Ranger
Chapter 243: Revenge
By Wanderer D
The opposition was minimal after the first welcoming committee. The few stragglers that were caught in Fugue's wrath served only to feed her power if they were organic, or did little but inconvenience her if they were mechanical.
At this point, she felt invincible. They reached the teleport platform soon after the last ADVENT trooper fell, a dry husk, at Fugue's feet.
She licked the blood from her fingers and grinned at Sonata, who was also stepping into the platform. "Ready to take care of the thief?"
"Oh, I've been waiting twenty years for this," Sonata giggled. "I thought I'd do this with Chimera originally, but keeping it between sirens is best."
Fugue grimaced for a second, her hand touching the gem in her chest. "I look forward to growing more… acquainted with her."
Sonata gave her a knowing smile. "Pervert."
"She can do a lot of things with her body," Fugue replied with a shrug. "But this is not the place… right now, I have a roach to step on."
"Activating the teleporter!" Sonata giggled.
The world was blue.
More like cyan, darkening into midnight. But really, who cared? The question was, how had she gotten here? Lightning crackled in the distance, the electric charges seeming to split reality for a second before everything returned to the calming blue. Cyan. Whatever.
She fell to her knees, resting them on… something. Air? Glass? It was cool. Refreshing. So different from the reds and blood and sexual energy that had dominated her mind recently, stopping her from even been able to think or fight. The haze of bloodlust was gone, and she remembered everything.
The ADVENT troops. The viper. The city full of ADVENT bureaucrats and their families. She wanted to cry and beg for forgiveness, but she was much more angry. She had been lost in a sea of souls and brimstone and blood, overwhelmed by sexual desire. Overwhelmed by lust for the life-carrying properties of blood. She had been barely conscious, unable to move, unable to scream or stop anything—just watch as her body descended into debauchery and murder, as her voice teased and seduced… as her magic used the essence of life to extinguish it indiscriminately.
"And so we meet at last, Siren."
Sunset looked up, snarling. She didn't have her claws here, but she was armed and she was no stranger to mental battles. She would—
"Do no such thing, I come here not to fight, but… to offer something."
"Tirek!" she growled, standing up warily and facing the apparition in front of her. It was the Warlock, and yet not. While the Chosen Warlock was a massive hulk of a creature with a wrinkled blue face and slightly disproportionate appendages, this Tirek was much more human-looking. Tall, in good shape, dressed smartly in a pin-stripe suit. He still had the horns, but his hair was black and combed back, and he sported a stylized goatee.
Slowly, it started making sense. "Inner self."
Tirek grinned. "Good job, Fugue."
"Sunset," she said, straightening up, less on edge, but still watching him warily. "My name is Sunset. Fugue is..."
Tirek shrugged. "I understand all too well, siren. When the Elders transformed me into the Chosen Warlock, they tried to trap my mind as well. Were it not for Adagio's gem, I would be as lost as my former apprentice."
Sunset tried to stifle the feelings of gratitude she felt right then. "How long do I have before I'm… lost again?"
"Not much. Enough for this conversation." Tirek paced in front of her. "I will kill you out there."
Sunset snorted. "Please do."
This seemed to surprise Tirek. "Do you not fear death?"
"I fear judgement for what I have done… not the judgment of the gods… but the judgement of my friends." Sunset took a deep breath. "I fear facing them, knowing what Fugue did… what I did. She is my responsibility. I created her when I used magic I knew I shouldn't have."
Tirek snorted. "What is magic for if not to use it? Condemned spells, forbidden magics… it all boils down to fear. People are afraid of what we can do if we control things like this magic of yours that created that demon."
"It… wasn't the blood magic," Sunset said. "Fugue… her demon aspect, at least, has always lived within me, I think… I felt it when I crossed the portal the first time. I felt it when I had… a very powerful magical item in my hands. I lost control at one point and the magic consumed me. Now I'm little more than a fragment of a soul inside this monster I became."
"That is not how the gems work." Tirek looked around them. "You know this."
"Yes," Sunset said, "but souls can get lost and dispersed even within the gems. Look at what happened to Aria." She glanced up at him. "You have had decades to study them. And you used them before… you and Sombra when Aria, Adagio and Sonata were… well, normal sirens."
"And you don't understand them just as well, siren?"
"I-" Sunset wrapped her arms around herself. "I wasn't always a siren." She touched the fangs with the tip of her tongue. "I was magical… not that you need to know my original species… it doesn't matter anymore. It's different… it would even be beautiful in a way… if I wasn't corrupted in the process."
Tirek snorted. "And here I thought you a queen of sirens."
"Flattery will get you nowhere with me."
The pair laughed like a couple of friends discussing an amusing topic rather than two enemies about to try to kill each other.
"It is rather amusing," Tirek said, "to think that even if you hadn't transformed into that blood demon, we would have inevitably crossed paths and battled to the death. You are a sharp one, Sunset." He gave her a courteous nod. "Were we under different circumstances I would have taken you as an apprentice."
"I'll take the compliment," Sunset said with a bit of a smile playing on her lips.
"I'll try not to be offended by your lack of interest." Tirek shrugged.
"So what is your true purpose here, Tirek?" Sunset asked. "I doubt that you came here for an amiable chat only."
Tirek grinned. "You are correct. I came here for a much more nefarious purpose." He motioned with his hands at everything around them. "This is a mindscape, yes, but it is much more… do you understand why, Sunset?"
Sunset narrowed her eyes and she took another look around. It was obvious that it wasn't a regular mindscape. She wouldn't be able to talk to him with her full faculties like this if it were… he would be talking to Fugue, not Sunset.
But Sunset had been swallowed by the blood demon, hadn't she? So how was she able to be here? Slowly, bits and pieces fell in place, creating a theory in her mind. "Gem resonance?"
Tirek raised an eyebrow.
"But that wouldn't be enough," Sunset continued, pacing in front of him. "No… this feels familiar, like the mindscape I use with the Templars to not burn…" her eyes widened. "Wait… you used Adagio's Gem to channel your psychic power into mine?"
Tirek grinned. "Close."
Sunset studied his grinning face with dawning comprehension. "You drew me out…"
"Close," Tirek repeated, "but as close as we're going to get without a full dissertation. This is a third place in our shared consciousness, not your mind, not mine… this is my sarcophagus. You are surrounded by the full power of an Elder machine designed with their intent and purpose and created by their willpower alone."
Sunset suddenly felt really nervous.
"This is my revenge." Tirek grinned. "This is how I bring your downfall… or rather Fugue's, because now, my little siren, unlike the commander, and unlike you were earlier, you will be independent. I will carve a space for your reconstituted soul within your gem. And like a cancer you will grow stronger without Fugue ever realizing what is happening."
He grinned, waving his hand as the world became crystal fragments in Sunset's sight. "Go now. You are my plan B, Sunset. If I fail to kill Fugue… I will still have my revenge! I will bring back the thing that makes her boil in hate and resentment! I will bring you."
"Ready to face the music, Warry?!" Sonata called out, giggling.
Next to her, Fugue grinned, then grimaced for a second when a flash of pain burst from her gem. It was gone in a moment and she shook it off. "It's time for the sirens to be a trio once again, Tirek!" she called out into the large room around them.
It was surprisingly empty, and in the distance she could make out the large tombstone-like shape of the sarcophagus the Chosen used to commune with the Elders and resurrect as needed. There were no organic beings in the room, but she could hear the clangs of metal feet and the whirs of servos indicating the presence of mechanical enemies.
She grinned. Maybe this would be a challenge after all.
o.0.o End Chapter 243 o.0.o
Nothing like a Beyond the Grave revenge to really stick it to your enemies.
Oh, it will be a Challenge for Sure.
So if I am getting this right, he is taking down Fugue by turning her back into Sunset, or separating Sunset, and making her another body, to eventually confront Fugue. Am I on the right track?
Twilight's certainly in for a surprise when she gets back
9739049
He's basically making it so that eventually Fugue will be weaker than Sunset and Sunset will get control of the drivers seat back as it were... If I'm understanding it correctly.
Think of it like a giant bowl made of ice filled with water over a flame. Sunset is the water, Fugue is the flame and the gem is the ice. Over time Fugue will weaken the ice until sunset punches through and extinguishes the fire.
I love the irony that Tirek May be the one to save sunset p. It’s one hell of a twist.
Well now, this is an unexpected development... Still might need Twilight's plan to solidify the cure, but I can't see this not helping tremendously.
You are one of those authors of which I have high expectations and even so, you always manage to surprise me for good
Well that was unexpected. I'm not entirely sure how it's gonna happen, but will be getting Sunset back in one shape or another.
I did not expect this, and I find that awesome. Not a permanent solution, but a strong one. One that might just create enough of an opening for Twilight to save Sunset.
And, of course, more hope for snek foals
Did not that coming. Can we all just applaud how brutal Tirek's vengeance would be?(if it go as planned)
Heeeyyy, Sunset is still Sunset on the inside. Maybe she can be salvaged after all.
Nice.
9739066
Okay, so I was still right. Though your analogy really made things clearer, so thanks.
My, that is interesting. Spite is a powerful motivator.
With this trick I'd say Tirek has earned his title of Warlock, that was a masterful stroke. A brilliant, almost impossible feat of mind and soul manipulation undertaken in the space between two seconds. This won't save his life, but it will ensure that the plans of his enemies will go down in fire and ruin.
And now Sunset is a LICH, a BLOOD LICH.
Enemy of my enemy.... Will back handedly fix some things.
Well, this was not at all what I thought he was going to do.
Masterfully done. Now not only do we have more hope that Twi can get that sword and have it work, we now know that Sunset is still in there and her own "solution", if used, will be even more devastating for us.
This is not how I prefer my OTP, but I'm willing to take it.
To paraphrase a certain Hearthstone card's flavor text, what happens when you corrupt an already corrupted blood demon? DOUBLE NEGATIVE, INSECT!
The question is how the Sunset fragment will be affected if Sonata and Fugue
in D Minordestroy Tirek's sarcophagus.I did not count on Tirek ending up saving her. Huh. Well, the enemy of my enemy...
(or, well, he probably will)
-GM, master of markov.
OF FUCKING COURSE it's a fucking Deus Ex to Bring Sunset Back! I warned about this way back when she first Transformed, and now we see I was right. 'Sunset' is not Fugue for some FUCKING unexplained bullshit reason, she will be saved through some bullshit Deus Ex reason, and nothing unique or interesting will happen. Fugue will be killed, Sunset lives, nothing changes. This entire Fugue Arc just became pointless filler with no baring on the actual story or plot. Fucking useless man.
9739794 dude, with respect. Fuck off.
There's nothing worse than some jackass that just assumes a story is going wherever they think is going because they "predicted" something. You didn't fucking hell. You have no fucking clue where I'm going with this, I'm tired of your bs. If you don't like the goddamn story downvote it and go be "a critic" somewhere else where you're wanted. I'm NOT dealing with this bullshit right now.
9739794
I hate the fucking fact that I have to deal with some clown that just SPITS on the amount of effort and planning that goes into this story because his fucking "fantasy scenario" is not appearing as he fucking likes. I don't need the contempt of some opinionated dimwit that can't fucking write a story to begin with. Let me spell it out for you: THIS STORY IS NOT WHAT YOU THINK IT IS. YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE IT'S GOING AND YOU MADE IT CLEAR. Just because you don't get where something is going, it doesn't give you the right to come and bitch here like some sort of entitled jackass. When you fucking get some sort of actual appreciation for the things that are being given to you for free over here, come back. In the meantime, I don't want to smell you close to my work or myself.
Finally caught up last night. That was a wild ride and I’m regretting not reading it earlier (wanted to play through the X-Com games before reading, never got around to that...). Gotta admit, the scarcity of plot armor caught me off guard, and now I’m worried anyone in the human world except like 4 people can die at any moment.
I was getting a bit bored with the most recent human world stuff (my favorite parts are the emotional stuff and the interactions with the characters) especially since I was really enjoying the Equestria stuff, but wow did this chapter get me. Now I’m waiting in anticipation for any of the currently running threads to continue.
This was a beautiful chapter.
9739794
It's clear to me that you value this story a lot and want to see it succeed. I know this to be true because you criticized it in the hopes that it will become even better than it already is.
There is a line, however, which must not be crossed when criticizing something you love.
You crossed that line by saying that the author's work was meaningless.
Realize that the author loves this story just as much as you do.
Wanderer D wants it to succeed just as much as you do.
This is Wanderer D's gift to the world. It is his gift to you as well, because you are a part of that world.
When someone gives you a gift for free and you criticize that gift right in front of them?
HOW DO YOU THINK THAT WILL MAKE THEM FEEL?
Criticism is for the editor whose job is to help the author find the right gift for his readers. We, the readers do not have that authority because we are the recipients of that gift. The best thing we readers can do to show appreciation is the simple phrase: "Thank you for this awesome story, I'm excited to see what's coming next!"
That simple phrase can do so much for a story!
It tells the author that what he or she does is valued by others, and it gives he or she an understanding of the kind of things we like to read.
Another thing we as readers can do is give ideas for how the story could be even better.
"What if so and so was actually related to so and so and oh wow what if this happened!"
This is the very purpose of FanFiction, to explore new ideas based on someone else's creation.
Above all, I hope you realize the incredible potential you have as a member of this community, a community which respects and values the contributions of all who reside within it.
9742092
The problem is that you are projecting your issues into the story. You don't know what I had planned or what I intended. Go seriously read something else instead of posting your bs theories.
Oh. And it's "Fugue" no L at the end.
9741456
Thank you, but it had nothing to do with how I feel. This guy is literally insulting my intelligence and writing skills. He clearly doesn't get that there's always been a plan, doesn't even know what a Deus ex is, and quite frankly is not worth my effort in reasoning with.
I'm not really sure about this, but Tirek can somehow access Fugue-Sunset's gem without being in contact with it?
If so, why didn't he do something with it much earlier to stop her rampage? Was there some limitation to his ability I'm not certain about?
9742428 I thought it was brilliant. It was clear from the effort you've put into this story that it couldn't simply end in Fugue roflstomping everything. But I didn't see any way out. But using Tirek/Warlock to do it, that's genius, and exactly the sort of vengeance even in death attitude I'd expect from him.
9743230 and just because Tirek did something, it doesn't mean that it solves the issue. ;)
9742443
From what I understood, he basically forced the same mindscape stuff that happened earlier with Assassin and Hunter. I think he essentially split off Sunset from Fugue and set things up for her to grow and eventually overpower Fugue. It doesn’t save him and would take too long to take effect even if he did it earlier, but it at least let’s him take Fugue down eventually (and in a way get revenge against Sonata). His gambit alone probably isn’t enough, but in combination with all the other threads (including the anti-magic bullets), it might be the final push needed to save Sunset. Plus, if all goes well, the technique could potentially be adapted to save others who’ve fallen to forbidden magic.
The use of the element by xcom is stupid.
The elements will grow weaker as the changes to twilight by them will weaken her relationship with her friends.
9746258 I'm assuming you're in a really early chapter?
Martyrdom — Drop a live grenade when killed
Huh. So, going through the comments since I couldn't really understand what Tirek's Grand Scheme of Revenge is, he's basically bringing back Sunset as one giant "fuck you" to Fugue?
Huh. If you can't beat your enemy, summon its nemesis with your dying breath. Neat.
P.S. Why is there a roasted body in the comments?
9739794 Firstly a Deus ex move would be the warlock using some unexplained power to instantly save Sunset while killing Fugue and maybe Sonata, but it was explained that he used Adaigio's gem and his sarcophagus to break Sunset/Fugue''s soul in two and move Sunset's portion into the her gem. The plan is not perfect, since it is entirely dependent on Fugue not dying. Secondly, even if the warlock pulled a Deus Ex, Sunset would still have to face her friends and admit to killing thousands of people with blood magic.
9771984
heh, did you skip chapters?
9772003
I don't think I have. Did I gloss over something that's more concrete than a hint?
9772140 Nah I was just surprised you didn't comment on the others seeing what happened :P but man, you read fast!
9772146
A bit of that is from reading at work while it's slow I guess. My connection is kind of spotty at my desk, so while it's fine to load a new page, it doesn't make commenting easy. And yeah, I can't really put it down.
Well, finally all caught up, and it was a great read. I'm eager for more, and I love Tirek's plan here.
This is far more clever. If you had just come up with a way for Sunset to come back with the effort of her friends, or her own willpower, it would have been slightly disappointing. Something that could have been done well, but it was expected.
This is a lot more promising, and as long as it doesn't bring Sunset instantly back, it will be great.
Huh. Well that was a more interesting approach than I was expecting; well done. Then again, I don't expect Tirek to do anything I'll 'like' even coincidentally, so my own fault for putting him in that corner. Again, I admitted a few minutes ago I didn't know that much about this Tirek, sooo. Point for his side.
Now... how will it actually play out...? And here's hoping for a not dramatic irony tragedy where we watch as her friends null bullet her just before she was gonna rez.
Just realized this opens up another path for saving Sunset. Instead of overpowering Fugue or curing her, the Sunset part of her could potentially be pulled out and placed into a new body, maybe even a particularly optimized body.
10170926
And hopefully Jane could give the finishing blow to Fugue to rekindle their friendship.
But knowing Sunset, she would probably force Crysalis to imprison her or shoot her.
9739066
That
That was a really good explanation thank you
10/10
Huh. It's interesting how Sunset reacts to it. Sure she really doesn't want to be herself again for fear Fugue's actions might deem her irredeemable... to herself, basically she knew what she was in for and quite frankly she would rather her friends had used the soul destroying bullet. Though something tells me that even with the soul bullet, the trickle of Fugue's soul that is Sunset would still exist even if it lacked a host; most likely Adagio, when she gets her gem back, would willingly host Sunset's soul fragment, preferably in a non invasive way?
That is actually kind of a rabbit hole. In the end I fail to see how what Tirek did actually saves Sunset's soul. Sure, Fugue's the monster and the madness that took over... But I guess, at best, this returns Sunset to being just a Siren. At worse it resets her Blood magic, and by extent Fugue's progress into a Blood Demon. Sunset's soul is tainted by Blood magic regardless of whether part of it is still sane or not. My guess is that the only thing that could save her now would be Algae Photis.
However this still doesn't completely make sense... someone (whom I've already thanked) explained what Tirek did; He wants Fugue gone because she... well spite is powerful.
If I'm right then he won't... actually... succeed, the most he'll do is cause a setback (which, now that I noticed is as much of a suicide mission as the Templar Ship was; he'll inevitably die and if I'm right he will give the trickle of soul that is Sunset, hope). Which, again, demands and defaults to the Algae Photis.
In other thoughts; It is clear to me now why Tirek is called the Warlock. Yet that begs the question: did he actually steal Adagio's magic... Or did he make a contract with her for it as many Warlocks are wont to do? I am actually curious because the latter implies she initially became the Codices... Intentionally? Which turned her into a timeless entity with an anchor.... Wait. Wait he actually stole it didn't he? Good ol' trickery, into making Adagio become the Codices by joining ADVENT Network... ripping her gem out... he did say he dispatched Adagio as quickly as possible... she became an entity that just happen to be timeless... And then proceed to anchor herself to Sunset "Vision" Shimmer, the one and only.
If I'm right I'm swearing on all the Gods I did not peek. But Gods how it makes sense! I was wondering how she was attached to Vision for so long. She became timeless for as long as time would allow her, and since time is a river with many possibilities (a bit of the good ol' time travel theory)... but since she was hooked to the Network... Well she would have been stuck to it's past... If Vision hadn't been the powerful psychic she is.
Again if I'm right in everything I said, well it sounds like a stretch but it feels like these are sound theories. Can't wait to see what actually happens.