Chapter 242: Comrades
Ranger
Chapter 242: Comrades
By Wanderer D
The Warlock studied the fight, trying to figure out something—anything that could help him deduce Fugue's limits. But so far, he hadn't been very successful. As the last Viper withered and died in her grasp, the demonic siren simply shuddered in pleasure and shot the camera a smoldering look. "I'm coming for you."
Needless to say, he was not flattered.
Another screen lit up, and the annoying face of the Speaker appeared on it. There was something odd, usually he pretended to be politely in a good mood, but this time around, the whole of his room was torn to shreds behind him, and he looked… almost disheveled. "You called, Warlock? I am in the middle of something right now."
Tirek briefly considered trying to figure out what had the elder's figurehead so distracted, but his situation was more urgent. "I need you to send reinforcements."
"We are unable to teleport more forces to you, Warlock," the Speaker said, his face impassive on the screen. "And I have problems of my own to deal with as I had stated. My bodyguard is missing."
"I am being invaded by the Hunter and Fugue," Tirek retorted, a growl emerging from deep within his chest. "Should they reach me, the Elders will lose another of their trusted servants."
"Ah, yes… this so-called Queen of the Sirens." The Speaker shook his head. "You are one of the Chosen. You can't tell me that this… mutation...is really that much of a threat. Can't you concentrate on the Hunter an—"
"Idiot!" Tirek shouted, slamming his fist next to the console. "You rant and rave because your sex-slave bodyguard left?! It is you who doesn't understand who Fugue is! She's a siren, not just some mutated human! And she's unlike any siren I have ever seen before!"
"So you keep saying," the speaker said, his tone unimpressed. "And I fail to see how some myth from Earth's past is relevant to this discussion, unless "siren" is another faction we were previously unaware of." He leaned back in his comfortable leather chair, safe in some unknown bunker. "Your sad devotion to ancient "magic" is nothing more than a distraction, Warlock."
"Sonata and Aria were both sirens! As was Adagio! Do you not see what this means? Three of the most powerful beings in the whole of the Elders' army were sirens!" Tirek dragged a hand down his face. "And you can't tell me that magic has no bearing on this! You just admitted you can't send troops!"
"And they were such because they were exalted by our masters—"
"No, you imbecile!" Tirek snarled, "They were so before our masters were even here! They could control hundreds of people with their voices! This is why Sombra and I were quick to give them positions of power in EXALT and why we so quickly disposed of Adagio. You have no idea of the power three sirens have! And Adagio is free now! She is not an enemy we want!"
"Are you sure you want to continue this train of thought, Warlock? It sounds to me like you think our masters' power is not enough to deal with a single creature."
"That is exactly what I'm saying!" Tirek shouted. "The masters are not here to deal with her directly!"
The Speaker's sneer became more pronounced. "To think that I was initially honored that the mighty Warlock would request my aid… only to find that he's a coward that fears technology he doesn't comprehend."
Tirek turned around and braced himself, trying to fight his anger. "You fool. You think in such simple terms… even knowing some of what our masters have deigned to show you, you blind yourself to the powers that you dismiss. Heed my words, Speaker. Today it's me. Just like twenty years ago it was Sombra. Tomorrow… it will be you... Stygian."
"Don't call me that."
"Does the mighty Speaker hate the reminder that he was once human?" Tirek sneered at him in return. "Should I remind you that you also attempted to learn the powers of magic? Were you not ridiculed by others for doing so?"
"And look where I am now," the Speaker hissed, "and where are they? Dead. I did not hold on to the fantasies of my youth, Tirek. It is unseemly that you would, knowing what you do."
The pair glared at each other for a moment. "Overwhelm them, Overwhelm this… Fugue and take care of the Hunter yourself. You've bragged about how much more powerful than her you are, haven't you? Prove it."
"I sent several squadrons to stop them from getting past the entrance. All of them are dead or destroyed. It took Fugue seconds."
"A weapon of some sort, Warlock. You are one of the most powerful psionics created by our masters, you can bring the dead back to serve you. You can decimate the minds of humans around you with a mere thought. I would not think you'd be afraid of a single being."
"It doesn't matter to me what you think, but you have not seen what Fugue can do. She will escalate things. She will bring this to you as well. And to the Elders. And unlike XCOM and I, your suffering will not end with your death."
The Speaker did not answer, simply cutting off communications. The Warlock glared at the screen, then roared, his clawed hand splitting the device into pieces. As screens flickered around him, he studied the one showing his base, noting the Hunter and Fugue's progress.
Perhaps there was a way. He glanced up at his sarcophagus. Perhaps there was something he could do after all. He wasn't the young, fumbling wizard of his youth. He touched his chest, where Adagio's gem pulsated with power. Perhaps… he walked forth until he could reach out and touch its surface, watching the psionic powers fluctuate and dance at his command… and into the gem under his armor.
"Perhaps."
o.0.o End Chapter 242 o.0.o
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Wait, so does this mean Rarity ditched the Speaker?
9723062
Of course. Rarity only served the Speaker to protect Sweetie Bell. With Sweetie Bell free and no longer with Advent, she no longer needs to stay for her protection. Thus, the only leash upon Rarity has been removed. Where shall she go? Likely to wherever Sweetie Bell and Annette are.
A Short but good chapter.
Is it just me, or do these chapters seem short.. Not so much in word count, but in progression. Anyhow, looking forward to the inevitable confrontation of Tirek and Fugue - Round 2!
Prediction Time!
What will Tirek do? Well, he will;
a) hold it hostage, as he knows the sirens value it. Black mailtime! Booo!
b) integrate it in a last ditch attempt understand it and by proxy, understand Fugue. (sink or swim style as he has nothing to lose )
c) Both A and B. I this deem likely.
This is the most interesting prediction, but hardest to pull off.
d) Tirek puts his soul into the gem via a Hybrid Psionics and merged it to his flesh via the sarcophagus.
The implications of this are devastating to the chances of saving Sunset. And would be a massive blow to X-Com if he succeeded. Especially if no one noticed / intervienced, and Adigo reclaimed her gem.
The Enemy Within..... heh
I would submit to the doubtful;
The gem, has a feature to prevent the devastating mixing of psy and magic as stated earlier.. So it is possible, he could imbue his soul into it without destroying it. Psi energy's have been shown to be capable of metal transference. Psi Energy's are capable of being stored. The sarcophagus has been shown to alter the state of matter of the user. ( when damaged parts of Aria did not reform ) All in all, its possible in the established cannon.
Honestly I kinda feel for Tirek here since he seems to be the only one really grasping the severity of the situation. I'm still going to enjoy seeing him torn apart though.
9723129
I agree with you regarding the progression of the chapters but keep in mind that Wanderer D usually hide information in its chapters that will reveal later and he does the chapters in a way that gives us enough intrigue to be until the next chapter asking us what it means such thing or what will happen next and if he made the shorter chapters part of that expectation would be lost
by the way, pose quite interesting theories, although I can not know what the author will decide next, my bet is something similar to the d although it may not work as Tirek expects
Well that was a name drop that have me pause. Really didn't see that one coming. Kudos!
Why do I get the feeling he is going to do something as suicidal as try to use the gem and his healing slab to summon Adagio as a hostage?!
I guess he could be pulling a Yami Bakura...
Only other thing I can think of, would be to change his sarcophagus, and use it has a lens, have his stolen gem try to rip the power out of Fugue's. It would likely destroy the sarcophagus' primary purpose, but it might allow him to win... If he wasn't dealing with Sonata as well.
"I doesn't matter to me what you"
"It doesn't matter to me what you"?
Desperate times call for desperate measures...
Well that was a surprise reveal about the Speaker.
Though I'm bit curious about Sombra's involvement and what happened to him in the past.
So ... Sonata and Fugue are closing in ... Rarity has made her move and Stygian is the speaker ... now wherever did the elders drag him in from? He was supposed to have died a thousand years ago ... (Assuming displacement into limbo isn't an option here) Though admittedly, the same should be true for Sombra and Tirek ... Oh well, EQG logic I suppose
Assuming there isn't one particular elder running that army, I'm gonna say that should be elders'
again, that should be masters'
If the Speaker's take on the sirens is a good representation of Advent's understanding of how dangerous Equestria sourced creatures and magic is, then this is probably already over except for the screaming.
Oooo, there's a name.
Huh. So Sombra is already dead. Oh well.
On the other hand, he could be 'dead' the say way he was in Equestria...
9723589
Agreed about the screaming part.
9723490
You're right, but that particular typo (Elder's where it should be Elders') is one that Wanderer's been making all the way through this whole 2-million-word epic and doesn't seem interested in changing. However it's normally at least been capitalised so you might like to fix that, Wanderer. Also one half-paragraph of the Speaker's words (starting "You are one of the Chosen") are regular upright text where I think they should be italics.
I was also caught completely by surprise by the Speaker getting a name drop, even though at this stage I really shouldn't be :) Also interesting tidbits about the history of EXALT, and telling us to probably not expect Sombra; and spelling out a bit more clearly than I think we've had so far that Tirek did "dispose of" Adagio and take her gem.
The progress is slow, but there's a bunch of interesting stuff happening even so. Keep it up
9723490 Fixed! And also, remember that Star Swirl was Celestia's an Luna's teacher in this world.
9723399 Fixed! Thanks!
9723706 I fixed that! Also... 2 million? That's Project Horizons :P
9723730
Great to hear you fixed those Elders up. I guess it's not like I've been back through all 400,000 words recently to check!
Hahaha, oops, I misplaced an order of magnitude
9723490
Remember that following EG logic all of characters that were born over a 1000 years ago in Equestria were about 20-50 years old by the time the invasion began.
Things fall apart. The center cannot hold. Especially not when it refuses to acknowledge the magnitude of the threat before it. Even if it were new technology, remember that the Ethereals were running from something.
Of course, the Elders probably never deigned to mention that to Stygian. (And isn't that an appropriate choice for the prime collaborator?)
Good to see that the Warlock will put up a fight. A tense contest is always better than a curbstomp. Still, whoever wins, someone's going to have to clean up the pieces...
Stygian, huh? That saddens me, but it does make sense.
Yay, Rarity made her escape! Though if I recall correctly, she did so in order to avenge Sweetie's "murder" by XCOM...
Oh my, the battle lines are a well and proper mess that would do Discord himself proud.
9723730
You're welcome! :)
9723919
Actually if I recall correctly, Sweetie Belle was able to get a secret message (more of a secret phrase referencing something only Sweetie herself and Rarity would know about) out to Rarity through her last radio broadcast without revealing to ADVENT that she's joined XCOM. . . so it might not "revenge" per say. . .
- Thunder
Huh. Stygian. That's fun.
Tirek afraid and scrambling to keep his wits together is a sight to behold, I have to say. Heh.
-GM, master of the missing bodyguard.
Gee golly, where could Rarity have gone. Surely not to see Sweetie Belle, her dear beloved sister that's no longer being held hostage.
The Speaker is just as vilely arrogant as always. Vain in his reverance of the Elders as well, to his own ineveitable downfall. Fugue is looking a hint worse to have aroung than the Elders right now, if not quite up to their scale.
You go, Rarity!
Aww, the Speaker lost his bodyguard. Well isn't that just the Worst. Possible. Thing. Funny, I almost commented on Rarity a little bit ago, during that Psycho-Twi lab chapter, but I deleted it. Something something
AJ was among the luckier of the Six, something. But it's not over yet.Meanwhile, Tirek vs. Fugue and Sonata, coming soon. Never thought I'd find myself rooting for a rapey murder demon... and this is no exception. I don't feel I have enough investment for or against this Tirek to care what happens to him, and frankly? I see Jane's point about wanting to kill Sunset now. If my best friend turned into... that... I think I'd want the same, for their sake even more than my own. Yes yes, the whole 'never give up on your friends' but... if I discovered that say, one of them turned into the kind of criminal who was raping and killing people... hey, we're no longer friends. There's a line. Don't cross it. And before the 'not her fault' folks jump in... yeah it kinda was. Everyone, including her, knew the blood magic was a problem. She kept pushing. There were other ways to fight (unless D would have us believe that the rest of XCOM is useless... and frankly the jury's still out right now), but she kept pushing. She's not solely to blame, but neither is she blameless.
I'm not saying, from a narrative standpoint, that I want that to happen here (though it's a better use of those bullets than the potential backfire uses I mentioned... yeesh almost a year ago), but... I get it. No matter what happens to her from here, it's going to be a stretch to follow her as anything other than a monster and a victim, no matter who she happens to be slaughtering.
Hey, good timing for reading these chapters for me, though. Bloody demon slaughtering things that would normally be scary themselves. Happy October, everyone!
I will say, the way the different sort of factions are dividing up here has managed to draw me back in a fair bit. ...To the point where I'm rambling here rather than reaching that dreaded 'caught up, no more to read' point. Alas.
well I was, of all the ways to die, pure pleasure to death sounds like the most attractive.
Also Blood for the Blood Witch I guess, though I don't remember where that particular reference is from
Interessting Speaker Identity. Pride once more cost someone a great asset. Bye bye Tirek...
The Elders are fucked, one way or another...
Seriously, at this point I guess this dimensions Equestria is ripping the Etherals ass in pieces.