What If? - U.M.R. (FYL) - Every Decision Has a Consequence....Every Mistake Has a Cost.
Ah yi yi. Still can’t believe I wrote all of this today. 9.5K. And I may dabble some more in this “What If” in the future. So a Augmented/Hybrid!Bradford. Not making him into an ADVENT Hybrid or a Chosen. Using one of my alien species.
Will be a while before I can draw out the idea of what he looks like, but here’s an example of the species using my character Aakriid Creed. And a bust I did of him(which is more accurate with the eye on the side of his head) for a ceramics class ages ago. He won’t share the same coloring as Aakriid.
Mild language, some violence, don’t really think I go into detail for Bradford’s ailments. Definitely can say Bradford is experiencing body dysphoria .
And ends with a bit of Chosen!Commander x Hybrid!Bradford. Giving the man some comfort after everything that happened.
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Jy-Sol had been fraternizing with the rebels for months. She had been with XCOM for months. Slowly gaining their trust, which was quite the task. Repeated attempts at murder were common. She found them all amusing. Even more so when her PROXIES, Claudis, S’Norri, and Dagos, would intervene when she had things under control. But she learned their ways and how they worked. How they united the scattered cells across the globe to fight back. Amazing work they did. In a way, her joining was a deep cover for the Elders. Pulling at those strings that XCOM longed for, that Bradford longed for, to have their Commander back. Or so the Elders would believe that was what she was doing. In reality, she was fully on the Resistance’s side.
Her initial meeting with Bradford and the being inside him, who he had yet to reveal to her, caused her to change sides. Asaru was his name. She heard it in passing one day when Bradford was talking to one of his friends. The man perhaps trusted her the least out of everyone. Scoffed at the idea that a Chosen could be remorseful and wanted to help the Resistance. Even with what she did that day to prove her disloyalty to the Elders. Stopping the Assassin’s ambush at a meeting with the Skirmishers. “Killing” her sister to save him and the others and then freeing all the ADVENT under her. Bradford still questioned if that wasn’t just a dramatic set up that day. Which it was. But she would not tell him that for a long time. She wanted to stay on his good side and pick at his brain to learn more about herself. Her old self. She could tell he only tolerated her questions and presence because of Asaru. And she was thankful to him, even though they had yet to meet.
Even with Bradford’s continued icy demeanor towards her, he and Asaru had got her thinking after that fateful day. Reviewing her memories. Questioning them. Those dreadful false ones the Elders implanted and then what little remained clear of the real ones. Several of them stayed distant to her, no matter how hard she tried to recall them. But they all brought a new perspective to her eyes. Her trust towards the Elders was utterly shattered. But They didn’t know that yet. They believed she was still working for Them. Occasionally feeding Them the truth so They didn’t believe she was becoming another wayward Chosen. Though her work was taking more time than They would have liked. They wanted her to capture that rebel leader and hand him to Them. They wanted that being inside of him. But she told Them no. It would be too soon. She wanted to have all her bases covered. She wanted to uncover the locations of the other factions. Everyone needed to be eliminated before she could capture Bradford and bring him to Them. If she stole him now, that would rile the Resistance into a mad frenzy. The Resistance had a few trump cards. They knew how to hack into ADVENT’s televised broadcasts. They had evidence of the Elders’ crimes. Did They want the Resistance to show the world what They were up to? What was hidden behind the golden age They ushered in for humanity? That made them shut it. It was something They couldn’t risk. They would lose the entire world in an instant. That got Them off her back as she continued her work.
But Jy-Sol would soon learn she would underestimate the impatience of some Elders. They still wanted Bradford and Asaru. Especially Asaru. That being was a key to several endeavors they were working on. And They would have him.
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A simple investigation quickly turned into a nightmare for Jy-Sol and XCOM. They were investigating a Blacksite ADVENT had hastily abandoned because of psionic energy spike taking over the land. Much to the annoyance of everyone, Bradford joined the mission to investigate. He just didn’t trust that Jy-Sol would do an adequate job to shield the squad from the psionic energy permitting the area and Navla was off on meeting back up with her Templars, so she couldn’t take his place. And then he felt like something was just off with the intel. What was going on at the Blacksite for them for this to happen? And wouldn’t they still station robots at the facility to keep the place guarded?
And his hunch was right.
As they entered the Blacksite and traversed the facility, they quickly found their answer to the source of the overwhelming psionic energy. The Warlock.
“You push the Elders’ hand with your idleness, sister.” There was a significant amount of disappointment as Dhay-Vol spoke. “You will answer for you wayward ways. But first, catch him. I will take care of her.”
As he pointed at Bradford, a black swarm ,trailed by green energy, swept past the Warlock and towards them. They quickly swarmed the man before he had a chance to cry out as they enveloping him and immobilizing him. He collapsed to the floor. And in his place rose a distorted copy composed of that swarm. Damn. It was one of those Spectres. Annoying nanorobot, swarming alien insects, or some sort of Psionic particle-matrix. Didn’t matter what they were, they were annoying, and they had more problems. The Shadow of Bradford attacked them. Dhay-Vol soon struck at Jy-Sol as he called forth several ADVENT units via teleportation into the room.
All hell broke loose as they fought for their lives. Jy-Sol did her best to defend the XCOM operatives as her brother hounded her ever-increasing power and sadism. Even with that, several threw accusations at her for setting them up. She didn’t. She had no clue the Elders had this planned and was just as shocked and angry as them.
Then she felt a tickle in back of her mind. A familiar connection she hadn’t felt since that day. It was Asaru. Desperately reaching out to her.
“Stop them! They have us!”
She looked over to where they were. In the arms of a pair of Troopers, was Bradford’s unconscious body. They were taking him to a nearby portal being held open by a Priest.
No. She let out an angry howl as she threw one of her hands into the sky.
“COME TO ME MY PROXIES!”
The next second, fours of this psionic pings filled the room. Claudis, S’Norri, Dagos, and Yorrick were there. The Watchers soon went to work, backing up the XCOM operatives. Yorrick set his sights on the Warlock. He licked his lips.
“Oh, the Hearteater.” Yorrick drew his axes, soon tapped the blades together. “Been waiting to spar with you. Care to trade notes on how best to tear out a heart?” The barbarian soon threw himself at Dhay-Vol, giving Jy-Sol a moment to breathe. But she couldn’t rest. She had to save Bradford.
With a mad dash, she made it over to the Troopers just as they reached the portal and struck them down with her glaive and with her psionics she ensnared the Priest before she could react and slammed her into the wall. She picked up Bradford with her lower arms and examined him. The man looked terribly pale and in a great amount of pain. There were still some of those nanobots crawling on and under his skin.
“S-s-something wrong.” She felt Asaru touch her mind again. He sounded pained. “There’s s-s-something about this S-S-Spectra that’s different. It feels like it’s killing us.”
Her eyes widened at his statement. She needed to do something. They needed to take care of the Shadow copy. Kill it and it would release him. She ordered her Watchers to focus on that thing and called in Firebrand to be ready for takeoff. One operative pointed out there was still way too much psionic energy in the area for Firebrand to come close. She knew that. That’s why she would teleport them to her once that Spectre was taken care of.
It took some time, but the Watchers and the XCOM squad took down the false copy of Bradford. As soon as the last bullet destroyed the copies body, the man let out a strangled gasp as the nanobots on him dissipated. But he didn’t wake up. He looked worse than before.
“Get us home. NOW!” Asaru sent to her.
“Everyone to me!” She ordered.
“No!” Dhay-Vol finally noticed his plan was unraveling. But in that second he took his eyes off of Yorrick, one of barbarians axes found his neck and dug deep.
“YOUR HEAD IS MINE!” Yorrick cackled. Teeth were on full display, ready to sink them into Dhay-Vol’s neck.
“Yorrick, enough of that and come to me!” Jy-Sol yelled. The barbarian whined that his fun was cut short as he yanked his axe free from the stunned Warlock, but quickly came to her just like the others.
Once everyone was gathered around her, her psionic energy enveloped them all, and they disappeared. They reappeared inside of the Skyranger and quickly left the area just as some dropships were flying in.
One Specialist looked over Bradford on the trip back. The man wasn’t looking good. His vitals were all over the place. Something was attacking his system. Jy-Sol scanned him with her psionics and confirmed what the Specialist said and found something else that was disturbing. Asaru’s life force was also being affected.
As soon as they were back at the Avenger, Jy-Sol quickly teleported herself and Bradford down too the Infirmary feeling it would take to long for them to carry him down there. As soon as they were there, the doctors immediately got to work placing him in one of the advanced gurneys and got him plugged into several machines.
Jy-Sol watched from a distance. Growing increasingly worried by the man’s deteriorating state. It didn’t take long for some of the Senior staff to show up and start asking questions. She repeated everything that happened and what a few of them had witnessed if they were watching the operation unfold. She had no clue that it was a setup. If she wanted to capture Bradford, she wouldn’t have done it so sloppily. She pointed out she had hundreds of opportunities to snatch Bradford at any point, as she stayed with them and hadn’t. That shut up the worst of the doubters, but a few still questioned if she wasn’t a double agent.
As she continued to defend herself, she felt faint voices call in her mind. More or slow claw into her mind.
“He can be fixed if you bring them to Us.” It was the Elders. “All will be forgiven once you bring them to Us.”
“No.”
“Let Us claim them. Let yourself be reclaimed. You serve a higher purpose. Let this disobedience, this madness end.”
“No. Begone you lying parasites! You will not have them and you will not have me ever again.” She shut them out. Now They knew her allegiance.
She closed her eyes. Tears streamed down her face. She slammed her fist into the wall, leaving a sizable dent, which caught everyone off guard.
“The Elders planned this.” She said and informed them the Elders had just contacted her.
So this was all Their doing. A part of Their plain. His degrading health. Must have been a backup if Dhay-Vol had failed his task. Something to pull at that humanity still inside of her. Make her return to Them with the promise to fix him. She didn’t believe They would uphold that promise. As soon as They had him, They would tear Asaru away from him and toss him aside like trash. And forgive her? She laughed at that. They would punish her, torture her, until she was compliant once again. She would not be Their thrall again.
Her sudden anger and tears made the other doubters hold their tongues. If she was a double agent, she wouldn’t have revealed that to them. She wouldn’t be crying. Maybe this truly was Commander Reeves and not some monstrous Chosen. As Bradford had told them once, Reeves was his best friend. Looked like that old friendship was there. This Chosen was weeping for her old friend.
As the day went by, Bradford’s condition hadn’t improved. They had stabilized him, but even that wasn’t holding perfectly. After several thorough scans, there were still nanomachines in his system and a virus. A bio-mechanical virus ravaging his system, tearing apart his DNA apart. Dr. Tygan, Dr. Tyler, Dr. Marin, and so many others were looking at a way to stop this. But they had very little time. And that had Jy-Sol worried.
Another day passed, and Bradford was still doing poorly. Some of his flesh was necrotizing. Jy-Sol was hovering by his side. Watching the doctors pull more blood from him. She tightly gripped his hand. He could barely grip hers.
“Please hold on.” She sent to him. Just hoping he would respond. So far, he had been silent since it all happened. Even Asaru had fallen silent.
“Jy-Jy-Jy-Sol…” His pained voice reacted out to her. “J-J-Jynn…”
She let out an audible gasp. She tightened her grip on his hand. “I’m here.”
“Something’s wrong… I feel… like… like I’m losing myself…”
She bit her lip. Should she tell him what was going on? “The doctors are doing their best. You’ll be okay.” Best to withhold that information.
He was silent for a while. “I’m dying… aren’t I? I can barely feel Asaru.”
She let out a sigh. Even in his state, his mind was still sharp. “There was something different about the Spectre that attacked you. It infected you with a virus of some sort. Again, the doctors are hard at work.”
The man let out a few pained laughs before growing silent. As if he doubted the doctors could save him in time. That just made her heart hurt.
There had to be something they could do. She couldn’t lose him now. She had so many questions she still needed to ask him. His trust she still needed to gain. She wanted to meet this Asaru. Both held the keys to the questions and faint memories that haunted her the most. Who was this Jynn Gresham Reeves that she once was? She needed to find out who she was before the Elders got Their hands on her. She wanted to know.
Then a thought crossed her mind. She shook her head. No. No. No. It was a risky thought, but may have been their only choice.
Maker let your hands be of help. She would take Bradford to him. The Elder could work miracles. The Elder had worked a miracle saving her from his Brethrens hands when They chose to convert her. Her body wasn’t ready, and it nearly killed her. But he saved her. Perhaps he could do the same for Bradford.
She got up, quickly disconnected everything connected to Bradford, and scooped him into her arms. Several of the doctors and worker started questioning what she was going.
“Tell Insight to find Raal’Maker’s mountain facility. The one that lies under the crying moon.” As she uttered those words, purple and blue psionic energy enveloped them and they disappeared. That sent the ship into a frenzy.
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Deep within his hidden mountain facility, Raal’Maker was toiling away in one of his laboratories. At the moment, he was unraveling and sequencing the DNA of a species his Brethren had sent to him to investigate. Another species conquered by another branch. Another species that would be treated like cattle for their useful traits.
“Eventually, this will all come to an end. We will suffer the consequences of Our hands.” He mumbled as he worked. He knew the day would come soon enough.
“Hm?” His eyes opened up. He could feel something had entered his facility. A strong psionic force had pierced through the shielding to his facility. “Is that… Jy-Sol?” He felt as though he recognized it. And something was off about it. He felt strong emotions. Pained emotions.
“MAKER!” Jy-Sol cried out. She was just entering the room. The limp body of Bradford hung in her arms. “SAVE HIM!”
Maker was taken aback. What was she doing here and with the leader of XCOM in her arms? She always contacted him before she arrived at any of his facilities. He soon noticed the tears streaming down her face, and Bradford looked horrible. His breathing was shallow and he was sweating profusely. His skin was pale and clammy, and then he noticed the black and decaying flesh. Rot had set in. She had to be here with him for good reason. The man wouldn’t have come voluntarily. To take such a risk.
“Place him there.” He pointed at the gurney nearby. His work for his Brethren could wait. He quickly sent a thought to his security team to have them up the psionic shielding and redirect any of his Brethren’s attempts to contact him to one of his other facilities. He also told them to inform the other facilities he would be activating one of his shells over there, just in case his Brethren do contact him. He needed to not be disturbed right now, and They did not need to know about this. About his shifting loyalties. He was already on thin ice with Them after a recent spat. He didn’t want to show his true colors just yet. A few more pieces needed to fall into place.
Once that was done, he called upon his assistants and went over to where Jy-Sol had placed Bradford. Jy-Sol informed him of all that had happened to cause his ailment and then of what the XCOM doctors had found. Near instantaneously, Maker’s energy levels spiked and the skin on his face began to burn. To say he was disgusted and ticked was an understatement. And that only grew after he performed scans on Bradford’s body.
“I do not believe my Brethren had any intention of healing him once you gave them over. This… This virus is tearing him apart almost at a molecular level.”
Hearing that made Jy-Sol’s heart sink. “Is there anything you can do?”
“I believe I should be able to stop it. Purge this virus from his systems…” But his voice trailed off as he examined the additional data coming in from the scans.
“I sense there is a problem.” Jy-Sol noticed the growing concern on his face.
“The damage done to his system…” He paused once again. Hesitating to even make eye contact with her. “I’m not sure if I can repair that since I do not have a template of his genetic structure.”
“No, no, no.” Not something Jy-Sol wanted to hear. There had to be something he could do. Then she noticed canisters nearby. Their segmented plating reminded her of the ones that contained the blood of the Weaver’s Maker would use on her for her healing. Then her eyes lit up. Yes. That was it. “There must be something you can do!” She then pointed at the canisters. “Use the blood of the Weavers to fix him like you do with me!”
“Jy-Sol!” He gasped in his hushed voice. “Are you mad? There are great risks I take when I use that! Even with my precautious, Ea’Njall-Vai’miti has touched you.” His eyes focused on her neck. From the chin down, it was discolored black and a few eye-like marks ran down the sides of her neck.
“FIX HIM!” She didn’t care.
“Do it. We can’t fight this forever.” Asaru’s voice faintly called out to the both of them. “He’ll understand the changes that may come with it… even if there is anger first. I understand the risks that come with the blood. Ea’Njall-Vai’miti will eventually call to us.”
“Is that?” Maker quietly gasped. This voice felt like those bonds he sensed long ago in Jy-Sol when the Elders first had her. The Ascended One.
“Maker!” Jy-Sol growled. “Focus!”
“Yes, yes. The task at hand.” He couldn’t let his wants of wanting to meet Ethereal block him from the situation at hand. He would have a chance to meet him once he saved his human host. This human that he could tell Jy-Sol deeply cared for. It brought a smile to his face. She was remembering the old her. Making reconnections to the past. That was a promising sign for the future.
“I’ll have to make sure their blood is a pure as possible before I subject him to it.” He sighed. So much work. “But for now, let me purge his system of this heinous virus. Please, step aside, Jy-Sol.”
Jy-Sol did so, but didn’t leave the room. She watched Maker and his workers toil away on Bradford for hours and even assisted with feeding her psionic energy to Asaru when his life signs were reading dangerously low. It took many hours, but Maker knocked out every trace of that bio-mechanical virus from Bradford’s system. The next step was keeping Bradford stable until he had made sure the Weavers’ blood was as purified as he could make it. And he needed to call upon his Fragmenta friends to do so. He already sent messages to them. Until then, he used a more advanced form of that MELD to stabilize and heal Bradford’s body.
“Hm… I may need to splice him with another species to help the Weavers’ blood take hold in his system.” He wouldn’t change him into one of those ADVENT Hybrids. They had their own set of issues he was still sorting out. The things the Elders did to restrict their freedom. Alcohol, a favorite pass time of many species, was poison to them.
“Maybe… maybe I will use something I used on Jy-Sol?” He mumbled. He would not be converting Bradford into a Chosen. That process would kill the man. Besides the fact he didn’t want to curse him with the Elders’ DNA. No, he would use something else he had used to help heal Jy-Sol’s body when she was being converted. Something that helped combat the degrading Elder DNA and made her much healthier than her siblings.
“I will use the Akarak. A hearty species whose blood is just as special as the Weavers. The blood holds powers.” The Elders hadn’t truly encountered the species as a whole, but from the few they had, the Others wanted to ensnare the species and use them. Their DNA was just a pliable as humans and there were hints of them being able to use the Gift. Maker was all too happy they could never find them. He wondered if the Fragmenta had a hand in that. He remembered one of them making comments that the Akarak would decimate the Elders if They dared to enslave them. That made him laugh. He wondered if that would have humbled his Brethren if it happened. Probably not. They were too proud.
With the additional DNA selected, Maker toiled away on how everything would affect Bradford. There would be a great deal of genetic manipulation happening and he knew that would bring upon physical mutations. He would design Bradford’s new body with great care, like he design Jy-Sol’s.
Once everything was done and Bradford was more stable, Maker had him moved the immersion tank. Final checks and preparations were made before he was sealed in and the Weaver’s blood flooded the tank. He would be in there for weeks, if not a month or more.
During all of this, as the days passed, Jy-Sol never left Bradford’s side. She would occasionally reach out to him and let him know she was there. But there was never a response. That made her cry.
Jy-Sol then remembered they would have visitors. The Avenger. She could only imagine everyone was pissed with her sudden departure with Bradford. Even if it was for a good reason. She informed Maker of their future visitors. Maker wasn’t amused. Explained the reports of an intrusion in his security system had been dealing with for the past few days and reports of a massive ship somewhere in the region. More preparations to make. He finally let Insight in and informed her one of his trust security officers would meet them with a device within the hour. Once aboard the Avenger, the device would teleport them inside of his facility and to one of the hangers.
Once the Avenger arrived, Jy-Sol left Bradford’s side to greet them. She wasn’t surprised they greeted her with yelling. She even had to catch a punch thrown at her. She was glad Corvo was one of the more levelheaded Senior staff as he got everyone calmed down and dragged the person trying to slug her away..
“WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING!?” Someone yelled. She sighed. How was she going to explain everything to them?
She told them there was little time to wait and then debate once she thought of Maker. Bradford wasn’t getting better. He was dying. She knew Maker could save him. He had done so with her. But it would come at a cost.
“What cost?”
“He… He won’t be fully human anymore.” She hesitantly told them. She gestured for them to follow her. Maker would be better at explain everything.
Once they arrived at the lab that held Bradford, Maker was there and he explained everything. How badly the virus had ravaged Bradford’s system. He had to hybridize him to save him. Others wise, he would be stuck on life support for the rest of his life with no guarantee he would have returned to consciousness.
To say this caused confliction in the group was an understatement. A few accused Jy-Sol again. Had to be some plan by the Elders. Maker scoffed at that. His Brethren were smart, but not that smart. They would rather let this human die once They got Their true prize. He was just the vessel that held it.
“DO YOU THINK I WOULD WISH FOR HIM TO SUFFER A TORTURED EXCISTENCE LIKE ME!?” Jy-Sol finally snapped at them. She was growing tired of having to defend herself. “I HATE THE ELDERS AND EVERYTHING THEY STAND FOR THOSE WRETCHED PARASITES!”
Another fight nearly happened, but they quickly defused things. Tensions stayed high and would continue to stay so until Bradford’s healing was done. They would await his input… after his reaction to his new form.
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As the weeks passed, the Avenger stayed station at Maker’s facility. But that didn’t mean they were taking the time off. With the permission and guidance of Maker, they made use of the Psionic Network to strategically teleport the Skyranger and various squads across the globe to continue their work. It was amazing how it worked. They wish they had this technology ages ago. But they had to space out the teleports. Maker didn’t want his Brethren realizing XCOM had access to such technology. It would immediately clue Them in that someone in Their ranks was assisting the Resistance.
Jy-Sol continued to stay by Bradford’s side. Even more so when Maker would make minor adjustments and tweaks for Bradford’s recovery. He was refining that new form.
Even if she ever needed to leave, the outings were short. She worried about him. Wondered how his body was adapting to the changes. What would his reaction be once all was done and he woke up? She feared the anger that would come. Several of the crew paid a visit off and on. Shen, Tygan, Corvo, and Shay to name a few. They were all still processing the whole thing, but they all reassured her that he would understand. Of course, after his negative reaction, just about everyone knew he would have.
One day, she felt Bradford reach out to her. Her heart filled with excitement. He was improving.
“J-Jy-Sol? J-Jynn?” He called out.
“I’m here.” She responded.
“What’s going on? Where am I? Argh…” He let out a pained moan. “My body hurts. Nothing feels right.”
She sighed, her eyes dimmed as she heard the moan. “You’re safe in Maker’s lab. I brought you to him. He’s helping heal you…” Her voiced trailed off. She knew she had to tell him what was going on. “Please don’t be angry at me and him for this.”
“For what?”
“Even once it was purged from you system, the virus ravaged your body… To save you… Maker has had to augment you. Hybridize you. You are no longer fully human.” It pained her to tell him that. “It was the only way to save you.”
There was no response from him.
“John?” She called out to him. Still no response. She could sense he was thinking, processing what she just said. Oh, he’s not going to be happy.
“I will explain it to him in further detail.” Asaru reached out. His voice came out strong and clear. He sounded so much better than before. “Give him time.”
She sighed. Even with Asaru’s assurance, she feared the future. “Thank you.”
——————————
Another month had passed.
“He is finished.” Maker said.
The time had finally come.
With a press of a button, the liquid inside of the immersion tank began to drain. Bradford’s recovery was done. Jy-Sol and a few of the Senior staff were there, waiting for that liquid to drain and the lid to open.
As the liquid drained, Bradford started to come to. A burst of fresh oxygen tickled his nose. His eyes twitched as he heard the muffled chatter of everyone.
“Argh…” He had a splitting headache. And a faint pain radiated through his body.
His eyes fluttered opened as most of the liquid receded past his face, but his vision felt off. The tank was dark, but he felt like he was seeing more of his surroundings.
Once the tank was fully drained, the lid opened. Bradford hissed as the light peeked through. He close his eyes and raised a hand to his face to shield them.
“Whoa.”
“Those are some changes.”
“At least he’s recognizable.”
“This is going to take some getting used to.”
“Got those weird neck scales like Jy-Sol.”
A few of them commented. Jy-Sol was silent.
Bradford slowly raised himself up as he lowered his hand until his eyes fully adjusted to the light. Eyes. His vision still felt off. Without shifting his head, he could nearly see behind himself.
“Easy there.” Maker stretched out his hand to stop him. “Do not rush.”
“Don’t move too fast. You still need to adjust to the changes.” Asaru said to him.
The man shook his head, trying to get his bearings. But something felt off. He felt something on his neck, covering the entirety of it. A slight rustle and clinking sound followed. He shook his head again and moved his jaw a few times. And an odd soft feeling of fluff with the slight sharpness, like they were fish scales. He raised a hand to his neck. It was soft and felt like scales, like those scales on the side of Jy-Sol’s neck and her back.
“What the?” He muttered. Then he noticed the skin on his hand and arm. There were two tones to it. On the top side, his skin was a dark brown, but on the bottom, it retained his normal skin tone. Then the skin on the top side… he stopped and ran his other hand over it. It felt like there was a fine patch of soft fur.
“W-w-what the?” His breathing quickened. What had they done to him?
“Easy, John. Remember what I told you.”
He didn’t heed Asaru’s words. He raised his hands to his face next and felt around. So much felt off. Some of his features felt sharper and hard. He felt a two hard nodules on his forehead and then another two somewhere in his hair, but near the first. Then his nose. There was an odd growth on the middle of the bridge. It almost felt segmented. He took in a deep breath to calm himself. But that did the exact opposite. He felt air pass between his fingers — which only increased as his breathing hastened — towards this segment. It was segmented. Like he had slits there. He suddenly flinched as his hand brushed against something resting on his cheeks. Hesitantly, he tapped it again and flinched once more. It was soft and squishy. Then he noticed he felt it “blink”. Was an eye there?
“Give me a mirror.” He turned his attention to the others. They looked at each other. Was that a wise idea?
“Here.” But Jy-Sol obliged. She handed him an adequately sized mirror.
As soon as the man saw his face, he let out a gasp. He nearly dropped the mirror. He looked so different. He barely felt like he looked like himself, despite what someone had said. His face was also afflicted with a two-tone skin. Most of his face still had his old skin tone, but towards the sides, it took on that dark brown. And those nodules he felt on his forehead. They were a dark brown and had a bronze shimmer to them. They reminded him of the buds, those growing horns one would see on a cow. Then he finally noticed what that soft squishy thing he felt was. He had more than one set of eyes now. Just below his natural two, there was a set around his cheekbones. They were black. He soon figured out he couldn’t exactly “see” out of the eyes, but as his hand passed in front of them, he could detect something was close by. They were like sensors. Motion detectors. But what about his increased field of vision? He felt another “blink” on the sides of his face. He turn turned his head and there was another set of eyes. They were on the side of his face, by his ears, which were also different. Longer, wider, hell, they looked like ears one would find on those fictional long-eared elves. But these eyes, they looked more like his natural eyes minus the sclera. It was pitch black. But the field of view was trippy. He had a near 360 degree field of view. It all felt natural and unnatural at the same time.
He got a better look at his neck. Definitely those neck scales like Jy-Sol, but these were dark brown with a bronze shimmer to them. Then he felt something brush behind his back and then he felt a few thuds.
“Wait, he has a fucking tail now!?” Someone blurted out.
Tail? What else have they’ve done? Bradford turned to look.
Swaying back and forth and hanging slightly out of the tank was a tail. It was thicker at its base and tapered out towards the tip. It had a fan-like in that looked like it could expand and retract. Towards the tip was more bronze that glimmered under the light.
“What the hell did you do…?” He muttered under his breath. His eyes returned to that mirror and continued to stuff his features. He still had that scar on the right side of his face, his hair and facial hair, and some of his original skin tone, but so much was different. His face twisted into a grimace. The mirror shattered in his hands as it turned into a fist. He turned to Jy-Sol and then to Maker. Jy-Sol’s face was sullen, knowing what was coming next. Maker kept a calm face and just waiting.
“John don’t.” Asaru could sense the anger welling inside of him.
“WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO ME!” He ignored the warning. Bradford let out an animalistic roar, jaw slightly unhinging further than a human could, revealing a sharp set of teeth, before he threw himself at Maker.
“No! Blame me!” Jy-Sol quickly moved to intercept him. Arms quickly grappling him his to force him back down. But he was putting up a fight. His strength was enhanced. Just about rivaling hers. And he was just as tall as her now.
“Shit!”
“Bradford!”
“Calm down, man!”
The others quickly moved to help.
It took Maker calling in additional guards and a few rounds of sedatives to calm down and knock out Bradford. The expected happened. And it happened a few more times until the man learned how to silently fume about his new condition. To say he was pissed was an understatement.
Besides Asaru calming him down, it took a few of the Senior staff being there to keep him from attacking Maker. Especially when Maker made a few comments that he could have pushed Bradford’s form further by making him look even more like an Akarak, but chose not to so he could keep him close to human form and humanity. The species had digitigrade legs, dexterous feet, and four arms. That really set Bradford off that day.
Maker got back into Bradford’s good graces a few days later. From one of the Elders he deeply trusted and had a changing demeanor like him, he had learned that his Brethren may have a sample of his blood. Procured from some encounter with ADVENT. If he could get his hands on it, he may be able to restore Bradford to his old form in the future. Bradford told him not to give him false hope, but was hopeful the Elder could fix him. He didn’t know if he could live like this.
But it was a near 24/7 rotation for the crew due to all the final health checks the Elder was doing. And Jy-Sol had to remove herself from the room. Her being there made him angrier.
It took a few weeks of constant visits and chats with his friends and crew to put him in a slightly better mood. The reactions from the crew about his appearance were mixed, but most kept the upsetting comments to themselves to keep him in a good mood. Eventually, hearing that XCOM and the Resistances’s efforts hadn’t ground to a halt as soon as he and Asaru were out of commission uplifted his spirits greatly.
One day, passing by the lab, Jy-Sol heard someone make a poor comment to him about his appearance.
“Looks like you’ll be getting your own set of devil horns, Bradford.” They laughed. Those nodules on his head had started to grow. Thankfully, it was painless.
A snort followed that comment. Then loud WHACK echoed in the room and a yelp soon followed. Jy-Sol caught a glimpse of the poor crew member hopping away from a fuming Bradford. Arms crossed, his tail was swaying back and forth quickly. The other crew members laughed at them.
“Serves you right.” Someone said. Not the time to make jokes.
Looked like that tail was going to come in handy.
——————————
“Come to us. I believe he’s finally in a better mood to talk. I will make sure he doesn’t make any actions he will regret.”
Jy-Sol had received the call from Asaru, but was hesitant to visit. When ever she would pass by that lab and Bradford would catch a glimpse of her, he would either turn his head away from her or snarl. She believed he would never forgive her.
But she found herself walking down the halls of the facility, coming ever so closer to the lab he was in.
“Hopefully Asaru is right.” She let out a sigh, nervously pulling at her braided hair. She felt like it would be the same song and dance as before.
As she reached the lab, she saw Bradford. He was sitting on one of the medical beds and was dressed in his usual uniform. That long-sleeved green shirt, brown pants(adjusted for his tail), tactical gloves, and combat boots. Probably made him feel like himself. A few of Maker’s assistants were tending to him. Still more health checks before he was okay to go. She read all his health checks were going well. His body was accepting them and Asaru was also adjusting to the changes well. But she also read that he kept failing some parts of the mental tests. That was a hurdle.
She noticed his ears twitch and nose scrunch. That tail whacked against the bed. He knew she was there. He turned to look at the entrance. Those eyes looked at her. He let out a snort before looking away.
He’s still angry. She sighed. But she entered the room, hoping for the best. The assistants greeted her warmly.
She kept her distance, going over to one of the terminals to read up on the latest health checks, and stayed silent. She was unsure when she should speak to them. So she watched the assistants work and listened to their little comments.
“Pupils dilating correctly. Tertiary eyes detecting movement just fine.”
“Growth of both sets of horns is going well. Looks like the front two will curve out to the side and the upper two will curve back.”
“Tail is nice and responsive.”
“Need to increase the iron in your diet. Your body is craving that alongside with Copper and Elerium. Wonder how that will affect the color of your scales. Mainly bronze, but starting to see some silver in some areas.”
Such interesting comments. And even more in all the archives. So much for Bradford to adjust to. For the crew to adjust to. And her. She sighed deeply.
She looked over her shoulder. “How is he doing?” She couldn’t help up ask.
“He’s doing quite well, Jy-Sol.” One assistant turned to look at her. “Just a few things and he’ll be back in action.”
“That’s good.” She forced herself to smile. But she knew there was still a trial.
“Why did you do this to me?” Bradford finally spoke. He looked at her. He wore a frown, and those eyes were full of anger.
There we go. She was waiting for that. She closed the terminal she was at before heading over to him. She paused a few feet away from him. Keeping some space between the two was best.
“It was the only way to save you. The Elders… The Elders…” Her voice hitched as she turned away. She still couldn’t believe what They had done. “They damage you like They damaged me. All in a bid for me to take you and Asaru to Them with a false promise They would heal you.”
He let out a snort, shortly followed by a growl. Everyone told him about that. Asaru drilled it into his head. Hell, he was doing it right now. But he wanted to know one thing. “Couldn’t you have chosen something less drastic!?” He gestured to his face and then body. He hated it.
“John, I… That was Maker’s choice. He knew what would work best with your damage body.”
“At least you don’t look like her.” The assistant behind him butted in. “You do not want that Elder DNA coursing through your veins. Ugh, nasty stuff.” They laughed, and it grew louder when Bradford growled. “You wonder why Jy-Sol looks healthier than her siblings? She’s got Akarak in her veins like you and a few extra things.”
Bradford was about to snap at them, but he clenched his jaw. They had a point. He was so glad he didn’t get turned into something like her. But he was still angry his humanity had been taken from him. There was a slight possibility Maker could return it, but he didn’t want to get his hopes up.
“Just talk to her. She didn’t mean you harm.” Asaru spoke to him. “You can’t hold this against her and Maker forever.”
Bradford grumbled. True, but he wanted to. This Chosen did this to him. This Chosen was his old friend. Old friend. He closed his eyes tightly. A subject that caused constant conflictions inside his mind. Was she truly his old friend? Did any remnants of Jynn Gresham Reeves? Maybe… she did bring him to Maker to save his life. She took a great risk doing so. He remembered a few crew-mates thought had finally turned and took him to the Elders until Insight cleared things up.
And then part of him had to admit, he saw remnants of the old her come forth the longer she stayed with XCOM, but there was always a lingering doubt that old her would never come back. Replaced by the new personality sculpted by the Elders that somehow grew a conscious and wanted to help the Resistance.
He breathed deeply through his nose, his fingers drummed against the bed. Jynn. God, he missed her so much. He never got to tell her he loved her. Well… he told that psionic connection of her from that damn nightmare a few times, but did she remember it? He opened his eyes and looked at Jy-Sol again. Eyes her head to toe. That face had a few lingering features of Jynn. Those cute freckles. He snorted at himself. He hated the lingering love. Whenever he looked at her, he grew more conflicted.
“Are you even the same woman that I loved?” He asked very bitterly.
“John!” That was not was Asaru meant by talking to her.
“Um, what?” Jy-Sol looked like he had grown two heads. Even that assistants did. She looked around and even pinched herself. Did he really say that? “Repeat that?”
“Are you even the same woman that I loved? He repeated. There was still bitterness in his voice.
Jy-Sol raised her brows. So he really said that. Then she thought. She wanted to smack her head. This explains so much. Ever since she joined the Resistance, joined XCOM, he had been so hostile and odd whenever she was around him. He gave her a constant cold shoulder and avoided her unless necessary. So there may have been something between the two in the past. Before her capture by the Elders. Then something else crossed her mind. Those glimpses in the Gap. She remembered seeing echoes of Asaru and Bradford in that odd place. Comforting an emancipated and broken her and trying to keep Ea’Njall-Vai’miti away. I love you. She remembered him uttering those words.
“Loved?” She asked, moving closer to him. She reached out to touch his arm, but hesitated just a few inched away. “So, we were a couple in the past?”
“No.” He turned away, flicking his tail at her. “Never had the chance to be.”
What. She wasn’t sure how to decipher that. She could read his emotions. Did she reject him? Did her capture have something to do with it?
“John I’m… “ She paused. How to say this? She closed her eye and took in a deep breath before sighing. “I’m sorry. I really am… I was just afraid of you dying. Afraid of losing you.” She looked at him. His eyes hadn’t changed. “Since joining the Resistance, joining XCOM, and being around you… I’ve been remembering more of my past… but things still fill so distant. I didn’t want to lose you. I remember you the most out of all the other survivors.” She quickly bit her lip when she noticed him raise a brow. She was coming off a bit selfish. Like she was now only helping the Resistance to learn more about herself. She faintly heard Asaru telling him she didn’t mean it like that. “I… I just didn’t want to lose… my only possible chance of finally sort out who I was… who I am now… and who I want to become.”
Bradford wrinkled his nose before letting out a snort. He looked away. That made her sighed. Then a sigh came from him and then grumble. He looked back at her. He still looked irritated, but the fire in his eyes was no longer there. There was a touch of sadness.
He patted the space next to him.
“You want me to be that close to you?”
“Just sit.” He was short with her. She asked no further questions and sat down. As she sat down, he leaned on her and wrapped his tail around her. She froze for a moment, but soon relaxed. She didn’t expect that. The man was full of conflictions. But just maybe… just maybe, what she said got through to him. Hesitantly, she wrapped around him and rubbed his side. A few grumbled, but accepting, “hmmm” slipped out. This is something.
Some time later, the assistants finished their tasks.
“We have data to upload now. Would you two like for us to leave or stay?”
Jy-Sol opened her mouth to answer.
“Leave… please.” But Bradford beat her to it. She wondered why he chose that with how his tolerance for her and Maker had been so low.
“Can do. By the way, your meal will be here within the hour.” The assistant said before they left.
Now it was just the two of them. They sat in silence. Mostly silence. She could faintly hear Bradford and Asaru arguing over something. Something about “conflictions”, “it was necessary for them to survive”, and “he needed to apologize.” She didn’t feel like he needed to apologize for his anger. He had every right to be.
“Dammit, Asaru…” A grumble slipped through his lips. He then rested his head on her shoulder and let out a heavy sigh.
“Jy-Sol…” He paused and glanced at her. “I’m sorry.”
“John, you don’t need to sa—“
“Let me finished.” He cut her off. He signed once more. “Sorry for that… I’m sorry for my anger. I’m sorry for attacking you… several times the past few weeks. And then I’m sorry for being so cold to you since you joined us.”
“Finally.” Asaru had been working on getting him to say that for the past few days.
An apology? A series of apologies? Jy-Sol couldn’t believe her ears. He truly sounded sincere.
“John.” She sighed. “You don’t have to apologize about the anger and attacking me… you’re dealing with a new body.”
“I am still angry…” He tried his best to hold back a growl. “But I am sorry. Thank you for saving me. For saving me and Asaru.”
“I did what I felt was right.”
“Right… Right… Just wish I had a choice on what I looked like.”
He knew had no choice in the matter since he was unconscious. But as Asaru continued to explain things to him and he actually listened to what Maker told and showed him, He understood the drastic measures that had to be taken. Especially since he was Asaru’s host. They still didn’t have a proper backup host set up for him yet. Their resident Templar, Navla, could sustain a bond for only a few days at most with months of “rest” in-between.
“I heard Maker is trying to secure a sample of your blood that his Brethren might have.” She said. “I hope he can, so he can restore you back to your old self.”
“He has, but I don’t want to get my hopes up.” He grumbled.
“Try to be positive. Please.” Asaru butted in. He partially emerged from Bradford. In a way, finally revealing himself to Jy-Sol. He looked just like the being she had seen in her dreams and visions. It was him. And seemed like Bradford didn’t care.
“You’re asking a lot from me, Asaru.” The man grumbled. He barely saw anything positive about his new form. Even though he had some new physically enhancements.
“Well, you don’t look like me, for starters.” Jy-Sol nudged him. “And you don’t have the biology of the Hybrids.”
“Right… At least I can still drink.” He chuckled. He remembered the Skirmishers telling him about that issue with their biological chemistry when they offered them drinks after a joint operation went well. And he wanted some whiskey right now.
“I rather not have you get drunk.” Asaru chided him. That made Bradford snort a chuckle. “Took forever to break that terrible habit of yours.”
“I’m thankful for your help, Asaru. You made Dr. Veer’s therapy sessions more bearable.”
Their conversation drifted to other subjects. Questions about how the crew was handling his new look. More positively than Bradford had expected, but there were some he could tell that were going to have a hard time adjusting to it. Then Bradford wondered how some of the Faction leaders would react once they saw him. He knew Volk was going to flip.
But Jy-Sol’s mind drifted back to one subject. Love.
“So about this… love thing?” She brought it up. She felt him squirm before several grumbles came out. Seemed like he was regretting letting that slip out.
Bradford let out a deep sigh. He raised himself back up and looked away from her.
“No… I never got around to telling you. You know how teens can get on the subject. We stayed in touch after to high school and when we pursued our military careers and I still never mentioned it.” A slight chuckle left his lips. He remembered some of his old buddies would tease him about that crush of his if he ever noticed an email or letter from her. He should have acted on it back then. “And then when we met face to face again… hell, that was a surprise… you were my boss. Definitely no romance could happen with what we were doing.”
“Ah.” Jy-Sol nodded. It all made sense.
Then she noticed something glisten on his face. And then it fell to his lap. Was he crying?
“And you still have these feelings? For me?”
“… Yes.” He sounded so sad. “Though mixed.”
“Because of what the Elders have done to me?”
“… Yes. And other… things.”
“We have to show her that later.” Asaru said.
“Yeah… it’s about time we did that.”
That comment made her curious. But she wouldn’t ask about it. She was already pulling at some delicate emotions and could feel from the both of them whatever “that” was would pull at more emotions.
“Jy-Sol… Jynn…” He looked back at her. “Will you ever fully remember the old you?”
“I… I… don’t know.” She hesitated to answer. “Truthfully… I feel like I’m totally a different person. Deeply disconnected from my past, I can only remember in spurts.”
“Like a split soul?” Asaru asked.
“Something like that.”
“Hm. I hope the longer you are with us. That split can be mended.”
“I hope so.”
Bradford shook his head. Not something he wanted to hear, but it was a growing reality his old friend possibly wouldn’t return after what the Elders had done to her. A reality he had to face.
“Jynn… Jy-Sol…” Some days he wasn’t sure what he should call her. He just looked at her. Studying those familiar features.
“Yes?”
He shook his head. He didn’t know what to say. Instead, he brought his head over to hers and gently pressed it against it. He let out a sigh.
Jy-Sol raised a brow. Just what was he doing? She could feel he was calming down just from doing that. Like that, residual anger was melting away. She pressed back. She would allow it if it was keeping him calm.
She then felt his hands on her neck. Gently ruffling those scales. It felt oddly nice. She then felt him draw his head back from her. Looked like that was over, but she noticed he didn’t remove his hands. Bradford looked towards the floor for a moment before looking back at her. Those eyes were trembling like he was contemplating what he should do.
“Forgive me.”
“Forgive you for wh—!?!?”
Just as she was asking the question, he kissed her. One of his hands shifted towards her back and gripped her tightly. Her first instinct was to pull back, not expecting something like this to happen. But she didn’t. She leaned into the kiss and kissed him back. Her arms wrapped around him. She didn’t know why, but it just felt right.
“I’ll give you two some privacy.” Asaru let out a chuckle at the sudden turn of events. It was as astonishing sight. He wondered if the new biology was affecting Bradford’s thinking. Something to explore for later. For now, he disappeared as the two’s kissing grew more passionate.
With her psionics. Jy-Sol closed the door to the lab and locked it. By this point, both were lying down on the bed. Intertwined in each other’s arms.
“Don’t let go of me.” Bradford sent a thought to her.
“Wouldn’t dream of it, Cher.”
“Cher?” He questioned before letting out a joyous laugh in his mind. Cajun. She’s remembering her roots. “Part of you is still there.”
The two continued to kiss for the hour before falling asleep in each other’s arms. Bradford looked to be at peace. And so did Jy-Sol. A new development for the both of them. Something else for them to adjust to.