> A Ghost's uprising
>  by that_one_guy -
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> (Prolog ) edited 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

                   
A Ghost's uprising  

*Deep within a research laboratory in the desserts of Nevada Area 51 *


"Yeah yeah I GOT IT!"  

A young man barely out of college, looks like he hasn't slept for weeks rummages through a file cabinet. Only to slam it shut further yelling back at his boss.    

"I'LL GET YOUR MOTHER FUCKING COFFEE, GOD DAMN!!"  

"EXCUSE ME MR. LONDERGEN?" 

Mr. Londergen  heard an entity burst into his small office. 

"We've just been given something that could change the field of science as we know it. " 


Obviously pissed his co-worker disrespected him  he could understand given the circumstances, 
Being cooped up in this environment has its effects to young men who deserve a social life. 


Josh Londergen a genius in his own right sat at his desk facing his boss, A Team Fortress 2 poster to his left.    

" A mirror?" 


"Not Just any mirror Mr. Londergen, a mirror that defies the laws of physics, A mirror tha-" 


Not wanting to deal with his rants Josh cuts him off.   

" I get it the mirror's fucking special."

"Also you've been selected to study it" 

*One coffee  later* 

"So this is the it?"  Josh stands a couple feet parallel  to a large mirror with 2 shades of purple encrusting it.                 

The room   was decent in size, the mirror was placed in the main research and development wing of the facility. 

"Looks kinda fruity if you ask me boss."   

"Enough. it doesn't matter what it looks like but on what it does, Watch closely." 

The man approached the mirror pulling  out a pen from his lab coat pocket. He then slowly pushed the pen through the mirror.   

"You see?" 

Josh, lost for words replied back with silence. 

" Completely fascinating if you ask me" 


pulling the pen from the mirror, a ripple appears in the mirror as if it was liquid is then seen.

"Now if you'll excuse me,  I'll let you do your thing Mr.londergen" 

Nonchalantly Dropping the pen he walked away to treat himself with the coffee  he set on a counter before they entered the room next to the entrance.  


Josh walked forward to examine the mirror more closely, both scientists passing each other .

"You really should feel honored my friend, not many get the chance like this"  

"uh huh sur- WOAH"    accidentally sliding  on the pen that was dropped Josh  stumbles into the mirror

"Mr. Londergen? "   The man turned around to see what happened, Fear engulfed his senses to the point he dropped his coffee. Its caramel colored contents spilling onto the white tile floor. The man quickly went for the telecom that was on the wall.   


" I NEED AN EMERGENCY RESCUE TEAM DISPATCHED TO  R&D LAB A290 NOW!!" 

        * Equistria, royal palace 3:19 pm  *                              
           


"uuhh"  laying prone  Josh was groaning out of dizziness and slight pain     

He began accessing himself mentally to establish that he was still alive and unharmed. 


Feeling some sort of fuzzy rug between his finger and face, still laying face down  he heard something like a door creak open. 

Pushing his torso up from the ground to see a cream colored humanoid with blond hair tied into a bun walk into the room carrying a stack of  neatly folded towels. Mentally establishing that it was a her he couldn't help but notice that she was wearing a very arousing french maid outfit.  


"Um....Ma'm?"  

Still on the floor he got her attention. " I'm sorry to bother you but do you have any idea where iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-"    Josh couldn't finish his sentence when he finally saw her..     


Both persons stayed silent and just stared at each other in awe .    



* Celestia's throne * 

Celestia sat quietly using her magic to do the day's paper work, three funding requests and reading a rather disturbing report about the Crystal Empire that caught her attention. 

Her contemplation was ceased as a scream echoed through the palace.   

Simultaneously Running and screaming he was being chased by castle guards through out the halls of Celestia's palace.
"WHAT DA FUUUCK"  Having been the star athlete in his high school years, earning scholarships to go through college he was able to give a decent chase.                                                                                                                             

The fact that they were armed with Halberds only deterred his cooperation.  "This can't be happening, this can't be happening" Josh thought to himself constantly 

"Being chased by humanoid horses what a day."       

Running down the vast halls he occasionally ran into more maids, it seemed odd to him that instead of shrieks of fear the maids just curiously watched him as he sprinted past them.

Some how managing to return to his point of origin, He was trapped dozens of guards now crowded the door frame of the room that looked something like a Switzerland hotel suite.  

Josh's  back to the mirror facing the entrance  panting he just stood there examining the 6 foot tall white stallion glad in Gold colored armor Halberds pointing at him.  


"Is this the end?" Josh thought to himself, "to be skewered by ...by these things?"  

But impeccably four people dressed in digital camouflage black body armor, their identity's hidden behind balaclava's and tinted shades ,color matching their body armor.     walked through the mirror behind him    


"Dispatch this is 3-4 Echo we have found the V.I.P.....Dispatch?..." 

" Coms must be out"


"No shit Sherlock considering we just went through some damn magical  mirror."  

"Vapor, remind me to have your head checked because one: my call sign is raptor. two: you're speaking to your C.O....so i advise you shut the fuck up with the smart ass remarks.  

" yes sir" was all vapor could say. His glare of pure hatred was hidden by his shades and balaclava 

"Form up on the V.I.P" 

The squad then formed a wall in front of josh , Vapor  pulling him behind the squad ordering him to stay down as he returned to formation, M416's aimed at the group of guards their laser lights pointed at the chinks in their armor a gap of a few feet separated both deadly warriors.   

A voice among the squad broke the silence as the milliseconds passed  "Now what the fuck are those things."  

"Can it Crutch."   

The small team just stood there facing the guards quietly who also did the same weapons readied to retaliate at the slightest movement . 

Both party's didn't know what to expect as the stand off continued, seconds felt like hours .until a golden bright light stunned both the squad and the guards.  

*two minutes later*


"Understood"  Miraculously the leader of the squad managed to establish a small truce on quagmire like terms

"Are you fucking serious raptor?"  

"What choice do we have T-bone? either we do this by their terms or risk conflict?"  

"With all do respect Sir ,what the fuck  do you think we're trained for?"               

"I Know Crutch but you have to trust me on this one."  

"last time you said that this used to be a 5 man team."   



Arms crossed pressing against her  breasts wearing a bright white dress that showed her enticing cleavage.  Celestia  stood in the middle of the gap between her confused guards and the humans.  slightly amused with a dash of curiosity as these masked soldiers argued. 


Moments later Raptor ordered his team to drop their weapons according to the terms that was set.


"I'm not doing it " Among the four only one still had his weapon in hand, it was T-bone. 

"If you do not drop your weapon I shit you not Corporal I will drop you" 

Raptor moved forward from the formation to the left of it approaching T-bone. pulling  out his side arm pointed at T-bones left temple.   

"We just made contact with an alien species.....I won't allow you to fuck shit up like this. We're supposed to project our selves as reasonable self conscious beings. not trigger happy killers.     

T-bone still had his M416 pointed at Celestia.  

"T-BONE!!!! STAND THE FUCK DOWN NOW!! "   

T-bone replied back with  "Fuck you Raptor".

Raptor put a bullet into T-bone's cranium, Blood splattering onto the wall. 

his limp lifeless body fell with a thud as raptor began pacing back and fouth yelling  "FUCK!" In frustration. vapor and crutch were still as stone with their hands behind their heads waiting for raptor to join them.      

Raptor sighed turning to meet  Celestia's gaze as she began to speak.  

"You didn't have to end him." 

" He refused to compile with orders following a warning, it was necessary...in our line of work you're no good if you don't do what you're told."

Narrowing her eyes she continued.  "Then lets continue with our agreement shall we?" 

Raptor nodded holstering his fire arm he joined his team. They formed a single file line facing the mirror hands raised along with josh in the end of the line.

Signaling her guard with a nod  she ordered the aliens to march into the mirror with herself following.


*R&D Lab A290*    

The vacant lab was now flooded with Military police who're awaiting for Echo's return, Officers were arguing  amongst themselves on whether or not they should inset another team to go in for them. They all stopped their rambles as the motion sensor that was set by the mirror went off.   

The sharp Clicks of assault rifles switching from safety were the only things heard following the teams return along with the missing person. Raptor, crutch, vapor , a very shaken Josh then knelled with a palace guard next to each other. To the left Celestia to the right.

Celestia then said in her equistrian Voice which managed to stun the guard. "Who's in charge here" 

" I believe I am." A man in a black military B.D.U  walked into the lab. 

"Stand down " 

Every M.P reluctantly followed order's.....especially this persons order's 

The man then cleared his throat " well not exactly, you see err ...Ma'm, I'm here over matters regarding me..  but i'm possibly the highest ranking person in this facility."    

"Disregarding the fact we speak the same language ,that doesn't matter. What does matter is that we avoid any misunderstandings." 

Celestia casually replied with an agreement. 

"First off,I believe there were 4 men sent in to retrieve a scientist....i only see 4....where is the other operative?"  

Raptor answered for Celestia.  "Due to the circumstances of the situation we were in I........" 


Raptor paused for a moment to think out his next sentence. 

"I....had to eliminate him for reasons following him jeopardizing the mission." 

raptor tilted his head down waiting to hear the response from the Director.  

"I See....well then I think we can Put all this behind us and just talk things over shall we? ."    

"Seriously? you're going to ignore the fact he murdered one of your own and talk to each other like you both are diplomats? " josh yelled still knelling with the 3 soldiers as they both  conversed . 


"It had to happen kid.....it had to happen" raptor replied.    


*Confrence room G671* 



The man sat at the head of a long rectangular table ,the room was well lit with oak wood walls and leather seating. this particular individual was facing Celestia discussing Celestia's position of power.  


"Alright, your highness.....what do you want to talk about? "  

"Hmm"   Celestia had to think about this for a minute....considering her lands peaceful society, it did have a particular problem.
Then an idea formed in her head .  

"Let's talk about possible .....desegregation  between our species"  

"you mean have our species interact with each other?"

"Yes but on one condition."


"I'm listening"  He began leaning forward by just a bit. 


"Only males can enter Equistria."                         

The condition was odd but the man had little interest over it.  

"I must also Discuss that you assist the local kingdoms of Saddle Arabia, Before i had the portal returned to my palace. It seems a large number of your kind managed to enter the portal..long story short they managed to integrate their weaponry with the  local war lords and rebels."  

"Hold on a second, you knew the portal existed before hand?" 

"Yes"

"why would you keep it around if you knew dangerous things could come out of it?


Celestia just replied 

" That is none of your concern, your kind is killing innocent Stallions, Mares, and Foals all I ask of you is to stop the atrocity's from happening." 

" I understand, I will see to it that this problem be taken care of by inserting my finest  into your land to not only take care of your problem but to also interact with your populous." 

"But you need to understand that there will always be collateral damage, you might make things worse if we try and do something about what ever's happening over there." 

"Don't worry, but if i so much as hear that your species harms any subjects of  my kingdom there will be consequences"

"I assure you if any soldier steps out of line we'll handle it' 

"Then its decided "  Celestia couldn't help but smile as she got up to  shake hands with him. 

The man couldn't help but feel that something was off.

" Also i recommend you relocate your portal in a big open space along with  enlarging it?"



"I think that can be arranged, but why ? " 


"Lets just say big things are going through it, Logistics will run the details for you along with other important things"                       



        
                  
> crimson sands (partially edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Darkness......bells ringing, the powerful  ear shattering sound and sensation of explosion after explosion.

The Relaxed sound of breathing against protective padding of a C.O.M (combat oriented mask..think of Elliot salem's mask from the game "army of two" but the eyes are aren't exposed and are  covered by reflective golden tinted smart glass in the mask itself  that  can change to what ever colours the wearer chooses and other useful goodies) was all that could be experienced by the sense of hearing and feel.

A person  is laying faced down partially buried within a mass of dismembered limbs and broken torso's of what was once an army.  His back the only indication of his existence among the desert sands now stained a dark red by the blood of indoctrinated radical's willing to fight and die for an oppressive power hungry regime, who's body's now blown to meaty chunks that littered the sand. A tank ....Charred  yet remarkably still intact but  disabled from the recent  bombardment stood 10ft away from the living soldier surrounded by the dead.

   Not too far from the unconscious soldier was a man jogging His only thoughts were  getting to his package "This thing better be right."  He distastefully spoke under his breath. Never fully trusting technology for its possibility of malfunction in extreme temperatures . For all he knew the person he was searching  for could have already been blown to pieces. 

Stopping occasionally to deal with contacts that posed a threat to him. Which was everyone, hell both him and his partner would be breaking multiple peace treaty's if some one found out they were operating in the middle of this.  

With the recollection of the battalion his partner infiltrated being torn to shreds by I.S.M's  from the opposing faction. Suddenly the electronic tablet strapped to his wrist vibrated notifying that a signal was detected. A slight feeling of doubt lingering in his conscious  "His gear may be cutting edge but he couldn't have survived that with out losing a limb.

The man thought to himself before increasing his pace toward  the direction  his wrist pad suggested.  "Then again" the man thought " The  bastard survived  far  worse things". He quickly dismissed the thought as he slid down a steep dune , the man now walking at a relaxed pace knowing full well  the fight shifted elsewhere.  

The signal lead him to a grim spectacle, the sick smell of rotting flesh never fazed him as he walked into the red  dessert sands. ignoring the sounds of bones breaking and organs squishing, spewing putrid smelling liquids on his dark combat boots. The man stopped his advance, glancing at the lower left corner of his smart shades (think of the sun glasses  in black ops II) his ever so elusive partner's signature showed he was some where in front of him. 

carefully examining the ground in front of him, seeing nothing but the extreme gore he's grown accustomed to over the years he's been in service for both MI6 and the C.I.A S.A.D. suddenly noticing something that stuck out in the field of dark colours of burnt flesh and bloodstained desert camouflage.  A glowing bright white stained in iridescent crimson basking in  the blazing Arabian sun .                                   

,,,,..........................................................
GHOST, another known alias.....Casper

  feeling himself leaving the comfort of unconsciousness now returning to dreaded consciousness.  Hearing the sounds of distant pop corn like pops of bullets breaking the sound barrier.....listening to the distant orchestra of sounds being conducted by war playing its mentality shattering melody.      




 "Come on GET UP" 

Hearing a stern but muffled command he Suddenly felt himself being turned over as his handler dug him out of his bloody resting place,  a hand clasp his wrist pulling him to his feet "Good to see yo-"  before the man could finish his sentence he prevented Ghost from falling "Almost thought you pegged out  on me there when that  I.S.M (intelligent . Self guided. Mortar ) gave you a proper welcome". Boisterously laughing at his own joke while simultaneously assisting his hooded friend  Regain his bearing. 


With the ringing in his ears, lightheadedness and  dark blotches that plagued  the young soldiers senses  beginning  to recede he faintly muttered incoherent syllables. "Easy Casper,  wait until your  orthostatic hypotension has fully subsided".  


Upon hearing his only nickname Ghost  took a step back away from the mans embrace, slowly lifting  his pounding head to slowly recognize  the burly middle aged man wearing  desert camouflage +base ball hat with his trademark Intervention sniper rifle slug behind his back.

 "Hammond.....what happened" said the groggy teen still  recovering from his recent plight . 


Suddenly void of his previous compassion Hammond  sharply replied "Doesn't matter Ghost "  as he finished his sentence he tossed his antique M1911 to Ghost , now realizing that it was time to be serious.  Seeming as if the man was a completely different person flatly said "First things first....do you have the data?"  


Ghost  looked  around him an ever so  familiar sinking in his chest returned as he saw the remains of what was once his platoon. Sure they were secretly his enemy and him being nothing more than a infiltrator who's job was to download data from hard drives in an enemy base but they were his friends none the less.....  

The data was irrelevant  to the young man, all that mattered was him following orders. But shortly after gathering the data  he was suddenly deployed by the order of his superiors having no choice with out blowing his cover he went with the main forces to  sack the city of Dubai with a number of 300.000 soldiers and tanks strong. His plan B was to meet up with his handler and exchange the data. 


A tinge of silent anger oozed  into Ghosts chest. The thought that his handler cared more for a USB than the fact he could have been killed. Joining the same fate as the others around him. But his mission came first.


"Yeah" whispered the  white hooded soldier his voice barely audible through his C.O.M's voice amplifier. 


Ghost reached for his left back pocket surprised to feel the USB still intact handing it to Hammond.


"Excellent." Hammond complimented . 


"How can .......this not faze you Hammond?" Ghost asked in a disgusted tone   


Hammond chuckled and replied in a cold tone " simple lad, I don't allow it to" 

Checking the pistols magazine  Ghost nonchalantly countered his answer with yet another question  "Don't you think it's fucked up how  you  just lack any form of huma- "  before ghost finished his last syllable he felt a torrent of pure excruciating pain ravage his body.  Ghosts knees buckled causing him to fall again in the crimson sand again among  his former comrades he personally called friends, in the  fetal position clutching his head screaming in pain. 


"Me? Fucked up?" Hammond said in a smug tone. "Well look who's talking as if they grown a pair along with a sense of morality". Ignoring Ghosts desperate pleas to cease the pain. Hammond spoke in a slow and mocking tone that could effortlessly destroy any mans self-esteem "Considering your uh........" Pausing for a lack of better terms further prolonging Ghosts suffering. "....Past episodes I seriously suggest you  thinking  to your self who is the real fucked up person." 

" By the way since we are talking about this now, I couldn't help but notice that you seem to have forgotten your place...."  Hammond then slowly walked towards the soldier . crouching in front of ghost so he could see Hammond's blood stained combat boots. "If you ever speak to me like that again with any more outbursts like that I can personally ensure the end or your worthless pathetic excuse for a life or maybe worse,  send you  back to indoctrination ." 


Ghost could only respond with whimpers. "The turds I shit out are worth more than you are.....that's all you are ...a worthless mistake that will never amount to  anything  other than the little bitch that you were and still are the moment you entered the program. ....you're a failure that will never live up to the expectations set before you. You will never be good enough No matter what you do you will never succeed .  you'll  forever be an outcast that will never be accepted by anyone because you're to fucked up In the head. No one likes you. You will never be loved. I'm the closest thing to friend you will ever have. " Hammond cruelly whispered to Ghosts screaming shrivelling  being knowing full well he heard every single syllable he had said through his C.O.M's  built it wireless communicator.   



"Do I make myself clear?"


Within Ghost's torture he found the strength to scream the words "CRYSTAAl!"  His answer ending in groans of pain as the pain flushed from his body. 


"Good. Now get up, we have important people to meet in Dubai." 


Ghost oblivious to  Hammond's  words burning itself forever embedded into his sub consciousness along with the memory's of his past experiences in that horrible horrible place.  ghost thoughtfully worded his next sentence as he slowly got himself back on his feet "I thought the city was under siege. Sir"  



"I doubt it's still going, do you hear anything dip shit ?"  Ghost answered with a shake of his head. " those uptight Arabs wouldn't let anything near their precious tourist attraction of a city." Hammond motioned with his right hand for his package to follow. While Walking Hammond said  "But I have to admit I'm Surprised the eggheads in the lab actually made something that actually works for once"  referring to Ghost's experimental shield tech. 


Hammond and ghost picked up their pace. Ghost noticed the blood soaked in his bright Snow White hoodie began to expel through the hexagon patterned nano fabric that clung tightly to ghost's torso . 



The fabric in Ghost's hoodie(assuming his shield was for some reason temporally disabled ) is easily capable of protecting him against small to medium caliber weapons. But he wasn't invincible even with the hoodies innovative technology like its self repair  program and invisibility program which ghost is  absolutely restricted from using unless authorised a result  his "episodes" brought upon him. 

The fabric's thickness was very very thin yet strong and flexible enough to never restrict ghost of movement  and breathing what so ever and cling to his body comfortably to show off his superb muscles and slimness (ghosts hoodie was very special. And it showed off his body  ....let's put it at that.).         



Ghost glanced into the eyes of the dead soldiers as he ran past them wondering how so many could be killed with out a single chance to live. Thinking if this war was actually fair. 




But war fare has modernized to the point drones and smart weapons do all the slaughtering. Brain washing techniques evolve to a neuroscientific scale....but that didn't bother ghost  All that mattered was that  he  get to Dubai for further orders from  his superior's  he then proceeded to look out into the sunny desert land where a distant city gleamed in the horizon.

Both soldiers made it to a storage facility in the out skirts of the city, ghost following Hammond's lead as he roamed the complex looking for something. 

"Ah hah" said Hammond

Between  two storage buildings sitting in the golden rays of the early afternoon sun was the latest model of an Aston martin, "Get in through the passenger side." ordered Hammond 

The sports car was a glossy orange color which gleamed in the sun profusely.
 
"Nooo I thought I was supposed to get in by the damn boot." Thought  Ghost ,silently  compiling .


When both individuals stepped in a holographic HUD appeared when Hammond pushed the on button 


 "Now we can enter the city in style" Hammond smugly said .


Hidden behind his C.O.M Ghost rolled his eyes with a silent sigh of annoyance .

Hammond removed the sniper rifle and put it in the car by folding it.
Before driving out the complex ghost was told to contact his handlers alerting them of their eta. 


Having safely entered the major city of Dubai now a technologically advance paradise complete with glamorous mega malls and extravagant hotels only affordable by the internationally elite  8.67% . This city was built by slaves tricked by Arabian officials, flying from developing country's thinking that they would be working to pay their family's and start new lives for themselves and their family's. Only to have their passports taken away and forced to build Dubai's elaborate monuments and sky scrapers    exclusively for the privileged .   




Ghost looked out the window of the sports car as if from a cliche movie scene watching the many eye catching attractions pass by. Before his curiosity got the best of him.
       
 
Ghost looked to his right towards the driver "Hammond?"

"Aye?" Hammond said obviously busy showing off the car, always slowing down  near bends delaying from pressing on the petrol pedal checking out the local and foreign women going along with their business.


"Where are we going?"


"You'll find our when we get there" muttered Hammond obviously annoyed 


A sigh left ghosts lips not audible through his C.O.M ,mentally noting and always wondered along with feeling slightly agitated  with why was information  always held back from him.


Hammond proceeded to explain something.

The plan was simple. Due to security reasons (which were also held back from ghost)  the duo had to enter the same building at different entrances. Although ghost wasn't giving any details of the name of the building 


 Ghost was to enter through the main entrance, Hammond through the underground metro under the parking lot. 


"Remember Casper no funny business, talk to the informant, he will hook you up with directions and what you need. Then  get to the elevator and head to where you need to go" warned Hammond in a stern tone. 



"Understood" ghost replied  grabbing his white back pack ghosts free hand removed his mask he felt a chill run down his spine as he felt the cool air greet his bare face. tossing Hammond his C.O.M  before stepping out the car but was stopped short by Hammond again

"aren't you forgetting something lad?"  Giving him a confused look that made Hammond sigh of annoyance before speaking rudely. "My Gun dip shit, how do you expect to get through security with that on you?"  Pointing at the pistol holstered on his right leg. 

Feeling stupid he meekly handed the pistol to its rightful owner before closing the door. The roar of the car's v9 engine had  tourists  taking pictures of the exotic car before it speed off

Turning around on his heels to see an elegant entrance of a ridiculously massively tall skyscraper luxury hotel resort  "Luxiria Vivos" 


  slowly  walking forward removing his hood as he stepped inside to avoid arousing suspicion ,revealing a short and wide mohawk that thinned out in width as it traveled down the curve of his scalp leading to the back of his head, speaking of his head the sides weren't bald. His hair there was just a few millimeters shorter than his 1/4 of an inch Mohawk.   he stepped into a large cylinder lobby illuminated by a soft glow,lined with small 5 star restaurants and entrances to an artificial ski summit, virtual reality gaming,. The Faint sharp roars of formula one cars greeted the soldiers ears as he passed a door way with a big poster of a formula one car on top with the advertisement with 7 different language's ghost read perfectly was"experience speed like never before"  



walking along  red carpet examining the many attractions,  noticing the occasional bystander turn there heads as he passed them slight matte glow from his . Leaving little for the imagination. Ignoring the foreign attention  he finally reached a smaller lounge  to his left a small room with a love seat in the middle with a polished brass arrow pointing up and down. To his right a young adult oriented restaurant. 


An a agitated "Ugh" came from the teens lips, Looking at the number adress again on his wrist pad just in case.  Turned out this was the place he had to meet the informant. 


Hesitating slightly ghost finally decided to get a move on. 


A young brunette woman with blond highlights wearing a black dress shirt with tight leggings showing off her toned rear was playing angry birds on her work table. Keeping track of the seats customers were given. Which the wait time for a table was almost absent. The only reason people couldn't just walk in was to maintain a  look of  professionalism .   She was about to launch her 3rd red bird Into the pigs elaborate fortress  until she heard a soft "hello" get her attention. 

The woman looked up from her game  and green eyes met black ones, she just stood there studying the young man in front of her. A long pause hung in the air as the, (what seemed to her as just regular) all white skinny jeans w/ a padded knee brace that seemed to have been modified for athletic use and protection as a knee pad on his left leg.

" U-uhm.....hey?"


  " Welcome to Iuvenum Paradiso, how may I help you" 


In his thoughts ghost couldn't help but question himself "The fucks with this place and Latin?" 


Ghost got straight to the point  "Yeah, um  a friends waiting for me, I was under the assumption he  told you about me before hand, his name's Richard"  


The woman nodded quickly tapping on the touch screen table top  searching for the name "Richards" seconds later she found that this person was seated approximately 6 minutes 37 seconds ago. She then recalled servicing a British man wearing a polo and khakis early mid 30's. 



Ghost stood patiently waiting as the woman did her thing. He then leaned to his left to see if he could spot out the informant. 
The restaurant may have been formal but it had the unusual mix of having a bar occupied by a few college students and people that looked no older than ghost him self drinking their consciousness away. 


Ghost   Unfortunately got the attention of a small group of teenagers that happened to have been all female checking him out .Whispering amongst them selves as far as he could tell before turning his attention to the woman as she spoke.


"There we are" the woman stated who's name tag read Trisha  now visible and noticed when she leaned up from her council. 


"He's in the middle booth to your left just walk right in"  Trisha informed  Ghost. 


"I apologize if I kept you waiting uhh" she glanced at the screen then completed her sentence  "Casper." 
She smiled and motioned you to walk in. 



 Surprised at first upon hearing his nick name Ghosts face went straight back to its mask of apathy simply telling her "it's fine" as he walked in, gently pushing certain individuals who had to much to drink out of his way  quickly sitting in the middle booth next to the bar. 


Ghost Examined  the informant before a  waitress asked if she could help the two with anything. A brief silence stood around before Ghost "kindly" told the waitress not right now. 

After that small confrontation Ghost was starting to get annoyed with the music playing a female voice and violins with the words "call me maybe" and "I just met you and this is crazy " .

Ghost would be driven crazy if he heard the song repeat itself again.

"So..." Caspers words were brief and straight to the point. 

"Just tell and give me what I need to know" 


The man looked into ghost straight in the eyes and in a  deep but jovial tone said " peace lad, after all this time this is how you greet an old  friend?" 


Held aback by who he was sitting in front of ghost kept his composure. 

"sorry James......it's good to see you after all this time." Ghost started to relax, resting his back against the satin seat thinking of past times they've worked together. 


Joyfully Laughing " Think nothing of it my boy, I'm just glad to see you haven't gone bonkers."


"Heh"  deep within ghost he felt something gnawing in his head, a slight pain that annoyed him as he tried to think of something to say. 


"Me too" was all he managed to say as the pain deepened, his vision began distorting itself like static on a t.v with images coming and going within his head . then a high pitched sound as if a steaming kettle was in his head.  The pain increasing as ghost put his head with in his hands desperately trying to suppress what was   fighting to escape with in .   

James noticed something wrong with his former student and god son. Fearing the worst he began to reach for his silenced M-9 before Ghost snapped out of it. 


"You alright lad?" A sincere look of concern painted across the mans face 


"Yeah, just tell me what I need to know" ghost said. Disregarding the one question he wanted to ask. (Why did he choose the name Richard as his alias) 


James sighed and reached into his pocket sliding a platinum colored card. "You are to await for your handler in the 79th floor your room is 58F,A92, take that elevator" he pointed to his right referring to the small room across the lobby. "Once you are on the designated floor take a left , keep walking and you should find it eventually. by the way  expect to wait a while...you know Hammond and his sexcapades, further more one of the white coats will be waiting in the room to evaluate the condition of your ...uh toy ."  


Hearing what he needed to hear ghost said his good byes quickly walking towards the exit of the restaurant . 


James watched as  ghost went on his way wondering if he'll ever see him again.
   
Ghost went to the elevator






Having gotten in the elevator he pressed the button for the 79th floor ghost waited patiently for the elevator to reach the designated floor. A ding rang around the elevator as the door opened to a red carpeted hallway with lavender walls lit by golden chrome chandelier's. Remembering his instructions he went  to his left along the hallway until he found the room. 


"Here it is " saying it to himself completely disregarding what had happened not too long ago, swiping the key card he heard the click of the lock. Twisting the knob slowly he opened the door. The room wasn't bad with its generous size. Complete with a separate kitchen, living room and bedroom .Slowly walking in  the living room there were signs of some ones previous presence, Plastic ramen noodle bowls littered the counter and dining table along with empty  coffee mugs along with a closed lap top
 
"So you're finally here"  a pale man dressed in brown dress shoes and pants along with a green cashmere sweater  with  curly brown  hair walked in the living room   from the bed room. 

The man examining his visitor then continued on "I expected you to be a bit...older" a ring tone went off in the mans left pocket " eh heh excuse me for just a sec" he answered the phone immediately. "Yes" a muffled voice spoke quickly then the mans eyes widened in excitement and surprise" you're serious?"  He dead panned. I will be there as soon as possible." Hanging up the phone the man obviously in a rush took the lap top of the counter while saying   
"Anyways I have to go right now"  gathering his belongings. "I have no time to check the shield so I need you to take off the hoodie." 


"What? " ghost said, positively sure he had miss heard him.


The man paused having everything he need In front of ghost. Saying in a slow and simple manner "Hoodie. Off. Now." 


Ghost just stood there not sure what to do, his hoodie was with him since the the start, he literally  grown into it. 


"Ghost now is not the time, take it off now" he said in a stern voice. 

Silently compiling  he pinched and  held Down a part of the collar and the hoodie loosened allowing ghost to slip it off and hand it to the man. 


"Don't worry ghost you're going to have a nice surprise with one hell of a new task once you head back to the nest" the man said reassuringly 

"What are you talking about" ghost felt the man knew something he didn't. 

"Oh don't worry you will find out soon enough, you're one of the lucky ones"

"Your handler will be here shortly other wise he has a shit storm come'in his way if he doesn't make it in time and see you back at the nest"

Was all the man said as he Headed  for the door 


Realising he was Shirtless ghost went into the bed room to look for any clothes. Walking in he noticed him self in the mirror his body scarred from injuries he sustain over the years in the field to his dog tags. He went on to do what he saw necessary .



..".............




Having removed his combat gear was in a tight fitting short sleeve undershirt and black loose fitting skinny jeans  that he found in the closet after taking a much need shower ...the teen was sitting on a  stool drinking clean water ,a luxury he doesn't take for granted having him  surviving in the Arabian desert for 3 months drinking his own piss just to stay alive and eating what ever desert insects he was fortunate enough to come across.  To now watching the crimson sun set below the desert land scape across  a kitchen counter in the private suite complete with three 50 inch holographic Tv's that have international  satellite  so you could watch American CNN or French even Swedish news networks and entertainment and complimentary next gen gaming systems with video games that aren't  scheduled for release months from now.



    Ignoring the fact that most of the sky scrapers were made by slave labour and that people in the world are being denied life saving medicine, food and water just because they can't work for the system. But that's just the way it is....don't work for the system the system won't work for you ,that was a truth He knew all too well having operated in developing country's .  remembering the atrocities he witnessed......and committed .....knowing that he was responsible for the suffering of innocent men woman and children, victims of a system that makes people like himself torture. 



But his mind was pondering on the Particular fact that millions of dollars himself and Hammond used for sleeping arrangements to just  having fun came straight out of the u.s national treasury. With the following thought still in his head Ghost recalled a moment a couple months back when Hammond and himself were sent to Switzerland to investigate speculations that WMD's were being hidden in the Swiss alps. Their mission was simple search and document  ,unfortunately things got complicated the situation was that the Swiss were actually going to deactivate the war heads and just keep them locked up for safety but Hammond and Ghost assumed other wise.



 But that wasn't the reason why he recalled the moment .After that situation Hammond gave  Ghost a fake I.d so the two could both enjoy themselves at a casino....using government funds ......long story short Ghost blew enough money to get the u.s government 37% out of debt....."meh...whatever I know damn well money's nothing more than a way to control people" Ghost  muttered . 



Now just enjoying the fact that he was staying in the 78th floor of a 6 star luxury hotel . Suddenly Ghost started seeing images right before his eyes before he knew it was as if he  were 5 years old sitting in Vaguely familiar office , the office was decent in size providing parallel bookshelves as walls. Sitting across a mahogany desk with files spread across the desk illuminated by a golden brass lamp with a green shade  of glass for a lamp shade. Ghost couldn't recall how he got there nor about his past life or even his family .( think of it as a  flash back he is reliving a moment in his life but in the sense that he is observing through his point of view what he experienced.) 

The small boy just woke up in the office chair and a man with a gun told him to stay seated or else . Finally a elderly pale brunette woman walked in the office. Her foot steps made by her dress shoe's were the only thing audible other than the child's panicked inhales and exhales . She nonchalantly sat on the leather seat and started reading a particular file  laid on the desk. Minutes felt like an eternity before she finally put down the file and fixed her attention to the scared child sitting in front of her. 




She had read the boys file  he was of Hispanic /Native American decent .Parents are happily married and are both marine biologists . the child was obviously fond of aquatic wild life .Pictures in his file taken while in the selection phase of the program showed that he visited the local aquarium daily and often accompanied his parent on research trips to the   Great Barrier Reef in Australia as well as in the  carribean  sea . The sight  of the child in  fish pajamas further confirmed her assumption. The woman also noticed the  S.A.D agent behind the child standing against the left side of the door frame. No doubt the one who kidnapped the child sitting in front of her in his  sleep.  



In her thoughts she was contemplating if this child really deserved his fate.  Even by the age of 5 and being a minority he's shown great cognitive ability he can speak perfect Spanish and Cherokee Indian, a prodigy at math, and science he's excelled in learning how to play instruments such as the piano and violin.  



He seemed  so innocent is was it really worth robbing his child hood? She then countered the thought with the possibility of how much of a valuable asset he could become . yet this  child showed so much potential to be an excellent contribution to society.....the woman stared deeply into the child's dark brown almost black eyes...oblivious that his fate was in her hands . She decided to do what was right for the greater good of their nation....she then smiled and  smoothly said "He's perfect " as she stamps on his file with the bright red letters "approved" now marked on his portfolio .   military police then walked in and dragged the screaming and weeping child away.  


The flashback then changes now seeing himself being dragged down a faintly lit hall way where he's then  thrown in the back of a cargo truck along with other weeping children. Before the doors were locked shut the boy was  still screaming at the top go his lungs that he wanted to see his mother. Crying her name but it soon wouldn't matter he would forget he had a family. The child would forget who he was. The drugs and indoctrination would see to that. From then on he was nothing.......Just a pile of meat with a pulse.


   "Casper?"  Ghost was  suddenly pulled back into reality speechless.. "Casper?!" Repeated  Hammond but with more forceful tone.  " Yeah Hammond?" Ghost quickly replied back "what's up?" Hammond changes his expression from annoyance  to concern"are you ok?...you seem like you're experiencing them again. " Ghosts hearts sank into his chest with the question.         "No of course  not I'm completely fine. I just forgot to take my medication that's all."  Ghost defensively stated. Hammond glared carefully at ghost studying his facial expressions and body language Ghost innocently smiled in possible hopes to ease his suspicion. "Alright Casper" a wave of relief washed over Ghost's chest. 

"But I wasn't kidding the last time you snapped that  I wouldn't hesitate to put a bullet in your skull my self should you ever snap again." Hammond deadpanned.  Ghost winced  as he heard those words  coming from  the person who was the  closet thing to a father figure to him other than James of course, as far as he could remember Hammond was there for him from the start along with his hoodie.  "Do I make myself clear?" Hammond asked in a serious tone. "Crystal" was all that ever came from ghost.



 "Good. Now get your gear we need to go......like right now" Hammond rushed Ghost 




As he walked past Hammond the faint smell of perfume greeted ghost's senses 




"We will be briefed in the VTOL., nice look by the way." Hammond stated Walking into the elevator to the top floor.


    Ghost rarely thought about anything other than what he's been told. "You're no good to the military if you don't think about anything other than what you're told"  

       The doors opened revealing a prepped High speed Vertical Take Off and Landing air ship. 

"Come ghost we need to hurry" both persons stepped inside. The bay doors closing a man in Air Force uniform told as that we will be briefed immediately.  


Both Hammond and Ghost stood at attention feeling no effect of the G force as the sit ship speed across the Atlantic at Mock 13
Then an beam orange light from the fuselages ceiling started forming a person. 


"Evening gentleman." A man dressed in an unmarked black B.D.U, even in the form of a holograph he projected authority 


"Evening sir"  both men said in unison 


"Ghost....you have been reassigned to do a special assignment. ." 

The man was answered with silence before he continued 

"Three months ago Delta Force found a object of interesting quality during one of their operations" 
The man changed into the image of a large two shade purple  mirror  .


 "Witness reports from the Delta Force team stated that their hollow point bullets   moved into the mirror  instead of breaking it which were later confirmed when we checked their eye cams"  The screen changed back to the man as he cleared his throat .


"Upon further investigation and confrontation I have personally established an agreement with one of the monarchs. 
the terms were surprisingly simple. only males are permitted through the portal. The agreement i made was that we are to 
eliminate hostile humans in their dessert environment they call " saddle Arabia "" 

"So humans have been there before?"  Hammond questioned 

 "Yes apparently, we assume that they are possibly run of the mill terrorist's, problem is they gave weapons to the natives and now they are just killing everything they see fit."  

"aw don't worry we'll just wait for them to run out of ammunition and it will be easy street from there sir" 

Unfortunately it's not that simple Hammond,  it has been confirmed by drones with in the area that there are multiple workshops hidden within saddle Arabia's vast cave systems the occupants are predicted to originate from illegal gun work shops.

"they can make their own bullets."

"Exactly Hammond. this is where you come in Ghost. In the agreement  Troops will be stationed with in Equistria. You'll  enter with every soldier but as a civilian you will be issued basic necessitys ."         

"Why?"

" Because you don't exist Ghost, the troops will act as a distraction, they'll be put directly into the field  as a way to keep the enemy busy for you to air drop in and eliminate the work shops and gun heaps." 


"Also when thats done you will be stationed in a small village when everything's over...you deserve the rest."






A long silence filled the fuselage which was then broken as the man spoke once more" you will arrive at Nevada Area 51 You will have your equipment updated then you will be immediately sent through the portal along with every one else....alone over and out."  


The holograph then disappeared 


Ghost was trying to believe what he was told, it was way to unrealistic...."really? A mirror that you can walk through taking you to a different place" ghost thought redoubtably it all seemed like a bad joke. 


Hammond then patted ghost on the back "Don't worry mate as ridiculous as this sounds I'm sure  you can take care of your self properly without me" leaving ghost by himself 


Ghost sitting by a window watching the ocean blur  beneath him. Thinking to himself that on the bright side when this task is over he can slow down and relax for once and meet other people or "ponies" as most put it.. the thought made him nervous.
	
	
	   
	            
> It can't be that hard (edited + apology)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                   "So does anybody else find it weird how we're about to go through a big ass portal and be stationed in an Alien land and along with anthropomorphic ponie's ?" 

"Oh my fucking god Remerez for the 100th time shut the fuck up about it."    

It was day, a charter bus filled with Army grunts was on its way to Area 51 to be stationed in some magical land.

Months passed until the C.I.A  deemed it appropriate to let the public know.  

The  U.n wasn't particularly happy along with every with many angry public and media wanting access to this new world, of course the  united states didn't  give two flying fucks about it. 

The selection process over who got to go was simple, those who had family got to go home when the jobs done.
those who had no documented wife or children were stationed in equistria. 

The nervousness could be felt win the bus, men of all ethnicity wore the same dessert colored B.D.U but one individual stuck out. a teenager who looked barely out of his 18's sat at the back of the bus wearing a simple black hoodie  dark blue loose fitting  skinny jeans and black and blue sneakers. keeping his head down and silent the entire trip there.

A question or two would come from a soldier about his purpose being there. all they would ever get is no response.

hours passed by until  the bus reached it's destination then the order is heard to get up, waking Ghost in the process slightly groggy from sleeping most of the way there. 

Having nothing to carry but himself he stepped out the charter bus and breaths in the smell of burning fuel as the area is crowded with military vehicles from tanks to VTOL's being moved into a huge Glass panel occupying the end of the run way. the vehicles disappearing into it. 

Every soldier is order'd to fall into several lines  to be given their equipment , men speak through the loud speakers.    

"YOU ARE ALL ADVISE TO REMAIN CALM WHEN MEETING EQUISTRIAN NATIVES AND NOT BE JACK ASSES TO THEM, WE"RE HERE TO TAKE CARE OF TOWEL HEADS THEN GET OUT."  

The line began to move up, after being given the basic necessity's ,helmet, camel back, armor ect ect. Each soldier was to jog to the armory to be given ammunition  and rifle....He didn't have time for this. breaking ranks, Ghost stepped out, to his surprise no one cared.  As the golden color began to fade in  the dawn sky Ghost simply stepped jumped on the  top of a stationary cargo truck that was just loaded and awaiting it's driver to get in then drive in equistria. 

Ghost heard the engine start and the truck started moving knowing full well he could have just marched in along with every one else. but he wasn't exactly a people person, and besides he hated attracting attention to him self. the only one not wearing a uniform would have turned a few heads.  

He had everything planned out from getting his gear to finding the house he was given. He intended to not attract any attention to himself until his mission was over. "Just stay below the radar...how hard can that be" he thought to himself as he clung onto the truck about to enter the portal.  

"it can't be that hard." 
the truck then passed through the portal. 
> nice night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

                      Having passed through the portal it still seemed like the sun was setting but the view was replaced by breath taking wilderness and snow capped mountains , The truck kept going until it came to a sudden halt.   Casper kept his position after hearing voices that soon faded away.  Waiting a couple of moments he finally decided to get up and examine the environment.  

Night was beginning to set in, standing up what met his vision was a large camp he was enveloped in the middle of. 
The camp wasn't huge but the distance to a particular village was barely visible by street  lights.  

upon further investigation he was on a elevated surface. Noticing in the distance a train running along the mountain side that led to an impressive palace Which gave him the thought as he viewed it . 

" That would have any certified architect question how those  tower's maintain structural integrity."   

"Integrity...."  

That word caught him off guard. 

Ghost continued to stand on the truck giving in some thought about what he stood for. what were his integrity's .  

"AH" a sharp pain surged through his head like electricity. Having been pulled out of his contemplation he still noticed that he was still on top the truck and people were staring. 




"Better get off this truck"  walking off and dropping behind the left side of the truck hidden from others.  

Ghost recalled Hammond's voice instructing him on what to do "

"Once you are there you need to go to this specific address 5812 fisher the key to the place is hidden under the door mat. Look for a small town called Pony vile? I don't know just look for a village, your gear is hidden beneath the floor boards along with other goodies that should keep you busy."  


"Real helpful Hammond" thought Ghost as he walked through half the camp to reach the out skirts of the camp itself. 
ignoring most the soldiers drunk off their ass or playing sports, music blazing completely disregarding those who tried getting a good night sleep.

"Is all this man power necessary?" 


Having exiting the camp he was sure he walked towards the general direction of the town he spotted when he was on top of the truck. Now walking along the open field until he was met with a pitch black wall of forest. 

"Now this is not creepy  what so ever"  saying to himself in a sarcastic tone having no choice but to keep walking.  The only thing motivating him to keep moving forward was momentum. He felt like he was being watched and felt helpless, yet fear never came to his mind.   

"Fear..."
continuing to move forward regardless of not being able to see two feet in front of him. He thought of what fear is like. 

pausing to hear any foreign sounds just in case of anything that goes bump in the night around him, or maybe just stand around to wait for it to maul him....he couldn't distinguish any preference between the two. 

After a good amount of time had past Ghost finally decided that what ever was out there had no interest in him.so he continued on his way with fear in his mind.   


"Fear is like a roofless tower, it's very foundation consist of not knowing. and every block is a fear that always has something to do with not knowing. that's why they are able to stay in place, it's reinforced by its foundation....like i don't know if i'll ever walk out this forest alive. being scared is good.....it means you have something to lose.....if i'm not scared....does that mean i have nothing to lose?."    

Ghost noticed a sliver of light penetrate the darkness. finally leaving the forest, he saw a cottage that looked like an animal shelter, noticing the red painted wood fence. giving little thought to this place he walked around it, just in case any animals sleeping out side do'n't wake up  alert the resident of the shack of his presence. 


"Just my luck, a trail"  

walking along it he went back to his thoughts attempting to ease his conscious of his previous thought. 

" Can't be true, people can be scared of ridiculous things like spiders or heights and  they have absolutely no reason to fear them regarding the sense of not knowing." 


"It's just a coincidence yeah....a coincidence fear isn't like a tower or any of that bull shit. I'm scared of something...like...like talking to other people."    


"I have absolutely no reason to be scared of doing that but i'm still scared doing  it."



[i"]Do you really?" 


"The fu-?"

Do you really have no reason for being scared of that?



Ghost stopped to check his surroundings. he did not just hear his own voice all he saw is a dirt road and green pastures illuminated by the moonlight...completely alone  convinced he continued walking. 


"No ...i don't have a reason." 



You can lie to others but you can't lie to yourself, you know damn well you have a reason. 

"Ok what the fuck are you and why are you in my head?"

doesn't matter, you might as well be arguing with yourself 

"what ever. bottom line i don't have a reason for that fear...its just how i am."


 oh please quite feeding your self teaspoons of bull shit, it's not about  how you are. it's about why you are..
we'll get back to that...  now back to your fear.    

" There is nothing to go back to "     

Oh yes there is. think about it. you're scared of talking to new people because.....?    


"............................Because .........I........I.......I"

Don't know....     

"Because i don't  know .....how ......."




 How to talk to new people because you never try to. your scared because you don't know what to expect   


" I'm scared because I...don't know how to talk to new people because i never try to. I'm scared because i don't know what to expect."   

There you go.    

what the fuck? Ghost whispered....What the fuck? he repeated in his normal toned voice. WHAT THE FUCK?
He shouted. 


"what is this feeling ? , well i feel like my head is light and something is raising in my chest.....what the fuck was that? " 


Ghost couldn't understand how or what just happened. solving a fear ...just like that........but he liked it.  


After some time he finally made it to ponyville. the small town was decently lit. The buildings all looked like something from a dutch town. considering the buildings. after walking around for some time wandering he streets he paid attention to the street signs noticing how they all were horse oriented like "suger cube corner" or "hoofington avnue" 

Ghost began to sigh in frustration, he couldn't find the house on his own. he needed directions or something. To his luck he noticed a local in a weird shade of green hoodie with matching skinny jeans that fit her just right. and she was across the street just walking down the street away from him.  


He was in a innate battle with himself. a small portion of himself urged him to talk to her....well it had to be a her .
He just paused...blank minded watching her walk away. He sighed in disappointment....not at  missing his only opportunity of help but at himself, incapable of doing something as simple as asking for directions. 

Ghost wondered the town till the sun began to raise and he was still searching. street by street block by block.  
until finally he found the street. the morning sun was well in the sky warming everything with its illumination. 



"5810......5811.......5812." 

with tired eyed he examined his new home....its was an ok 2 story apartment next to some flower shop and other stores. 
not giving a single shit to pay attention to anymore further details he walked to the front on the dark green colored door reaching under the door mat to.......not find the key.  


"fuck my life"  
wanting nothing more to do than just  sleep he was upset to the point he was banging his head against the door.

"fuck my life , fuck my life, fuck life ,fuck my life" saying this to him as he banged his head to the door over and over again until a cautious toned female voice got his attention.    

"Um, Sir"  
Ghost didn't push himself off the door when he heard the voice. his head just stuck to the door for a good 3 seconds until he finally pushed his cranium off the door turning around to see a adorably sexy grey colored mare who's blond hair looked extra shiny in the morning sun. 


Staring directly into her eyes, he found her eyes really interesting to look at not only at their  gorgeous color but also they were slightly unaligned. to then examining her body. she wore a brown uniform that would've looked liked she worked for  UPS if it weren't for her brown short shorts that clung to her body to appreciate her curves.    

"Umm err" the mare couldn't help but blush and look away breaking their gaze .as the young man continued to  stare her down, 

"The fucks the matter with you haven't you seen a upset house resident before?"  

"Oh you live here?" the mare  asked in a nervous tone, a bit uncomfortable for being yelled at, 

"NO I JUST FUCKING HAPPEN TO BE BANGING MY FUCKING HEAD ON A DOOR TO A HOUSE I DON"T LIVE IN"  
sleep deprivation was starting to take its toll on the soldier. 

"Oh I-uh I'm s-s-sorr-ry" the mare began stuttering trying to  hold back tears , she didn't mean to make him angry why was he venting it on her?  

"W-W-WELL S-Sor-r-r-y doesn't change the fact that I'm locked out"   mocking her by mimicking her, ghost was starting to become a real dick. 

The mare began to sob in front of his apartment. 

"WHAT IN THE FUCK ARE YOU CRYING FOR?!?! HUH?? 

Early commuters began to stare as Ghost noticed this he looked away from the mare and he continued. to yell. 

"THE FUCK YOU LOOKING AT!!" 
every witnessed went back to their business, shop keepers continued to stock shelves. walkers kept walking 


Ghost heard a soft fwump and when he looked where for where the sound came from the mare was gone and in her place was a key tied to a necklace. 

piecing two and two together he picked up the key and inserted it into the keyhole...it fit and the door unlocked. 

opening the door he stepped in slamming the door not even bothering to lock the door as he preyed for something to sleep on. stepping to the left from the entrance and making a right he guessed he was in the living room.
but he found his prize a modern looking  white couch. Ghost feel asleep before he even hit the soft object when he jumped for it.
 
> Nightmares and Flash backs 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

       







"Sta__er __is i_ 3 _ E__o req____ting imm___iate e__c.." 
Murmuring  incoherent gibberish  Ghost slept while the day slowly went away. Celestia's sun lingering in the middle of the sky. 

shuffling around constantly, He was  experiencing the beginning of a  dream that 
consisted of other dreams  making up his routine  night terrors.

Somehow managing to turn himself over, His back was now on the couch with his head resting
on the left arm rest.  Arms resting on his torso, legs either  bent or spread out along the couch.

*  30 minutes later *




"AAAH" 



Awakening abruptly his eyes shot open quickly sitting up.

Rapidly Inhaling  then  Exhailing chopily  ,his  dog tags produced multiple soft clings that  rang from his chest,
muffled by the dark blue v-neck and black hoodie he had on over it.
Feeling the rapid but powerful beats of his heart within his chest almost as if trying to jump out begin to settle.
Slightly extending one leg to rest on the couch, leaving the other bent at an obtuse angle. Feeling trickles of moisture flow down his chest and elevated knee joint.

Ghost  Gasped the word. 

" Fuck!" 

Epinephrine secreted into his blood stream, racing through his veins thus returning his heart to its former  metronome. Frantically Scanning what was in front of him, an entrance to the kitchen greeted his vision left of the stairs leading to the second story. To the Right was a love seat with two small tables with lamps on both its ends. Dimly lit by the afternoon sun that spilled through the window refracting on the bright white carpet. Giving the entire living room an effect of soft illumination. 
..         
Relief washed over his chest seeing that he was no longer being water boarded.

But now he was slightly disgusted upon realizing that the moisture was actually his sweat accumulated deep with in the    couches cushions, now severely damp along with the articles of clothing he had. That must've been produced by the friction made while moving around in his sleep. 


"Gross."

He knew he had a minor sweating problem but this was just ridiculous.  



Repositioning his upper limbs so both his  palms could rest against his head, slowly running them up and down along his 
Mow hawk.  Feeling his sweat catapult into the air by the stubbles of hair starting to growing on his scalp.

His hair always grew fast  meaning he had to buzz cut it often, the mow hawk wasn't even visible anymore but as a wide strip of hair longer than the rest that narrowed out when viewed down the back of his head.  


Breathing deeply to make sure his lungs weren't punctured and intact. Convinced he closed his eyes, hearing familiar static induced voices of soldiers in his head. Images of that unfortunate day began replaying on the back of his eye lids. Clear as if they were television screens, once he opened them  what he saw made his heart sank into his chest.

The all too familiar fowl stench of wet cement mixed with mud, rotting human remains, feces lingering in the hot stuffy air in the day to freezing cold at night. In a futile attempt to get up Ghost flinched to the excruciating pain that run through out his body. His dog tags, rusted due to always being drenched in some kind of liquid that found its way into the sewer drain 24/7 above him jingled as a result of the sudden movements made.  

Hair filthy and unkempt it had grown long enough to the point it could  cover half his face which inhibited some of his vision. In a way it was somewhat of an annoyance he grew accustomed to. clinging to his scalp and face growing nearly half way to his shoulders. Looking down he saw his bare bruised up body along with his left knee bandaged with dirty blood soaked rags.  Feeling the existence of his patella but in shattered pieces in between his Meniscus and articular cartilage. 

The pain of Both his severed  Anterior Cruciate Ligament  and lateral patellar tendon Dulled over time, but if he could remember correctly what hurt the longest was his partially torn medial collateral ligament convinced it hurt more because the ligament it self was still in the  the process of tearing considering he was absolutely certain that a piece of his patella was in-lodged  into the  the ligament.( To put it simple his knee was fucked up) He was never sure because everything was barely visible to him thanks to the black eye's he received for his lack of cooperation during all the  interrogations he's went through. An indication of the time was the sun light that poured through the sewer drain he was chained under.


Time.........Ghost wondered to himself how long was he stuck in this shit hole. He used to have been able to tell by the day how long he was incarcerated. Because every night "they" would unchain him, drag him through the metal red door several meters in front of him with the hopes that he finally give in to the torture. Give in to the psychological mind games of seeing his fellow comrades slowly be tortured themselves then beheaded in front of him. But he never did, every night his screams of agony would continue to echo through out the sewer.



It felt too real to Ghost, when in reality he knew it wasn't, But the pain felt real, the  pain of the infected Gash's reopening as he rubbed his back against the cold rusty pipe  he was chained to. The muddy rain water felt real, the rubbish that would drain  and envelope further infecting his open wounds felt real, the pain from his left knee felt real. 

As if he was going through it all over again.


Hearing the door with its rusty hinges open much earlier than usual and slam shut a man concealed in the darkness approached ghost.

The toes of dark brown boots were the only thing visible by the sunlight and sewage flowing along.


With a heavily accented voice he spoke sternly  


"هل أنت مستعد للحديث؟" 

Ghost knew perfectly what he was being asked and the interrogator knew it,  

He gave a frustrated sighed when his question was left with out an answer. 

The man step forward his feet splashing in the sewer water as he approached The prisoner of war. Proceeding to kneel and be at eye level with the wounded soldier.  


Grabbing a fist full of hair to pull the soldiers head up , a thick green liquid dripped down the mans wrist while he did so, examining the features of the human who's life decided on by him. 

To live or die the choice was his. 

Ghost was so close to "him" he could the smell remnants of his cigar and pistachios in his breath. 

He couldn't do it.....ghost couldn't look into the eyes of his torturer, not then...not now, He discovered a new found interest in the green algae that grew on the sewer floor shimmering from the rays of sunlight that peeked through the sewer drain above him.       




"تبدو لي في عيون" The man ordered Ghost 


Having no other choice than do what he ordered to do further encouraged when he felt the man run his index finger along his wounded knee knowing full well what he was going to do if he didn't comply 

Finding the will to move both his Swollen purple lidded eye's up to make eye contact with this ....person .

The interrogator looked deep into Ghost eyes no trace of fear or hate or anything in them, just empty black pits of apathy. 
a thought popped into his mind. " How can one be so docile and non violent yet snap to become something of madness and blood lust" referring to Ghost's "episodes".  


The interrogator spoke in english in the hopes his prisoner will for once say something.  

"Why do you hold your tongue? Your comrades have died because of you boy, your suffering will cease immediately if you just tell me what i wish to know." 


Ghost breathed in slowly, every breath hurt  due to the constant beatings he would receive during his interrogations 

"I'm..."   Ghost had  to take in another lung full of air to speak his next sentence. 
"Not.........Telling.........you shit."



"very well then so be it."    

He let go of his hair and wiped the muck that collected in between his finger with the bandages of Ghosts left knee very thoroughly, not forgetting to mix the bone around  his wounded knee. 


Ghost's howls of agonizing pain echo'ed through out the corridors of his prison.
The man yelled an order in Arabian as he made his way back to where he came. A trio  of terrorists surrounded Ghost learning from pasts mistakes they made sure he was properly restrained before they unchained him. even with a bad knee and suffering from malnutrition, he was still very capable of being dangerous not only to them but to himself. 


"No........No" 

In vain he tried to escape from the inevitable.

What's worse than knowing you're in for a painful experience is to go over it again and again and again feeling every ounce of that pain over and over again.   
***************

When Ghost closed his eyes in dreadful anticipation for what was about to happen.....He felt nothing.
Opening his eyes he was back in his house sitting on the couch still soaking wet from his own  perspiration,               

Remembering that he was on a couch not back in the slums of Baghdad  Ghost
twisted his body to the right setting his feet back on the white carpet now sitting in an ideal manner. 


Ghost then slouched resting his elbows on his knee's followed with descending  his head so it could rest upon his open palms feeling the few bumps of acne by his fingertips. Beads of sweat driven by the sudden change of gravity began flowing down his face collecting under his chin.   

Sitting in place quietly shivering from his cold sweats trying to calm his breathing by pacing it with the intervals of sweat that impacted the carpet drop by drop.

Agreeing with himself that what ever was going on in his head...it was getting worse.

*Sleep well?*


Ghost retaliated with a hostile   "fuck you." with his head still down. 


*You really should after your little display this morning.*



Instantly Recalling the incident that took place earlier that day, Anything to get the remnants of recollections that was his past out of his head  and replace it with some thing else. A Feeling of regret soon poured into his chest Feeling its weight,.... feeling guilty. 

A whisper flowed from his lips. 

"I didn't mean to, i...i  was lost in the moment." 


*Still doesn't change the fact you fucked up big time buddy.*  


"How?!"


Ghost snapped a few decibles higher with a tone of aggression simultainiously  raising his head, his wrists now criss crossed inward between his legs.


"Don't ask me, you know how."

The voice was right,   He still felt horrible regardless
of the excuses  he told him self. More horrible still was the fact she was trying to help him, actually bothering to muster up the courage to interact with a complete stranger that wasnt even of the same species as her. 
Simply to return a key. The thought made him feel more of a complete screw up. 


"wait." 

Ghost's brows furrowed thinking why was he suddenly such a douche at that moment. His contemplation only 
deepened as he  stared at his reflection on the t.v in front of him asking himself why was he banging his head against his front door in the first place. 

Something was very off, knowing full well he was capable of staying up for at least a night and never experience any kind of extreme mood swings like the one he had that morning. 

"Well then again I have a voice in my head so of fucking course that has something to do with it."

"First things first....i need a shower." Quickly dismissing the thought he went for up stairs.
Before his foot reached the first step he heard something with in him self. Like a cry reestablishing its existence once more to its owner. 

"Holy shit I'm hungry." 

Never realizing that he hadn't had a single thing to eat from the time he was in the 6 star hotel in Dubai
to being dropped off via V-TOL  to an air port no where near area 51 for "security reasons".  Being given civie's to change into and a "special " charter bus pass allowing him to pass military security with ease. Before that he was annoyed when ordered to give up all  of his hard ware to an Air Force technician promising that She would personally see to it that he receive them. Knowing too well that he wouldn't.


Upon reaching the second story which consisted of one big bed room. 
Windows draped in sky blue curtains that gave the room itself a light blue hue as the sun shone through them. 
Ghost was parallel to them  standing at the back of the room examining the modern looking king sized bed with simple thick grey on top with white under sheets and two pillows placed in the middle of the room but moved against the left wall so who ever relaxed on it would see the right wall. To the left corner near the windows was an L shaped desk placed in a way that   the short side of the desk was to the wall then the long part facing inward the room leaving ones back to the windows.
On the desk was a ultra thin silver lap top.  

To the right of the room was a closet, to the right of the closet was a touch screen panel that played music through a built in surround sound system in the house itself. Ghost of course showed no interest in what was around him, only taking a shower and clear his head with finding something to eat then find his "updated" gear some where underneath the floor boards of the kitchen not particularly in that order.


Stripping down to nothing but his dog tags he opened the closet to fortunately finding it filled clothes offering great variety on what to wear. Going through what he had to work with he noticed that the sizes went to fit him perfectly to slightly bigger. 


"Guess i'm going to be here for a while."  


Getting just a towel and choosing boxers over compression shorts heeding the advice that was given to him by 
A close friend.  Compression shorts offer excellent comfort and is a must have in tactical situations 
Emphasis on tactical, as in short term. 

"They keep your junk from flopping around with the bonus of concealing your little soldier when it stands at attention. "                

Hammond

He couldn't help but smirk remembering the conversation he started with Hammond about the subject in the locker room of the U.S.S Washington. Hammond and Ghost cooperated with Navy Seals to Conduct a Sting operation on a oil rig in the Atlantic. The mission was simple assist in  "eliminating"  any hostile forces and rescue any workers taken hostage.

The owner of the oil company promised a considerable percentage of crude oil to the U.S military if they oversaw the mercenary's hired by the oil company actually do their job with out damaging the oil rig itself.  
What included the two special operatives was that the oil rig had terabytes of "crucial" data. 

They concluded their conversation even with the input of the AH-6 little bird pilot returning them to the carrier.

"Mark my words lad Compression shorts or going to be the shit."

What Hammond didn't know was that wearing compression shorts for extreme periods of time like for day to day use
makes you become sterile. 

Ghost was enlightened of this a few years before that day by a Highly Organized Gunman. A friend he made while training under him in the field. Similar to an apprenticeship Ghost  fostered a bond with the sniper that only strengthened over the years of working together. The sniper practically thought of him as one of his own kin....James.

Ghost accompanied James when he was sent to Fort Benning to train soldiers often. In his free time James would take Ghost to the firing range to personally train his god son him self. Further honing his skills and lethal accuracy. 

There was more to this time, they would often have conversations ranging from philosophy to their preference of anything. But one conversation came to mind when somehow Ghost brought it up.

"Alright Casper let me put it this way, Some HOG's have to stay in place place for days on end waiting for their target to reveal it self. I speak from experience when I say this :DO NOT  and I repeat DO NOT wear compression shorts for long periods of times."

It was a chilly fall morning James and Ghost laid side by side prone in the frost covered grass with both their rifles mounted on bi-pods pointing down range. The early morning sun was just beginning to rise faintly illuminating the targets with a gold-orange light.    

Heads turned towards each other Ghost just stared at James his steady breaths visible in the cold morning air obviously ignorant of where his god father was getting at.    

"Allow me to Explain my dear lad Your testes get pressed against the body when you wear them, say you are in a hot environment and you wear compression shorts. Your weights sag for a reason son. So if they don't droop when they need to you'll be killing sperm cells because they need to be at a certain temperature to survive. Otherwise they'll just die meaning you won't pack anything in the sac, Take it from me Casper just wear them when you need to."


Ghost's smirk was still planted on his face as he reminisced of old times with a pair of silver shorts.
He was about to turn around and look for the shower when he paused seeing images run across his vision again. 

"God Dammit" Ghost couldn't help but curse as he assumed he was about to take another trip down memory lane.


***********


Mere seconds past as ghost snapped back into consciousness, He was silent....running over what he had just seen and who he talked to.


Depression set in as Ghost slowly thought about what "He" said, "He" had a point.

Hammond's voice ran through his head as he washed the sweat off his body. 

"you will never amount to anything."  

Ghost felt like the depression add more weight to his guilt. 

"Never be loved"   


Ghost turned off the water and just stood in the shower .....listening to the water drip off him. 
Words.....voices were repeating the same words over and over again.....his voice. All of them accusing him of running     away when he was needed the most ,for being a coward, allowing those who trusted and love him die. 



Sliding the door open ghost walked out the shower and stood in place hearing the voices crescendo proceeding. 

"SHUT THE FUCK!!"

They stopped immediately Ghost just stood in place staring at himself in the mirror seriously convinced that something was very wrong.        

From his face he lowered his vision to his body looking at the battle scars he'd received in combat. Each one had it's own story he never really enjoyed getting into. Because to talk about a scar to him was to talk about a mistake made in his past, from either carelessness to recklessness, stupidity from never thinking his actions through, simply to being at the wrong place at the wrong time. In his mind a mistake was more than just that, good people lost their lives because of the mistakes he made.

Or so he believes, Always blaming himself for the blights in his past to not only befall himself but to others. Thinking he was responsible for letting it happen.       

How couldn't he? He was always the scape goat for everything being blamed for things when he had nothing to do with it but Ghost never really had the Back bone to stick up for him self. It's easier to just take the blame then argue in an argument he's already lost.              

Before he could finish drying himself frantic knocking came from down stairs, Ghost simply paused while nude listening for it again.

The knocking continued Ghost slipped on the boxers and shorts that he set on the toilet seat before hand. Finding a plane white t-shirt before double timing  it to the front door. Being cautious as ever he looked through the peep hole......unusually no one was there. Seeing nothing he Backed up from the door with the fear that his madness was still fucking with him. Until the door was knocked once more. easing his suspicion of insanity. 

Instead of looking through the thing the soldier slammed open the door now confused to see nothing but the orange tinge of the afternoon sun radiate on the cobblestone road. Native adolescent's playing tag and shoppers minding their own business in the local grocery store across the street. A diner was to the left of the grocery store with ponies enjoying there meal. Ceasing to further examine his surroundings Ghost squinted his eyes towards the diner noticing a familiar coloured  mare in a similarly toned hoodie possibly a costumer because she sprayed out what ever she was drinking all over her cream coloured friend sitting across from her when they locked gazes .   

She stared with wide surprised eyes at at him in the establishment across the street. Making a face mixed with getting what you wanted for Christmas to winning an important bet.   Ghost had little time to continue his confused expression while staring across the street wondering why the mare seemed so surprised to see him. Digressing because then again it's not every day locals see something that isn't even from this planet. (In the back of Ghost's head he made a mental note to remember how that grey mare from that morning didn't seem so enthusiastic when she met him.)  About a nano second later two men phased into existence and burst into Ghosts home immediately apologizing just as fast as they got up and closed the door.  


Both men wore khakis and slacks seeming like they just left teaching a seminar, both were panting to catch their breath
"I am so sorry Ghost but we' were kinda in a hurry heh heh. "    

"Really Josh? ...." 

He paused to catch his breath.    

" She's going to be upset when she finds out we left after she specifically told us not to."

As the trio walked into the living room both his visitors settled on the white couch as they had their little argument.

"Oh I'm sure spike will cover for us, besides I have to-"

"Yeah yeah"    Josh's companion cut him off raising his hands doing air quote gestures doing a rather impressive imitation of Josh's voice.      

" To do the special black ops assignment given to me by special forces."  
Putting his hands down crossing them against his chest while resting his left calf on his right knee. He continued obviously annoyed given the aggressive tone in his voice. 

" For the hundredth fucking time I know, all I'm saying is twilights going to be pissed when she finds us not studying Equistrian history. Still can't believed you lied to her so she could bend the rules and allow us to even be here, I mean really? How could you?"

Messaging his temples Josh shot back the tone of his voice just as annoyed with his hands making a karate chop motion but pausing when they were parallel to the ground slightly going up and down. 

"Oh my god Ron get over it, it's not like we broke the law or anything we'll be back before she even knows we were gone."


While both men argued to get the last word Ghost was already in the kitchen looking for something to eat. 
Going through the pantry's. Saving the black 2 door refrigerator for last just to note where the kitchen appliances and silverware were placed. The thought of who were spike and twilight lingered in his mind.

" How can I just get over the fact that  I was told that what we do here never took place."

"That's just how black operations work Ron."


Completely ignoring the beginning of the end of his visitors argument piecing together that they must have been here for a reason considering what the one called josh had mentioned.

"What is that smell?"
With their discussion over Josh tried to change the subject.

" So agent Ghost I believe you've already met my partner here back at dubai."    

"ya don shey?" Ghost walked back in the living with his mouth full holding  a box of generic saltine crackers when he was finished chewing and swallowed he continued.

"  You don't suppose you can hand me my hoodie back now can you? "              

Ghost really wanted the object because it held much sentimental value to him.

"Seriously Josh it smells like some one had sex on this couch."

"   Eh heh heh "
Ghost simply lowered his head in embarrassment of what really was that smell Josh continued.

"All in good time my friend let me properly intro-" 

The room went silent as knocking began once more.         

Both men ushered hurried whispers to Ghost getting the point across to him they were never here as they went for the kitchen to hide after noticing ghost nonchalantly going for the door.

Not even bothering to check who or what it was that was knocking on his door Ghost opened it with the box of crackers still in hand tucked against him like a foot ball. 

Ghost wasn't surprised when it was the same aqua marine coloured mare he saw not too long ago.    

"Oh my gosh,oh my gosh, oh my gosh."  
Like a fan girl who meets her idol in person...it seemed something like that.
She just stood in place repeating the same phrase over and over again in disbelief that the rumor's were true which was ironic because she thought it was just another media scare. And that now she's finally meet one she was freaking out acting in no way according to how she  fantasised  when she meet a real human.

Mentally storing every question she would ask if she actually met one.  Assuming that her first confrontation was dramatic of course, never in her life could she think of knocking on ones door in her home town. Always thinking she would discover one deep with in a secluded forest in some far away land or an  underground city or every possible place where the story books about them would mention.


First noticing that she had a horn stunned Ghost for a few mili seconds before moving his gaze unto her mane noticing that it was another tone. he had to think about the name of the colour but it had  white highlights streaking.  Ghosts heart rate began to pick up when they both made eye contact and she finally regained her composure. 

"Hi I'm Lyra hea-"

With out giving any second Ghost slammed shut the door before he could take another step the door knocked once more.
Sighing in frustration he was determined to get this over with.

When he opened the door questioning she went right back to her introducing herself.

"My names Lyra Heartstrings and -"

Wasting no time to get to the point Ghosts voice was stern.

"What do you want?

"Um" Lyra felt the hostility in His voice feeling a bit deterred as she quickly thought of something to say that was short and sweet.

"I just want to talk to you and ask some questions?"    
Speaking as if her answer was more of a question.   

Crackers still in had Ghost just wanted to get this over with. 

"Ok Lyra if you promise to go away I  promise to answer any question you have for me."

Lighting up with excitement in her eyes she gasped with joy her hoofs clutching chest happily asking. 

"You really mean it?!?"


"Yes, now go away."    
Slamming the door shut Ghosts right hand massaged the back of his neck thinking about what he just got him self into. 

Walking back into the kitchen through the entrance by the front door and left of the living room television. Both persons walked out a small laundry room at the other end of the kitchen. Setting the box of crackers on the dining table behind him Ghost then leaned on it with his arms crossed glaring at the two men walking toward him. 

"You were saying?"

Clearing his throat "I'm Joshua  Londergen and he's Ron Klaus, to put it simple we're both scientists employed by the military for research and development."

Josh offers to shake hand with his new co-worker. Leaving Josh hanging Ghost  was eating one last mouth full of crackers right after he was finished chewing he carried the conversation on. 


"So Josh and Ron, why are you here ?"

Returning his hand to his side Josh went back to being professional due to Ghosts behaviour. Seeing that this young man wasn't looking to make friends.

"We need to calibrate your equipment."

"Oh...."

Almost having completely forgotten all about his gear he looked around the dark green floor boards finding no indication or idea of what to look for.   

"Um allow me." 

Walking forward to Ghost Josh went on to saying. 

" If the schematics for this house is correct there should be-". 

Giving strained grunts as he tried moving the dining table himself.

"Do you mind giving me some help?"  
After moving the 4 chairs and dining table away from its former position the window that was behind the table was now draped by Ghost just in case.   

"Push down on this emblem Ghost, it's finger print sensitive and will  only open to your bio signature" 

Following with what  Ron said he  pointed with his toe where Ghost needed to push down   

It was a simple symbol consisting of ten emerald blue shapes with white accents  cleverly positioned to form a V shaped ribbon with a star in the middle, a blue circle within its center. 


The mark of the proud Air Force was just big enough to set a single fingertip on, Ghost kneeled on one foot to be in reach.
Deciding to use his left thumb he pressed it on the star "Ah!"  Quickly removing his thumb and inserting it in his mouth to suck on. Tasting copper while notice the out line of the emblem radiate a bright  sky blue, as the seconds passed Ron was getting board so he brought up some thing to talk about.

"How long do you think we've been gone Josh?"

" Don't know but we really should do this quickly and head back Twi must be worried sick about us and gets getting dark."


Ron nodded an agreement before turning his attention on Ghost now up and about looking for something to bandage his thumb that was bleeding profusely.

"How's your thumb Ghost."  

"I Don't know Ron the needle went in pretty deep and it hurts like a bitch.....I hate needles."

"That's unfortunate. " 
Ron wasn't talking about the fact he got his thumb pricked and him bleeding.

Just then the emblems out line went to green signalling that access was granted. A sharp mechanic click following a square of 2 and a half feet elevate and rest on the curtains revealing Its access point.


"We'll guess we have to get in there now do we?"  

"Yes Ron we fall into the dark hole, Ghost I suggest you go in first." 

"What's the matter? Afraid of the dark Josh?"  

Teasing him before he went for the entry on the floor.

"Just get in there already."

Ghost  feel in the fall was short has he purchased ground beneath him the toes of his bare feet made a soft slap.  Heels elevated his right knee rested on the ground while his left was raised (think of when you jump off something in assassin's creed holding down the sprint button but you stay in place, think of that position) feeling smooth tile with his left hand finger tips Ghost arose to see nothing but darkness around him.

Then two strips of light pulsed to life making a small walk way before the entire corridor itself decided to light itself up.
Ghost walked forward examining what was in here. A desk along with multiple computer screens sat to the right of the entrance. But what really got his attention was in the center of the medium sized hall way on the right side. 

"No way ."
Mouthing the two words in disbelief as he slowly walked towards the wall taking in and recognizing every little detail of what was in front of him. Mounted on the wall was an M39 DMR not just any sniper rifle. His sniper rifle given to him by James when he was under his wing. Running his fingers horizontally across the gun feeling the dents and scratches on its frame.  

Josh walked behind the soldier gently placing his hand on his shoulder. 

"Come on Ghost, we'll do one piece of equipment and do the rest later."
> Reunions 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

    
Ghost stood in place staring at the weapon in front of him in disbelief. He thought he would never see it again since he was .....incarcerated. 

Josh walked to the left end of the small corridor punching in numbers to a black locker tucked in the right corner of the room that was next to a desk consisting of metal and glass, a tablet along with several accessories spread neatly across it.

Ghost's finger was still running along his weapon, pausing to run his index back and forth to feel the slight bent of the stock. The end result of when he used the weapon itself as a melee weapon. A story he knew all to well from his time operating in Mexico, cautiously recalling the indecent until Josh got his attention once more.     


" Come on Ghost we don't have all evening."

Being brought back into reality Ghost was still looking at the gun mounted on the wall simultaniously headed  for the direction Josh's voice originated from only to be stopped by an obstacle he failed to notice the entire time he was standing beforehand. 

It was a large crate stacked to ghosts hips with ammunition assorted by caliber to bullet variations. 
From 50 Caliber explosive rounds to 9 mm hollow point Ghost dreaded the day when he would eventually  be sent into the combat field once more after so long. Deep down within himself Ghost felt that he wasn't prepared to hold that weapon ever again nor wise enough to ensure the past doesn't repeat itself.  This time walking around the crate, Ghost joined Josh who was now tampering with an odd contraption Fitted on a what seemed to appear as a black tight fitting sleeve long enough to fit on his entire wrist from the joint of his hand to a good inch shy of his elbow. 

Ghost glanced behind him only to see a ladder that offered a way out, noticing that Ron was no where to be seen.

"Where's Ron?"


Having found what he wanted Josh answered Ghost while he approached him. 

" He was bitching how Twi must be worried sick since it's getting dark, when I think about it know he had a point so we thought up a quick story to why we left should she get suspicious when he returns.  Look Ghost I'll have to sync this one piece of equipment because i personally believe it's your most important tool and get back to Twi's."    

"You sure he knows his way around? This place isn't really much of a small village."   

"Yeah i'm positive, besides should he get himself in trouble we both have a P.M 2.0 on us. " 

Having caught Ghosts attention after mentioning he obtained a Particle Manipulator, Highly experimental and classified cloaking technology.   

"You have one?" 


"What?"

Josh lost Ghost for a second before realizing what he meant. 

" Oh yeah, as a matter of fact I do, Believe it or not Ghost but I was part of the development team who designed the first version that was given to you along with your shields. But I have to admit the cloak had its fair share of draw backs considering that at times only the nano fabric changed its atoms to be translucent. The real bitch in the entire "CLOAK" project was actually managing to get the wearer invisible and not just the nano fibers. When I look back to the beginning of testing the first participant who volunteered to test out the first prototype decided to go commando that evening. The poor bastard impressed the ladies in the development team with a nice little show heh heh."  

Cracking a small smile Ghost was amused to an acute degree. 

"Back on topic there was always some in between that had to be meet for the user to achieve complete invisibility, either the user be clad head to toe with nano fibers and change the fabrics atomic traits to the extent where it's see through. Fortunately the team managed to fix the issue where the nano fabric is invisible minus the user who's left in his undergarments by-"    

As Josh droned on Ghost finally stopped giving a shit and was convinced that the man in front of him was an egg head by heart despite his appearance. Ghost was lost when Josh got into how the atoms themselves on the old version were designed to put whats in front of it behind by Molecular refraction.  

"That's why the P.M 1.0 was different than other cloaking technologies, sure it puts what's in front of it like other models but at a atomic scale."    


Curiousity got the better of the young man making the mistake of thoughtlessly asking yet another question.


"What did you do to it?"   

"For starters I got rid of your former cloak and replaced it with the newest version: P.M 2.0, I was able to bulk up your armor along with improving its self repair program. I doubt you'll ever need to use it though considering the improvements made to the shield . The Data Ron gave me when he retrieved your hoodie along with reviewing your eye cam showed me the shields potential considering you survived a fucking 40mm mortar."

"That's cool." 

" How'd it feel by the way?" 

"What?"  

"How did it feel to survive that explosion? Did it hurt? We're you able to note anything when you experienced it? "

Massaging the back of his head with his right hand and pupils pointed to the ceiling thinking ghost managed an  "Um.
"I don't want to talk about it." 

Josh raised an eye brow before getting the message, he wouldn't of wanted to recall the things he witnessed either knowing what he saw. He barely had the stomach to watch when he woke up having been dug out by Hammond.

"Well Further more regarding  how the newest cloak works, more power can be diverted to your shield. The P.M 2 or just cloak  is capable of changing the atomic traits of an entire person while maintaining the users molecular structure. Which in my opinion is a milestone in quantum physics,So there is no more in between for an individual to become completely invisible . Meaning your combat uniform has no part in you achieving  invisibility thus your B.D.U can have it's power resources pooled to service other things like your shields for example, and any other program like the nano gloves ." 

"That's nice."    

Trying to change the subject to relieve himself of the Migraine that settled in his head Hemmentioned

"Who's Twi? "


"Her name his Twilight Sparkle, She's a friendly mare if you ask me. 
I met her the first  day I was sent here to study this world and it's inhabitants. She's like me in a way, a Being dedicated to science with an ever curious mind. Heh heh."  

Josh chuckled softly as they both  remained idle, Ghost was leaning against the gun cage placed to the left side of the room in front of the desk. Suddenly interested he nodding to the person to his left to continue. Josh started to get comfortable by sitting on top the desk, the contraption resting on his lap he continued. 

"The first time I saw her was when I just left the new headquarters that Central Intelligence set up in Celestia's  palace. She was chewing my co-workers ears off with her non stop questions on my way back to my office. At first I tried to avoid her by blending in with a Group of Air force technicians. but unfortunately  when I was just about to pass her my boss comes out of no where and grabs me before I could escape and personally assigned me to dealing with her. It was so awkward."  

Josh admitted Visibly trying to hide his embarrassment and blush by lowering his head. 

"How?"  


"Well you try answering the questions she asked me."        

" Like what for example." 


Josh's blush proceeded to deepen as he remembered the moment. 

"You don't want to know........ I asked my questions she asked hers....we both learned alot about each other's society's. I I asked her If  we could chill at her place.  Get to you of course. She was reluctant at first because no humans was allowed to leave designated area's for the precaution of any pathogens carried by either human or pony that could be harmful to both species."

" Excuse my curiosity but how close are you with this..mare? Feel free to refuse answering. "

Choosing that question other than his alternative which was why was he allowed to move freely around where ever he wanted than stay restricted to "designated area's"

"It's all good little bro, If I could describe how close it would probably be just a friend close, don't get me wrong I love her to death and just between you and me i kinda find her attractive. But..........." 

Pausing to be sure how he felt he went on with his sentence.  

" I ...don't think she feels the same way."    

Silence blanketed the room. 

"Any ways enough about me lets get a couple of your tools synced real quick." 

attempting to lighten up the mood Josh jumped off the desk. 

" Now the lets start off with your nano gloves shall we?"



>local library (Twilight Sparkles home) < 


Twilight was tapping her hoof with her arms crossed looking at Ron expectantly who was sitting on a Stool in the middle of her library with spike placed to his left. Both males were giving in to the pressure set before them by the lavender mare interrogating them.              



"So you both went  for a walk around suger cube corner for almost-" 

"That's what i said Twi we just got lost for a little while and decided to split up to look for your place and i just happened to find your place before him, simple as that."

Ron was attempting to stall until Josh managed to return mentally cursing him for putting him through this. 

Twilight sighed obviously agitated and upset  that her first human friend just decided to leave her when she really was looking forward to tutoring Josh the history of equestria. Unfortunately She had to attend to her best friend. Applejack needed urgent help with another parasprite infestation luckily it was taken care of accordingly .

A feeling of guilt spread into her chest,  knowing full well that if she never had left this wouldn't have happened. 
He had every right to leave considering that it was just him and Ron with only spike to keep them company and wait for Celestia  knows how long till she would return.


"I guess we should  head out and look for him hence Celestia's sun's already set and he's supposedly lost ."  


>Ghosts Apartment<  


"Ok last one, slip this on your left wrist." 

Josh Handed Ghost the same contraption he held on his lap from their earlier conversation.

"Make sure to have the metal part on the inside of your wrist so its against your veins."

Doing so Josh said one last thing before he pushed a button in the side of the mechanism next to a caution sticker . 


"Now this isn't going to hurt one bit."

"understo-AAH" 

Recoiling to the sudden sensation of his forearm being stabbed deep within his nervous system.
Just as fast as it came in the needle was out .


" I THOUGHT YOU SAID IT WOULD'NT FUCKING HURT!" 

"  Well I lied, I'm sorry ghost but it was the only way it could've been done without any complications."

Rubbing his wrist to dull the pain Ghost then asked after he saw Josh climbing the ladder on his way out. 

"You could at least tell me what it is before you go! "

"It's a weapon, That's all you need to know so be careful Oh and don't forget to check your email ! " 

The sound of the front door was opened then slammed shut, Ghost was alone again. Climbing the ladder to c;ose the hatch, Being sure to hear a Click reassuring him that it was locked. Re-position his table then Grabbing the saltine crackers he went back up stairs to relax a bit before checking the laptop that was on his desk. Tampering with the tablet on the wall between the closet and the t.v posted on the wall to play a random song.                












For some reason Ghost found the song being played.. simple but he kept listening closely to the sounds of the guitar. Relaxing before having to go right back to business. 




>Josh Londergen<  

Rushing back to Twilights home Hoping that Ron didn't blow their cover, It was now fully dark, the only thing that could be heard was his breathing and foot steps. 

But also a tinge of sincere emotion dwelled in his thoughts that were directed towards Twilight. 
He was just unable to interpret what they meant. 

Twilights library was with in his view, the lights were still on filling him with a sense of determination to clear his conscious by smoothing things over with her and not ruin their friendship.

Sweaty and breathing heavily Josh knocked on the red door....nothing.  Before knocking again this time some pony came to the door a midnight black Pegasus with a mow hawk for a name. 

Can i help you?

Slightly taken aback for never expecting to see anyone other than Twilight to open her door Josh nervously got to the point. 

"is Twilight here?"

The stallion wore a simple Black t-shirt that showed of his muscular frame with a pair of blue jeans, he was  polite and friendly slightly easing Josh's nervousness as he stepped aside to let him in.  


"So you're the human Twi's been talking about lately, names Thunderlane by the way pleasure to meet you." 


Josh went to sit on a stool placed by a book shelf focusing on catching his breath while asking for the whereabouts of Ron but partially in broken speech wondering in the back of his head: why was this stallion here?

" No clue I just got here along with Twi, I barely convinced her to give up looking for you, "

Still recovering from his sprint He managed to nod to show he comprehended the stallion's suggestion. 
Josh was saved from having to ask the question once more once he heard Twilights voice coming from up stairs answering his question. 

" When we went to look for you your friend just decided to return to his "place", what was peculiar was when he said that  walking behind us  i looked back to Question  what he mean't  but he just....disappeared."     


"Oh."

A wave of  relief washed through out his body, yes his colleague was missing but some how josh wasn't worried. He knew well that he could take care of himself because they both agreed that in any situation deeming it necessary they made up a certain phrase to indicate that they were going to procure a way back to the barracks. Now Josh focused his attention on his well being, primarily him getting back home  .  

Hoof steps broke his train of thought as the lavender mare suddenly appeared into his line of sight causing Josh to tense up once more as she scolded him.  

"Don't ever do that again to me. you had me so worried that i searched all over ponyville  for you!"  

Twilight continued her verbal assault in josh's face wasting no effort to get the point across That she was obviously upset. Thunderlane just waited patiently for his marefriend to finish. Deciding to be a bit bold he carefully approached Twilight who had now settled down allowed Josh to describe his situation. Thunder lane waited patiently the whole time as their conversation closed with twilight offering him to stay the night then accompany her back to Canterlot. 


"Awesome, glad that-that issue is out the way, I really appreciate your help Twi." 
Josh had a  good warm Feeling in him, not only would he kill two birds with one stone but spend the night at twi's as a bonus.


"what are friends for?" 

Seeing Twilight's signature friendly smile and the happy tone in her voice made josh melt inside among other things as he admired Twilights body in her Short skirt and sweater  she habitually wore. Her hourglass waist, perfect curves and toned bare legs made decent eye candy for any one( who was into that kinda thing ) and/or pony. 

"Maybe...juust maybe."



Josh thought  while he watched Twi on her way towards that one stallion, maybe there was a chance that he could be more than just a friend, sure they were of different species but that mattered little to him. 
She was smart,beautiful in her own way that could only be matched by her amazing personality.  

"Hey babe I managed to sort through today's turned in books while you were gone." 

" Thanks thun." 

That positive feeling quickly plummeted and ached in his chest when he saw Twilight approached by  Thunderlane placing her arms around his neck with his hands resting  around her waist. Their faces slowly inched closer, Both exchanging an " I love you" to each other.  Staring down at his khaki pants Josh Slowly realized the picture.  Thunderlane was her colt friend, but not just that....he barely knew this mare sire he would like to know her more and this be given a perfect opportunity to do so but the sudden revelation was a big turn off and he preferred to take his time. So Josh sat up and headed for the door. 

" On second thought Twi I changed my mind I can leg it from here, Hope you enjoy your night." 

Before twi could separate her lips from thunderlane's after hearing What josh had said he was already at the door. 

"Wait!" 

Leaving Thunderlanes embrace to stop Josh, Twi was too late seeing Josh close the door that she now went for with haste in order to stop him from walking all the way to the palace at night not to mention the distance he would have to cover.  

Twi swung open the door nearly lseconds after Josh had closed it to discover he had vanished. 
stunned from disbelief Twilight proceeded  out side in vain to see if he was hiding next to the door. 
Confusion and sadness plagued her Conscious, she wanted to understand  what made him decide to change
his mind all of a sudden? The emotions subsided when thunderlane encouraged her back inside reassuring her that he must have had his reasons. Twi gave one long look at the distance of ponyville with the thought of josh leaving her mind before heading back inside.  

Watching as twilight turned around to head back inside, Her colt friend holding the door open for her. Josh began to regret his decision when she stared out in his general position. Seeing her ears droop with her sad confused eyes tearing up a little while she aimlessly searched for him. He wasn't angry or depressed nor jealous even, he just didn't feel like staying is all. They were just friends, he didn't see a point in spending the night with a friend and her Colt friend. Spinning on his heel Josh went on his way, with the realization of how much of a bitch it was going to be getting home. 

"God this is going to be a long walk.". 


>Ghost< 

Slumped on on the L shaped wooden desk by the corner of the room  upstairs he was munching on more saltine crackers Ghost entered the email and password that was written on a flash card he discovered taped to the screen when he opened the lap top.

Silver34tango@equis.serv

Discretion in all we do 

Ghost was left with a black screen with 12 light blue orbs cycling in a circle, verifying then identifying who the user is. 


The screen stayed black but the  orbs shot out  in Random directions across the screen to then recoiling back to reposition themselves to form another  circle but with a wider radius morphing into dark silver stars  a  Phantom skull wearing a spartan helmet with black wings and  lighting bolts at both its sides appeared in the center.

The classified emblem of the department of Special Operations Group  With in the Special Activities Division of the Central Intelligence Agency. Representing discretion, swift death and basically being above and surpassing the best of the best to the point of joining among the ranks of unnamed soldiers, Ghosts in their own right. Some go as far as faking their own deaths,cutting all ties to their past lives to fully commit themselves to the division.  


The upper left of the screen read the following. 

Server : U.S Military- AFI 
Server Status: LAN
IP Address: De-Classified- 216.27.61.137 
Subnet Mask: De-Classified- 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: De-Classified-192.168.1.1
DNS servers:De-Classified- 323.365.9.7
Client: 98** razor   
SCL : BLACK  
User : De-Classified:Not available- Code name: Ghost 
User priority : First Class


Among other things but the screen flashed to an online email page, on the upper right corner was a read star next to inbox . Naturally Ghost clicked it and another window opened, He received the message almost 5 hours ago with the time now becoming 9 pm. He wasted no time on reading the email received. 



To: Silver34tango@equis.serv, De-Classified- Agent: Ghost
From:  SOG Dept. SAD CIA  


Agent Ghost 

by the date of   July \**\****   Army and Marine troops are passing through your A.O to establish relations with the public and local law enforcement. Present your self to VTOL unit 67E9 the pilot has been made aware of the circumstances and will see to it that you get here.
for briefing. To informally put it simple the Director requested to have a word with you along with other things.    

That is all.

____________________________________________ 


Closing the laptop Ghost leaned back against the leather recliner stretching his aching back muscles. The date was two days from now. But he was uneasy with the fact that the director himself wanted to talk to him again. 

It wasn't the first time he was gifted the privileged to meet Him, Somehow managing to catch the Director's attention 
at the dawn of his military career. Ghost completely caught his interest and was recruited by the S.A.D.\S.O.G at the peak of his Glory days when he earned his way through exceptional circumstances to serve under the United States Special Forces once upon a long time ago.  Now a husk of what he once was, a prodigy who was once respected for saving and taking the lives of many and for the he feats accomplished that got him into the S.A.D\S.O.G. In his mind he felt like a failure and a coward who couldn't even do the simplest task like asking for directions. Ghost couldn't fathom why some one as important as the director would want anything to do with him.      

Shaking the thoughts from his head Ghost had spare time to kill, rotating the recliner to his left so he could step out and head for the bed taking the white t-shirt off as he spread himself along the cool sheets of his large bed, allowing sleep to over take his mind. 

> CIA HQ < 

A man sitting at his desk is sipping on his coffee while evaluating human intelligence gathered, going through file after file of information he paused when he noticed a dossier labeled "Crystal Empire" as the night progressed, outside his office door was quiet.  

Suddenly an agent bursts through the mans office door,remembering who's office the agent disrespectfully entered with out knocking he Stands to attention and salutes. 

"Sorry for the error Sir." 

The man sets the Dossier down before coolly Scolding the rookie. 

"This isn't the Military son, calm down and state your business." 


Regaining his composure the agent walks up to the mans desk and lays an email received by a known source that wasn't quite finished but with a clear intention with the image of 3 soldiers blind folded kneeling behind men holding knives against their exposed throats.   


"We have american soldiers, we will kill them if our demand is no_" 


"Do we know their location? " Sitting up the man spoke in a more serious tone. 

"Yes Sir their exact location sir, The  Hostages Have been confirmed to be part of the first military Forces who began operating in Equistria. CSARTF 3-4 Echo S.O.F, Our best guess is that they were captured by human militia when their S.A.R Bird was downed,There is still many questions unanswered like how on Earth we'd received it.   so what do you recommend we do?  Forward it to JSOC and make it their problem? "  


"No.  Have a SUH-60 prepped and ready."  

"Uh with all do respect Director We're CIA not military, I don't see-" 

"You don't have to see any point in anything, Do as I said and get some sleep."   

After the agent left his office the Director pulled out a Holocom from his desk contacting a specific person. 

" Hammond! Up and adam old chap you have a surprise assignment, I'm forwarding Ghosts location to your navigator to extract him, a stealth Chopper should be prepped and ready to take off."  

The Director was responded with sleep induced groans and mumbles. 

"What is eiss bout?" 

His  British accent hinted that Hammond was still drowsy but the director knew he was effectively combat ready at a moments notice

"Hostage Situation, time is a major factor here. just gear up and extract Ghost. I will inform you more once you get your arse in gear.  "           

>Ghost<   

Sitting in a void of white nothingness Ghost sat on a chair in front of a glass table a mirror image of himself sat at he other side. 
But this version of himself was different donning a small smirk he asked the original a question in a happy tone.

"Do you know why you are here?"   

Ghost crossed his arms and leaned back on his chair responded bitterly.


"How the fuck am I intended to know? ."


The doppelgänger snickered. 

"Really now? That's your excuse?"


" What Excuse?! What mistake have I made that's leading to me unknowingly making up excuses?"   


"You kno-"           


" NO!! I don't know why! If you're so fucking condescending why don't you tell me? " 

"Think about it,"  

—----- 


"Get up sleeping beauty!" 

Opening his eyes with a soft but shocked gasp Ghost bolted upwards to see Hammond speed walk to his bed side helping him to his feet. 


" Jesus christ kid you seriously need to get that sweating problem checked out." 

"How did you ge_-" 

"Now's not the time for explanations kid, we have shit to get done now lets go.."   

As Hammond made his way down stairs with the expectation that Ghost was going to follow he was too busy processing the torrent of confusion in his head. What was going on? How did Hammond find him?  More importantly what in the fuck was he dreaming about? 

His time in thought was cut short when a gloved hand clasped him by the wrist suddenly moving him along. 

"Come on Ghost we don't have time for this, I've got gear for you to change into and trail mix to munch on the way to the A.O."   (Area of Operation)   
____________________________________________________________________________________

>Few hours later.


The soft hum of the stealth chopper was all that was heard with Ghost resting along several seats fast asleep in the passenger compartment behind Hammond who was seated next to the pilot having idle chat to pass the time. Both were now changed into more casual attire, Ghost wore Black and white high top sneakers, loose dark blue skinny jeans, a slim dress shirt that neatly fitted his frame Wearing a  bullet proof resistant  under the dress shirt and another bullet resistant tactical vest over it. 

Hammond wore dark brown hiking shoes camo trousers, a light brown short sleeve revealing his tribal tattoo on he left arm over his tac vest. Wearing his trade mark cap with tinted sports glasses to protect his Vision from the very bright dessert sun and a one ear piece head set.  

It was the norm for S.S.O' s (Special Skills Officer) of  the CIA/SAD to seem more like mercenaries than Soldiers. Mainly due to the reason that if they were ever captured the U.S government would deny any accusation of undergoing any activities in foreign soil, That is why it is required that operatives use unmarked gear to cut off any evidence that may lead to the U.S C.I.A  when/if captured.    

Hammond presses down on the com button on his holocom to ask a single question.

"Overlord this is Onslaught How much farther to the L.Z?"   

"Onslaught your E.T.A  is three minutes . "   

"Copy that We'll be ready."


Hammond made his way to Ghost being sure to be clear and to the point while preparing himself as well. 

" Casper get up. You've slept long enough now get ready you have 2 minutes and 47 seconds till we reach the landing zone."

Finally stirring awake and sitting up Ghost cringed from the brightness of his surroundings taking in time to brush his eyes in order to rid himself of any drowsiness. 

"Mind giving me a sitrep." 

Ghosts voice strained by just a bit as he stretched his limbs before sliding a dark green case from under his bench like seat, unbuckling it to reveal the few options of gear left for him to personally choose to equip along with basic necessity's.  His issued weapon complete with loaded magazines was propped next to Hammond's sniper rifle at the corner of the cabin.  After equipping Elbow pads and  knee pads Ghost saved his custom brace for his left Knee for last. Nothing special but it stopped the pain from over
Using his injured knee. 

" Well apparently a search and rescue team for special forces have been captured and are being held hostage by towel heads."     

"  Oh."  

" I know I've been very vague on the details Casper but just follow my lead and you'll be fine."

"Who are 

"  No one special really just your old team  3-4 Echo."   

With that said and done Hammond stood up relocating elsewhere to recover his weapons and load up, inserting magazines into his vest's pouch's . Glancing at Ghost from time to time noticing how he just remained in place staring out unto the sand dunes that whirled past the helicopter door windows lost in deep thought. 

An odd feeling situated into Ghost's chest and a lump formed in his throat, literally frozen from both fear and resentment.
Surprised by the fact he was about to meet his old team, fearful that their lives were on the line and  of how they would react if they found out that he wasn't dead. 
Fearful because he didn't know how they would react.  Resentment for the past that lead up to him being M.I.A.

"You alright mate."  

" Yeah..........yeah I'll be fine, It's just....daunting to think about my old team and what happened .

" Don't get all sentimental on me Casper, now is not the time for that. Get your ass in gear because we don't have that much time left."


Determination arose within Ghosts, digesting the butterfly's in his stomach Ghost got up to acquire his weapon and insert his magazine's in his tac vest.  He wasn't about to let his emotions get the best of him...not this time. There was still a chance to save them, a fire sparked inside his chest. Mentally psyching himself with the motivation of not letting his former comrades die, he wasn't going to let that happen... not this time.   Adjusting his combat gloves he reached for a wrist tablet strapping it to his left wrist and attaching the small and compact P416 to his sling Ghost reached for one last article of clothing. A black balaclava with tinted googles complete with a one ear piece head set similar to Hammond's.   

The pilot hand signaled Hammond that they were arriving to the L.Z, Ghost looked out the helicopter window seeing that they were above a hotel building in the middle of a dessert city coincidentally reminding him of a middle eastern city.  
Locked and loaded  Hammond and Ghost opened the chopper door attaching their rope harnesses to the helicopter, Ghost patted his alleys shoulder signaling that he was ready. Both soldiers rappeled down unto the roof top following Hammond speaking into his holo communicator. 

" Overlord this is Onslaught we have entered the Theatre."    

" Copy that Onslaught, you are crystal clear on drone feed,  you are to search the building for Echo 3-4, you have 15 minutes or else your ride home is leaving ..with or with out you to have enough fuel to make it home."  

" Understood." 

With that said Hammond motioned Ghost who was kneeling with his weapon raised swaying around the roof tops being weary of his surroundings to form up at the door leading down stairs.  

" Alright Ghost  echolocation scans are being buggy in this heat but intelligence believes that this building is some form of hide out so expect a fight but try and stay below the radar ...Let's see if you've gotten rusty." 

Hammond kicked the door open hand signaling his partner to take point.
> Chapter 7
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

                    Ghost's apartment.....


"Hello? Any pony home?." 

Knocking on the door once more before finally giving up Lyra bit her lower lip, for the past 6 minutes no one showed to the door. 
He couldn't possibly still be asleep when it's in the middle of the afternoon,  returning to her house mate Bon Bon's bakery thinking up what to say after her rant boasting that she would return with the human and bask in the adulation of being right.  
Sighing in disappointment before putting her hands behind her head as she walked down the street. 

"  Where is he?"



[u Josh Londergen

Slamming open the door, Josh trudged his way across the small room a white desk placed to the right side of his room in front of the closet. A bed placed in the corner of the makeshift living quarter in the palace It wasn't that bad if not small and lacking hot water in the shower and the toilet kept clogging. His back slouched from the exhaustion of his journey not even bothering to change he got unto his bed thankful he made it.  
> Awakening
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

       Hammond

No words have been spoken ever since team onslaught returned to the helicopter other then the soft hum of the engine, Hammond was talking into a head set, most likely to his superior. 

" Yes....." 

"Unfortunately we only managed to snag one sir, he's alive but in critical condition." 

"The others? " 

Hammond paused recalling the gore he witnessed, humans strapped to tables as if they were frogs being dissected. In all his years as an elite tier one operator what he witnessed was unlike any act of inhumane cruelty he's conducted, he would personally know first hand.

Looking back into the helicopter , Ghost was tending to the last surviving member of his old squad. 

He went back to his conversation on the radio.      

"They weren't so lucky." 


"Understood........onslaught out."  

Setting the head set  down the morning sunlight caught Hammond off guard, mumbling to himself as he rummaged through his gear behind the cockpit seats for his smart glasses he couldn't help but note how exposed they were. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and it made him nervous. Knowing better than to let his anxiety get the better of him he kept his cool.  But still he couldn't help but occasionally twiddle his thumbs and glance out the window every now and then to study the topography, he was slightly surprised at how ridiculously high and steep the hills were. He even could have swore he saw the natives with wings flying around in the distance moving clouds around and small communities of houses made out of clouds......clouds!  Shaking his head disbelief of the thought he had more pressing matters to think about other then the things he saw during the nightlong helicopter ride back to G.H.Q.  Then again he was willing to think about anything to alleviate his feeling that something bad was going to happen.

Casper 

Casper on the other hand was staring out the tinted window watching the luscious green forests blur beneath him. He was wide awake this time having plenty of time to sleep the entire night flying back. Well partially anyways due to his nightmares, but strangely this time it was different.  

-----------------------------------------------------------

Casper knew he was dreaming but yet again it was as if it were real like so many other dreams before but this time there was no painful past to relive, no cryptic message to be relayed to him from a doppelgänger. Just him facing a mirror floating in front of him in a soft white nothingness.   Staring at himself Casper was contemplating that this was some sick way of reminding him that the reason most of his team was dead because he wasn't fast enough. 

"I-I don't understand.....I did everything I could to save them....If only I was faster....they might still be a-alive."    


Alexander "Vapor" Halsey.... Mitch "T-bone" McKnight ....Keegan "crutch" Mitchel 

They were all outstanding soldiers in their own right, but they were more than just brothers in arms, they were family to him.
These individual's nurtured him, gave a damn about him when no one else would. And they were gone,butchered like damn cattle. 
He knew they had family's they would talk about them while off duty. As far as he knew vapor had 3 kids and a girlfriend. Mitch was single while crutch had a fiancé .

His train of thought stopped immediately once he realized something, how did he know that? Every time he tried to remember something all he could recall were blurry images and immediate head aches.  

"How did I-"   

He couldn't finish his sentence because it was as if some thing opened the floodgates and his memory's  torrented into his head.
It was all too fast for him to interpret  as memory after memory reeled in his head.   T-bone playing catch with a football, the sight of vapor and crutch giving thanks in the heat of battle.  Raptor giving the signal to breach and clear a room. The celebration of his own birthday, blowing out the lit candle on a single cupcake as he was surrounded by the young men he considered family.


Fighting back the tears and array of emotions that stirred in him, even in a dream he was determined to stay strong and not let his emotions get the better of him despite his confusion.  Memory after memory only made him miss them more, lowering his head he whispered.

"This is my fault how can I ever forgive myself?" 


"Oh please Casper enough with the bullshit."

Stunned Casper looked up to see his reflection talking to him.      

"You remember the saying " We are not at the mercy of our environment or events that happen around us because we can dictate how it effects us."  What happened was horrible I won't argue about that, it never should have happened but it did, there was nothing you could have done to stop it."  




"..................."   

Staring Blankly at the floor, Casper was deep in thought, slowly but surely something within him was breaking free. No longer restrained from his subconsciousness. 

"There you go, keep thinking....tell me... do you think your deceased teammates would have wanted you to be this way?" 

Something blown up in Casper. His mind perhaps, recognizing the sudden realization that took place in his sense of awareness. 

"No.......they would have wanted me to....move on with my life, be happy, live life to its fullest extent a-and k-keep them alive through my m-memory's."

Ghost was fighting not to cry, not of sorrow or guilt, but of relief of the pain that plagued inside his heart, those who sacrificed themselves in the past so he could look forward to the future, their dying words finally made sense. 

" Before I let us go I thought I should tell you even though this isn't really in my department, that  you should express how you feel.
You're not a machine.......you are a person. 

The white nothingness faded to black when Casper opened his eyes again he was awake as he sat up Hammond carefully studied his partner, noticing that was the most peaceful sleep he's ever had since he went through indoctrination.

"Morning sleeping beauty."

"Morning." 

Casper replied softly then thought carefully.

"There is something really off, I can't name it specifically but I intend to find out." 
  

> Sudden landing. 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

      



"Never seen anything like it, it appears that they were.....studying our anatomy."      

"Right...maybe if we came any sooner it might have been possible to save a few more."

"Come on now Lad, you and me both know that-that couldn't have been possible regardless of how fast we were."

With that fiery hope now vacant since their recent discovery the only thing left in him was gratitude. He was grateful for atleast recovering one person alive but severely harmed, he was opened up like some science experiment in the middle of his chest, both Casper and Hammond did what they could to stabalize his condition.  
What they both discovered through a quick examination of the building was...

A: it was evacuated right at the last second of when they entered the area of operations, but how someone or thing was capable of  knowing of their insertion before hand  was a mystery.

B: the echolocation sensors were given false information, there were no combat able humans...alive what so ever. What ever was responsible for this did so with the intention of slowing down team onslaught.

C: Humans came willingly and either volunteered for explorative disection or were mislead. The discovery of living quarters and further investigation and documentation of the compound was out of the question for local law enforcement or "guards" entered the premises.

D:  The search and rescue team were victims excluding one that was found strapped to an operation table, identification of survivor was team leader Ryan Bradly, given code name Raptor.



"  I know how it feels Casper....to lose a comrade..... I've lost many good men out in the field, even a view close to me."


"Huh?"      


Pulled back to reality when he was lost in thought, Casper raised his then lowered head and just starred at Hammond, probably expecting him to continue speaking.

"..?"      

Hammond held his apathetic stare with Casper, unbeknownst to him Hammond was examining his mental state closely, being sure to spot any chinks in his armor if any existed.  

"Sorry, what?"


"Nothing.....prepare to rope down,we're near your Stop."  

"Ten-fou-Woah!"

Following the sound of a metal bang Casper and his critically injured precious cargo were ejected from the bench, now sliding around the cabin of   the helicopter as it was spinning violently.  The pilot desperately trying to regain control of the aircraft.    
The helicopters metal frame shuddered, red lights and beeping sounds emanated  from the cock-pit.
Feeling the g-forces pushing him around before sliding into the lower left corner of the cabin, Ghost took the opportunity to look out the side window to get a vague idea of altitude and how fast they were falling.  Before  he could compute anything in his head the barrel of his p416 smacked him on the side of his head.

The pilot managed to reduce the severity of the spinning they were still rapidly losing altitude.

Hammond unbuckled himself from his seat, the safety of the recovered survivor was paramount.  Last thing he wanted to worry about was losing the one person who could shine light on the situation.  Slowly yet determined he made his way to Casper who was dazed from the sudden impact his rifle gave him, placing  his hand firmly on Caspers shoulder he spoke up thus snapping him out of it.

" HELP ME GET VIP SECURED!"

Casper nodded in response, after what seemed for hours they finally managed to strap his stretcher on the seat firmly.

Both Casper and Hammond tried to use there holocom's to trigger an SOS signal. 

"What the hell did we hit back there!?" 


The pilot replied
"I don't know but what ever it was it scrambled our electron--Brace for impact!"     

The helicopter crashed in the dense woods of the everfree forest landing on its side the helicopter began to roll thus disabling the aircraft because of it's broken blades. The helicopter halted in the middle of a small clearing upright, taking advantage of the moment The pilot unstrapped himself from his seat.   

"You alright mates?"    

They were alive but far from alright.....the pilot quickly help Hammond to his feet but couldn't stand up by himself "Bloody shite, I think my legs broke, Ahh! Bullocks."  The pain was starting to kick in but priority kept him going. " Go check on Casper I'll tend to the VIP." 

Casper was prone on the floor face to the corner of the cabin, when the pilot turn him over he screamed in pain his left arm and right leg bent in unnatural angles. 

"Fuck he has one out of place limb with one of his  legs broken and the other shattered and I think he has a cracked rib." 

Another cry of agony came from Casper as the pilot assessed his physical state."Make that several." The pilots said gingerly.  

"Alright..... the VIP's vitals are very unstable but he should hold as long as nothing else happens" glancing at Casper real quick before checking outside. It was desolate other than a few trees in the distance and the afternoon sun baking the dirt, what ever hit them either lost them when they crashed or simply fled. Hammond reached for the first aid kit and pulled out a syringe full of morphine, using it on himself to make the pain bearable. Checking one last time if the coast was clear he limped towards Casper, "Bloody hell. Jeremy I will hold the poor sod down while you pop his arm back in place". 


"I don't recommend that sir, his left arm has sever swelling indicat-" 

"He's a hard bastard he can take it." 

One scream fest and a pop later Hammond and Jeremy the pilot correct caspers limbs to there natural position.

"Casper...... look at me, not where it hurts. I need you to focus right now Casper otherwise if you fall sleep you may not wake up again." 


Jeremy the pilot was keeping Casper conscious before a sound of pierced metal rang around the cabin. Then the helicopter tipped forward then backwards as the door was ripped off by the golden halberd that pierced it. 

Hammond resorted to standard protocol gathering all the weapons and sensitive information and placing them in a secret compartment within the helicopter. 

Checking Raptors pulse and breathing Jeremy yelled"Shit the VIP is entering cardiac arrest!" 

Hammond reached for the personal defibrillator within the first aid kit but was stopped immediately by a yellow aura holding him in place. 

"Not so fast  you hairless ape." 

The crashed heli was surrounded by a half dozen royal guards glad in gold armor that gleamed in the early morning sun. 
One of them called out "Ma'am we found them Ma'am!" 

"Good work private." 

The voice was feminine but with a scratchy surfer tone in the mix, but the way it spoke nonchalantly made it radiate with authority. 
Foot steps could be heard getting closer and closer to the downed helicopter  "Let's see what we got in this tin can shall we?" 
Poking her head in the cabin the only person that could see the potential hostile was Casper. Jeremy the pilot was frozen in place reaching for the firearm holstered to his leg but facing the opposite direction, Hammond was desperately trying to break free from the aura, his grunts of effort audible as a mans life was on the line. 

Casper was fighting to stay conscious sitting face up in the corner of the cabin frozen with his right hand clutching his weapon.
but from his observation the entity was obviously female wearing a blue skin tight flight suit that complemented her athletic body. Her coat was another weird shade of yellow that he had to think about or maybe it was just the concussion impairing him,and a spiky fiery mane that literally  looked on fire, he couldn't tell for sure because he was losing consciousness due to loss of too much blood via internal bleeding.  

The pony cleared her throat the. Proceeded to speak, "Hello,I am Spitfire captain of the wonder bolts"  she couldn't help but smirk at the site before her, she had no intention of causing the scene before her but what was she supposed to do? Hold a sign asking them to land? Either way she did what was necessary and was impressed that the spell worked to immobilize that contraption. But of course upon doing that meant she had to do more paperwork and less fly time filing a report.  "Guards, carry them out and disarm them of anything they have that could be dangerous." 

"Ma'am Yes Ma'am" all the guards said in perfect unison. Spitfire walked around the cabin of the helicopter curiously examining the interior and then the cockpit controls while the guards carried Hammond, Jeremy the pilot, and raptor out and laid their still frozen in place body. Removing all there gear, and restraining them before removing the spell. 

"Let me go! The bloke on the stretcher is having cardiac arrest!" 

"I'm sorry freak, you all look the same to us." The joke among the guards roused a good between them all.

Spitfires shot a glare towards the guards that silenced the laughter then noticed that there was one missing.
"Where is the fourth one?" 

"He's badly injured ma'am, moving him could worsen the state he's already in. "

"I see, and what's this about cardiac arrest?"    

"H-he's going to die if we don't do something right now."

Spitfire crossed her arms and with half lidded eyes she replied, 

"I understand but what do expect us to do."  

Jeremy the pilot spoke with more aggression this time. 

"I'd expect you to get these binds off of me and let me save this mans life!" 

"Spitfire found the human's want to save its fellow human admirable,  "I don't want to be responsible for the death of one or them so might as well." She thought 

"Alright tiger calm down, let him do his thing." 

The guard grunted In response and released his binding, Jeremy the pilot ran towards the helicopter to stabilize his condition, after what seemed like raptor was loss Jeremy was able to get a pulse out of him. Then when he was headed towards Casper he was put in chains then grouped up with everyone else.

"Yeah I don't think there's anything you can do for him sport."  One of the guards commented. 

Spitfire nodded before giving out her final orders 
"March them to the nearest guard post then arrange a wagon to take them to Canterlot, let them be someone else's problem. I will carry him to pony vile that's the nearest hospital."   


Hammond leaned towards Jeremy's ear and whispered. 

"Under no circumstance do you tell them anything."

"Enough talk. Move!"
Both Hammond and Jeremy were pushed forward and trudged on despite his injury,while Two of the six guards volunteered to carry Raptor.

Watching them before they were no longer visible spitfire decided it was probably time to get that thing out of there.
But she couldn't help but let her curiosity get the better of her, she was alone with a human sure a seriously injured human but still. couldn't pass up this opportunity.  Already in the cockpit she wondered what she should get out the way first, Hooves!  
"Heh I always wondered if they had hooves similar to ours."  One removed high top sneaker later and a removed sock.
"Hm well what do you know their hooves look exactly like ours."   With that rumor finally debunked she looked forward to returning to the locker room to share her discovery with cloud chaser. But then again it seems a bit unusual to examine a humans hoof so she concluded to keep it to her self now. Also there was only one mystery left and just the thought of that made her blush, " I should get you to that hospital right about now."   Picking him up with his left arm to place around her shoulder to carry him, but to her horror a sickening pop came from his shoulder and his left arm stuck out more then usual.  "Ooh my Celestia' oh my Celestia ,oh my Celestia" 
"Me and my big mouth, I should have just let Soarin do drills today." Spitfire whimpered.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Comatose Induced recollections
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inhale.......exhale............inhale.......exhale......Caspers stable  rhythm of soft deep breaths were the only thing that established his existence other than his heart beat.  Both working in tandem to produce a steady beat within his chest and slow cadence in his breathing.

A thick air of tension permeated his surroundings.


Inhale...........exhale.............inhale..........

Casper twitched his dominant eye out of  irritation, temporarily disregarding eye relief and fight the urge to blink. Sliding his some what sweaty trigger finger across the metal frame of his rifle and unto its trigger. A lone droplet of sweat snaked down his right temple, the searing heat of the Arabic sun blanketed him and his spotter Hammond . Both were laying prone, hiddin inbetween a large formation of boulders on top a valley over looking a far away skirmish. Sounds came out of hammonds mouth but was too far from human speech to be understood. 

That same sound of unintelligible echoes bounced inside Caspers head as he steadied his cross hair across a far away target, unable to remember exactly why they specifically targeted that one person. Moving said cross hair slightly above the moving hostile automatically adjusting his aiming to compensate for variables he couldn't remember. 

The echoes that still took residence in his head slowly progressed  to become more and more like a sentence consisting of 3 words.....

Inhale................exhale...........inhale.........

Time seemed to slow down......feeling the rocky floor beneath his fingers as he balled up his fist below the butt of his weapon to assist in aiming slightly lower in order to properly follow his target.  Those three echoing  words finally managed to achieve some semblance of human speech,   ."Take the shot.".

Exhale.........inhale..............
With that order, he held his breath and gently applied pressure to the trigger. A mighty sound  like thunder roared before fading to black