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XCOM: Ranger

by Wanderer D

Chapter 203: Chapter 201: Hunt

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Ranger

Chapter 201: Hunt

By Wanderer D

Elena, Chrysalis, Bradford, Estella, Tygan, Dr. Luna and Shen sat on the sofas in the Commander's quarters, looking at the holographic image of Sunset's demonic, half-developed form. The recording itself was from the Michael Cruz interrogation, where she had begun to transform, it was impressive enough although the psychologist's eyes kept drifting up to her counterpart, who stood impassive, a hard look on her face.

Princess Luna—currently possessing Laetitia's body—cleared her throat, then began reading from the diary, which she held in her arms.

My dear sister,

Thank you for your kind words.

What you have said is true: We cannot give up on Sunset. Not now, not ever. For too long, I have only had Equestria and our friends here, in our world. Our technology and magic have been in clear view for me for centuries, and their current limitations have weighed heavily on me whenever we have researched new ways to deal with a problem.

But we are not alone now. We have friends outside of our world, creatures that we can lean on, and assist, and they care about my daughter as much as anypony here does. It is too premature to give in when we have such marvels of technology and such creative, inquisitive minds working with us.

I will bring your letter to Laetitia, who is safe and sound of mind, and explain to Princess Twilight what miss Estella suggested. It is a brilliant and elegant solution. Please, extend to her my admiration, as it is undoubtedly a viable option to solve our conundrum. She and Twilight will have to work together closely, as I imagine the actual process will be very tiring.

The mirror remains a mystery, and the diary will have limitations, regardless of our modifications to extend its pages indefinitely. We must consider a better way to discuss these matters. I will consult with Discord and Twilight and see if we can come up with a solution.

I will also grant Twilight access to our secret collection. No doubt its existence will baffle her as much as excite her, but I hope referencing the secrets of our ancient great minds, who created the mirror in the first place, she will glean important information on its workings and also a greater understanding of the Tree of Harmony and the Elements.

You have given me hope, people of XCOM. Maybe one day my daughter will be able to visit me without fear of losing her mind. Whatever happens, I thank you for this gift.

Luna, please explain the nature of Blood Magic to our friends. I believe understanding where its power comes from will help greatly in working through how to break its hold on Sunset.

With love,
Princess Celestia

"It seems like a good suggestion," Chrysalis said after a moment. "Why don't you give us a summary of what you know?"

"Blood Magic," Luna said, turning to face the group, "Is a most despicable form of Equestria's magic. It is banned for good reasons."

Immediately one of the scientists raised her hand. "But—no offense—Princess, Twilight Sparkle said that magic cannot be classified as good or evil; that it's the user who defines what the magic does, not the magic itself."

"That is true, Estella Marilla," Luna replied, nodding. "But it is not considered forbidden because only an evil being would use it, or because the magic has evil intentions. It is in the very nature of Blood Magic that the problem lies. Its power is addictive and sensual. The caster is assaulted on all fronts by this magic, and no matter the willpower, a crack will eventually appear."

"So it's a psychological attack, as much as a… magical and physical one?" Dr. Luna asked.

Luna nodded at her counterpart. "Blood Magic is an ancient craft that predates many forms of magic. It was used originally for healing and understanding. For communion. But the casters inevitably went mad with this power… they described hearing the whisper of the blood, as if it were talking to them. It bound itself to their darkest desires, giving them a way to achieve them, and who would be able to fight something that made you feel good to the extent of rapture?"

The Princess shook her head. "Worse still, Blood Magic is energizing. It is made of the foundation of life itself. Besides the eventual madness, there is no real negative effect on the user that they can experience. Their obsession with blood is justified by their desire and the nature of their magic, after all, and once they reach the point of blood madness, then it's a constant loop of desire, reward and ecstasy."

"Do all blood mages become demons? Or sirens?" Chrysalis asked.

"No." Luna started pacing. "This development is baffling and worrying. Blood Witches are simply overwhelmed by the Blood Magic and become wild, unpredictable beings, swearing that the blood speaks to them. We know not the true nature of a Siren's transformation, nor do we know how Sunset became one in the first place. We know not if it is temporary, or a result of her different development into a Blood Witch, or something else entirely… but the fact that she gave it a name empowers it.

"Demonic forms are not unknown in Equestria… they have happened before when harmonic magic has been abused for power… but the amount of magical power needed for that to happen is staggering to begin with. It is unfathomable that such a potent magic would exist here, on Earth where magic is flimsy at best." She tapped her chin as she walked. "No. I cannot explain it."

"If you're saying that it has happened before," Tygan spoke up next, "Is it something that has been treated? Have the… ponies that turned into demons been transformed back to their normal selves?"

Luna nodded. "It is a perilous process, and usually involves a deadly battle, but… yes… we have been cured."

Chrysalis' eyes narrowed and the others shuffled uncomfortably. "We?"

Luna sighed. "'tis a long story, but suffice it to say for now… I once too allowed myself to be corrupted by manipulating the magic of harmony for my own ends. I was banished, for a thousand years, and it was not until Twilight Sparkle used the Elements of Harmony to cleanse me, that I was able to do so."

"So what you're saying is that Sunset is not just… corrupted by the blood magic," Bradford said, narrowing his eyes and looking straight at the princess in the templar's body. "But rather by different conditions? So she not only went mad, but also transformed into a siren and then into a demon?"

Luna bowed slightly, acknowledging the question. "That is correct. Of the three, only the demonic transformations have been reversed in Equestrian history. One other is a corruption of the soul, magic and mind which has never before been cured… and the last… is a secret only known to the sirens themselves."

"Then it sounds to me like we need to find ourselves a siren," Chrysalis said after a moment.

"Didn't Sunset say there were three in that other world?" Shen asked.

Bradford nodded. "Yes. Aria, Sonata and Adagio, I believe."

"Sunset has hinted many times that it is likely that Adagio was betrayed by her sisters," Tygan added. "Mostly inferred from her confrontations with Aria."

"We know now that the Warlock is definitely male… so what happened to the last one?" Chrysalis asked.

"We haven't encountered her at all," Bradford said, crossing his arms and shaking his head. "There's no chance of just—"

"I believe we have," Elena said, speaking up. She looked at the gathered group with a steady gaze. "When Sunset, Angel and I infiltrated Aria's base the first time… a creature of energy appeared… and it said Equestrian."

"A creature of energy… like the ones that Dragon fought?" Shen asked. "It appeared when Ember used the Skulljack on one of the ADVENT Captains."

"We called them Codex; when they are destroyed, little remains but a brain-like construct, too advanced to study at this time," Tygan said, bringing up a holographic projection of said entity and looking at Elena for confirmation. When she nodded, he continued, "We've been pursuing our findings from the Blacksite, but our information is… incomplete. I believe if we could hack one of these creatures, we could get additional data against the Elders."

Princess Luna crossed her arms. "I was not witness to that battle. My link was cut from Laetitia at the time. What were the contents of the site?"

Chrysalis and Tygan shared a look before the Commander sighed and nodded. "As you can imagine, Princess, I always have more than one operation going on. Right now, on top of the issues with Sunset, we are investigating something called: The Avatar Project. The Blacksite was the first step into unraveling the Elder's intentions. Recently Dr. Tygan and Shen managed to unlock one of those secrets..."

"Yes." Tygan cleared his throat. "My initial curiosity and excitement regarding our earlier discoveries involving the recovered alien data have been all but extinguished by the disturbing results of my latest tests." Tygan brought up a new holographic display of the container, dismissing the previous holograms. "Having analyzed the composition of the green-hued substance retrieved from the ADVENT Blacksite, I can only draw one conclusion - that the facility was designed solely for the refinement and production of concentrated genetic material - human genetic material."

There was a sharp intake of breath from the princess, who looked disgusted by his words. "Are you saying they are extracting the essence of humanity?"

Tygan shrugged. "In a way… with the entirety of our ship's systems dedicated to my analysis, I found that the single vial we recovered contains the unique human genomes of over one million subjects."

The silence in the room was heavy. Dr. Luna reached out and placed a hand on Elena's shoulder. The Reaper looked ready to storm out of the room.

Tygan sighed. "One million people, convinced to join the ADVENT cities out of desperation, then subjected to appalling experiments that eventually cost them their lives. To what end, I can only imagine."

Chrysalis frowned, then tapped one of the pads.

"Penny for your thoughts, Commander?" Tygan asked.

Chrysalis' smile was grim. "It's time to hunt down a ghost. We have a lot to do and I think we can kill two birds with one stone."

o.0.o End Chapter 201 o.0.o

Next Chapter: Chapter 202: Eerie Estimated time remaining: 5 Hours, 2 Minutes
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