So language as usual. Mentions to trauma/PTSD and alcoholism to a point. Don’t think anything else needs to be mentioned. (But if I’m wrong yell at me in my ask box).
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Back to the present. Back to reality. Reality. Such a painful thing. Like the agony coursing through his body. Coursing through my body… He noticed something. The agony… the agony was less. Slowly melting away.
“You two are nearly there.” Geist’s voice rang every so faintly in his ears.
So that was why.
Bradford was still on the ground, curled into himself. Unaware of how much time had passed since the whole thing began. It felt like ages.
“The bond is nearly complete.”
Was it truly? Didn’t feel like it to Bradford. His mind was still swimming with memories. His own and Asaru’s. This alien had so many hosts through the ages. Exploring the Earth. Finding XCOM once more and making them his permanent home. So many different perspectives to view, absorb, and learn from.
“Nngh.”
Still some pain lingered as the finally connections were being made. But as the agony continued to fade, he felt something replace it. Peace. He hadn’t felt that in a long time. And then something else… Hope. And it was burning passionately deep within.
“Find me.”
No. No. No.
He closed his eyes tighter. She was still there. Dare he look? He needed to face it. Conquer this damn vision of a nightmare.
“Face it. Face her.”
Asaru’s voice rang in his head. It felt… strange. Much more pleasant than a Sectoid channeling its twisted thoughts to try and break him. But still strange. Something to get used.
But with the Ethereal’s words, he felt that hope swell inside of him. He opened his eyes, moving his hands away from his face. She was still. About a foot or two away from him.
He let out a deep sigh. He had to face her. No more running away from her. No more trying to block her out.
Body trembling, he forced himself to his feet. The world spun for a moment. It felt like his stomach was at the back of his throat. A hard swallow, a moment to catch his breath, he managed to keep his balance. He eyed her. So far, no reaction. She was still shaking like a leaf. Another sigh slipped from his lips before he moved towards her.
He stood in front of her. So close now. The closest he’s ever been since the nightmares plagued his mind. Still no reaction from her. Those eyes looked so dead. Afraid and pained. He just studied her body. Broken, naked body. Just like what he saw when Asaru searched out that connection. A shell of her former self. Strange diamond-like marks littered her body. And a stranger one on her neck. Starting from the chin down, her neck was black. It transitioned back to her natural skin tone as it reached her collarbone. Patterned like trickling rain.
He closed his eyes. A few tears streamed down. What are They doing to you?
Try not to dwell on that now. Just face her.
He opened his eyes again.
“I promise…”
He raised his hands to touch her, but paused. Could he really touch her? It’s all in his mind… right? But it wouldn’t hurt to try with everything going on tonight. So much had happened.
He brought a hand to her face. Just a test to lightly brush her cheek and… A sharp gasp left his lips. He could feel her. Trembling and cold. Ice cold. Then something else happened. She moved ever so slightly. Head tilting towards the hand. Can she feel him? See him? Hear him?
Another test. He brought both hands to her face and began to gently caress it. It took a moment, but she pressed her head into one of his hands.
“J-J-Jynn…” He started choking up.
God, she could feel him. Maybe even see and hear him.
“I-I promise…” He was still choking up. He just couldn’t believe it. As he was still caressing her head, he noticed she was shaking less. And those eyes of hers were looking calmer; slowly closing. “I promise I will find you.”
He dropped his hands from her face and wrapped his arms around her, bringing her into a hug. She needed it. He needed it.
“We will find you.” This time, Asaru spoke with him. Such a strange feeling.
Her shaking grew even less.
“I will find you.” Just his voice again as he held her tight. He didn’t want to let go. But he pulled back slightly. Studying her face again. Calmer. Looking less pained.
“I-I-I…” He can barely say it. Barely spit out those words. This could be his only chance to tell her.
“I love you.”
He didn’t know what came over him, but he just kissed her on her forehead.
A sigh come out. A sigh from her. He felt her slump into his arms, fully going limp. She was no longer shaking and her breathing was calmer.
He carefully shifted her in his arms to get a look at her face. Calm. Eyes fully closed. Like she was entering a peaceful sleep. Whatever was tormenting her was gone.
“Good.” He smiled.
But he noticed something. He was starting to feel her less. The blue glow to her ghostly visage was dimming. Like she was fading away.
No. No. No. It was too soon. He wanted to hold her longer.
“I-I promise…” He quietly whispered, holding her tight and fighting back tears. “I’ll find you… we’ll find you.”
But no matter how tightly he held her, she continued to fade. Blue wisps wicking away like ashes blow away by the wind. A few moments later, the last bit of her disappeared, leaving him with empty arms.
Just why?
“Why?”
He mumbled under his breath, shaking his head. She was gone too soon.
“Why?”
There were so many thoughts running through his mind. So many questions. He wondered if he would ever get answers for them.
“WHY?”
He let out an anguish wail, crying to the heavens as he dropped to his knees, slumping to the floor, and just wept.
And wept for a long time.
Awhile later, he felt something on his back. Felt like a hand. He peaked over his shoulder. It was Geist. Offering his order hand to help him back up. He took it.
“It’s never easy facing one’s demons.” Geist somberly said.
“Mhm.” He could only muster a throaty grumble.
Geist stepped away, giving the soldier a moment to clean up his face and compose himself.
“So, how do you feel… bond wise?”
Bradford looked at him like he grew two heads. How does one answer that? How to describe it? He looked down at his hands. His vision shift for a few seconds, peering into another world. No. Someone else’s eyes. Asaru’s. He could faintly see the Ethereal’s arms within his, the other set just below, and a few tendrils floating around him.
“Different… but at the same time… the same…” Bradford answered the best he could at the moment. Which was barely scratching the surface. But nothing felt amiss. Maybe he was a little sore all over, but nothing felt wrong. “Strange is the best way to describe it.”
“You will get used to it in due time as the bond between both of your continues to grow.” Geist gave him a few reassuring pats on the back. He flinched with each one.
“I hope you’re right.” Still, a small part of him wondered if this was a good idea. He couldn’t imagine how he was going to explain it to the rest of his crew. Heads were going to turn.
“You’ll feel a little pull when I separate.”
Asaru’s voice rang in his mind. Still something to get used to.
A moment later, Bradford’s body shuddered as he felt the pull. The next moment, Asaru emerged from his body. He looked to be glowing brighter.
“Gah!” He gasped. His whole body shuddered. Such an odd feeling.
“Sorry.”
“It’s fine… gotta get used to it.”
Geist looked at Asaru, noticing his brighter glow and straightened posture. He smiled. Perfect. That was something promising.
“I suggest you both take it easy for some time.” Geist said. Especially after what just happened. “Let your bodies adjust to each other.”
“That would be wise.” Asaru agreed. He was feeling a little drained after the bonding.
“You don’t have to tell me that twice.” Bradford nodded, fighting back a yawn. He felt like he could use some rest. Tiredness was slowly catching up to him.
“Though if anything happens, such as the draining, immediately contact me.”
“I’ll —“ It wasn’t just him anymore. He looked at Asaru. “We’ll… we’ll keep that in mind.” He hoped that would never happen.
“But!” Geist raised a finger.
“What now?”
“I wish to train you.” Geist gleamed. He opened his hand and formed a few orbs. Twirling them between his fingers. “Help you learn how to handle the new found psionic power flowing through you and make sure you do not harm yourself or Asaru. Especially since you’re not a natural psionic.”
Bradford eyed those orbs. Psionics. He was still wary of them, but things were different now. He could feel it. To think he would be able to do that now, all because he bonded with this Ethereal. Maybe he would finally get some well-deserved payback on those annoying Sectoids. He chuckled. Can’t wait.
“That would also be a wise.” Asaru nodded. Precautious needed to be taken. “I rarely channeled my power through my recent set of hosts as it shortened the length we could stay bonded.” Last thing he wanted to do was ruin the bond between him and Bradford. Bond… oh right! He remembered something else.
“I’ll also try to keep the memories from my pasts from coming into your mind.” He moved closer to him. “Some of it will occur naturally, but I’ll keep most at bay until you’re ready to view them. Especially hers.” Bradford simply nodded, holding back a sigh at the mention of her.
Bradford then turned his attention back to Geist. “We’ll have to figure out when to plan this training.”
Part of him wondered how bad it would get. Since the bonding, he was recalling faint memories of the old days; him reviewing reports on how their psionic operatives’ training was going. Was always an interesting read with the hell their top psions would put the newcomers through. And something about Geist was becoming more familiar to him with each passing second.
“Like you, I’m running my own faction and trying to pull the world’s resistance cells together.” And that was its own daunting task, as it was like pulling teeth trying to interact with some factions and cells.
“We’ll work things out. In fact, I can loan one of my people to help.” Geist didn’t mind waiting. They had some time. “Navla. She’s one of my brightest. And will help you prepare for what lies ahead.”
What lies ahead? Bradford didn’t like the sound of that. Always cryptic nonsense from the Templars. Like there was something more than just the Elders, their Chosen, and ADVENT they had to worry about. Not something he wanted to think about. The Elders and their pawns were enough right now.
“Now,” Giest patted Bradford on the back a few times, “let’s get you need some much needed rest.”
Bradford stiffened with each pat. He was half tempted to smack him, but did nothing. He was far too tired to care at this point.
“Riiiiight.” A yawn finally snuck through. “Before my crew and I eventually leave here in a few days… you have to tell me how you survived the Old Base’s fall.”
“Ah!” Geist’s eyes lit up. “Starting to remember me?”
“Somewhat.” His memories were still foggy, but were slowly becoming clear. “Have him to thank.” He gestured over to Asaru.
Geist softly chuckled. It was a start.
“Well.” placing an arm around his shoulder, Geist started to lead them towards the door. “Do you remember the operative that only started answering by their callsign?”
“That was you… and…” He paused as he searched his newly forming memories. “And someone else. But you were the first one.”
Geist let out a deep laugh. “Yes, I was the first and then Erika Rothschild. Sunder.” He shook his head. “What she liked to call herself after breaking the wills of a pack of Mutons during an abduction.”
“Sounds… familiar.” Bradford faintly remembered they had a few psions they had to keep a close eye on. Something about the newfound power went to their heads quickly.
“But back to me,” he ushered him to move, “I’ll tell you how I survived. Have my psionics to thank as they forced me into a coma when I sustained a life-threatening injury.”
He began his tale as he led Bradford and Asaru out of the chamber and to the guest quarters. By the end of it, Bradford had a lot answered, but had more questions. Exactly how long was Geist going to leave him in the dark about who he was and how much he knew about XCOM? He only got a chuckle and a grin as an answer which irritated him.
Introducing Asaru to the rest of his crew a day later went mostly fine. The two had agreed to do so since Bradford had a strong feeling they would ask questions about what happened back in the cave and then where did Geist drag him off to. And there were plenty of those questions and more. Especially details on how this ‘bond’ between him and Asaru worked. How deep did it go? Thankfully, Leo didn’t make any inappropriate jokes.
Now the real challenge would be telling the rest back on the Avenger. Should everyone know? He already knew who on the senior staff would be the first to know. Dr. Marin would probably be thrilled and want to pick at their brains. Maybe he would let Volk and Betos know. Hm.
“Just have to figure out who the others should be.”
Couldn’t let everyone know for Asaru’s safety. Last thing they needed was a leak. Needed to keep their new friend hidden as long as possible. The less the Elders knew, the better. Especially so they could find the Commander.
Reeves. Jynn. Please hang on. Stay strong.
Thinking about her hurt. He wondered if that nightmare would come back after confronting it. It was a connection to her. Her calling out to him. Asaura did say we could tap into that link and search for her. So it probably wouldn’t be the last time that nightmare would plague his mind. He wasn’t looking forward to it again. Seeing her like that tore up his heart. What were They doing to her? How the hell was she alive like that? Hopefully, they would find her soon.
Well, I come bearing another fic! That Geist focused fic I mentioned ages ago. (And yes I know I’m posting late. Lying in bed = semi-comfortable writing time.)
So prequel to the main fic by I have no idea how many years. Him and his Templars heading back to the main XCOM HQ to scavenge some equipment and other stuff. And him searching for some answers.
I guess semi-spoilers for the other fics as usual as I continue make these one off fics and interconnect things. Heh. Need to get to uploading several of these to my Ao3.
Don’t think this one needs any warnings.
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“Hello. Old home.”
Geist hummed as he dragged his hand against the canyon wall. That red, familiar canyon rock slide past his fingers. Dry earth, cool spots, hot spots; every ridge familiar but at the sometime different from the last time he had been there.
He lifted his hand from the rock, bringing his fingers to is face. Particles falling to the wind. He took in a deep whiff.
“Ah,” he savored the earthy smell, “home sweet home.”
“Old home?” A somewhat faint voice questioned. “Home… sweet… home?” They questioned again. This time the voice was closer but almost out of breath as they emerged from a nearby cliff.
What once was a pale face was beet red; black that was once pulled back into a bun was messily splayed on their sweat laden forehead. Once over the edge, they tumbled over and onto their back. Huffing and puffing. “There’s noting but rocks for miles!”
“Stop being so dramatic, Eric.” Someone else said. A rough-looking hand appeared at the edge of the cliff. A second later, an ethereal energy overshadowed their hand — purple veins becoming prominent on their skin — forming a clawed hand that came down with great force, digging firmly into the cliff side. The next second, a short and stocky female with ruddy scared skin effortlessly pulled herself up and over. She didn’t exactly avoid stepping on Eric as she came over. In fact, she purposefully planted her foot against one of his thighs.
“Even the researchers are doing better than you.” She left out a disappointed huff; digging her heel deeper into his thigh as she wiped sweat off of her shaven forehead. “Hell!” She snapped her fingers. “Even Wū is doing better than you!”
“GET OFF ME YOU DWARF!” Eric barked.
“Not fair using me as an example just because I’m blind.” Wū said. He quickly turned to her direction, the tails of the bandana covering his eyes smacked the back of his head. Currently, he was helping pull up the last few that were still climbing.
“Don’t be so harsh on him, Tash.” A female voice said a bit coldly. It was Navla. She was standing near Geist, adjusting the scarf around her neck. But her cold, hazel eyes locked onto Tash. Not too enthused by how she was treating Eric. “He’s still recovering from our training a few days ago.”
“He needs to learn how to adapt, Navla.” Tash snorted. Another dig of her heel, she finally got off his thigh and made her way over to where the others were.”
“I don’t do…!” Eric paused, taking in a deep breath as he finally got up. He patted his abused thigh a few times, shooting Tash a glare with every pat. “This kind of weather, hiking, and climbing!”
“Need to get over that, you snowbird.” Tash crossed her arms.
Geist chuckled, shaking his head at the mess. How his disciples could be something else some days. “Yes, home sweet home, Eric.” He answered, turning his attention back to the canyon wall. Fingers delicately touching another band of rock and compacted soil. “You perceive with your eyes but not with your mind.”
“Seriously?” He had been with Geist’s Templars for a few years, but he still had trouble making heads or tails of some of the things he would say. “My mind perceives a lot of dirt.”
As he continued his walk, dragging his fingers along the canyon wall again, he suddenly stopped. “Ah. Here we are.”
He took a step back before raising his hand forward. His fingers twitched for a moment before his psionics enveloped them. Several wisps went over to the inconspicuous canyon wall. At first, nothing happened. But slowly the wall started to crack and creak, like metal was shifting. A gap slowly opened, followed by the sound of metal screeching. A quick glance at the ap and one could see the familiar shine of metal. It was a hidden door, perfectly blending into the environment.
“Woah.” That changed Eric’s tune.
“One of the many hidden exits. Thankfully, this one survived the assault.” Geist explained. The screeching continued, along with a few crunches as the walls continued to open. A little more concentration until they finally stopped moving, but the opening was large enough for them to enter.
“Follow.” He directed them as he headed through the doors. As soon as all of them were inside, he closed the door behind them.
———————————
Faint psionic orbs and flashlights illuminated the dark, dilapidated hallways. Rubble decorated the halls as well as fallen steel beams and arches. And then bodies… they were everywhere.
Everyone was quiet as they trekked deeper into the forgotten base. Taking in the horrid sights as Geist made comments here and there. He pointed out who each of the fallen was when they came across the mummified remains of a XCOM personnel. Voice laced with sorrow. Seeing that insignia pained him greatly. So many lost that day and he was nearly one of them.
He also made comments on the fallen aliens. Those left behind once the Elders got what They wanted. He pitied them. Just tools to be used and tossed at the slightest inconvenience.
“We should have taken the Cheyenne Mountain Complex getting hit as a sign sometime after we captured an Ethereal and the artifact on Their ship.” Geist commented as he worked to open another set of security doors.
Screeching metal filled the hallway as his psionics worked to bend them back in place and force them back on their tracks.
“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!” Eric exclaimed. A story he hadn’t heard yet. “You guys managed to capture an Elder?”
“That had to be a feat.” Isaac, one of the scientists, commented.
“Yes, though They wanted us to catch them.” He shook his head. If only XCOM learned that fact quicker. Its security escort was far too light. “Though, They just were not expecting us, mere humans, to be able to break one of them.” Geist darkly chuckled. “They always underestimate.”
“Break…? You killed one of Them?”
“Yes. Outcome of the interrogation.” He nodded. “Though I was… occupied when the Ethereal’s interrogation was happening.” Though his memories were still somewhat foggy, he remembered that moment all too well. “But I could feel it reaching out. Trying to warn, but also taunt us for our mistake if we killed it.” Sometimes he wondered if he should waited to reenter the sarcophagus. Would things have turned out differently for the main base?
“Wow.”
“There we go.” The last dents in the doors disappeared. Finally ,they creaked open. But there was something on the other side. A towering figure obscured by the shadows. But a flashlight glinted off of something. Somethings metallic.
“Head’s up!” Tash was already on the offensive.
Already lunging forward with a psionic lance forming in her hands, she left at it, thrusting the lance deep into the thing. There was a solid metal crunch as the lance pierced right through it. Hearing metal grinding and growing, and feeling it rock back and forth, she quickly hopped off the thing.
It rocked side to side before finally toppling over and crashing into a heap.
As the other came over, the lights fully illuminated the adversary. It looked to be a robotic unit of some sort. Heavy armored and armed with twin plasma cannons. No wait. There was something in it. It was a mech suit. There was a pilot, but it was long dead. The suit was torn up; burns and melted plating from plasma fire and the dried remains of it’s blood decorated the pieces. Looked like the mummified remains of a Sectoid were still in it. The ones before their genetic upgrades.
“Good work amazon.” Slow clapping came from Eric. “You killed a corpse!”
She wrinkled her nose. “Better to be safe than sorry!”
“Is that a Sectoid in that thing?” Isaac was already prodding the skull with a baton he had.
“Yes. Though we called it a Mechtoid back in the day.” Geist said.
“Mechtoid?” Eric asked, brow raised.
“We had lots of fun names for the aliens.” He chuckled. “Still not sure why the Ethereals chose them as pilots.”
“Hate to see a Muton in one of these things.” Ermis, one of the mechanics, commented as she examined the legs of the thing. Not too banged up. Could be repurposed. “Think me and my boys can strip this thing in 10 minutes or less.” She was already fiddling with her tools belt.
“Go ahead.” He nodded. “The more resources, the merrier. Jun and Jessup stay with them.”
“Yes, sir.” The two acolytes responded.
Though a few were still studying it as Ermis and her team started to tear it apart, Geist continued forward.
“This way. We’re nearly to the hanger.” He said. “Ermis, you and your people meet us there.”
“You got it!”
———————————
“Whoa!”
“Huh, interesting.
“Lots of damage.”
Several voice echoes in the desolated hanger.
The hanger. Well, it wasn’t as grandiose as it once was. There was wreckage everywhere. Interceptors and the Skyrangers sabotaged with explosives or crushed because of the cave-ins, more fallen structural beams. And of course, bodies everywhere.
As a few took in the sights and dug through the mess to find anything useful, Geist and his top acolytes were setting up a gateway of sorts.
Psionic energy swirled between the four of them as they carefully marked two circles — one within the other — on the ground. Burning it into the concrete with their psionics. Once done, strange markings began to appear, connecting the circles.
“Good, still a good amount of residual psionic energy we can tap into.” Geist said, as they were nearly done. The gateway would allow them to teleport out of this place once they were done with their scavenging. They planned on retrieving many things and were not planning on carrying everything out for a long journey back to one of their havens.
“You know, why don’t we just set up shop here? Bring all our gear here?” One engineer commented.
“That actually sounds like a good idea.” Eric chimed in.
“Deep underground and away from those Elders’ eyes, just have to set up barriers so they don’t detect us and—”
“No,” Geist said sternly, “we are not here to set up a base.” “ We have one in the works.We are here to retrieve technology that would be beneficial to us.”
“Okay… okay.” Some times they forgot how scary he could get.
A few more minutes and the gateway was fully working. Slowly pulsating with that purpling energy. Just in time too as Ermis and her crew finally caught up, carrying parts of the fallen Mechtoid. They off loaded the parts into the center of the circle. A moment later, a bright purple glow enveloped the parts then disappeared accompanied by a binging warp.
“Perfect.” Geist smiled, happy to see it working.
“Now.” He snapped his fingers a few times before turning around to look at the group. “Does everyone know their groups? Their escorts?”
“Going to the Foundry and Workshops for us.” Ermis slung a wrench over her shoulder. Her people were ready to go.
“Laboratory for us.” Isaac nodded. The scientists should find something useful down there.
“We got the Archives.” Eric said. Hopefully, those data banks were stink intact.
“We got the Armory.” Tash was already gesturing for people to follow her. Chomping at the bit to see what they could recover. Hopefully, it would pack a punch.
“Psionic labs as you told us.”Wū chimed in. Hopefully, they could recover anything to bolster their powers.
“And Esker and I will search for the device in the Gallop Chamber if it still there.” Navla said.
“Good, good.” Geist nodded. “Make haste. I don’t want us to linger too long.”
With that, the groups began to split off and head deeper into the dilapidated base. Though Navla and Esker didn’t leave just yet.
“Geist…” Navla said. There was a hint of hesitation in her voice.
“I will join you down below shortly. First, I have something to investigate.”
“Keep an open line.” Navla said, tapping the side of her head. “If it’s there and active, we will contact you.”
“I always do.” He smiled. “Remember, don’t touch it. Especially if you feel a call.”
“Yes.” She nodded. With that, the two finally left.
“Now,” Geist finally started to leave, “I wonder how well Mission Control survived.”
———————————
Mission Control. The nerve center of the base. It was quite different not seeing that Hologlobe being projected. Nor hearing all the buzzing of the workers monitoring and fielding calls. It was just as wrecked as the rest of the base. Computers and workstations smashed and torn apart.
“Where were you when everything went down that day? Oh, Commander?” Geist was carefully making his way through all the debris. Stepping over the bodies as he looked around.
“Hm.” He paused. Eyes turned purple as he looked around.
“Hm…” Something caught his eye. He headed over to it. A workstation near the set of stairs leading to the Commander’s office.
“Oh course, by Bradford’s station.” He chuckled. “You two were close friends.”
He raised a hand, imbuing it with his power. Slowly, he moved it around. “Hm.” There were faint psionic readings he was picking up. “Let me see.”
Energy began to wisp freely from his hands and towards the station. Quickly it took on a wispy form of the Commander and Central. Both barking out orders and trying to make sense of the madness that day. A fragment of that day.
Suddenly a tremor and explosion separated the two, and before the Commander could get back on her feet, a Muton was right on top of her. The butt of its plasma gun came down on her with a sickening crunch, laying her out. Then it grabbed her by the back of her clothes and quickly slung her over its shoulder.
“So They chose to capture you. Looks like Sanve’s visions are true. As well as what I’ve seen when picking apart a few of the ADVENT Captains brains.” He mumbled as he followed the fragment.
How ADVENT worked never sat well with him. He knew the Elders guided Their armies, but from gleaning the minds of a few Captains, he barely felt the Elders feeding them tactical knowledge. Just further mental brainwashing, propaganda, and the occasional specified directives. Something else was handling the tactical side. And constantly. A non-stop stream of data, changing ever so slightly when called for to quickly change the tide of the battle.
“So you’re Their enslaved, silent guide. Now leading the armies of the Ethereals.”
“But… but.” He followed the trail of where that Muton dragged her away. A half conscious Commander reaching out to Central and the others before her figure disappeared in the crumbling rubble and smoke. But something blue shot out of her.
“They don’t have all of you.” Seeing that blue made him smile. “That power I sensed inside of you. That other being.”
“Replay it.” His eyes glowed brightly as he increased his power. He wanted that moment to reply once more. “Where are you?”
The increase in power made the fragment more clear. More figures took shape as the chaos unfolded once more until it reached what he was looking for. That blue energy shot out of her once more, but much sooner.
“Oh?” His eyes lit up as it grew and took shape. A tall, lanky four-armed being with several bulb-tipped tendrils. So similar to the Elder’s shape, but yet different. It’s skin was translucent, revealing a network of pulsing nerve pathways and a glowing skull at its bulbous head.
“An Ethereal.” He smiled, finally being able to see its true form. He paused the fragment. “So similar to those that call themselves Elders, yet so greatly different.” He walked around it, taking in its form. “I do wonder if you are of the same species? Just have taken different paths in your evolution?”
“Hm?” He noticed something peculiar. How it was posed. Falling back like something had thrown it.
“What is this?” He continued the fragment.
As the memory continued, the Ethereal shook its head, trying to get its bearings. Next, it frantically looked around until it saw her. The Commander. From how frantically its tendrils were moving around, it looked as it was panicking. It reached out to her, quickly trying to move forward, but the rubble cut it off.
“This is… interesting.” Geist mumbled as the fragment dissipated.
“You two split?” He wondered why. “Severing connections, but not by its will but your own?” He could tell the Ethereal didn’t do that due to how panicked it looked. “Curious.”
He wondered if the Commander even knew it was there. Was she reaching out to it or Central and the others?
“Hm…”
She gave no hints when he made his subtle comments here and there. And neither did it.
“But that split may be a boon to us all that you’re not whole. Would make the Ethereals and Their ADVENT nigh unbeatable. Last thing They need is a Mosaic.”
“Though I sense…” He increased his power once more, this time focusing it on the Ethereal. “I sense damage.”
Just after the Ethereal reached for the Commander and she was cut off from it, it soon doubled over. Arms tightly wrapped around its middle as it curled into itself. Those tendrils twitched wildly as it snapped its head up and looked around. It spotted someone, an unconscious worker, and flew over to them, disappearing as soon as it touched them.
“That separation did damage to you…” He mumbled. “And perhaps the Commander as well.” That just piqued his curiosity more. But also troubled him. Just how deeply connected was this Ethereal and the Commander, if a disconnection like that could cause it great pain? Hopefully, both were okay and not in a dire state.
“Something to dwell on later.” He got what he was looking for. “And something to search for.”
———————————
Though he would be on his way to the Gallop Chamber, Geist decided to make a stop by the Psi Labs. One to see how the salvaging was going. And two… reliving the past.
So far, the salvaging was going well. They were able to power up the computers to pull off some data they needed, and some equipment was still usable. A few were already taking things back up to the gateway.
Geist was down where all the magic happened. Those metal sarcophagi. There was still some residual psionic energy in the room. Much stronger than what he felt in the Hanger.
He was standing in front of one sarcophagus in particular. His.
“Should have died that day, but my psionics saved me. Forced me into a stasis.”
He couldn’t recall much about that day. He had already been in there for quite sometime, barely aware of his surroundings as he honed his abilities. But he recalled a sharp pain and his mind leaving him in a deep, deep darkness.
His hand carefully traced the inside of the damaged vessel. Particularly a dented jagged area where ones head would rest. There was a brown crust there. He grimaced as his other hand went to the back of his head and traced a gnarly scar.
“Still have blanks in my memory, but everything is slowly coming back.”
He wasn’t sure when he finally came to, but he was extremely lucky he was able to open his sarcophagus. His eyes glanced around the room to look at the others. A few more were open, but so many of them were closed. And a few were crushed by debris.
“Hm.” He bit his lip. Retracting his hand from the sarcophagus, he walked over to one of the closed ones and raised his hand to it. He grimaced.
“I know you. Sully. Such potential I sensed.”
He did this with each one that was closed.
“Oh…” Another one made him pause. “Her.” Another promising candidate after an mission incident. “When they return… when he returns… he won’t like this.” That sadness in his voice became stronger.
He continued on. Checking each one. Each occupant was deceased.
“You all will have a proper burial in due time.” But he didn’t come to do that. They didn’t have the time. But he knew of someone who would… sometime in the distant future.
“Hm?” He felt a pull on his mind. A familiar one at that.
“Hm…. Yes? Navla?” He answered, partially muttering under his breath. As he listened, he continued to examine the sarcophagi. Until he suddenly stopped.
“Ah, ha!” He grinned. “It’s still there. On my way.”
———————————
“We haven’t approached it like you instructed, Geist.”
In little time, Geist made it to the Gallop Chamber. It was a mess, like the rest of the base, but there was something in the center of the room that shouldn’t have been there.
The Ethereal device recovered from that Ethereal craft. It was broken like everything else, its stand partially collapsed, but that psionic orb was still functioning. Filling the room with a purple glow. But it was no longer perfectly round. It pulsated with jagged distortions jutting out of it.
“I wonder why they never retrieved this?” He spoke to himself as he headed over to it. He gestured for Navla and Esker to stay back. They did so.
“And it’s still active… curious.” Reaching the device, he kept some distance. There was a sicking malice radiating off of it. “How we should have immediately shielded you and that captured Elder so long ago.”
“Now…”
Taking a moment to prepare himself for negative feedback, Geist cautiously approached the device. So far no negative reactions from him getting closer. Once in reach, he brought his hands to it.
“Let me see.”
Peering into it, his face pulled back into a grimace. Barely holding back a snarl as he grinned his teeth. The orb was unstable and biting back as his mind worked through it. But it was a like tangled web. Millions, if not billions, of voices and minds at work on Earth and beyond. All talking. Just a constant stream of information.
So far, seeing nothing of worth, Geist was about to disconnect until something of interest finally came forward. A vision of sorts.
Projects the Elders on Earth were working on. Past, present, and future. Scattered throughout the planet. Continued experimentations and refining the ADVENT troops and other aliens. Secret experimentations on the subjugated populace. The creation of the Chosen.
“The Warlock.” He rolled his eyes, mentioning the name.
Dhay-Vol. Such a torn in the side for the Templars. Geist felt a tinge of sadness for the child he once was. Poor child twisted by the Elders.
Then a vision of some scientists pouring over someone in one of those stasis suits on a surgery table as holographic projections of the Elders watch on. But there was one Elder there in person. Dressed so differently from the rest.
“Hm… who’s that?” His mind focused on the stasis suit more than the Elder. “Looks familiar. From one of my visions?” Just as he was going to focus on that vision, another one came forward. One much more interesting.
“Oh?” The face of an Elder. But orange tinted glass partially obscured it.
“What’s this?”
He focused on it. As he focused, the vision became more clear. The face of an Elder. He hadn’t seen one since they captured one ages ago. But something looked different. They were already deathly thin —skin and bones, one could say— but this one looked far worse. Features more sunken in and degraded.
“Hm.”
As the vision pulled back, he saw it was in a sarcophagus of sorts. Its body barely visible through that obscuring orange glass. And the Elders body matched its degraded face. And then it wasn’t just that Elder there. There were several. All in their own sarcophagus scattered throughout a room.
“This is interesting.” Geist couldn’t believe his eyes. “Is your kind dying?”
That explained so much. Answered a few of his visions. Why those Elders had shown great interest in humanity and went through with creating an occupation of the planet. They were looking for something here and within humanity.
“Who is there?” A hissed voice called out to him.
“Oh?” He was surprised to hear a voice. “Still monitoring this thing?”
“Who is there?” Flashes of an Elders helmet filled his vision. “A human? Within Our weave? Impossible.”
“Actually quite possible.”
“Insolent creature!” It hissed. “Tell me who you are at once and perhaps you death will be quick.”
Geist let out a dark chuckle. “Wouldn’t you like to know.” Fingers arching, energy coursing through his hands as his eyes lit up. “This power is ours. Humanity’s. And the world will be ours once again.”
“Insolent creature., how dare you speak to one of Us like—”
“Quiet.”
He tightened his grip on the orb as his energy surrounded it. The orb pulsated quicker, throwing out more and more jagged shapes. But was growing smaller and smaller. No. Geist was crushing it. As it reached the size of a softball, with a flick of his wrist it disappeared, teleporting it above ground and high into the air. Seconds later it erupted into a great explosion, permeating psionic energy throughout the area.
“Grabbed Their attention, but that should cause a bit of a headache for Them.” He chuckled as he power down.
“Geist? Navla called him. “Everything alright?”
“Yes, and no.” He turned to her and headed over. “Found some interesting information, but we need to wrap up our scavenging within the hour or less.”
“Accidental contact with one of the Elders?” Esker asked.
“Yes. So They be mobilizing a few units to come out here, but I turned that orb into a psionic bomb.” He smirked. “So that should disrupt ADVENT connections if any arrive.”
They both nodded.
“I’ll start rounding people up.” Navla said and made her leave.
“I’ll make sure the gateway stays working.” Esker left as well.
“Good, good.” He nodded and watched them go.
He looked back at the device, pondering on what he saw.
“Many things answered, but now I have more questions.” He tapped his lip before he started to leave.
“That suit. I’ve seen it in a dream before. Something to dwell on…” He muttered. But as he was scratching his chin, something clicked in his mind. “That was you wasn’t it? Commander?”
———————————
It didn’t take long to round up everyone back to the Hanger. They were nearly done teleporting equipment and people out of the place.
“I’ll be the last one through. Have to make sure the connection is severed just in case.” Geist told the second to last group that was loading the last set of items into the circle.
“See you on the other side.” One of his acolytes said before being enveloped by the psionic energy.
Now it was just Geist. And an eerie silence.
He looked around the room, taking in his last sights of the base. So much destruction caused in such little time. So many lives lost. Could they have prepared for it?
He shook his head. Like that mattered now.
“I’ll be back one day to see you again.” He smiled. “All of you that are still alive.”
He had seen the future, and it was promising.
With that, he stepped into the circle. Letting his energy loose, he raised his hands to the sky. As the energies enveloped him, a thunderclap reverberated in the chamber as bolts of energy were let loose. They tore up the concrete just as he left. Nothing was left of the gateway.
Geist appeared on the other side. He closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. Salty air greeted his lungs and crashing waves tickled his ears.
“Back home.” Their seaside haven. A cove somewhere along the West Coast of North America. They had actually found an old XCOM research base they repurposed. Perfectly tucked away from prying eyes and it had the perfect amount of background psionic radiation to keep them hidden from the Elders. Just the right amount of disruption to keep ADVENT patrols far away from them.
“Kinda agreeing with the one guy saying we should turn that place into a base.” Eric spoke his thoughts to some of the others, as he was detangling some of the equipment they brought back. “Yeah, it’s trashed, but think it would be faster fixing that up than starting from scratch and scavenging stuff.”
“Patience my pupil.” Geist came over, over hearing him. “That is not our home. It belongs to someone else.”
“The insects and the dead?” Catch a slight frown from Geist made him backtrack. “No offense to the dead!”
“No. Future allies.” Geist shook his head. “I have seen glimpses of the future and it is bright!” He gave a hearty laugh. “They will be great allies to us and the Resistance that will truly bud.”
“Uh huh.” He didn’t exactly like that laugh of his, but so far most of Geist’s visions had come to pass.
Geist made his rounds, making sure everything was in order and the received equipment was being moved inside as quick as possible. With that, he headed for the cave entrance. He had some things he needed to do, such as checking on reports from their outposts and counting groups.
But his mind drifting back to the old XCOM HQ. And who the future owners would be.
A fiery orange glow caught his eyes. He turned to look. It was the sunset. Always, a calming sight.
“I can’t wait to meet you again.” He chuckled. Gazing off into the distance, that flaming ball of orange surrounded by purple and red tinted clouds caught his eyes. Such a nostalgic sight. He could see the canyons once again.
He closed his eyes, smiling. “Shaojie. Old friend.”
