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XCOM: Ranger

by Wanderer D

Chapter 201: Chapter 199: Angle

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Ranger

Chapter 199: Angle

By Wanderer D

"Okay mom!" Gabby called early in the morning just as she headed over to the door. "I've got to go work, I'll see you later, right?"

She heard the other griffon sigh and shuffle up into a sitting position. "Listen, kid, we need to talk."

Gabby sighed. She had known this was coming. She looked at the strange griffon and took a deep breath, sitting down. Still, she smiled. "Y-yeah?"

Silent G, as Galahad called her, gulped, looking away a little guilty-like. "You know I'm not really your mom, right?" she asked softly.

Gabby felt a pang inside. She had hoped it wouldn't be this quick, that she could keep the fantasy going a little longer. Waking up next to this griffon had brought back so many memories, and with how tenderly she had been embraced by her wing… she had dared believe, if only for a second.

Still. It hurt. "Yeah," she admitted. But… "It's just that you look just like her, you know?"

"Yeah, I've been told that I look like m-her."

Gabby didn't know what to make of it. "So… are you-are we related at all? It can't be coincidence, right? Are you some sort of long-lost twin sister of my mom's?"

"Heh, not exactly," Silent G said, smiling gently and patting the bed so that Gabby would sit down next to her.

Taking a deep breath, and bracing herself for what might come, she did just that.

"My name is Alejandra Acevedo," the older griffon said as soon as Gabby was comfortable. "And I come from a very different place."

"That's a weird name for a griffon," Gabby said, looking at Alejandra askance. "Most of us have names that start with G."

"Oh, I know!" Alejandra grumbled. "Do you know why they call me Silent G? It's because all the ponies I met thought my name was Galejandra and I kept correcting them until I discovered that telling them the G was silent helped them process it!"

Gabby giggled. "That does sound like ponies."

"Tell me about it," Alejandra grumbled. "Anyway, there's more to it than that… you see, back home, a long time ago, I had an older brother, his name was Gabriel. He was named that because he was the first born, if I had been born first, I would have been named Gabriella."

"Oh! Just like me!"

"Yeah… you see, my mother's name was Gloria, and my dad's name was Gerardo."

Gabby frowned. That sounded really familiar. "That's almost like my parents, only my dad's name was just Gerard, with no "o" in it."

"Yep."

"But that's too much of a coincidence." Gabby looked at the other griffon. True, she looked a lot like her mom, but the mannerisms were very different. Then there was the accent.

"When I was young, the place where I lived got invaded by monsters," Alejandra said, "and my parents and brothers were killed. For the longest time I kept wanting to see them and even imagined they were right there in a settlement or a city… but of course they weren't."

"When I saw you," Gabby whispered, "I really thought you were her. I knew after I woke up that it wasn't really my mom… but there's something about you that's just—"

"...it screams family, right?" Alejandra said with a small smile. "Yeah. I feel it too. Like sisters, right?"

"But then… what does it mean? Do we have the same mom somehow? But that' can't be right?"

"Well the thing is—"

Alejandra's beak closed with a snap and Gabby looked at her. She seemed to be struggling with saying something. "Please tell me?" She held the older griffon's claw in her own. "I don't know what's going on but—"

"This is going to sound crazy."

Gabby swallowed. "I don't care. I want to know."

Alejandra studied her for a moment, then nodded. "I owe it to you, and to myself to be honest." She chuckled. "The truth is, Gabby…"

Gabby leaned in, eager to hear the story.

"I… ye gods, Gabby do you have to make such good puppy eyes?"

"Sorry! Sorry."

Alejandra cleared her throat. "Alright, let me tell you about someone from your neck of the woods, and we'll go from there, okay?"

Gabby nodded, a big smile on her face. "Sounds great!"

Alejandra couldn't help but chuckle, before becoming serious. "It's not going to be all laughs, you know?"

Gabby nodded, no less eagerly, and Alejandra sighed. "Fine. Do you know Princess Twilight Sparkle?"

The pair sat outside, across the street from Gabby's house, where the two griffons were having a heart to heart.

"So, what's your angle on this, old crow?"

"Hmm?"

Gilda glared at Galahad. "Sure, she needs practice fighting like a griffon, but I'm hardly the best option out there. I'm sure you could've asked your buddy Gaius to help you out."

Galahad grinned. "Oh my, you do remember my friends well, don't you? How old were you when you followed us into the Eastern Desert?"

"Shut up." Gilda shook her head. "I'm serious here, Galahad. Why bring Alejandra over? I would have flown to Canterlot if you had asked."

"That's very generous, but you are right, I do have an 'angle' in all of this."

Gilda crossed her forelegs, giving him a bemused look. "And?"

"Well… the more I got to know Alejandra, the more I realized she was missing something… and I also realized that Gabby was looking for that same thing."

"And what is that?"

"A reason to go on."

Gilda tilted her head. "I don't think Gabby had any issues. And Alejandra seems ever ready to fight to the death for her cause."

"You don't say." Galahad shook his head. "Alejandra is ready to lay her life for Twilight Sparkle, but it's not out of loyalty alone… she feels like Twilight is the only thing she has to live for. After what happened to her friends during their first mission, she became overly attached to her fellow rookie. But Twilight doesn't need a dead bodyguard. And Alejandra needs to learn that there's other things to live for."

Gilda arched an eyebrow. "Okay. I think you're stretching it, but I'll let it slide. What about Gabby?"

"You think being such an overachiever is healthy?" Galahad asked. "Especially in this place?"

He motioned with his claw at their surroundings. At the miserable, antagonistic, unable to do anything nice for each other griffons. "She could go to other griffon towns that are less demolished, but she stays in this dump and exceeds everything because she obsesses over things. The closest thing to a good influence here is you, and well…"

"Yeah, yeah," Gilda growled, then sighed. "I wouldn't even stay here if I still had a place in Equestria."

"You should just go back."

Gilda gave him an incredulous look. "And do what?!"

"Apologize to Rainbow Dash," Galahad said. "Worst case she makes you work for it, but you know she will forgive you."

Gilda opened and closed her beak several times before snorting. "This thing is not about me, old crow, so don't try and make it so."

"Quite right," Galahad said, turning back to look at the house. "I just hope my gut feeling was right."

Another snort. "You and me both."

o.0.o End Chapter 199 o.0.o

Next Chapter: Chapter 200: Alliance Estimated time remaining: 5 Hours, 14 Minutes
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