Airspace above Inner Mongolia, East Asia
Saturday, May 5, 2035 – 3:50am
The flight back to Japan went by in a blur. Yutaka worked on Song’s injury for nearly an hour before sewing up the wound and giving her some sleeping pills. With Song unconscious, Chong-Il and I fiddled about with the climate controls until the overwhelming smell of blood was filtered out of the air. Jericho and Sophia fell asleep on one another’s shoulders.
By the time the Skyranger was over the Gobi desert, Yutaka and I were the only ones still awake. He leaned forward in his seat, fingers pressed together in deep thought. His eyes never broke contact with Jericho.
“Do you think any of this has happened before?” Yutaka’s question caught me off-guard.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Think about it.” Yutaka said. “Jericho’s so-called ‘mother’ has had contact with a time-traveler and carried a device that told her about future events. The only way that time-traveler would know about those events was if they’d actually been there.”
Yutaka cast a suspicious eye at Jericho.
“I know the Commander forbade her from telling us about the future, but I’m still disturbed by what she said in the Blacksite. We really weren’t supposed to find out about the Partogan fleet until later? If she knew we were going to find out anyway, why not just tell us?”
“Maybe the timing has something to do with it?” I offered. “Perhaps the future changes if we learn stuff early.”
Yutaka shook his head.
“No, Robinson. The future isn’t something you can just rebuild or alter.”
He continued to look over Jericho’s sleeping form. Yutaka seemed to be talking to himself, using me as a sounding board.
“Jericho really does know our destinies. She may even know her own fate already. The future itself isn’t going to change, no. Instead… the path we take to reach our fates is going to be different. That’s the key.”
Yutaka undid his safety belts and crossed over to the other side of the Skyranger. He took the empty seat next to Jericho and quite literally cozied up to her, putting one of his hands on her leg. Jericho didn’t wake up, but she did shuffle about, seeming to recoil from something.
“What a fascinating girl.” Yutaka’s voice was barely more than a whisper.
Yuk! Look at something else!
I nearly jumped out of my seat!
Chihiro! I thought. I can hear you!
Yeah, you must’ve just come back into my range. Chihiro’s telepathic voice filled my mind. Now we know the Psi Link doesn’t work over long distances. I’ll be ready for that next time. How’d your mission go?
I refocused my mind and called forth memories of everything that had happened in the Aralkum desert. The ambush, the encounter with the Chosen Hunter, and the discovery about Jericho’s mom. I finished by slowly moving my eyes over to Song, and allowing Chihiro to get a good look at Yutaka’s handiwork.
Yeah, great. Chihiro’s voice dripped with sarcasm. Just get her back here and let the real medics do the work.
I asked Chihiro how her mission in Tokyo had gone. Words and images tumbled into my mind without restraint.
Tokyo’s even more crowded than when I was kid! There’s almost fifty million people living there now! Took us nearly a day to find the guy we were looking for.
A mental image filled my mind’s eye. It was of a middle-aged Japanese man who wore a blue sweater vest and rectangular glasses. His hair was going grey and receding at the same time, while the expression on his face was one of exhaustion. In my mind, the name “Doctor Hongo Marizuki” became associated with the man.
Doctor Marizuki was a professional astrologer. Chihiro explained. He detected the Elder’s Temple Ship in orbit above Earth twenty years ago before the aliens attacked. You’ll never believe this, Blake: He says Jericho is right about that space fleet coming towards us now! He’s been tracking that armada for weeks!
I looked over at Jericho again, my eyes wide.
“No way.” I muttered under my breath. “She knew.”
Yutaka was only half listening to me.
“Of course she knew.” He muttered before draping one of his arms across her shoulder.
Tell those two to get a room! I’m trying to talk to you here! Chihiro’s voice got my attention again. What about you? Are you okay? I can tell you’ve been hurt.
I reached up and absentmindedly rubbed the bruise on my chest. In the back of my mind, I got the feeling that Chihiro had simultaneously done the same. Even though she was physically unharmed, she had experienced a dull pain in the middle of her torso.
I’ll live. I told her. You can see for yourself when we get back to the Avenger. Are you already there?
We’re close enough to see it. Chihiro answered. Probably another ten minutes walking and the mission will be over for my team. Where are you?
I struggled to pull a map of East Asia out of my pocket without waking up Chong-Il.
Near the border of Inner Mongolia and Manchuria. I answered. We’ll be back in Japan before long.
Good. Chihiro answered. I’m going to board the ship and do the debriefing now. I’ll see you soon! I love you!
Love you too.
Chihiro’s withdrawal from my mind felt a little like I was hanging up a phone. I smiled, grateful that we’d finally gotten comfortable with the Psi Link between us. Finally, I was starting to feel sleepy. I shut my eyes and did my best to ignore a whispered conversation between Yutaka and Jericho, who was awake now. The humming of the Skyranger’s engines and the aircraft’s gentle vibrations were the best lullaby I could ask for. A quick nap before landing, just close my eyes for a moment…
…
“Robinson! Wake up!”
I startled! The Skyranger was abuzz with activity, and everyone was awake. Yutaka was standing up in the aisle way, clutching a radio receiver to his ear. Chong-Il was writing something down in his notepad frantically while Jericho was helping Soo into a seat and strapping her in. Sophia was the one who had shook me awake.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“The Avenger just contacted us with new orders.” Sophia explained. “Delta Squad got jumped before they reached their objective in Kanna. They’re being overwhelmed!”
“Since we’ve got the Skyranger,” Chong-Il added, “We’re being sent to bail them out.”
I stood up and keyed in the Squad Leader’s passcode to the weapons locker.
“What do we know about the situation?” I asked.
“Very few ADVENT on the ground.” Yutaka said. “It’s a mostly alien force down there, and they’re being led by the Chosen Warlock.”
Everyone froze. I slowly turned on the spot and faced Yutaka.
“Say that again!?”
“The Warlock.” Yutaka repeated. “He’s already there, on the field. And it sounds like he’s brought a small army with him. Whatever the aliens have in Kanna, they’re willing to defend it with their heaviest weaponry and most elite soldiers.”
Yutaka rounded on Jericho. To my surprise, Jericho seemed to wilt under Yutaka’s gaze. Something about the way he looked at her seemed to just sap Jericho of any confidence.
“It’s a Psi Gate.” She said quietly. “An interdimensional gateway held open by Psionic energy. There’s a handful of them on Earth, and the one in Kanna is the most poorly defended.”
“Most poorly defended!?” Chong-Il repeated incredulously. “Sounds like our people are getting massacred over there!”
“That’s because XCOM isn’t supposed to get the Psi Gate for another month!” Jericho protested. “This mission is supposed to fail!”
“Not if I can help it.” I said. “Everyone sit down!”
I pushed my way to the front of the Skyranger and banged on the co*ckpit door.
“Hey, Firebrand!” I shouted.
“We’re already en-route to Delta Squad’s position.” Wendy Carter yelled from the other side. “ETA two hours!”
“Can you get us there any faster!?”
“Not unless you want me to fly this thing apart!”
“FLY IT APART THEN!”
I looked back at my squad.
“We’re getting Delta out of there, alive!” I said. “No other option is acceptable.”
All around us, the Skyranger shuddered dangerously as her engines were throttled all the way up. I cast a look at Jericho.
“If you want us to keep helping you, then you need to help us.” I said. “Is there anything we need to know about this fight, or that Psi gate?”
Jericho took a deep breath and bit her lip.
“The Psi Gate is being protected by some of the most powerful aliens the Elders have.” She said. “I’ve fought a few of them, but never more than one or two at a time. We’re going to have to deal with a lot of dangerous enemies all at once. So if I tell you to run, you’ll run. Don’t argue, don’t ask questions, just run.”
…
Chihiro, have you been listening?
Kinda. I found out about Delta Squad just before you did. Are you going to help them?
We’re already on the way.
So am I. I’m tagging along with Voodoo Squad. We’re going on foot. Isis is coming with me.
Be careful, Chi. I’ve heard there are some really powerful aliens out there.
Right. I promise not to kill them all before you get here.
…
Kanna River, Honshu Island
Saturday, May 5, 2035 – 5:10am
“Contact! Four Mutons behind the treeline! Put down suppressing fire!”
“Can’t do it, boss! I got problems of my own!”
“He’s down! Hazard is down!”
“They’re coming around the flanks! Get back!!”
“Who’s got the Medikit!? I’m hit!”
“Keep your heads down!! We’ve got incoming!”
“Got a lotta heat on me! Need help!”
“Mutons coming around the side! We’re being flanked!”
“They’re behind us! We can’t retreat!”
“Avenger, this is Delta One-One! We’re being overrun! We need emergency evac! NOW DAMNIT! NOW!”
High above the battlefield, the Skyranger’s engines screamed loudly as we came in for our approach! I hooked one of the rappelling lines to my harness and looked around at my four squadmates. Soo would be staying behind while Jericho, Yutaka, Sophia, and Chong-Il all listened to the voices of Delta Squad in our radios with grim expressions.
“Sounds like our guys are encircled.” Yutaka said. “Voodoo and Echo will have to fight their way in from the other side.”
“Then let’s give the aliens something else to shoot at!” I said. “Firebrand, give us five minutes and we’ll give you an LZ! Get ready to pick up a lotta wounded!”
“I’ll hold you to that, Trojan!” Wendy said over the radio. “I’ll be back in five mikes!”
The Skyranger’s boarding ramp dropped! We were just fifty or so feet above the ground! Flames licked the treetops as the forest below burned! About two hundred yards away from our position, deep in the forest, we saw brilliant flashes of purple and violet light flicker and strobe like an intense lightning storm. Gunfire and explosions sounded all around as five rappelling lines fell away from the Skyranger. Wendy brought the ship to a hover above the battlefield and I shouted:
“Go go go!”
Yutaka, Sophia, Chong-Il, and I all grabbed a line and fast-roped to the ground. Jericho jumped from the boarding ramp and fell straight to the ground! With a flash of light, Jericho vanished into thin air and rematerialized on the ground. A Muton yelped with fright as it appeared in the sky where Jericho had just been. With a pathetic cry, the alien fell fifty feet and slammed into the earth!
No sooner had the five of us hit the ground then we were in the thick of the fight! The Skyranger sped away immediately as greenish-yellow columns of light crisscrossed the sky above us!
“Contact right!” I yelled!
“Contact front!” Chong-Il shouted!
We were taking fire from two directions! Hiding in the dense forest, obscured from view by smoke and flame, aliens fired at us with beam weapons! I hit the deck, crawling on my hands and knees through the dirt until I found a big fallen log to take shelter behind.
“Return fire!” I shouted. “Pour it into ‘em!!”
The noise was overpowering! Near-constant gunfire made the air shudder and my eardrums throb. I poked my head over the top of the log and saw five huge, hulking Mutons in the forest.
I racked my shotgun and took a potshot at the nearest one. Splintered wood flew everywhere as the tree the Muton was using for cover was hit!
“Check your fire!” Sophia yelled. “Friendlies on our left!”
The soldiers of Delta Squad were in terrible shape. Of the original six-man team, only two were still fighting: a Norwegian man called Leif Berg and a Nigerian woman called Lehana Dikale. They were putting up one hell of a stand! The barrel of Leif’s light machine gun had gotten so hot that it was already melting! Lehana’s face was covered in blood and dirt and her equipment was in terrible shape. Her shotgun was bent and her sword broken, yet somehow she was still in the fight!
A very short distance away were the other four members of Delta Squad. Cory Tucker was lying flat on his back, both hands clutching a bloody wound in his middle and hyperventilating. Svetlana Guesva, a Russian woman, was lying flat on her face, clearly unconscious. Another Russian, Alexei Volobyov, was wounded but still fighting, both of his hands working furiously to get a damaged rifle working again. Rafal Kowalski appeared to be dead.
“Holy hell!” I yelled, “How long have you guys been here!?”
“About seventeen hours, give or take!” Alexei responded. “We’d all be dead if it wasn’t for that Hanako girl!”
A loud roar echoed through the forest, drowning out the sounds of the raging inferno around us!
“More Mutons!?” Leif yelled.
“That sounds like a Berserker!” Yutaka called back.
I pointed to the spot where we’d found the stranded soldiers.
“Gimme a defensive perimeter around Delta!” I yelled. “Make some room for the Skyranger!”
Suddenly, my field of view was filled with swirling flames and I was hit by a wall of heat! A tree, huge and old, had succumbed to the flames and fallen over! Ignoring the intense heat, I threw myself behind the trunk just as another pulse of beam weapon fire flew overhead. My hands were sweating so badly that I could barely keep a grip on my shotgun as I opened fire on a pair of approaching aliens, forcing them to retreat. Behind me, Yutaka reached the soldiers of Delta Squad and made contact.
“I hope to hell you’re our ride outta here!” Alexei shouted above the noise of battle.
“It’s on the way!” Yutaka answered. “We need to secure the area so she can land! How many of you can fight!?”
“Just the three of us!” Lehana answered. “Strobe and Smokejumper are down and we think Diesel bought the farm! We lost the Resistance girl too!”
I turned around to look at Lehana.
“Where’d you lose her?” I shouted.
Losing Homura Hanako was all kinds of bad. If she was still alive, then we couldn’t run the risk of her being captured by the enemy. She was the one who had tipped us off to this place! We couldn’t lose her!
Lehana pointed into the burning forest, over my shoulder.
“Quarter of a click that way.” She said. “Supernova got jumped by the Chosen Warlock!”
“Supernova?” Sophia repeated.
“That kid’s got one helluva Gift.” Lehana said.
But before anyone could say anything else, there was another huge eruption of gunfire! The aliens renewed their assault on our position, all thought went back to defense! I crawled towards a copse of trees that hadn’t been consumed by fire yet and sat up. Keeping my back to the tree trunk, I raised my shotgun and started firing into the moving shapes on our right flank!
After three misses, I finally hit a Muton! But those giant musclebound aliens don’t go down as easily as a person. The great big monster seemed to just shrug off the shotgun slug started bearing down on me! Each colossal footfall made the ground quake as it charged straight at me! I grabbed the handle of my sword, ready for a close encounter, but –
CRACK!
A projectile just big enough for me to see screamed in from my right and tore through the Muton’s body! Killed instantly, the alien collapsed and slid across the ashes before coming to rest in front of me. Jericho stepped out from behind a tree and reloaded her Bolt Caster.
“We’re not out of this yet!” She shouted, “Behind you!”
Something huge tore through the tree I was leaning against! I lurched forward and felt hot ashes and embers raining down on the back of my head! I rolled over and readied my shotgun…
The creature was almost twice as big as a Muton and had twice the teeth!
“Berserker!!” Chong-Il yelled. “Run!”
“NO!” Jericho projected her voice over the entire battlefield. “Everyone focus fire! Take it down together!”
Jericho, Chong-Il, Yutaka, Sophia, Lehana, Alexei, Leif and I all turned on the spot and began to sink bullets into the gigantic alien! Each shot seemed to do nothing except make it angry! The Berserker roared and began to charge! Moving faster than any of the other Mutons I’ve seen, I had only seconds to decide what I was going to do. I drew my sword and slashed it down just as the Berserker reached me! My blade caught the Berserker in the neck, it raised both of its arms and brought them down!
Pain. All kinds of pain. Nothing else made sense. Sights, sounds, smells… all of my senses were scrambled. I knew my head and chest were hurting, but I couldn’t tell how badly or why. The whole world seemed to be spinning, yet I knew I wasn’t moving. Something had hit me… something had killed me… but I wasn’t dead! I could feel a heartbeat… no… two heartbeats! I tried to focus, and peered through a set of eyes that weren’t my own.
The second I’d been hit by the Berserker, Chihiro Tachibana’s entire body had been wracked with incredible pain! Screaming at the top of her lungs, she charged forward into the fight, leaving the soldiers of Echo and Voodoo squads behind! By the time the enemy realized they’d been outflanked by XCOM reinforcements, it was beyond too late.
Nearly a dozen XCOM soldiers hit the enemy from the rear, with Chihiro at the front of the assault! The horde of Mutons couldn’t turn around quickly enough before being cut down by either Chihiro’s Shadowkeeper pistol or her Psionic Amplifier. Like a great wave on the ocean, XCOM’s forces rolled across the battlefield, sweeping up the enemy who couldn’t fight a three-front battle.
I saw all of this through Chihiro’s eyes, but I had never used our Psi Link like this before! Sure I’d looked through her eyes plenty of times, but now I was receiving input from all five of her senses. I could smell the sulfur and ash hovering in the air, appreciate the fact that Chihiro’s vision was better than my own, taste the blood and soot in her mouth, hear the soft-but-permanent ringing in her ears, and feel her feet sliding around in boots that were a size too big.
A kind of buzzing in the back of my mind told me that Chihiro knew what I was doing. In fact…
“There you are!” Chihiro said aloud!
She had used telepathy to trace my mind back to its body. I looked at my own form through her eyes, and felt really strange. I was lying on my side near the burned out remains of a large tree. Jericho and Yutaka were kneeling down next to me, spraying my head and neck with a Medikit. I could see the blood running down my own face as clearly as Chihiro could, as well as the spot where the Berserker had clubbed me in the head. Chihiro got down with the others and pressed her hands on my injuries.
“Hang on, Blake!” She gasped, “I’m not as good at this as Jericho but…”
It felt like I was caught in a powerful wind! My mind was sucked out of Chihiro’s head and back into my own body! The pain in my head and chest suddenly intensified and my eyes snapped open!
“Ow! Augh! What the hell!?” I yelled.
Chihiro intensified her grip on my forehead.
“Your skull is cracked!” She said loudly. “Hold still and gimme a few more seconds!”
The pain in my head was so intense I was starting to see stars! Blue and white points of light swam in front of me until there was a gentle snap just above my left eye, and a wave of relief seemed to course through my whole body. I could relax, finally.
“That’s just a temporary fix.” Chihiro said. “I’m no healer like she is, now get up! We’ve got a battle to win here!”
Chihiro pressed my shotgun back into my hands and pulled me upright. As I put one hand on the nearby tree to steady myself, I suddenly became aware of just how beaten down and tired I felt. My vision swam and my head felt kinda fuzzy. I had to blink a lot of times before I got my bearings again.
The fight had turned in XCOM’s favor. The enemy force had gotten caught in a vice between my squad and the troops Chihiro had brought with her. The Mutons had given up their attempt to finish off Delta Squad and retreated, formed a new defensive line and opened fire on us again. High above, the Skyranger swooped over the treetops and veered away.
“I can’t land there!” Wendy shouted over the radio. “Standby for cable reels! I’m gonna pull you all out six at a time!”
“Take Delta Squad first!” I responded. “We’re marking the spot with green smoke!”
On my command, Yutaka chucked a smoke bomb into a clearing just beyond the spot where Delta Squad had hunkered down. Colonel Pyotr Ilyshin, the leader of Voodoo Squad, rallied his troops.
“Secure that area!” Pyotr yelled. “Give me a fifty meter perimeter in all directions!”
Italian soldier Paolo Basso voiced a concern:
“Has anyone seen any dropships? Does the enemy have reinforcements?”
“None that I’ve seen from up here!” Wendy radioed down to us. “You’re in the clear!”
Taking shelter behind the same boulder, Chihiro and I took turns escorting the soldiers of Delta Squad into the clearing. Hovering just fifty feet above the ground, the Skyranger opened its rear bay doors and six rappelling cables descended to the ground. Lehana, Alexei, Leif, Svetlana, and Cory all secured themselves to a cable. A harness dropped to the ground from the Skyranger, and I used it to secure Rafal Kowalski’s unconscious form to Lehana.
“You’re clear!” I yelled. “Pull’em up!”
All of the cables quickly retracted, reeling the six soldiers upwards towards the safety of the Skyranger. Once they were all secured in the deployment bay, the ramp closed and the aircraft sped away towards the Avenger.
“I’ll drop them off and come back for the next six!” Wendy’s voice said over the radio. “Everyone hold tight!”
Beam weapon fire!
I threw myself to the ground! The impact caused my head to ring like a bell, but at least I wasn’t shot! Crawling on my hands and knees, I moved back into the treeline while bullets and energy pulses crisscrossed above me! Chihiro grabbed my shoulder and yanked me to safety.
Chihiro blasted a Muton with her Shadowkeeper before turning to engage another one with her Sniper Rifle. Then she had to duck behind a boulder as plasma beams shot back towards her in retaliation!
“It’s a goddamn army out there!” She shouted, “We can’t hold this spot!”
“My thoughts exactly!” I shouted. “Stormbreakers! Fall back one hundred yards and dig in!”
The two remaining squads followed our lead. Sixteen soldiers broke contact and gave ground, falling back and retreating deeper into the forest. An Echo soldier shouted for all of us to hear:
“They’re pursuing! We’re being followed!”
We came to a particularly dense patch of forest with thick trees and big boulders.
“Good enough!” I said. “Stop here and dig in!”
Pyotr agreed with me, and when the rest of Echo squad showed up, so did their leader, Anna Petrova. All three Squads took cover and turned their weapons to face the oncoming enemy!
The horde of Mutons erupted through the forest and was met by a hailstorm of gunfire! My ears throbbed and blobs of color swam in front of my eyes! My shotgun was so hot I could feel and smell my own skin starting to burn!
“Don’t let up!” I shouted. “Pour it into ‘em!”
The deep thudding of machine gun fire was accompanied by the howls of wounded and dying aliens! A tree, shot one too many times, creaked and groaned before crashing down to the forest floor! Twigs and leaves danced through the air, illuminated by muzzle flashes and plasma beams!
Then, through the flashes and the smoke, through the darkness and the chaos, I saw something. A lone humanoid figure. It looked like a person with white hair that stuck straight up. I couldn’t make out its face, it was hidden behind some kind of mask. It was so surreal, so out-of-place, that for a moment I just stared at it.
“Trojan! Down!”
Sophia’s voice jerked me back to reality just in time! A plasma beam cut through the air just above me as I hit the ground. When I looked around the side of the boulder again, the human-shaped thing was gone.
“Where the hell is Jericho!?” Yutaka yelled. “We could use some Psionics right about now!”
I looked around frantically, and after doing a quick headcount, I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach. Jericho really was gone. She was nowhere to be seen.
“Where the hell did she go!?” I shouted.
“Blue-hair?” said one of the Voodoo soldiers. “She went over the top of the hill behind us!”
“Blue Dragon! Doctor Freud! On me!”
Pyotr took charge of the main defense while Chihiro, Yutaka, and I broke contact and charged towards the hill at our rear. The trees got fewer and farther in between as we neared the summit, which allowed the three of us to see the intense flashes of light and hear the thunderclaps coming from the other side before we saw the sources of the light and noise. When we got to the top of the hill and looked down the other side, all three of us froze.
“Nanite kotoda!?” Chihiro gasped.
“If I had to guess,” Yutaka said. “That’s the ‘Psionic Gate’ Jericho mentioned.”
Looking down from the hilltop on the valley below, we saw something that can only be described as awesome.
In the bottom of the valley was a small structure that looked a bit like an altar or a shrine. On top of the alter, a huge object shaped like a crescent moon shimmered and flickered faintly while a battle unlike anything I’d ever seen before played out around it:
A huge white orb flew through the air around the altar, firing a bright orange beam down on Jericho! Keeping her arms raised, she deflected the beam attacks and ran across the blasted terrain towards the other two combatants.
On the far side of this new battlefield, we finally spotted Homura Hanako. Psionic energy rippled out of her body as she unleashed one attack after another on her enemy! Beams of light jumped from her hands and struck a tall alien with blueish-purple skin and wispy white hair. The enemy warrior seemed completely undisturbed by Homura’s attacks and stood his ground, parrying each blow with ease! Just when it seemed like Jericho was going to finally reach Homura, the white orb did something absolutely bizarre! It opened up!
The white shell split and came apart, revealing a hideous alien with four long tentacles inside! Floating high above the ground, it looked like something out of a nightmare! The alien closed the distance, reaching out towards Jericho with its appendages!
“HELP HER!” I yelled!
“On it!” Chihiro raised her Sniper Rifle!
Yutaka and I didn’t wait for the shot! We started to charge downhill, weapons drawn! Above our heads, there was an earsplitting crack as Chihiro sent a sniper round downrange! The spherical alien was struck, hard! Chihiro had managed to hit the creature’s flesh instead of its white shell. At once, the tentacles retracted inside of the protective shell, which moved back into place and closed itself up, hiding the alien from view. Jericho saw us coming and yelled:
“What the hell are you doing?! Run! Get outta here!”
Yutaka dove for cover behind the staircase that led to the alien altar and fired his machine gun wildly at the spherical alien!
“Firebrand’s on her way back!” I shouted. “It’s time for you and Hanako to get out of here!”
“I don’t need help! I’ve got this!” Jericho yelled as she fired her Bolt Caster into the spherical alien. “Go help Hanako! She’s in trouble!”
A shockwave rolled across the ground and hit us! Every hair on my body stood up on end and my skin crawled as though I’d just looked at something disgusting. Yutaka and I both spun on our feet and saw what was happening.
Keeping both of her hands in front of her face, Homura backed away from Kon-Mon Dessurik slowly. Her Psionic Shield flickered as it was battered repeatedly by the Warlock’s assault! Violet light arced off of the Chosen Warlock’s hands and dispersed across Homura’s shield! Yutaka and I redirected our efforts towards Dessurik, but he raised one hand and lashed out at us!
“As the gods will, I shall show you the abyss!” Dessurik roared!
My shotgun suddenly got hot! Hotter than it had ever been before! I dropped the weapon and reached for my sword! Big red blisters had already appeared on my palms, but I didn’t care. Gripping my sword handle tightly, I followed Yutaka into the fight! Homura fired a bolt of lightning into the Warlock’s chest while Yutaka held down the trigger of his machine gun, spraying the Chosen with hundreds of bullets! Once he ran out of ammo, I charged forward and slashed my sword across Dessurik’s chest! He staggered backwards and Yutaka cheered:
“We got him!”
“No we didn’t!” Homura snapped!
I dropped my sword. The pain was getting overwhelming! As the handle of my sword fell away, my hands erupted into even more agony! I could see the burn marks on my palms! I fell to my knees and yelled out! My eyesight fogged up! I couldn’t see through the waves of pain radiating from my hands!
“Blake! Get up! You need to get up!”
Homura was tugging at my shoulder. She looked desperate. I wrenched myself up just in time to see the Chosen Warlock blasting Yutaka off his feet with some invisible force. Homura raised one hand to defend us! Another Psionic Shield materialized in front of us. If anything, this only made Dessurik more furious! In a tone of absolute outrage, he yelled:
“To abscond with the god’s own power and turn it against their very forces is the greatest of affronts! Hear me, Paradox! You will pay for your perfidy with the very powers you have stolen!"
I just barely heard the ghost of a laugh escape Homura’s lips.
“The other guy said the same thing.” She hissed. “Didn’t end well for him.”
“You are like a child in the presence of a true master, Paradox.” The Chosen Warlock said. “Let me show you my power!”
A force, unseen and irresistible, hit Homura’s shield and it shattered immediately! It broke down every mental barrier I had with overwhelming force and entered my mind with all of the violence and brutality of a hurricane!
Pain.
Pain like nothing I’d ever felt before hit every part of my being. Every nerve was on fire, every bone broken, every muscle cramped! Yet through it all, I was aware! Something was forcing me to watch as something dark and twisted came hurtling towards me through the void!
“Your greatest weapon is your mind… yet look how easily it is turned against you! Know the truth and despair: The unknown enemy is within!”
My own mind collided with Homura’s mind! Here, in this Psionic chasm, our thoughts entangled, our dreams confused, and our memories…
Homura’s memories…
…
Friday, May 13, 2005
Washington DC, United States of America
I was standing in the White House bowling alley, leaning on a countertop while I watched a group of children argue about how to sneak out of the room. When a twelve-year old boy with brown skin and curly hair started to propose a hair-brained scheme, I scoffed at him and said:
“Cool your jets, Robinson. It’ll be easier if I just take one for the team.”
“We don’t even know you!” a little black girl whispered.
I stepped behind the countertop and pulled a black hoodie off a shelf. It was far too big for my small feminine frame, but that was the point. I threw the hood over my head, making sure to let some of my straight black hair hang out. Slouching over a bit, I knew I looked like a genuine hooligan.
I gave Blake Robinson a confident grin and stepped out into the hallway. Secret Service Kathleen Walsh was so surprised at my brazenness that she didn’t react until I crossed the hallway and knocked a decorative vase off the windowsill, where it crashed to the floor!
Giggling like a maniac, I ran while Walsh gave chase…
…
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Perth, Australia
Clutching my binder full of paperwork to my chest with one hand, I rapped my knuckles on the door quickly and confidently. This wasn’t the first time I’d done this. I knew what I was doing.
A huge black man with a Maori te moko tattoo on his face answered the door. He was dressed up in a smart-looking bartender’s uniform and gave me a confused look. He told me that the bar wasn’t going to open until later tonight and asked why I was there. I politely asked if his name was Jake Ethan Green. He nodded. Moving quickly, I reached into my binder, withdrew a yellow envelope and pressed it into his hands.
“Legal notice.” I said. “You’ve been charged with selling alcohol without a government permit. You need to report to the courtroom at the provided date and time.”
Jake was flabbergasted.
“I’ve only just gone into business!” he said. “There’s no way I can afford to deal with this right now!”
Reaching out with my mind, I sent a telepathic command to the man I’d placed under Mind Control earlier. He began to accelerate his truck at a calm pace. While I spoke the truck drove past us down the road as though it was carrying on normal business.
“There’s plenty of legitimate ways to make money.” I said to Jake. “You’ll look better in front of a Judge if you had one of those jobs.”
Jake wasn’t listening. He was reading the advertisem*nt on the truck that had just driven past. “This is our war, too!” The sign said. “Join the Australian Army today! Beat the Russians!”
I nodded politely and turned to leave.
“I’ll see you in court, Mister Green.”
…
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Hiroshima, Japan
When I drove around the corner, the front two tires of my ambulance mounted the curb and ended up on the sidewalk. I didn’t care. Just a few yards away, Blake and Chihiro were frantically re-tying a pair of tourniquets around the bloody stumps that had once been Tsubaki Endo’s legs. They both screamed for help as Hal Macintosh and I got out of the cab.
Hal told me to open up the back door and get the stretcher. When I brought it around, Tsubaki had turned pale.
“She’s just a kid!” Chihiro cried. “This isn’t right! This isn’t fair!”
“This is war, Tachibana.” Hal told her. “You did your part, now let us do ours!”
Once we got Tsubaki into the ambulance, Hal told me that he was going to drive. He was faster. I said I knew the quickest way to the nearest army field hospital, and that I’d give him directions from the back. While I stayed in the back and tended to Tsubaki, I shouted the directions to Hal so he’d know which way to go.
Hal never suspected that I was using my powers to keep Tsubaki alive until we reached the field hospital…
…
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Pretoria, South Africa
I was sitting in the passenger seat of a car. The man next to me was under Mind Control. We were parked on the other side of the street from the Sonop Tennis Club, keeping a close eye on the sidewalk. After a few minutes, we spotted her. Twelve-year-old Sophie Ackermann stood out like a sore thumb in a crowd. She was quite possibly the tallest white girl in all of Pretoria. She had a blue backpack slung over her shoulders and her dirty blonde hair rustled against her nylon windbreaker.
My companion and I waited until she drew level with our car. On my command, the man rolled down his window and pointed a handgun directly at Sophie’s heart. She froze and all the color went out of her face.
“Get in.” The man said. “Now.”
“We’re not kidding around.” I added. “We got no problem shooting you.”
With a terrified squeak, Sophie complied, opening the car door and slowly sliding into the backseat. I took the gun and covered her while my puppet floored the gas pedal and sped us away…
…
Friday, May 1, 2015
Lyon, France
A convoy of military vehicles was moving through the heart of the French city. This late at night, very few people were aware of what was going on. There were twelve trucks in the convoy, all heavily armored. Men sat in turrets atop each vehicle, keeping watch with heavy machine guns at the ready.
I stepped into the street and blocked the way. The lead vehicle came to a stop and the doors opened. Eight men appeared. They wore business clothing: white shirts, ties, and pinstripe pants. They had all masked their faces with orange and yellow bandannas, combined with thick-rimmed sunglasses.
They commanded me to step aside. They didn’t take me seriously. Why would they? As far as they know, I’m just an Asian tourist who’s out alone in the middle of the night.
One minute. That’s all it took. It happened so fast that the survivors never did know what hit them. But the proof of what I’d done lay strewn over three city blocks in the form of twelve wrecked military vehicles and almost fifty dead people. The select few EXALT Operatives who had survived were driven insane by my power. Over the next few minutes, they killed each other in a frantic gun battle against an enemy that existed only in their imaginations; they never knew what had happened to the four men and women they were supposed to be transporting.
By the time soldiers from XCOM arrived on the scene, Matthew Hawkins and his three fellow prisoners were long gone.
…
Sunday, March 8, 2020
Volgograd, Russia
The front door to the Gene Therapy clinic burst open! Two girls came in, one supporting the other. The injured girl was bleeding profusely from two wounds, one in her neck and one in her face. I helped two of the other doctors take her into the back while her distraught sister stayed in the lobby with a counselor.
It only took five minutes to repair the damage to Sophia Kuznetsova’s neck and replace the lost blood. Just when we were getting started on fixing her face, however, a scientist told us that this girl had been selected for the AVATAR Project. We were ordered to cease all treatment and put her on the next train to the Aralkum Blacksite.
I couldn’t allow that.
Two minutes of Mind Control and Psionic Manipulation later, Sophia walked out of the clinic, rejoined her sister, and both of them vanished into the night…
…
“NO!” Homura’s voice erupted from the void! “Get out of my mind! Both of you!”
I wrenched myself backwards, physically and mentally, determined to escape this nightmarish prison! But the Chosen Warlock was overwhelming! He pushed my head back down into the sea of Homura’s memory, forcing me to witness the one moment she was holding back… the one moment she refused to show me…
…
Wailua, Hawaii
Anger. Fury. Rage.
It was those feelings of pure hatred that kept me warm on that cold night. While rain drizzled down on me, I didn’t feel it. I was lost in my own wrath. Stepping away from the Ark Angel, I ignored the whining of the engines. Eight men and women all stood on the boarding ramp of the ship, calling for me to come back. The voices of Whetu, Hakara, Yukiko, Anika, Soo, Manaaki, Chong-Il, and Arioch all faded into the rain as I set off down the hill.
The neighborhood was dark and wet. Most of the lights were out. A dog ran out of its yard and began to bark and yip at me. I stopped walking and turned to look at the creature. It only needed to gaze into my eyes for a fraction of a second before it turned and ran away, tail between its legs. All it would take was one twitch of my wrist, and that pathetic animal would never go home again… but no. I wanted to save my fury for someone who actually deserved it.
I found the house. It was a lonely place at the end of the neighborhood, with sandy beaches to the left and right, while the Pacific Ocean stretched out behind the home. All of the lights were on. The second-story bedroom window vibrated as someone listened to music very loudly. The living room curtains weren’t drawn, I could see inside.
The man who’d invoked my wrath was there. He was sitting on the couch, having a conversation with two people a little older than me, a young man and a young woman. After a moment, the woman stood and walked out of sight. The man smiled and leaned back in his chair, seemingly content.
I was on the porch. I hadn’t made any noise. I reached to my belt and pulled out my Psionic Amplifier, then took aim at the door. It exploded into thousands of little pieces! I was just barely inside the house when the young man ran into the entryway.
“Mom! Dad! It’s Akira! Call the cops! I’ll hold her!”
Call the cops? Hold me? What a joke.
A bolt of lightning erupted from my Amplifier and struck my older brother squarely in the chest! It lit up the whole house with a pinkish-white flare before going out again, and Alexander Robinson stumbled forward, crashing face-first to the floor.
From up above, I heard a voice saying:
“I need the police at 735 Moanakai Road in Wailua! My sister’s trying to kill us!”
I pointed my Amplifier at the ceiling. At once, the entire second floor of the house collapsed! Wood, concrete, plaster and all sorts of debris and wreckage rained down! Caught in the chaos, both of my twin brothers tried to save themselves as soon as they saw me. I pointed my free hand and closed my fist! James and Josiah Robinson crumpled where they stood and I turned my head towards a scream!
My mother and older sister had taken shelter in the kitchen. At her command, my sister was racing towards the back door to escape while my mother came charging at me. What an idiot! Did she really think she stood a chance now? I projected a Psionic Lance from my Amplifier! Simultaneously, Chihiro Tachibana and Asuna Robinson were struck down.
At the same moment, with a loud and tremendous roar, my father freed himself from the wreckage of what had once been his home. When he looked around and saw what I’d done, I watched his spirit break with deep satisfaction.
“Akira… Why?” he gasped. “What… why?”
“You know why.” I said coldly. “You were there. You know what you did.”
I raised my Amplifier. I was so furious, my voice and hand both shook.
“This is for every man, woman, and child on Earth you sacrificed. This is for the untold billions of people across the Galaxy who had to die because you were too selfish. THIS IS FOR EVERYONE WHO NEVER GOT TO LIVE BECAUSE OF YOU!”
And then I painted the walls with the blood of Blake Robinson.
The house was in flames. As neighbors ran towards the residence with garden hoses and buckets of water, I slipped out unnoticed. I would have faded away into the darkness, but I spotted a teenage girl wearing all white clothes running down the road towards the burning house. I couldn’t help but smile at the knowledge that my alternate self always had the same clothing preferences as me. Taking great care to never let the alternate Akira Robinson see me, I pointed my Amplifier at her head.
It only took about ten minutes for me to completely re-write her mind and re-make her memories. She would never be the same person again, and that worked for me just fine. I returned to the Ark Angel…
…
The sights, sounds, and smells of the world around me flickered and went out! I felt like some invisible thing finally released me, and I pulled back, retreating from Homura’s memories, fleeing her mind as quickly as I could!
Back to Kanna! Back to the present! Back into my own mind!
I am Blake Robinson! I’m not the monster whose mind I’d just invaded!
Revulsion coursed through me like a wave! I rolled over onto my hands and knees and vomited until there was nothing left in my guts! I was vaguely aware of being buffeted by a strong wind, and of an overpowering light threatening to blind me. I sat up and raised on hand to shield my eyes.
Homura Hanako… no, that wasn’t her real name… Akira Robinson had broken free of the Warlock’s grasp and had unleashed her full power against him! She pointed one arm towards the sky and projected a column of brilliant purple light into the clouds above! Bolts of lightning descended from the sky, two or three at a time!
All over the battlefield, alien soldiers howled with pain as they were struck by Akira’s attack! This wasn’t like those arcs or Psi Volts I’d seen other Psionics use, this was real lightning! Each strike resounded through the air with a mighty BANG that shook leaves from the trees and made my chest quake! The battlefield lit up as though it was daytime with flash after flash! Mutons fell one after another, overwhelmed by Akira’s assault!
Shocked and stunned beyond belief, Chihiro and I could do nothing but watch as Akira’s wrath rolled across the battlefield like a Tsunami!
Kon-Mon Dessurik wasn’t idle! He made a pulling motion with his hands as though he was extracting Psionic energy from the Earth itself! I looked around and saw what he was doing!
“Jericho! Look out!”
Shimmering beings rose from the ground. They looked like people, but I could see through them, almost as though they were ghosts. Each of the translucent beings was armed with something that resembled a sword.
“My loyal soldiers transcend space, time, and death itself!” The Chosen Warlock declared. “For my power is a majestic gift from the Gods!”
One of the translucent people ran towards Jericho and Akira and drew a sword! Akira spun on her feet and blasted the attacker with her own power while Jericho shot it with her Bolt Caster! The semi-corporeal warrior keeled over backwards and fell to the ground, vanishing into nothingness before he came to rest.
“Jericho! You get the Warlock!” Akira yelled. “I’ll deal with the Wraiths!”
Then Akira turned around and screamed:
“ROBINSON! BEHIND YOU!”
I heard leaves shuffling on the ground and quickly turned! A Wraith had gotten close enough to hit me with its spectral sword! I shouted and kicked out! To my own surprise, my foot connected with something that felt solid! The Wraith stumbled backwards and tried to come at me again, but I had already started backing away! Looking around desperately for a weapon, I realized that my hands were still maimed! I couldn’t hold anything! How the hell was I supposed to fight!?
The spectral wraith tried to hit me again, I raised my arms, ready for the blow! But nothing came, its sword deflected away from me at the last second! The action was accompanied by a deep noise, kinda like a gong. Looking up, I saw two shimmering Psionic shields had overlapped themselves in front of me, each one hovering in front of… my own hands!? Weak sparks shot out of my bloody and burned palms, giving a little color to the shimmering wall of energy that hovered directly in front of my hands.
I barely had time to figure out what the hell was going on! A second Wraith was coming at me! I turned tail and tried to run, but a slightly high-pitched voice came from the treeline!
“Hang on, Blake! I’m almost there!”
Chihiro ran across the alien altar and jumped through the crescent-moon shaped object! Landing on my side of the altar, Chihiro raised her Shadowkeeper and blasted one of the Wraiths, while striking the second one with a small psionic shield projected from her free hand.
“Wait a second!” I gasped. “Did you do that!?”
“I was getting desperate!” Chihiro panted. “I was trying anything that came to mind and that seemed to work! Come on, we’ve gotta cover those two!”
About fifty yards away, Jericho and Akira were fighting side by side, battling their way through the Spectral Army towards the Chosen Warlock, who was opportunistically blasting them with his own Psionic power!
Keeping a close eye on my new Psi shields, I followed Chihiro into the fight! I chose to use my new shields as a kind of spectral boxing gloves. Each time I punched or jabbed a Wraith, Psionic energy arced from my fist to the enemy, enhancing the power of each strike! This was exhilarating! I’d never killed an alien by punching it before, but if this was really what it was like, than I was never going back to firearms!
On my right, Chihiro fired the Shadowkeeper with supernatural accuracy! A dozen Wraiths vanished into the night as we closed in on Jericho and Akira! With a sweeping motion, Jericho fired a cone of light from her hands and wiped out the last of the Spectral warriors! Chihiro, Akira, Jericho and I all stood together and faced down the Warlock!
Kon-Mon Dessurik looked at each of us in turn.
“The Elders will no doubt be impressed by your prowess in battle today, Jericho, and no doubt your choice of allies will intrigue them further. When next we meet, Jericho, the Paradox will not be there to save you… and then I will claim you for the Elders, as is your destiny!”
A shimmering hole opened up in the air directly behind the Warlock!
“Rift!” I yelled! “He’s escaping!”
“STOP HIM!” Akira shouted.
All four of us made to attack the Warlock, but he was too quick, stepping backwards through the rift, which closed and disappeared just like it had done in Aralkum.
For a few minutes, there was a painful silence as all four of us caught our breath. For the first time in a week, we were all starting to become aware of just how tired we were. Jericho got down on one knee and put a hand to her chest, panting. Akira leaned against a nearby tree and dropped her plasma pistol with a sigh. I could feel every ache and pain in my body. Behind me, Chihiro was panting heavily. She fell to her knees, coughing.
“They’re down here!”
Voices began moving down the hill. All of the remaining XCOM soldiers on the field arrived on the scene and began to secure the area. Anna Petrova’s jaw dropped as she saw the crescent shaped object on top of the alien altar.
“What the hell is this thing?” Anna asked her comrade.
“Let’s hang it off the front of the Avenger.” Akaya Ogawa suggested. “That way the ship’ll look like a charging bull with a nose ring!”
Meanwhile, Yutaka, Sophia, and Chong-Il caught up with us. As soon as she saw my burned hands, Sophia pulled out a Medikit and sprayed down my wounds as best she could.
“You need to get to the infirmary, Robinson.” Sophia said. “We’ll deal with the alien artifact.”
“Let Echo and Voodoo Squads do that.” I said.
Straightening up, I pointed an accusing finger at the stranger we had all been calling “Homura” for the past week.
“Restrain her!” I ordered. “Somebody cuff that monster right now!”
Akira sighed. Looking down at her plasma pistol, she kicked it away and held up her hands in a gesture of surrender.
“Fine. This is still better than the alternative.” She said.
Yutaka looked very confused as he produced a pair of flex cuffs and tied Akira’s wrists behind her back.
“What’s going on, Trojan?” he asked. “Is this girl an ADVENT spy? If she is, we should just shoot her right now.”
Chihiro looked back and forth from Akira to me.
“Blake?” Chihiro said, “What happened? What did you see?”
I swear on my life. Chihiro told me telepathically, I know you saw something, but I really don’t know what it was.
My mind was racing at a hundred miles per hour, but that statement made something click in my mind. I decided it was my turn to vent some anger, rage, and fury. I closed in on Akira. She stepped back and pressed herself into Yutaka’s body. She wasn’t scared, if anything, she looked resigned to what was about to happen.
“I would love to kill you.” I seethed. “But since I know you’re not an ADVENT spy, I can’t. I’ll just settle for this!”
I punched Akira in the head! Sophia, Jericho, Chihiro, and Chong-Il all jumped forward to stop me, but I managed to slug Akira two more times before someone pinned my arms! Chihiro stepped between us and held out her arms, forcing me to back away.
“What the hell is going on!?” she demanded.
“That freak’s a murdering psychopath!” I hollered, straining to pull myself free of Chong-Il’s grip. “And a time-traveler! Like Jericho’s alien mother!”
Chihiro’s eyes went wide as she looked towards Akira. Her pistol-hand twitched. Akira saw this and shouted:
“Wait! Gimme a chance to explain myself first! Please! Just hear me out!”
Akira locked eyes with Chihiro.
“Okaa-san! Kii te kudasai!!”
Chihiro dropped her weapons and froze.
“What did you call me!?”
