Assassin: Savior of Canterlotby C T LillyChaptersprologue: the decisionweapons part 1costume part 1: the first keeper of the secretweapons part 2Costume part 2getting informationHQprologue: the decisionNiko sat in his living room watching TV, thinking about what had happened a month ago. He wasn't even really focusing on the TV at all, even though his favorite show was on. His green eyes just stared blankly at the screen as he ran his fingers through his black hair. His peachy white skin looking a bit more pale than usual. He remembered the utter chaos that ensued in the middle of town square. It still haunted him, even after all that time. Allow me to elaborate a bit. Niko was walking through Canterlot city over winter break, looking at all the wonderful Christmas lights that were put up on display. As he admired the creative work of others, a set of vans parked across the street from him. Niko jumped as the doors to the van flung open, and a group of men carrying assault rifles quickly stepped out. They began to open fire on people, anyone unfortunate enough to be seen was shot. Niko managed to duck into an alley and hide behind a dumpster. He frantically looked around, trying to find a better hiding place. He spotted a route to the roof that was inconspicuous, and hard to use. In his rush of adrenaline, he made quick work of the difficult path. He scanned the roof top for anything useful. He found an old chain and a hunting knife, but that was it. "Good enough." he said. He tied one end of the chain around the handle of the knife, and made sure it was on really good. He took a peek at the alley he was just in, and saw a lone guy with an AR scanning around for anyone to shoot. Niko noticed the large machete the armed man had sheathed on his belt and his gun, he knew that they would help him get out of there alive. He took the hunting knife he found and threw it at the man like a dart. The knife stabbed the man in the side of the neck and got stuck. With a quick flick of his wrist, Niko got the chain wrapped around the man's neck a few times. He quickly started pulling the man's dead body up to the roof where he was at. Niko dragged the man over the concrete barrier surrounding the roof, and dropped him at his feet. Unfortunately, the sudden shock of being stabbed in the neck had cause the man to drop his gun. Niko didn't dare to traverse back down there, so he opted out of trying to get the gun. He just took the dead man's machete, along with any other blades or weapons he had, and began looking for a method of travel that didn't involve using the streets. He had long since determined that the streets were no longer safe. A thought came into his head, one that might have been what saved his life. He had seen many parkour tutorials, but he'd never actually done parkour before. "It's worth a shot." Niko thought. He leapt from the rooftop he was on, to the rooftop of a neighboring shop. After about an hour of jumping from roof to roof, Niko found a street with armed police officers on it. Niko dropped his weapons and called out to the officers. "Hey! Up here! Help me down please!" he shouted down, waving his arms above his head. The officers pointed their flashlights at him and called to him on a megaphone. "Just hold tight! We're gonna get you down!" they said. Niko gave a thumbs up and nodded. After five minutes of waiting, a couple officers came back with a ladder. "We're going to set the ladder up! Can you use it to climb down?!" the officer asked. "Yeah!" he replied. The officers set up the ladder and Niko used it to climb down. After a few questions about how Niko had gotten up there and what had happened, they let him go. He had overheard a call between two officers, that the attack was organised by an extremist group that had claimed territory in the next town over. Apparently they had set up a blockade so no one could get into the city, and they dumped all of their electronics so they couldn't be monitored. Back to the present, Niko was thinking about the events that had transpired. A sudden news report broke his train of thought. "We interrupt your regularly scheduled program for this emergency broadcast. We have just received word of another attack lead by the terrorist group known as viper head. They carried out the attack similar to the way they carried out their first attack on Canterlot, about a month ago. Between twenty and thirty people were killed, and many more were seriously injured in the attack. Of the dead, two of them were officers with the Canterlot PD." the reporter said. For Niko, that was the final straw. He turned off his tv and went to his basement. The basement wasn't a finished basement per-say. But Niko had covered the walls and ceiling in a thick layer of concrete. Niko turned the lights on, revealing a workbench with a laptop and a large amount of tools. There was also what appeared to be a furnace of some sort down there, and a large punching bag in a corner of the room. He pulled out a few more tools he had stashed away in a few cases, and spread them out on the workbench with everything else. He started up the furnace, and started pulling out pieces of scrap steel he had. He started the laptop and immediately started looking at designs for tomahawks, along with a few other weapons. "I'm gonna put a stop to this, once and for all." Niko said. weapons part 1Niko pulled a hot piece of steel out from his furnace, and immediately took it to his anvil. He hammered away at the glowing metal, forging a point into one side of the steel. He repeatedly took the steel in and out of the furnace, taking it to the anvil for more work after each reheat. Once he got the point he was looking for, he dipped the hot metal in a bucket of oil to cool it. He removed the metal from the oil and it was no longer glowing a bright orange. It was, however, still hot enough to burn the excess oil off once it was removed. Niko dipped the pointed metal into the oil a few more times, just to make sure it was cool enough to handle with the aid of gloves. He repeated this twice to give him two pieces of pointed metal. He took the pointed metal pieces to a belt sander, where he proceeded to grind the bevles into the metal, effectively sharpening the pieces into a set of blades. After a bit of grinding, he took the blades to a buffing wheel where he polished them. Slowly the blades began to have a classic reflective, mirror like sheen to them. Once the blades were nice and shiny, Niko started looking up ways to conceal them. He saw results like Sword canes, lipstick knives, belt buckle blades. But they all had one thing in common, they weren't available at a moment's notice. They all require you to reach for something, or take time to pull something out of a sheath. In Niko's eyes, that was time that the enemy could use to their advantage. He wasn't against those types of weapons, he even considered something like a sword cane for a backup weapon. But he wanted something that was ready and available within milliseconds. After quite a bit of searching, he found a documentary on ancient weapons. One weapon in particular caught his attention. It was a device used by a long since disbanded group called the Assassins. The device was to be mounted on the wrist, and through a ring placed around the finger the blade would shoot out. The ring would have a string attached to it, allowing the user to pull the string to release the blade. Niko decided that this would be his starting point. He got a sheet of blue paper with white grid lines on it, and began drawing out the designs. Instead of a pulley system like the original hidden blades, he would use a programed set of sensors that would detect the position of five individual rings placed on the hand. Once the rings are in a specific position, the blade will pop out. To retract the blades, one would need to momentarily move the rings from the programmed position and move them back into position again. This gives the blade the ability to be ready at the literal flick of a wrist. Once the design was drawn out, he began to measure and mark strips of sheet metal he had. He measured the length, width and the distance between the holes that the rivets were to be put in. Using a plasma torch he cut the pieces out, making small and slow movements so he didn't mess anything up. A plasma torch doesn't leave the cleanest of cuts, so Niko had to give the pieces a quick run on his belt sander to smooth out the cuts. Once he had the pieces for the housing made, he had to focus on the next big task. Making and programming the blade release mechanisms. Niko retrieved two small, rectangular pieces of plastic along with some solder and some silicone based circuit paint. He made the circuit board himself, cutting out all the holes and making silicone pathways for the electrical signals to travel through. It took him a bit of time to find out how to reprogram microchips though. He got the microchips from the motherboard of an old laptop he didn't use anymore. Once he found out how to reprogram them, he needed to find something with tiny receivers in it. Something to place inside the rings and the circuit board to detect their position. He decided to go to a nearby hobby shop and pick up a set of position based receivers. They send and receive signals giving details on their current position. After a long, arduous process of trying to program the microchips to work on the right signals, the circuit boards were finally done. To release and retract the blade, Niko opted to use a set of levers driven via small motors. He got some cervos from an old toy helicopter and attached them to the circuit board and lever system. He left the blades out of the test assemblies, just to make sure he wouldn't accidentally stab his own hand. When he was certain everything was working properly, he reassembled both devices with the blades incorporated in them. He used some leather belts to hold the devices on his wrists, and he tested them with the blades for the first time. The blades released and locked into place perfectly, without any problems. Next was a functionality test. He when to a supermarket and got a watermelon, a cocoanut and a raw turkey. He brought them back to his house where he proceeded to test the blades on them. The blades made quick work of the watermelon and the turkey, and did decent against the cocoanut. The blade stayed in place, but it was still difficult to pierce the cocoanuts hard outer layer. "Alright, now I just need a disguise. I guess i'll have to see Rarity about that tomorrow. But right now, it's time for some shut eye." Niko thought. costume part 1: the first keeper of the secretNiko walked into the famous, the one and only carousel boutique. He looked around at everything and took a deep breath. He rung the bell that was on what was presumably the front desk. "One minute!" an English voice sung. Niko sighed and crossed his arms. He sat there impatiently tapping his foot, checking his wrist watch from time to time. He glanced around at all the people in the shop. "This might be a problem." Niko thought. A white skinned, purple haired girl walked out with a measuring tape dropped over her shoulders and a pair of glasses sitting on the bridge of her nose. "Hello and welcome to the carousel boutique. I'm Rarity, how may I be of service on this fine day?" the girl said. "Yes, hi. I'm working on a secret project, and I was wondering if you had a place to discuss the details in private." Niko said. Rarity smiled and gave him a nod. "Follow me to my office." she said. "sweetiebelle! Darling! hold the register for a moment, I have work to do!" She lead Niko to an office where she closed and locked the door. "there we go, now we have complete and total privacy. So, what is it you have in mind?" Niko looked at the door. "Is the door sound proof?" Niko asked. "Yes, why?" Rarity asked. "This is very top secret. No one can find out about this." Niko said. "Ooo, a surprise. That sounds wonderful darling. When is the big reveal?" Rarity asked. She sat down on a stool and gazed at Niko. "Well, that's the thing. There is no reveal. Just a secret to be kept, and a mission." Niko said. Rarity gave him a strange look. "I see. Does it have something to do with... You know... Recent events?" she asked. He gave her a small nod. She stood up. "Alright, what is it you need?" she asked. "I need a jacket with a beaked hood. Preferably made of leather for durability." Niko said. Rarity nodded. "I'll see what I can do." she said. "but first i'll have to take your measurements. Speed your arms and legs for me." Niko nodded and did as he was told. She used the measuring tape around her neck to take his measurements. "do you have any color preferences?" "Black." Niko said. "Alright, I have some thing in mind. But i'll need two blades with these dimensions to complete it. Do you think you can get them." she handed him a piece of paper with numbers on them. One was for a small blade, the other was for a longer one. Niko chuckled. "Get them? Hell, I can make them. Just give me a day or two and the blades will be done." Niko said. Rarity nodded. "May I ask what side your fighting for?" Rarity asked. "I'm fighting against Viper Head. I was a witness to their first attack, I got lucky enough to find a way out. I still have nightmares. In them, I hear the screams of the people and the sounds gunshots. With each shot the screams become quieter. The latest attack is what pushed me to this decision. I just.... Can't stand by and watch them kill more people." Niko explained. Rarity nodded. "You made a noble decision Darling." she said. "Now, back to business. I need you to take a look at some fabric swatches I have, I need to know what material to line the inside of your jacket with." she lead him to a wrack with roles of fabric on it. He looked at many of the fabric samples, making sure to take in the various textures and properties of each one. In the end he settled for a short, red colored fur to line the inside of the jacket. "Alright, any other things I should incorporate into the design?" Rarity asked. "Yeah, I have these wrist mounted Hidden blades. So the sleeves can't be too tight." Niko said. "I see. Do you have them with you?" Rarity asked. "No. Why?" Niko said. "I'll need you to come back with them later, ill need the proper measurements for your wrists while your wearing them." Rarity said. "In the mean time, I will get to work on the main body of the jacket." "Alright, i'll come back after I make the blades you asked for." Niko said. "That will be much appreciated darling." rarity said. "What are the blades for anyway?" Niko asked. She made a zipping motion across her lips. "That's a surprise darling." Niko raised an eyebrow. He shook his head and just brushed it off. "Alright then, ill come back with the blades." Niko said. "Have a nice day darling." she said. Niko gave her a nod and walked out of the office. "I guess I need to make two blades now." Niko thought. weapons part 2Niko took a steal ingot he made and placed it in his furnace. He watched as the metal slowly turned orange under the blazing heat. Using a set of steal clamps, he removed the ingot from the furnace and took it to the power hammer to start drawing out the length of the blade. The small ingot became gradually flatter and longer, until he got the required length. Once he finished drawing out the blade, he reheated the piece to do further work on it. When the metal was glowing a bright orange again, he took it to an anvil. He hammered away at one of the squared ends, giving the blade a few extra inches of length to work with. The blade was starting to take shape, and it had a nice point to it. But it was missing something. A set of cutting edges, or bevels for short. He quenched the blade in the same oil from before, repeating the process of removing and re submerging the piece. Now that the blade was cool enough to handle with gloves, he took it to a belt sander to grind the bevels into both sides. He slowly moved the blade side to side against the grinding surface, gradually working a nice cutting edge into the blade. He carefully plotted out each move, so he would not make any mistakes. After fifteen minutes of grinding the bevels into the blade, Niko turned the machine off. He waited for the belt to stop moving, before removing the current sanding belt from the machine. He replaced it with a belt of a finer grit, something that would barely take anything off. He turned the sander back on and slowly ran the flat sides of the blade against it, giving it a cleaner look. From there he took the blade to the buffing wheel, and started polishing the blade to give it a nice finish. The blade was now complete, but it was a few inches too long. He measured the blade and made a mark at the square end of the blade. He took the blade to a specialized rotary saw and cut the excess of the blunt end of the blade, bringing it to the appropriate length. He felt a little creative, so he decided to try his hand at engraving. He opened his laptop and looked for designs to engrave into the non-beveled surface on the blade. He also decided to put some tunes on, so he when to his YouTube playlist and clicked on a random song. The first song to come on was Ozzy Osbourne's Crazy Train. Niko started mentally nodding his head as he searched for designs to engrave. He found what looked like a vine pattern, he thought it looked pretty neat. He saved the image and opened it up. He grabbed a tiny chisel and a small hammer. Because he didn't have any machines to do the engraving for him, he would have to do it the old fashioned way. He also decided to just eyeball everything instead of printing an image to work with as a stencil. The first song finished, and a song called Heretic by Avenged Sevenfold came on. He slowly hammered away at the chisel, removing small amounts of material at any one time. He worked diligently, being extra careful not to make any mistakes. He gradually carved the detailed curves and contours of the vines into the blade. He kept his hands and his heart rate steady by letting himself become submerged into the music he was listening to. He generally liked a mixture of genres, all of them were branched off of rock. He liked genres like hardcore rock and roll, Heavy Metal, Punk rock, Opera rock and standard rock and roll. Each song helped him achieve the natural looking flow and curve of the vines. After an hour or two of engraving, Niko had finished work on both sides of the blade. Next up was the second blade. Niko pulled out an even smaller ingot then the previous one, and threw it in the furnace. The smaller ingot became hot a lot quicker than the first one. He pulled it out with the same set of clamps and took it right to the anvil instead of the power hammer. The ingot was small enough that he could draw out the blade by hand with out aid. He hammered the ingot down until it was just as thin as the first blade. From there he reheated the ingot to make it malleable again. He took the flattened ingot back to the anvil and began to work the point into one of the square sides. Once the new blade had a point on it, he quenched it in oil to cool it. He repeated the process of working the bevels into the blades outer edges, giving it the required cutting edges. Due to the small size of the blade, Niko had to hold it with a pair of pliers so he wouldn't accidentally hurt himself on the belt sander. Once the bevels were done, he once again replaced the belt on the machine. He ran the blade against the sander once again, effectively cleaning up the surface for polishing. He took to the buffing wheel, making the blade look nice and pretty. He engraves the blade, which took significantly less time, and places it and its larger counterpart in a wooden crate to take to Rarity's the next day. Costume part 2Niko stepped into Rarity's shop once again, this time with two gauntlets and two custom blades. Both were inside a wooden box as to not draw attention to them. But he was also carrying a bag on one of his shoulders, with an unidentified object inside. He walked to the back room where he and Rarity were working last, making sure not to draw attention to himself. He knocked on the door and waited a moment. The door opened and Rarity's head peaked out. She took a few steps back and let him inside. "I got the gauntlets and blades you asked for-" he stopped when he noticed there were others in the room. Rarity wore a look of concern. "I'm terribly sorry darling, I couldn't keep this from my friends. I would like you to meet-" she was cut off. "I know who they are, but WHY DID YOU TELL THEM!" he said. Rarity gave a nervous smile. "None of you told anyone else, did you?" Niko asked. "Don't worry dude. We won't tell anyone without your permission. We have your back man!" Rainbow said. Everyone else gave a nod of agreement. "Ok. Anyway, I made the blades you asked for. I also brung the gauntlets." Niko said. "Wonderful darling, just leave them on the desk and head to the waiting room upstairs." Rarity said. "i never knew you had a waiting room upstairs." Niko said. "Its for VIP's. girls, you can keep him company. I would like some peace and quiet while I'm working." Rarity said. Niko sat down and set his bag down next to him. He sighed as he relaxed into the chair. The girls sat with him, each taking a chair near him. Rainbow was the first to break the initial silence. "So... whatcha got in the bag?" Rainbow asked bluntly. "Rainbow!" Sunset said. "What? Just asking." Rainbow said. Niko chuckled. "Well to answer your question, I can show you." he said. He opened the bag and pulled out something black. the girls gasped when the realized what it was. "Is that a-" "A Remington bolt action riffle with a sniper scope, yes. But I also..." he reach into his bag and pulled out a colt 45. "have this babies." "Why do you have those?!" Rainbow asked. "These will be added to my arsenal of weapons." Niko said. "You didn't think that I would be fighting them with knives alone, did you?" "Well, no." Sunset said. "My point exactly." Niko said. He put the weapons back in the bag, and removed an object made of leather. "This is a holster for the pistol, I can attach it to anything will a belt." "Just don't shoot yourself. That would cut your mission short pretty quickly." Applejack said. The door to the waiting room opened and Rarity stepped in. She pushed something into the room with a white sheet draped over it. It had a human-like silhouette to it, which only succeeded in peaking Niko's curiosity. "Alright, your outfit is ready." she said. She removed the white sheet and stood next to the mannequin that was hold the outfit. The girls gave a collective 'ooo'. " I stuck with your intended materials, while adding in a few of my own. The arms, shoulders, chest and abdomen all have a lightweight Kevlar armor that can stop a forty caliber bullet. The armor is inside of the jacket, between the leather exterior and the fabric interior. I also gave you two new weapons. You made the blades for them, but I had a specialist make the rest. You have a one handed long sword with a sheath, as well as a chain whip with a dagger on the end of it. The dagger can be thrown like a-" "Like a dart, I know. I had to make one to get out of their first massacre alive." Niko said. "Well, do you still have it?" Rarity asked. "No, I left it on a rooftop somewhere in town. I didn't want to be shot at by police when I reached their check point." Niko said. "Now you have one. Anyway the back of the jacket comes down just passed the knee. I also took the liberty of giving you finger-less leather gloves." she said. "What do you think?" "I think its perfect. How much?" Niko asked. "Free of charge. Its the least I could do for someone who will be fighting for our freedom." Rarity said. She pointed to a hallway at the back of the room. "the changing room is down that hall over there, why don't you try on your new outfit?" Niko nodded and grabbed his bag. Rarity looked at him curiously as she took the coat and weapons off the mannequin. "Why do you need your bag darling?" she asked. "It has a few weapons of my own in it." Rarity nodded and handed the coat to him. Niko came back from the changing room with his hood up, and his new outfit all together. He had the riffle slung over his back via a strap that ran diagonally across the torso. The sword, sheath, and the holstered gun all sat attached to his belt. The chain whip and dagger wrapped diagonally around his torso, opposite of the riffle strap. his gauntlets were mostly concealed, and the blades were retracted. He was still wearing his black jeans and boots, but the outfit didn't come with anything but the jacket and extra weapons. The girls looked at him, and Rarity smiled. "You look very intimidating darling." she said. "Thanks. well, tonight I'm going on my first patrol. I'll get to keep those Viper Head fuckers out of our town." Niko said. "Do you even have any combat training?" Rainbow asked. "Unfortunately, yes." Niko said. "Why is that unfortunate? Isn't that a good thing?" Sunset asked. "It's unfortunate because of the way I learned it. You see, my father was an ex-spetsnaz. He strongly believed that he should teach me everything about being a spetsnaz. If you've ever heard of the spetsnaz training regimen, its brutal to say the least. I passed the training, but my father always put me under various tests, like breaking cinder blocks over my body and such." Niko said. "You said he WAS an ex-spetsnaz. Is he a spetsnaz again?" Sunset asked. "No, he-uh... He died of cancer a few years ago." Niko said. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-" "It's ok, you didn't know." Niko said. "But if there is one thing I know, its that those terrorist are going to wish they'd never launched those attacks." getting informationNiko wandered through the streets of Canterlot, searching for potential sources of information. He decided to look around the historical district a bit, might as well enjoy himself on his first night on the job. He walked the old cobblestone streets, admiring old buildings and scenery. He became lost in thought. Scenes played through his head, scenes of people fighting for freedom and liberty. Scenes of peace, occasionally interrupted by outcries against an unjust nation. He was snapped from his trance when he heard a metal clunk coming from below him. He looked down to check the source of the sound. He saw an old fashioned manhole cover underneath his left foot. He found it strange that it would make a sound, the township normally seals all of the manhole covers to ensure no one falls in. That and it helps keep the drug addicts out. He lifted the manhole cover and peered down into the dark hole. The manhole didn't have a ladder that you could use to climb down. Niko sighed and leapt down into the hole. he reached the bottom in seconds, and the sounds of his feet impacting the ground reverberated through the tunnel. The moon light only light the tunnel for two or three feet in any direction. He contemplated leaving, but something about the tunnel fascinated him. If he were to venture further into the dark, damp cavern, he would have to rely on his other senses. He decided on the option of exploration, and started walking into the swirling dark abyss. As he walked, his vision became less and less useful to him. But he could heard the sounds echoing off the walls, and they were painting a picture of the tunnel ahead for him. he closed his eyes and started walking again, the sound helping him through the tunnel. But he found one small problem, the sound would only help him when he was close to a wall, and they didn't help him see what was on the ground. "ow! Fuck!" he said. He had stepped on an old pipe laying on the ground, and it rolled out from under his foot. He landed on his side, luckily managing to stop himself from breaking anything. He stood up and brushed himself off and closed his eyes again. he took a few deep breaths, and something remarkable happened. he saw everything through a vale of blue. It showed him the cracks and contours of the walls around him, and made debris on the ground visible. he began walking again, seeing everything with his eyes shut. "what is this?" Niko asked himself. He walked for a good fifty feet, eventually ending up in a big room. the room had a set of torches on the walls, and a strange pedestal in the middle of the room. Niko opened his eyes and scanned the room. he traced his field of vision around the room, until his eyes met the pedestal. He eyed the pedestal with a meticulous gaze. it had a strange triangle shaped symbol on it. The two upward facing sides of the triangle were straight, and the bottom side was arched downward. He approached the pedestal to further examine it. upon closer inspection, he noticed a handprint on top of the slab of rock. It was a print of a left hand, with a smaller version of the symbol on it. Niko looked at his hand, and back to the pedestal. He placed his hand in the hand print, and as soon as he did, visions started flashing before his eyes. A voice echoed through his head, repeating one simple phrase. "nothing is true, everything is permitted." these visions that accompanied the voice were not just some random visions, they were events. Generations of assassins fighting, and dying for what they believed in. Amongst all the information, one thing stuck out. It was a name, and a motive. The Templars. he removed his hand from the pedestal, but the visions continued. He stumbled backward a few feet, and the visions stopped. Niko shook his head and looked at his hand. The same symbol that was on the pedestal, was burned into the palm of his hand. He kept thinking about the Templars, and Viper Head. eventually, something clicked. The Templars and Viper Head are either working together, or they're the same thing. He looked back at the symbol on his hand. "Looks like my enemies are bigger than I thought. Oh well, the bigger they are, the harder they die." with that, Niko turned to leave. Niko walked back through the tunnels, his new sense of sight guiding him through the damp cavern. The new sense intrigued him, and he wondered how such a thing was possible. One thing was for certain, it was better than his attempt at sonar. His ears were good, but not good enough for any kind of echo location. He came to the pipe he tripped on earlier, and kicked it to the side of the tunnel. He planned on coming back, but with his new found allies next time. He came to the vertical entrance of the tunnel, and gazed up through it. He noticed that the pipe leading down was made of brick. Because of their age, there were broken and cracked bricks, along with gaps where the grout had partially eroded away. He leapt up and grabbed the brick surface, using the gaps in the brick work as hand grips. At first he was unable to use his legs to climb to surface, due to the gap between the floor and the wall of the entrance. But after a few moments of using his arms to pull himself up, he was able to use his legs and feet to speed up the climbing process. He would place his feet in the spaces were chunks of brick had long since fallen out, and use them to leap higher and grab the wall again. He repeated the process of climbing and finding a gap for foot placement, until he reached the top. He pulled himself up out of the hole and quietly put the manhole cover back on. He looked around for anyone who might have seen him, trying to keep his find a secret. Once he was sure that the coast was clear he took off, back into the shadows. HQNiko lead the girls through the night. He was leading them to his discovery to setup a base of operations. He removed the Manhole cover and helped the girls into the hole. Rarity was the first to express her concern. "Uh, darling... This isn't a sewer, is it?" She asked, trying not to sound worried. "No, they're old storm drains." Niko said. "Alright, you're the last one." He said, turning toward Rarity. "Very well then. Would you be a dear and help me down." She said politely. Niko sighed. "I think I have a way to get us both down there." Niko said. He motioned for her to come to him, and she approached him. "Hang on, this might be a bit... Interesting." he said, wrapping an arm around her waist. She quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and he leapt into the hole. They both landed on their feet, and Niko removed his arm from Rarity's waist. Rarity took a moment to catch her breath, before she realized that her arms were still around his neck. She quickly removed her arms and gave an embarrassed smile, her cheeks turning a light pink. "Alright everyone, get out your flashlights. Niko, lead the way." Sunset said. Niko nodded, his long coat flapped as he turned toward the direction he had previously gone in. He followed the familiar features of the tunnel, except this time with light. He lead them down the long tunnel, eventually ending up in the same room as before. The torches were all light, just as before. But something was different, the pedestal was gone. Niko approached the spot where it previously sat, and looked at the floor tiles. There was one tile that had the hand print and symbol on it. Niko chuckled. "There it is." He mumbled to himself. "Well, this is it." He gestured to the room. "So this is the room you mentioned." Rainbow dash said. "Yep." Niko said. "This is a great location, but how are we going to get the equipment in and out without being seen? And what about the size of the entrance?" Sunset asked. Niko stroked his chin. "I'll Look around the tunnels for other, more remote entrances later." Niko said. "But first I think we all should have a look around." The girls nodded and went about looking around the room. Rainbow dash opted to follow Niko. She walked beside him quietly for a few moments, before finally breaking the silence. "Sooo, you got Spetsnaz training from your dad huh?" Rainbow asked. "Yep." Niko said. Rainbow nodded. "What can Spetsnaz do exactly?" Rainbow asked, earning the attention of the others, who seemed to be curious as well. Niko looked at her with a smile. "Really? Rainbow dash, the self proclaimed queen of awesome, has not watched videos of some of the most Badass soldiers on the planet in action?" Niko said. Rainbow scratched the back of her head and gave a small blush. "W-Well, I've never really heard of them before today." Rainbow said. "In that case I'm going to have to tell you a bit about their brutal training. Then you'll understand why they are so lethal." Niko said. "Spetsnaz trainees are subjected to a lot of rigorous tasks. As a trainee, you are subjected to hard body training. In this training, they place bricks on your body and break them with a sledgehammer. You are also told to fight in hand to hand combat with your fellow trainee, and you are not to stop until you are knocked out or beaten half to death. They teach you martial arts before hand, but it's still brutal." "Is that it?" Rainbow asked. "Nope, there is one more training exercise, and it's the most viscous of them all." Niko paused. "Basically, you are forcefully dragged out of bed in the middle of the night. They throw you into a pit that contains a foot of pig's blood and severed pig heads. You have one minute to find a way out, or they will release an attack dog to maul you." "D-Did your father make you do that?" Rainbow asked. Niko nodded. "Jeez, that must have been scarring for you." She said. "Yeah, I still have nightmares about it. It makes it worse because I didn't make it out before the attack dog was released, it bit my arm and messed it up pretty bad. I still have the scars on my arm from where it bit me. In my adrenaline shocked state, I collapsed the dog's snout back into its skull. That's what haunts me the most out of all my training, seeing this dogs mangled head floating around in a practical sea of blood and pig heads." Niko said. "I don't hold my father responsible for it, but I do feel like he got what was coming to him in the end." "Darling..." Rarity said. "that's just... Awful! You very well could've been killed by that dog, let alone everything else!" There was a long silence that fell upon the room. Surprisingly, Applejack was the first to speak up. "Sugarcube, you said you still have the scars to this day... Can we see them?" She asked. Niko sighed and gave a reluctant nod. He rolled up the sleeve on his left arm. The bite marks were paler there the skin surrounding them, and there was no visible hair growing on the scars. The girls silently covered their mouths and looked. Niko point to two particular spots on the scars. "This is where the top set of K-9's sank in. The lower set of k-9's sank in on the other side on my arm. The dog didn't just bite and let go either. He bit down and shook, I actually had to pry his jaws open to get him off of me." Niko said. The girls gathered around him for a group hug, and he didn't stop them. He felt like he needed something to cheer him up anyway. "This is gonna be one hell of an emotional ride." Niko thought.
prologue: the decisionNiko sat in his living room watching TV, thinking about what had happened a month ago. He wasn't even really focusing on the TV at all, even though his favorite show was on. His green eyes just stared blankly at the screen as he ran his fingers through his black hair. His peachy white skin looking a bit more pale than usual. He remembered the utter chaos that ensued in the middle of town square. It still haunted him, even after all that time. Allow me to elaborate a bit. Niko was walking through Canterlot city over winter break, looking at all the wonderful Christmas lights that were put up on display. As he admired the creative work of others, a set of vans parked across the street from him. Niko jumped as the doors to the van flung open, and a group of men carrying assault rifles quickly stepped out. They began to open fire on people, anyone unfortunate enough to be seen was shot. Niko managed to duck into an alley and hide behind a dumpster. He frantically looked around, trying to find a better hiding place. He spotted a route to the roof that was inconspicuous, and hard to use. In his rush of adrenaline, he made quick work of the difficult path. He scanned the roof top for anything useful. He found an old chain and a hunting knife, but that was it. "Good enough." he said. He tied one end of the chain around the handle of the knife, and made sure it was on really good. He took a peek at the alley he was just in, and saw a lone guy with an AR scanning around for anyone to shoot. Niko noticed the large machete the armed man had sheathed on his belt and his gun, he knew that they would help him get out of there alive. He took the hunting knife he found and threw it at the man like a dart. The knife stabbed the man in the side of the neck and got stuck. With a quick flick of his wrist, Niko got the chain wrapped around the man's neck a few times. He quickly started pulling the man's dead body up to the roof where he was at. Niko dragged the man over the concrete barrier surrounding the roof, and dropped him at his feet. Unfortunately, the sudden shock of being stabbed in the neck had cause the man to drop his gun. Niko didn't dare to traverse back down there, so he opted out of trying to get the gun. He just took the dead man's machete, along with any other blades or weapons he had, and began looking for a method of travel that didn't involve using the streets. He had long since determined that the streets were no longer safe. A thought came into his head, one that might have been what saved his life. He had seen many parkour tutorials, but he'd never actually done parkour before. "It's worth a shot." Niko thought. He leapt from the rooftop he was on, to the rooftop of a neighboring shop. After about an hour of jumping from roof to roof, Niko found a street with armed police officers on it. Niko dropped his weapons and called out to the officers. "Hey! Up here! Help me down please!" he shouted down, waving his arms above his head. The officers pointed their flashlights at him and called to him on a megaphone. "Just hold tight! We're gonna get you down!" they said. Niko gave a thumbs up and nodded. After five minutes of waiting, a couple officers came back with a ladder. "We're going to set the ladder up! Can you use it to climb down?!" the officer asked. "Yeah!" he replied. The officers set up the ladder and Niko used it to climb down. After a few questions about how Niko had gotten up there and what had happened, they let him go. He had overheard a call between two officers, that the attack was organised by an extremist group that had claimed territory in the next town over. Apparently they had set up a blockade so no one could get into the city, and they dumped all of their electronics so they couldn't be monitored. Back to the present, Niko was thinking about the events that had transpired. A sudden news report broke his train of thought. "We interrupt your regularly scheduled program for this emergency broadcast. We have just received word of another attack lead by the terrorist group known as viper head. They carried out the attack similar to the way they carried out their first attack on Canterlot, about a month ago. Between twenty and thirty people were killed, and many more were seriously injured in the attack. Of the dead, two of them were officers with the Canterlot PD." the reporter said. For Niko, that was the final straw. He turned off his tv and went to his basement. The basement wasn't a finished basement per-say. But Niko had covered the walls and ceiling in a thick layer of concrete. Niko turned the lights on, revealing a workbench with a laptop and a large amount of tools. There was also what appeared to be a furnace of some sort down there, and a large punching bag in a corner of the room. He pulled out a few more tools he had stashed away in a few cases, and spread them out on the workbench with everything else. He started up the furnace, and started pulling out pieces of scrap steel he had. He started the laptop and immediately started looking at designs for tomahawks, along with a few other weapons. "I'm gonna put a stop to this, once and for all." Niko said.
weapons part 1Niko pulled a hot piece of steel out from his furnace, and immediately took it to his anvil. He hammered away at the glowing metal, forging a point into one side of the steel. He repeatedly took the steel in and out of the furnace, taking it to the anvil for more work after each reheat. Once he got the point he was looking for, he dipped the hot metal in a bucket of oil to cool it. He removed the metal from the oil and it was no longer glowing a bright orange. It was, however, still hot enough to burn the excess oil off once it was removed. Niko dipped the pointed metal into the oil a few more times, just to make sure it was cool enough to handle with the aid of gloves. He repeated this twice to give him two pieces of pointed metal. He took the pointed metal pieces to a belt sander, where he proceeded to grind the bevles into the metal, effectively sharpening the pieces into a set of blades. After a bit of grinding, he took the blades to a buffing wheel where he polished them. Slowly the blades began to have a classic reflective, mirror like sheen to them. Once the blades were nice and shiny, Niko started looking up ways to conceal them. He saw results like Sword canes, lipstick knives, belt buckle blades. But they all had one thing in common, they weren't available at a moment's notice. They all require you to reach for something, or take time to pull something out of a sheath. In Niko's eyes, that was time that the enemy could use to their advantage. He wasn't against those types of weapons, he even considered something like a sword cane for a backup weapon. But he wanted something that was ready and available within milliseconds. After quite a bit of searching, he found a documentary on ancient weapons. One weapon in particular caught his attention. It was a device used by a long since disbanded group called the Assassins. The device was to be mounted on the wrist, and through a ring placed around the finger the blade would shoot out. The ring would have a string attached to it, allowing the user to pull the string to release the blade. Niko decided that this would be his starting point. He got a sheet of blue paper with white grid lines on it, and began drawing out the designs. Instead of a pulley system like the original hidden blades, he would use a programed set of sensors that would detect the position of five individual rings placed on the hand. Once the rings are in a specific position, the blade will pop out. To retract the blades, one would need to momentarily move the rings from the programmed position and move them back into position again. This gives the blade the ability to be ready at the literal flick of a wrist. Once the design was drawn out, he began to measure and mark strips of sheet metal he had. He measured the length, width and the distance between the holes that the rivets were to be put in. Using a plasma torch he cut the pieces out, making small and slow movements so he didn't mess anything up. A plasma torch doesn't leave the cleanest of cuts, so Niko had to give the pieces a quick run on his belt sander to smooth out the cuts. Once he had the pieces for the housing made, he had to focus on the next big task. Making and programming the blade release mechanisms. Niko retrieved two small, rectangular pieces of plastic along with some solder and some silicone based circuit paint. He made the circuit board himself, cutting out all the holes and making silicone pathways for the electrical signals to travel through. It took him a bit of time to find out how to reprogram microchips though. He got the microchips from the motherboard of an old laptop he didn't use anymore. Once he found out how to reprogram them, he needed to find something with tiny receivers in it. Something to place inside the rings and the circuit board to detect their position. He decided to go to a nearby hobby shop and pick up a set of position based receivers. They send and receive signals giving details on their current position. After a long, arduous process of trying to program the microchips to work on the right signals, the circuit boards were finally done. To release and retract the blade, Niko opted to use a set of levers driven via small motors. He got some cervos from an old toy helicopter and attached them to the circuit board and lever system. He left the blades out of the test assemblies, just to make sure he wouldn't accidentally stab his own hand. When he was certain everything was working properly, he reassembled both devices with the blades incorporated in them. He used some leather belts to hold the devices on his wrists, and he tested them with the blades for the first time. The blades released and locked into place perfectly, without any problems. Next was a functionality test. He when to a supermarket and got a watermelon, a cocoanut and a raw turkey. He brought them back to his house where he proceeded to test the blades on them. The blades made quick work of the watermelon and the turkey, and did decent against the cocoanut. The blade stayed in place, but it was still difficult to pierce the cocoanuts hard outer layer. "Alright, now I just need a disguise. I guess i'll have to see Rarity about that tomorrow. But right now, it's time for some shut eye." Niko thought.
costume part 1: the first keeper of the secretNiko walked into the famous, the one and only carousel boutique. He looked around at everything and took a deep breath. He rung the bell that was on what was presumably the front desk. "One minute!" an English voice sung. Niko sighed and crossed his arms. He sat there impatiently tapping his foot, checking his wrist watch from time to time. He glanced around at all the people in the shop. "This might be a problem." Niko thought. A white skinned, purple haired girl walked out with a measuring tape dropped over her shoulders and a pair of glasses sitting on the bridge of her nose. "Hello and welcome to the carousel boutique. I'm Rarity, how may I be of service on this fine day?" the girl said. "Yes, hi. I'm working on a secret project, and I was wondering if you had a place to discuss the details in private." Niko said. Rarity smiled and gave him a nod. "Follow me to my office." she said. "sweetiebelle! Darling! hold the register for a moment, I have work to do!" She lead Niko to an office where she closed and locked the door. "there we go, now we have complete and total privacy. So, what is it you have in mind?" Niko looked at the door. "Is the door sound proof?" Niko asked. "Yes, why?" Rarity asked. "This is very top secret. No one can find out about this." Niko said. "Ooo, a surprise. That sounds wonderful darling. When is the big reveal?" Rarity asked. She sat down on a stool and gazed at Niko. "Well, that's the thing. There is no reveal. Just a secret to be kept, and a mission." Niko said. Rarity gave him a strange look. "I see. Does it have something to do with... You know... Recent events?" she asked. He gave her a small nod. She stood up. "Alright, what is it you need?" she asked. "I need a jacket with a beaked hood. Preferably made of leather for durability." Niko said. Rarity nodded. "I'll see what I can do." she said. "but first i'll have to take your measurements. Speed your arms and legs for me." Niko nodded and did as he was told. She used the measuring tape around her neck to take his measurements. "do you have any color preferences?" "Black." Niko said. "Alright, I have some thing in mind. But i'll need two blades with these dimensions to complete it. Do you think you can get them." she handed him a piece of paper with numbers on them. One was for a small blade, the other was for a longer one. Niko chuckled. "Get them? Hell, I can make them. Just give me a day or two and the blades will be done." Niko said. Rarity nodded. "May I ask what side your fighting for?" Rarity asked. "I'm fighting against Viper Head. I was a witness to their first attack, I got lucky enough to find a way out. I still have nightmares. In them, I hear the screams of the people and the sounds gunshots. With each shot the screams become quieter. The latest attack is what pushed me to this decision. I just.... Can't stand by and watch them kill more people." Niko explained. Rarity nodded. "You made a noble decision Darling." she said. "Now, back to business. I need you to take a look at some fabric swatches I have, I need to know what material to line the inside of your jacket with." she lead him to a wrack with roles of fabric on it. He looked at many of the fabric samples, making sure to take in the various textures and properties of each one. In the end he settled for a short, red colored fur to line the inside of the jacket. "Alright, any other things I should incorporate into the design?" Rarity asked. "Yeah, I have these wrist mounted Hidden blades. So the sleeves can't be too tight." Niko said. "I see. Do you have them with you?" Rarity asked. "No. Why?" Niko said. "I'll need you to come back with them later, ill need the proper measurements for your wrists while your wearing them." Rarity said. "In the mean time, I will get to work on the main body of the jacket." "Alright, i'll come back after I make the blades you asked for." Niko said. "That will be much appreciated darling." rarity said. "What are the blades for anyway?" Niko asked. She made a zipping motion across her lips. "That's a surprise darling." Niko raised an eyebrow. He shook his head and just brushed it off. "Alright then, ill come back with the blades." Niko said. "Have a nice day darling." she said. Niko gave her a nod and walked out of the office. "I guess I need to make two blades now." Niko thought.
weapons part 2Niko took a steal ingot he made and placed it in his furnace. He watched as the metal slowly turned orange under the blazing heat. Using a set of steal clamps, he removed the ingot from the furnace and took it to the power hammer to start drawing out the length of the blade. The small ingot became gradually flatter and longer, until he got the required length. Once he finished drawing out the blade, he reheated the piece to do further work on it. When the metal was glowing a bright orange again, he took it to an anvil. He hammered away at one of the squared ends, giving the blade a few extra inches of length to work with. The blade was starting to take shape, and it had a nice point to it. But it was missing something. A set of cutting edges, or bevels for short. He quenched the blade in the same oil from before, repeating the process of removing and re submerging the piece. Now that the blade was cool enough to handle with gloves, he took it to a belt sander to grind the bevels into both sides. He slowly moved the blade side to side against the grinding surface, gradually working a nice cutting edge into the blade. He carefully plotted out each move, so he would not make any mistakes. After fifteen minutes of grinding the bevels into the blade, Niko turned the machine off. He waited for the belt to stop moving, before removing the current sanding belt from the machine. He replaced it with a belt of a finer grit, something that would barely take anything off. He turned the sander back on and slowly ran the flat sides of the blade against it, giving it a cleaner look. From there he took the blade to the buffing wheel, and started polishing the blade to give it a nice finish. The blade was now complete, but it was a few inches too long. He measured the blade and made a mark at the square end of the blade. He took the blade to a specialized rotary saw and cut the excess of the blunt end of the blade, bringing it to the appropriate length. He felt a little creative, so he decided to try his hand at engraving. He opened his laptop and looked for designs to engrave into the non-beveled surface on the blade. He also decided to put some tunes on, so he when to his YouTube playlist and clicked on a random song. The first song to come on was Ozzy Osbourne's Crazy Train. Niko started mentally nodding his head as he searched for designs to engrave. He found what looked like a vine pattern, he thought it looked pretty neat. He saved the image and opened it up. He grabbed a tiny chisel and a small hammer. Because he didn't have any machines to do the engraving for him, he would have to do it the old fashioned way. He also decided to just eyeball everything instead of printing an image to work with as a stencil. The first song finished, and a song called Heretic by Avenged Sevenfold came on. He slowly hammered away at the chisel, removing small amounts of material at any one time. He worked diligently, being extra careful not to make any mistakes. He gradually carved the detailed curves and contours of the vines into the blade. He kept his hands and his heart rate steady by letting himself become submerged into the music he was listening to. He generally liked a mixture of genres, all of them were branched off of rock. He liked genres like hardcore rock and roll, Heavy Metal, Punk rock, Opera rock and standard rock and roll. Each song helped him achieve the natural looking flow and curve of the vines. After an hour or two of engraving, Niko had finished work on both sides of the blade. Next up was the second blade. Niko pulled out an even smaller ingot then the previous one, and threw it in the furnace. The smaller ingot became hot a lot quicker than the first one. He pulled it out with the same set of clamps and took it right to the anvil instead of the power hammer. The ingot was small enough that he could draw out the blade by hand with out aid. He hammered the ingot down until it was just as thin as the first blade. From there he reheated the ingot to make it malleable again. He took the flattened ingot back to the anvil and began to work the point into one of the square sides. Once the new blade had a point on it, he quenched it in oil to cool it. He repeated the process of working the bevels into the blades outer edges, giving it the required cutting edges. Due to the small size of the blade, Niko had to hold it with a pair of pliers so he wouldn't accidentally hurt himself on the belt sander. Once the bevels were done, he once again replaced the belt on the machine. He ran the blade against the sander once again, effectively cleaning up the surface for polishing. He took to the buffing wheel, making the blade look nice and pretty. He engraves the blade, which took significantly less time, and places it and its larger counterpart in a wooden crate to take to Rarity's the next day.
Costume part 2Niko stepped into Rarity's shop once again, this time with two gauntlets and two custom blades. Both were inside a wooden box as to not draw attention to them. But he was also carrying a bag on one of his shoulders, with an unidentified object inside. He walked to the back room where he and Rarity were working last, making sure not to draw attention to himself. He knocked on the door and waited a moment. The door opened and Rarity's head peaked out. She took a few steps back and let him inside. "I got the gauntlets and blades you asked for-" he stopped when he noticed there were others in the room. Rarity wore a look of concern. "I'm terribly sorry darling, I couldn't keep this from my friends. I would like you to meet-" she was cut off. "I know who they are, but WHY DID YOU TELL THEM!" he said. Rarity gave a nervous smile. "None of you told anyone else, did you?" Niko asked. "Don't worry dude. We won't tell anyone without your permission. We have your back man!" Rainbow said. Everyone else gave a nod of agreement. "Ok. Anyway, I made the blades you asked for. I also brung the gauntlets." Niko said. "Wonderful darling, just leave them on the desk and head to the waiting room upstairs." Rarity said. "i never knew you had a waiting room upstairs." Niko said. "Its for VIP's. girls, you can keep him company. I would like some peace and quiet while I'm working." Rarity said. Niko sat down and set his bag down next to him. He sighed as he relaxed into the chair. The girls sat with him, each taking a chair near him. Rainbow was the first to break the initial silence. "So... whatcha got in the bag?" Rainbow asked bluntly. "Rainbow!" Sunset said. "What? Just asking." Rainbow said. Niko chuckled. "Well to answer your question, I can show you." he said. He opened the bag and pulled out something black. the girls gasped when the realized what it was. "Is that a-" "A Remington bolt action riffle with a sniper scope, yes. But I also..." he reach into his bag and pulled out a colt 45. "have this babies." "Why do you have those?!" Rainbow asked. "These will be added to my arsenal of weapons." Niko said. "You didn't think that I would be fighting them with knives alone, did you?" "Well, no." Sunset said. "My point exactly." Niko said. He put the weapons back in the bag, and removed an object made of leather. "This is a holster for the pistol, I can attach it to anything will a belt." "Just don't shoot yourself. That would cut your mission short pretty quickly." Applejack said. The door to the waiting room opened and Rarity stepped in. She pushed something into the room with a white sheet draped over it. It had a human-like silhouette to it, which only succeeded in peaking Niko's curiosity. "Alright, your outfit is ready." she said. She removed the white sheet and stood next to the mannequin that was hold the outfit. The girls gave a collective 'ooo'. " I stuck with your intended materials, while adding in a few of my own. The arms, shoulders, chest and abdomen all have a lightweight Kevlar armor that can stop a forty caliber bullet. The armor is inside of the jacket, between the leather exterior and the fabric interior. I also gave you two new weapons. You made the blades for them, but I had a specialist make the rest. You have a one handed long sword with a sheath, as well as a chain whip with a dagger on the end of it. The dagger can be thrown like a-" "Like a dart, I know. I had to make one to get out of their first massacre alive." Niko said. "Well, do you still have it?" Rarity asked. "No, I left it on a rooftop somewhere in town. I didn't want to be shot at by police when I reached their check point." Niko said. "Now you have one. Anyway the back of the jacket comes down just passed the knee. I also took the liberty of giving you finger-less leather gloves." she said. "What do you think?" "I think its perfect. How much?" Niko asked. "Free of charge. Its the least I could do for someone who will be fighting for our freedom." Rarity said. She pointed to a hallway at the back of the room. "the changing room is down that hall over there, why don't you try on your new outfit?" Niko nodded and grabbed his bag. Rarity looked at him curiously as she took the coat and weapons off the mannequin. "Why do you need your bag darling?" she asked. "It has a few weapons of my own in it." Rarity nodded and handed the coat to him. Niko came back from the changing room with his hood up, and his new outfit all together. He had the riffle slung over his back via a strap that ran diagonally across the torso. The sword, sheath, and the holstered gun all sat attached to his belt. The chain whip and dagger wrapped diagonally around his torso, opposite of the riffle strap. his gauntlets were mostly concealed, and the blades were retracted. He was still wearing his black jeans and boots, but the outfit didn't come with anything but the jacket and extra weapons. The girls looked at him, and Rarity smiled. "You look very intimidating darling." she said. "Thanks. well, tonight I'm going on my first patrol. I'll get to keep those Viper Head fuckers out of our town." Niko said. "Do you even have any combat training?" Rainbow asked. "Unfortunately, yes." Niko said. "Why is that unfortunate? Isn't that a good thing?" Sunset asked. "It's unfortunate because of the way I learned it. You see, my father was an ex-spetsnaz. He strongly believed that he should teach me everything about being a spetsnaz. If you've ever heard of the spetsnaz training regimen, its brutal to say the least. I passed the training, but my father always put me under various tests, like breaking cinder blocks over my body and such." Niko said. "You said he WAS an ex-spetsnaz. Is he a spetsnaz again?" Sunset asked. "No, he-uh... He died of cancer a few years ago." Niko said. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-" "It's ok, you didn't know." Niko said. "But if there is one thing I know, its that those terrorist are going to wish they'd never launched those attacks."
getting informationNiko wandered through the streets of Canterlot, searching for potential sources of information. He decided to look around the historical district a bit, might as well enjoy himself on his first night on the job. He walked the old cobblestone streets, admiring old buildings and scenery. He became lost in thought. Scenes played through his head, scenes of people fighting for freedom and liberty. Scenes of peace, occasionally interrupted by outcries against an unjust nation. He was snapped from his trance when he heard a metal clunk coming from below him. He looked down to check the source of the sound. He saw an old fashioned manhole cover underneath his left foot. He found it strange that it would make a sound, the township normally seals all of the manhole covers to ensure no one falls in. That and it helps keep the drug addicts out. He lifted the manhole cover and peered down into the dark hole. The manhole didn't have a ladder that you could use to climb down. Niko sighed and leapt down into the hole. he reached the bottom in seconds, and the sounds of his feet impacting the ground reverberated through the tunnel. The moon light only light the tunnel for two or three feet in any direction. He contemplated leaving, but something about the tunnel fascinated him. If he were to venture further into the dark, damp cavern, he would have to rely on his other senses. He decided on the option of exploration, and started walking into the swirling dark abyss. As he walked, his vision became less and less useful to him. But he could heard the sounds echoing off the walls, and they were painting a picture of the tunnel ahead for him. he closed his eyes and started walking again, the sound helping him through the tunnel. But he found one small problem, the sound would only help him when he was close to a wall, and they didn't help him see what was on the ground. "ow! Fuck!" he said. He had stepped on an old pipe laying on the ground, and it rolled out from under his foot. He landed on his side, luckily managing to stop himself from breaking anything. He stood up and brushed himself off and closed his eyes again. he took a few deep breaths, and something remarkable happened. he saw everything through a vale of blue. It showed him the cracks and contours of the walls around him, and made debris on the ground visible. he began walking again, seeing everything with his eyes shut. "what is this?" Niko asked himself. He walked for a good fifty feet, eventually ending up in a big room. the room had a set of torches on the walls, and a strange pedestal in the middle of the room. Niko opened his eyes and scanned the room. he traced his field of vision around the room, until his eyes met the pedestal. He eyed the pedestal with a meticulous gaze. it had a strange triangle shaped symbol on it. The two upward facing sides of the triangle were straight, and the bottom side was arched downward. He approached the pedestal to further examine it. upon closer inspection, he noticed a handprint on top of the slab of rock. It was a print of a left hand, with a smaller version of the symbol on it. Niko looked at his hand, and back to the pedestal. He placed his hand in the hand print, and as soon as he did, visions started flashing before his eyes. A voice echoed through his head, repeating one simple phrase. "nothing is true, everything is permitted." these visions that accompanied the voice were not just some random visions, they were events. Generations of assassins fighting, and dying for what they believed in. Amongst all the information, one thing stuck out. It was a name, and a motive. The Templars. he removed his hand from the pedestal, but the visions continued. He stumbled backward a few feet, and the visions stopped. Niko shook his head and looked at his hand. The same symbol that was on the pedestal, was burned into the palm of his hand. He kept thinking about the Templars, and Viper Head. eventually, something clicked. The Templars and Viper Head are either working together, or they're the same thing. He looked back at the symbol on his hand. "Looks like my enemies are bigger than I thought. Oh well, the bigger they are, the harder they die." with that, Niko turned to leave. Niko walked back through the tunnels, his new sense of sight guiding him through the damp cavern. The new sense intrigued him, and he wondered how such a thing was possible. One thing was for certain, it was better than his attempt at sonar. His ears were good, but not good enough for any kind of echo location. He came to the pipe he tripped on earlier, and kicked it to the side of the tunnel. He planned on coming back, but with his new found allies next time. He came to the vertical entrance of the tunnel, and gazed up through it. He noticed that the pipe leading down was made of brick. Because of their age, there were broken and cracked bricks, along with gaps where the grout had partially eroded away. He leapt up and grabbed the brick surface, using the gaps in the brick work as hand grips. At first he was unable to use his legs to climb to surface, due to the gap between the floor and the wall of the entrance. But after a few moments of using his arms to pull himself up, he was able to use his legs and feet to speed up the climbing process. He would place his feet in the spaces were chunks of brick had long since fallen out, and use them to leap higher and grab the wall again. He repeated the process of climbing and finding a gap for foot placement, until he reached the top. He pulled himself up out of the hole and quietly put the manhole cover back on. He looked around for anyone who might have seen him, trying to keep his find a secret. Once he was sure that the coast was clear he took off, back into the shadows.
HQNiko lead the girls through the night. He was leading them to his discovery to setup a base of operations. He removed the Manhole cover and helped the girls into the hole. Rarity was the first to express her concern. "Uh, darling... This isn't a sewer, is it?" She asked, trying not to sound worried. "No, they're old storm drains." Niko said. "Alright, you're the last one." He said, turning toward Rarity. "Very well then. Would you be a dear and help me down." She said politely. Niko sighed. "I think I have a way to get us both down there." Niko said. He motioned for her to come to him, and she approached him. "Hang on, this might be a bit... Interesting." he said, wrapping an arm around her waist. She quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and he leapt into the hole. They both landed on their feet, and Niko removed his arm from Rarity's waist. Rarity took a moment to catch her breath, before she realized that her arms were still around his neck. She quickly removed her arms and gave an embarrassed smile, her cheeks turning a light pink. "Alright everyone, get out your flashlights. Niko, lead the way." Sunset said. Niko nodded, his long coat flapped as he turned toward the direction he had previously gone in. He followed the familiar features of the tunnel, except this time with light. He lead them down the long tunnel, eventually ending up in the same room as before. The torches were all light, just as before. But something was different, the pedestal was gone. Niko approached the spot where it previously sat, and looked at the floor tiles. There was one tile that had the hand print and symbol on it. Niko chuckled. "There it is." He mumbled to himself. "Well, this is it." He gestured to the room. "So this is the room you mentioned." Rainbow dash said. "Yep." Niko said. "This is a great location, but how are we going to get the equipment in and out without being seen? And what about the size of the entrance?" Sunset asked. Niko stroked his chin. "I'll Look around the tunnels for other, more remote entrances later." Niko said. "But first I think we all should have a look around." The girls nodded and went about looking around the room. Rainbow dash opted to follow Niko. She walked beside him quietly for a few moments, before finally breaking the silence. "Sooo, you got Spetsnaz training from your dad huh?" Rainbow asked. "Yep." Niko said. Rainbow nodded. "What can Spetsnaz do exactly?" Rainbow asked, earning the attention of the others, who seemed to be curious as well. Niko looked at her with a smile. "Really? Rainbow dash, the self proclaimed queen of awesome, has not watched videos of some of the most Badass soldiers on the planet in action?" Niko said. Rainbow scratched the back of her head and gave a small blush. "W-Well, I've never really heard of them before today." Rainbow said. "In that case I'm going to have to tell you a bit about their brutal training. Then you'll understand why they are so lethal." Niko said. "Spetsnaz trainees are subjected to a lot of rigorous tasks. As a trainee, you are subjected to hard body training. In this training, they place bricks on your body and break them with a sledgehammer. You are also told to fight in hand to hand combat with your fellow trainee, and you are not to stop until you are knocked out or beaten half to death. They teach you martial arts before hand, but it's still brutal." "Is that it?" Rainbow asked. "Nope, there is one more training exercise, and it's the most viscous of them all." Niko paused. "Basically, you are forcefully dragged out of bed in the middle of the night. They throw you into a pit that contains a foot of pig's blood and severed pig heads. You have one minute to find a way out, or they will release an attack dog to maul you." "D-Did your father make you do that?" Rainbow asked. Niko nodded. "Jeez, that must have been scarring for you." She said. "Yeah, I still have nightmares about it. It makes it worse because I didn't make it out before the attack dog was released, it bit my arm and messed it up pretty bad. I still have the scars on my arm from where it bit me. In my adrenaline shocked state, I collapsed the dog's snout back into its skull. That's what haunts me the most out of all my training, seeing this dogs mangled head floating around in a practical sea of blood and pig heads." Niko said. "I don't hold my father responsible for it, but I do feel like he got what was coming to him in the end." "Darling..." Rarity said. "that's just... Awful! You very well could've been killed by that dog, let alone everything else!" There was a long silence that fell upon the room. Surprisingly, Applejack was the first to speak up. "Sugarcube, you said you still have the scars to this day... Can we see them?" She asked. Niko sighed and gave a reluctant nod. He rolled up the sleeve on his left arm. The bite marks were paler there the skin surrounding them, and there was no visible hair growing on the scars. The girls silently covered their mouths and looked. Niko point to two particular spots on the scars. "This is where the top set of K-9's sank in. The lower set of k-9's sank in on the other side on my arm. The dog didn't just bite and let go either. He bit down and shook, I actually had to pry his jaws open to get him off of me." Niko said. The girls gathered around him for a group hug, and he didn't stop them. He felt like he needed something to cheer him up anyway. "This is gonna be one hell of an emotional ride." Niko thought.
