+Chapter 4+

+Friends and Foes+

(Void's POV)

Void woke up in the Med bay, his arm was in a cast, due to being hit by a speeding Berserker corpse. In the bed next to him, was Boomer, recovering from being shot in the chest by a MEC. Fortunately, Boomer's E.X.O suit protected him, from the majority of the impact. Gears was in the bed across from him, she had a bandage across her chest, on her upper right arm, and probably on her legs. Bud, however, was in the Critical Condition area, no one outside of that room, had seen him in the past couple of days.

Void went to get up, when a Medic stopped him.

"Don't try to get up… we don't know the full extent of your injuries" The Medic said.

"It's just a broken arm, and a bit of bruising… it's not like my rib cage has been smashed into dust" Void said, getting up anyway.

"Well… I, ummm… I'll be back in a second" The Medic said, walking into a small office.

The Medic walked back in a few minutes later.

"Right, my superior has said that you can leave the Med bay, but you must return here" The Medic said, as Void got up.

"Yeah, okay" Void said, walking out of the Med bay.

(Central's POV)

"She's still blocking our ability to monitor her" Central said, looking at the purple static on the screen.

|I wonder why?| The Commander, sarcastically, asked.

"I wonder if Void could help clear up the static?" Central wondered out loud.

|Yes, or we could send him to ask her| The Commander said, remembering that she seemed calmer around Void.

"Well, it's your call, either way" Central said, turning to the Holo-Globe.

The Commander's GREMLIN just shook, like you'd shake your head.

(Void's POV)

Void walked down to his team's quarters. When he opened the door, he found Eagle and Wolf, talking to each other, like old friends, which anyone else would've found odd, but Void didn't, because he'd caught on to their little act.

"OH! Void, you're up! I thought…" Eagle began, surprised to see him.

"Thought I was injured? It's only a broken arm" Void said, grabbing a book from his bunk.

Void left the pair alone, and was on his way back to the Med bay, when the Commander stopped him.

"Commander?!" Void said, in surprise.

|We need you, to talk to Soleirus, and get her to 'co-operate' with us. She's not talking to us, whatsoever|'The Commander said.

"Whoa Whoa Whoa… okay, I've seen into her mind, if she wants to be left alone, you leave her alone" Void replied, a little surprised at the suddenness of the request.

|I will believe… however, I've noticed she's more, compliant, around you, not sure why, but we need to be able to talk to her| The Commander stated.

Void sighed. "Fine, I'll talk to her… but if I get injured any worse than I currently am… I'll get back to you on that" Void said.

(A few minutes later-Soleirus's cell)

Void tried to unlock the door, the conventional way, only for it to say access denied. So he tried to force it open with telekinesis, which worked.

"WHAT DO YOU… oh, it's you" Soleirus said, calming down, quickly.

Void noticed that her English was exponentially better.

"Why are you being like this? You're not communicating with anyone, well, except for me" Void said.

"They see me as a liar, a backstabber. They pointed the finger at me, when the ship was knocked out of the sky" Soleirus said, as she looked at the camera. She'd removed the static, so Central could see her, as the Commander was with them.

"The Commander trusts you, so I'm guessing that it was Central that accused you of helping them" Void said, thoughtfully.

"Yes!" Soleirus said, distastefully.

"I can see why you're not speaking to anyone… so why are you speaking to me?" Void asked, catching Soleirus off-guard.

What Soleirus felt, within Void's mind, was something she had not felt in just under a century. What she felt was compassion and kindness. When she was little over ten Earth years of age, the Elders removed her and her brother, from their mother and father. Their 'training' was harsh, and they were belittled for every little wrong thing they did.

"I… uhh… I don't know why I talk to you" Soleirus said, without directly admitting her feelings.

"Huh… that so…" Void said, deep in thought.

"What happened to your arm?" Soleirus asked, noticing his arm to be in a cast.

"Oh… this. So I got hit with a Berserker corpse" Void replied, looking at his arm.

"UFO attack?"

"Yeah…"

"You must understand I had no idea about the UFO attack" Soleirus said.

"Well, that is technically a small lie… you oversaw the launch of previously mentioned UFO… however, you couldn't have known anything about its attack, when it would happen, and where it would happen" Void said, looking into Soleirus's mind.

"Yes, I did oversee its launch" Soleirus admitted. "And you've kept a secret from your allies… Wolf and Eagle" Soleirus said, looking into Void's mind now.

"Did I say you could look into my mind?"

"Did I say you could look into my mind?"

"Very clever… Very clever…"

|As much as I hate to ruin your talk… Void is needed| The Commander said, Central behind him.

"Yes sir… See ya" Void said, leaving Soleirus's cell.

The door closed, and locked.

"So, what do you need?" Void asked, curious as to why he specifically was needed.

|It's to do with Bud… he won't survive, unless you and your team participate in what could be the most dangerous mission we've ever come up with!| The Commander said.

"But… But we're all injured… we can't…" Void started.

"Dr. Tygen came up with a new spray, which has healed Boomer and Gears… however, you'll still be a man down" Central said.

"Well, what's the mission?" Void asked.

|The mission is to return to the old XCOM base… and A. Scavenge anything we can, and B. Use the old Cybernetics and Gene Lab to heal Bud, but as soon as we power it up, ADVENT'll sense it, and be on top of us in minutes, we'll have to protect him until everything's finished| The Commander explained. |But for now, head to the Lab, to get your arm fixed, and get some rest, while we work on getting a temporary member| The Commander said.

"Actually, I would like to request we bring Soleirus… if she's going to earn our trust, this would be the perfect opportunity" Void suggested.

"On a mission this critical… I don't think so" Central said.

|He's got a point… Void go get your arm fixed and get some rest| The Commander ordered.

(The Commander's POV-The Avenger's Bridge-Twenty minutes later)

"You cannot be serious!" Central yelled, the rest of the staff ignoring him, as they were in flight.

|When am I never not serious?| The Commander replied, as he started to leave the Bridge, and head to Engineering.

"But, she's an Ethereal… she can't be trusted!" Central answered.

|Void seems to trust her enough… he did ask for her help in improving his already formidable power| The Commander answered.

"How do we…" Central began.

|Let me stop you right there… She can help us, if we have a second team with us, or even half of another team, we'll still be out matched. So with Soleirus, she can turn ADVENT's numbers against them| The Commander said, looking to the Holo-Globe.

"I'm still advising against taking her with you" Central said, looking towards a monitor.

|She had trust in us… but I feel like because of what you said to her, that trust has diminished. By taking her on this mission, I'm hoping to rebuild that trust… on both sides| The Commander said, heading to the Launch Pad.

(Shen's POV-Disembarking the Skyranger)

Shen and the Shadow Phoenixes, disembarked the Skyranger, followed by clanking.

|Shen! What did yo… ok, that's a pretty good find| The Commander said, staring at what looked to be a MEC.

"It's called a SPARK. It needs a few upgrades, but if you're greeting me here… what do you need?" Shen said, wearily.

|Once I've told you, get some sleep, before making it. I need some Predator armour that'll fit Soleirus, because Tygen is still analysing her armour and weapons. Oh and a modified rifle| The Commander ordered.

"I'll get on that -Yawn- as soon as I've had a rest" Shen replied, heading to her private quarters.

|So…| The Commander said, turning to the SPARK.|Who built you… you're not ADVENT design… rather their MECs seemed to be designed after you| The Commander observed.

|SPARK unit 001 - Built by Doctor Richard Shen - identifying - Command change executed - New commander Name unknown ]]] Identity only known as 'Commander'| The SPARK said, robotically.

|And that's how it'll stay… you are to refer to me as Commander, and Commander only!| The Commander said.

|Acknowledged| The SPARK replied, searching for a way to get to Engineering.

{|Shen, come take care of your robot|} The Commander said, before heading to his quarters.

(Soleirus's POV)

(Dream Sequence)

Soleirus was walking through a forest, with lush green trees, and filled with red tulips, with the sun shining.

"Where am I?" Soleirus asked, aloud.

When Soleirus looked down to admire the flowers around her, she saw hands that were not her own. The hands she saw were that of a humans, they were also gloved.

"What?"

She heard a stream running through. She ran over to it, and saw a purple mask looking back at her.

"No… No… NoNoNoNo… this isn't… this can't… I can't have become an Avatar!" She exclaimed, stumbling backwards.

"HaHaHaHaHa… look at yourself… you've become what you said you'd never become!" A voice, Soleirus instantly recognised, but couldn't seem to tell who it was, spoke.

She turned to the source of the voice, to see an Avatar, with a red mask, staring at her. All the trees around it, withered and died, the flowers regressed back to buds and froze, and the shining sun was blocked out by jet black clouds.

"What… What have you done to me?!" Soleirus screamed.

"You defied the Elders… You know the cost… but they thought that killing you was too good for you… you said it yourself, you would live until the Elders fell… your punishment is to watch them rise, held captive in a body you despise" The other Avatar said, with joy in its voice.

"Who are you… TELL ME WHO YOU ARE" Soleirus yelled, with tears rolling down her face, unable to wipe them away.

"Oh Soleirus… how do you not remember me… how could you forget your dear, dear brother… Shadar" As Shadar spoke these words, Soleirus stood up properly.

As she did, however, she felt a sharp pain through her chest. She looked down, to see an all too familiar blade.

"Void?!" Soleirus whimpered, in a mix of shock, and anger.

She turned around to see Void, eyes red, and a black mist surrounding him, his eyes devoid of any emotion.

"And now… HaHaHaHaHa… Now, he'll finish the job" As Shadar said that, Void raised his sword.

"Please… Void… don't do this" Soleirus pleaded, for possibly the first time in her life.

But her words fell upon deaf ears, and Void brung his sword down.

Soleirus screamed. And everything went black.

(End Dream Sequence)

Soleirus suddenly awoke. She was sweating, a lot, and she felt incredibly hot. She looked herself over quickly, and found nothing different than when she fell asleep. She partially considered removing what she was wearing, but quickly cast that thought aside when she remembered the camera watching her. 'Why do my dreams turn to Void?… why do I think of him at all?' She asked herself.

Soleirus then heard the door unlock.

|Hello, Soleirus| The Commander said, as he floated in.

"Greetings, Commander… to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" Soleirus asked.

|First off, I want to apologise for earlier|

"I suppose I must apologise too, I didn't mean to be so rash with my actions" Soleirus said.

|Secondly, to prove your trustworthy, not for my sakes, but for the crews', I'm taking you on a little salvage mission, however, you won't have the armour or weapons you had, as Tygen isn't even twenty-five percent done analysing them, you'll have modified Predator and a modified Mag rifle… now tell me, has ADVENT done anything to the old XCOM HQ?| The Commander said.

"All I know of the facility, is that my 'brother' has been there a few times…" Soleirus replied, as truthfully as she could. "And while he won't have changed anything to the majority of the facilities, he would've placed something there to trap you" Soleirus finished.

|Thank you, we'll be leaving in twelve hours| The Commander said, leaving.

(The Commanders POV)

As the Commander left Soleirus's holding area, which he planned to make her room, if she proved she was really on their side, he was met with Chief Medical Officer Dubois,who had a grave look on her face.

"Commander, we have a problem, involving the operative Bud" She said, in her Swedish accent.

|What is it?| The Commander asked, a little worried for the safety of his operator.

"You can't take him on this mission! His condition has deteriorated rapidly over the past six hours. He's in no condition to be moved. By our estimates, he only has thirty-six hours to live, before it will be impossible to heal him" Dubois said, gravely.

|Thank you for this valuable information| The Commander said, processing what she had just said.

Dubois nodded, and left him.

(Dr. Tygen's POV-One hour later)

|Dr. Tygen!| The Commander said, bursting into the Lab.

"Hello Commander, what can I do…" Tygen began.

|I need you to come to the old XCOM HQ with me… can you get research on the Warden armour done, in the next six hours?!| The Commander asked, hurriedly.

"I can get the Warden armour research done, but I don't have many weapon expertise" Tygen replied, confused as to why the Commander would want him to go the XCOM HQ.

|What weapon expertise do you have?|The Commander asked.

"Only pistols, nothing else" Tygen replied.

|That'll have to do| The Commander said, turning to leave.

(Shen's POV-Four hours later)

Shen was working on modifying a Mag rifle for Soleirus, when the Commander came in.

"Hello Commander" Shen said, looking up from her work.

|Dr. Tygen is close to completing the research on Warden armour, as soon as he's done, I need you to manufacture five sets of it for the Storm Harbingers, and one set for Soleirus| The Commander ordered. |Oh and a set for Dr. Tygen| The Commander added.

"Umm, ok." Shen said, a little surprised by the suddenness of the request.

|Good, I need it done in seven hours| The Commander ordered, leaving.

(Void's POV-Seven hours later)

{Storm Harbingers to the Armoury! Storm Harbingers to the Armoury!} The ships AI called out, over the intercom.

Void was woken suddenly by the alarm blaring, and was quick to get out of his bunk.

"HUH?!... Who called in the fleet?!" Boomer said, waking up quickly, only to fall off of his bunk.

"Mission" Void said, quickly dressing himself.

Their quarters were divided in two, males in one half, females in the over half. They were separated by a thin metal wall.

"Somebody get me a coffee!" Eagle demanded, almost zombie like.

"Come on, let's get going" Wolf said, heading to the Armoury.

When they reached the Armoury, they saw Soleirus standing there, with some kind of new armour on.

"Uhhh, sir, why is the Ethereal here? More importantly, why is she wearing armour?" Boomer asked, upon seeing Soleirus.

|I'll explain on the way, for now, grab your gear. You've got new armour waiting for| The Commander said, before turning to Soleirus. |As for you, I hope you can follow my orders| The Commander said, sternly.

Soleirus simply nodded in reply, before grabbing her new weapon, which Shen was holding.

Void, Boomer and Wolf went to the male side of the Armoury, and Gears and Eagle went to the female side of the Armoury.

+To be continued+