History Fanfic / XComTheHadesContingency

** More of an Early-Bird ''Mention'', but in Chapter 31, Shen asks the Commander if he can have his daughter Lily move to the Citadel out of concern for her safety.

* OffingTheOffspring: To his credit, he was not aware at the time, but [[spoiler:Farida is revealed to have been pregnant when the Commander

* TillMurderDoUsPart: Prior to the events of the story, the Commander had a wife, Farida, who worked with him during the War on Terror. At an unspecified point, she seemingly acted behind his back, resulting in the deaths of several of their team. In response, he interrogated her, then executed her.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]], but there are times when the Commander does lament his actions during the War on Terror, after seeing what happened to the Middle East and its peoples during his imprisonment. However, it really kicks into overdrive after Nero discloses to him that [[spoiler:Farida was pregnant when he executed her, especially since he knows he'd have gone ahead even if she had told him]]. This revelation elicits the [[TearsOfRegret strongest emotional reaction ever seen from him]], and is what ultimately drives him to be better than the man he was during the war.

* TheLostLenore: Luke's wife was accidentally killed by the son of Germany's Chinese ambassador.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]], but it's hinted at with the Commander; some of the accusations thrown at him during his nightmares imply that he hates what he did during the War on Terror. However, he never shows any significant signs of regret during the rest of the story.

Leading it is a man known simply as the [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep Commander]]: a man infamous for his acts during the War on Terror, acts which led to the ruin of an entire region. Believed dead by the wider world, he has been kept imprisoned for over a decade by the Council as a contingency, in the event of an insurmountable threat to the world, and is now freed to act as the tip of the spear against the alien thread

* TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler:During Operation Gangplank, Luke and Mira both do this to several aliens.]]

In the year 2015, a town in Florida goes missing, with clear evidence of an alien incursion. In response, the secretive international body known as the Council of Nations activates the XCOM project, to protect Earth and its people against these alien incursions.

In a world similar to our own, the War on Terror escalated into a massive global conflict and was won under the direction of a CIA operative known only as "The Commander". In doing so he committed many war crimes and killed millions, and in time was captured and sentenced to hang alongside his soldiers.

Or so the world believes. In reality, a secret society within the UN called the Council of Nations faked his death and had him imprisoned as a trump card for the day where they faced an enemy that left them with no alternative but to use him again. With the alien invasion, the time is now for him to take command of the XCOM Project and defend humanity. However, there are those with the Council who are bent on sabotaging him no matter the consequences, and in the shadows the AncientConspiracy known only as EXALT spins plots to serve sinister ends.

* DarkerAndEdgier: In large part, this is due to AdaptationExpansion concerning the impact of a full-scale alien invasion, but many factors are also changed regarding the running of XCOM, putting it in something of a morally gray spot.

* DarkerAndEdgier: ''[[DarkFic Oh boy.]]'' In large part due to AdaptationExpansion regarding a full-scale alien invasion, but many factors are also changed regarding the running of XCOM to make it much more morally gray.
** The world presented here is also much bleaker than that presented in the video game. For starters, the War on Terror has escalated to a full-blown hot conflict, and the Islamic faith suffered a significant loss in influence by the end.

* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: The Commander himself had shades of this, pertaining to the Council and the United Nations; it is revealed that one reason he was willing to go to the lengths he did during the War on Terror was because he was certain that they would assist in rebuilding the Middle East, as he considered them to be ''better'' than he is in that respect. As he catches up to the world after his original incarceration, however, the wool is pulled over his eyes.

* NotSoOmniscientCouncilOfBickering: The Council of Nations turns out to be this; instead of wholeheartedly supporting an alien combat force like in the video game and only backing out when said combat force does not perform up to expectation, they are cleanly divided into two camps from the start: one that tolerates the Commander, and one that wants him gone. The Commander rightfully points out that the Council put him in charge of XCOM, but seems to second guess his decisions at every turn. One of his long-term goals is to make XCOM independent of their funding in time.

In December 2022, ''Hades Contingency'' has received a [[GeorgeLucasAlteredVersion major revision]], in an effort to update/rewrite plotlines throughout the story and polish the writing, in order to bring it more in line with their respective portrayals and level of quality as of ''Advent Directive'''s most recent chapters. Future revisions for ''Atlas Protocol'' and ''Advent Directive'' are also in the works, to follow up from changes to this story.

* CurbStompBattle: The mission in Haiti ends up being this for the aliens. [[spoiler:Liam and Marten are the only survivors, and the Zeus Contingency ends up having to be enacted.]]

* TitleDrop: The Hades Contingency - a plan to [[spoiler:retake nations that switch to the alien fold by false flag terror attacks and assassinating their leadership]].

* VengeanceFeelsEmpty: [[spoiler:Luke's current stance on his murder of the Chinese ambassador's son.]]

*** For long-time readers, the 2022 Edition also reveals a ''major'' change from the original: [[spoiler:The Director of EXALT is an entirely new character, with Saudia being solely the commander of the Bastion fortress in Antarctica.]]

* HopeSpot: In Chapter 22, during [[spoiler:the alien attack on Hamburg]], Shawn sees a woman climbing out of a pile of bodies, and is briefly hopeful at the prospect of saving ''at least'' one person. [[spoiler:She turns out to be a Chryssalid zombie.]]

In December 2022, ''Hades Contingency'' has received a [[GeorgeLucasAlteredVersion major revision]] (officially known as the 2022 Edition), in an effort to update/rewrite plotlines throughout the story and polish the writing, in order to bring it more in line with the level of quality seen in ''Advent Directive'''s most recent chapters. Future revisions for ''Atlas Protocol'' and ''Advent Directive'' are also in the works.

* ConsummateProfessional: The Male Council Speaker is always objective and neutral in his interactions with others, including the Commander. The same cannot be said of the Female Speaker.

* DarkAndTroubledPast: Mira was once a captive of the Caliphate during the War on Terror, along with her husband and her teammates. All of them died, while she was the subject of surgery that [[spoiler:[[FacialHorror removed the skin from her face]]]]. Suffice to say, there's a very good reason she unreservedly approves of the Commander's past actions.

* IdiotBall: In his nightmares, the Commander's dead subordinates accuse him of picking this up, telling him that after having railed against the UN for being untrustworthy for so long, he was a fool to expect them to honour his TakeMeInstead plea.

* GodzillaThreshold: It's explained that the Council would not have given the Commander the reins to XCOM if they didn't think the situation was desperate enough to need him over someone who might be even better strategically but wasn't willing to go as far.

** As the 2022 Edition reveals, EXALT has one as well: ''Exalta in Divintate Homines''.

* HiddenVillain: The Ethereals, like in canon. Not knowing about them, XCOM instead speculates that the Sectoids could be the master species.

* MiddleEasternCoalition: The Caliphate was a union of several Islamic nations formed near the end of the 20th century. Under the rule of its last Caliph, [[TheFundamentalist Abbas Hazeem]], it devolved into a terror state, forcibly assimilating all independent Islamic nations under its banner and inciting attacks on the non-Muslim world. The War on Terror was the result, and the Caliphate as a political entity is no more as of the present day.

* MiddleEasternTerrorists: The Caliphate, a union of several Islamic nations, devolved into this under the rule of their Caliph. The Commander and his old team were one of the driving forces behind their downfall during the War on Terror.
** Notably, most of the early parts of the wider story in general carry the implication that the Caliphate was a terrorist organization from the get-go, but later chapters of ''Advent Directive'' and ''The XCOM Files'' clarify that it was once a legitimate nation that eventually devolved into extremism and terror under its Caliph. Predictably, the Revision is intended to alter and recontextualize much of ''Hades Contigency's'' backstory as it pertains to the region and the War on Terror, in order to match ''Advent Directive'''s newer presentation.

* GoneHorriblyWrong: [[spoiler:Ali Ennor and his Council faction's plan to discredit the Commander by destabilizing Germany ends up being co-opted by both the aliens ''and'' EXALT, who take advantage of the chaos in their own unique ways. One invasion of Hamburg and one Hades Contingency later, it ends with Germany having left the Council and directly allied with XCOM - the ''[[EpicFail exact opposite of what they set out to do in the first place]]'' - plus General Van Doorn leaving the UN and joining XCOM's Internal Council.]]

*** [[spoiler:The mission is seen as a failure by the German government, which withdraws from the Council and begins negotiating with the aliens, which prompts the Commander to finally initiate the [[TitleDrop Hades Contingency]] and instigate a coup against the German government to bring the country back to XCOM's side.]]
** Chapter 33, ''UFO Assault: Alien Dreadnought'', [[spoiler:sees the deaths of no less than ''three'' of the story's main characters (Liam, Luke and Mira). In addition, Patricia is all but confirmed to have psionic potential.]]

* TheDreaded: The [[TheUnfettered Commander's]] reputation paints him as this, by virtue of the atrocities committed during the War on Terror.

* KingIncognito: As the Commander is believed to be dead, he poses as a former subordinate who defected in response to him going too far, which has the added effect of helping explain the similarities in method to anyone curious enough to ask.

* ItsPersonal: Mira is one of the few people who unreservedly approves of the Commander's past actions, due to the atrocities she, her family and her team suffered under captivity at the hands of the Caliphate.

* KingIncognito: Two examples, both of which involve the Commander:
** As the Commander is believed to be dead, he poses as a former subordinate who defected in response to him going too far, which has the added effect of helping explain the similarities in method to anyone curious enough to ask.
** [[spoiler:The mute Sniper who participates on several critical missions is revealed to be the Commander himself.]]

** As of the final chapter, the Ethereals have not yet made an appearance, which will be all but inevitable.
** [[spoiler:After Operation Gangplank, the Council decides to send a representative of their own to keep an eye on XCOM, as the Commander has proven to be too uncontrollable for their liking.]]
** [[spoiler:EXALT is also a looming threat on the horizon for XCOM to handle, and the epilogue reveals they have already awakened Annette's psionic powers.]]
** [[spoiler:Finally, XCOM is on the verge of making great strides, as Patricia is heavily hinted to have latent psionic potential, and the secrets of MELD have been fully cracked, allowing for the advent of gene-modded soldiers and [=MECs=].]]

* AssholeVictim: The Saudi Arabian soldiers in chapter 28 that attack XCOM for not surrendering even after the squad try to peacefully talk things out and walk away. When they get slaughtered by alien reinforcements, no one sheds any tears.
** Based on one of the previews, the revision averts this by changing the context behind their standoff (to a dispute over alien corpses and equipment), as well as making them open to a more peaceful resolution (even if they remain adamant on not relinquishing anything to XCOM).

* GeorgeLucasAlteredVersion: As stated above, ''Hades Contingency'''s 2022 Edition is this, rewriting the story and world-building to be more in line with developments in ''Advent Directive'', as well as changing some aspects that are deemed to be unfitting with what the story is at the moment. A few examples of the changes brought on by the revision include: