The year is 2035, and it has been twenty years after the war with the aliens. Each world leaders had surrendered unconditionally, the military has laid down their arms, and what's left of the remaining force that has a chance fighting them were all but annihilated.

Some openly accepted these terms while others were forced to accept them. After the subjugation of Earth, the United Nation was dissolved and replace with a new puppet government under the administration of the aliens called ADVENT. Many cities were rebuilt, educational institutions was reorganised, clinical and medicinal organizations were advancing and affordable, and scientific advancement has increased by twenty percent. Peace has been achieving.

However, not everyone were supporting the aliens. Some are still fighting against the aliens and their new administration. Old veterans from former government armies formed resistances in various parts of the world, while ordinary citizens who have a strong hatred towards ADVENT due to their brutal enforcement to keep the peace.

Today marks the twentieth anniversary of Unification Day, when the Great Accord has been signed between Humanity and the aliens, and it was celebrated in Los Angeles, California.

Sunset Boulevard is crowded with millions of people. Civilians watching the big screen TV, propagating the news of the ADVENT administration, telling the recent events that happened by resistance and made the Soldier peaceful. Many of ADVENT's clinics around the world had been hitting hard and leave the places destroyed, yet despite this, they're opening new facilities every day.

Many ADVENT forces repelled these attack and were forced to arrest many citizens to protect the peace.

While the world was in chaos, The Speaker reassures to the people about progressing towards unity and friendship with humanity and the Elders, the supreme ADVENT race, despite the random attacks from local resistance, while the news media assure the people, after these setbacks, ADVENT are still continuing with the celebration.

"Perfect," said a man quietly.

Everything is peaceful at the celebration, and there are more security that monitor the celebration.

"Approaching position," a female operative reported. "You were right. They've definitely got their hands full today."

"Stay focus," her superior replied while he stayed in line with everyone who's attending the ceremony, "Prep Gatecrasher, sixty seconds."

After the woman in front of him pass the security gate, the superior walked forward. As he passes the security gate, the alarm went off, notifying all the guards that were in the area.

The guards have him surrounded and spoke to him in their language, giving time for his subordinate time to set up gatecrasher.

"Mor Bolton," the Advent officer spoke.

No response.

The officer butted the man with its rifle, putting him on his knees, and asked again.

She crouch down placed a detonator on the side of the armoured vehicle and left undetected.

He saw his subordinate walking away, got up, putting his finger on his left ear and said, "Now."

The operative pushes the detonation button, which exploded the vehicle and knocking downed the guards around the area while her superior crouch down to cover himself from the explosion.

Meanwhile, at the resistance headquarters, one of the surveillance team saw the explosion and contacted the strike team. "Signal receive, loud and clear."

She switched screens and contacted the second strike team, "Ok, Gatecrasher. Your turn."

The airship flew to one of the Advent clinics that was nearby, and the two operatives geared up and dropped at the entrance of the clinic.

"ADVENT forces are swarming at the blast point," the surveillance operative notified the team, "we need to move on the package before they figured out what we're up to."

Both Gatecrasher's heads nodded at each other and began the plan.

"They're holding the position. We're gonna have to go through them. Stay out of sight until we're ready to strike."

"Copy that," Crasher-Two responded.

During the observation, an explosion occurred, keeping Advent distracted while both Gatecrashers focuses on the clinic.

"Remind me to thank the old man," Crasher-One spoke.

The doors of the clinic were open and an ADVENT officer came out, ordering one soldier to investigate the blast with him while leaving four soldiers to guard the clinic.

"You and me both," the operative implied.

Both Gatecrashers moved towards any hiding spots they could find and began attacking the soldiers. Crasher-One started opening fire behind a small pillar at the second guard on the left, killed him where it stands.

The other guards notice it and began to cover from the attack.

One of the guards covered on a small crate which gave him an opening for Crasher-Two, which she hid behind a security air cruiser, to shoot at him. She got him in her sight and shoot him down. The dead guard dropped some valuable gear that might be for some use.

"You still keeping score, right," Crasher-Two asked

The third guard shot crasher-One from behind the vehicle, not a scratch on him.

"Not going down that easy," Crasher-One shouted.

The fourth guard got behind the vehicle and shot Crasher-Two, dead where she stood.

"NO!" Crasher-One shouted. "Crasher-Two is down! She's gone!"

"DAMMIT!!!" The surveillance operative shouted. "You can't take risks like that! Watch your flanks!"

"So that's how you play it," Crasher-One taunts the guards. "Ok!"

He got out of his hiding spot and got behind a ramp, and shot the guard that shot Crasher-Two on its back.

The last guard got out of its hiding spots and aimed its rifle at Crasher-One. It never got its chance because it got shot on its back.

The guard laid on the floor, on its dying moment, contacted in reinforcements.

"Morta… Beltor…" The alien contacted on its helmet.

"She's calling reinforcements," the surveillance operative notified. "Stop that-"

The man stomped on the guard's helmet before the guard finished calling in reinforcements.

"-transmission," she finished her sentence, annoyed.

The man arrived at the nick of time, carried his assault rifle by the book.

"Central, reporting in," the man spoke on his communicator.

"You're late," the operative contacted Central. "What have you been doing down here?"

Central flipped the now desist guard to observe. Her helmet removed while the body was flipped, reviling a cross-modification of human and Sectoid on the face.

"Taking in the sight," Central replied.

"What the hell are these things," Menace-Three asked.

"They're us. Least they used to be. Human hybrid soldiers. ADVENT's reward for obedience and services."

"We've all heard rumours," said surveillance. "I just never believed it was true."

"No one wanted to," Central implied. His eyes were off the deceased soldier and focus on the mission at hand. "But we find what we are looking for today, I promise you that's gonna change." He took a breath and gave his order, "Let's move."

"Keep your eyes peeled," Central ordered, "fire on anything that move."

A red flare was lit on the sidewalk.

"Looks like that transmission went through," the operative notified. "You have an ADVENT transport closing on your position."

"You heard her," Central ordered Crasher-One. "Cover the left side!"

Crasher-One obeyed and moved behind the vehicle.

"The main entrance is clear," Central noted his team. "We need to move on the package."

Central rushed to the window on the right and jump, crashing through it and ran towards the first door on his left.

"Menace-Three," Central shouted, "you're up!"

"Hold up," the operative ordered, "you should check that body for salvageable gear, we needed anything we can at this point. Better move fast though, I heard rumours that ADVENT rigs their stuff to self-destruct."

That was no rumour. ADVENT do implanted self-destruct program in order to protect their gear.

Menace-Three rushed towards the item, crouch down on her and picked up the item, which cancel the self-destruct program, ran to the window, jumped through it, and ran towards the door beside Central.

Lucky for the both of them, they made it inside before the ADVENT transport arrived, hovering in the air, drop two ADVENT soldiers and one officer, and left for the soldiers to take care of the situation.

"Reinforcements just hit the ground," the operative noted.

"They're getting nervous," Central implied. "Now I know we're in the right place."

The soldiers were scattered and tried to find cover. Unfortunately, one of them that was moving towards the vehicle got shot by Crasher-One.

"Well done," Central congratulated, then he ordered. "Fallback to our position."

"Just go," Crasher-One shouted. "I'll try to stall them here."

Crasher-One moved towards the crate and hid behind it. He aimed his weapon at the officer and fired five bullets, which none of them hit the target.

"What the-" Crasher-One shouted confusedly.

Menace-Three tried to get the door open, but it's locked.

"I couldn't get this door open," she implied.

"You should be able to cut right through the door's security protocols," said the operative, "they were never expecting anyone to get this close."

Menace-Three nodded her head, pulled out her hacking pad, and access the security door. The hacker pad made a loud beeping noise which repeated once more, got through the security data frame, which said, "Access: Granted," and started hacking through the door.

The hacking took three seconds, and the door opened after the attempt.

"We're in," Menace-Three noted.

"Good," said Central. "Let's go."

Central got in first.

"Moving to secure the package," He noted.

He observed the area, checked from his left then turned to his right.

"Let's hope our Intel was good," the operative hoped.

He lowered his weapon and put his fingers of his right hand on his communicator.

"This is the place," Central noted.

What he saw was a life-support containment, marked with an upward arrow with another tip on top of the arrow, the ADVENT clinic logo.

"Are you sure," the operative asked.

Central moved toward the containment and pulled the release lever on the right, opening the cover, revealing a body inside with life-support fluids flushed out from what was inside of the containment.

"Yes," Central responded.

This body is inside of a black life-support suit with a cover helmet, keeping the individual inside and sedate for a long period of time.

"Looks like there's an access panel attached," the operative implied. "If you get me a better look, I might be able to-"

Central didn't listen. He picked up his assault rifle, and use the butt of his weapon to break the glass.

The glass broke and the body was about to fall, but he got to the body before it hit the floor.

"Next time," Central noted.

He pulled the body out of the containment and lay it on the floor.

"Let's get out of here," he ordered the team.

After he gave the order, he picked up the body. He grabbed the left arm, pulled it up and grabbed the arm with his left hand. Grabbed the right leg, and pulled the body up on his right shoulders.

"The entire ADVENT security grid just lit up," the operative shouted. "Firebrand is holding nearby for EVAC, but it's now or never Central!"

"Understood," Central responded. "We're on the move."

While Central and Menace-Three were occupied with the clinic, Crasher-One held his ground and fought off what force that is still advancing towards it. Unfortunately, the officer shot him down with three shots on the ribs.

"NO," surveillance shouted. "Central! Crasher-One is down. You have to get out of there!"

The soldier moved towards the smashed window, covered his side on the right.

The exit got cut off, and they need another exit to escape.

"We need another exit," Central shouted. "NOW!"

Menace-Three moved inside the other room and created an exit.

"Fire in the hole," she shouted and throw a frag grenade.

As the grenade hits the wall with the ADVENT logo on it, the wall blew up and revealed an open field where they can escape the clinic.

"Works for me," Central relieved.

He walked all the way to the hole on the wall as he carried the body. As he got to the other side of the wall, he kneeled on the floor and called Firebrand for evacuation.

The soldier got inside the clinic and aimed his weapon at Menace-Three.

"They're right behind us," she shouted.

She ran out of the building while covered her head down due of the soldier fired his laser rifle five times at her, missing every shot.

"That was way too close," she says.

The officer got into the building and fired five shots at Central, one of them hit his left ribcage. Fortunately, Central wore a laserproof vest underneath his attire. However, another shot, and he would have been in pain or worst.

"Firebrand, this is Gatecrasher," Central shouted. "We needed an immediate EVAC! Get us outta here!"

He got injured, but he can still walk. He lit up a blue flare signal to call in the Skyranger, and it arrived just in time, dropping its EVAC ropes.

"Keep moving," he shouted again.

"You don't need to tell me twice," Menace-Three responded.

Central ran toward the EVAC zone, grabbed a rope and pulled up. Menace-Three shot her rifle at the soldiers and grabbed her rope, pulling up to the Skyranger. After all the forces got on board, the Skyranger fled the scene while the soldiers shoot at it. Made to skies without a scratch.

As the Skyrangerflewn away, something glitches its way to the laboratory. After the glitch stopped, an alien with a golden female body with a black head appeared in the laboratory. The alien observed the area to see what's missing.

As she looked at the empty containment, she screeched in frustration and disappeared from the area.

The bright sunny day shines at the Grand Canyon haven in the New Mexico region, a safe haven for people who resisted the ADVENT administration. It houses six fugitives: three people that are implying Intel for the Resistance and three others are gathering supplies.

The Skyranger flown by the Haven, stopped mid-air, slowly descended on an aircraft and landed on a hanger.

The Skyranger's cargo door opened and both Central and Menace-Three pulled a stretcher with the man in the life-support on it.

They rushed to the medical room, pull the man on the nearest medical bed on the right, and put him on the bed.

"Carefully," warned the doctor. "There's not entirely decades of atrophy to contend with!"

The medical crew plugged him with life-support tubes on the suit.

"Wish we had more time," the girl with the short hair worried.

"I don't disagree. But as it stands now we risk losing the patient if we don't begin the removal procedure immediately," he said while wiping the visor on the helmet.

The girl plugged the last tube and notified the doctor.

"We're ready."

"Good," Central acknowledged. "Let's get on with it."

He pulled the computer screen close to the bed.

The doctor began the procedure by removing the visor. He placed his left hand on the helmet and removed the visor with his right hand.

The visor removal reviled a man in his late thirties, adjusting his jaw and blinking his blue eyes twice.

"Remarkable," said the doctor.

"Just like twenty years ago…" Central implied

The man shut his eyes and began to see his recent memories.

The memory took place twenty years ago, in the old XCOM headquarters.

"…we still call it a war back then," he added.

The man still seeing the memory like a movie. He saw a plane landed on the hanger bay and returned a team of soldiers.

"We had no idea what's coming."

Then the memory flashed from one segment to another, showing a mothership. Then faded away.

"…response from the cerebral cortex," the doctor noted. "Good. Prepping for cranial intrusion." As he pulled out the extraction tool, the patient's memories appeared again. What the patient saw was an Elder race, pulled out an equipment that looks the same as the one he saw a second ago.

Then the memory disappeared and saw the doctor placed the tool in the patient's mouth.

A memory appeared again, showing the surgeon put the equipment in his mouth. Inserted something in him and pulled the equipment out. Then the surgeon stared at his subject, smiling.

Then the memory faded and brought back to reality.

"I've managed to identify the connection," the doctor informed Central. "Preparing for final incision."

The doctor turned on his equipment and placed in the patient's mouth again.

Before he could begin with the procedure, the woman expressed her concern.

"These readings are getting really erratic."

"Of course they are," the doctor noted as he switch his scanner to his extracting tool. "These implants were never design to be removed. We are risking severe…"

"No Plan B here people," Central barked. "Do it!"

The doctor looked concerned and looked at the woman. Then he pulled up his extracting tool, turned it on and placed it in the patient's mouth.

The patient blacked out for one second and regain his vision back. He saw the doctor with his extracting tool, holding a chip of some kind.

Then the patient's vision showed the invasion. What he saw were fragments of his memories that happened when the aliens attacked earth. He saw blaster fire rained down on innocent civilians and destroyed cars and buildings.

Then his vision shifted, witnessed Paris being overwhelm by the alien spacecraft.

It shifted again, at the peace conference between the United Nations and the aliens.

Shifted again, to XCOM headquarters, being invaded by ADVENT forces. He could hear his team screamed and saw another alien charged towards the patient and knocked him down.

Then eveverything went to back.

"No signal…" a voice spoke.

He could hear the flat line from the monitor and see nothing.

However, an Elder appeared in his vision and placed his hand, lighted from his palm.

Then the vision was gone and brought the patient back to reality once again.

"…pupillary response normal," the doctor noted. "Vital stabilizing. Procedure complete."

"Told them it will keep you than that to keep you down," Central spoke to the patient. "Welcome back, Commander."

The patient closed his eyes and rest.