And he went smiling.

"Even in death, I will be defiant."

____________________________________________

The stars shone brightly overhead, the clear night sky giving way to an astonishing view.

They were hard to come by in the city, but out there, in the countryside, such nights were standard because of the lack of light pollution. A common occurrence. That didn't make them any less wonderous though. Not to Deathless, at least.

He laid on a grassy hilltop, staring up at them.
He had lost track of how long he had been there. Hours, it felt like, but then, time worked differently where he was. In his mind-scape. It could've been an hour in the real world or a year. He never knew until he woke up again. 𝗜𝗳 he woke up again.

Something told him that he wouldn't. Not that time.

After fighting for as long as he had, was that such a bad thing?

"I've no regrets. Not about the path I chose, nor where it led."

"But," Deathless said, "I do regret that I won't be there to help you anymore."

He looked at his side, at Liu "Short Fuse" Chen, and smiled at her. He wondered if she was asleep when he projected his mind to hers. At 4AM, he'd be surprised if she was anything but. Maybe she'd put off their conversation as a dream.

"I pray that when you wake, that when you hear the news, that you know it's okay to feel. It's okay to be sad, to be angry - at ADVENT, at me."

"But I also pray that you keep moving forward. For those we've lost, for those you can yet save, but most important of all... for yourself. So that when ADVENT is defeated and the war ends, you come out the other end and live your life. I want that for you, and everyone else. After all you've been through, you deserve it."

There was more that he wanted to say. More things that he wished to impart with her, but he thought better of it. What would it do him to offer her the burden that he had carried up until that point? To thrust it upon her shoulders and deny her a chance at peace?

No, she deserved better than that. He wanted her to have better than that. So instead, Deathless stood, taking off his helmet and letting it fall to the ground as he did.

And when he looked back at Chen, he did so with a smile on his face, his matted white hair and scarred visage doing little to take away the gentleness of his expression.

"I want you to know, you were a good friend. I enjoyed our... 'talks'."

He turned away and looked not toward the heavens, but the horizon, where the limits of the reality he created through their bond faltered and blurred with the real world.

"Goodbye, Liu."

He took off down the hill, moving as fast as his legs could carry him. Each step sent a shock racing through his body. The closer he got to that blurred space, the heavier his body seemed to become, the state of its physical self returning bit by bit. He powered through the fatigue it brought, he ignored the pain he felt, and with a shout, dove through the veil, slamming his consciousness back into his physical form.

It stood where it had fallen - in the remnants of a crumbling, burning building - gun in hand and a surprised bio trooper at his side. It shouted and reached to draw its weapon, but not before Deathless fired his, downing it with a burst of mag-fire.

Around him, the remnants of ADVENT forces jumped in surprise, immediately firing upon him. He responded by diving behind cover, narrowly avoiding a spray of returning fire and letting him fully access the situation.

The squad was gone. Retreated, most likely, and he only had three shots left. More importantly, his body was broken, and the power that had brought it back before was no more. He had minutes. Seconds, even, and he had to make them count.

He took a deep breath; ADVENT soldiers converged on him from all sides, five men to one.

And when he exhaled, his body moved with it, bursting from his cover and firing at the nearest soldier. The first shot staggered it and a second took it down. The other soldiers fired, a few missing, but one hitting his abdomen. Deathless soldiered through the pain, pushing forward while returning fire, downing the offending soldier.

As the others swung their rifles at him, he threw his shotgun at the nearest, stunning it. The opening it provided let him draw his blade, slashing through him and the one at his side. With them down, he turned for the last, but not before the soldier fired, grazing his head with plasma fire, sending him crumpling to the ground.

It stalked forward, rifle leveled and nervous. It examined Deathless' body for a moment before glancing at its comrades. It was a single moment.
Fleeting.

But it was enough for Deathless to shoot back to his feet, thrusting his blade up and through the soldier's center with one hand, and yanking it forward with the other. It stared at Deathless in shock and Deathless stared back, his crimson eye blazing through the opening of his helmet.

Deathless let go; the soldier collapsed.

He stared at the aliens at his feet, then looked up, surveying the room. He couldn't feel it, but he was bleeding, blood staining the front side of his armor and his head. He grunted and staggered forward, limping through the hole in the wall of the building. At some point in those few steps, he had dropped his sword. At some point in the next, he had collapsed to his hands and knees, unable to keep his feet under him.

He crawled at that point, pulling himself further and further until finally, he reached a tree, propping himself up against it with a grunt. It took more effort than it ever had before, but he pulled his helmet off too, letting it fall into the snow while he looked skyward.

Even there, in the corruption of ADVENT's outskirts, the stars still shone overhead. He smiled at the sight of them, then laughed, ignoring the blood that spilled from his lips as he did.

"I don't regret it," he repeated. "But what I wouldn't give... to see these stars on a free Earth..."

He closed his eyes; he imagined what such a thing would look like. The image of it made him feel warm.

"I... bet it'd be beautiful..."

He drifted off into silence, falling still.

Eventually, the sun rose and ADVENT sent another squad to check and see why the recovery team hadn't returned. What they found was that team massacred, and a supposedly dead XCOM soldier, sitting against a tree.

News would certainly break later that day, about how ADVENT had finally taken down the terrorist known as Solo Lucis. But in reality? He had left on his own terms, a smile on his face, and XCOM's victory on his heart.

Thus ended the story of Solo Lucis, Deathless, and defiant until the end.