• Published 25th Jan 2018
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XCOM: Ranger - Wanderer D



Sunset Shimmer escapes Equestria... with unforeseen consequences.

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Chapter 223: Heading

Ranger

Chapter 223: Heading

By Wanderer D

Shen's race from the Commander's Quarters to her lab was an exercise in dodging. Once more she was silently glad she had kept up with the cardio as she weaved and pushed her way out of the command room and into the crowded halls. The whole crew was excited and discussing what they had all watched.

Sunset Shimmer's sacrifice—the one from her childhood—had just finished airing for all to see, but as much as that was doing for morale, it wasn't a great thing for tracking signals. They needed to move, and move fast, if they had any hope of following the signal to its origin.

She cursed under her breath as she literally jumped over the safety rails one floor down to avoid a crowd. She pushed and shoved past staff until she made it to her lab and attacked the keyboard like a woman possessed.

"No… nononono…" she whispered, watching the data. "Dammit! The trace is gone! This is going to take days!"

"Maybe this will help," Sweetie said, passing a pad over to Shen, who blinked and looked up, taking it in her hands slowly. Her eyes scanned the data.

"How?" Shen asked.

"The exact same way I managed to send you the emergency signal, and the exact way I created my own pirate radio setup in the middle of ADVENT-controlled airwaves." Sweetie said, grinning. "I'm a communications expert!"

"I can't believe you recorded the data!"

"Hey, ADVENT might not be too keen on telling the real news, but their training isn't half bad," Sweetie said with a smirk. "For all their hypocrisy, the idea is still to have sources and you can't have sources if you miss the chance to record them!"

Lily laughed, plugging in the device and scrolling through it. "Only you would be able to ignore what's happening on the screen and do this."

Sweetie's smile faded. "I didn't ignore it… it's just instinct. I watched the whole thing." She took a deep breath. "Sunset had mentioned there was one of her before but… I had no idea."

"No one did," Lily said, giving Sweetie's shoulder a squeeze.

The pair sat down and worked in silence for a bit, trying to triangulate the origin point of the transmission.

"Did you ever meet her?" Sweetie asked.

"Briefly." Shen leaned back. "I was just a child, my dad worked with her. The Commander, Bradford, Doctor Luna, Lieutenant Dash, and Annette all knew her better. I… was afraid of her, to be honest. They said she knew things… that she could see the future."

Sweetie laughed. "And you believed them?"

Shen smiled. "It was true."

Sweetie's laugh cut off. "Wait. What?"

"It was kept a secret for the most part, but… well, she knew. She left messages for us. She made a video for Sunset… the new Sunset, to be able to help save Jane. She left messages for the Commander. Left a note with my dad letting him know twenty years ago that the new Sunset wasn't a clone. She didn't know everything… but she knew when she was going to die."

"But how…"

"Well, that's what we're going to figure out, because it turns out, the "Ghost" had something to do with it." Shen's eyes narrowed. "And too many things are going wrong. We need this victory."

"Right."

The pair went back to work and soon enough, they had a ping. A bright light appeared on the transparent wall map, flashing on and off. Shen opened a communication to the bridge. "Central. When she's ready, tell the Commander we have our heading."

Except for herself, the center of the city was empty of life. She floated, arms open, as blood flowed around her like a water tornado, thinning out with every palpitation of her heart, every lick of her lips or gasp of breath.

She felt the caress of thousands of lives on every inch of her body and shuddered in pleasure. Her wings extended, twice as long as she was tall, leathery and sharp, tipped by talons, a red so deep they were almost black.

Her reptilian tail twitched, almost touching the floor below her. Her claws shimmered in the moonlight. Red glowing eyes slowly opened and the bloodmask receded to the sides, revealing her skin below. She sighed, smiling, a warm breath escaping her lips between her fangs as she moaned in rapture.

On her chest, snug between her breasts, her gem glistened and shone, turning the blue-white light of the moon into red reflections around her.

The tornado fizzled into nothing and she wrapped her arms around herself, indulging in the afterglow of her feeding.

"Well," Sonata said, materializing on the top of a nearby building and taking stock of the carnage around them. Bodies lay where they had been standing the moment Fugue had come into the city, almost like they had been struck dead instantaneously. They might as well have as blood had been pulled from every single orifice of their bodies, from the tiniest pore to their mouths. It was ghastly… and it made her giggle. "When you said you were hungry you weren't kidding."

"A city of sinners. Blood traitors and murderers. Of arrogant creatures that ignore the suffering of others," Sunset said softly. "Their essence… their souls and blood will empower me. None here could ignore the sound of my voice, the music of my call."

"Right," Sonata grinned as she felt her own power grow from the proximity and approached Fugue, who had landed and stood still as the chosen siren embraced her and pulled her close, pressing herself against her body. "We will all be invincible soon," she whispered.

"Hmmmm..." Sunset swayed, a dreamy smile on her face. "I can feel your power flowing into me, like a stream of music and sounds… it makes me want to sing."

Sonata's smile didn't disappear as she ran her finger down the side of Fugue's face, giggling again as the demonic siren sighed contentedly and opened her mouth. Sonata traced one of her fangs in admiration before pressing herself against the demon's body. "That's what we used to do. What sirens do when they are together. We will sing. And the universe will be ours."

"Hmm-hmm." Fugue nuzzled Sonata's neck.

"I know where Tirek is," she whispered. "And when we kill him… I will sing for you. Just for you... as we bathe in his blood."

With a whoosh of air, Fugue's wings were fully open once more, her eyes were wide and her smile had a trace of wicked promise. And even though Sonata had lived for centuries and was no stranger to intimacy of any sort, she couldn't help but shiver in anticipation.

o.0.o End Chapter 223 o.0.o

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