Vendor of the Black Marketby FCmaniaChaptersBlack ops A bright new worldSOSBlack ops Author's Note Well, i hope you enjoy. This first chapter took days, but I had to get this concept into motion. This first chapter does require perhaps some knowledge of the game Black ops III in order to fully understand. So I apologize if you seem even a little confused while reading. I have left trailers in the description if you need to know of any of it. Black ops MISSION PROTOCOL: ECHO It all started in 2060, when the infamous Singapore disaster occurred. It was a sunny day in August, and one of the last of it's kind. Around the corner was the murky feeling of Autumn, and soon the chilling cruelty of winter, and in the center of it all, was the Coalescence Corporation. Coalescence was known by it's tagline: "enhance yourself for a better tomorrow," basically promoting the idea of bionic enhancement. Many argue that this type of technology takes away the best aspect of humans. We are imperfect, but we use our social interactions to work through those imperfections. I like that. It shows how much we rely on each other. Of course, that idea didn't matter during the break of the disaster. Within a few miles, the facility run by Coalescence let out a massive explosion from within, killing everyone inside, mostly medical patients, doctors, and tourists. This sparked massive attention within the area, and soon curiousity. Authorities not only blocked and prevented people from seeing what had happened, but also resorted to shooting down civilian drones to further ensure their privacy on this matter. During the next few weeks, toxins leaked into the 30-mile region, a chemical identified as Nova 6, which brought the death toll to over Three hundred-thousand. Lives were taken, and we had no idea why. People were already being evacuated from the newly-named Quarantine Zone, but the gas made it's way into the atmosphere, destroying weather patterns. Superstorms began to grow, those of which omitted winds exceeding 150 miles per hour, acid rain, and tore up buildings and shelters. It became total mayhem. People were scattering, trying to leave, but the Singaporean Armed Forces decided to build a 50-story wall around the Q-zone, and abandoning evacuation efforts. The only communication possible was to be made inside the walls, and a millions of people were left stranded. I was one of the unfortunate ones. In fact, I believe my flight outta here was next. Sadly though, I had to put up with it, and had to prepare for the next threat. A crime/terrorist organization, known as the 54 immortals was beginning to rise. Formed in Singapore centuries ago, its radical leaders, Goh Min and Goh Xiulan, took great hold of the Q-zone, requesting the enlistment of anyone willing to, in quote "Bring Singapore to it's natural state." It was either seize militarized control, or be a victim of it. Of course, they didn't do it alone. The Common Defense Pact, an alliance made up of Russia and Eastern European countries, decided to supply them in their reign of terror, in both simple resources and tech, including Exo-Suits, drones, bipedal hive-mind robots, and much more. Enough for them to easily run the Q-zone. Hell, if they wanted too, they could take over all of Singapore if they wanted, but I can assume they are either inexperienced for real war, or just planning. Waiting for the right time.. I managed to stay alive from all the shit happening thanks to my DNI, as it would definitely aid me in combat, and help me adapt to the shitty environment. I had already been enlisted in the 54i. I figured, "Why the hell not?" It's either I join them, or they kill me. It's one of those corrupt militaries where you could do almost anything you wanted. Show your major aggression against people, whether they be civilians or your fellow soldiers was up to you. It was chaos in the streets. The Immortals organized slave trade, mass shootings, and had brutal torture methods. They trade blood for money, and none could even give a damn. Yet, I didn't support these extremist values. I, and a couple few, worked under vengeance. The fact that our government gave up on us because of inconvienient weather and leaking toxins maybe a couple more miles was beyond me. They quit for their own sake, so some of us want revenge, and we were getting closer to it. By around 2065, we ruled the entire Q-zone. If you dare step outside or defy our commands, you would seat to our rage. However I had a very unfortunate encounter with some friends who came from the west. Jacob Hendricks, a long friend I would communicate with from time to time, met up with me in a bar, bringing his friend John Taylor, asking for a fair trade. They wanted to sell me some more advanced GI units, an elaborate form of saying bipedal drones, in which to trade for some basic munitions. We ran into a bit of argument, and then, the Goh siblings showed up. While I was unaware of why they were here, the two were aware of why Hendricks and Taylor were here. Turns out my little friends were agents from the Winslow Accord, the military that owns Coalescence and who supported the abandonment of extraction from the Q-zone 5 years ago. Upon discovery of their identity, the two decided to split. They unleashed a squadron of bots, which shot up the whole bar, killing both me and Goh Min, one of the 54i leaders. The agents continued rampaging through the city, I believe it was to get some intel or some shit. I managed to resurrect myself though. I had recently acquired a Rejack suit, a piece of equipment able to stimulate near-instant self repair to injury when connected to a DNI, restoring the body to a living state. Howeverm when I woke up, I had to face consequences. Goh Xuilan was filled with rage due to her brother's death and demanded that we all open the wall and storm through to the CIA safehouse about a few miles away from the perimeter. I was out of commission, as proper medical attention was something I needed, but the rest of the 54i went on to retaliate. The mission was a failure. Goh Xuilan met her demise at the hands of one of the WA operatives I talked to earlier, and while I had come out of the hospital with a fully-redone cybernetic arm to pair with a reworked military DNI, our military was crippling fast. He Zhen Zhen, the newly established 54i leader and former 17-year-old enforcer, almost had me hanged for my technical affilation with the WA which led to the death of the Goh siblings. She wasn't wrong. They were right across the table from me, and I could've popped one in between each of their eyes if I knew. But, Seraph came to the conclusion that they needed as much men as possible to rebuild their reputation. civilian militas were growing stronger, and militaries were attempting to fly in, sweep the Q-zone clean, and siege the land for their country for whatever purpose. I decided to go rogue. All this controversy among political power had me right in the middle of it. I had to command several regiments, and it was too much. My morals and my death experience led to me abandoning what I knew as a soldier at the time. I made myself a new identity. Callsign "Blackjack" was how I was known in the wrecked streets of Singapore after I officially left the 54i. Weapon selling was my thing. I decided to stay neutral on the new up-and-coming control over the Quarantine Zone, so if you needed a weapon, you came to me on the Black Market. I build and modify firearms, melee tools, and even some digital "swag," as they call it. I also managed to gain access to Winslow Accord files. They have been covertly operating in Singapore, slowly clearing out competitive forces. I managed to swipe access when i found their mobile safehouse while scavenging the land for more materials. I went in, connected myself, then got out. Their data was full of interesting intel. One that caught my eye as a multi-billion dollar failed android built in Zurich, known as "Reaper." The intention was a global peacekeeping device. Similar to GI units, but almost fifty times more advanced, both mechanicaly and in term of their AI. They were supposed to be mass produced. Sadly, not enough money was able to be funded and people spoke out against the idea. The whole "What if they turn against us?" bullshit argument. Honestly, i feel some sympathy. The intentions seem to have people connect more with AI and robotics, something already abundant. However, it seems that one got away. A prototype was saved and used as a soldier for the WA's black ops team. But i took all this new knowledge to my advantage. The WA files contained a heaping amount of Cyber-core abilities, modifications that provided enhancement to any range of combat. Some weapon designs were also in the data, such as Gravity spikes, Tempest railguns, energy blades, they all kept coming. Even blueprints of the Reaper project came to me, allowing me to upgrade my cyber-arm to contain a deployable minigun. However, within about a month of me almost completely upgrading myself, I heard a knock on my door. Thermals picked up a group of foot-mobiles closing in on my armory, both the same Black ops cyber soldiers and some 54i grunts. "Umm hey, you got some company," my HUD showed of an audio transmission from Spectre, a mercenary accomplice of mine. "I'm fully aware of the danger, how many are there?" I said almost impatiently. Spectre, while he was friendly towards his allies, wasn't the easily informative or instructive type of merc. He just did the job efficiently like I do, while adding his own "charm" to the mix. "Lemme see.... I can guessitmate 60? A handful look more well armed and from-" "-That's the Winslow Accord. They've come for me," I cut him off while frantically deleting and reuploading info from my servers to a flash drive. The 54i had placed a bounty on not only Danny Li's head for disloyalty and abandonment, but Blackjack's in terms of ruining their business and interfering with their ops. So basically, if you got me, that doubles the price. "Well, you better get out of there. Their plans seem extremely hostile," the cleaner responded with, any bit of worry non distinguishable. Once everything was finished uploading, I sneaked out of the mobile armory I was in, taking my signature weapon, a MX garand marksman rifle, with me to possible clear out the area. I saw from Vision pulsing the area that Spectre was perched the roof of a what seemed like a large parking garage right outside of the forest the Black Market was kept, waving sarcastically once he figured out that I picked him up on my heads-up display. Of course, he was behind the tens of guys taking cover, prepping their assault. Heavy armored Warlord suits, small drones, robots, these guys were using any force of taking me, the WA on the left, and the 54i on the right, taking up most of what I seen. Spectre decided to kick things off. Using his Storm PSR x-ray sniper, he blew the brains out of 4 guy at once, causing the stir-up between parties. "Sniper!" one of the 54i men shouted, and within seconds, the discount cyborgs and the slightly more advanced thugs took notice of each other, and started engaging in combat. "You're a real life saver, you know that?" I said with near graditude to my new partner in crime. "I know. Now get moving, their little squabble will buy you time." Strafing through the forest, I stook to mostly the shadows, using active camo and picking off individual targets, while Spectre worked in his pride of making headshots. "So, got a plan?" I asked him, hoping he'd help me find a way out, since he was in fact protecting me. "Just one. I can hack into the WA's VTOL. Hopefully, it'll fly us out of the Q-zone." "Spectre, you know how much money I need to make here before I started over outside the wall!" I yelled back, the flying bullets drowning out most of the world around me. "Well, it's either that, or you survive, and these assholes come for you again," he replyed rather straight-forward. I let my little silent treatment pass for an "alright, sure," and picked up the pace. Then I was met with another transmission. "Hey, are you hearing this shit?" Spectre vaguely asked. "All I hear are gunshots!" "Well, take a listen then, it's from the WA" "Non-lethal takedowns only! We need him alive!" "They seem to want to take you prisoner. My guess is for those weapon designs you took. Hurry up." Taking that as another initiative to move quicker, I activated my overdrive cyber ability. Once I made it to the streets outside the forest, more trucks packing 54i soldiers came for me. I saw Spectre on the roof once more, giving another exaggerated wave with one arm, shooting targets with the other. After we cleared some more initial tangos, he jumped straight down and onto the street I was on, using his back thrusters to safen his landing, sporting a bright blue and yellow loadout on him, which felt like an oxymoron to his job. "Cmon buddy," he greeted with face to face with me, patting my shoulder. "Our chariot awaits!" He ran for the VTOL, but I has to stop him. Confused at first, he then realized what it was when I showed a small detonator, starting to act and look excited, even with that helmet of his one. "Oh shit! Alright, you gotta let me record this!" he said wildly, pressing his finger to a button on his helmet cam, then forming the shape of a camera with his thumbs and pointer fingers. "Aaannnd... Action!" he signaled for me to blow it. With a press of my thumb, we saw a huge explosion seat from the inner region of where the Black Market used to be, the assassin next to me jumping, clapping and almost cheering in delight of the possible maximum carnage he witnessed while I simply laughed at both him and in reaction to the intense destruction. Putting his hands on his hips and arching his back, Spectre sighed at the way all our threats were extinguished. But after seconds, he fell on his knees, groaning in pain and gripping at his head, as if he just received a major migraine. Shocked, I went over him to help, but he but his hand out, making sure that I wouldn't be affected by what was happening. "I'm getting a DNI virus! Augh, everything is fucking up!" He clawed at his helmet, trying to frantically take it off, but after struggling hard, he collapsed on his side, his corpse 2 inches from my feet. I was in total confusion and shocked after seeing what happened. It looked like his brain was fried, but how? Like me, Spectre was smart enough to put hundred of firewalls protecting his DNI, but who could- My thoughts were cut off from the growing ache in my head, my vision looking like a broken computer screen. I panicked and my only option seemed to claw into my neck, and rip out my own interface. But like my friend, I suffered from the same demise, falling on my back, my DNI simply showing: WARNING: SYSTEM COMPROMISED A bright new worldMISSION PROTOCOL: QUEBEC I woke up after what seemed like awhile, my guess being that the DNI didn't kill me, but set me asleep as a way of making sure the virus didn't take my life, or at least what I has assumed. However, my setting changed. Instead of the streets outside the forest, I was inside. Without questioning anything, I decided to make a break for the VTOL again, hoping the 54i, the Winslow Accord, and Spectre, my only friend, has sadly vanished in the destruction of the Black Market. Using my new overdrive ability to run faster, I kept seeing the trees and bushes go past me, but then, my casual view was interrupted by some wolf-looking creature, and caught off my course, rolling into a small clearing. I recollected myself after falling, looking around for any other soldiers that might have survived the blast. I pulled out my RK5 pistol and took a slow 360 look around where I was standing, but then I picked up sight of a pair of glowing, green eyes. No, three pairs of glowing, green eyes. And they were luring towards me. I pulled the trigger on my pistol, a 3-round burst penetrating the middle creature, but the bullets went straight through, almost sounding like wood. The three creatures growled as they stepped into the light, appearing as a pack of wolves made up of tree branches. Deciding to act quickly instead of questioning what the hell these things were, I threw one of my semtex grenades at the middle one, hitting it again and blowing the poor thing to bits, reducing the timber-like wolf to a burnt pile of twigs. The other two weren't so happy about that and decided to commence their attack on me. With overdrive still active, I swiftly jumped to the side, dodging their immediant pounce and rolling back around to face them. Crouched, I held out my right, mechanical arm, and out of it deployed a small swarm of small firefly drones, which set fire to the Wolf closest to me, burning it alive, then the metal plates shifted on my forearm, transforming it into a small minigun, just like the Reaper project. Spinning it up, a large amount of bullets flew towards the final target, holding him back, then shredding the wood made up of the wolf apart, reducing him to twigs just like the other two when I killed them. My arm folded back, and it when quiet for a couple seconds. Then my peripheral vision caught someone moving on the left behind me. Sharply turning back around and pointing my pistol, I aimed at whatever those footsteps came from. "Show yourself!" I shouted to whatever else had decided to fuck with my day any more. "Wait! Please don't hurt me!" a voice said, sounding rather young and feminine. After she made her response, the supposed person stepped out. What I saw was something years within a rotting portion of Singapore could never prepare me for. The creature was a lavender colored equine. It had two rather large purple eyes, a horn, and wings. I was interacting with a winged unicorn. That was both awesome and fucking just what? A TALKING. PURPLE. UNICORN. WITH. WINGS. She seemed to take notice of my confusion and decided to speak first. "Umm... Hello there stranger. The people in my town heard a disturbance in the Everfree forest, and I decided to check things out. Are you ok sir?" I respected her regard for what was happening that disturbed whatever civilization I stepped foot in, but it still came off as more confusing. Holstering my pistol, I walked closer to the unicorn, her face projecting a bit of fear. "Yes, I'm fine. Care to tell me who you are exactly?" I said, pacing around her like someone inspecting a piece at a museum. Clearing her throat then shaking her head, she spoke up as if she remembered why she came to find me in the first place. "Well.. The Princesses had informed me of a disturbance in the Everfree forest-" "-I'm aware of that. I asked who you are." "My name is Princess Twilight Sparkle." she stated, finally giving me a name to refer to her as. "You're a human, right?" "Yes, of course," well, she at least knew what I exactly was. "So, Princess." I responded again, putting emphasis on the last word. "Am I correct when I refer to you as a winged unicorn?" "Well, technically yes, but I would be referred to as an Alicorn. It's just a species that is exclusive to rulers like myself" she corrected, scratching the back of her head with her hoof, the awkwardness continuing. For a Princess, Twilight didn't seem to have that much social skills, but from what I could tell, she wasn't even wearing the proper attire to seem like a "princess." "Also, I didn't get your name. Care to tell me it?" I contemplated on whether to give her my real name or my callsign. After 5 seconds I answered, making up my mind. "Blackjack, but i would prefer to be called Danny." "Alright, Danny. Follow me. I'll show you the rest of where exactly I'm from." Twilight smiled, seeming like she was actually greeting me to the new world I was in, then turned around to walk away and out of the "Everfree Forest." Following her, I was resorted to walking slower than I wanted, but it was fast enough where I had to power walk. I took more notice of the alicorn while I was behind her. Her height seemed to be not to much taller than up to my chest if you count her horn, and her structure was rather similar to a real pony from Earth. Twilight reminded me of some sort of cartoon character with her proportions, and dare I say it, but she was actually kinda cute. My thoughts about her vanished as we stepped into the town on "Ponyville" as she addressed it. The scenery was absoulutely beautiful when I saw it at first. The skies were clear, the clouds white and puffy, and the sunlight was the type that was felt right in between Spring and Summer. It was rare to see any conceivable decent weather in the Quarantine Zone, and seeing the best of it here instead of the rest of Earth made my admiration take it all in. Twilight took notice of my distraction, and made sure that we kept moving. In the distance, I saw a castle which looked to be made entirely of violet crystal, making itself stand out from the middle-ages look of the rest of Ponyville. Twilight decided to get me started on getting familiar with the place, as if I was gonna stay here forever, pointing out several different public locations, such as a bakery, a boutique, and then proceeding to tell me a whole history of her life while she was here. Twilight seemed rather fascinated by the existence of humans in Equestria, the so-called name of this place, as I had been astonished of the existence of equines being the most dominant species in the world. So much so that even basic vocabulary was changed in favor to them. Instead of everybody, Twilight referred to the population as "everypony," which made more sense the more I heard it. While the princess kept talking about where I was, I then trailed off into thinking how I got here. Retracing my steps, I thought about it. Spectre was hit with a DNI virus right after I blew up the Black Market, then I got affected right after he died. I had wondered where my best friend ended up, thinks perhaps another pony found him, and he was getting the same treatment I was right now. My thoughts were cut off again as Twilight introduced me to her castle, us now being right at the front door, the aesthetics looking even more beautiful than they ever could from a distance. I tried to pull the door open, but the alicorn insisted that I step aside for her to demonstate the unicorn magic she told me about. That term seemed rather vague, as it likely ranged from telekenisis to crazy-ass Harry Potter spells. The door began to open slowly, a bright purple aura surrounding both the handle and Twilight's horn, demonstrating her otherworldly powers and leaving me in awe. When the door fully opened, Twilight gestured her hoof to show me inside. Stepping in, the lobby and full interior made the outside look pale in comparison to it. The crystalline look was adorned with gold pillars and highlights, made up of blues, violets, and greens. "Wow." I simply said in regard. "I know right? It might not be everyone's thing, including my own, but it does bring attention no matter what," chuckling to herself, she added, "a lot of the children come around just to take a look at it, just to think of what they'd if suppose, they were a ruler of Equestria like me." I liked that. There is always the sense of a ruler, even on Earth, that you aspire the younger minds to be like you. Twilight looked young enough to be only understanding it now. "Where's your mother?" I asked, looking back at her. She seemed confused at the question, and reacted with a short "Huh?" "Well, surely a castle like this is accompanied by both a princess and a queen." I said back, wondering why the question seemed alien to her. She got what I was implying, then shook her head. "No, that's not how it worked out. I graduated from my studies, and became a princess as I guess.... for my completion." She smiled again, hoping that I got that answer clearly. It seemed kind of strange, but I guess that just how it worked around here. "I rule in this castle along with my friends too," she added, then realizing we were still standing in the lobby. "Um, we should go. They're waiting for us through here," she continued, trotting up some stairs, and to the next room behind another set of heavy doors, prompting me to follow behind her again. Opening into the throne room, I was greeted with more added to the scenery. The chandelier was made of what looked like the roots of a large tree, then looking back to ground level, I noticed a crystal table, surrounded by 7 chairs, with 6 of them accompanied by 5 other ponies and a small dragon. So, I stepped into a world with a population of talking ponies and even dragons too. I guess it was supposed to be very medival. The others heard the door open, taking notice of first Twilight, then me. I supposed that my appearance wasn't what they were used too. I was adorned in a hoodie, covered by a well-worn flak jacket vest, armed with grenades, dump-pouches, light kevlar plating, a set of thermal goggles, and a respirator while covered in dirt and debris. (OOC: this is a full-body appearance to give the idea of how Blackjack appears) They still stared, while I took notice of the other ponies appearance. They seemed rather unique in their bright colors, similar to what I grown used to from Twilight, and had specific hair/mane styles as well. Twilight broke the ice by first introducing me to the ponies and the small dragon by names, then directing attention to me once more. "And this right here girls, is Danny. He ended up crash-landing in the everfree forest, and why I brought him here." Each of them inspected and eyed my appearance again, Rainbow Dash then adding, "He looks like one of the Wonderbolts' mercenaries." she stated. "I think i'm gonna like him." Well, the mercenary part, I understood, while left to assume that Wonderbolts were the equivalent of military in this world. "Um, pardon me for asking, darling, are one of those humans, by chance?" Rarity added, her question seeming like it was to assure that I wasn't whatever other bipedal creature. "Indeed," i answered, inspecting my fingernails out of boredom. "However, I am quite different than most humans where i'm from." "Care to explain to us?" Applejack questioned, a country-like accent sounding rather obvious coming out of her. "Of course, but first, it's been quite a long day for me." I turned over to face Twilight again, "Is there a bathroom for me to take a shower in?" Boy, had it been a while since I had one of those. "Yes, it's right down that hallway," Twilight replied, pointing to a door on the left of the throne room. "Thank you." Opening then shutting the door and walking to find the bathroom, I immediantly heard conversation stirring up behind me. I had stopped caring for now, and proceded to step in the shower room and turn on the light. Everything was cleaned and well-organized, something to expect from where I was. I disrobed, wiped the initial dirt and grime off of me, then stepped into the already hot water streaming down like a harsh rainstorm. I took this time to think. Right after I blew up the Black market, Spectre died, then I died too via a DNI virus, and I could assume the Cyber ops soldiers met their demise too. My only guess was that because my DNI was connected to Winslow Accord files, and Spectre's DNI was synced with mine, then the explosion that the WA guys were caught affected the two of us, and we ended up here. I have yet to find my partner in crime, and this could all be a glitch or simulation, but only time could tell. Right now, I had to tell the ponies in the other room what happened to me, and explain a brief history of where I'm from. Author's Note Wow, there are suddenly ponies in this story? I know, it's crazy, dontcha think? Well, I hope you like it so far, I had to establish Blackjack and the human characters a bit, and I can't wait to "write" you some more of this. I'm still a terrible writer though SOSDecC-ryp$3tio#n c*0mpl<e.te 10 MINUTES BEFORE BLACKJACK'S ARRIVAL TO PONYVILLE In the dining lounge of the Canterlot castle, occupied by two certain alicorns, Princess Celestia and Luna were conversating over some tea. Mostly casual discussion, which broke away from their required behavior to give the population of Equestria outside of the Royal Palace. During the middle of a shared laugh between the two sisters, a member of the Crystaline guard, clad in his usual cyan uniform, entered the the room. "Excuse me Princesses, I hope I'm not interrupting anything," the guard said, feeling like he came in a but too sudden, but keeping his stoic bearing. "Oh of course, not," Celestia assured, "What seems to be the problem, Captain?" There was a large amount of sweat building up on the stallion's body, indicating that used a teleportation spell for too long a distance. "Your highness, Prince Shining Armor spotted a strange mechanical being coming from within the Crystal mountains," he reported, fully capturing the attention of the two rulers. "We destroyed it, but it also managed to deliver this." he continued, holding up what seemed to resemble a stone or bronze tablet, except made of a strong glass, the words printed on instead of etched. Celestia levitated the tablet over to the dining table with her magic, allowing Luna to take a good look at what it read. SOS: My men and I are trapped within a cave. The weather is too harsh to move down the mountain, but I have sent a GI-unit to deliver this note. The rest of us can't survive in harsh conditions, as we're currently snowed in, and I feel our time is running out. We've lit green flares to indicate our location, and we request immense help. -Captain David "Prophet" Wilkes Luna, finished with reading a few seconds before Celsestia, looked back up at the guard. "Is there anything else, Captain?" "Yes. The royal guard from Ponyville have informed me of a disturbance within the Everfree forest, almost like a meteor crash." "I will report it to Princess Twilight, head back to the Crystal Empire and help whoever sent this distress call," Celestia ordered without moving her eyes away from the message. "Of course, your highness," the guard responded, focusing on, then leaving through a teleportation spell. After a small window of silence, Luna spoke up again. "What do you think we're dealing with here, Tia?" she asked while Celestia was writing a letter to Princess Twilight. "Not sure, but it sounds almost like humans."
Black ops Author's Note Well, i hope you enjoy. This first chapter took days, but I had to get this concept into motion. This first chapter does require perhaps some knowledge of the game Black ops III in order to fully understand. So I apologize if you seem even a little confused while reading. I have left trailers in the description if you need to know of any of it. Black ops MISSION PROTOCOL: ECHO It all started in 2060, when the infamous Singapore disaster occurred. It was a sunny day in August, and one of the last of it's kind. Around the corner was the murky feeling of Autumn, and soon the chilling cruelty of winter, and in the center of it all, was the Coalescence Corporation. Coalescence was known by it's tagline: "enhance yourself for a better tomorrow," basically promoting the idea of bionic enhancement. Many argue that this type of technology takes away the best aspect of humans. We are imperfect, but we use our social interactions to work through those imperfections. I like that. It shows how much we rely on each other. Of course, that idea didn't matter during the break of the disaster. Within a few miles, the facility run by Coalescence let out a massive explosion from within, killing everyone inside, mostly medical patients, doctors, and tourists. This sparked massive attention within the area, and soon curiousity. Authorities not only blocked and prevented people from seeing what had happened, but also resorted to shooting down civilian drones to further ensure their privacy on this matter. During the next few weeks, toxins leaked into the 30-mile region, a chemical identified as Nova 6, which brought the death toll to over Three hundred-thousand. Lives were taken, and we had no idea why. People were already being evacuated from the newly-named Quarantine Zone, but the gas made it's way into the atmosphere, destroying weather patterns. Superstorms began to grow, those of which omitted winds exceeding 150 miles per hour, acid rain, and tore up buildings and shelters. It became total mayhem. People were scattering, trying to leave, but the Singaporean Armed Forces decided to build a 50-story wall around the Q-zone, and abandoning evacuation efforts. The only communication possible was to be made inside the walls, and a millions of people were left stranded. I was one of the unfortunate ones. In fact, I believe my flight outta here was next. Sadly though, I had to put up with it, and had to prepare for the next threat. A crime/terrorist organization, known as the 54 immortals was beginning to rise. Formed in Singapore centuries ago, its radical leaders, Goh Min and Goh Xiulan, took great hold of the Q-zone, requesting the enlistment of anyone willing to, in quote "Bring Singapore to it's natural state." It was either seize militarized control, or be a victim of it. Of course, they didn't do it alone. The Common Defense Pact, an alliance made up of Russia and Eastern European countries, decided to supply them in their reign of terror, in both simple resources and tech, including Exo-Suits, drones, bipedal hive-mind robots, and much more. Enough for them to easily run the Q-zone. Hell, if they wanted too, they could take over all of Singapore if they wanted, but I can assume they are either inexperienced for real war, or just planning. Waiting for the right time.. I managed to stay alive from all the shit happening thanks to my DNI, as it would definitely aid me in combat, and help me adapt to the shitty environment. I had already been enlisted in the 54i. I figured, "Why the hell not?" It's either I join them, or they kill me. It's one of those corrupt militaries where you could do almost anything you wanted. Show your major aggression against people, whether they be civilians or your fellow soldiers was up to you. It was chaos in the streets. The Immortals organized slave trade, mass shootings, and had brutal torture methods. They trade blood for money, and none could even give a damn. Yet, I didn't support these extremist values. I, and a couple few, worked under vengeance. The fact that our government gave up on us because of inconvienient weather and leaking toxins maybe a couple more miles was beyond me. They quit for their own sake, so some of us want revenge, and we were getting closer to it. By around 2065, we ruled the entire Q-zone. If you dare step outside or defy our commands, you would seat to our rage. However I had a very unfortunate encounter with some friends who came from the west. Jacob Hendricks, a long friend I would communicate with from time to time, met up with me in a bar, bringing his friend John Taylor, asking for a fair trade. They wanted to sell me some more advanced GI units, an elaborate form of saying bipedal drones, in which to trade for some basic munitions. We ran into a bit of argument, and then, the Goh siblings showed up. While I was unaware of why they were here, the two were aware of why Hendricks and Taylor were here. Turns out my little friends were agents from the Winslow Accord, the military that owns Coalescence and who supported the abandonment of extraction from the Q-zone 5 years ago. Upon discovery of their identity, the two decided to split. They unleashed a squadron of bots, which shot up the whole bar, killing both me and Goh Min, one of the 54i leaders. The agents continued rampaging through the city, I believe it was to get some intel or some shit. I managed to resurrect myself though. I had recently acquired a Rejack suit, a piece of equipment able to stimulate near-instant self repair to injury when connected to a DNI, restoring the body to a living state. Howeverm when I woke up, I had to face consequences. Goh Xuilan was filled with rage due to her brother's death and demanded that we all open the wall and storm through to the CIA safehouse about a few miles away from the perimeter. I was out of commission, as proper medical attention was something I needed, but the rest of the 54i went on to retaliate. The mission was a failure. Goh Xuilan met her demise at the hands of one of the WA operatives I talked to earlier, and while I had come out of the hospital with a fully-redone cybernetic arm to pair with a reworked military DNI, our military was crippling fast. He Zhen Zhen, the newly established 54i leader and former 17-year-old enforcer, almost had me hanged for my technical affilation with the WA which led to the death of the Goh siblings. She wasn't wrong. They were right across the table from me, and I could've popped one in between each of their eyes if I knew. But, Seraph came to the conclusion that they needed as much men as possible to rebuild their reputation. civilian militas were growing stronger, and militaries were attempting to fly in, sweep the Q-zone clean, and siege the land for their country for whatever purpose. I decided to go rogue. All this controversy among political power had me right in the middle of it. I had to command several regiments, and it was too much. My morals and my death experience led to me abandoning what I knew as a soldier at the time. I made myself a new identity. Callsign "Blackjack" was how I was known in the wrecked streets of Singapore after I officially left the 54i. Weapon selling was my thing. I decided to stay neutral on the new up-and-coming control over the Quarantine Zone, so if you needed a weapon, you came to me on the Black Market. I build and modify firearms, melee tools, and even some digital "swag," as they call it. I also managed to gain access to Winslow Accord files. They have been covertly operating in Singapore, slowly clearing out competitive forces. I managed to swipe access when i found their mobile safehouse while scavenging the land for more materials. I went in, connected myself, then got out. Their data was full of interesting intel. One that caught my eye as a multi-billion dollar failed android built in Zurich, known as "Reaper." The intention was a global peacekeeping device. Similar to GI units, but almost fifty times more advanced, both mechanicaly and in term of their AI. They were supposed to be mass produced. Sadly, not enough money was able to be funded and people spoke out against the idea. The whole "What if they turn against us?" bullshit argument. Honestly, i feel some sympathy. The intentions seem to have people connect more with AI and robotics, something already abundant. However, it seems that one got away. A prototype was saved and used as a soldier for the WA's black ops team. But i took all this new knowledge to my advantage. The WA files contained a heaping amount of Cyber-core abilities, modifications that provided enhancement to any range of combat. Some weapon designs were also in the data, such as Gravity spikes, Tempest railguns, energy blades, they all kept coming. Even blueprints of the Reaper project came to me, allowing me to upgrade my cyber-arm to contain a deployable minigun. However, within about a month of me almost completely upgrading myself, I heard a knock on my door. Thermals picked up a group of foot-mobiles closing in on my armory, both the same Black ops cyber soldiers and some 54i grunts. "Umm hey, you got some company," my HUD showed of an audio transmission from Spectre, a mercenary accomplice of mine. "I'm fully aware of the danger, how many are there?" I said almost impatiently. Spectre, while he was friendly towards his allies, wasn't the easily informative or instructive type of merc. He just did the job efficiently like I do, while adding his own "charm" to the mix. "Lemme see.... I can guessitmate 60? A handful look more well armed and from-" "-That's the Winslow Accord. They've come for me," I cut him off while frantically deleting and reuploading info from my servers to a flash drive. The 54i had placed a bounty on not only Danny Li's head for disloyalty and abandonment, but Blackjack's in terms of ruining their business and interfering with their ops. So basically, if you got me, that doubles the price. "Well, you better get out of there. Their plans seem extremely hostile," the cleaner responded with, any bit of worry non distinguishable. Once everything was finished uploading, I sneaked out of the mobile armory I was in, taking my signature weapon, a MX garand marksman rifle, with me to possible clear out the area. I saw from Vision pulsing the area that Spectre was perched the roof of a what seemed like a large parking garage right outside of the forest the Black Market was kept, waving sarcastically once he figured out that I picked him up on my heads-up display. Of course, he was behind the tens of guys taking cover, prepping their assault. Heavy armored Warlord suits, small drones, robots, these guys were using any force of taking me, the WA on the left, and the 54i on the right, taking up most of what I seen. Spectre decided to kick things off. Using his Storm PSR x-ray sniper, he blew the brains out of 4 guy at once, causing the stir-up between parties. "Sniper!" one of the 54i men shouted, and within seconds, the discount cyborgs and the slightly more advanced thugs took notice of each other, and started engaging in combat. "You're a real life saver, you know that?" I said with near graditude to my new partner in crime. "I know. Now get moving, their little squabble will buy you time." Strafing through the forest, I stook to mostly the shadows, using active camo and picking off individual targets, while Spectre worked in his pride of making headshots. "So, got a plan?" I asked him, hoping he'd help me find a way out, since he was in fact protecting me. "Just one. I can hack into the WA's VTOL. Hopefully, it'll fly us out of the Q-zone." "Spectre, you know how much money I need to make here before I started over outside the wall!" I yelled back, the flying bullets drowning out most of the world around me. "Well, it's either that, or you survive, and these assholes come for you again," he replyed rather straight-forward. I let my little silent treatment pass for an "alright, sure," and picked up the pace. Then I was met with another transmission. "Hey, are you hearing this shit?" Spectre vaguely asked. "All I hear are gunshots!" "Well, take a listen then, it's from the WA" "Non-lethal takedowns only! We need him alive!" "They seem to want to take you prisoner. My guess is for those weapon designs you took. Hurry up." Taking that as another initiative to move quicker, I activated my overdrive cyber ability. Once I made it to the streets outside the forest, more trucks packing 54i soldiers came for me. I saw Spectre on the roof once more, giving another exaggerated wave with one arm, shooting targets with the other. After we cleared some more initial tangos, he jumped straight down and onto the street I was on, using his back thrusters to safen his landing, sporting a bright blue and yellow loadout on him, which felt like an oxymoron to his job. "Cmon buddy," he greeted with face to face with me, patting my shoulder. "Our chariot awaits!" He ran for the VTOL, but I has to stop him. Confused at first, he then realized what it was when I showed a small detonator, starting to act and look excited, even with that helmet of his one. "Oh shit! Alright, you gotta let me record this!" he said wildly, pressing his finger to a button on his helmet cam, then forming the shape of a camera with his thumbs and pointer fingers. "Aaannnd... Action!" he signaled for me to blow it. With a press of my thumb, we saw a huge explosion seat from the inner region of where the Black Market used to be, the assassin next to me jumping, clapping and almost cheering in delight of the possible maximum carnage he witnessed while I simply laughed at both him and in reaction to the intense destruction. Putting his hands on his hips and arching his back, Spectre sighed at the way all our threats were extinguished. But after seconds, he fell on his knees, groaning in pain and gripping at his head, as if he just received a major migraine. Shocked, I went over him to help, but he but his hand out, making sure that I wouldn't be affected by what was happening. "I'm getting a DNI virus! Augh, everything is fucking up!" He clawed at his helmet, trying to frantically take it off, but after struggling hard, he collapsed on his side, his corpse 2 inches from my feet. I was in total confusion and shocked after seeing what happened. It looked like his brain was fried, but how? Like me, Spectre was smart enough to put hundred of firewalls protecting his DNI, but who could- My thoughts were cut off from the growing ache in my head, my vision looking like a broken computer screen. I panicked and my only option seemed to claw into my neck, and rip out my own interface. But like my friend, I suffered from the same demise, falling on my back, my DNI simply showing: WARNING: SYSTEM COMPROMISED
A bright new worldMISSION PROTOCOL: QUEBEC I woke up after what seemed like awhile, my guess being that the DNI didn't kill me, but set me asleep as a way of making sure the virus didn't take my life, or at least what I has assumed. However, my setting changed. Instead of the streets outside the forest, I was inside. Without questioning anything, I decided to make a break for the VTOL again, hoping the 54i, the Winslow Accord, and Spectre, my only friend, has sadly vanished in the destruction of the Black Market. Using my new overdrive ability to run faster, I kept seeing the trees and bushes go past me, but then, my casual view was interrupted by some wolf-looking creature, and caught off my course, rolling into a small clearing. I recollected myself after falling, looking around for any other soldiers that might have survived the blast. I pulled out my RK5 pistol and took a slow 360 look around where I was standing, but then I picked up sight of a pair of glowing, green eyes. No, three pairs of glowing, green eyes. And they were luring towards me. I pulled the trigger on my pistol, a 3-round burst penetrating the middle creature, but the bullets went straight through, almost sounding like wood. The three creatures growled as they stepped into the light, appearing as a pack of wolves made up of tree branches. Deciding to act quickly instead of questioning what the hell these things were, I threw one of my semtex grenades at the middle one, hitting it again and blowing the poor thing to bits, reducing the timber-like wolf to a burnt pile of twigs. The other two weren't so happy about that and decided to commence their attack on me. With overdrive still active, I swiftly jumped to the side, dodging their immediant pounce and rolling back around to face them. Crouched, I held out my right, mechanical arm, and out of it deployed a small swarm of small firefly drones, which set fire to the Wolf closest to me, burning it alive, then the metal plates shifted on my forearm, transforming it into a small minigun, just like the Reaper project. Spinning it up, a large amount of bullets flew towards the final target, holding him back, then shredding the wood made up of the wolf apart, reducing him to twigs just like the other two when I killed them. My arm folded back, and it when quiet for a couple seconds. Then my peripheral vision caught someone moving on the left behind me. Sharply turning back around and pointing my pistol, I aimed at whatever those footsteps came from. "Show yourself!" I shouted to whatever else had decided to fuck with my day any more. "Wait! Please don't hurt me!" a voice said, sounding rather young and feminine. After she made her response, the supposed person stepped out. What I saw was something years within a rotting portion of Singapore could never prepare me for. The creature was a lavender colored equine. It had two rather large purple eyes, a horn, and wings. I was interacting with a winged unicorn. That was both awesome and fucking just what? A TALKING. PURPLE. UNICORN. WITH. WINGS. She seemed to take notice of my confusion and decided to speak first. "Umm... Hello there stranger. The people in my town heard a disturbance in the Everfree forest, and I decided to check things out. Are you ok sir?" I respected her regard for what was happening that disturbed whatever civilization I stepped foot in, but it still came off as more confusing. Holstering my pistol, I walked closer to the unicorn, her face projecting a bit of fear. "Yes, I'm fine. Care to tell me who you are exactly?" I said, pacing around her like someone inspecting a piece at a museum. Clearing her throat then shaking her head, she spoke up as if she remembered why she came to find me in the first place. "Well.. The Princesses had informed me of a disturbance in the Everfree forest-" "-I'm aware of that. I asked who you are." "My name is Princess Twilight Sparkle." she stated, finally giving me a name to refer to her as. "You're a human, right?" "Yes, of course," well, she at least knew what I exactly was. "So, Princess." I responded again, putting emphasis on the last word. "Am I correct when I refer to you as a winged unicorn?" "Well, technically yes, but I would be referred to as an Alicorn. It's just a species that is exclusive to rulers like myself" she corrected, scratching the back of her head with her hoof, the awkwardness continuing. For a Princess, Twilight didn't seem to have that much social skills, but from what I could tell, she wasn't even wearing the proper attire to seem like a "princess." "Also, I didn't get your name. Care to tell me it?" I contemplated on whether to give her my real name or my callsign. After 5 seconds I answered, making up my mind. "Blackjack, but i would prefer to be called Danny." "Alright, Danny. Follow me. I'll show you the rest of where exactly I'm from." Twilight smiled, seeming like she was actually greeting me to the new world I was in, then turned around to walk away and out of the "Everfree Forest." Following her, I was resorted to walking slower than I wanted, but it was fast enough where I had to power walk. I took more notice of the alicorn while I was behind her. Her height seemed to be not to much taller than up to my chest if you count her horn, and her structure was rather similar to a real pony from Earth. Twilight reminded me of some sort of cartoon character with her proportions, and dare I say it, but she was actually kinda cute. My thoughts about her vanished as we stepped into the town on "Ponyville" as she addressed it. The scenery was absoulutely beautiful when I saw it at first. The skies were clear, the clouds white and puffy, and the sunlight was the type that was felt right in between Spring and Summer. It was rare to see any conceivable decent weather in the Quarantine Zone, and seeing the best of it here instead of the rest of Earth made my admiration take it all in. Twilight took notice of my distraction, and made sure that we kept moving. In the distance, I saw a castle which looked to be made entirely of violet crystal, making itself stand out from the middle-ages look of the rest of Ponyville. Twilight decided to get me started on getting familiar with the place, as if I was gonna stay here forever, pointing out several different public locations, such as a bakery, a boutique, and then proceeding to tell me a whole history of her life while she was here. Twilight seemed rather fascinated by the existence of humans in Equestria, the so-called name of this place, as I had been astonished of the existence of equines being the most dominant species in the world. So much so that even basic vocabulary was changed in favor to them. Instead of everybody, Twilight referred to the population as "everypony," which made more sense the more I heard it. While the princess kept talking about where I was, I then trailed off into thinking how I got here. Retracing my steps, I thought about it. Spectre was hit with a DNI virus right after I blew up the Black Market, then I got affected right after he died. I had wondered where my best friend ended up, thinks perhaps another pony found him, and he was getting the same treatment I was right now. My thoughts were cut off again as Twilight introduced me to her castle, us now being right at the front door, the aesthetics looking even more beautiful than they ever could from a distance. I tried to pull the door open, but the alicorn insisted that I step aside for her to demonstate the unicorn magic she told me about. That term seemed rather vague, as it likely ranged from telekenisis to crazy-ass Harry Potter spells. The door began to open slowly, a bright purple aura surrounding both the handle and Twilight's horn, demonstrating her otherworldly powers and leaving me in awe. When the door fully opened, Twilight gestured her hoof to show me inside. Stepping in, the lobby and full interior made the outside look pale in comparison to it. The crystalline look was adorned with gold pillars and highlights, made up of blues, violets, and greens. "Wow." I simply said in regard. "I know right? It might not be everyone's thing, including my own, but it does bring attention no matter what," chuckling to herself, she added, "a lot of the children come around just to take a look at it, just to think of what they'd if suppose, they were a ruler of Equestria like me." I liked that. There is always the sense of a ruler, even on Earth, that you aspire the younger minds to be like you. Twilight looked young enough to be only understanding it now. "Where's your mother?" I asked, looking back at her. She seemed confused at the question, and reacted with a short "Huh?" "Well, surely a castle like this is accompanied by both a princess and a queen." I said back, wondering why the question seemed alien to her. She got what I was implying, then shook her head. "No, that's not how it worked out. I graduated from my studies, and became a princess as I guess.... for my completion." She smiled again, hoping that I got that answer clearly. It seemed kind of strange, but I guess that just how it worked around here. "I rule in this castle along with my friends too," she added, then realizing we were still standing in the lobby. "Um, we should go. They're waiting for us through here," she continued, trotting up some stairs, and to the next room behind another set of heavy doors, prompting me to follow behind her again. Opening into the throne room, I was greeted with more added to the scenery. The chandelier was made of what looked like the roots of a large tree, then looking back to ground level, I noticed a crystal table, surrounded by 7 chairs, with 6 of them accompanied by 5 other ponies and a small dragon. So, I stepped into a world with a population of talking ponies and even dragons too. I guess it was supposed to be very medival. The others heard the door open, taking notice of first Twilight, then me. I supposed that my appearance wasn't what they were used too. I was adorned in a hoodie, covered by a well-worn flak jacket vest, armed with grenades, dump-pouches, light kevlar plating, a set of thermal goggles, and a respirator while covered in dirt and debris. (OOC: this is a full-body appearance to give the idea of how Blackjack appears) They still stared, while I took notice of the other ponies appearance. They seemed rather unique in their bright colors, similar to what I grown used to from Twilight, and had specific hair/mane styles as well. Twilight broke the ice by first introducing me to the ponies and the small dragon by names, then directing attention to me once more. "And this right here girls, is Danny. He ended up crash-landing in the everfree forest, and why I brought him here." Each of them inspected and eyed my appearance again, Rainbow Dash then adding, "He looks like one of the Wonderbolts' mercenaries." she stated. "I think i'm gonna like him." Well, the mercenary part, I understood, while left to assume that Wonderbolts were the equivalent of military in this world. "Um, pardon me for asking, darling, are one of those humans, by chance?" Rarity added, her question seeming like it was to assure that I wasn't whatever other bipedal creature. "Indeed," i answered, inspecting my fingernails out of boredom. "However, I am quite different than most humans where i'm from." "Care to explain to us?" Applejack questioned, a country-like accent sounding rather obvious coming out of her. "Of course, but first, it's been quite a long day for me." I turned over to face Twilight again, "Is there a bathroom for me to take a shower in?" Boy, had it been a while since I had one of those. "Yes, it's right down that hallway," Twilight replied, pointing to a door on the left of the throne room. "Thank you." Opening then shutting the door and walking to find the bathroom, I immediantly heard conversation stirring up behind me. I had stopped caring for now, and proceded to step in the shower room and turn on the light. Everything was cleaned and well-organized, something to expect from where I was. I disrobed, wiped the initial dirt and grime off of me, then stepped into the already hot water streaming down like a harsh rainstorm. I took this time to think. Right after I blew up the Black market, Spectre died, then I died too via a DNI virus, and I could assume the Cyber ops soldiers met their demise too. My only guess was that because my DNI was connected to Winslow Accord files, and Spectre's DNI was synced with mine, then the explosion that the WA guys were caught affected the two of us, and we ended up here. I have yet to find my partner in crime, and this could all be a glitch or simulation, but only time could tell. Right now, I had to tell the ponies in the other room what happened to me, and explain a brief history of where I'm from. Author's Note Wow, there are suddenly ponies in this story? I know, it's crazy, dontcha think? Well, I hope you like it so far, I had to establish Blackjack and the human characters a bit, and I can't wait to "write" you some more of this. I'm still a terrible writer though
SOSDecC-ryp$3tio#n c*0mpl<e.te 10 MINUTES BEFORE BLACKJACK'S ARRIVAL TO PONYVILLE In the dining lounge of the Canterlot castle, occupied by two certain alicorns, Princess Celestia and Luna were conversating over some tea. Mostly casual discussion, which broke away from their required behavior to give the population of Equestria outside of the Royal Palace. During the middle of a shared laugh between the two sisters, a member of the Crystaline guard, clad in his usual cyan uniform, entered the the room. "Excuse me Princesses, I hope I'm not interrupting anything," the guard said, feeling like he came in a but too sudden, but keeping his stoic bearing. "Oh of course, not," Celestia assured, "What seems to be the problem, Captain?" There was a large amount of sweat building up on the stallion's body, indicating that used a teleportation spell for too long a distance. "Your highness, Prince Shining Armor spotted a strange mechanical being coming from within the Crystal mountains," he reported, fully capturing the attention of the two rulers. "We destroyed it, but it also managed to deliver this." he continued, holding up what seemed to resemble a stone or bronze tablet, except made of a strong glass, the words printed on instead of etched. Celestia levitated the tablet over to the dining table with her magic, allowing Luna to take a good look at what it read. SOS: My men and I are trapped within a cave. The weather is too harsh to move down the mountain, but I have sent a GI-unit to deliver this note. The rest of us can't survive in harsh conditions, as we're currently snowed in, and I feel our time is running out. We've lit green flares to indicate our location, and we request immense help. -Captain David "Prophet" Wilkes Luna, finished with reading a few seconds before Celsestia, looked back up at the guard. "Is there anything else, Captain?" "Yes. The royal guard from Ponyville have informed me of a disturbance within the Everfree forest, almost like a meteor crash." "I will report it to Princess Twilight, head back to the Crystal Empire and help whoever sent this distress call," Celestia ordered without moving her eyes away from the message. "Of course, your highness," the guard responded, focusing on, then leaving through a teleportation spell. After a small window of silence, Luna spoke up again. "What do you think we're dealing with here, Tia?" she asked while Celestia was writing a letter to Princess Twilight. "Not sure, but it sounds almost like humans."
