A/N: This chapter is written in first-person, taking place several months after the fall of the original XCOM. Ghost has yet to come into contact with Central, and is still operating alone against the recently-formed ADVENT. This chapter also contains non-explicit adult content, which some folks might remember the sniper eluding to in a previous chapter but refusing to elaborate on. While it is not anything detailed or explicit, it is still not as clean as usual, so read at your own discretion.

Sprinting forward, I leapt from the rooftop, falling two meters before reaching the next surface. I tucked into a roll on the other side of the gap, saving my leg bones and joints from any possible damage. The scaffolding creaked and swayed beneath the sudden weight and movement, but was otherwise structurally sound- I had no fear of falling. Slinging my sniper rifle over my back, I scaled the frame of the building to gain a better vantage point. Nobody had noticed me; I was far too experienced in the art of stealth for that to happen. Close-quarters was problematic for me, but at this distance, I was at home. I knew where to move, when to move there, and how to maintain a posture that would keep me hidden. Being no stranger to the art of parkour, remaining undetected while moving quickly was no great challenge for me. XCOM might have fallen to the aliens, but I was determined to spare myself of the same fate while still fighting back.

My one-man guerilla tactics and hit-and-runs were barely a thorn in ADVENT's side, but I would not simply stand idly by as my planet was overrun by this scum. Nor would I lie down and let them take me; I would fight until the bitter end, even if it was completely in vain. The Resistance needed hope in this world if they wanted to take back their home, and I would be that hope- the living proof that our enemy was not invincible. I was determined to carry on the fight of my Commander, who would never have wanted me to give in to the aliens' lies and overwhelming power. It had been six... maybe seven months since we were defeated by the invaders- I had stopped keeping track- and I had given up on finding other survivors.

Today, my target was special: the viper Queen. I had learned recently that the vipers- these strange snakelike people- had their own hierarchy under the Elders. The Queen was, obviously, the head of this sub-hierarchy, and as such she was an extremely important individual to ADVENT. From what I had been able to gather in the past month, she was the psionic relay that connected the Elders to the rest of the vipers, making it far easier to exert their control over them. Most vipers had a mind control chip- I had discovered this after blowing the head off of one and found the device sitting in the gore- but instincts born of their ancient pride and tradition were presumably strong enough to override the psi-link if the Queen opposed their masters. There had to be more to it than that, but my main concern at the moment was where I was going to shoot her from. This was a chance to potentially cripple the rising alien threat, and I wasn't going to let it pass. The Queen rarely emerged like this, and I had no idea when my next opportunity was going to be- if it ever happened again in my lifetime, that is.

I moved to the edge of the scaffolding, drawing my Wraith as I dropped into a prone position. The sun was behind me, eliminating the chance of anyone catching the glint of light from my scope. This was part of the reason that I chose this spot to set up my perch- the other reason was that it was just a favorable vantage point with good line-of-sight. Lowering my forehead to the floor and resting my rifle on its side to reduce visibility, I went through several breathing exercises and mental tricks to calm myself and lower my heart rate. A little bit of adrenaline in my system was good, since it sharpened my reflexes and heightened my senses, but too much would just make me jittery and anxious. By composing myself and taking deep breaths, I was able to dilute the adrenaline in my bloodstream and monitor how much my body was releasing. It was impossible to be exact, but over time I had learned to get a feel for it. Some called it "mind over matter," but I just called it good practice.

Vipers had an acute sense of smell- something that I had dealt with when hunting other animals before the war. As just a teenager, I learned to stalk my prey like a true predator, masking my scent and remaining undetected until it was already too late for my prey. I could get close enough to a deer to kill it with one shot from a handgun, or a single throwing knife. The Commander had considered nicknaming me "Wolf" for this reason, but the fact that I hunt alone put the kibosh on that. Two-word nicknames were not something that we liked to use, so "Lone Wolf" was not really an option. Plus, it would have been far too cliche for my liking. Instead, I earned the name of Ghost, and how funny it was that I had become exactly that to ADVENT- a vengeful spirit of XCOM, killing their leaders without ever being caught or even seen.

To deal with my prey's ability to literally sniff me out from afar, I had taken care to prevent myself from sweating at all during this endeavor by keeping myself cool. My light kevlar armor was damp with cold water, which also served to hide my inert scent while preventing my body from producing any oils that might smell strongly to a viper. I used odorless soaps and antiperspirants, as silly as that might sound, so that I would not be replacing one smell with another. When hunting animals, I would have made myself smell like the forest in order to blend in, but here the pungent stench of smoke and exhaust would cling to me just from being present. To be a sniper of my skill, it was necessary to be this crazy. I would have loved to use a silencer, but the Black Market was the only place that such an item might be found, and last time I checked they didn't have anything for a rifle like mine. Making my own was not an option, either; my tinkering skills were limited to weapon maintenance.

If I had to drop prone suddenly during a mission for any reason, and I ended up on top of a rattlesnake or hornet's nest, I would stay completely still while the angry animals beneath me worked to sting/bite the Hell out of me. If I had to sit in the burning sun or freezing water for hours on end, I would do so without hesitation or complaint. If I had to remain awake for multiple days just to be ready for my target to appear, I wouldn't sleep until after the mission was done. The ability to endure pains was burned into my very being, and I could do it without ever missing a shot. Masking my scent was potentially the least bothersome thing that I might end up doing for a mission.

The other thing that I had to remember was that I was up against an enemy that would be in their element. Vipers were not quite snipers like me, but they were skilled marksmen- striking from afar was relatively easy for them when compared to their ADVENT allies. The main factor that made this fact dangerous to me was that there were going to be many of them; there was a much greater chance that, should they spot me, at least one of them would be able to score a hit. The Queen herself would probably not do any fighting- if I didn't kill her before she had the chance, that is- but I had no doubt that she would have a full outfit of armed guards. My kevlar would hardly protect me against their plasma rifles, and they might yank me from my perch with their tongues if I wasn't careful. I had seen Resistance fighters get pulled across battlefields and through walls by viper tongues, and although I had no idea what the limit was on their length, I wasn't eager to find out. Luckily, I had arrived before the snakes did, so I would not be nearly as easy to detect.

My train of thought was cut off by the sound that I had been waiting to hear: the crowd was beginning to gather in order to receive the viper Queen. She was here to publicly meet a human politician for some bullshit reason- I knew that it was just part of their propaganda. The royal serpent would be arriving via air transport, and I suppressed a smile as I imagined the over-the-top grandeur of the reception. I was nowhere near the landing zone, instead positioning myself near the planned path where she would go to meet with the human leader. In this way, ADVENT was playing right along with the city's population's expectations; they were doing what a human celebrity might do, making the whole situation more familiar to the people in order to lull them further into their false sense of security.

I raised my head, setting up the bipod on the Wraith and scanning the area below with the naked eye. It was unwise to use my scope in place of binoculars- that was one of the first rules of gun safety. It was especially prudent now, since I would be aiming at a crowd of innocent people. Another basic rule of safety was to keep my weapon directed away from anything that I didn't want dead- and pointing it at these civilians would be a direct violation of that rule. It would also be completely pointless, since I knew that my target wouldn't be in the crowd. So I simply surveyed the scene with my eyes, since I did want to get a general assessment of hostile presence in the area. I preferred to know how many guns might be firing at me after I take my shot. ADVENT Troopers were scattered through the crowd along with a few MECs; there were more of them than it seemed, since they wanted to make people feel secure, not think they were being monitored. There was, in reality, a small army stationed here right now, but the units were strategically spread out so that it didn't look like that. I knew how they operated, though, which meant that I would not be fooled by this tactic.

The transport flew overhead from the direction opposite me in relation to the landing zone, meaning that they never spotted me. Yet another reason that this was a good spot to be. I had done my research for this event, learning every little detail that I could, including which direction the transport was coming from. To an outsider, I would appear obsessed with this- and maybe I was a little- but in truth, I just knew that this assassination would be impossible if I didn't gain every tiniest advantage that I possibly could. This was no General or local leader; ADVENT would be taking every possible measure to ensure that I would not be able to kill the Queen. In fact, they were probably thinking of me specifically; I had a bad case of faceless infamy among their ranks, having killed dozens of high-ranking officials already. I was shocked that they were even risking this at all, given the fact that I was still at large. This was the first time that I was not shooting from inside a building, though- a change of tactic to throw them off, since they would no doubt have guards stationed anywhere that resembled a spot that a typical sniper would use. I was also much closer than I had ever positioned myself before, partly to throw them off further, and partly out of necessity since their snipers might spot me otherwise. There were rumors that ADVENT was developing a new version of the archon that could be stationed near civilians due to a new appearance, but luckily for me, the aliens had yet to deploy them. Instead, there were several enemy snipers positioned in nearby buildings. But this spot was outside of their line of sight, and on top of that, they wouldn't be looking for me here.

In any case, I was determined to overcome their anti-Ghost measures and send the Queen through the gates of Hell. Agonizingly long seconds passed before my quarry rounded the corner and entered my sights. Without hesitation, I peered through my scope, lining up the crosshairs over the alien's reptilian head. It was obvious that she was the Queen: she was dressed far more ornately than any of the others, though the members of her honor guard were certainly dressed differently than most vipers. Their armor boasted ornamental spikes and small blades, and looked to be more protective than the standard viper armor. The sharp implements seemed more for decoration than practical purpose, but definitely set these elites apart from their sisters.

Exhaling slowly, I wrapped my finger around the trigger as I kept my crosshairs trained on the Queen's adorned head. Everything else faded out as I focused on my target, from the cheering of the crowd to the wooden platform beneath me. The only thing that remained was the alien on the other end of my scope, just waiting to be relieved of her life. My Wraith and I were one- the same entity, ready to deliver instant death with pinpoint accuracy. I slowly squeezed my trigger, not allowing for any error in accuracy; a fast pull would cause the gun to shift as it fired. Suddenly, the Queen stopped in her tracks, staring off into the distance as if a thought had struck her. I stopped, too- freezing in place as I was instantly filled with the fear that I had made a mistake somewhere. I was good, but I was not perfect.

The serpent turned her head to look directly at me, eyes narrowing as her gaze pierced straight through my scope and into my soul. How she had known, I had no clue, but it was clear that she knew exactly where I was. Then, to my infinite surprise, she looked away and continued as if nothing was wrong. No doubt she had seen me, so what was she doing? I gritted my teeth, realizing that she was insulting me by passing me off as non-threatening. I jammed my finger back angrily, and the Wraith kicked back into my shoulder like a frightened horse as it passed a powerful, high-caliber bullet from its muzzle and toward my target. I would not be fazed by such insults as this!

The bullet angrily ripped through the air like a huge lead hornet, the sound of the Wraith filling the air and drowning out all other noise for a split second. Time seemed to slow as the shot made contact with the Queen, blasting a chunk of her head off messily. Gore splattered over two honor guards and into the crowd, causing mass panic almost immediately. As much as I wanted to stay and verify that my prey was dead, there was no time to waste as the numerous ADVENT units turned to open fire on my position. I wanted so badly to hold my ground and pick them off, but I knew that such an act would be suicide. And there would be many more leaders who needed a bullet in the brain. Grabbing my rifle, I drew myself back from the edge of the scaffolding before rising from my stomach and breaking into a run.

A barrage of missiles from a MEC came raining down around me, busting up the wooden demi-structure as easily as one might expect. I leapt between the collapsing platforms, stowing my rifle in order to have both hands available to grab anything if need be. Magnetic rounds and plasma bolts hummed and hissed threateningly all around me, and I forced myself to run faster as the scaffolding was chewed up by bolt, bullet, and missile alike. The platform in front of me was struck by one such explosive, disintegrating it easily. Anyone else might have slowed, stopped, or otherwise taken a moment to think of another escape route, but not me. I didn't break stride as I propelled myself over the gap, knowing that a fall from this height would be fatal; if the fall didn't kill me outright, then I would surely be crippled so that ADVENT would have no problem finishing me off.

I jumped forward, falling a short distance with one object in my sight: the horizontal support beam on the other side of where the platform used to be. With both hands- it was similar to grabbing a pipe- I grasped the metal bar and swung down to save myself from falling any further. Releasing the beam as it started to bend and break beneath the sudden strain, I threw myself forward and at the wall of the neighboring building, curling up with my knees to my chest and arms folded in front of my head. The glass and cheap frame broke easily, doing little to stop me from smashing through and tumbling to the floor. As much as I would have loved to claim that this had been my plan, every step of this escape was made up on the fly.

Groaning in pain from landing on the window frame, and picking shards of glass from my arms and legs where the light kevlar padding didn't cover, I resumed my sprint to safety through the building. I quickly found the stairwell, and climbed the stairs three at a time as I headed to the roof. The streets would be filled with ADVENT soldiers, and I was not keen to go leaping through more windows, so the rooftops were my only reasonable escape route. The thing about escape plans, when it came to the aliens, was that they almost always knew what that plan might be, and acted to stop it accordingly. ADVENT could identify any set route or extraction point as you ran, and would move to intercept you before you could ever manage to get away. So I almost never made plans. Instead, I learned to get good at improvising my departures so that I could adapt to what they did to stop me. They're unable to stop a fluid with another fluid- all they can do is slow it down. They can't adapt to the shape of a plan when that plan is shapeless.

Once I reached the roof, a few things dawned on me. First: there was a viper already up here, apparently waiting for me. Second: this was why the Queen hadn't reacted to me- she had psionically ordered one of her soldiers to deal with me, not expecting me to take the shot so quickly. Third: the viper in front of me wasn't wearing anything, revealing that her "breasts" were actually smooth- probably venom sacs- and the look in her eyes said that she wanted to do something besides just kill me. It was a primal look, almost animalistic, but not exactly murderous. There was anger, that much was still clear, but it seemed that it was more frustration and desire than anything else. I didn't want to find out what this meant, drawing my sidearm and thinking to shoot this viper to get her out of my way. She must have been stationed in this building, I reasoned, and had moved to the roof in order to get a better shot at me. But that was irrelevant now; I had to kill her quickly and keep running.

Her tongue shot out at me, and I was sure that I was about to be pulled to her and crushed under that powerful tail. I had seen a few Resistance units die this way, and I was not eager to share that fate. But before I could figure out a way to counter this move, the tongue grabbed my pistol and yanked it away, throwing it away and sending it to the street below. I grimaced; I liked that pistol, and getting a new sidearm would be quite the hassle., since the only way to get them anymore was through the Black Market. But it was possible to replace a gun- I only had one life, and I was more focused on protecting that than a standard-issue pistol. My Wraith would be able to make quick work of this opponent, I knew, but it was highly unwieldy for this kind of close-quarters combat. Luckily, I had a backup: my combat knife. It was not the most favorable solution to this problem, but I was confident that I could handle one viper in a melee encounter. CQC wasn't my forte, but my swift and steady hands made for exquisitely deadly knife-play. I drew the eight-inch blade from the sheath at my hip, making sure to maintain a much firmer grip on it and watching for that tongue in case she used it again. This time, I would be ready to cut it off with a quick slash.

The viper seemed to recognize this and neglected to pull this weapon from my hand, especially since the only surface that she could grab was the blade, making for an easy counter on my part. I found it ironic that my least advantageous weapon for this encounter was the one weapon that she couldn't easily take from me. A machete or sword would have been better, but I resolved to make do with what I had; larger blades would only serve to slow me down, and it would not be worth the trouble for how little I engage in melee.

"What's with the nudity?" I asked as I circled my opponent, trying to use conversation to throw her off, "If you're looking for me to follow suit, then I'm sorry to disappoint- I'm not the one with scales that act as natural armor in this situation."

She hissed aggressively at me, a hunger in her eyes, "You felled our Queen, and body power is past any seen before!" Her speech was broken and clumsy- she probably didn't have a very good grasp on terrestrial languages- but I could understand approximately what she was saying. This was not as fortunate as one might think, since it only meant that I could see where this was going. "You are warrior! Claim power for bloodline!" Though it was not entirely clear, I was certain that she wanted to breed with me, since she witnessed me kill the Queen then watched my nimble escape. It was probably some sort of ancient instinct that was overriding her mind control, and was buried so deep in her species' genetic code that their inability to reproduce did not change it.

"Sorry, lady," I met her gaze with a narrow-eyed look, "But I'm no fornicator. And that goes tenfold for killer aliens who are actively enslaving humanity."

With an undeterred hiss, the viper lunged forward. It was then that I fully realized just how bad my situation really was. She had no fear of my knife, even as I desperately stabbed at her when she came near enough, and I got a strong sense that she wasn't acting on any form of rational thought anymore. This was pure reproductive instinct, and indefinite generations of repression had only made it stronger and more volatile. I should have been tipped off by the fact that she was trying to mate with me without any proper organs of her own, but now it was far too late for that. I barely managed to dodge her charge, swiping at her with my knife reflexively. Rolling away, I landed in a crouched position with one hand on the ground and my feet spread to make a wide base. I would be able to move in any direction that I needed at a moment's notice, and attack with speed to match. Or so I thought.

I was fast, but she was faster. As a viper, she didn't have to recover from her charge like a human might. She didn't stumble or pause, but instead turned almost instantly to me and easily redirected her momentum. This was the advantage of having a tail rather than legs. I could keep dodging, but I would tire far sooner than she ever would. My only real option was to take this viper head-on; she was between me and the exit, could easily catch me if I tried to run for it, and going back down was pointless since I would just be running back down to the streets, where I would be found and killed in seconds. Chances of surviving a straight fight with this sex-crazed viper were slim, but that was better than any other alternative. Clutching my knife and gritting my teeth, steeling myself for this trial, I lunged forward as she drew near swinging my blade at her.

She seized my wrist with both hands, stopping my attack before using her tail to sweep my legs out from beneath me. In response, I grabbed her shoulder with my free hand and pulled down, bringing myself back to my feet and sending her to the floor. I made to stab her, but the viper rolled onto her back and flipped her tail up to strike me in the back, knocking me forward onto the ground behind her head. I managed to turn over onto my back, but before I could get to my feet, she slithered up on top of me and pinned me down. The viper deflected my knife again, this time grabbing my arm and biting it, and the sudden burning sensation told me that she had injected a small amount of venom through her fangs. I was forced to release the weapon from the unbelievable agony that came from teeth digging into my forearm combined with the acid entering my veins. Gasping in pain, I watched helplessly as my blade clattered uselessly to the surface of the roof, leaving me at this alien's mercy. And I knew that they had none of that, especially when it came to people like me who fought back.

Apparently satisfied that I was in no condition to resist her anymore, the viper went to work on fulfilling her instinctual need. In moments, she had torn open my trousers and revealed my... male organ. Lacking a proper organ of her own, the viper instead used her mouth. Evidently, this primal instinct could be sated by simply extracting the necessary cells from the male in question. Either that, or the removal of reproductive organs had actually modified this urge accordingly. I didn't reflect on it too much at that time, since the feeling of fangs dragging across the most sensitive part of my body was not pleasant. I was infinitely more concerned with that little issue. Some part of my brain recognized that there was no venom being injected through this contact, which was a slight relief, but I was still desperate to find a way out of this situation.

The pain was like nothing I had ever experienced before or since. It felt like someone was scraping needles all over my crotch, and I didn't have to look down to know that there was plenty of blood. I had to draw upon every ounce of my willpower in order to prevent myself from screaming. Nobody had come up after me yet, so they must not have known what was going on up here. Somehow, I still had enough focus left to think about the fact that noise would bring ADVENT down upon me, and kept my mouth clamped firmly shut. My mind raced for a solution to free myself of this excruciating rape, and I even considered trying to kill myself somehow- it was that painful. Then I remembered that my knife was still lying nearby, just within arm's reach. I had no idea if this viper would react to me reaching for my weapon, but at that point, I didn't care. If she killed me, it would be a blessing.

I forced myself to extend my wounded arm- the pain was far less intense than what was happening down below, making it far easier to bear- and snatched up my knife. Hastily grabbing it by the blade, I cut my inner knuckle on my index finger but hardly noticed, growing ever more desperate to end this nightmare. Through all the torture and adrenaline, I could hear the sounds of ADVENT forces starting to enter the building from below. They would search the rooms first, but time was running out; they wouldn't take that long to reach the roof in their hunt. The viper didn't notice any of this, moving to hump me animalistically as if she had forgotten that she had no reproductive organs. For a moment, it was a relief to have the fangs removed from my private area, but then the friction of her scales caused an entirely different kind of nearly-unbearable agony. I didn't hesitate: she looked down just in time to see me flip the knife over into my uninjured hand, catching it expertly and winding up quickly for an attack.

Her eyes widened as she seemed to snap out of her trance, realizing what was about to happen. No longer was there anger or hunger in her eyes; now there was only shock and fear. The viper tried to react, but it was far too late at that point. Despite being weakened in the worst way that I could imagine, that was the hardest I had ever pushed my hand forward to strike anything, let alone an enemy. I was already going into shock from the physical torment that I had endured, but endorphins were still burning in my veins- along with the small amount of venom- driving me to throw every last iota of my remaining strength into stabbing this viper in the neck. The serrated steel blade dug through scales and flesh with a disgusting sound that is difficult to define, but is best described as a sort of crunch-squelch. Along with the stab, I threw the viper off of me and leapt to my feet. As she fell, I pulled the knife back out and watched as she began to drown in her own blood.

Normally, I would give my enemies as quick a death as I could, but for this viper, I made an exception. Perhaps it was not fair to judge her for actions that could be considered outside of her control, but at that moment, I was focused on the fact that she had just shredded my genitals, not why she had done so. Pulling my trousers back up to my waist, I used the strap of my Wraith as an improvised belt to hold them in place, since she had simply torn them open in the front. My rifle could just be carried until I reached safety, lack of free hands be damned; anything was better than what I had just been forced to experience. I wiped off the blade of my knife on her stomach unceremoniously, snarling at her silently as she watched, desperately clutching at her throat. It was in vain, of course, but I wasn't in the mood to tell her that.

As I ran off, jumping across the rooftops to finally make my getaway, the pain between my legs was nothing less than harrowing. I knew that I would be scarred for life- possibly mentally, but definitely physically- but I had been trained for this kind of tribulation. Rattlesnakes and hornet's nests were more of what I had expected, but this fell under the same category of something unpleasant that would stop me from completing my mission if I let it. Given, it was not exactly easy to continue running while my most sensitive organ constantly felt like it was about to fall off, but I willed myself to keep going. My training only carried me so far in this case- the rest was my determination to survive. Climbing down the final building and to the street below, away from prying eyes and ADVENT forces, I sprinted off into the nearby forest until my muscles grew too fatigued to move, and the pain became too much to bear. Collapsing under a tree, I activated my radio.

"Bear," I said breathlessly, "I need pickup, ASAP. I'm in a lot of pain right now- I'll explain when you get here."

"On my way," a woman's voice said, "I hope you were successful?" She spoke with a Russian accent, one that had become comfortingly familiar to me. Bear was the only other survivor from XCOM that I knew of. Both of us technically worked alone, since a single person was harder to track than two, but we made sure to operate in the same region in case one of us needed help from the other. She had assumed control of a local Resistance cell, and I occasionally used their camp as a place to rest. For the most part, I kept to myself and had no permanent home, but I could always rely on Bear and her people to help me when I needed it. Now was one of those times.

I looked down at my Wraith, which was laying across my lap, "Yeah, I did. But I had a SNAFU. I think I'll live, but-" I gave a short gasp as my lower regions give me a particularly sharp sting, "Well... making new life isn't really an option for me anymore, if you get my meaning."

Some people in her position might have laughed, but Bear grew serious. "ETA is five minutes, Ghost. We're heading out as we speak. Should we expect company?"

I looked back the way I came, seeing no movement and hearing no sign of trouble, "Negative. If that changes, you'll be the first to know."

"Just hold on," she insisted. I could hear the sound of her transport vehicle in the background as she spoke, "I have people preparing a place for you to stay as we speak. It will be ready by the time we're back."

"Thanks," I sighed, resting my head against the trunk of the tree, "I could do with the roof being over my head and not under my feet for a while."

My thoughts wandered back to the viper on the roof. Her behavior was unlike anything I had ever seen- or heard of, for that matter- and now that I was away from the action, I was able to focus on more than just the pain in my nether region. She had been waiting for me up there, ready to do... what she did to me. It couldn't have just been a spur-of-the-moment thing, or anything as simple as old instincts. Toward the end, her actions fit such explanations neatly, but I had a strong gut feeling that I had almost fallen victim to some greater plan or scheme. That viper had raped me because something- or someone- had told her to. I was certain that the Queen had issued her an order, and that command had something to do with it. One way or another, the royal serpent was dead now, so I didn't have to worry about that anymore.

Or so I thought.

A/N: The original upload of Chapter 10 did not include an Author's note. It was re-uploaded with one. Just an FYI for those who read it before that.

During the rooftop scene here, I deliberately stayed away from describing in detail what was happening. This isn't meant to be smut, after all. I made a point to use more general terms and be somewhat vague for this reason. The focus of this chapter was to shed some light on Ghost's past which, until now, was implied but never explained. Of course, there are some things that weren't covered here, but this should hopefully clear up some things about who the old sniper is when it comes to his past. And of course, there are some other reasons that will be revealed with time! Flashbacks are often relevant to more than just the past, after all...

Expect a bit of a hiatus on this story, since life is complicated, but rest assured that I will continue writing Tipping the Scales after things come together once again!

Leave a review to tell me what you think, and as always, have fun and stay safe out there! -VV