XCOM: Resist

Chapter 13- Asaru

Chailux was dragged out of the van and restrained by his arms and legs to a wall. An electrical current coursed through his body and a faint blue glow started to resonate off of him. "Increase the output," someone yelled and the pain grew more intense. The glow starts to fade from him and follow down a tube to a pod off to the side. At the same time, Chailux started to feel weaker.

"We only managed to secure 25%," a voice calls as Chailux starts to fade in and out of consciousness, "the human body can only withstand so much. Let him rest, we can extract the rest at a later date."

Chailux finally blacks out and he wakes to find himself lying of a blanket on a green hill. Wake up. He quickly looks behind himself and there was just blackness. Wake up. Everywhere he looks was just blackness now and he stands. There is nothing to fear.

"Who are you," he said with a panicked tone in his voice as he continues to look around, "where am I? What do you want?"

You and I are one in the same. Lights started to appear forming a path and Chailux started walking down it. We rely on each other. "Let's move," he hears himself say and see a still image of himself hauling a soldier away from a crash site. But at the same time we are not. "Get out of here," another still image appears of him closing bulks doors to the Command Centre.

"You still haven't answers my questions," Chailux said, getting really impatient with the disembodied voice, "show yourself this instant."

The lights stopped appearing and everything went quiet. Are you sure? Chailux nods and blue tendrils attached to his limbs appeared. I am Asaru. Chailux slowly turns, following the tendrils to the point of origin. His eyes widen at the sight. I am what you call an Ethereal but I am not like the others. I've saved you countless times, just as you have done for me.

Chailux took a minutes to take this in then shook his head. "That glow from earlier," he mumbles mostly to himself, "the dreams... it was you." Asaru nod and Chailux takes a couple of steps back, "no," he grips his head and shakes it about, "no, no, no! This is impossible! I'm not just some puppet!"

That is what the last one said. Chailux instantly remember the man from his dream, the one with the explosive. But I assure you, unlike him, you were in full control. I only stepped in when you could not.

"But why me," Chailux shouts, moving about in frustration, "out of everyone in the entire world, why choose me?

Because you have something that most of your kind don't. You just don't see it yet. But you will soon. Very soon. Now. Wake up. Wake up.. Wake up...

Chailux's eyes slowly start to open and he finds himself still in the pod. "Subject has regain consciousness," a voice reports from the outside, "we shall continue our experiment once subject has fully recovered."