//------------------------------// // Chapter 63: Quick // Story: XCOM: Ranger // by Wanderer D //------------------------------// Ranger Chapter 63: Quick By Wanderer D Twilight followed the others silently as they ran upstairs to the next floor. Now that she had her Element in hand, she could feel power seeping into her, re-energizing her, and thankfully opening a plethora of possible things she could do again... but also… a small, thin, trail of energy from the Element was constantly reaching out to Sunset, gently, as if the Element itself was somehow trying to soothe her. She could see it, in her mind's eye, reaching out to her fellow Equestrian, but the other pony-turned-human's magical aura literally cringed away from the Element's touch every time it brushed her aura. Something had happened. Something really bad to make Sunset react that way. She was afraid—terrified even—of the Element, which was incongruous, given that the Element not only was a continuous source of Equestrian Magic, but also something that, in a way, was healing to Sunset's spirit. And yet, even as Sunset's magical aura cringed and tried to hide away every time the Element tried to reach out, it still somehow was drawn to the Element, hesitantly trying to embrace it, yet falling short… Whatever had happened had shaken Sunset. It was very distracting, and she would have to talk to her about it later, once they were back in the Avenger. Twilight fought back the million theories that popped into her mind, but couldn't help but wonder if Earth's magic was somehow responsible for this, or Sunset herself, or just the Element. She had always considered it a force of good, but in this world it was definitely a two-edged sword, and if Twilight (or Sunset) was not careful in its use, it could not only kill others, but harm her own allies when trying to help them. She shuddered to think what would happen if she were to attempt to teleport them all. Would Laetitia and Annette just… explode? She shuddered and took her mind away from those dark thoughts, making a conscious effort to ignore her magical instincts and how the Element was reacting to Sunset and vice-versa. Right now, she needed her mind to be on the mission. Later on she could examine her thoughts and theories and maybe do something productive with them in the lab. Unfortunately that train of thought took her back to her decisions. Had she listened to Tygan's objections, or not used Sunset's morals against her… She shut that thought down. Galahad had warned her about that tendency to let her mind wander like that. Instead, she analyzed her surroundings, trying to put her mind to some use. The building they were in was different from places she had seen Sunset and other XCOM soldiers infiltrate. The design was most assuredly ADVENT's, with geometric panels forming the walls, but the colors were not aggressive. In fact, it looked like it was less of a military installation and more some sort of office. They encountered no resistance, and by the time they met with Annette and the others she was sure of it. Whether ADVENT just hadn't had the installations at hand to contain them, or the Chosen had elected not to teleport with them—a wise idea, all things considered—after all, they had been brought to a civilian building. Which contained cells for some reason. She would never understand humans. Or ADVENT. "Anything to report?" Sunset asked, fist-bumping Mox and the others as they all gathered in a completely destroyed meeting room of some sort. "Nothing new so far," Annette responded from where she stood near the windows. "No civilians were harmed in our infiltration, and all ADVENT opposition encountered has been eliminated." Sunset smirked. "Good job on The Assassin." Annette shook her head, a wry smile playing in her lips. "Aria and I have much to discuss next time." "And how is our alicorn princess?" Mox asked, glancing at Twilight. "Hopefully unharmed?" Twilight smiled shakily. "Physically I'm okay, Mox. Thank you for asking." She blinked. "Wait, how did you know…" "...that you're a flying unicorn princess?" Elena asked. "Sunset told us. Apparently the Commander thought it would be a good idea to tell this to us after Sunset—" "That is a conversation for later," Sunset interrupted. She glanced at the others. "Unfortunately, Kevin didn't make it, and I'd rather have this banter either at the Avenger, or on our  way there." "How did this happen?" Twilight asked. Now that she was with the whole team and they were on their way to the roof, where freedom was so much closer, she couldn't stop herself from remembering how things had gone south so quickly. "How did things go wrong like this?" The others shared a look, but kept walking, apparently reluctant to say anything. "It happens," Elena eventually said. But there was something wrong. Twilight hadn't spent as much time with her as the others, but she had spent a whole day learning from Elena. The way she had spoken… it was different. She was always borderline emotionless and business like, but now there was an edge to that statement, as if the Reaper had bitten something bitter. "You'll find out soon enough," Sunset added. "But it's better to not dwell in it right now." She raised her hand to activate the comms. "Firebrand, we're almost there. We're only bringing one package home." "Roger that, Bloody Sunset, heading your way." "I'm really not going to like what I'll find out, am I?" Twilight asked. Sunset grimaced. "You're too smart for your own good sometimes, Twilight." She raised her hand, making a fist when the comms crackled The others stopped, crouching and ready. "Menace, this is Firebrand, I see hostiles on the rooftop, they're surrounding the exit. I make six X-rays. I'll make a sweep once you've taken care of them." "Great." Sunset muttered. "Roger that, Firebrand." She paused. "Wait… did you say they were surrounding the exit?" The drop ships had delivered two full teams onto the roof of the building. The captain had quickly sent two troopers to take cover on either side of the door leading to the emergency exit while his Lancers laid in wait, ready to rush and stun or kill whoever wasn't shot down. A MEC laid in wait on overwatch and the captain himself was ready for action… but not for the whole entrance to blow up violently, instantly incinerating his two troopers. One of the Lancers flew back and rolled on the floor, coming to a stop just a few feet away from the captain, unmoving. The other had managed to twist and was badly injured, but alive. Several shots skewered the Lancer and a particularly loud one got the MEC in the head, making it step back and effectively making its overwatch useless. Out of the smoke two people ran out, crouching low to make themselves smaller targets as they charge the captain. He took a shot at the fastest one, a familiar-looking woman with red and gold hair, who had twisted out of the way in time to avoid his wild shot. He couldn't understand where he had seen her. How it was possible that he would know one of the enemy… and yet… this woman flashed in his mind, as if she had been there, somewhere, when he was born. She had a large machete of some kind in her hands and before the captain could even shout, it was cutting deep into his stomach while the other, blades of energy glowing, slammed both straight through his chest. He fell back, noise fading around him as the MEC slowly came into view. It was sparking and stumbling back under a barrage of bullets... And then there was darkness. o.0.o End Chapter 63 o.0.o