Chapter 106: Aria Blaze
Ranger
Chapter 106: Aria Blaze
By Wanderer D
While the Assassin HQ invasion so far had featured the regular ADVENT-made base design (sort of), the place that Sunset and her team now found themselves in was… much more alien, resembling some sort of temple.
Green-blue metal platforms, curved and almost organic-like; another distant platform with some sort of large floating device behind it at the other side of the room. Even though they were relatively close to it, Sunset couldn't really see much of it, other than a blurry rectangular shape and the fact that it was on a central, higher platform, flanked on two sides by large braziers, burning with more greenish-blue fire.
"Alright everyone, eyes wide open, the Assassin might already be here."
She thought quickly. The room was huge, but not to the point of them losing sight of each other. No high ground in the middle, other than the platforms, which only added a token amount of additional height. To her left and right, however, at the corners of the room, she could spot two good places… if they had snipers. Which they didn't. At the far end of the room, she could see two similar raised platforms on those corners.
The roof was way far above—if there was any—the only thing she could see was a slight blue-hued glow that bathed the whole place with enough light to see clearly. Still... she used her magic, quickly spotting five living beings, three on the left, two on the right.
None matched the blood flow of the assassin.
"Spread; Annette, Angel, you're on the left; Elena, Jane, you take the right. Laetitia and I will go center and support as needed. We have bogies to either side. Take them down fast."
"Do we know what they are?"
Sunset narrowed her eyes, studying the way they moved, how the blood flowed, the number of redundant systems. "Mutons. And a Berserker. They're not aware of us yet."
"Then it's about time we make them aware," Annette said, smiling.
"Let's play defensively for now," Sunset said. "No point in rushing in and getting too much attention before we bring them down. I don't see any sign of the Assassin… but it doesn't mean she's not here. I can… feel the magic… somewhere undefined."
The others nodded.
"How do you want to do this, then?"
Sunset grinned.
The Muton soldiers were keeping a wary eye on the Berserker. Elders knew those were unreliable, and there had been more than one occasion where an unwitting Alien had just not been paying enough attention to the brutes… and that never ended well.
One Muton soldier grunted in annoyance.
Things were very quiet, and they had been quiet since they had been assigned to guard the Assassin's sarcophagus years before. Nothing ever made it through. It was as safe as it could get which was always a bad thing for mutons.
They needed battle! Death! Blood! Honor!
"Excuse me," a young, female human with red and yellow hair, geared up in combat armor spoke up innocently, interrupting his thoughts. She looked kind of familiar, somehow, although few Mutons knew any humans at all. "I seem to have made a wrong turn," she said, "I was told the restrooms were this way."
The muton blinked. He then looked at his companion, who shrugged, before looking back at the human. As far as he knew, there were no restrooms in this area of the...
Wait.
He saw his companion's head explode, showering the girl across from him with blood. She only grinned, licking her blood-covered lips as she brought her strange shotgun up. The muton stared stupidly at the barrel for a second before a flash ended its life.
Sunset immediately took off, running back towards the teleporting platform, with the Berserker close on her tail. It ignored the shot it took to the head, but the shot from Annette's rifle stopped it, turning to face her, just as Angel shot her plasma rifle, burning its arm.
It roared in anger, but that was all the distraction Sunset needed to double back, jumping into the air behind the brute and sinking her blade into its shoulder, pulling down hard even as her own weight added additional force, opening a gaping, blood-spurting wound across its back, its massive powerful heart and its hyperactive adrenal glands creating an impressive, metallic orange fan of pure blood that splashed across Sunset and everything behind her creating a bloody, glorious mess.
The beast teetered in place, its brain barely recognizing that it was dead before it collapsed in front of her.
Sunset wiped her eyes with the relatively blood-free back of her forearm, and looked over her shoulder. "They took care of the other two."
Annette grimaced. "Doesn't it bother you?"
Sunset gave her a curious look. "What?"
Annette raised an eyebrow. "The blood. I swear in all my time in XCOM, I've never seen someone being drenched in blood that often. And I've seen some crazy shit."
"Oh…" Sunset looked down at herself, as if noticing for the first time that little of her body was not covered by it. "It's… it doesn't really bother me."
"Is it a blood magic thing?" Annette asked.
Sunset grimaced, while Angel gave them both a curious look. "Yeah, probably."
"Let me put it this way," Annette said, "when you shoot someone in the face with a shotgun… the force should be pushing the blood away from you."
"You know, it really doesn't bother me," Sunset said, turning around. "I guess that's why I'm Sunset "Bloody" Shimmer. Anyway, let's get going."
Annette shook her head, but followed her lead, as they approached the structure at the end of the room. Just as they were halfway through the room, Aria's voice echoed through the room.
"Ah, if it isn't the Blood Witch." She smirked when her eyes landed on Sunset's hip, where Mox's helmet rested. "And you brought me a trophy… how kind. Finally, we get another chance to fight! A real challenge!"
"Come out and I'll show you again what it's like to die!" Annette challenged.
As if in response, a large column of energy slammed into the platform.
"Menace, that giant, rectangular thing behind the column of energy," Tygan spoke urgently into the comms, "It is the source of the column itself! I have no doubts left that destroying… that… sarcophagus… will put an end to the Assassin's regenerative abilities!"
"I like the word phylactery better, if that's what keeps bringing that monster back."
"You heard the man, Menace," Chrysalis growled. "Whatever you want to call it doesn't matter. Destroy it!"
"It won't be that simple, XCOM!" Aria challenged, standing tall in the platform. Her hands raised at her sides, psychic energy gathering, and at that instant, two more columns of energy slammed on both sides of the room, revealing another Berserker close to them, and several chittering chrysalids where Elena and Jane were located.
"Crap," Sunset growled, just as Aria jumped over the edge.
Time seemed to stop as the Assassin twirled her sword and then slammed the tip down on the floor. A wave of psychic energy exploded out, crashing against her, Annette and Angel.
The trio flew back, stunned, just as the sound of gunfire and chittering screeches came from the far end of the room.
The stomping was the only warning they got before the berserker was suddenly among them, smacking the recuperating Angel out of the way with a vicious, powerful backhand that sent the viper flying.
Angel's head slammed onto the side of one of the platforms with a sickening crack, and she went limp. The berserker then raised its foot above Sunset, ready to turn her into a stain, when Laetitia was on top of it, psychic blades embedded in its chest.
The surprise attack made the beast stumble, giving Sunset enough time to roll to her feet and pick up her shard gun, shooting the berserker in the knee, making it collapse. "Annette! Check on Angel!" she ordered, empting another shot into the berserker's head, as Laetitia attacked once more.
Not waiting to see if her order was followed, Sunset's head snapped around, her blood sight quickly identifying the Assassin as the invisible former siren ran around obstacles, heading towards Elena and Jane.
"ARIA!" she shouted, pulling out her sword and charging at the shimmering silhouette.
The Assassin stopped, twisting in time to let Sunset's swing slide down past her without even touching her. Sunset's follow-up was fast, but again Aria twisted back and to the side, letting the blade fly past her without touching her.
Aria's own blade came up then, and Sunset forced herself to bend almost backwards to avoid a strike that would have otherwise skewered her right through the neck.
Rather than try and right herself, she allowed her body to fall on her back and took the surprise in the materializing Aria's face as the chance to bring up her shard gun and fire, point-blank, at the assassin's chest.
Blood splashed once more, but the assassin wasn't done. Gasping in pain, she stabbed down, almost running Sunset through the stomach again, as the latter rolled to the side, wincing at the sound of the tip embedding itself into the metal of the floor.
Sunset turned the roll into a stand, and was ready on her knees, facing the assassin. Aria turned, furious, but as she tried to step forth, she found her body immobilized. Sunset was suddenly once again in her face, sliding the shard gun's barrel up Aria's chest, and under the chain holding the gem. "Stupid Blood Witch!"
"I'll take that," Sunset grinned, grabbing the gem and snapping the chain just as she pulled the trigger.
The assassin's body burst into light before it even touched the ground. Immediately, however, the giant phylactery reacted, literally glowing with psionic energy.
"Menace..."
"I'm going!" Sunset growled into the comms as she ran towards it, stuffing the gem into one of her armor's little chest compartments. She could see Jane running up too, while Elena and the others stayed behind to fight even more creatures as they appeared. "Jane, we need to take this down now!"
"No shit!"
The pair stopped right at the edge of the platform, just a few feet away from the things surface, and opened fire in synch.
"Again!" Sunset shouted, as screeches, shots and plasma blurred into a cadence behind her.
The pair shot again, and the smooth surface began to crack… not fast enough. A second later, in a bright flash, the Assassin was kicking Jane in the stomach, sending her flying back and down the stairs.
Sunset tried to aim her shard gun at Aria, but the siren parried the gun with her sword moving it aside as her own shotgun, a large, sleek thing of pure murderous beauty pressed against Sunset's stomach.
She twisted.
Again, not fast enough.
Pain bloomed through her body as she took the burning shot to the side of the torso, barely managing to avoid the certain death that would have come from the direct hit. Sunset screamed in agony as she rolled on the floor, holding her hands against the wound, which stank of burnt flesh.
Aria didn't even pause, kicking Sunset viciously in the stomach, making the pain flare and Sunset herself to spit some vomit and blood as she rolled down the small flight of stairs.
"Give it back, witch!" Aria ordered.
Sunset rolled onto her back, half-pushing, half-dragging herself away, slipping on her own blood and making no progress in getting out of the Assassin's reach.
Aria didn't hesitate to slam her sword down, earning another screeching scream of pain from Sunset as her sword pierced the armor protecting her thigh and pinned her to the floor of the Assassin's temple.
"Sunset!"
"Fuck!" Sunset half-shouted, half moaned in pain, looking up through blurry eyes at Aria, who stepped on her wound and put increasing pressure on it. It was like fire spreading into her nerves. Sunset never thought she'd be in this much pain in her life. She didn't even realize she was screaming until Aria bent down and slapped her hard.
"Sunset!"
A shattering sound echoed in the chamber, and Aria turned, forgetting about Sunset for a moment. "No!"
Her distraction proved fatal once more, as Laetitia flew into view, her psi-blades slicing through the assassin in a splatter of blood and… green light as a plasma blast, no doubt belonging to Angel burnt into the Assassin, making her dematerialize again.
"The sarcophagus is broken!" Tygan's voice echoed in the comms. Sunset fought to stay awake. She could feel the gem's palpitations against her chest. It wasn't over.
Aria materialized again in her temple, anger still boiling, but... there was something wrong… she bent over, spitting blood and gasping in pain at where the blades had cut her earlier. She-she had been reborn! She should be fine!
She faced her phylactery, eyes wide as she recognized the damage done to it. This was it. It wasn't just cracked… it was barely holding together.
She turned around, hissing in challenge as the traitorous viper, Annette, the bitch she had kicked earlier and the Templar rushed towards her. Her sword was still pinning the blood bitch to the floor... so that left only Arashi, her shotgun, to be used… Aria was injured, but she wasn't useless!
She slammed the butt-end of Arashi into the non-templar female's face, dropping her like a rock, before twisting fast enough to guide the Templar's hand, psi-blade and all, into the Viper. The two stared stupidly at each other long enough for Aria to slam their heads together and letting them crumple onto the floor.
And then the real challenge was upon her.
Annette's power smashed against Aria's body like a battering ram, and it hurt down to her bones. She was tossed into the air, and wondered how it was even possible for her body to hold together after that.
Still, her instincts kicked in, and she twisted her body in mid-air, landing on her feet, away from the psychic. She had never felt such raw, psychic power. Only the Warlock's power was a match for that… and the Templar… her power was different… familiar bu—
"Getting tired, monster?" Annette shouted, sending a blast of psychic energy her way.
Aria barely had time to dodge, missing the lance of energy by inches, before taking a running leap at Annette. She didn't make it. Annette's hand shot out, fingers spread, and Aria was suddenly hanging in mid air like an apparition.
"I have waited so long to do this…" Annette growled.
Aria smirked. "You needed a whole team to come for me, little Annette? You could have joined me, you know… you and I would be unstoppable."
"You dare! After your betrayal!"
'Good.' "I had no choice," Aria snarled. 'Keep her distracted…' "I sent one of my agents to rescue you!"
The hold wavered, and Aria carefully, silently, began gathering her power. "You know I cared about you… I still do. We could change this world together, Annette… we could destroy the elders and bring in a new age for all!"
Annette's control flickered. Aria could feel it. 'Just a bit more… Annette… just a bit more.'
"Already your power is beyond anything I have ever seen," Aria said, eyes wide and focused on her friend. "I never told you this, but to me, you were like a true sister… unlike my fellow sirens, I cared and you cared… we were separated by fate, but now here we are together... "
"N-no!" Annette snapped, angry. "You will not get in my head, witch! I know your tricks now!"
"Oh… Annette…" Aria sounded as disappointed and hurt as she could. Her former friend hesitated just enough. "I guess… I guess this is goodbye." She tilted her head. "Goodbye."
Annette didn't even see it coming. The blast tore through her defenses, as impressive and fast as they were. The power the Elders had given Aria was considerable. More than enough to break hasty walls and more than strong enough to break the will of someone already weakened.
Aria landed heavily on the floor, breathing harder than she thought she would be. She looked up in surprise at the cough. That blast would have killed any human! "Why are you still alive, human?" she spat, moving forth and picking up her weapon.
It dawned on her slowly as she approached. Annette was less human than even that woman who had helped her so long ago… the seamstress for the Speaker. Rarity. That was her name.
The meld had saved the wretch this time around, but it wouldn't stop a blast of her Arashi.
"It was a fun fight," Aria spat, tasting her own blood, and raising Arashi to point straight at the struggling Annette. "But not enough from you, XCOM. Die already."
It took her a moment to realize, that she somehow didn't have the strength to pull the trigger. Her body swayed a little, and she released the weapon, letting it clatter to the floor. Confused, she looked down at her body, trying to figure out what was wrong.
Her sword was sticking out right where her heart was. Which was a hard feat to accomplish, as her many modifications had included shifting of certain important organs. It was as if the one that had stabbed her could see… right… through.
Despite herself, Aria smiled. The world seemed softer around her, somehow. A lot less harsh. A lot less… weighty.
She sank to her knees, surprised that her attacker hadn't used the motion to rip through her completely… but of course she wouldn't have.
"Congratulations…" she whispered, voice hoarse and bubbling with blood. "You have… defeated me, Blood Witch… Sunset… XCOM…"
Her eyes went to Annette, who was slowly pushing herself up to look at her, an unreadable look in her face.
Aria almost fell, but kept straight after some effort. She swallowed. It was hard. It didn't help much. "T-take my weapons. Free your world… you have… you have earned it," she said, looking over her shoulders. She couldn't see Sunset's face, covered as it was by the mess of blood-matted hair. "I'm glad to…" She coughed blood. "Glad… to have… fought…"
What was she saying? She couldn't remember. Her eyes turned to Annette, widening at the state of her friend.
"Annette… a-Annette… why… what happened to you?" She asked. The world whirled, and she tilted forward. "Why are you… hurt?"
There was no ruby-red light. No psychic rain. No judgment from the Elders. No void.
Just darkness.
And peace.
She felt herself fading, like music... "Shine… brighter…"
o.0.o End Chapter 106 o.0.o
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damn, sunset for the fucking save! mox has been AVENGED! and sunny gets new toys!
Aw, geeze.
It's heartbreaking to see her come back to herself too late. Good writing, but heartbreaking.
Damn, that ending. A real twist of the knife.
Whose cutting onions? That was seriously heart-breaking and even Aria realizing who she was right at the cusp of death was just hard to read.
it's massive powerful heart and its hyperactive
Sunset grimaced., while Angel gave them
1. Its.
2. Extra fullstop.
......... wow. You made a necron cry. Well done. Well done.........
I'll only cry when the viper dies.
8957710 Fixed! Thanks!
Ding dong the bitch is dead.
You know, Sunset should really start wearing goggles or something to keep the blood out of her eyes. Getting blinded by it in mid battle is a liability.
Blood for the Blood God!
The assassin is finally dead, the gem is retrieved, and Mox is avenged. All is going well it seems.
But you better not have just killed Angel!!!
And she was freed just before dying...
Elena is a sniper?
I recall Annette sniping previously too, but I'm not sure.
Eww!
Does she even realize she's doing that?
8957755
Skulls for the Skullthron!
Ouch, 'Shine brighter' indeed. That kinda hurt as odd that is to say about an ancient evil like Aria.
On the bright side Sunset now has some of the best weapons in the game for her class. I personally prefer the hunter's axe over the assassin's sword, but that just for the ranged option, and it being a free attack.
And now we question how sunset managed to do that with the state she was in.
I guess you could say she went down... In a blaze of glory.
Good stuff.
8957961
That AP from the sword does help against pretty much all end game enemies, though.
8958027
That it does, it's hit rate and AP are nasty. But it still goes on my 2nd Ranger. The axe's toss is normally too ingrained by the time I kill the Assassin.
Though my mods do give me an amazing glitch that let's my rangers toss an axe they don't have while using the katana sometimes, if they had the axe equipped at some point in the past. Doesn't always happen but oh man is it broke when it does.
8957955
Milk for the Khorne Flakes!
One chosen down, 2 left. I kinda like it how they made that the Assasain is respect full in her death moments and the calmness of the Hunter when dying.
Please let Angel survive.
8958152
That is a sentence you read rarly on this site. 🤣
But they still have to return, the team is heavily injured and they're in the middle of a temple...
8958197
Angel the viper not the bunny.
8958197
yeah but we love the snek!
It is interesting that the normal Angel is hated but the ex-villian angel is loved.
Loving this
8957945 Reapers can snipe, but they're more effective at midrange. Annette is a Support type from XCOM 1, so no sniping. :( I need to get sunny one.
Now that was a pretty close fight, but a win is a win. From the sound of things nobody died but it will probably take next chapter to know for certain. I'm a little concerned about Angel getting stabbed at like that.
Magic scoffs in the face of kinematics. And that's when it's being polite.
In any case, fantastic fight scene, and a beautiful sendoff for Aria. Now there's the question of what Sunset can do with the siren stone...
>8958431
You have made me realize that an appropriate allegory for the relationship between magic and physics is that of an abusive patriarch husband and its dutiful harem of housewives.
Magic (is used to) redefines an object and says "this thing floats here now", physics continues its usual chores around it.
Magic (is used to) violently backhands physics to the floor for throwing away "leftovers" as part of its chores, physics gets back up without complaint and continues its chores.
Magic (is used to) forcefully binds down physics arms and legs and covers its bead with a bag and beats it stupid before dragging it into the nearest closet and telling is the room it just tried to clean is actually "warded" until otherwise noted, physics quietly sobs in pain and sits in the closet until the binds are either worked free or removed.
i just made myself depressed!
The assassin is defeated and Aria's soul is free. Rest in Peace... if she's really dead that is?
Ok, what secret you are hiding from us Laetitia.
8958616
>inb4 Laetitia is actually Adagio.
8958826
Didn't other hints leads Adagio to be the Codex?
I'm still holding out on Rarity being the Warlock
I mean, it is unlikely as all getout and probably directly contradicted in several ways, but ehhhh that's what I'd like to see
Ehhh. It was a good chapter but it felt a bit like gratuitous injury porn here and there :P
"as she brought up her strange shotgun up"
One too many "up"s?
"a relatively bloodless free back of"
"a relatively bloodless back of" or "a relatively blood-free back of"?
"what's it like to die!"
"what it's like to die!"?
"the berserker in knee and making"
"the berserker in the knee and making"?
"She faced her pylachtery"
"She faced her phylactery"?
I am severely, seriously, and sorely disappoint.
Honesty I really like how this went down. It feels more visceral, like this xcom fight should. This is going against the chosen it shouldent be normal this is a druge match it’s going to be gritty and extremely hard. I mean I’ve lost many xcom soldiers on these missions so glad to see that panic and struggle here.
Yeah, this was an excellent action scene. Felt like the stakes were properly high, and though I don't think anyone died, I worried for most of them at one point or another.
Those closing words were particularly poignant. Nicely done, sir.
Describing the end of the fight from Aria's perspective, huh? ... clever ...
missing a comma
empting is not a word ... I think you mean emptying
This is 'playing defensively'?
That moment of realization at the end, remembering who she was in her last moments is heartbreaking.
A COMPLETELY NORMAL CHAPTER WITH TWO WORDS IN THE TITLE!? What game are you playing!?
And we all thought this was just going to be funny. "haha, she gets covered in blood all the time." "Waitaminute..."
...And we can't just have a regular triumph here. Darnit.
-GM, master of crystals.
Glad to see Mox was avenged, even if it wasn't the Assassin directly that led to his death. I like the flashback bits in this base assault, definitely giving a bit more backstory than the chosen chatter does in-game. Also, poor Rarity. I kind of had it in my mind when it was mentioned she worked for the speaker that she might be in deep cover and potentially feeding info to the Councilman or something.
What she's doing now is still up in the air, but to see what she was forced to go through to protect her family hurts, and I wonder how much Sweetie knows.
Also, despite the brutal end to the fight, I still feel bad for Aria. It's obvious her loyalties and bonds were tested to the breaking point, and it's good a part of her has hopefully found peace... if it isn't somehow stuck in the gem.
One down, two more to go...
8958401
Wait What
And finally Aria was free of it all.
Goodbye
The End of the struggle, free to move on to the true beyond.