The Beginning of the End
Things are Changing
Sergi slowly opened his eyes. He slowly pushed himself up of the ground. Suddenly all the memories flashed back into his head at once. Immediately he stood up to search his surroundings. He stood inside a large cave that could easily fit a small armored unit in there. His tent was already set up and a fire crackling off to the side with one figure watching him.
"Who are you?" Sergi flatly asked as he started to reach for one of his knifes.
"My name is Alexander. I helped you get out of the forest.
"You...You were with Dimitri."
"I only used the power you held to pull one of your memories out to save you. Once you are fully healed, I would suggest going back to town." The figure said as he slowly stood up.
"What do you mean? I am just flesh and blood." Sergi said as his right hand slowly grasped for where a knife should have been.
"You are not just flesh and blood. I can clearly see you’re also built with metal, but you also hold powers in this world. Like back at the griffon camp, you used that power to save your friends. It also seems that when Celestia hit you with that burst of magic, the mechanical device inside of you started up. See for yourself if you don't believe me." The Figure answered as he began walking out of the cave. “Oh Sergi, I got you another jacket and shirt to replace your old one, courtesy of your friend Dimitri."
He walked out into the sunlight of the day and began dissolving into the air. Sergi stared out the cave for a few seconds before going to brush himself off. Looking down he saw something that stunned him, part of his right side was no longer muscles but shining metal. Any skin near the site was burnt to a crisp while the metal seemed almost natural where it was.
"Commander, I see that you are awake. Would you like me to fill you in on what happened?" The AI said through his helmet.
"Just any messages I received would be enough. Can you explain to me why I am not in total pain right now?" Sergi said as he continued to study the new area.
"Project WAR-ANGEL, an idea to create super soldiers out of regular men and women. Most experiments dealt with drugs and medicines to do things such as accelerated healing speeds and other such things. Your part of Project WAR-ANGEL, was to replace your skeletal structure with a metal mainframe. With this, it combines with your organic systems to create something that cannot be created through messing with genes. It seems like that bolt of power from Celestia started up the systems." The AI replied.
"What was the magic that Alexander mentioned before?" Sergi asked as he began checking the rest of his body.
"I am unsure about what he meant by that but you seem to have regained power to your TACPAD and also have an unknown power source emitting from your right hand." The AI responded.
Sergi had taken off his jacket and looked at the large hole in the back of the jacket. It was about two feet wide and all the metal plates in the near vicinity were melted into mangled forms. He frowned at the ruined jacket and took out everything he had in the pockets before tossing the jacket to the ground. A glimmer of gold caught his eye as he released the jacket. On his right hand was a gauntlet that bore the emblem of the Cossacks on the back. This he definitely knew he had never seen before. He carefully unstrapped the golden gauntlet and proceeded inside his tent. As he looked around the inside he found a new jacket and olive shirt lying on the cot. He replaced his attire and went outside the cave. The sun warmed his skin but still left him cold. There had to be information on what happened and why he was attacked.
"Patch me up to Anderson's helmet. I want to see what happened right when I got hit." Sergi said as he walked back inside to set up the display set.
With his helmet connected to the device, the screen lit up with colors. He saw himself running across the fields. He heard Celestia trying to call out to him to stop running and to pay for the crimes he committed. At the corner of the screen Celestia's head appeared and her horn was dripping magic. With a bright flash, a solid beam of light shot out of her horn. It flew all the way out and made impact with his back. The force of the impact blasted him almost to the forest. Even from the distance that Anderson was at, the gaping wound could easily be seen. The video continued to show a four man group in tactical black attire poured out of the woods. Two of the men grabbed Sergi and started to drag him inside the forest while the other two pulled out something and tossed it towards Anderson and the group. In mid-flight the devices exploded, blinded and temporarily deafening all who were watching the scene. The sound of other came from somewhere off the screen.
"Princesses, I have been sent to give you the report on what we found at the burn spot. Other than the metal objects lining the forest floor, we also found other weapons there such as swords, maces, and spears. It seems like the human single handedly taken an entire small army of griffons. We know that for a fact after finding bodies that were in different states of immolation farther away from the scene." Said a Pegasus in golden armor with smudges of black all over him.
Sergi chuckled at the faces of everyone in the view of the helmet cam. Looks of disbelief were clearly printed onto the faces of every single creature there, except for Rainbow Dash who was just hovering in the air looking at the dog tags that were still in her hoof.
"Princess Celestia, are you sick? I hope not because the Grand Galloping Gala is only a week away." The Pegasus asked when he took a closer look at the tired out Celestia.
Sergi had seen all that he needed and stopped the playback. He walked back into the sunlight and looked down at the small town that he had left. It was a long time before he stepped back into the cave to prepare. Not only did he have to figure out how to use his new abilities, but he also had to prepare for something called the Grand Galloping Gala. A question came into his mind and he looked back through the confrontation again. Watching the beam hitting him in the back raised a question he never thought of before:
"How much energy did that blast have?" He asked the AI
"From my calculations, it was about 120 kilo-amps." The AI responded.
Sergi chuckled to himself as he remembered his time in the labs a voice seemed to come out of nowhere and remind him of the irony.
"If anything, the metal in his body would attract a lightning bolt that might start up the systems he has. Nature has always had an interesting way of making things work."
====================
Anderson stood by the stove as he expertly cooked pancakes. So much happened yesterday that he had to keep his mind off of what had happened to avoid getting a certain pony re-worked up. He had to force her to go to bed and get some sleep. He didn't get to sleep until 2:03 that morning. He placed a new batch of pancakes on top of a large pile on the table. Spike had gotten up earlier and was scarfing down his own pile. Anderson looked up at the clock on the wall and groaned when he saw it was only 6:05. He turned his head when he heard another groan, Twilight Sparkle was standing in the doorway to the kitchen with her mane all roughed up.
"Good morning Twilight. Did you manage to get any sleep last night?" Anderson asked as he turned off the top burner of the stove and moved to grab his own plate of food.
"I barely got any sleep last night. Sergi risked his life to save us from the griffons and all we do in return is treat him like a criminal. If only I could’ve known or have delayed what was happening for only a few seconds!" Twilight Sparkle answered as she began to go into the paranoid state she was for remainder the day yesterday.
"No one could’ve known what had happened there and you wouldn't have been able to know any sooner. Have some pancakes, they’ll help you relax." He replied patting a spot at the table.
"I guess that your right. That still does not explain why he did not tell us what he did when he got back." Twilight said as she placed some pancakes on her plate.
"I think that he knew that you and your friends were already on edge for what he did in town with the substantially smaller group of griffons. If he would have come straight out with what he did, you might’ve just pushed him away and considered him a monster." He answered before he placed some of his own home cooking into his mouth.
"He seems to be able to read anypony like a book. How is it possible for him to do that?" Twilight inquired as she poured syrup onto her pancake stack.
"I don't really know. He seems like a shadow-lurker whenever he does stuff like that." Anderson replied before realizing that he used a term that nobody used here. "A shadow-lurker is a phrase that we used back where I come from. It is the name for when we feel that something is there in the shadows when there is actually nothing at all."
Anderson finished the rest of his pancakes and headed off to work. Even though he did not have to work till 7:00am, he did not want to get wrapped up in the string of questions that Twilight Sparkle would inevitably throw at him. He did like to answer her questions and have a good conversation, but when he got caught up in one, he can never pull away from the conversation. When he reached the edge of Sweet Apple Acres he ran across the Cutiemark Crusaders.
"Good morning Anderson!" They all chimed as they rushed past him.
Up at the farm it appeared he was not the only one that decided to work early today. Applejack and Sir Henry were already up and working on general things around the farm. He waved at the two as he approached the two.
"Morning Anderson, how’s Twilight holdin' up?" Applejack asked as he approached.
"Better than yesterday but still thinking that she could have done something to prevent what had happened." Anderson said as he remembered how long it took just to get her to get some sleep.
"Well some progress is better than none. I think she will be her old self again before the Gala." Sir Henry said trying to calm their minds.
They started out with tending the new crops that were planted recently and prepping the apple trees for a new growing season. Things were going at a good speed in the quiet atmosphere. All three of them were caught up in their own thoughts and jobs. The silence was broken when a blur of cyan shot across the sky and came back around to the farm. Rainbow Dash looked as though she didn't even get any sleep last night.
"What happened Rainbow Dash? You look worse than Twilight this morning." Anderson asked as the bags under her eyes could clearly be seen.
"I've been trying to find Sergi...Since he isn't in trouble with the law anymore I thought I could find him and try to help him out." Rainbow Dash said with a yawn halfway through her sentence.
"You should get some sleep Sugarcube. Last time I tried to do things when I was plum tuckered out, things didn’t go so well." Applejack replied.
"What is that medallion you’re wearing; I have never seen anything like that before." Sir Henry said as he saw the new accessory around her neck.
"Oh this, Sergi gave me this before he ran off out of town." She replied as she looked down at the dog tags.
"You mean yesterday morning before the guards came?" Anderson asked to try to clarify when.
"No, before he got hit with whatever Celestia used." She answered after thinking for a moment.
"I still can't believe that even after he got hit with that blast, he was still moving. He is just one stubborn little bast..." Anderson began
"Well I'll leave you guys to get back to your work; I'll try to find Sergi again." Rainbow Dash interrupted Anderson's statement.
"Hold on there, you are beyond tired and won't do any good out there. You’re most likely to make things worse if you continue." Applejack said as she quickly grabbed onto her tail.
"But..." Rainbow Dash tried to counter.
"NO! I will not let you go to ah-don't-know-where and get hurt or lost. WE are done with our work here and were headin' down to Rarity's to get things ready for the Gala. Ah suggest that you should come with us and enjoy our company. All we want is to help out as friends." Applejack answered as she let go of Rainbow Dash's tail.
"Like I said before, Sergi is one of the most stubborn things out there. He isn't going to die that easily." Anderson said to support Applejack in this discussion.
"Okay, I guess you’re right. I'll tag along with you guys for the time being. Hey Anderson, can I take up that offer you gave before the party?" Rainbow Dash said as she looked over at Anderson.
"I guess that since Sergi isn’t around I can tell one of the stories, but like I said before: Do not take any of the information as actual fact." Anderson said as he made sure his last sentence came through for everyone listening. "Now is there any type you would like to listen to?"
"I want to hear one that’s filled with action!" Rainbow Dash replied with excitement after yawning.
"I know just the one you’d like, I was even in this one so it is the most un-altered story." Anderson replied with a smile.
====================
Sergi's dreams took him to the outskirts of Berlin, only mere days before he was brought over here and the end of his own world. He was sitting in an APC heading up to the front lines. The sounds of the war could be heard through the heavily armored walls. He sat there with his mask on staring at the vacant seat across from him. He could easily hear the gossiping of the other soldiers in the same APC.
"Who's the Russian over there? Shouldn’t he be back in one of the POW camps?" One of the soldiers said.
"His name is Sergi; he's a 100 percent pure Russian killing machine. Don't piss him off; it usually ends up with a seriously wounded soldier and the top brass yelling in my ear." The Captain answered in a plain voice.
"So why don't they deal with him? He can't be that dangerous." The soldier inquired.
"Lets just say this; his entry application was destroying a small army all by himself and taking down multiple HVTs including a mole acting as an advisor for General McBride. Now shut your trap and get ready to go." The Captain replied ten seconds before a green light filled the interior. The back hatch opened and everyone streamed outside. Sergi took a look around and quickly drew up the situation.
"What do we have here Sergi?" The Captain asked.
"An Anti-Armor team positioned in that parking garage is keeping our armor from getting any closer to the city and our infantry are having trouble making forward progress because of two sniper teams positioned on the seventh floor of that apartment complex and the roof of that office building. There is a blind spot in their lines of sight off to the right side starting by that tank wreckage over there. It seems to be tipping into a deep trench which you could use to infiltrate the enemy fortification and take out the Anti-Armor team." Sergi answered through the squad radio frequency.
"Uh...Sir, how does he know that before us, Sir?" The soldier asked.
"You know how the Captain mentioned that he was a killing machine. Well, his training started when you were how old Sergi?" Snake asked with a grin on his face.
"Since I was six years old, raised by the best mercenary group you could ever find." Sergi replied keeping his voice flat and cold. "Now you guys can advance toward the fortification while I deal with the snipers."
The Captain nodded and waved the rest of the squad forward. Sergi checked the chamber of his American Mass Accelerated rifle. The shine of an aluminum round answered his question and he went out to eliminate the snipers. On the way he pressed a few buttons on his TACPAD and he disappeared from sight. The killing zone could easily be seen by the number of bodies lying out in unnatural positions. A medic could be seen being pinned down in the middle of the killing field hiding behind a small hill with the remains of a fence post. Sergi crawled up to the medic and tapped into his channel.
"Soldier where is your squad?" He simply asked.
"Sir, they are all dead Sir. Are you the support that was promised?" He replied with fear in his voice.
"You could say that. Now keep your head down and don't you worry." Sergi said simply as he placed the sights on the sniper team on top of the office building.
All of the noise that surrounded him was muted and Sergi focused on the shot. Slowly he pulled the trigger and watched as the bullet streamlined straight toward the gunner. Quickly he disposed of the spotter and dropped down to the ground to avoid the other sniper team seeing where he was sniping from. He placed the rifle on top of the fence post and spotted out the second sniper team. They were feverously searching for who had just taken out their other team. Sergi looked through the scope and chuckled to himself. As the scope began looking through the walls of the apartment complex, a multitude of different ammunition could be seen lying around the room. He turned the rifle until the crosshairs placed on top of a container filled with HE rounds for any heavy armor. The bullet sped off when the trigger was pulled and drove right into the target. The box erupted into a ball of flame that tossed the sniper team out of the window down to the ground. Sergi checked the rest of the area for enemy teams and reappeared into the world.
"Go do your job now." He said as he tapped the back of the medic's helmet.
The medic ran out into the field and stationed himself next to a wounded soldier. He started going to work on the soldier as Sergi walked up and continued to look around for any hints of an enemy. The wounded soldier looked up and saw Sergi standing there.
"Glad you’re on our side sir." The soldier said as he made an attempt to give a salute.
"All systems running beyond standard limits, remote connection is online." A voice said pulling Sergi out of his unnatural sleep.
He pushed himself off the ground and looked at the bulking object in front of him. A laugh escaped his as he stared at the object. 'Equestria is in for one hell of a surprise.' He thought to himself as he began looking around at the other various things that surrounded him.