Ranger
Chapter 232: Sap
By Wanderer D
"You know this crazy chick?!" Gilda asked Ember, glancing over her cover and frowning. "She does seem familiar."
The snake-woman turned to smile at Ember. "Oh, we've met? I don't remember you… were you a Crystal Prep student too? No, you look too young. Have I threatened you before?" She paused, tapping her chin with a finger. "I don't think I've ever let anyone I've threatened live though…" her eyes darkened. "Except for that meddling baconhead."
"Crystal Prep?" Gilda asked, eyes widening as she stared, open mouthed at the creature. "I-I remember you! You're a Shadowbolt!"
Twilight's smile faded. "Only that day. After that, I was disposable. Again."
"I'm lost," Ember said.
"What the hell happened to you?!" Gilda asked, still behind cover. "I remember you kicked ass in the math section—"
"And I was bullied by everyone for the rest of the competition!" Twilight screeched, tail twitching. "I was mocked and abused because I wasn't as physically apt as the others!" She rose high, her arms transforming from regular-looking human arms into the chitinous claws of a chrysalid. "Well, let's see what they say now!"
"Oh shit," Gilda hissed, "that's not normal."
Twilight smirked. "Oh these? Came with the new name. You can call me... Chimera and now, y—"
Whatever she was going to say at that moment was interrupted by a grenade landing right between her coils.
Twilight looked down at it and blinked.
Ember had already grabbed Gilda and was running away towards Fridge, who dove for cover once her shot was done. The explosion behind them shook them to their bones, but the pair didn't stop running, and the angry roar behind them only encouraged them to do so faster.
"Thanks for the save!" Gilda gasped, rolling on the floor to take aim over the rocky cover.
"Don't mention it!" Fridge said, doing the same as she started shooting her heavy weapon.
"We need to evac," Ember said, also taking shots at the debris-covered area where Twilight was once coiled. "Central, do you copy?"
"Heard you loud and clear, Captain," Central's voice came over the radio. "Everyone is engaged, but the enemy's teleport was not accurate enough to block you from the vehicles Gilda brought with her."
"My troops should be covering them," Gilda said into the radio. "I've received confirmation they're just waiting on us."
"Mission is bust, Central," Ember said. "There's no way we make it out alive if we stay to dish it out with Chimera, the Berserker Queen, the Archon King, Julian and whatever the hell that sectoid is."
"You guys don't like to make friends, do you?" Gilda growled. She blinked. "Where's the Archon thing?"
"Oh shit." Ember hissed, then shouted, "JUMP!" She followed her own order, taking a leap down the side of the cliff, sliding down as the whole area above her lit with fire, smoke and explosions.
"Where's that mother fucker?!" Gilda shouted, "I want a piece of him!"
Ember ignored her. "We need to get rid of some of them before we can escape!"
"On previous occasions, enough damage has forced the Alien Rulers to retreat," Central said, "Ember, you need to take out the Archon King. We don't know Chimera's capabilities, but we do know the Archon King's. Take the known factor out for now. I will coordinate with Shen and the others."
"Take out the Archon King, he says," Ember muttered when the communication went down. "I'm really not looking forward to this."
Gilda and Fridge gave her a look.
"Any idea boss?"
Ember pressed her lips together. "I think… I think I do… but we're going to be very lucky to make it in one piece." She pressed her communicator. "Trojan, I need you to monitor my channel. Don't reveal your position yet."
"Roger that, but you'd better hurry, the others need help too."
Ember turned to look at Gilda and Fridge. "We're going to have to combo the damn thing, I can't figure out a better way to do this." She held them with their gaze. "We take down the Archon King, then go down and help with the Berserker."
"What about Twilight?" Gilda asked.
"Chimera will get her due if she appears again," Ember said, eyes darkening. "That thing has no right to call itself that name."
"I feel like there's a story there," Gilda muttered.
Ember smirked. "You have no idea. Fridge. Gilda and I will flush out the Archon King. Get your Holo-targeting ready."
Sweetie Belle meeped when the shooting started, diving for cover and barely daring to look out from between the computers. Above her head, her GREMLIN hovered, almost lazily, as plasma flew around it, giant beasts roared, and strange devices pulsed with unknown energies.
She quickly pulled her tablet and set the GREMLIN to record as things happened around her.
Scootaloo was typing furiously, glancing up at the screens and cringing with every shot, but her face had hardened and she was completely focused on her work. Beside her, Shen took shots at their enemies, but Breaker was the one doing the real work, having run to distract the Berserker Queen and draw the monster away from them.
Not too far away, she could see Apple Bloom fighting Julian, both mechanical bodies smashing into—and through—structures like they were made of paper. At this time neither seemed to have the upper hand, but it was just a matter of time before they were overwhelmed.
"Congratulations, she said. You're our new Communications Officer! She said. It'll be fun! She said… Chrysalis better pay me for all I'm doing here," she muttered.
"Still," she smiled. "This is going to be awesome material for my show."
"Sweetie," Scootaloo muttered, drawing her attention. "Is this really the time to talk about your podcast?"
"Sorry, sorry!"
"Girls," Shen interrupted, "I just heard from Central. We have a plan." She hesitated. "It's risky."
Scootaloo and Sweetie exchanged glances, then faced Shen. "Bring on the sap."
o.0.o End Chapter 232 o.0.o
TACTICAL TREE SAP INCOMING!!
Me every campaign. Seriously, most BS enemy in the game. That's including the metric ton of modded enemies I have downloaded.
So if this were my XCOM game, this is where I start save-scumming, because there are too many soldiers in this operation that I'm emotionally invested in to not. Plus, you know, the presence of essentially 3 Alien Rulers and everything activating at the same time. Given that Chryssy does not have that luxury... Yikes.
I don't care what augments you're running, that's gonna hurt. Considering that she's likely been isolating herself in a safe laboratory environment, she may not have all that high a pain tolerance, for all that she's modified herself to hell and back. If that's the case, that level of injury may have put her out of the fight right then and there.
Unlikely, I know, but entirely possible considering her personality.
9544024
I recall that in Stardust, Bradford eventually manifested extensive precognitive abilities, and actually could "save scum" by considering a course of action and experiencing a vision of the results. Invisibility and various other methods of camouflage stopped working on him also, useful that. The headaches were unthinkable though.
I have no idea how, but it WILL involve both tree sap and collateral damage, both in copious quantities.
9544035
Beside the headaches, that Bradford also faced problems when other dimensions came into play. The headaches got better with practice, inter-dimensional Sweetie Belle did not. Still... I'd take it over nothing.
That Bradford also hasn't had to deal with Equestria Girls stuff in any capacity, or any Equestrian-type magic from the aliens. Chryssy really got a pretty bum deal, yet she still hasn't lost as many soldiers (that we've seen) in this war. That might change over this operation, but still!
Glad to see these versions of the CMC share the same propensity for attracting sap as other versions of them ... though it would be funny if they really did manage to get covered in tree sap ... somehow ...
live
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ITS OVER!!
The Cmc is Very brave, i give them that. And good that only one ruler at a Time can appear ingame
I feel like that's probably not going to be enough, but I guess we'll see. Still hoping SciTwi is redeemable somehow, but man that seems like a big reach right at this moment.
Sap time!
9544005
GAME OVER MAN GAME OVER!!!
OK, that's a bit more than Twiper.
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Wit the WOTC expantion they can appere alongsid chosen unles you take the integration opttion.
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I see
9544024
I feel you. I'm a sentimental guy, and I'm emotionally invested in all my soldiers.
Save scumming is a guilty pleasure of mine.
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TAKE COVER!!!
WE NEED INDUSTRIAL CLEANERS STAT!
9544248
Same here.
Yeah! Enough of the excrement, we need tree sap!
"behind them shook their to their bones"
"behind them shook them to their bones"?
tree sap incoming? From the CMCs?! That's it, i'm hitting the self destruct!
Chimera. eh ? I see where this comes from.
Anyway hope that bringing the sap won't put them in an even more stickier situation than now.
them
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Sadly, she is playing Ironman, with mods yes, but still Ironman.
So Twi took the bullying so badly that she used that big brain or hers to force her body into something that the Shadowbolts couldn't mock her over anymore?
Damn that is twisted, yet believable. Not sure if there is anything to save, and that hurts to say. But with all those genmods and the meld it would take to do it, how much sanity is she going to have left?
Ah, the Sudden Anarchy Protocol, the concentrated essence of Crusader shenanigans expressed in the form of an incredibly potent computer virus.
Or something along those lines, anyway.
As for Chimera Sparkle, that'll teach her not to break into a full mad science monologue in the middle of a combat zone. Unfortunately, given that this is a Twilight we're dealing with, it might actually teach her not to do that. This won't be a pleasant operation by any stretch of the imagination.
Chimera has probably got a few more tricks up her sleeve, the shapeshifting seems to suggest a spot of faceless, and I wouldn't be at all surprised by muton and sectoid as a minimum.
And it would explain the mention of "An office chair shot across the room, its occupant lifting her legs in order to avoid impeding its speedy arrival at a nearby console." in chapter 229
Yikes. I got definite vibes of zerg infestation from that Twilight. Especially one (thankfully non-canon) version of (SC2 Wings of Liberty spoiler) Ariel Hanson. Even if they were self-inflicted, that's still pretty horrific. Poor Vi-Twi definitely didn't cope without the redeeming events of the Friendship Games. She's all but exclaiming "I'll show them! I'll show them all!!"
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The XCOM Viper and its sequel are my favorite so far.
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At least she admits her flaws and strives to improve. Verbatim. On the very next chapter. Egg on my face for passing judgement prematurely.
ah yes, the sap
Who set the game to highest difficulty on Iron man from Classic? Because that is how it feels... Jesus...
Perhaps the spawn protection is glitched because they are like activ stealth units noone see and engage
Hey Wanderer D, is there a archivment for this mission? If yes I guess it would be a hidden archivment and be titeld:
Mission Impossible - Survive with at the very least one X-Com soldier a Impossible odds secret mission.
Yeah, if I was watching over one of my squads, and that that is the lineup on the field, That’s when I uninstall the game , I forget that I ever bought the game and play Power wash simulator simulatorđŸ˜‚