Chapter 141: Relative
Ranger
Chapter 141: Relative
By Wanderer D
"I have spoken to Fiss," Annette informed the group as they made their way to the hidden base entrance. "He says Vikass and Thass are both waiting for us. The Sectopod is by the entrance, so try to not shoot it."
"Last time it was you guys and Wolf Team that were here, right?" Security asked. "I always wanted to see this place."
"It's less threatening when you're not being chased in corridors by invisible tentacle monsters," Jane muttered, marching along, her GREMLIN hovering next to all the others. It was like a bunch of kids with balloons.
"We're better armed this time around than you were," Ember pointed out.
"That, and this time we all are aware of the others… and we're friendlies," Sunset added.
"Well, as friendly as you can be with your former enemies," Elena stated.
"Hisss!"
"You know what I mean."
"I thought you didn't speak viper?" Jane asked.
"I do not," Elena said, her voice still the monotone droll. "But I understand "annoyed" just fine."
"Heads up, people," Sunset said, "I see Vikass and Thass."
"I can't see anything," Fridge muttered.
"Must be alien sight powers," Breaker whispered.
"Or you're blind," Trojan said. "I can see two people… or rather two humanoids waiting there by the side of the rock formation on the left."
"Snipers might also not be human," Breaker whispered.
"I think you're right," Fridge added, "I can't see shit over there either."
Trojan smacked them on the back of the head. "Ah, shaddup."
The troop continued until they were a few feet away from a pair of the legendary Thin Men.
"Hiss," Angel said, slithering over to the front of the group, glaring at the pair.
The two Thin Men seemed slightly taken aback by her presence, but Thass managed to shake it off, and looked at Annette. "Welcome back, savior."
Annette smiled. "It's good to see you Thass." She glanced at Vikass and Angel, who were hissing at each other. "I did not expect Angel's appearance to cause a stir."
"It's been… some time since we've been in the company of… unmodified members of our species," Thass explained, glancing briefly at Angel. His eyes focused on Sunset and Jane. "Ah, the Blood Witch and the Quarian, welcome back to our humble abode."
"It's good to see you, Thass," Sunset said, while Jane waved.
"Let me do a quick round of introductions…"
"Perhaps, that should wait," Thass said, "Once we are all inside, I can also introduce the rest of our little family… that way we don't have to repeat ourselves."
"Sounds good to me," Ember spoke up. "Lead the way."
"Miss Sweetie Belle?" Jenny asked, "where are we?"
Sweetie looked up from where she had been sitting, blinking in surprise. The girl had been out for several hours, and she hadn't anticipated her waking up anytime soon.
"We're safe for now, Jenny," Sweetie said hugging the girl as she came up to her, "I think."
"Nothing will happen to you," Sashssa said, glaring down at the pair and making Jenny whimper in fear. "Fiss confirmed that XCOM was here. I guess your friends came through after all."
"XCOM?" Jenny whispered in horror, "Aren't they some sort of terrorists?"
"Not exactly," Sweetie began, but stopped when familiar voices reached them. Blinking, she stood up, facing the end of the cavern where a large group of people were walking in.
"Oh no!" Jenny wailed, eyes wide, "It's the Blood Witch!"
"Sunset!" Sweetie shouted, running halfway to them, hesitating a moment before her friend smiled and opened her arms. "Sunset!" she repeated, jumping in and hugging the younger woman, then pulling Jane into a hug. "Jane! I'm so glad you're here!"
The group moved closer to the other aliens, the Muton, Uwaallu, waved at them from behind the group, before apparently deciding they were of no further consequence and going back to tending his garden. The three sectoids—one of which was presumably Fiss—gave them all unnerving, unwavering looks before turning back to their machines.
Jenny, upon spotting Angel, quickly made her way to the Viper, hiding behind the only friendly and familiar-looking individual, besides Sweetie.
Once everyone was seated and a quick round of introductions had been made, Sunset turned to face her once more. "We're here… the Commander felt it was big enough to send two teams this time, Sweetie. So, can you tell us what happened?"
"I don't know how it all started," Sweetie Belle said. "Scootaloo had picked me up from work, and Apple Bloom was staying late again. I swear, they never give her a break!" She shook her head. "I know, it's stupid to think about that right now…
"Anyway, we were back home, I had just missed a call from sis. I tried to call her back but… my mobile device didn't connect to the network. So I tried the house line, and… it was cut off too. We had electricity, so it was confusing. I turned the television on, but there was nothing but an ADVENT logo on the screen. I wasn't… you know, I never thought…" Sweetie shook her head.
"I was about to ask Scootaloo to try one of her car's transmitters but that's when—when we heard the first distant explosion. The lights flickered and the sirens started going off. Suddenly we could hear shouts in the streets, and when I looked outside, there were MECs all over the place, in a firefight with ADVENT troops.
"It didn't… it doesn't make sense? Why would they start a war with each other? Don't the MECs belong to ADVENT? Aren't they what they use to terrorize and enforce their dominion?" Sweetie hugged herself. "As far as I could tell, neither side was targeting civilians… but they didn't stop when we were caught in the crossfire. Buildings toppled and… people were dead.
"No matter what we did, we couldn't contact Apple Bloom or call outside the city. Contacting ADVENT security was pointless… they were just outside our window, being blown to pieces." She turned to look at Jenny, who was curled up, hugging Angel tightly, glancing around fearfully at all the armed people, unsure of what was happening.
"We heard a knock on the wall… it was our neighbors, Tom, Monica and Jenny here came over. They were scared, and thought maybe… that maybe I knew something, since I worked for the network. I was as lost as them, and we decided to stay together… you know, safety in numbers… but it didn't last. A little over an hour after they arrived, the explosions grew stronger, and we could see the ADVENT troops being killed.
"When they started retreating, Scootaloo turned off all the lights and told us to take cover, pressed against the walls. The streets grew quiet except for the occasional screams and the thumping of metallic feet.
"Then… we heard when they started forcing people out of their homes. We didn't know where they were taking them, so… we remembered roughly the coordinates for your safe house and tried to escape." Sweetie gulped. "We stuck to the side streets and alleys… Scootaloo likes exploring, so she knew the layout of the city pretty well. She guided us, trying to hide us from the robots.
"I don't know how many people we saw being taken. We were at first going towards where we had seen ADVENT retreat to but… there was this group of people… they were being chased by MECs.
"Suddenly, someone or something shot the first, then the second and third MECs. These people they scrambled towards ADVENT, but the same person that shot the MECs shot them too. We could hear laughter… Scootaloo said it was probably some sort of sniper, but, if they were shooting civilians…" she trailed off, looking down.
Jane and Sunset exchanged glances, then looked at the others.
"That sounds like the Hunter."
Sweetie blinked. "T-the Hunter? Who's that?"
"One of the Elder's Chosen," Ember said, hands curling into fists. "They were responsible for one of our teams being completely wiped out. They serve as personal goons of the Elders and commanders on the ground."
"That's not true!" Jenny cried from Angel's embrace. She glared angrily at the people around her. "The Elders are not evil! They would never create a monster like that!"
Ember's eyes shone with anger. "Why, you little brat—"
"Ember!" Sunset snapped, "Calm down! She's just a kid! She doesn't know!"
Ember bit her lip, then turned in place, not looking at the young girl and taking deep breaths.
Lily shook her head and knelt in front of the young girl. "I'm sorry… Jenny, wasn't it?" at the answering nod, she smiled gently. "I know it's a lot to take in, and that you're scared and you don't know where your parents are right now… but there are a lot of things that ADVENT hides from you and many others. The Chosen are one of those things."
"W-what do you know about these Chosen?" Sweetie asked. "All I know comes from the Resistance Radio and, well, they're kind of biased."
"Biased, she says," Security scoffed, "As if your own stuff was objective."
"Two of the Chosen are from my world," Sunset said, drawing sharp glances from the others. "They came here centuries ago… and EXALT did something to them… then, when Earth was conquered, the Elders gave them and one other additional powers… they mutated them… made them monstrous parodies of themselves."
"They sent them after the largest threats," Elena said from where she was sitting, atop one of the houses. "The Hunter was chosen to hunt my faction… the first time it appeared… was in a camp up in the Appalachians. A group of Reapers was coming back to camp… they had gone hunting for food, when they arrived and found the whole camp murdered. They searched, but couldn't find the enemies… until Natter saw it."
A sharp crack made everyone look at Sunset, who had crunched up the metallic cup she had been holding. Her eyes were focused on Elena.
"Natter warned the others, but it was too late. A shot took off the head of her group, Petrov, and the next went right through Natter's body. The Hunter then stepped on her chest and finished her off with another shot." Elena's eyes were dead on Sunset, who had gone pale. "We only know this is how things happened because Kate, the last of the hunting party was spared and ordered to tell everyone what had happened."
"Sonata…" Sunset hissed.
"But… you said there were more?" Sweetie asked. "If I recall… an Assassin?"
"She's dead," Jane spoke up. "Sunset killed her."
This drew a whimper from Jenny.
"She was…" Sunset glanced at Annette, "She became a monster at some point… but what she did to the Skirmishers was no better than the Hunter's attack. She didn't leave anyone alive… Betos and Mox found the camp after they lost contact with them. She had killed all of the Skirmishers there, then dragged their bodies into a large tent, arranging them so that they were splayed in a circle. With their blood, she wrote on the walls a message for all Skirmishers: "I AM THE ASSASSIN". From then on… she hunted them relentlessly, until we put a stop to her."
Sweetie closed her eyes. "I hate EXALT. For what they did… and for allowing ADVENT to exist."
"Miss Sweetie Belle! Don't believe them!" Jenny cried, "They're lying, ADVENT wouldn't do that! You tell the news! You know!"
"And I hate myself for it!" Sweetie cried. "I wouldn't even touch their stupid news! I wouldn't spread their lies! But if I don't, my sister dies! My friends lose their jobs! ADVENT trapped me! They made me their mouthpiece at the cost of… of everything decent about me! I've had to smile and report lies for years! Years, Jenny! And young girls like you walk up to me and-and they want to be me! They think it's amazing to stand in front of a camera and—"
"Your name is Sweetie Belle," Annette said drawing the other woman's attention.
"Um… yes," Sweetie said, unsure of what to make of the strange, reptilian XCOM fighter. "Why?"
"I knew your sister, from EXALT," Annette said, "She helped me escape… she was a friend of mine and Aria's, before she… became the monster she became."
Sweetie's eyes were wide. "Did they…"
"They didn't capture me, like they did her… but I was also tricked." Annette smiled. "She talked often about you. She wanted you safe, outside of EXALT or alien clutches. That is why she cooperated with them, you know?"
The other woman bit her lip, eyes watering.
"I remember it well… she kept track of you and your parents, she made sure you were covered, that agents were posted nearby to evacuate you if aliens attacked."
Sweetie couldn't keep the tears in and she sat down, followed by Annette, who held her close. "Your sister is very strong… and very caring. EXALT used it before, and now ADVENT is using it too. To keep you quiet… to keep her in check. They trapped you, but now you are free."
"At what cost?" Sweetie sobbed. "My sister is still a prisoner… and my two best friends are missing! Jenny's parents are too… people died as collateral damage, and those that weren't were killed by the boss of those who were supposed to protect them!"
"That's what you get for being ADVENT lapdogs," Coyote snarked.
"What the hell do you know?" Sweetie snapped. "People have families held hostage. People go missing. ADVENT is more than just a militaristic arm for the Elders; it's a PR power onto itself. It makes you look like monsters! You expect people to give up everything just to join you, when you act like you're superior, or everything they know about you is that you kill constantly?"
"Calm down, Sweetie," Sunset ordered, glaring at Coyote. "the Sergeant knows better than to really blame civilians, don't you, Sarah?"
Coyote straightened up. "Of course, Captain. Sorry ma'am."
Sweetie barked a laugh. "No. I'm sorry. You're right. I should have… I should have just… not been afraid to die. You asked me earlier about the Orange Vine news cast. I wanted to lash back at them… it was so stupid, so obvious that that's not what had happened there. After the news… I got transported by ADVENT troops to the security building, and there… I met the Speaker.
"He told me that my sister had begged like a dog for me to be spared. And he told me, if I ever spoke out of order again… he would personally kill her."
Sweetie's eyes locked with Coyote's. "I used to think that I didn't fear death… but I realized there that I did… not my own. My sister's. If you can't understand that kind of decision, you have no business fighting for a cause that is supposed to bring us back our freedom."
Coyote clenched her jaw, but took it in stride, nodding once.
"Still, that's a lot of things to take in," Jane said, once the silence had started to get on her nerves. "So we have ADVENT and the Hunter attacking…"
"But fighting against MECs?" Ember said. "That doesn't sound right."
"It can only mean one thing, I think," Lily Shen spoke up as she stood up, ruffling Jenny's hair. "I think Julian has made his move."
"Wait… Julian?" Sweetie asked, eyes widening. "But that's… isn't he Apple Bloom's boyfriend? How could he start all of this?"
Sunset sighed. "Why can't things ever be simple?"
o.0.o End Chapter 141 o.0.o
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Things are Never simple.
What!
Things being simple?
Hahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaano.
Wait what. Wow ok I want to know the story behind that. Cause I sear if those two did hit it off am going to laugh my ass off am serious farmgirl/ crusader apple bloom and julien the psycho ai. Ow man a match made by discord please do it.
I rather like the talk here with sweetie. It's a neat counterpoint on matters.
Julian x Applebloom...
I ship it.
Well that's a good cover Apple Bloom used for Sweetie and Scootaloo... It was just a cover, right?
Juilan might be getting that spark body after all.
Trunks: "As long as she hasn't tried to fuck it."
Vegeta: "Hah; No robo."
Blinking, she stood up, facing the end of the cavern where a large group of people were walking in."
They think it's amazing to stand in front of a camera and
1. Extra quotation mark.
2. Unfinished sentence.
Oh boy
"Elders and commanders in the ground"
"Elders and commanders on the ground"?
"isn't he Apple Bloom's boyfriend?"
...
Well, hey, at least this ups Apple Bloom's odds of survival, yes? :D
9031837
An AI and an engineer.
Well it's the start of trans-humanism, I guess.
Poor Jenny, having all her world views crush in one night and by the one she admires the most.
Sweetie's backstory brought a lot of tension, but now it should be clear for X-COM that she is with them.
And no, Natter. If she really was Pinkie Pie then that's mean she truly is dead.
Jenny just figured out who's the scariest?
Oh god,
9032080
Kinda hope her world views were completely crushed, otherwise there's gonna be that scene where the faithful slave (Jenny in this case) tries to run back to their master and gets killed by the master they thought would protect them.
Saying Julian is your boyfriend is a great cover.
... Even better if it's true, lol.
Important snek politics going on here.
Oh no, the AI rebellion started. That's a going to make a mess of things.
Dangit, Apple Bloom. On the other hand, that may be an indication (if we're being unjustifiably hopeful and optimistic) that the civilians he took might be okay.
"What a twist!"
I knew Julian was charismatic but I didn't think he had it in him to seduce an organic.
Also Sweetie's story about being threatened by the Speaker seems a bit out of character for the Speaker. He struck me as the sort who would threaten someone without every directly stating as much but Sweetie's telling of seems like it was a blunt 'step out of line and she dies' kind of statement.
9032963
Might of just been the way she remember's it, or she's just putting it into simpler terms.
Ha! It's only Squadsight. Silly not-snipers, thinking you can see out-of-range enemies.
HAHA Apple Bloom's Boyfriend. An A.I. Now that's interesting
Julian can hold the city as long they don't airsprike it all... Or he runs out of material to build units.
11223781
Doubt that he’ll run out of materials any time soon; there’s probably hundreds of tons stored in the city, and then there’s the cars, electronics, even the buildings themselves that can be used
11471731
and people, if he’s really starts getting desperate, he can start using biological components to supplement the ones he’s missing, pull an “ adeptus mechanicus “ and start using brains for computing power, if he’s really desperate he can use corpses as bombs or as hidden weapons.
Hot damn, imagen the artificial boost in manpower.
Spark units or standard Advent Mechs, that would be a threat the Elders could not ignore.
Besides keeping the City in Julian iron grip, he could construct safe houses if he plays it smart.
I in his place be giving X-Com Lily Shen a copy.
Better safe than sorry.
11471731
That is actually a good point, also mechs are generally easier and faster to produce. So a ground offense must be massively overwhelming.
Alternativ they use destroyer class ships to bomb everything. So a air strike is the real threat.