Ranger
Chapter 178: Precious
By Wanderer D
Chrysalis rapped her fingers on the meeting room table, her gaze focused on Menace.
"As you can see from the information I handed you, this will not be an easy mission, but we cannot ignore this opportunity."
She stood up, switching off the light so that the projection on the wall was clearer for everyone to see. "This man here is Liam Wittbecker, an old acquaintance of XCOM." Her eyes narrowed as she gripped the edge of the table. "He is one of the people that sold us out to ADVENT, and a suspected former member of EXALT's upper echelons.
"Our information so far shows no Meld DNA enhancements on him, so there is little to fear when it comes to unexpected abilities. However, given his importance, the forces around him are not going to be something to laugh at."
She changed the image to show a blueprint of a large mansion. "Our enemy VIP is currently hosting an event at this mansion, off the coast of New England, built on the converted remains of an old town. It sits atop a cliff that overlooks Plum Island."
Another screen appeared next to the blueprint, showing the geological location of the place. "This is a rare chance, despite the obvious increased security. From the old FBI archives, there's a running theory that his family had contact with the Elders somehow as early as 1921. Whether this is true or not, what we do know for a fact is that his family was the major monetary contributor to EXALT twenty years ago, and the Elders have kept him in a position of power all these years."
"Your mission is to infiltrate the mansion during the event and extract him." Chrysalis looked over at them. "Something to add, Captain?"
Sunset grimaced. "He's going to be surrounded by bodyguards, aliens and news coverage. That is not including the bodyguards, alien and human for the other VIPs that might be attending. If that whole thing is so full of ADVENT VIPs, why not just blow them all up in one go?"
"It's not that simple," Chrysalis said. "For one, the air around that area is going to be heavily monitored. We have a plan for extraction, but you are not going to be dropped even close to the thing. Menace will pose as influential citizens and infiltrate the guests going over there in limousines."
Chrysalis smirked. "You'll probably have your own ADVENT guards."
"Great." Jane said. "One question?"
"Yes?"
"How exactly is Sunset going to infiltrate that place without anyone recognizing her? She's all over the place in posters!"
"She's got a point," Elena said.
"For one, she's not going to be covered in guts and blood," Chrysalis said.
"You take away all the fun."
Rolling her eyes at Sunset, Chrysalis continued, "Sweetie Belle will also help Sunset look different, and provide her with a coverup."
"Oh?" Sunset leaned back, "and what's my cover story?"
"You are the heir of a local politician, Brian Bloom," Chrysalis said, "so make sure you keep doing your brat act." She smiled. "He, will be played by your real—in an alternate reality—dad."
"My alternat—" Sunset's eyes went wide. "Wh-Central?!"
"He's already getting fitted into a Tuxedo."
"Does he even know he's doing this?"
"Yes. Now..." Chrysalis' smile faded. "...with such a tight security, we can't have you carrying weapons of any sort into the mansion, but we have secured an early transportation of several of them into the mansion today.
"The event will take place in two days. I want you all to study the blueprints. We'll have another meeting to outline our plans for all: dropping you off, acquiring the asset, and evacuating." She glared at the group. "And remember, this VIP has to come back alive."
The neon white light reflected in small flashes on the edges of the slowly spinning gem. Even now—inactive as it was—Sunset could feel the latent power of the Siren's Gem. Even though the soul and consciousness was gone, in a way Aria had been right: everything worth saving of herself was still in that gem.
All the knowledge.
And power.
Sunset had fashioned a silver necklace with it, so that she could keep the gem close at all times. It was odd. Weird. Scary. Exciting. She had someone else's gem.
She sat in Twilight's old lab, her single piece jumpsuit open down to her belly button. The windows were closed, the warning sign on the locked door. She would not be interrupted.
She looked away from the entrancing flickering light and down to the text. Months-years ago, the letters in the book had been nothing but twisting, snaky splotches and tendrils of nonsensical design.
Something that could not be comprehended by the uninitiated.
But as the power of blood grew within her, the lines stopped shifting. The text slowly curled from random, haphazard directions into careful lettering. The angry, red-black glow receded into a faint whisper of promises.
When she had obtained the gem, it was like a new level had been unlocked from the book. The basic, initiate spells had faded, replaced with more advanced concepts. Not even spells. Concepts and visualizations that emphasized the limitless potential of this branch of magic.
But even then, they had made little sense. Equestrian Magic had opened her to the book's whispers once more, and until her last mission, she had held back, worried about the madness that the Princesses had warned her about.
But was it madness to protect those she cared about?
In her mind, the moment that Jane had been shot played over and over again. How close had she been to dying? How close had Angel?
Not to mention the many times she herself should have died due to her wounds, only to come back stronger, every time, thanks to her blood magic?
When Sonata had talked to her, it had felt—for a moment—like she was making a deal with the devil. But Sonata's voice had carried the underlying, velvety, softness of truth. She had shown Sunset her own potential… how close, and yet how far she was of perfection.
She had been horrified at first, upon the discovery, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. There was no reason for her to not be able to control the Blood Magic. She had lived with it for three years now, without a single problem until she went to Equestria.
But she wasn't there now, was she? She was in this low-magic world where the power could be managed and controlled. Where her new spells and understanding could only bring success and help save lives—maybe even the world!
There was nothing to fear as long as she paced herself. The more she read, the more the book revealed a never-ending depth of lore and knowledge that far escaped her initial estimations. How did the humans put it? How deep the rabbit hole went.
And now, between her studies with Celestia, her rejuvenated magic, Sonata's advice, Aria's gem, and her own ambition, she had the chance to surpass all of them.
Sunset looked down, tracing her fingers along her neck—down to just above her breasts—where smooth, soft, skin gave way to a bright, dark-red surface.
Her own gem.
o.0.o End Chapter 178 o.0.o
I just realized there's a joke to be had about Chrysalis and Chrysallids. But I'm not sure what situation could call for it.
what?.. wait.. WHAT?! and you all thouth I would spoil it eh? I DON'T THINK SO!
Ah jeeze.
Oh Sunset, sweetie, no...
9236065
Yeah, that fits pretty well.
Welp, that's bad news
How much farther can she go before she snaps fully?
She is going to need a rainbow to the face after all, damn.
Eoubder if that thing will change into her other self's neckless after said rainbow though?
What can possible go wrong?
This mission sounds like Kasumi's Loyalty mission from Mass Effect 2.
And Sunset is just movin' on along the slippery slope. "Yeah I know it's evil, but I'm doing it for good reasons!"
There isn't even a chance of the human 6 giving her a rainbow to the face either.
AJ's dead. (KIA on a mission presumably)
Pinkie's dead (Killed in a terror mission presumably)
Rarity's not just Advent but ex-Exalt to boot
Sci-Twi is completely MIA, regular Twi is in another world
Fluttershy is half the world away
Dash is the only one close at hand
Egad... She's really going off the deep end. Wonder if she can be brought back, or if she becomes a liability.
9236152
AJ was already confirmed dead already in earlier chapters
Pinkie I don't think is confirmed for anything yet, unless I've missed something...
everything else was spot on
"Sunset's yes went wide."
"Sunset's eyes went wide."?
9236128
There's an old saying we humans have: The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.
And sister, you're looking pretty damn demonic right about now.
... Sunset needs a hearty Harmony Blasting
Well, let's just hope Angel and the rest don't get caught up in the explosion. And that she remains sane enough for an Orbital Friendship Canon strike
9236231
This is not a foreign theme for the XCOM series.
Oh dear, this is bad.
Luna, get here quick!
9236267
Too bad they never went anywhere with that quote's subject in EW itself.
"My alternat—" Sunset's yes went wide. "Wh-Central?!"
I think you meant eyes.
Firaxis just released a new dlc and it completely destroys all the world building you have done.
9236506
To be fair, only Centrals rampage to the dam has lore issues. I think the rest would fit in nicely, Minus the late game Aliens that appear that everyone apparently forgot about when the commander returned.
Also sunset Leading the charge to Secure Bradfords Sweater for fathers day.
Sunset looked into the mirror and saw her eyes filled with DETERMINATION
I suppose he probably has intel, but from the description of this guy and his family history of loyalty to the Elders he seems like he should just catch a bullet instead.
At least at the start.
Fiiiiine.
I wonder if there's any chance that the blood magic is fundamentally not evil, or at least not corruptive, and that it's just deeply incompatible with the equestrian environment and physiology.
So... why exactly do they need this guy? I guess he migh have information on what ADVENT's up to, but it seems like his strategic usefulness has run its course. I wouldn't expect any unmodified human to be of much importance in this day and age... though I suppose "unmodified" may be the key word. That intel isn't necessarily accurate.
Meanwhile, Sunset's belly-sliding down a blood-lubricated slippery slope. This could go very poorly indeed. Someone prep a rolled-up newspaper for when Twilight gets back to the Avenger.
9236491
Well it was in the background narrative often enough. Shen was always pointing out the ethical issues of the alien tech you were adapting and arguing about the moral ramifications of it.
May not have been reflected in the gameplay, no 'corruption' you had to juggle when augmenting your troops, but the theme itself was present in the narrative for what it's worth.
9236506
Actually the TLP DLC fits mildly well if you account for one major detail: The DLC is Bradford telling war stories. He embellishes a LOT of details but most of the story outlines are reasonable.
Also remember another important detail about Bradford's storytelling: He's an alcoholic.
9236506
Firaxis? It may conflict in some ways, but it doesn't necessarily destroy my AU story's world building.
She's going to do something truly horrific, I just know it.
9236707
Damn autocorrect.
Also to all who is disliking my comment. I'm just joking.
9236267
*Smacks own forehead*
How could I forget that phrase when starting up Enemy Within? Thanks for the reminder!
9223552
I mean with so many plot threads already dangling of course minor details like that is gonna be pushed aside. It's just the gamer in me getting tweaked that a top tier suit, at least in gameplay, is just collecting dust.
That, and you have Angel there. Her reaction to the thing is a scene waiting to be written.
9236267
The funny thing is, it's probably misquoted from another Fuller entirely and actually even more relevant given what it *really* comes from.
Thomas Fuller, "The Profane State" (1642):
The original quote is talking about how witchcraft, even if used at first to less than ill purposes inevitably corrupts the user thanks to it's source.
9236506 9236499 9236217
Yes. Corrected.
About the Tactical Legacy DLC, new stuff conflicting with fanfics are a given. That said in this case it's easy to brush aside most things as Bradford and Lily just BSing a lot. You know, what with them going on about how they killed aliens they would not meet for 18-2 years later (up to and including like 12 Avatars across the 4 campaigns) with plasma weaponry and power armor when canonically XCOM's research hadn't gotten laser weapons out yet and the Skeleton Suit was just blueprints by the time their base was attacked.
Oh, and then there's the bit where we have to retrieve Bradford's sweater from within an underground facility.
9237222 Plus, in this story, they had gotten up to Laser weapons and they had spider suits XD
9237180
np happy to help
9237242
Yeah but I mean like, if we take Tactical Legacy at face value then by the end of the first campaign (set 18 years before XCOM 2) then Bradford and co. was fighting Avatars and Gatekeepers on top of the dam from Enemy Within while using Arashi or Assassin's Katana alongside a reaper and skirmisher, all of whom are using plasma guns and power armor. Oh and Specialists already had GREMLINS. And then in 18 years they are back to using gunpowder weapons and have no idea what even what the Faceless or Codices were.
Or we can accept that Central was fudging details from his glory days.
By the by, have you tried Tactical Legacy yet?
Oh dear. I have a feeling Sunset is going to end up finding unconventional and horrific uses for a lot of the blood present at that gathering.
I forgot that happened. Also, there is going to be some hilarity when they are ‘acting’ at the party, I can tell.
This can only end ‘well’.
9237266 He does state during the first mission that: "I don't remember everything exactly as it happened...", so I choose to take that as meaning: "I was drunk for the whole thing and I was seeing things. In fact, for all I know the Avatars were Mutons. But I do remember the snake ladies."
At some stage in the story I'll include the DLC.
9237180
Wait what Typo did I help with?
9237266
I'm almost done with all the missions. After that I'm gonna play a normal campaign.
PS: I love the UFO defense music. What about you?
9237932
That is hilarious.
9236707
9236517
What about Jane being a former resistance leader?
9236924
Well today I learned! Thanks for sharing!
I find the thought of anything being 'inherently corruptive' to be a silly idea. Usually it's a combination of cost and temptation. Blood magic in this series reminds me a lot of the blood magic in the Dragon Age series. It's not inherently evil, it's just that it gives the caster the ability to do bad things, and power corrupts. Just because you have the ability to solve all your problems by sacrificing the soul of a forsaken child, does not mean you should. The source of a power is largely irrelevant it's what it does, and how it does it that matters.
9239517
That's the nature of dark magics- the magic has a mind of it's own, and by using it, you allow it to seep past your defenses and ever-so-gradually erode your morality, encourage and push those pleasure buttons to use it more, and thus let it....well, corrupt you. Rewire you. Enslave you.
The power itself is the bait, the reward at the end is a skilled user of that power enslaved to it's chosen purpose that repays what it's taken in spades. Or gallons, in this case. So many gallons.
9239670
Sounds like any addictive behavior or substance. Whether it's a feel good buzz or the ability to make you enemies explode into gore it's a matter of temptation even if the cost (such as the rewiring of your pleasure center) is a hidden one.
The only way 'Dark Magic' could fall under the descriptor of 'evil' is if it is some way self-aware and capable of making its own decisions.
9239707
Got it in one.
9239738
I'll concede that point there. But I don't believe we've seen any sign of Sunset's blood magic being any way self-aware. So far it has just been the usual lure of the dark side when presented with unlimited 'powah'!