said.

After going upstairs to his room, he began to discuss with Amalie about his future plans for the use of the Meld substance, where she told him that, thanks to their extensive tests and research, she could provide him the research to make enough genetic modifications to equal that of five genetic modifications to a single soldier with the single canister. So, at his command, he 'could' modify a fresh soldier, or even alter the modifications to an existing soldier, such as Pierce or even Bellona.

When the option was propose, Bellona had offered herself to be modified yet again.

"It would be my honor to have my body altered to suit your needs~!" She had said with a deep bow, which lifted her vast golden hair off the ground.

[As much as I'm 'sure' that is what Amalie told you to say…] He said, glaring at Amalie who rolled her eyes at him. [There is very little to 'improve' upon your already extensive genetic modifications without, taking away what you have.]

"Then you will be using one of 'your' soldiers?" Amalie asked politely.

[I don't know…]

There was silence before Bellona spoke up. "Father, have you determined where I am to sleep?" She asked.

[I'm thinking of maybe putting you with the Gamma Raptor's squad, alongside Gabriella and Pierce. That would bring your squad up to five members, and I could send the Gamma Raptors back into the field again.]

"And I would get you all to myself again~!" Amalie chirped in.

[Why do I think you only tolerate her because you told her to be my 'bodyguard'…] He muttered to himself.

Yes, the real reason why Bellona was on board the Avenger was because the Gene Viper was the most genetically modified soldier the Vipers had, having been the prime test subject for all their Meld experiments. She was insanely loyal to her Hierarch Mother, to the point where she obeyed any order without hesitation, and this loyalty extended to the 'Hierarch Father', which meant 'him'. This loyalty also meant that she would protect his life at all cost, so Amalie had been assigning him a 'bodyguard' when she gave him a soldier for XCOM.

In short, not only would Bellona do 'anything' he wanted, without question, she would even 'kill' anyone who Amalie might perceive as a threat.

"I will not have any other girls trying to sway your heart." Amalie hissed from his bed. "I'm all you need."

[I am the leader of a shadow organization, responsible for protecting mankind against alien enslavement. I am also the figure leader of the entire human resistance against Advent… and I have to deal with 'this'…] He muttered in disbelief. [Why me?]

"Is something wrong Father?" Bellona asked warmly.

Just as he was about to respond, he received a message from Central on the bridge.

[Commander, you may want to come check this out… we just received a tip from the resistance cell in South America.]

[On my way!] He said, floating out of his room and heading toward the bridge. [Amalie, please join me on the bridge… and put some 'DECENT' clothes on!]

(Bellona's PoV)

She watched her Hierarch Father leave the room and remained where she was, sitting on his bed.

"Hierarch Mother, why does the Hierarch Father not mate with you, is he not interested?" She asked curiously, noticing that her Mother had not attempted to conceive even though she had declared their species' Father.

"Oh, 'we've' decided it is best to wait until this war has ended…" Her Hierarch Mother hissed warmly, donning her armor and equipping her wrist mounted plasma blades. "But do me a favor my daughter, keep your attempts to breed to a 'minimum'… we can't have children aboard this vessel yet."

"As you wish Hierarch." She said respectfully. "Mother, are you sure humans would find my body 'pleasing'? I think I am… 'ugly'… according to their words? I have noticed that everyone stares at me constantly."

"Trust me my daughter, they will learn to… 'accept' you with time." Her Hierarch Mother hissed with a warm smile. "For now, just remember what I've taught you, if you wish to tempt a male into mating you, remember that 'minimal clothes' are necessary. The more of your body you expose the more interested they will be, and nothing tempts a man more than a naked female offering herself~."

"But why does that not work with the Father?" She asked.

At that her Hierarch Mother gave her a sly smile. "He's just playing hard to get." Before she slithered out of the room.

Bellona figured her Mother was telling the truth, after all, why would her Hierarch Mother mislead any of her daughters or sons?

(Commander's PoV)

[Alright give me a sit rep.]

They had just landed and were going to scan initially the coordinates they had recovered from the data, but according to Central there was a hot tip that the resistance had just sent them.

"According to resistance forces, Advent recently dropped in a pair of large transports carrying what appeared to be two new models of Sectopods, unlike the previous models we've seen. It looks similar to the Advent model yet its carrying more equipment than anything else we know about." He said, bringing up the location on the hologlobe. "According to our intel they dropped in these two units within a nearby city that has been declared 'under renovation' by Advent. What they need two Sectopods for I don't know, but what they noted was that these two Sectopods were dropped in alongside what could only be described as a 'fleet' of smaller transports."

"Looks like we've discovered the location of these new Advent Weapons systems then." Amalie hissed calmly. "Why else would they guard such models if they were merely 'test subjects' with such numbers? Just prior to me being rescued, I noted that at least fifty transports were removed from my command and placed under… 'someone's' command. I don't know who, and I didn't have time to find out before I had to leave my compound."

Amalie then pointed at the hologlobe and closed in on the city, showing that it was densely packed with buildings.

"This city has nothing of great value, at least to my knowledge. Why would they be deployed here? If this is simply to gather materials, it is an awfully large force for something as mundane as recycling materials."

[You've got that right… look at this city, deploying our squad is going to be a nightmare. Sure, there's a lot of high cover we can take advantage of, but this is literally a shooting gallery. Even going room to room will be tricky, clearing them out one at a time is going to be impossible.] He turn turned to the buildings and noticed that many of them were so close to each other, that he could building hop without exposing his team to the open ground. [Our best chance for this operation will be to move from building to building, until we locate the weapons systems. Once we do, we can use the high ground to eliminate major threats and move in to bring them down if needed. Sectopods aren't very mobile outside of open ground. If necessary they will destroy a lot of buildings when they move around, and if they do that they'll force us to ground floor.]

"You raise a valid point… with all the 'garbage' on the floor, maneuvering a Sectopod is impossible without destroying a few of these buildings. Yet they deployed at least two that we know of?" He watched as Amalie held her chin, a trait she picked up to show her thinking. "This makes no sense, why deploy Advent forces here, especially heavy units? A small squad of guerilla forces like yours will have a field day in this place. Even for recycling materials… this is an awfully big risk to bring so much for so little."

"Either way, this tip is too hot for us to pass up, whatever it is these weapons systems are, we need to shut them down and figure out what they were for." Central said. "At your command sir, we can deploy a squad to take em out."

[Then let's get this party started, load up the Land Sharks!] He said. [It's hunting time, and I intend to catch some big game!]

"That is assuming it doesn't 'catch you' first." Amalie chuckled. "So you're not planning to deploy 'both' of my daughters? I assumed after her performance, you'd deploy Bellona for all future missions."

[Last time I checked Amalie, I was the 'commander'. So, I have final say in how XCOM performs its operations.] He said sternly.

Just as he left the Command Center he heard Amalie whisper into a private communicator to him, "Among 'other things' hehehe…"

[I really hate you so much…] He muttered.

(Hawkeye's PoV)

"This new paint job is super cool!" Puppy said enthusiastically.

"I still think you chose a poor color pallet." Sharptooth said as she sheathed her blade and grabbed her rifle.

"Says the girl who chose the boring 'camo' color scheme!" She barked back. "Really, long range combatant, camo color outfit, 'booooring'!"

He looked at Puppy's armor and mentally questioned her own color choice.

"At least its more practical than bright banana yellow with neon pink!" Sharptooth said. "I swear, you're going to be a massive target out there. And when Advent officers pick you to focus all their fire, don't blame me because you stand out."

"Personally, I like mine, cool dark blue with swamp green…" Eagleeye said.

"Yo Sharks, check me out~!" T-Rex shouted as he jumped in front of them and started flexing. "You all have front seats to the gun show~"

Hawkeye just chuckled at T-Rex and how he had painted his Titan Armor white with yellow stripes, making his armor look it had six pack abs and bulging muscles.

He himself had chosen to give his armor a light blue with dark purple look, since he wasn't very artistic.

As for Mercy…

"Uh… is this 'good'?" She asked as she slithered toward them.

He watched as she looked around to see that Mercy had painted…

"You painted a snake on your armor…" Puppy said. "You 'doodled' a 'snake'… onto your armor."

Mercy had indeed drawn what looked like a poorly drawn 'Vivian' their pet cobra, onto her armor.

It was something Puppy had convinced them and the other squads to do to help boost morale, an 'art contest' using some old paint they found lying around, to see which squad had the best artistic genius and skills. The winner got the losing squad's desert for that week, chocolate cake with real chocolate chips added, and authentic frosting.

"I thought this was how we were supposed to draw?" She hissed with a sheepish smile.

"Well at least you did 'something', unlike a certain 'silent monk' who didn't even bother trying!" Puppy said, pointing her thumb at Falcon who loaded his gun calmly, ignoring Puppy's look.

"Wasting time with something childish is a waste of our time." He said calmly. "If you have so much time to paint, you could practice your aim and actually hit your targets in the field."

"I'll have you know I scored a seventy percent accuracy in the last target range practice I did!" She barked.

"Yes, seventy percent accuracy in 'hitting' the targets that 'others' finished off for you." He countered back as they all left the armory for the landing pad.

As they reached the landing pad he noticed Mercy looking around, almost expectantly.

"Looking for someone?" He asked.

"Bellona…" She whispered. "I expected her to be here… after her last performance, I assumed the Hierarch Father would put her on all missions."

"Why do you call him 'Hierarch Father'?" He asked.

"Well… the Hierarch Mother… when a 'mother' chooses her life mate… we refer to them as our 'Father'. The one who leads us, it's a position only a Mother can give to a male, and when it is given we are to become subservient to the Hierarch Father. Any order he gives us we are expected to follow."

"Huh, I didn't think that was how it worked…" He said as they began to board the Skyranger. "I guess its reverse for your species, normally for us it would be, guy rules and girl gains power through guy, or something along those lines…"

"Yes… but why isn't Bellona here?"

"I guess he wants to give her a rest, perhaps?"

They took their places in the Skyranger, just as the Commander floated in, signaling the Skyranger to close its door. They began to take off and looked to the Commander for the usual mission briefing.

[Alright Sharks listen up, we've got a hot tip that whoever it was that all but wiped out the Gamma Raptors is using two weapons systems called 'E.C.1' and 'C.X.2', has deployed them in a densely packed but abandoned city center. They appear to be scouting it to recover materials but the fact that they deployed them with a fleet of forces leads me to believe that they are investing heavily into keeping these weapon's systems safe.]

As he spoke the viewscreen behind him revealed several buildings in a city surrounding a square, filled with abandoned parked cars and remains.

[As the Commander stated, these two weapon systems are of great importance to Advent, according to 'Amalie', they were in secret development, not even the Advent High Council knew what was up with them. Your job is to go in there, locate these weapon systems, neutralize them however possible, and then eliminate any hostiles in the AO. Good luck!]

[We're going to be dropping in without SHIV for this mission, it's still undergoing some maintenance. So, don't expect our happy talking gun to take the heat for us. However, you've all been given a smoke grenade for this operation. With these buildings giving us height advantage, and since most of them can be reached by each other, we can easily abuse the height. But be careful, we have confirmed that they have deployed at least two Sectopods, and resistance contacts have also told us that they appear to be 'heavily' modified.]

[If we find these Sectopods, we'll be a step closer to finding out who it was who destroyed the Gamma Raptors, and who it is we have to blame for hurting our family. So, let's get in there and find this guy, and make him pay!]

"Good, I've been itching for some payback!" Puppy growled as her Gremlin, which she nicknamed 'Baby Bird' floated over her.

"Just remember kid, payback's one thing, but don't forget that this guy took out the Gamma Raptors." Eagleeye said as 'Little Bird' floated over him now.

"Indeed… it is time we had our revenge!" Mercy hissed confidently with a smile.

"Well, if my girlfriend says it's time for revenge, then I say it's time for revenge as well!" He said.

Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Mercy beam at him out of the corner of 'her' eye.

At that moment, the lights changed colors.

[Ready up sharks!]

Hawkeye nodded and checked his firearm, making sure it was loaded. He checked his grenades and confirmed they were also ready to go. Alongside him Mercy was doing the same, examining her pouch of Toxic Darts. Puppy was checking her laser rifles' many recharging packs, and checking her attachments to make sure they were ready. Sharptooth and Falcon were ready, T-Rex was nodding his head as if he were listening to music, and Eagleye was examining his Gremlin's charges.

Then the lights changed colors again.

"Let's do this Sharks!" He said, standing up and getting ready for the drop, just as the Skyranger began to slow down.

Moments later the ramp opened up and ropes were lowered, instantly causing him the jump forward and grab a rope, sliding down alongside all of his fellow Sharks. He landed first and looked around the roof of a three-story building that they had been dropped on.

He looked up to see that it was going to sadly be a 'night time' operation,

(Commander's PoV)

From his high point, he could see the roof was cleared of anything resembling cover, on the one side of the building where the street was, it was dark and empty with only a few 'Advent Light Towers' established, revealing nothing but destroyed cars and abandoned city streets.

[Alright let's get this mission started…] He said, before giving orders to his Sharks.

They lined up against the wall to a door leading inside the building, and then Sharptooth was ordered to enter first.

"Got it Commander!" She said, before opening the door and then checking inside. "All clear!"

He flew higher and switched to the vision of his Sharks as they moved in one at a time, going through the hallway with careful and quiet steps. Along the way he noticed the many overturned furniture and destroyed vases, dusted walls and filthy carpet lining the floor.

"Ugh, this place stinks…" Puppy muttered. "What 'is' that smell… smells like something was dead and burned to crisp."

"You're telling me, even I can smell it, and I'm nose blind to 'you'!" Sharptooth muttered.

"I heard that…" Puppy muttered.

[Focus Sharks… scanners are detecting strange signals near you.] He said. [Central, any signs of enemy signals?]

[Negative as of yet Commander, scans show nothing moving near your positions…]

[We were tipped there was a 'fleet' of transports… this city isn't that massive, there should be a large contingent of 'Peacekeepers' or aliens here. So, where are they?]

They continued to move through the building, finding a large hole which connected it and an adjacent building, allowing them to hop through and avoid going down to ground level or outside through the scaffolding. Then they stumbled upon something that caused them to pause.

"Alright, now what?" Eagleeye said as he watched them stare at a cracked floor in front of them.

"Please don't make me go first again…" Puppy muttered.

Moments after, he ordered her to run across the cracked floor.

"I swear it's like he's picking on me on purpose…" She muttered again. "Why am 'I' the one who always goes first?"

He watched her take a few steps forward, pause at the cracked floor, take a deep breath, and then ran as fast as she could.

Only for the floor to crack more and then give way under her.

"YAAAAAAAh…" She screamed as the floor broke away and crumbled under her, causing her to fall through.

"Puppy!" Everyone inside screamed, and he saw everyone surge to the edge to check her status, but he noticed something else before they did.

[Stop moving, now!]

Everyone stopped and waited, while he sent them each an image of what Puppy was seeing.

There, right below her, with her holding very still so as not to disturb or alert her presence…

Was a Sectopod.

She had fallen through the floor and landed, two feet below the other Sharks, onto the head of a Sectopod's main frame.

"Hnnnnnnnng…" Puppy whined as she held her Lazer Rifle with baby fingers, even as 'Baby Bird' floated above her.

He expected the Sectopod to look up, move around, or issue a 'Red Alert' message, but instead it just sat there, as still as Puppy was despite her shaking.

[Hawkeye… slowly… and 'carefully'… pull Puppy up.] He ordered. [Puppy… as quietly as physically possible, stand up…]

Both agents nodded and did as he said, Puppy moving with the speed of a snail inching her body to a standing position, and Hawkeye waiting for her to stand up straight to help her up. But as she climbed up her knee slipped and she knocked a piece of pipe debris, which clunked and clanked on first the Sectopod's metal mainframe…

'Pinnnng…'

…then onto one of the joints along its leg…

'Clang…'

…and then finally banged onto a small glass mirror, which cracked and…

'Tgnassssht!'

Everyone held still like statues, including himself, as they stared at the Sectopod and waited for its reaction.

But still, the Sectopod remained as still as a statue.

[…]

"Is… it… deactivated?" Puppy whispered so quietly that he barely heard her.

[Everyone move to Grids L-5 to L-12… then Mercy, take that vase, and toss it into the hole.] He ordered. [Be ready to run…]

At his command, the Sharks quietly went back several feet from the hole, and Mercy, as he instructed, picked up the vase and used her tail to launch it at the hole, where seconds later it crashed onto the Sectopod.

The sound of the vase shattering, with how quiet everyone had been and everything being, sounded like the explosion of an atomic bomb. He expected to hear stomping, the whirling of a machine waking up, for lights to turn on and light up the corridor and floors.

And yet still, the only thing he heard was silence, and all he saw was 'nothing'.

[Even I know something is wrong when a Sectopod does not respond to its most basic programming. That Sectopod should have gone into full alert when it is hit by anything.]Amalie said to him over the coms.

[Sharptooth, move to the ledge and confirm the Sectopod is still there.] He ordered.

After a few seconds Sharptooth moved and leaned over the ledge. Sure enough, her vision showed that the Sectopod was still there, still as a statue, unmoving as when Puppy had fallen on top of it.

"Now that I get a better look at it, it doesn't seem to be the standard Sectopod Model." She said. "I haven't seen an Advent Sectopod with those kinds of attachments."

[I know a lot about these Sectopods, I can tell you that 'that's' not a standard model… looks like it's been modified with something'.] Shen said. [It looks like the Sectopod appears to be either offline, or out of power. In either case, that's not the Sectopod we're looking for.]

[Commander, I'm detecting two Signals in close proximity to your position, looks like they're outside.]

[Well, if its offline, then I guess we can use it to reach ground level…] He said. [Alright Sharks, let's get down, carefully.]

One by one they began to climb down using the Sectopod as a ladder, but each of them eyed it cautiously, training weapons on it until all of them were on the ground.

(Mercy's PoV)

"I don't' like the way this looks… it's giving me some bad vibes kids." T-Rex said, ready to give the Sectopod a point-blank blast of shredder fire if it so much as budged.

She nodded in agreement, keeping her newest dart, a special acid based on her own designed to melt armor and spread across an entire frame, at the ready should it decide to move.

"Why does it not move?" She hissed quietly. "I remember Sectopods from my days in Advent… I have never seen one… offline like this before?"

[Indeed my daughter, but based on the position, the fact that its covered in debris, and abandoned here in this city… I would guess that 'this' is why they deployed so many forces. I don't know 'who' would allow such technology to just… lie around for anyone to come along and steal… but clearly Advent discovered these leftovers and came to collect them before Resistance forces did. Hence the numerous transports spotted…]

[If that's true, then there are probably other Sectopods buried, if we can clear out Advent… Amalie's Vipers can come in and take these and reprogram them with Shen's and Tygan's help. This is a chance we can't pass up…]

[It'll be nice to have a few of Advent's Sectopods working for 'us' instead of using us for target practice for a chance.] Central said.

[Yes, but how come these things are sitting here? Why wait until now to collect them?]

[My guess is they were set to patrol and ensure the area was clear of resistance forces, and at some point, they powered down due to lack of power. If they were still connected to the Advent Network along with all of Advent's other mechanical units, the virus that infected them worked the same magic on them, forcing them to mill around attempting to obey its programming… until they ran out of energy.]

"That would explain the giant hole in the side of the building." Hawkeye said, getting down and pointing at the back of the building, where sure enough, a Sectopod sized hole could be seen.

"You know… they don't look so bad offline." Puppy muttered as she looked at it with Baby Bird.

"Yea, wait till they're shooting at you again, you'll sing a different tune." Eagleeye whispered.

"If you're all done talking about what you can see… you'll notice what you are 'not' seeing…" Falcon said quietly from the entrance to the street.

Mercy and the other Sharks walked over to the entrance and took up positions, but she failed to notice whatever it was that Falcon was looking at. To her it looked like an abandoned pre-Advent city, burned cars and destroyed ruins. Occasionally she saw a lamppost and maybe some trash strewn around, but otherwise she saw nothing.

"I see nothing." Hawkeye said.

"That's the point… where is 'Advent'?" Falcon said.

"Yea, Psychomantis has a point… if these things are so important, where are the patrols… I doubt we landed in the one section of this city with an abandoned Sectopod that Advent just 'happened' to haven't reached yet." Puppy said quietly.

[In any case Sharks, the signal we're detecting is further down that street, let's move in and see if we can't find our two weapon's systems.]

With that he gave them orders to move out of the building and head into the street.

She moved with caution, keeping her rifle at the ready and looking every direction. With each moment, she expected to see a patrol, or hear the clanking and stomping of a Sectopod, or hear a transport fly pass overhead. Yet still, nothing was heard.

[Signal is dead ahead, you should be seeing something…] The Commander said.

They looked ahead and saw the remains of a town square, in the center was the remains of a statue, of what she didn't know, but she saw nothing that looked like a weapon's system'.

[Alright this looks odd, time to split up… Mercy, Hawkeye, Sharptooth, move to grids K-7, P-15, and D-22… take up positions and ready long-range weapons cover. Everyone else, move forward slowly.]

She moved to where she was ordered, positioned near a low wall and a destroyed car, on the other side of the street Hawkeye took a similar position, and Sharptooth took cover behind a broken-down fountain. Meanwhile, T-Rex, Puppy, Eagleye and Falcon moved forward with weapons ready and careful steps. They were then told to split up and went in pairs around the statue, and at the same time swung around the corners with weapons readied…

Only for them to show them an image through her visor, of a pair of small beacons.

"What the…" Puppy muttered, before the Commander said…

[It's a trap…]

(Commander's PoV)

He realized it only too late, the second his agents saw the beacons which were sending out false signals, he knew that he had been lured out and away from the buildings into a trap. He had completely forgotten the situation report that Central and Amalie and even he had gone over about the advantage his Sharks would have by remaining in the building. The abandoned, depowered Sectopod had washed it out and the signals had driven him away.

And now he paid the price as seconds later, two thunderous crashes of debris sounded in the night air, and two Advent Sectopods ran forward.

They were enormous, even by Advent's standard, both Sectopods were enormous. Standing twice as tall as a normal Advent Sectopod did, these two Sectopods were heavily modified with attachments along the main body.

Both Sectopods wielded four miniature plasma weapons, acting as Anti-Personnel weapons, one had a plasma cannon on its underbelly and boasted a standard Advent Main Beam Gun. It also had two small cylinders that glowed blue attached to its back, radiating energy in small amounts and had several aiming lasers pointing in multiple directions.

The other Sectopod had two similar cylinders strapped to its back, but unlike the other had a long-range plasma gun designed for precision artillery shots at long range. Where the standard Advent Sectopod had a main gun, it had been modified to act as a cargo container, for what though he didn't know.

[TERMINAAAAAAAAAAAATE!] One Sectopod yelled.

[OBLITERAAAAAAAAAAAATE!] The other Sectopod yelled.

Their voices were familiar.

He expected them to begin firing, but instead both Sectopods simply charged at his squad's separated forces, one going for those investigating the beacons, the other heading for his long-range support.

[Spread out!] He ordered quickly, giving them each a position to run to while also ensuring they could support one another.

Instantly his forces split up and moved to their designated positions, Puppy moving the slowest and barely avoiding being trampled by one of the Sectopod's legs.

[OBLITERATE, OBLITERATE!] It yelled, turning at her and trying to smash her with one of its feet.

Meanwhile he saw that the other one, yelling [TERMINATE, TERMINATE!] was attempting to ram its low profiled main body at Hawkeye, who just ducked in time as he was unable to jump out of the way, and avoided being smashed to a pulp.

[What kind of weapon's system is this…?] He thought, but gave orders to begin firing at the two Sectopods.

Puppy was the first to open fire, and she was ordered to target the Sectopod's main chassis. As she fired her laser rifle, Falcon opened up with a plasma shot on the same side, and combined together struck the Sectopod, causing it to shake and stumble.

[O… BLIT…ERATE!] It yelled, before it stumbled forward two steps, and collapsed to the ground, landing on its underbelly, only supported by the legs which were motionless and its primary cannon.

Meanwhile the precision shots of Mercy, Hawkeeye and Sharptooth had a similar response, and he watched as 'it' was struck in the back just below the cylinders.

[TER… MIN…AAAAAATE~!] It also screamed defiantly, before it stumbled and fell to the ground.

There was silence as everyone stared at the Sectopods.

"That's it? I was expecting something… stronger?" Puppy muttered.

"Those were the weapon's systems we were told were tested and perfected by Advent in the greatest of secrecy?" Sharptooth said in disbelief.

"Yes… that was hardly a fight… we barely dented them and they went down?" Mercy said quietly.

"Well, I'll happily take a kill count on a dumb and stupid Sectopod instead of dodging bullets from a 'smart' one." Puppy said cheerfully.

"You and me both sista!" T-Rex shouted, giving her a high five.

[Well in any case, job's done… now all we have to do is clear out the rest of Advent's forces… but I'm not picking anything up noticeable.] Central said.

[If those were AI… why would Advent use such… 'primitive' thinking and planning algoritms… and then install them into these Sectopods?] Amalie said.

[Easier to control, perhaps that's their method of getting around the Virus? The dumber the AI, the easier it is to control and make obey?] He replied.

[I suppose anything is possible… its either the AI is supremely intelligent… or supremely stupid… never considered that idea to be honest.] Shen said.

With that done he began to look around and plan his next move, guessing that Advent Patrols might hear the carnage and come running, he began to give orders to his Sharks to take up positions in the buildings and climb to higher levels…

When the Sectopods stood up.

"Yo, they getting back up!" T-Rex yelled, reacting fastest and unloading his Plasma Rounds into a barrage, trying to shred their armor.

Instead all the rounds were absorbed by a blue energy net surrounding the Sectopods.

[Heads up, they're back for…] He yelled, but once again the Sectopods surprised him as they began running 'away' […more?]

"Uh, Advent Sectopods are not known for running away Commander." Hawkeye said.

"So, what do we do, just let em go?" Puppy yelled.

[After them, we can't let them get away.] He ordered. [Something is going on, and we need those two Sectopods to find out. Don't let em escape!]

So the Sharks ran after the Sectopods, and he followed along high above. It wasn't hard to figure out where the Sectopods were going, they left a trail of destruction as they ran through the streets. At some point they seemed to have wobbled or revealed the damage they suffered, as they turned and ran through some of the abandoned buildings, burying the entrances in rubble and collapsing any way to get up to higher levels.

"I can't… believe… Sectopods… can move this fast!" Puppy said as she panted.

"They must be new models, the standard models never moved this fast before ever!" T-Rex said as he knelt down and lifted Puppy and had her hold onto him 'piggyback' style so she could keep up.

He was surprised too, his Sharks were fast yes, but they had just traversed seven blocks worth of streets, and still the Sectopods were moving faster than his operatives could manage.

At one point during the chase his Sharks caught the trailing edge of one of the Sectopods, and watched as it ran right 'through' another building, collapsing it entirely and destroying the two buildings next to it.

[I've heard of drunk driving but these things are making that look like something a sober man would do.] Central commented.

[If this is the AI the Elders and the Advent High Council were told to keep secret, I can see why… they are… quite 'primitive'? Or was it… stupid? I don't know exact word for this behavior…]

[Perhaps we did more damage than we realize.] He thought, but something was off, they didn't look that damaged when he saw them running away.

Finally, he checked his scans and saw that they were about to reach a dead end. The street they were rounding ended in steel framed buildings, unlike the other buildings around him that weren't made completely of steel.

[They're at a dead end, unless they turn around there is no way out of there!] He said.

Sure enough, he and his Sharks rounded the corner, and watched as the Sectopods seemed to stare in confusion at the buildings in front and on either side.

He ordered his Sharks forward, but noticed too late that there were no abandoned cars, no cover for them to use. Only by entering the buildings could he find any cover.

"We got them now!" Hawkeye said.

At his voice, the Sectopods turned around and looked at them.

And then the glass windows on either side of the street shattered, and row upon row of MEC units marched out in unison. From the higher levels, similar windows shattered and floating mechanized units appeared in rows, each wielding a spotlight and training plasma guns on them. Behind the Sectopods appeared wheeled units, similar in design to what looked like a SHIV, each wielding plasma weapons and aiming lasers, taking up flanking positions and pointing at the Sharks.

He heard stomping and turned to see three Sectopods march from hiding places inside the abandoned buildings, each wielding what looked like missile launchers on their backs and each escorted by two MEC units.

"E…xactly… where 'they' want 'us'…" Puppy squeaked in fear.

[We didn't follow them here… we were 'herded' here!] He declared.

"What was your first clue?" Falcon asked, but because he always spoke in the same tone since he first became a Psi operative, he wasn't sure if Falcon was being 'sarcastic' or not.