Chapter 62: Regret
Ranger
Chapter 62: Regret
By Wanderer D
Sunset rolled behind a column and glanced at the hallway. The ADVENT Lancer took the bait, rushing out with their electro-stick crackling with energy. Before it got too close, she shot it down with a short burst, and after checking for more opponents and finding none, she motioned for the others to move.
Laetitia let the trooper she had levitated off the floor and impaled with her psychic blades fall several floors down, while Jane stored in her backpack some of the equipment the Captain she had ambushed had dropped when killed.
XCOM had a long standing order to take some of the equipment back with them if it was recoverable, their weapons could only become better if they had more options to modify them with.
They ran up the stairs and onto the next floor, bursting out of the emergency exit and quickly taking covering positions to oversee the area. There were no soldiers that they could see right now, but the enemies from before had come from this floor, so it was likely they were the last patrol.
"This is the right floor, Jane?"
"According to the systems, yes, we should be in the nearest access to it: Emergency exit AA-23. Twilight should be in the Lab… that's room 2187."
"I think I see it," Laetitia said. "Up ahead, right side."
Sunset ran up to the door, and looked at the number on it, nodding. "This is it." She took one side of the door as Jane took the other. The exchanged glances and nodded.
Sunset pushed the door open and made her way in, doing a quick sweep of the room with her shotgun, and immediately spotting the cells. "Cover the entrance!"
She made her way through checking behind tables for hidden opponents until she was right in front of Twilight, who had stood up with wide eyes.
"Sunset…" Twilight whispered, eyes shimmery with tears. "Please… check on Kevin…"
Sunset gulped, and waved to Jane to come over and start hacking the door as she moved over to check on the other missing soldier. A part of her felt bad that his safety hadn't even crossed her mind, and another part realized that it was a normal thing to put those you know ahead of others.
Still. He was a fellow soldier. It took her one look to know. At some point, Kevin had used his remaining strength and body weight to kill himself in a moment of desperation. He wasn't breathing, and the position he was in wouldn't have allowed for oxygen to get through.
"How is he?" Twilight asked. There was an undertone to her question. As if she already knew the answer.
Sunset shook her head. "It's better if you don't look, Twilight."
"I… expected that," Twilight sighed. "I tried to calm him, but he was… just too far gone. It didn't help that he was so terrified of the Assassin…"
She had expected the young alicorn to break down, but Twilight had taken a deep shuddering breath and reigned herself in. It was odd. That… earlier pride (and fear) for Twilight had not diminished at all, and now that she was holding herself up with such aplomb.
Twilight caught Sunset's look and smiled sadly. "I'll have time to mourn later… for all of them." Her eyes went wide. "The Assassin! She's here, Sunset, and not only that she's—she's a siren!"
Sunset gasped. "What? But they were destroyed centuries ago by Starswirl!"
Twilight nodded. "I know, but it all matched, and when I confronted her with the information… she never denied it. In fact, she said that Starswirl had simply exiled them into this world."
Sunset shook her head, pulling off her backpack and fishing out the package that Bradford had given her. She gazed at the small container, a deep part of her urging it to keep it to herself… a part with long, black claws, red, demonic skin, horns, wings and fangs.
"Here," she choked out, giving Twilight the package. "Y-You might need it. Especially if Aria is around."
"Aria?" Twilight took it, unveiling…
"A crown?" Jane asked.
"Not just any crown…" Sunset said. "Twilight's crown." She reached and stopped Twilight from putting it on. "Not yet… we won't use it if we can avoid it. Aria is the assassin's real name… she gets annoyed if you say it, but keep your element at hand. If she comes after us, you might need it."
"And speaking of things we might need," Laetitia said from across the room, she smirked and stepped away from the small closet that Twilight had noticed earlier. "I think I found your gun and armor, rookie."
"Team Alpha, this is team Bravo," Annette's voice came through the comms. "We encountered the assassin, and she has been taken care of."
Sunset let Laetitia assist Twilight in setting up, turning to look out the small lab window and looking down. "Roger that, Bravo. We have our package. I see hostiles gathering below, including some heavy mechs. What floor are you at?"
"Thirtieth floor."
"Understood, we're high enough to not be affected, so we'll be giving them the first present. We're just a couple of floors below you. Stay at your location, we'll meet you there and proceed to evac."
"Understood, Lieutenant."
Sunset turned just as Twilight finished strapping on the last of her armor and took up her rifle. "Alright! Jane, do you think if we deliver the present right now we'll be affected?" She glanced at their specialist's GREMLIN with some concern.
Jane hummed, "No, the area of effect for that device shouldn't really get all the way up here. It's designed to affect a small area, after all. It's one of Shen's prototypes for small grenade-sized EMPs. Wouldn't be of great use if they shut us down as well."
"Then you know what to do," Sunset said as she motioned for the others to follow. "We need to make sure they don't follow us in yet."
"Roger that," Jane said, pressing a couple of buttons. The only sign that it had worked was that the whole building went dark.
Sunset nodded. "I'll take point, Jane, you're with Twilight. Laetitia, you're in the back."
"Roger!"
"Let's go meet the others and get the hell out of this place."
She was in the void again, body-less, weightless and drifting in purple, blue and red energy waves that carried her consciousness through the infinite.
Before the return of XCOM, she had only been there once, ten years or so ago, when she had been Chosen.
She remembered how the Elders had tried to control them. How it hadn't worked, but they had played along.
Flashes of memories past echoed in the void.
"Yes… just relax, Annette, join the others… try to find XCOM."
Was there regret? Aria wasn't sure.
"Aria… I'm scared… what I saw… those people in that base… were they really enemies? Their friends turned on them because we told them… Aria… are we doing the right thing?
What place was there for regret now? After she had sent dozens of humans that looked up to her and her sisters for protection to be processed by the aliens?
"Please! Aria! Please! Don't let them take me! We're friends! Do—"
Regret.
"You must have found kindness… somewhere."
That stupid pony-turned human. What did she know?
Maybe Equestria had changed a little, but it didn't change the way they had been treated. They had been hunted down and attacked because of their dietary needs. They were not safe in the sea, nor in land.
They had attempted to ask for protection from one of the unicorn tribes, but ponies feared everything that wasn't equestrian in nature… and not just that. They hated and feared each other too.
Because some could fly.
Because some could cast magic.
Because some were linked to the world beneath.
The ponies she remembered were paranoid, excitable and fearful. Eager to destroy that which inconvenienced their perception of the world. They would rather run away or, if they could, attack, than attempt to communicate.
Much like humans.
"He's my friend!"
No compassion. That was the motto.
At one point in their long lives, she and her sisters had given up on peace and simply attacked when hungry. There had been no further attempt to reason with the fearful creatures, who had proven not only to be unwilling, but completely incapable of empathy with others.
Aria remembered well how things had started with deep moments of shock, then hunger settled in and slowly their empathy for the foul ponies had grown thin, then it was gone. None of them, even when facing death had—
"At least… tried to find common ground!"
Aria snorted. What did Twilight know?
"You couldn't have done any worse than Nightmare Moon and Discord!"
Nightmare Moon? That name meant nothing to Aria, but Discord… Discord did. The Lord of Chaos was a monster even they feared. Was Twilight implying they had somehow… befriended him? Impossible!
What Twilight had suggested had to be a lie. Starswirl had proven that they had as much respect and compassion for those different than themselves as an anvil had for a blade being forged on it. What could have Twilight or the Blood Witch done?
"Something! Anything! We would have found a peaceful way to solve our differences if we tried! You didn't need to be exiled away from everything you knew!"
Aria felt anger at those words.
Trust. Why trust when you always were betrayed? Why trust when you would always betray?
"You say I changed… but so did you. For the worse. I'll meet you again in the battlefield anytime, Aria. Say hello to your sisters."
Seeing Annette had been a surprise. When XCOM was destroyed, Aria had searched for the psionic signature of her former friend. But there was nothing.
She had thought Annette was dead. Another betrayal. Another victim of a predator such as herself.
Remorseless. The voice, familiar echoed in the void. That is what you are now. No regret. No hesitation. You belong to us.
They had traded their freedom when Exalt had discovered them. True "immortals", if only in the sense that they didn't die unless violently killed.
It had been a costly battle for Exalt, to get them to a standstill. And then… and then he had stepped in.
He understood that the three of them were not to be servants or killed. He understood their ambition. And he had guided them to Exalt, not as grunts, or experiments or disposable forces… but as leaders.
As equals.
There had been no attempt from him to befriend them. Or pretend to. He never promised anything that didn't benefit him, which made him reliable.
And so… when they joined, he had promised.
"We will be Chosen," he had whispered to Aria, Sonata and Adagio. "Us. Not this rabble that serves no purpose but to create distractions. Come. Let me introduce you to our allies… those that seek to control us, but will only give us the power to raise beyond them."
She felt a sense of falling, pinpricks all around as her body was reformed. She appeared in a storm of psionic energy, kneeling in front of her Tablet. And as soon as she had, in a flash of magic, her pendant materialized.
She grinned, taking it quickly, just as the expected, angry summon from the Elders crashed into her mind. But she had her pendant now, and she sent back through it thoughts.
Thoughts of fear and thoughts of devotion.
Lies.
The Elders did not understand magic. They couldn't even truly sense it. They just knew what she and the other chosen chose to share.
Sure, they would "punish" The Assassin for failing with an intensely painful push of psychic energy. But she was not theirs.
Not truly.
Not ever.
"COME TO US"
Aria grinned, licking her serrated teeth with her long tongue. She wasn't terribly fond of this body… not over her original, beautiful siren body… but it terrified lesser creatures. And one day it would terrify her "masters" as well.
She frowned. At least until he stopped blindly obeying them.
But for now, she had to answer the summons.
o.0.o End Chapter 62 o.0.o
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...You know. With the way you have set up Annette's relationship to Aria, it wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility for them to be allies once again. On which side would they be allies? It's really a roll of the dice. A loaded roll of the dice, but a roll nonetheless.
I'm assuming the other dude is the speaker.
8861255
The Speaker might have been the one who offered the Sirens their positions in EXALT.
Oooh, who is the mystery man? Sombra? Tirek? Probably the latter. Maybe he's the male warlock while Adagio is the female warlock? Interesting.
8861267
thats what i meant
I always thought the interpretation that the Siren's needed negative energy to live was kind of weird since the movie only ever says that they use negative energy to fuel their magic (Legends of Magic says this as well). But considering some of the dialog at the beginning I guess I can understand how the misunderstanding started.
Well, they didn't kill Kevin, technically.
Out a window? Down a stairwell?
"So yeah, you ponies were such huge assholes that we gave up on you. Don't give me shit until you had to live with that for centuries too."
Kinda want to see what can Twilight answer to that without being a hypocrite. "We have changed, you should give us another chance!" Doesn't quite make it.
I wonder what the older diarchs would answer, though.
Mystery After Mystery. You got Talent for that
Projection and hypocrisy... yep, a villain pity party. Aria, you can't blame other races for being what they are, look down on them for it, AND excuse your own actions as 'that's what we are'. It's intensely stupid, and you're not Sonata.
That said, this chapter was very interesting. Seems we have a Twilight made of sterner stuff. I'm all for that even if she has a breakdown later (it'd be understandable and it's impressive she can even delay it if that turns out being the case).
And then Aria's ... can we call it an aria? Nah, but I wanna. Remembering Twilight's words, deriding the Elders... fun villain we have here. I like her... well, as much as any mass murdering monster, anyway. Wonder how the others are gonna go...
Good chapter! See ya next go round.
8861267
8861269
Doubt it's either of them. It's probably the male Chosen. I expect it's Grogar or some other equestrian villain. The Warlock is a good fit for Grogar, especially with his helmet/horns that look very goat-like. Assuming the Assassin is Aria and the Hunter is Adagio, where is Sonata? Maybe not all 3 were converted? One is being held hostage to enforce the loyalty of the other two?
I see what you did there!
8861730
The hunter is Sonata. That was said back in the lost city of Canterlot.
Intriguing. Aria confirmed a few things there, while tossing more fuel on the fire of Adagio's whereabouts. Twilight showing she has grown and can keep it together until they leave the high pressure situation, and that she wasn't deluding herself about Kevin's fate. And all but confirmation on a major male villain being the Warlock. My money's still on Sombra at the moment.
Hmmm. Overall not a very difficult mission. Oh, but they're not extracted yet. (holds metaphorical breath )
*facepalm*
After the change to Julian in this timeline maybe I should have seen this coming, do you have more than 3 choosen here?
The reason you have used both he and she to describe the Warlock is because there are (atleast) 2 Warlocks?
Making deals with those more powerful to gain enough power to rise above and turn against them... Tirek did that with discord (and Twilight sort of).
The exchanged glances and nodded
1. They.
Well Twilight's safe for now.
Though Aria's revelations does answer some questions, but also brought some new ones. Adagio is still with men, but also a mysterious male antagonist that apparently is the Warlock. So what role does Adagio plays with the Elders?
8861730
8861957
...There likely is no male Chosen. The Sirens are the Chosen. and there are ever only 3.
Well, at least they found Twilight and she's physically unharmed.
Thanks a lot for the free early alien invasion, Starswirl.
Heh. Things change in a thousand years.
Plus they had Fluttershy to deal with Discord.
I'm guessing this Him has got to be the Warlock I've seen discussed in the comments.
Ah. The thing about seeds of doubt is that they still need the right soil conditions to germinate. Still, Aria has something to think about and a few visible leverage points to exploit should Twilight or Sunset find them.
In the meantime, package secure. Now comes the extraction.
8861293
You mean the dialogue where Aria explicitly refers to negative emotional energy as food? Yeah, pretty easy to make the connection there.
8861591
Down an elevator shaft, presumably.
8861833
I don't.
8862409
Then the question is, was the elevator between them and ground level?
8862483
atrium. advent buildings all have atrium part. that provides open space across many floors
8862945
I hate walking around those. Nine times out of ten, the railing is low enough that I feel like I'm going to trip and flip right over it.
8863085
A mild form of phobia. I have it myself if that's case. While atrium got environmental purpose (lighting, reducing coop effect on people do they would go agoraphobic -essentially, to fight "steel cave" effect, flexible logistics in case of refubrishing and retrofitting the builfing) as engineer I don't get how eastetical choice overrules safety. Railing could be made semitransparent...
8863155
As a tall person, I feel that they should all be at least 4 feet tall, so as to rise above my center of gravity. Most are right at the center of gravity, making them much too excellent pivot points!
The plot thickens... this version of the Chosen holds much more intrigue. I wonder how it will all play out this time.
Really intriguing backstory here.
It does seem that there are four Chosen here - or at least, that he thought that all three Sirens plus himself could be Chosen. I guess we don't know if that actually happened.
Interesting that Aria is considering and being bugged by the things Twilight said, and yet she's still a long way from shifting allegiance. Twilight (and the author) are playing the long game here :)
Who is he?
Is it really surprising that when Twilight was captured by the Chosen on her first mission she got a really good plot armor?
She didn't get stabbed like Sunset was, she didn't get herself mopped on the floor. The bad guys just casually walked her to their base.
Aria chose to fall so she can not be saved because she chose to not be safed. Ever... What a sad individual...
Choice is sometimes all we have, even if they seem fake or between bad or worse outcome.
Aria has chosen misery over anything else.
She just seem to focus on making her pleasure out of making other suffer more than she herself is having to endure.