Login

XCOM: Ranger

by Wanderer D

Chapter 116: Chapter 114: Devil

Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Ranger

Chapter 114: Devil

By Wanderer D

Rainbow Dash dropped them off at the top of a large, flat rock overlooking the facility. It was definitely bigger than any other they had been to so far, excluding, perhaps, the Assassin's base.

This one consisted of several buildings, with some sort of factory on the other side. Train tracks emerged from the forested area around them and went into the facility, where they could see several box cars were waiting processing.

So far, there had been no sightings of ADVENT personnel or even aliens, so Sunset took advantage of that to guide her team closer to the first building.

From the area they had arrived, the two-leveled building extended northward, then split in a 'T' shape further ahead. The whole area was surrounded by ADVENT's infamous short-walls, but unlike the other locations, this one had at least one security tower towards the East, raising almost three stories high, although Sunset knew they were too far away to be noticed yet.

She motioned for the others to follow her lead, then climbed up the side of the building, using one of the drainage pipes, and spread her team on the roof of the southmost side.

Up ahead, part of the building also rose to a third floor, where a large antenna had been set up. Probably the communications tower for the site.

"Angel, Annette, I want you both up there. You have the best range of sight out of all of us, let us know if you see any enemies. Jane, you and Elena head straight on the rooftop and set up an overwatch, Laetitia and I will cover the ground level from the East side, so if there are any nasties, we'll be counting on your covering fire."

"Understood," Elena said, bumping Jane's arm and taking off.

"I starting to think she likes me," Jane whispered with a grin. She saluted and ran after the Reaper.

"You don't think your blood vision would be useful?" Annette asked.

"I can't use it right now," Sunset replied, grimacing. "My reserves were severely depleted to keep me alive."

Angel hissed in acknowledgement, motioning with her head for Annette to go.

"Keep your eyes out, Sunset," Annette said, turning to follow after the viper. "Even if you're… as admirable as your counterpart, she used to take stupid risks. Don't follow that specific example."

"Are you ready?" Sunset asked Laetitia, who turned to her, tilting her head. Her helmet covered her whole head, but Sunset could imagine her smiling.

"You wouldn't expect me to be here otherwise, would you?"

Sunset grinned. "Of course not."

The pair made their way to the edge of the roof and slid down to ground floor. "Hiss!"

"Understood," Sunset, Annette and Jane returned through the comms.

"Translation?" Elena asked, a strange mixture of resignation and annoyance to her voice.

"Enemy patrol spotted walking around the West corner of the building," Annette said. "Angel says it's a captain and two lancers."

"Understood. This time."

"Hiss."

"We have sight on the box cars," Elena said. "We're at the far end of the first building. Seem to be containers of some sort, neon green. I see shadows within them."

"I see another security tower, East side, past the rails and box cars. We can see the factory itself straight ahead."

"Confirming the security tower," Annette added, "Angel and I can both see it. There is an automated turret on top of it. There could be more.

"Keep your eyes on the patrol," Sunset instructed, "We're almost to the end of the building over here and—crap."

Laetitia slid to a stop next to Sunset, who was carefully glancing around the corner. "What is it?"

"Avenger, are you seeing this?"

"That is, without a doubt, the last of the aliens modified by Dr. Vahlen," Tygan's voice echoed in the radio. "Subject Alpha, aka the Archon King."

"You know, as odd as that is, I think this is the first time Menace as a whole has faced down any Archons," Jane observed.

"Well now we have three, and one is damn durable." Sunset looked down at her new weapons. This would definitely be a good test for them.

"This is our chance to take down another of those things, Menace," Bradford said. "Be careful, but if you can kill it, we'll be done with it once and for all."

"Shen, I want your Engineers to scan all signals. If whoever is controlling them is paying attention to this battle, we might have a chance to triangulate their position."

"Yes, Commander, starting scans.

"Jane? Elena? Do you see it?" Sunset asked. She could feel hear heartbeat going faster; the adrenaline kicking in. "We'll rush it, you two make sure to eliminate the other Archons."

"Roger that."

Sunset held her arm up, keeping an eye on the Archon King. The moment it turned her back on her, she dashed out, sliding out the assassin's katana.

The Archons accompanying the Archon King noticed her, roaring a warning that didn't match their angelic-like design. The aliens had made them appealing to the sight, referencing the divine helpers of old, with chiseled torsos and golden wings and armor, they would have been perfect for some of the old churches she had seen in pictures.

The Archon King, however, was bigger, bulkier and its flesh was deep red, with a black tattoo of some sort. If the others looked like angels, the Archon King looked like a devil, with several yellow glowing eyes looking out of its Mitre-like helm. Its armor was a metallic grey and black, and his arms ended in deadly clawed gloves.

It turned around in an instant, raising its staff-lance for battle, but it wasn't fast enough to stop Sunset's vicious slash.

The katana left a long, bleeding cut behind it, all but ignoring the armor it had. The Archon King staggered back, what was visible of his face clearly surprised by the damage, but it immediately reacted, swinging its staff and missing Sunset by inches.

Laetitia wasn't far behind, but with Sunset in the way, and the King aware of their attack, she switched targets, slicing her psionic blades across the chest of another archon. She wasn't as lucky as Sunset, however, as this archon's slash hit her right in the chest and sliced a deep cut in her arm.

Shots rang and the injured archon fell, just as the other took to the air, high above the building where Elena and Jane were, missing being hit by another shot due to its incredible speed.

The archon spread its wings and several small missiles flew out of them, arching up into the air before falling down towards the building.

"Dodge!" Jane shouted, jumping over the rail with Elena at her heels. They dashed away from the building just as the area was engulfed in explosions which collapsed most of the roof. They would have taken serious damage, had they not reacted.

The flying archon, however, wasn't as lucky after its attack, as it was completely exposed to shots from Angel and Annette. It was down before it had a chance to attack anew. The distraction had cost them, however, as the patrol took covered positions, and Angel cringed behind cover when the turret blasted the wall she was hiding behind.

"Sunset!" Laetitia shouted as she rounded the Archon King, using her gun to take potshots at it.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Sunset tried to slice her enemy again, but it had been anticipating her attack, and quickly dodged. She barely had a moment to blink before he had her by the throat.

With a burst of energy, both of them flew up, high in the air, where the King held her up, snarling in anger.

It was then that she heard the voice on the radio. "Well well well, if it isn't the bitch that killed Subject Gamma!" The oddly familiar voice said, contempt clear through the comms. "I have been waiting for a chance to get rid of you, witch!" The voice turned smug. "And now I get my chance."

Sunset gasped, her hands scratching at the armored forearms of the Archon King. She couldn't breathe…

"I'll make sure to save a copy of your empty eyes when I turn you into a stain on the floor!"

The Archon King moved its arm back, and Sunset understood right then what was about to happen.

And then she was falling.

o.0.o End Chapter 114 o.0.o

Next Chapter: Chapter 115: Reaction Estimated time remaining: 13 Hours, 38 Minutes
Return to Story Description

Login

Facebook
Login with
Facebook:
FiMFetch